China: Rela, China's leading lesbian app with over 5 million registered users, gets shut down

China's leading lesbian app Rela (热拉) was shut down last week following a viral incident at Shanghai's marriage market in People's Park in which a group of mothers of LGBT children were kicked out by police while trying to raise awareness for gay rights.

Last week, the Shanghai-based app's users were shocked to find that Rela's official Weibo account had been deleted, along with its website. The app is no longer available on the Apple or Android app stores where it counted over 5 million registered users. Existing users are no longer able to log into their accounts.

After discovering this fact, users took to Weibo to protest the app's abrupt removal. While it is not certain what led to the app's deletion, many have pointed to Rela's participation in a recent awareness event gone awry at Shanghai's popular "marriage market" in People's Park. Read more via Shanhaiist

India: Transgender community applauds ‘column’ entry in college and work applications

Transgender persons and activists welcome Kerala State Youth Commission’s order which says that there should be a column for male, female and transgenders in college and work applications.