Olivia Harris/Reuters
Malaysia refused to provide refuge to more than 800 migrants aboard two boats Thursday, giving them provisions before sending them back out to sea. Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi said his nation could no longer afford to be nice despite appeals from the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and other international aid agencies. Malaysian officials turned away a boat carrying about 300 on Thursday and another boat with 500 people on board on Wednesday off the coast of northern Penang state, just three days after 1,600 refugees arrived on nearby Langkawi island. Authorities estimate about 6,000 Rohingya Muslim and Bangladeshi refugees remain stranded at sea, after trafficking networks abandoned ships in recent days over the threat of arrest.