CANBERRA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees bookmarked for resettlement in Australia have been refused entry on grounds of national security, it was revealed on Thursday, after security networks discovered their names were on an international watch list.
Overnight, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull revealed that around 10,000 of the 12,000 refugees fleeing war in the Middle East had been successfully resettled in Australia, but a senior security source told News Corp that more than 500 potential refugees had been refused entry for their involvement in "criminal and other" activities.
The source said the refugees were refused entry after the Five Eyes intelligence network alerted Australian authorities.
"All matches identified were rigorously examined and where potential risks were identified these individuals were not granted a visa to Australia," the source told News Corp.
"Of the biometric checks approximately 500 were a preliminary adverse match, that is, the person's name was recorded on a watch list."
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who has previously been criticized for the slow nature of the government's resettlement program, said his decision to vet the candidates thoroughly had been "vindicated."
"I was adamant from the outset that there would be no compromise on national security -- despite calls to abandon process and just fill the numbers," Dutton told News Corp.
"I was criticized about why the program was so slow and why we weren't quicker in bringing these people in. Well, frankly, I think our position has been vindicated.
"The robust processes have also helped protect the Australian community from those who may have wished to do us harm by exploiting our generosity."
He added that it was a "great outcome" that almost all of the 12,000 refugees had been resettled in Australia, even if it had taken time.
"It is a great outcome that 12,000 of the most vulnerable people from the region, many of whom have been through the most harrowing of experiences, are now able to start new lives in Australia with their families," he said.
FILE - This June 24 Authentic Laremy Tunsil Jersey , 2009 file photo shows actress Mary Tyler Moore before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Type 1 Diabetes Research on Capitol Hill in Washington. Moore died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, at age 80. (AP PhotoSusan Walsh, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Mary Tyler Moore Authentic Raekwon McMillan Jersey , the star of TV's beloved "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" whose comic realism helped revolutionize the depiction of women on the small screen, died Wednesday. She was 80.
Moore gained fame in the 1960s as the frazzled wife Laura Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show." In the 1970s, she created one of TV's first career-woman sitcom heroines in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
"She was an impressive person and a talented person and a beautiful person. A force of nature," producer, creator and director Carl Reiner Authentic Kenny Stills Jersey , who created the "The Dick Van Dyke Show," told The Associated Press. "She'll last forever, as long as there's television. Year after year, we'll see her face in front of us."
Moore won seven Emmy awards over the years and was nominated for an Oscar for her 1980 portrayal of an affluent mother whose son is accidentally killed in "Ordinary People."
Tributes came pouring in. "Mary's energy, spirit and talent created a