Transgender prisoner sexually assaulted inmates at all-female prison
By Richard Spillett, Crime Correspondent For Mailonline 13:33 BST 11 Oct 2018, updated 00:12 BST 12 Oct 2018
'Predator' Karen White used a 'transgender persona' to attack vulnerable women, a court has heard. He is pictured in March this year, during his time in a women's prison 'Predator' Karen White used a 'transgender persona' to attack vulnerable women, a court has heard. He is pictured in March this year, during his time in a women's prison The prison service has apologised after a transgender sex offender was placed in an all-female prison and went on to sexually assault two women inmates.
Karen White was born a man but - despite having a history of sex attacks - was placed in women's prison HMP New Hall after telling authorities of his identification as a woman.
While in the women's prison, 'predator' White sexually assaulted two female inmates.
Prosecutors said White- who appeared in court via video link wearing a patterned blouse and glasses with shoulder-length blond hair- used a 'transgender persona' to gain access to vulnerable females.
The 52-year-old- who was previously convicted in 2001 for indecent assault and gross indecency with a child- has now been ordered to serve a life sentence for the jail sex attacks and two rapes carried out when he was still a man.
The prison service today admitted mistakes were made when White was assigned to the all-female jail.
A spokesman said: 'We apologise sincerely for the mistakes which were made in this case. While we work to manage all prisoners, including those who are transgender, sensitively and in line with the law, we are clear that the safety of all prisoners must be our absolute priority.'
The sentence will be served in a men's jail, where White has since been moved.
Christopher Dunn, prosecuting, told the court: 'She is allegedly a transgender female.
Prosecutor Mr Dunn said: 'The complainant, while waiting, felt something hard press against the small of her back. She turned around to see the defendant stood there. She could see the defendant's penis erect and sticking out of the top of her pants, covered by her tights.'
The matter was then reported to police and another prison assault came to light.
Another inmate told how she was in the prison workshop with White when the defendant was making 'inappropriate comments about blow jobs.'
White then grabbed the woman's hand and put it on the defendant's left breast with the words: 'Oh look, they are not real ones.'
Japan's PM Shinzo Abe to visit China for 3 days from Oct. 25
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to visit China for three days from Oct. 25, both governments said Friday as relations between the countries continue to show good momentum of development.
It will mark the first time for a Japanese prime minister to travel to China primarily to hold formal bilateral talks with Chinese leaders since December 2011. The trip comes as Beijing has been attempting to strengthen cooperation with Japan amid its ongoing trade war with Washington.
Abe expressed readiness to promote ties with China further, saying in a speech in Tokyo that he wants to lift relations to "a new stage," noting that the two sides share a responsibility to realize peace and stability in the region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a press briefing that Japan is an "important neighbor" of China, adding that the two sides "have to confirm that we are cooperative partners and we will not become threats for each other."
Abe's visit will be made at the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang, Lu said, adding the Japanese prime minister and Chinese leaders are expected to talk about how to improve and develop bilateral ties and discuss international issues of mutual concern.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe will hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Oct. 26 in Beijing.
Suga, the top government spokesman, said Japanese and Chinese leaders are likely to exchange views on how to move ahead with North Korea's denuclearization negotiations, which have been carried out mainly by Pyongyang and Washington.
The three-day trip will also come amid a sharp deterioration in relations between China and the United States in the wake of a tit-for-tat tariff escalation between the world's two biggest economies.
China's economy has shown signs of weakening as the nation's reciprocal higher tariffs against the United States have pushed up prices of U.S. imports at home, weighing on consumer spending -- a major source of economic expansion.
Beijing sees Abe's visit as a window of opportunity to ask Japan to boost investment in China, foreign affairs experts said.
Japan has also effectively acquiesced to the United States, in a shift from opting for a multilateral approach, to bilaterally discuss tariffs and resolve trade issues, with Trump aiming to reduce huge U.S. trade deficits with Tokyo and Beijing.
During Abe's stay, a forum is slated to be held to have dialogue about infrastructure investment in third countries by China and Japan, Lu said, adding ministers and business leaders of the two nations are expected to attend it.
For years, Tokyo and Beijing had been mired in a territorial row over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The group of uninhabited islets, which are called Diaoyu in China, are controlled by Japan but claimed by Beijing.
The dispute particularly intensified after the Japanese government of former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Abe's predecessor, decided to bring the Senkakus under state control in September 2012.
