Topic: Christmas Island

All Content

Australia refugee swap with Malaysia faces key test

Australia plans to airlift refugees from an intercepted boat to Malaysia next week. It will film their forced return and post it on YouTube to deter future refugees from trying to reach its shores.
Toward justice and freedom for all

A Christian Science perspective.
Asylum seekers search continues in rough Australian waters

Asylum seekers: Navy and customs officers plucked 42 survivors — including nine children — from the raging surf off Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean soon after their boat broke apart and sank Wednesday.
Terrorism & Security
Christmas Island boat tragedy fuels debate over Australian policy on asylum seekers

Australia is struggling to balance humanitarian responsibilities to asylum seekers with national concerns about the economic impact of their migration.
Christmas Island shipwreck tragedy

Dozens of asylum seekers, probably from Iraq, were thrown into the sea when their boat sank off the coast of Christmas Island, near Australia. At least 27 have died. Rescue efforts are underway.
Australia's Julia Gillard struggles to sell asylum center plan to neighbors

Illegal immigration has long been a political hot potato in Australia, which has a lot of foreign-born residents and an economy that is increasingly integrated with Asia. Australia's neighbors aren't biting on Julia Gillard's asylum center plan.
Australia plan to divert asylum seekers gets cool reception

Australia's new leader Julia Gillard met resistance to her first major policy initiative: diverting asylum seekers to East Timor. The tiny country's prime minister says he was not consulted by Ms. Gillard.
Sagging in polls, Australia's government toughens stance on asylum seekers

Australia's Labor government, which recently fell behind in the polls for the first time since taking power, has imposed a freeze on asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Rising tide of asylum-seekers: Will Australia let them in?

Australian Prime Minister Rudd faces twin crises as he weighs how to handle Sri Lankan Tamil refugees picked up at sea by Australian and Indonesian ships and taken to Indonesian ports. The "boat people" are refusing to disembark.
Global News Blog
Sri Lanka boat people test Australia

The latest boat people are Sri Lankan refugees caught in Indonesia while fleeing to Australia highlights the tricky waters countries must navigate between offering asylum and stopping human traffickers.
Terrorism & Security
Australia no longer to detain asylum seekers

As immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan pour into the country, human rights groups praise the new policy. But critics say it will undermine national security.