Sometimes transgender people in America seem to believe their stories are the only trans stories.  Here are some recent stories from around the world.

1. From Nigeria: Court tries 18 for cross-dressing.

Eighteen Nigerian men accused of dressing up as women during a party at a hotel went on trial Tuesday before an Islamic sharia court in the northern state of Bauchi.

Dozens of residents shouted abuse and hurled stones at the men as they were escorted into an armored prison vehicle after the hearing, prompting police to fire tear-gas at the crowd.

The men, mostly in their 20s, were arrested in a Bauchi hotel on August 4. Police say they were dressed as women, which is illegal under the state’s sharia penal code.

The offence is punishable by up to a year in prison and 20 lashes by cane.

…The 18 are not formally charged with homosexuality, which is illegal in Nigeria and considered immoral by the vast majority of people, both Muslims and Christians.

2. From Turkey: Activists Warn: Increase in Police Torture

Different sexual orientations targeted

Transsexual Esmeray has claimed that she was beaten in front of the Beyoglu Police Station on 5 June.

On 16 June, a group of homosexuals were subjected to police violence at the Tekyön bar in Beyoglu. According to an eye witness, people were beaten with truncheons and pepper spray was used.

3. From Russia: Kidnappers snatch Peruvian transsexual

A former police officer and a friend must have been surprised to find the woman they snatched on a Moscow street turned out to be a pre-operative transsexual.

The 30-year-old Peruvian, Ronald Victor Garcia Barbosa, was hailing a taxi after attending a transvestite party in a nearby nightclub when the incident occurred, the Moscow Times reported Friday. Police said Barbosa looked like a woman, with silicone beast implants and feminine attire.

Police said they suspect that the two had been kidnapping and extorting money from prostitutes and pimps in Moscow for several weeks before Tuesday’s incident.

4. From Argentina: Buenos Aires Transvestites Push Neighbors to Share Rose Garden

Transvestite prostitutes working one of Buenos Aires’s toniest neighborhoods are squaring off against wealthy residents who say they shouldn’t ply their trade in a public park where children romp.

By day, the Rosedal, or rose garden, is a favorite destination for parents taking their children to amble around a lake, buy popcorn and rent rowboats. At dusk, transvestites wearing tank tops, knee-high boots and shorts saunter in, waving and winking at drivers in passing cars.