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Friday, October 30, 2015

The Latest: Migrants in Slovenia push their way into Austria

Officials say more than 13,000 asylum seekers have so far traveled to the Scandinavian country, and estimate their numbers could reach up to 25,000 this year. Finance Minister Siv Jensen said Friday Norway "must have a strict but just asylum policy," adding it was "necessary to review rules and procedures that can reduce costs per asylum-seeker and the flow of new applicants." Turkey's state-run agency says four children have drowned and two others are missing after two boats carrying migrants from Turkey to the Greeks islands capsized in the Aegean Sea. The agency said coast guards and fishermen rescued 29 people but two babies were missing. The backlog of some 4,000 people fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa was formed in the refugee camp in Sentilj as Austrian authorities struggled to process and register as many as they arrive from the Slovenian side. Spain's marine rescue service says nearly 40 people who are dead or missing fell into the sea when the bottom of their Zodiac-type inflatable boat collapsed. Spanish sea rescue teams have found the bodies of four migrants and are searching for 35 people missing from a boat that ran into trouble while trying to reach Spain from Morocco. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has expressed "endless grief" at the new migrant tragedies in the Aegean Sea, saying they put Europe to shame. Tsipras accused the European Union of inability to effectively address the humanitarian crisis, and said Western countries that took part in military interventions in the Middle East bear responsibility for the mass migrant flows.


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