In Uganda, the owner of Sappho Islands bar, the country's first gay drinking establishment, said that she has been forced to close the place, according to a Forbes item. Jacqueline Kasha said the landlord—claiming Sappho Islands was noisy and attracting "strange" people—padlocked the bar. The bar's closure happened months after parliament adjourning without voting on a measure that would impose the death sentence for gays and lesbians.

In South Africa, police and forensic experts are saying that a serial killer could be responsible for the four killings of gay men in Johannesburg over the past 10 months, according to JustOut.com . All of the victims were found tied up and strangled in homes, and there have been no signs of forced entry. The most recent victim was Barney van Heerden, 39, who may have known his attackers, as evidenced by half-full glasses of wine on the kitchen table.

In Russia, the Arkhangelsk region has drafted a law banning all events promoting homosexuality, including gay-pride marches, RT.com reported. Local activists, intellectuals and religious groups initiated the draft. "All priests know that the souls of those who suffered through sinful homosexual experience are empty and desperate," said Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the Russian Orthodox Church PR department.

In England, Manchester resident Jason Boswell has been sentenced to six and a half months in jail for having his dog attack a woman in an anti-gay attack, Pink News reported. Boswell set his Japanese Akita on Karen Wilson while she and another woman were biking on the Fallowfield Loop last July. Boswell shouted anti-gay slurs at the two women before ordering his dog to attack. The Akita sank its teeth into Wilson's arm, resulting in puncture wounds and severe bruising.

Also in England, Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed openly gay Guardian lead writer Julian Glover as his chief speechwriter, according to Pink News. Glover, who is the civil partner of journalist Matthew Parris, will replace Ameet Gill. Cameron, a "modernizing Tory," recently expressed his support of same-sex marriage.

In Turkey, Fevzi Çetin killed his transgender sister, Ramazan Çetin, Oct. 7, Advocate.com reported. Ramazan was already being treated for injuries connected with having fallen "from a high place" when Fevzi shot her. Fevzi, who shot his sister twice in the body and once in the head, said, "My brother was engaged in travestism. I killed him. I cleansed my honor."

In South Africa, four of the nine men accused of brutally murdering lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana, 19, have been found guilty, according to Advocate.com . Five of the men were acquitted, with the magistrate saying there was no evidence that linked them to the murder, although they were present when the crime occurred. The case had been delayed approximately 30 times over five years.

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has apologized for having said openly gay German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle needs "to lead a normal life," according to Advocate.com . "My words offended him," Lukashenko told journalists in Minsk. "I am still repenting my words. I wonder what made me speak up." During a meeting with Westerwelle and the Polish foreign minister a few months ago, Lukashenko also reportedly said he had nothing against lesbians but would send gay men to collective farms with "great pleasure."

In Spain, plans to have the first official gay village in the country may be on hold, Passport Magazine reported. The project, located in Pueblo Blanco of Moclinejo, was gay entrepreneur Javier Checa's idea. Checa wanted to paint the whole village pink; name streets after gay artists; and even have a park for outdoor sex. However, while the town hall OK'd the building of 50 homes designated for LGBT individuals, it did not approve painting anything pink. Even some gay people have criticized the project, saying, "You can't paint all the gays with the same pink brush."

Poland has elected its first transgender member of parliament, according to a press release from Transgender Europe ( TGEU ) . Anna Grodzka, president of TGEU member organization Trans-Fuzja, was a candidate of the Palikot Movement, a new progressive political party. Wiktor Dynarski, TGEU CEE working group coordinator, said that Grodzka's election "is an incredible step forward for Poland."