Full coverage of the worst refugee crisis to hit Europe since the second world war, as thousands of refugees arrive in Germany * Nicola Sturgeon and Yvette Cooper offer to house Syrian refugees * George Osborne to divert foreign aid to help Syrian refugees in UK * Refugee crisis: eight life stories from Budapest’s Keleti station 3.03pm BST The situation has become increasingly explosive on Lesvos, Greece, one of the islands on the frontline of the crisis, as running battles escalate between riot police and refugees desperate to board boats for Athens, our correspondent HELENA SMITH reports. Greece’s migration minister Ioannis Mouzalas has rushed to Lesvos after a second day of street fighting on the Aegean isle. Scenes of stone-pelting refugees engaged in hand-to-hand battle with local police has prompted the government to step up security with two extra units of riot police being dispatched to the island earlier today. Amid renewed violence local officials processing newcomers this morning locked themselves in a container as refugees, once again, vented their anger over delays in registration. On Saturday police resorted to using tear gas and stun grenades as around 500 Afghans attempted to seize and board a ferry heading to Athens. At least four were injured, one seriously. With an estimated 13,000 migrants and refugees on the island – and hundreds arriving every day – the local mayor, Spyros Galanos, described the situation as being “out of control.” “There is a danger that a spark could trigger a big fire,” he said in a television interview adding that “a state of emergency” should be called on the island. “I have tabled proposals, I even called on mayors in Turkey and Europe and tabled proposals, but no one is listening.” Racheting up the pressure, the mayor took the unprecedented step of urging islanders to boycott upcoming general elections on 20 September. He said local authorities would refuse to set up ballot boxes at polling stations “if measures aren’t taken immediately to defuse the situation.” The country, facing its worst economic crisis in modern times, has announced it needs more than 1 billion euros to deal with the refugee crisis. 2.57pm BST Germany is not asking how many people it can afford to shelter, but how it can make thousands of refugees feel safe at last, the mayor of Munich said as the town prepared to register thousands of new arrivals on Sunday, EMMA GRAHAM-HARRISON reports. The city expects to receive around 10,000 people over this one weekend alone. The new arrivals were greeted by cheering crowds handing out toys and chocolate as they filed off trains and into tents for basic medical checks. Baby born in Keleti was premature, arrived in Munich seriously ill and with umbilical cord still attached. Doing better in incubator here The city is expecting another 4,000 to arrive on Sunday. The first 1,200 came in the early hours of the morning, but their trains were diverted straight away to other German cities, including Frankfurt, to ease the pressure on Munich. Continue reading...
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