Gay cruise banned from the Cayman Islands

The government of the British-territory of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean has refused permission for a cruise liner carrying hundreds of homosexual holidaymakers to dock there.

The authorities claimed there was no guarantee that, as they put it, the group would uphold appropriate standards of behaviour.

The decision has provoked outrage from civil rights and gay groups in the United States, from where the ship is due to depart later this month.

The vessel, belonging to the Norwegian Cruise Line, will now visit Belize instead of the Cayman Islands.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service