Australia: Detainees on Hunger Strike

Hundreds of asylum seekers detained in an Australia offshore detention center are on hunger strike in protest of the government's resettlement plan, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Monday. Authorities said up to 700 detainees at the detention center on Papa New Guinea's Manus Island have refused to eat --and some from drinking water -- over Australia's new plan to resettle them in Papa New Guinea. Newly appointed Immigration Minister Peter Dutton vowed on Friday that Manus Island asylum seekers would "never arrive in Australia." Officials said as many as 14 detainees have sewn their lips together while visiting medical staff are concerned the island's health facilities are not equipped to handle the strike.