The Netherlands

Many migrants are coming from conservative Muslim countries where homosexuality is taboo into European societies that are more open to it.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch brass band that always performs at Olympic speed skating ovals is considering playing a popular gay song — “Y.M.C.A.” — at the Sochi Winter Olympics to show its support for gay rights.

THE HAUGE, Netherlands — The Netherlands has adopted landmark legislation banning forced sterilization and allowing transgender people to change their identity on official documents with the requirement of gender reassignment surgery.

MOSCOW — A Dutch diplomat was beaten up by two unidentified men who barged into his apartment in central Moscow, leaving behind a heart and the acronym “LGBT” scrawled on a mirror in lipstick.

AMSTERDAM — More than 2,000 gay rights supporters protested in Amsterdam’s largest square Sunday, carrying signs, singing songs and chanting slogans to condemn the Russian government’s homosexuality policies.

AMSTERDAM — Rainbow flags are flying from scores of Amsterdam buildings as tens of thousands of festival-goers, many dressed in pink or wearing studded leather, party it up at one of the city’s biggest events: the annual Gay Pride celebration.

AMSTERDAM — After getting an earful from Chancellor Angela Merkel on the importance of democratic issues, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Amsterdam on Monday to face an eyeful of protests from gay rights activists.

AMSTERDAM — A Dutch lesbian couple have gone into hiding with their foster son after the boy’s biological parents said on television in Turkey that they object to the pair taking care of their child.

AMSTERDAM — A website operator in The Netherlands is helping thousands of Dutch Catholics research information on how that can leave the church in protest of its opposition to same-sex marriage.

An Islamist group called for a Muslim lesbian author to be killed and invaded a discussion on Islam in Amsterdam last week. The mob threw eggs and called for Irshad Manji’s neck to be broken.