Nauru government disputes parliament suspension
Updated
The government of Nauru has disputed a claim that all its ministers and members were suspended from parliament this week.
The speaker, Opposition MP David Adeang, has said in a statement that due to unruly behavior in Parliament on Thursday he was forced to suspend all nine Nauru government MPs.
But a government spokesman says they were first made aware of this when a story appeared in regional media outlets.
The spokesman says President Marcus Stephen and Transport Minister Fabian Ribauw were suspended by Mr Adeang, but when the remaining ministers protested and called for a motion of dissent, the house was suspended.
Nauru's 18 member parliament has been deadlocked since last month.
