Somalia/UK: Britain to change law to screen Somali asylum seekers

Britain said Monday it would change its anti-discrimination laws to allow for a stricter control of Somali asylum seekers, the largest group of would-be immigrants arriving yearly in the country. Home Office junior minister Beverly Hughes said the amendment to the Race Relations Act would allow immigration officers to "prioritise" the case of Somalis over travellers from other countries without being accused of unfair racial discrimination. Somalis arriving in Britain will thus be "examined more rigorously than would otherwise be the case", she said.