Australia's refugee camp in Papua New Guinea to close

Papua New Guinea's prime minister says it will close its asylum seeker detention centre after the island nation's Supreme Court ruled that Australia's detention of the men there is illegal.

Peter O'Neill said in a statement on Wednesday that the facility on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island would be closed and the country would immediately ask the Australian government to make arrangements for the asylum seekers currently held there.

Australian officials have been scrambling to respond to a court ruling that has thrown into jeopardy its policy of refusing to accept asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat. Australia pays Papua New Guinea and the island nation of Nauru to hold them in detention camps instead.    (AP)

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