Shedding the HIV stigma
The week's news at a glance.
London
A former British culture minister revealed this week that he has been HIV-positive for 17 years, including the time he was in Tony Blair’s Cabinet. Chris Smith, who became Britain’s first openly gay Cabinet member, in 1997, said he did not tell Blair of his diagnosis when he was appointed. He came forward now, he said, because he was inspired by the example of former South African president Nelson Mandela, who recently announced that his son had died of AIDS. “After that speech,” Smith said, “I thought that I could make a small difference if I went public myself, and help demystify this.” Smith resigned from the Cabinet in 2001 but is still a member of Parliament.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLS
speed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
What's a pocket rescission and can Trump use one?
The Explainer The White House may try to use an obscure and prohibited trick to halt more spending
-
US, China extend trade war truce for 90 days
Speed Read The triple-digit tariff threat is postponed for another three months