Australia warns boatpeople may be sent home

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Sunday warned would-be asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan they could be sent home as a result of a suspension on considering their claims.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's government, under pressure in an election year to halt the arrival of boatpeople on the country's remote northwest coast, announced on Friday it was suspending new asylum claims from the two war-ravaged countries. In an interview on Sunday, Smith said the policy was intended to "send a message" to people-smugglers who organise and profit from the ramshackle boats that bring the asylum-seekers from Indonesia, and to their "potential prey". (Reuters)