ASYLUM SEEKERS REFUSE TO LEAVE DETENTION CENTRE

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Australia’ s detention centre for asylum seekers on a Papua New Guinea island has lost power and working toilets for the 606 men refusing to leave because they fear the alternatives are unsafe.

The centre inside a Manus Island navy base was declared closed Tuesday afternoon following a court ruling last year that it was illegal.

The Sydney- based Refugee Action Coalition has requested an injunction stopping the centre’s closure, but spokesman Ian Rintoul says the first night without guards at the centre passed peacefully.