Manus island refugees

They said he has swallowed a total of eight blades - six last Friday, and then two more after he was admitted to hospital.

In hospital, he also swallowed a pair of nail clippers.

He has had one scan to locate the blades and nail clippers, but there has been no more treatment.

Since being taken by Australia to Manus, the man has been sent to Port Moresby three times for treatment.

The group of eighteen doctors said it is deeply concerned about the refugees' physical and mental well-being, as well as harm being done to the international reputation of Australia.

It says reports of a lack of sanitation, electricity and inadequate living conditions in new refugee facilities on the island, are factors that can exacerbate disease.

The group says it is prepared to conduct the review pro-bono and to nominate appropriate and credible clinicians to help.

About 400 men, detained without charge by Australia since 2013, are refusing to move to other facilities on the island despite power, water, food and medication being cut when the centre closed at the end of October.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's Natasha Blucher entered the detention centre last week with three colleagues.

Ms Blucher said men with chronic health conditions, skin infections and mental illnesses are running out of medication.

The comments come just over a week after the first refugees from Manus arrived on Nauru, where they were welcomed by the Acting Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and local service providers. They were also given a cultural introduction to Nauru which included an island tour, and provided with an overview of the extensive support available.

“One man has been reunited with his wife, which is a heart-warming story,” Mr Adeang said.

About 400 men are refusing to leave the centre after it was closed two weeks ago by Australia, cutting essential services.

Staff from the PNG immigration department raided the centre on Monday, destroying rain water storage and polluting two wells dug this month by refugees.

The refugees said on Wednesday they had cleaned the wells of rubbish, but during last night's daily protest in the centre the men chanted for water.

Refugees in two of the three alternative facilities for the men on Manus have also reported water shortages.

A deal was struck last year between Canberra and the administration of former president Barack Obama to take up to 1250 of the refugees, but so far only 54 from Manus and Nauru have been accepted.

On Sunday, the Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would wait for the deal to play out before considering New Zealand's offer to resettle up to 150 of the refugees.

It was extended by his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern when the pair met in Sydney on Sunday.

About 600 men at the centre on Manus Island do not want to leave, saying they fear being attacked outside.

Meanwhile, New Zealand has reiterated its offer to accept up to 150 refugees from Australia's detention centres.

Canberra has repeatedly rejected New Zealand's offer.

Australia holds asylum seekers who arrive by boat on PNG's Manus Island, and on the Pacific island of Nauru.

Australia withdrew from the Manus Island centre on Tuesday, following a PNG court ruling that the centre was unconstitutional.

United States officials have been assessing refugees on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea for a swap deal between US and Australia.

The scheme was agreed to last year by President Obama. President Trump has criticised it although says he will allow it.

The deal would see some refugees moving to the US and Australia taking some Central American refugees from the US.

President Waqa said if the deal falls over the process will continue.

He said the US solution is not the only solution.

The offer comes ahead of the planned closure of the Manus Island centre by the end of Oct­ober with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton reaffirming economic migrants would be barred entry to Australia.

Dutton told 2GB radio Thursday that those not found to be refugees would be returned to their homelands, with about 400 of the 850 men on Manus Island having already received negative determinations.

Media reports suggest that US President Donald Trump has today told Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that he will not quash the US refugee deal, but simple and important questions about the detail of the arrangements remain unanswered.

The two leaders reportedly also committed to work together to improve global stability, defeat Islamic State and prevent irregular and illegal immigration.

Shortly afterwards, the White House tweeted a photo of the call and released a statement.