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Updated 5.40pm
HUNGARIAN POLICE HAVE closed the main entry point for refugees entering the country from Serbia.
Around 20 police fenced off a 40-metre gap in a razor-wire barrier along the border by a railway line as other officers blocked the track.
A growing group of several dozen migrants including many children, some in pushchairs, were stuck on the Serbian side of the border, with several women crying.
Austria has also said it will follow Germany’s example and temporarily reinstate border controls to cope with the increase in refugees coming into the country.
These developments come as EU interior ministers meet in Brussels to try to agree on quotas for redistribution of the massive flood of migrants fleeing war and upheaval across the Middle East and North Africa.
Military action
Member states also approved plans for military action against people smugglers in the Mediterranean, seizing and destroying boats to break up networks operating out of Libya, sources said.
The European Union launched a first, intelligence gathering phase of its EU NavFor Med operation in July but now it will be allowed to stop and if necessary destroy boats which have carried thousands of migrants risking their lives to get to Europe.
“The conditions have been met” to launch the new military phase, one European diplomat told AFP.
Traffickers
Many member states were reluctant to step up action against the traffickers for fear of getting embroiled in Libya where rival factions have been fighting it out for control since the ouster of longtime strongman Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
EU leaders agreed however that there had to be a much tougher response, including the use of force, after more than 700 migrants drowned off southern Italy in April.
The second phase of the operation approved Monday still restricts EU NavFor Med to action in international waters.
Libyan territorial waters
A third phase involves military action against people smugglers inside Libyan territorial waters, aiming to destroy their boats and networks before they set sail.
This step is more controversial given the increased risks and requires at a minimum a UN Security Council resolution and preferably Libyan government agreement.
EU efforts to help establish a national unity government in Libya which could grant such approval have so far failed but special UN envoy Bernardino Leon reported at the weekend that progress was being made.
Russia, current president of the UN Security Council, has said a resolution could be adopted this month but it would only apply to action on the high seas.
More than 350,000 people have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organization for Migration, with nearly 3,000 losing their lives.
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Poor girl. If this is true the sentence will be minimal…to add to her distress.
Worrying trend of assaults lately. And punishments are silly.
I hope she will be ok.
Totally unrelated to this story,but how come on Facebook the journal post the story of the chap stabbed to death & anyone can comment on it but nobody can comment here.
Regardless of the fact Facebook may have different rules.The main reason i see comments not allowed on the journal is for legal reasons,then why bother to post them on Facebook if it has legal ramifications ? surely the eyes of the law don’t care if its the comment section on the journal or Facebook.
Young as 10 are allowed out of the premises unsupervised. Toilets are unsupervised where a lot off the action takes place. OK I could go on. But my heart goes out to that poor girl and her family. They will get the toerags who have done but that won’t alleviate the pain for this young girl
@Warthog: How do I know this? Firstly I have a 12 yr old daughter. Secondly i have direct information from othet students, guards and bouncers. Parents are failing on their duty og care by letting their children go to these money grabbing very poorly supervised events. People should be arrested. We have a youth club underage disco where we have parents montitoring everything. Parents have to collect their children. While at the disco they are not allowed out the door unless a parent is their to collect them or they are with one of the supervising parents.
@Warthog: Messed up on the word count and lost first part of my first message… Young as 10…
Was saying before that is that these underage discos are “sex events “. Alcohol, some drugs are taken before the discos. Girls go commando. Slut runs of different varieties are normal as is the swooping of different bodily fluids. The supervision is non existent. These events need to be stopped or come under a whole new set of “care” rules. All these places want Is cash as they dont give a damn aboutvthe kids.
@Warthog: WTF is a “slut run?”
@Warthog: Ah yes I remember being 10 years old during summer time: video games, bit of soccer, riding our BMXs round the neighbourhood, and when we were too tuckered out from all that we’d snort a few lines bought with saved up pocket-money and get in the finger-bang queue down the local sex event
Sure a bit of hyperbole never hurt anyone
@Warthog: ya a friend of mine does security, and it’s truly shocking what goes on at these events. They can’t control them. And these are seasoned security personnel.
@Warthog: surely you are thinking of an older age group?? I find your comments a bit disturbing. I run a disco for 10 to 12 year olds. NONE of that happens. Where are you talking about?
Slut runs??? Wtf? Disgusting turn of phrase.
Its being reported as a gang-rape in other media. but not here.
have your say