But the situation has drastically changed recently, as this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing and taking effect of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China.
New Okinawa governor voices opposition to U.S. base relocation
New Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday not to go ahead with the transfer of a U.S. military base within the prefecture, saying his election victory on an anti-relocation platform speaks for itself.
Tamaki, meeting with Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga at the prime minister's office, also called for a "fundamental review" of a bilateral agreement on the status of U.S. forces and a reduction in Okinawa's base-hosting burden.
"I'm opposed to building a new base in Henoko and the people of Okinawa expressed their opposition in the (gubernatorial) election. I ask Prime Minister Abe to listen sincerely to the voices of the people of Okinawa," Tamaki said at the outset of his talks with the prime minister.
During the meeting, however, Abe told the governor that the government's position on the planned base relocation remains unchanged.
The prime minister, who places priority on deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance, said it is "totally unacceptable" that the bulk of U.S. military bases are concentrated in Okinawa more than seven decades after World War II.
"I will stay side by side with the people of Okinawa and aim to steadily produce results toward reducing the base-hosting burden," Abe told Tamaki.
The meeting, roughly a week after Tamaki became Okinawa governor on Oct. 4, was viewed as a sign that the administration hopes to avoid a confrontational approach following the gubernatorial election that saw a candidate backed by the ruling coalition defeated.
After the death of Governor Takeshi Onaga, Okinawa in August finalized his retraction of approval for landfill work necessary to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a crowded residential area of Ginowan to the coastal district of Henoko in Nago.
The Abe administration claims the relocation will remove dangers associated with the Futenma base.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tamaki acknowledged that the central government and Okinawa remain apart over the relocation plan but expressed hope to continue dialogue.
"Two successive Okinawa governors have stood against the relocation plan. I'd like to make an appeal that the base issue should not be left unaddressed" to the United States too, the governor said.
Many residents of Okinawa have been calling for a reduced U.S. military presence. A series of accidents involving U.S. military aircraft, such as tilt-rotor Ospreys, have raised safety concerns.
New governor vows all-out efforts to block base move within Okinawa
Anti-U.S. base ex-lawmaker Tamaki wins in Okinawa governor race
Zookeeper feared dead after being mauled by white tiger
A zookeeper is feared dead after a white tiger mauled him Monday afternoon at a zoological park in the southwestern Japan city of Kagoshima, rescue workers said.
The 40-year-old zookeeper was found collapsed and bleeding from the neck in a cage by a colleague after the Hirakawa Zoological Park had closed for the day. He was unconscious and taken to hospital.
According to the zoo, there are four white tigers in the park. The tiger believed to have mauled the keeper had apparently already been sedated by a tranquillizer gun when rescue workers arrived at the scene.
Police are investigating how the zoological park looks after the white tigers.
The zoo, launched in 1972, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Berlin Memorial to Persecuted Homosexuals Selects New Film
A new film has been selected to be displayed inside Berlin’s Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism to replace the current kissing loop beginning on the memorials 10th anniversary in June.
Located just across from the more widely recognized Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Berlin, the memorial for persecuted gays is a much more modest grey concrete cube sticking out of the ground with little fanfare. Only the curious really discover the objects significance. With tall bare walls, only one small window is set in front to allow one person to peek inside, to which they will find a video loop that currently features gay and lesbian couples locking lips.
Few details have been released about the nature of the new video loop on display starting June 3, but Yael Bartana, the Israeli artist chosen out of the 11 entries, writes on her website that her “films, installations and photographs explore the imagery of identity and the politics of memory.”
The Bloom Tour’ is a fun celebration of LGBT musicians
Troye Sivan brought a celebration to the Tower Theater. His Bloom Tour, in support of an album with the same name, hit Philadelphia this past Saturday and it was a celebration of the LGBTQ community from start to finish.
His two openers, Leland and Kim Petras, gave the show a strong start. Leland is a gay songwriter who has written with pop stars like Selena Gomez, Daya and Troye Sivan. He kicked off the night, performing his own songs like “Mattress” and “Lights,” the latter of which is featured in the new Netflix film “Sierra Burgess is a Loser.” His performance was a fun start to the night as he danced around on stage while singing.
