PERTH (Reuters) - Australia has sent 157 migrants, thought to be Sri Lankan asylum seekers, to a detention centre on the Pacific island of Nauru after they declined an offer to speak with Indian officials about their refugee claims, the government said on Saturday.
As part of its hardline immigration policy designed to deter migrants attempting to enter Australia by boat, the government had struck a deal with India for it to take back any of its nationals among the group who set sail from the Indian state of Pondicherry in June seeking asylum.