The British government will count gays, lesbians and bisexuals in a survey by the Office for National Statistics, The Times reported. The decision follows lobbying by gay groups and government officials who need the information to adequately provide services.

“LGB individuals and the community as a whole have historically suffered discrimination and there are concerns that this group is currently ignored in terms of policy and service provision,” the office said.

Current government estimates are that 6 percent of the population is gay, lesbian or bisexual.

Officials have hesitated to ask about sexual orientation in the census – as opposed to in a survey – because, said census coordinator Joy Dobbs, “We’re still not sure what it is we are trying to measure – is it behavior, inclination, identity, lifestyle?”

So the research will, instead, likely be part of the General Household Survey, which targets 20,000 homes nationwide.

Meanwhile, the 2011 census will count people who have entered into a same-sex civil partnership or marriage, officials said.

The Quebec gay film C.R.A.Z.Y. won 10 of Canada’s Genie film awards March 13.

Jean-Marc Vallée’s coming-of-age drama snagged best film, director, actor, supporting-actress and original-screenplay awards along with technical honors.

The film, made for $6 million, was the nation’s top-grossing Canadian-made movie last year.

It’s a good thing that gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy can be out of the closet now, personnel chief Vice Admiral Adrian Johns said. Leading a “secret life [is] an unhealthy way to be … in the armed services,” he said, according to The Daily Telegraph. “Those individuals need nurturing so that they give of their best. Our mission is to break down barriers of discrimination, prejudice, fear and misunderstanding.”

Johns spoke March 16 at a London conference on gays and lesbians in the workplace organized by the gay lobby group Stonewall.

The armed forces dropped its ban on gay, lesbian and bisexual service members in 2000.

Debate on a bill to expand the rights of same-sex couples is underway in Croatia’s Parliament.

In response to demands by the gay organizations Iskorak and Kontra, gay-supportive legislators hope to beef up the existing Law on Same-Sex Unions to reduce the number of areas in which it provides fewer rights than marriage.

Gay activists have denounced the current law as self-contradictory, saying it both prohibits anti-gay discrimination and embodies the discrimination “it was designed to prevent, through a narrow, almost nonexistent scope of rights … for same-sex partnerships.”

Fewer Dutch gays and lesbians are getting married now compared with 2001 and 2002, right after the Netherlands legalized full marriage for same-sex couples.

But activists say it’s logical that there would be a leveling off after an initial burst of weddings of long-term couples, local media reported.

According to Statistics Netherlands, there were 1,166 same-sex marriages in 2005 and 1,210 in 2004 compared with 2,414 in 2001 and 1,838 in 2002.

The Netherlands was the first nation in the world to grant same-sex couples access to ordinary marriage. Since then, Belgium, Canada and Spain have followed suit, and South Africa will do so in December when a court decision takes effect.

South Korea’s Ministry of Defense will lift its ban on gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the military in April, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported.

The decision follows a recommendation by the National Human Rights Commission that the forces eliminate anti-gay discrimination and prejudice.

Under the new policy, the military will not out gay, lesbian and bisexual members of the armed forces – and anyone who comes out voluntarily will receive special supervision to protect his or her human rights, personal life and living situation, the report said.

Ireland is considering legal moves to recognize and protect cohabiting couples, the Irish Examiner reported March 22.

The Department of Justice will set up a working group to lay out options for the government.

A government spokesperson told the paper the working group will not directly address same-sex partnerships but will “see what they can do to give a legal basis to partnership.”

Sixteen human rights groups wrote to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on March 23 demanding he withdraw legislation that will criminalize gay and lesbian relationships and same-sex marriage, and ban GLBT organizations and activism.

They said the bill violates both the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The measure has been approved by the Federal Executive Council and awaits action by the National Assembly.

It calls for five years’ imprisonment for anyone who “goes through the ceremony of marriage with a person of the same-sex,” “performs, witnesses, aids or abets the ceremony of same-sex marriage” or “is involved in the registration of gay clubs, societies and organizations.” It also criminalizes public displays of a “same-sex amorous relationship” and bans adoption by gays and lesbians.

The U.S. State Department also has denounced the bill. “The freedoms of speech, association, expression, assembly, and religion are long-standing international commitments and are universally recognized,” the U.S. government said. “Nigeria, as a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has assumed important obligations on these matters. We expect the Government of Nigeria to act in a manner consistent with those obligations.”