New Zealand accepts more refugees

New Zealand has said it will accept a further 140 Afghan and Iraqi refugees being held in transit centres in the South Pacific, including boat people sent by Australia to the island of Nauru.

New Zealand's Immigration Minister, Lianne Dalziel, said the refugees will be allowed to apply for asylum in New Zealand, which accepts up to 750 refugees each year as part of an arrangement with the United Nations.

Australia has been intercepting boats carrying illegal immigrants and diverting them to UN-sponsored camps on Nauru and Papua New Guinea while their asylum applications are processed.

Last year, New Zealand accepted 131 asylum seekers who had been rescued by a Norwegian freighter, the Tampa, and allowed all but one to settle there.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service