Australia has intercepted a boat of Vietnamese asylum-seekers, officials said today, as the government accused people-smugglers of using the upcoming election to drum up new business. 
 
Rhetoric around Canberra&#39;s controversial immigration policy has ramped up ahead of July 2 polls, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denounced a Labour opposition pledge to allow illegal migrants already in Australia to stay permanently. 
 
The Vietnamese boat was discovered north of Australia this month, with the 21 men, women and children on board processed at sea and then flown home, immigration minister Peter Dutton said. 
 
&quot;They claimed that they were wanting protection. It was found that they weren&#39;t owed protection and they were returned back to Vietnam,&quot; he said. 
 
Under Canberra&#39;s tough measures, asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are either sent back to where they departed or to remote Pacific island camps, where living conditions have been criticised. 
 
While Labour backs the policy of turning back illegal boat arrivals, it has said it would permanently settle the bulk of the 30,000 boatpeople who came ashore under the previous Labour governments of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, most of which are still waiting to be processed. 
 
&quot;This will send an absolutely unequivocal signal to the people-smugglers that under a Labor government, anyone who manages to get to Australia on a boat will be able to stay here permanently,&quot; Turnbull told reporters. 
 
&quot;The people-smugglers are starting to market again and we know... they are marketing that there will be, or could be, a change of government in Australia and the way the opportunities to smuggle people to Australia will be open again.&quot; 
 
Since the start of its &quot;Operation Sovereign Borders&quot; in September 2013, the government has managed to halt the flood of boat arrivals, and drownings, that characterised previous Labour administrations. 
 
Turnbull said since the Conservatives came to power, 28 boats carrying 734 people have been turned back with no successful arrival in almost 700 days. 
 
(AFP)

The immigration minister said the 21 aboard did not need protection as claimed and sent them back to Vietnam

Australia has intercepted a boat of Vietnamese asylum-seekers, officials said today, as the government accused people-smugglers of using the upcoming election to drum up new business. Rhetoric around Canberra's controversial immigration policy has ramped up ahead of July 2 polls, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denounced a Labour opposition pledge to allow illegal migrants already in Australia to stay permanently. The Vietnamese boat was discovered north of Australia this month, with the 21 men, women and children on board processed at sea and then flown home, immigration minister Peter Dutton said. "They claimed that they were wanting protection. It was found that they weren't owed protection and they were returned back to Vietnam," he said. Under Canberra's tough measures, asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are either sent back to where they departed or to remote Pacific island camps, where living conditions have been criticised. While Labour backs the policy of turning back illegal boat arrivals, it has said it would permanently settle the bulk of the 30,000 boatpeople who came ashore under the previous Labour governments of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, most of which are still waiting to be processed. "This will send an absolutely unequivocal signal to the people-smugglers that under a Labor government, anyone who manages to get to Australia on a boat will be able to stay here permanently," Turnbull told reporters. "The people-smugglers are starting to market again and we know... they are marketing that there will be, or could be, a change of government in Australia and the way the opportunities to smuggle people to Australia will be open again." Since the start of its "Operation Sovereign Borders" in September 2013, the government has managed to halt the flood of boat arrivals, and drownings, that characterised previous Labour administrations. Turnbull said since the Conservatives came to power, 28 boats carrying 734 people have been turned back with no successful arrival in almost 700 days. (AFP)

Australia intercepts Vietnam asylum-seeker boat

The bodies of 34 migrants, including 20 children, who were abandoned by people smugglers while trying to reach neighbouring Algeria were found in the Niger desert last week, authorities said today. 
 
&quot;Thirty-four people, including five men, nine women and 20 children died trying to cross the desert,&quot; Niger`s interior ministry said in a statement. 
 
&quot;They probably died of thirst, as is often the case, and they were found near Assamaka,&quot; a security source told AFP, referring to a border post between Niger and Algeria. 
 
