By Christopher Cappiello

Swedish HIV Vaccine Shows Promise

In a recent HIV vaccine study conducted by researchers in Sweden, more than 90 percent of the subjects developed an immune response to the virus according to a statement by the Karolinska Institute. Data from the study was presented Aug. 30 at an HIV vaccine conference in Amsterdam.

“Never has such a good result been seen with a vaccine of this type,” said Eric Sandstrom, chief physician at Karolinksa University Hospital. In addition to the institute and hospital, the third participating organization was the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI).

The promising results came at the end of the first clinical trial on healthy humans, intended to gauge the vaccine’s safety level and best method of delivery. Subjects received three vaccinations administered with a needle-free method of injection.

“Our vaccine is designed in such a way that it’s able to protect against many of the circulating HIV types in Africa and the West,” said Britta Wahren, a professor affiliated with SMI and the institute.

Scientists plan to take the vaccine to the next level of clinical trials with a fall initiative in Tanzania where they hope to confirm the Swedish results on African subjects.

Archbishop of Canterbury Backtracks on Support of Gays

Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, suggested in an interview with a Dutch newspaper that gays and lesbians must change their behavior in order to be accepted by the Church of England, London’s Telegraph reports.

Williams, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States, has previously been considered supportive of gays and lesbians in the church.

“I don’t believe inclusion is a value in itself,” the Telegraph quotes Williams as saying. “Welcome is. We don’t say, ‘Come in and we ask no questions.’ I do believe conversion means conversion of habits, behaviors, ideas, emotions.” He went on to say, “Ethics is not a matter of a set of abstract rules; it is a matter of living the mind of Christ. That applies to sexual ethics.”

Williams’ remarks were met with surprise by Anglicans on both ends of the theological spectrum, with conservatives hailing an “about face,” and progressive leaders expressing chagrin.

“The implication is that there is no justification in scripture for the welcome of lesbian and gay people,” the Rev. Giles Goddard, chairman of the progressive group Inclusive Church, told the Telegraph. “It appears he has moved into the conservative camp.”

“The Church of England wouldn’t survive without gay clergy in inner cities,” gay Labor Party MP Chris Bryant said. “People will feel this is a huge betrayal. Rowan has refashioned the Church of England into a narrow-minded conservative sect.”

The archbishop’s office downplayed the significance of his comments, with a spokesman telling the Telegraph, “They do not represent a departure from the Christian understanding of sexual relationships.”

St. Maarten Gay-Bashing Trial Postponed

The trial of four men accused of attempted murder and attempted manslaughter in an April 6 gay-bashing attack against two American journalists in St. Maarten has been postponed so that one of the victims can return to the Caribbean island to testify, The Associated Press reports.

Prosecutors requested the postponement after learning that Ryan Smith, 26, could not travel to St. Maarten from his New York home because of financial considerations. Smith suffered brain damage in the attack and could not speak for several months.

Prosecutor Taco Stein told the AP that his office would assist in financing Smith’s return trip for the trial, scheduled to begin Oct. 31. “The government of St. Maarten has also stated its willingness to assist,” Stein said. “After all, this case was not good promotion for the island."

Smith said he wanted to be present to testify because authorities hadn’t given the case the attention it deserved. “This is setting out to kill people based on who they are, and it’s a very scary thing. We care about this case but we also are very much concerned about what’s happening in that area of the world for gays and lesbians,” he told AP.

The other victim, Richard Jefferson, 51, is not expected to testify in the trial this fall. Jefferson suffered less serious injuries and was able to give police his account at the time of the attack.

The four defendants are accused of using a tire iron to beat the two journalists outside a gay bar on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island shared by the Netherlands and France. Judge Rick Smid denied a request by defense attorneys to release the defendants until the trial. “We’re talking here about a case of public violence that had very serious consequences,” Smid said, according the AP.

Gay Couple Marries in Nepal

Activists, family members and the press were on hand Aug. 26 when a young gay couple in Nepal exchanged wedding vows in what is believed to be the country’s first public same-sex marriage ceremony, AP reports.

The ceremony between Anil Mahaju, 25, and Diya Kashyap, 21, was largely symbolic as Nepal does not recognize same-sex marriage and gay sex is illegal and punishable by up to two years in prison.

“They have decided to get the marriage registered,” said Suni Pant, director of the Blue Diamond Society, a Nepalese nonprofit gay rights organization where Kashyap works as an HIV/AIDS counselor. “But I think they will have to wait for a new constitution that would legitimize same-sex marriage,” Pant said.

The landlocked Himalayan country, situated between China and India, has endured political strife in recent years, with King Gyanendra seizing power through the military in 2005 and agreeing to return the power to the people in April 2006. The Nepalese people await the draft of a new constitution, which gay rights activists hope will include provisions for greater acceptance.