US officials have stopped screening refugees on Nauru for potential resettlement, Australia has confirmed.
Protesters campaigning against the Australian government's treatment of asylum seekers have breached parliament security for a second day.
Australia's offshore detention policy for asylum seekers has been criticised by a top-ranking UN official.
More than 2,000 incidents, including sexual abuse, assault and attempted self-harm, were reported in about two years at an Australian detention centre for asylum seekers in Nauru, more than half involving children, a newspaper reported on Wednesday (Aug 10).
Australia's immigration policies again are at the center of a national debate as protestors blockade car parks in Sydney and Melbourne on Monday to mark 100-day of protests by asylum seekers held at Australia's immigration camp on Nauru.
Churches around Australia on Thursday announced they will be bringing back the age-old concept of sanctuary in order to provide protection for asylum seekers who are to be sent to detention on Nauru.