US shelves "gay discrimination" plan

The United States government has dropped proposals that would allow religious charities to discriminate against homosexuals.

The move followed a newspaper report in the Washington Post that religious groups would be exempted from anti-discrimination laws in exchange for supporting government welfare projects.

America's biggest religious charity, the Salvation Army, had requested the exemption, saying such legal restrictions stopped them providing services.

Gay rights activists had called the faith-based proposals a threat to the fundamental rights of Americans.

The faith-based initiative is a key plank in President Bush's legislative plans enabling religious groups to compete for federal cash to fund social programmes.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service