Australia's new leader proposed Tuesday that East Timor become a U.N.-approved processing hub for asylum seekers as a way to stem a recent influx of boat people from Afghanistan and other countries in Asia.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard pitched the idea as a regional solution to part of a global problem, but it was squarely aimed at defusing a thorny domestic political issue ahead of elections expected within months.
Tiny, impoverished East Timor said it was considering the plan at Australia's request, but expressed reservations that it was ready to host such a facility.
The announcement was the second major policy shift in a week, as Gillard prepares …
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