Officials at an Australian immigration centre in Papua New Guinea are increasing pressure on asylum seekers to return to their home countries voluntarily, including offering large sums of money, amid fears a deal for the United States to take refugees has fallen through. They told me and others that if you go back voluntarily you will get money about US$20,000, if you guys go in group you will get more money About a dozen Bangladeshi and Nepalese asylum seekers on Manus Island told Reuters they are being repeatedly called to meet with Australian officials and pressured to take amounts of up to US$25,000 to return to those countries, or face deportation.
Category: Papua New Guinea
Officials inside the Manus Island refugee camp in Papua New Guinea. Photo: Reuters
Officials at an Australian immigration centre in Papua New Guinea are increasing pressure on asylum seekers to return to their home countries voluntarily, including offering large sums of money, amid fears a deal for the United States to take refugees has fallen through. They told me and others that if you go back voluntarily you will get money about US$20,000, if you guys go in group you will get more money About a dozen Bangladeshi and Nepalese asylum seekers on Manus Island told Reuters they are being repeatedly called to meet with Australian officials and pressured to take amounts of up to US$25,000 to return to those countries, or face deportation.
Sri Lankan prime minister says refugees safe to come home
Sri Lankan asylum seekers held on Pacific island camps who could potentially find new lives in the United States are free to return home without fear of persecution, Sri Lanka’s prime minister said Wednesday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made the comments during a visit to Australia in which he discussed with his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull bilateral cooperation on combating people smuggling.
U.S. officials stop vetting Nauru refugees for resettlement – Wed, 08 Feb 2017 PST
In this Sept. 21, 2001, file photo, men shave, brush their teeth and prepare for the day at a refugee camp on the Island of Nauru.
PNG deports Manus asylum seekers
Papua New Guinea authorities have moved to force the deportation of at least one asylum seeker housed on Manus Island. Federal Attorney-General George Brandis told parliament on Thursday he had been advised the men were not refugees, but Greens senator Nick McKim said their appeal processes had not yet been exhausted.
AP Explains: Why Australia-US refugee deal is contentious
Amid the drama over a refugee resettlement deal… . FILE – In the Jan. 28, 2017, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
Details of what Trump calls the ‘dumb’ US-Australia deal
President Donald Trump tweeted that a plan for the U.S. to admit some asylum seekers now held near Australia is a “dumb deal.” Late last year, the Obama administration agreed to take asylum seekers who had been trying to make their way to Australia.
Australian PM won’t comment on report of terse Trump call
In this May 8, 2016 file photo, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. Turnbull said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed during a weekend telephone conversation to keep an Obama administration promise to resettle an undisclosed number of mostly Muslim refugees held on the impoverished nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
‘Extreme vetting’ awaits refugees in US-Australia resettlement deal
Men shave, brush their teeth and prepare for the day at a Australia’s offshore processing refugee camp on the Island of Nauru. Pic: AP THE United States will apply “extreme vetting” to up to 1,250 asylum seekers it has agreed to resettle as part of an agreement with Australia, a spokesman for President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
‘El Chapo’ appears in a U.S. court for the first time, pleads not guilty – Fri, 20 Jan 2017 PST
Accused drug lord Joaqumn “El Chapo” Guzman appeared in a U.S. court here for the first time Friday, pleading not guilty to the charges against him as prosecutors revealed in stunning detail how they intend to build and prove their case. Guzman, dressed in dark blue prison garb, said, “Yes, sir,” in Spanish as a judge asked questions about whether he understood the charges against him.
Sri Lanka Health Minister instructs provincial health ministers to…
Jan 12, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne today requested the Provincial Health Ministers to properly use the money allocated for the development of the provincial hospitals. Addressing a meeting with the Provincial Health Ministers and other officials at the District Secretariat in Kalutara today, the Health Minister pointed out that the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council has developed the hospitals coming under the council in a proper way using the money allocated for 2016 while the Western Provincial Council proceed with that task very slowly.
A chance judicial encounter in remote Papua New Guinea
PAPUA New Guinea’s remote Hela province, in the north-central part of the country’s southern highlands, is home to the indigenous Huli tribal clan of hunter-gatherers. It’s also the only place in the world where you will find the King of Saxony bird of paradise, and a plethora of other winged wonders.
‘Walk to Equality’ is a confidence boost for PNG women writers
As the woman behind this remarkable project, please can you tell us a little about yourself, your journey with writing, the challenges you face and your current profession. Rashmii – My name is Rashmii Bell and I am from Sio in the Tewaii-Siassi local level government area in Morobe Province.
.com | Powerful earthquake hits off Papua New Guinea
A very strong earthquake has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea and a tsunami threat has been issued to areas near the epicentre. The US Geological Survey says the magnitude-7.9 quake struck 46km east of Taron in Papua New Guinea on Saturday.
7.9 magnitude earthquake hits off the coast of Papua New Guinea
According to the U.S. Geological survey in the weeks hours of the morning a 7.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The organization believes that widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible with warnings currently in place for the island and New Zealand.