Australia refuses entry to 438 refugees on ship

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, Australia--Sheltering from the harsh tropicalsun under tarps strung between cargo containers, hundreds of refugeeswaited on a Norwegian ship off the coast of this remote Australianisland today as authorities in Canberra refused to let them comeashore. Rescued on Monday from a sinking Indonesian ferry, many ofthe 438 refugees--mostly from Afghanistan--were on hunger strike andthreatening to jump overboard if Australia turns them away. TwoAustralian air force C130 Hercules planes delivered food and medicalsupplies to Christmas Island. Officials awaited a helicopter to ferrythe supplies to refugees on the Tampa, a red-hulled Norwegian cargoship. In Norway, the …