Kim Petras is a transgender pop singer from Germany. She gave an energetic performance for an adoring crowd. I had never heard of her, but it was obvious that many people in the crowd knew her well. Her music was extremely catchy and I found myself somehow singing along by the end of most tracks. She performed her singles as well as a couple tracks from her new Halloween Mixtape “Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1.”
Petras had a strong stage presence and was great at connecting with the audience. Her overall aesthetic really reminded me of Charli XCX, who she collaborated with on XCX’s “Pop 2” mixtape. It’s great to see a transgender pop singer so welcomed by an audience. With her command of the stage and catchy hooks, I’m sure we will be seeing more of her soon.
When it was Troye Sivan’s chance to take the stage, the crowd’s anticipation was palpable. Though they had enjoyed the openers, Sivan was who they were here to see. The lights in the room dimmed and a small portion of the curtain raised for Sivan to slip through. He started his set with the song “Seventeen,” which also opens the album. His voice crooned the slow jam, capturing all the emotion and reflection packed into the lyrics.
He immediately kicked up the energy, transitioning into “Bloom.” The bottoming bop caused the crowd’s energy to explode. Everyone was dancing and singing along. The room was full of love and positive energy.
Sivan gave a great performance. His vocals were strong and his undulating body movements were mesmerizing and slyly seductive. He also expertly dealt with technical difficulties. During the song “Fools,” something was going wrong with the track. He had to stop the song in the middle, and he quickly brushed it off with a joke and moved on to album standout “Lucky Strike.” Later in the show he made it up to the crowd by giving the first performance of his new collaboration with Charli XCX, “1999.”
Troye Sivan also seemed to be a fan of Philadelphia. He called our stomping ground “one of the prettiest cities.” He and his team had been in the city for two days before the show. He had a chance to explore the city and even went out dancing at Woody’s in the Gayborhood.
Halfway into the show, Sivan came up from the depths of the set on a couch with living room lamp lighting. This set change set the mood for the next section of the show which highlighted the slower parts of his catalogue. He dueted with his backup singer for a stunning performance of “Postcard.”
Troye Sivan was a great performer and great at engaging the audience. Before performing his final song he said “Can you guys all say the word my? Can you say it three times?” This funny line led into his song “My My My!” It was a great closer to the show, full of energy and climaxing in a rave-ready remix of the track.
The Bloom tour was an entertaining show and a strong argument for letting queer musicians have a bigger voice in the industry. All three acts put on great performances from start to finish. I hope to see all of them coming back to perform in Philly soon.
Students at German Catholic school protest for gay teacher
Pupils at a church-run school in Germany protested their administration's decision to backtrack on a job offer to a popular teacher. The gay man's plan to wed his partner left officials with "no other alternative." Around 600 pupils protested Thursday against their school's decision not to hire a gay teacher at the Gymnasium Mariengarden, a private high school in the town of Borken in western Germany. The students assembled to form a rainbow out of colored balloons alongside a banner that read, "Mariengarden is colorful."
The man had completed his teacher training at the Catholic school and subsequently been offered a job. However, when he told the school principal that he intended to marry his male partner, his offer of employment was withdrawn. Church officials responsible for the administration of the school said Wednesday that, "The plan to marry contravenes the church's position on matrimony and family."
"We would have liked to employ him here," school principal Michael Brands said in an interview with the Bild newspaper. "But his deci
192 名前：sion to marry a man caused me to withdraw the contract. It does not comply with the holy sacrament of marriage. But I think what the students are doing is good. The issue is being talked about openly among us." "We don't want to simply accept that a great teacher can't work here only because wants to marry his partner," 17-year-old student representative Lara Doods told Bild.
The decision to rescind the job offer has been the main topic of discussion in the school since it was made last week. The topic also dominated a pre-planned school party on Sunday, at which the students were encouraged to express their feelings and opinions, news magazine Der Spiegel reported.
The school's administrators, teachers, parents and student representatives wrote in a statement on their website that Mareingarden must remain a place open to discussion. "Many students, teachers and parents are affected, irritated or outraged," it said. []
LGBT-friendly Berlin mosque deradicalises Muslim youth
More than 5,000 Europeans - most from Britain, France, Germany and Belgium - have joined fighters in Syria and Iraq
- Tugay Sarac was just 15 when he first talked about travelling from Germany to Syria to fight for Islamic State.
But unlike his friends at the time, Sarac had turned to radical Islam as a way of avoiding coming to terms with his sexuality.
