驻英朝鲜外交官叛逃至韩国
韩国统一部表示，朝鲜驻英国使馆的公使太勇浩已叛逃到韩国。
韩国统一部发言人郑俊熙说，太勇浩及其家人已经抵达韩国首都首尔。郑俊熙在新闻发布会上说，“他们目前在政府保护之下。”
郑俊熙说，太勇浩告诉韩国官员，他决定叛逃是出于对金正恩政府的厌恶，对韩国民主的渴望，以及对自己孩子前途的考虑。
据信，太勇浩在朝鲜驻英国使馆工作十年，负责维护朝鲜形象，朝鲜一直因为其核武器项目和人权记录而受到批评。太勇浩据信是叛逃到韩国的朝鲜最高级别官员。
UK-Based North Korean Diplomat Defects to South Korea
The second highest ranking official at North Korea's embassy in London has defected to South Korea, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry.
Thae Yong Ho has arrived with his family in the South Korean capital of Seoul, said ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee. "They are currently under government protection," Jeong told reporters at a news conference.
Jeong said Thae told South Korean officials he defected out of disgust with the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a desire for South Korean democracy and because of concern over his children's future.
It is believed Thae was stationed for ten years at North Korea's embassy in London, where he was responsible for managing the image of North Korea, which has been criticized for its nuclear weapons program and its human rights record. Thae is believed to be the most senior North Korean diplomat to defect to South Korea.
澳大利亚同意关闭马努斯岛避难者拘留中心
澳大利亚同意关闭设在巴布亚新几内亚北部马努斯岛的寻求避难者拘留中心。
巴布亚新几内亚总理奥尼尔星期三发布声明，宣布了这项消息。他表示，在与澳大利亚移民部长达顿在莫尔兹比港会晤后，双方达成了协议。今年4月，巴布亚新几内亚最高法院裁定这个拘留中心不合法，侵犯了宪法保障的被拘留者的人身自由权。
声明未提及关闭拘留中心的确切日期。
有800多人被关押在马努斯岛的拘留中心，还有数百人被关押在瑙鲁岛的第二拘留中心。这是澳大利亚拦截企图到澳大利亚寻求庇护者的政策。这些难民被禁止在澳大利亚重新安置，即使获得难民身份也不行。
澳大利亚移民部长达顿星期三发表声明重申了这一政策，强调马努斯岛拘留中心的任何难民都不会被安置在澳大利亚。
Australia Agrees to Shut Down PNG-Based Asylum Detainee Center
Australia has agreed to close its detention center for asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea's northern island of Manus.
The closure was announced Wednesday in a statement by PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, who said an agreement had been reached after meeting with Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in Port Moresby. The Pacific island nation's supreme court ruled in April that the center was illegal, as it violated the detainees constitutional right of personal liberty.
The statement offered no timetable for the center's eventual closing.
More than 800 people are being held at the Manus detention center, and hundreds more at a second detention center on the island of Nauru, as part of Canberra's policy of intercepting people attempting to sail to Australia and seek asylum. The refugees are barred from resettling in Australia, even if they are granted refugee status.
Dutton issued a statement Wednesday reaffirming that policy and emphasizing that no one from the Manus Island center will ever be settled in Australia.
