Chinese Grindr, fjord feuds and Benedict Cumberbatch

Your Daily Package of newsy and naughty bits from around the world


Chinese gay hook-up app raises $30 million (China)

Hook-up app Blued has raised $30 million in a second venture-capital round. The app now boasts 15 million users and plans to expand into China’s mostly unexplored gay market.

Read more at Tech in Asia.

Lesbian couple harassed out of small town (Denmark)

A Danish lesbian couple has decided to leave a small fjord town after repeated harassment over their sexuality. Danish news site The Local writes that, while large cities such as Copenhagen are among the most gay-friendly on Earth, rural Denmark remains troubled by homophobia. Danish LGBT activists plan to bus supporters into the town of Mariager to hold a parade in support of the couple.

Read more at The Local.

Jonathan Dean: Gay sex scene cut from Turing biopic (UK)

According to columnist Jonathan Dean at The Sunday Times, a gay sex scene was cut from the upcoming biopic The Imitation Game, about Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The Sunday Times appears to have pulled the column from its website. Dean claimed he had read an early version of the script that included a scene showing Turing and another man “tugging off each other’s clothes.” The final version focuses primarily on Turing’s relationship with a woman.

Read more at Pink News.

Egyptians jailed for attending gay wedding (Egypt)

Eight Egyptian men have been sentenced to three years in prison because they appeared in an internet video showing two men getting married. They were convicted of “inciting debauchery,” and Egypt’s chief prosecutor called the wedding “shameful to God” and “offensive to public morals.” The video, filmed on a boat in the Nile, shows two men exchanging rings, surrounded by well-wishers.

Read more from the Associated Press at The Huffington Post.

 

Bathhouses offer HIV-test vending machines (California)

Patrons at some bathhouses in Los Angeles will be able to access free at-home HIV tests from vending machines. The tests use an oral swab and give results in 20 minutes. Patrons will have to get a code from a bathhouse employee to access the machines.

Read more at HIV Plus Mag.

Kyrgyzstan considers gay propaganda law

A Russian-style anti-gay-propaganda law has passed first reading in Kyrgyzstan’s parliament and threatens to shut down gay rallies, clubs and cafés across the country. Reuters reports that many gay Kyrgyzstanis are preparing to leave the country if the law passes. Gangs in the capital of Bishkek already hunt down, threaten and attack Kyrgyzstani gay people.

Read more at Euro News.

Image Source: Blued

blued.cn

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

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