News In Brief

The Welsh nationalists have launched a campaign in Westminster to pressure the Government into beefing up its plans for a Welsh assembly. Plaid Cymru is arguing that a Welsh assembly should be given the same powers as the planned Scottish Parliament, including the ability to raise taxes. A party spokesman, Ieuan Wyn Jones, said a more powerful assembly in Cardiff would be able to set up a Welsh Education Council to raise standards in Welsh schools.

A Nottingham family who applied for political asylum thirteen years ago has been told by the Home Office that they face deportation. Dalvindar Kaur and her six brothers and sisters came to Britain on temporary visas in 1984, after their home in Northern India was destroyed during religious rioting. Their parents came too, but they were both deported after their application for political refugee status was turned down. A court then set a legal precedent by making Dalvinder the guardian of her younger brothers and sisters. But the deportation proceedings continued, and now Dalvinder has received a final order to leave the country even though she's since married a British citizen and has an eight-month old baby born in this country.

The Prime Minister has promised to listen to religious leaders in order to revive run-down inner city areas. Tony Blair was backing the re-launch of a panel set up under the previous Conservative Government and made up of senior leaders from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities. Their support is seen as vital in removing barriers to stronger community links among ethnic groups and low income families in poor city centre districts.

The Government has come under fresh pressure from the Scottish National Party to take action against foreign fishermen using up British quotas. In the Commons, the SNP Leader Alex Salmond accused the previous Tory administration of inaction in tackling the so called "quota hoppers" and urged Labour ministers to take a stronger stand. He blamed "mistakes" by the Conservative government for allowing Spanish and Dutch fishermen to build up a strategic interest in the UK fishing fleet. Mr Salmond was also critical of Labour, saying they had failed to get a satisfactory outcome in negotiations with Europe over the issue.