Sunday is a special day in Uganda, the conservative east African country that is threatening to put gay people behind bars for life. On Sunday you can see families flocking to churches all over the country for prayer, wearing their best clothes. But not at a tiny church tucked away in one of Kampala's suburbs. Here, gay people meet in devoted challenge to mainstream denominations that have declared them outcasts. With dreadlocked hair and in jeans and bathroom slippers, members of this congregation would stand out in the prim and proper evangelical church I sometimes go to.

President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that Russia does not discriminate against gays and that millions of Russians love pop icon Elton John "despite his orientation," as he sought to defuse calls from gay rights activists to boycott the Winter Olympics. In an interview with foreign journalists less than three weeks before the opening of the Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin reiterated that Russia would welcome all athletes and visitors, regardless of their sexuality.

The U.S. Navy will provide military benefits to gay couples stationed in Japan after previously denying dependent status to same-sex spouses there, according to defense officials. The change came after U.S. and Japanese officials agreed to an interpretation of the status of forces agreement between the two nations, concluding that the term “spouses” applied to all individuals who are legally married to Department of Defense personnel.

A growing chorus of voices calling for a political boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, began to gain traction this past week in reaction to the host country’s onerous crackdown on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. President Barack Obama heeded its calls by announcing a U.S. delegation of representatives that includes two openly gay athletes and excludes senior elected officials, their spouses and current Cabinet members. His decision should be applauded.

The United States and India are in the middle of a diplomatic spat. It began when India's deputy consul general in New York, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested last week for allegedly submitting a fraudulent visa application for her housekeeper.

In a bleak little apartment on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, nearly a dozen men in their 20s take turns trying on a pair of black skinny jeans and watching Project Runway episodes downloaded off YouTube. There's no plumbing, Internet or furniture, but because the space is private, it's paradise.

In late September Andrei, a middle-aged Moldovan, was set upon by two men in a park in the center of this city. They had found his number on a gay dating site, arranged a meetup and, after calling him a faggot, beat him and kicked him in the face. Then, for good measure, they stole his bag and wallet. “It was vicious, and when the police arrived they started asking me all these degrading questions,” says Andrei, who asked that his name be changed.

With just 100 days before the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has a key opportunity to speak out about abuses linked to Russia’s preparations for the Games. The IOC should also call on Russia to repeal a law that discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said.