"I had friends who, like me, were really radical extremists and even considered going to Syria or to Palestine to fight," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a quiet corner of the prayer room of Berlin's Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque.
Now 20, Sarac, who was born in Berlin to a Turkish family, learned from an early age that homosexuality was wrong - and un-Islamic.
"I thought being gay is bad and that through Islam, by praying to God, I could cure myself and become normal. I started praying five times a day: I just felt bad, like I was dirty or inferior somehow ... I was really ashamed of my gay thoughts."
More than 5,000 Europeans - most from Britain, France, Germany and Belgium - have joined fighters in Syria and Iraq, according to Europe's police organisation, Europol, with more than 200 continental attacks and foiled plots last year.
Studies suggest a range of motivations, from supporting fellow Muslims to feelings of alienation at home. Yet Sarac was not looking for a greater sense of Muslim solidarity – he was running away from the fact he was gay.
"I knew I liked boys from maybe the first class of primary school," he said. "(But) in Islam for me it was very clear that homosexuality was bad."
It was only when Sarac came across the Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque - one of only a handful of gay-friendly mosques around the world - that he found a middle ground that allowed him to accept both his sexuality and his faith.
As Sarac found himself drawn into the life of the mosque, its liberal, inclusive form of Islam drew him away from his more fundamentalist views and helped him come to terms with who he was.
"This mosque helped me to deradicalise completely," he said.
"Coming here, I started being comfortable with myself and that's when I told my mother and my aunt (that I was gay)."
LGBT Muslims are frequently required to make a stark choice between their sexuality and their religion, even in liberal countries such as Germany where same-sex marriage is legal.
Xenophobia and tensions are on the rise in Germany, which is home to about 4 million Muslims - about 5 percent of the population - since it opened its doors to more than a million migrants in 2015, many from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Following a spate of attacks on mosques, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said in March that Islam does not belong in Germany, clashing with Chancellor Angela Merkel's multi-ethnic vision for Europe's biggest economy.
Sarac's father, who moved to Germany at the age of six, boasted of beating up gay people when he himself was younger and made his views of homosexuality very clear to the young Sarac.
"My father was rather traditional, not in an Islamic way, but in a Turkish way," Sarac said.
"When my little sister was born, I just wanted to hold her buggy and walk with her. But my father slapped my hand and said, 'Stop doing that, it's gay'."
His father died when he was just 13 – leaving Sarac even more vulnerable to radical views, while also battling to suppress his sexuality at school "because as a teenager – as teenagers normally do – I just fell in love with other guys".
Which is why when his friends started talking about becoming jihadis, Sarac readily joined the conversation – to deflect any questions on his own sexuality.
"I was struggling between being a normal 14 or 15-year-old guy in Germany and being really religious.
"My friends were very religious, very radical, and when they told me that they were considering going to Syria, I started thinking about it too."
But there were other tensions at work.
One turning point was hearing a presenter on The Young Turks, a U.S.-based liberal news show, ask LGBT Muslims: "Why would you believe in a religion or a God if this God hates you, if this God will throw you to hell and let you burn forever?"
When Sarac started worshipping at the Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque late last year, his radical friends disowned him, but the mosque offered other opportunities to explore a more liberal form of Islam.
Founded in June 2017 by Seyran Ates, a feminist lawyer who was born in Turkey, the mosque allows men and women to pray together.
"We consider ourselves an inclusive mosque," Imam Susie Dawi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Berlin.
"We have no homophobic attitudes in any form here."
Yet even among liberal Muslims, there is much work still to be done, she said.
"I have taken lesbian friends, for example, to Muslim friends and they've got along wonderfully and I thought that this would change attitudes. But it didn't somehow ... Maybe it needs time."
The mosque has recently begun a deradicalisation workshop for students to take into German schools.
"The point is to open up people's minds towards a more liberal understanding of Islam, for example by showing them women in different roles," Dawi explained, rather than the traditional Islamic image of the subservient woman.
"There is a female pilot, for example."
For Sarac, the mosque offers a chance for other LGBT Muslims not to repeat his mistakes.
"I'm 100 percent sure there are many gay Muslims who hide themselves like I did," he said, either becoming atheists or fighters with militant groups like the Taliban or al Qaeda.
"If you are conflicted, it doesn't make any sense to listen to one group who tell you are going to hell," he said.
"If we want gay Muslims to be happy, we should just open ourselves up and let them be gay (and become) a happy,
