[International]
Transgender divas rock Muslim world, but common transsexual people still fighting to fit in
Transsexual singers and dancers in places like Turkey and Morocco are big-time celebrities, but there’s far less acceptance of common transgender people.

[UK]
Heartbreak of sex swap OBE whose gender switch caused rift in her family
Jenny-Anne Bishop, 68, has not spoken to her grown-up children for around a decade after she opted to become a woman

[Turkey]
Turkish transgender woman commits suicide “I could not, did not allow !”
“I could not. I could not because people did not allow me. I could not work. I wanted to do something [worthwhile] but I could not. They interfered with me a lot. They victimized me a lot. I leave everyone to their own Allah.”
“I was born in 1992. Now I’m 24 and I’m ending my 24 years. Kisses to everyone. I couldn’t. I couldn’t because people did not let me. I couldn’t work, I wanted to do stuff, I couldn’t… You get me? They impeded with me many times; they made me suffer a lot. I leave everyone alone with God and now I’m going to the Bosphorus Bridge. Kisses to all, God bless you.”
Trans woman ended her life in Istanbul: I couldn’t, they didn’t let me

[Kuwait]
Cross-dressers arrested after ‘rowdy behaviour’
Loud music, dancing in moving car attract traffic police attention

[India]
First Transgender Mayor Elected in Central India
A city in central India has elected the country's first transgender mayor, nine months after a court ruled that transgender be recognized as a legal third gender, local media reported.
Madhu Kinnar, 35, won the mayoral election in Raigarh in the mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, beating her opponent from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by more than 4,500 votes, the Press Trust of India reported in a story published on the news web site Firstpost.com.
Meet India’s first ever out transgender mayor
First Transgender Mayor Elected in India
First transgender mayor elected in central India: media
Chhattisgarh: Eunuch Madhu Kinnar wins Raigarh mayoral election

[China]
Top Chinese Sexologist Opens Up About Her Trans Partner
Li Yinhe explains loving her trans male partner is not a radical act, but talking about it is.

[USA]
meet hari nef, the american actress leading the transgender revolution
"I want to be the first trans woman to win an Academy Award," Hari Nef tells i-D. Bold and beautiful, the 22-year-old transgender actress is living her American dream! She's posed on the cover of Frische magazine, walked the catwalk for Hood by Air, performed at Art Basel Miami, acted in a play by Anton Chekov and appeared on the pages of i-D, all whilst studying Drama and Theatre Arts at Columbia University. We catch up with the Manhattan-based it-babe to talk fashion, fantasy and the future of transness!

[USA]
Laverne Cox Named 'New Face of the Year' by Pop Culture Website
The year ended with yet one more honor for actress and activist Laverne Cox. The website POPSUGAR chose Cox as its New Face for 2014.

[USA]
My Chemical Romance guitarist dedicates song to transgender teen Leelah Acorn
The lead guitarist of My Chemical Romance has dedicated a song to the memory of teenager Leelah Alcorn, after she took her own life.

[CA, USA]
'I am afraid for my safety': California woman has 20 police sent to former home in Portland as part of Gamergate harassment campaign
Grace Lynn said she is 'harassed daily' by members of the Gamergate movement. She shared suicidal thoughts on Twitter after a revenge prank.
A California woman told the Daily News she is "afraid for my safety" after strangers pulled a revenge prank on her connected to the "Gamergate" harassment campaign.
Grace Lynn, 35, said she is "harassed daily" by Gamergate members and their recent prank left her "feeling suicidal."
Gamergate: Woman blames online harassers for hoax that sent 20 Portland cops to her former home

[CA, USA]
Assailant stabs transgender woman after melee on Muni bus
An assailant armed with a steak knife attacked two transgender women in San Francisco, stabbing a 24-year-old victim two times in the chest, the couple said in an interview Sunday.
Samantha Hulsey, 24, was on a date with her partner, 52-year-old Rae Raucci, around 5 p.m. Saturday when they boarded the 49 Muni bus in the city’s South of Market neighborhood.
Almost immediately, a man on the bus, who authorities did not name, focused on the couple and “began acting violently,” Hulsey said.
“He started saying a lot of hateful things and messing with us,” she said. “He was threatening to hurt us. The way he was behaving leads me to believe he was on some kind of drugs. He was obviously not sober.”