&quot;(The migrants) were abandoned by people smugglers,&quot; the statement added, and only two of the bodies have so far been identified -- a man and a 26-year-old woman both from Niger.&nbsp; 
 
Temperatures in the region can reach a brutal 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit), with blinding sandstorms tearing across the desert. 
 
The hostile conditions mean that only a fraction of those who die trying to cross the area are ever found. 
 
Thousands of illegal migrants have arrived in Algeria in recent years, mostly from neighbouring Mali and Niger. 
 
Libya used to play host to the majority of migrants in sub-Saharan Africa, but since that country descended into chaos following the ousting of Moamer Kadhafi, Algeria has become the main destination for the region`s migrants. 
 
Many transit through Algeria headed for Europe, but more than 7,000 migrants from Niger, mostly women and children, were returned to their home country in 2015 as part of an agreement between the two countries` governments. 
 
Europe has recently turned its attention to trying to curb the number of illegal arrivals from Africa, after a deal with Ankara in March slashed the number of people trying to cross from Turkey. 
 
More than 2,814 people have drowned trying to reach Europe since January, according to the UN refugee agency, prompting urgent efforts to tackle the problem. 
 
A new proposal mooted last week involves using &nbsp;EU funds to promote &nbsp;private investment of up to 60 billion euros ($68 billion) in countries where many migrants come from -- Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal, as well as Jordan and Lebanon. 
 
The European Commission also wants to speed up readmission deals with African countries, and with Pakistan and Afghanistan, to make it easier to send back people who do not win refugee status. 
 
The Commission is also set to unveil a plan for a &quot;blue card&quot; system for skilled migrants to come to Europe legally. 
 
The aim is to reduce the incentive for people to try to smuggle themselves into the continent on flimsy boats and put their lives at risk. 
(AFP)

Officials say they were trying to get to neighbouring Algeria, were abandoned by human smugglers

The bodies of 34 migrants, including 20 children, who were abandoned by people smugglers while trying to reach neighbouring Algeria were found in the Niger desert last week, authorities said today. "Thirty-four people, including five men, nine women and 20 children died trying to cross the desert," Niger`s interior ministry said in a statement. "They probably died of thirst, as is often the case, and they were found near Assamaka," a security source told AFP, referring to a border post between Niger and Algeria. "(The migrants) were abandoned by people smugglers," the statement added, and only two of the bodies have so far been identified -- a man and a 26-year-old woman both from Niger. Temperatures in the region can reach a brutal 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit), with blinding sandstorms tearing across the desert. The hostile conditions mean that only a fraction of those who die trying to cross the area are ever found. Thousands of illegal migrants have arrived in Algeria in recent years, mostly from neighbouring Mali and Niger. Libya used to play host to the majority of migrants in sub-Saharan Africa, but since that country descended into chaos following the ousting of Moamer Kadhafi, Algeria has become the main destination for the region`s migrants. Many transit through Algeria headed for Europe, but more than 7,000 migrants from Niger, mostly women and children, were returned to their home country in 2015 as part of an agreement between the two countries` governments. Europe has recently turned its attention to trying to curb the number of illegal arrivals from Africa, after a deal with Ankara in March slashed the number of people trying to cross from Turkey. More than 2,814 people have drowned trying to reach Europe since January, according to the UN refugee agency, prompting urgent efforts to tackle the problem. A new proposal mooted last week involves using EU funds to promote private investment of up to 60 billion euros ($68 billion) in countries where many migrants come from -- Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal, as well as Jordan and Lebanon. The European Commission also wants to speed up readmission deals with African countries, and with Pakistan and Afghanistan, to make it easier to send back people who do not win refugee status. The Commission is also set to unveil a plan for a "blue card" system for skilled migrants to come to Europe legally. The aim is to reduce the incentive for people to try to smuggle themselves into the continent on flimsy boats and put their lives at risk. (AFP)

34 migrants, including 20 children, found dead in Niger desert

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