[IA, USA]
Transgender Iowan seeks public's understanding
When Alex Shearer read the online suicide note from an Ohio teen last week, it hit him hard.
"It fit me to a 'T'," said Shearer, 22, who lives in an apartment on Des Moines' south side.
The note by the Cleveland teen, born as Josh Alcorn but signing her name as Leelah, said she hoped others would read about the lack of acceptance she faced in her gender transition and would "fix society." She would rest in peace if transgender people were treated better, "like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. My death needs to be counted."

[MS, USA]
Hate Minister Randy Cofield Tries to Justify Torture of Transgender Children
The minister known as Randy Cofield of the Lakeside Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, MS is a noted activist against human rights for transgender people. The church is a part of the identified hate group the Southern Baptist Convention. Cofield uses predominantly right wing twisted reporting (as noted in the Prop 8 testimony debunk by the Judge) to justify torturing transgender children and perpetuating human rights violations. This particular person likes to ignore hard science and instead put forth old debunked data, myths, mis-direction of responsiblity and flat out hate against transgender people. Here is a bit of debunked nonsense he published this week on a Right Wing Religious Terrorist Extremist Facebook group.

[NC, USA]
Local Organization Expresses Support for Transgender Youth
After a transgender Ohio teen has committed suicide, Tuesday Feral, who identifies as genderqueer, wants other gender non-conforming people to know they have support in Western North Carolina.

[NM, USA]
74-year-old veteran is first to receive gender surgery on Medicare
A 74-year-old transgender Army veteran has become the first person to receive gender reassignment surgery on a government Medicare plan.
Denee Mallon, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, had fought for a number of years to be allowed the surgery on the healthcare plan for the elderly – which banned ‘experimental’ surgery in the 1980s.
Sex Reassignment Surgery at 74: Medicare Win Opens Door for Transgender Seniors

[OH, USA]
Candlelight Vigil held for Ohio transgender teen
Dozens gathered at Toledo's St. Paul's United Methodist Church for a vigil Sunday Night. They're hoping to spread awareness in the transgender community.
Transgender tragedies: Downtown vigil makes plea to ‘fix society’
New And Disturbing Details Emerge About Leelah Alcorn's Life From Posts She Made To Reddit
Photos: London vigil for transgender teen Leelah Alcorn
Leelah Alcorn remembered in student organised vigil
Focus Turns to Parents of Transgender Teen Leelah Alcorn
In Preventing Trans Suicides, 'We Have Such A Long Way To Go'
Facebook’s shame: The shocking Leelah Alcorn hate page
Hundreds attend candlelight vigil in Leelah Alcorn's memory
Hundreds attend candlelight vigil for Leelah Alcorn, other transgender teens
Hundreds attend vigil for Leelah Alcorn
Hundreds gather to remember Leelah Alcorn
LGBT leaders speak out about Leelah Alcorn’s suicide
Mother of Transgender Teen Who Killed Self Speaks Out
Leelah Alcorn’s blog and suicide note deleted from Tumblr
Leelah Alcorn Suicide – A Call to End Conversion Therapy
Leelah Alcorn’s mother speaks out about her child’s death
Leelah Alcorn's dad: 'We love our son'

[OR, USA]
Oregon Starts Insurance For Transgender Medical Procedures
This January, the Oregon Health Plan starts covering the cost of reassignment surgery for transgender people. It also helps cover the cost of hormone therapy and puberty suppression.

[PA, USA]
Vigil to be held for trans man who jumped to his death in Pittsburgh
Andi Woodhouse jumped to his death in mid-December but local media did not report the fact that he was a trans man
Transgender Man Who Committed Suicide Remembered At Vigil

[PA, USA]
Name Change Project helps with legal obstacles in transgender transitions
The name on the cards in the wallet was decidedly masculine. The person carrying the wallet, though, had started a journey to a female identity.

[TX, USA]
Texas Trans Woman Sues Saks Fifth Avenue Over Alleged Harassment
Weeks after Attorney General Holder announced that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers discrimination based on gender identity, the upscale retailer still claims its trans workers are not protected.