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The Latest: Hungary sends 50 police officers to Slovenia

BERLIN (AP) - The latest news as tens of thousands of people fleeing war or poverty make their way across Europe. All times local.

3:55 p.m.

Hungary is sending 50 police officers to Slovenia to help its neighbor with the large flow of migrants traveling through the country.

Interior Minister Sandor Pinter told the officers at a farewell ceremony on Monday that by defending the Slovenian border they were protecting Hungary and Europe, too.

Fences erected by Hungary on its borders with Serbia and Croatia have diverted thousands of migrants a day toward Slovenia as they seek to reach Germany and other destinations further west in the European Union.

Over the past weeks, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland have sent personnel and equipment to Hungary to help with border control. Over 390,000 migrants have entered Hungary this year, but the razor-wire fences guarded by police and military patrols have practically stopped the migrant flow through Hungary.

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2:25 p.m.

Austria's foreign minister is calling for a two-pronged approach to master the migrant crisis - reducing the inflow of those fleeing war and hardship and integrating those who come.

Sebastian Kurz says that without such an approach Germany, Sweden and Austria - the first countries of choice for many refugees - will not be able to cope.

Kurz spoke to reporters Monday at a Vienna conference of senior EU and U.S officials dealing with immigration.

He says he expects 85,000 migrants to come to Austria this year, with up to 25,000 of them likely to be granted asylum.

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2 p.m.

The German government is downplaying a Cabinet split over proposals to restrict the rights of Syrian refugees.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere surprised colleagues last week by declaring that many Syrians should get a lesser form of protection, renewable each year and without the right to bring relatives to Germany for two years.

The plan prompted sharp criticism, not least because it hadn't been discussed with other members of Germany's coalition government. It was quickly withdrawn.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday that de Maiziere continues to have the full confidence of Chancellor Angela Merkel. He added even though the rules for Syrians hadn't been changed, processing the huge number of people seeking asylum in Germany currently takes precedence over family reunions.

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1:05 p.m.

Migrants are facing long waits to cross Greece's border with Macedonia after a four-day ferry strike ended, easing a bottleneck on the country's eastern Aegean islands, where the vast majority of people arrive from nearby Turkey.

Police said 6,950 people crossed the border in the last day up to Monday morning, while thousands more were hoping to cross Monday as waiting times were reaching 18 hours.

About 4,500 people were waiting in a queue of 90 buses early Monday morning, while another 1,500 were waiting in tents that have been set up in the Idomeni border area. Unseasonably warm weather meant conditions were good.

Macedonian authorities, following the standard practice of the past few months, were allowing groups of 50 people to cross every 10 to 15 minutes.

Syrian Raafat Lord, 23, from Aleppo, said his group had been waiting in "buses for 12 hours and another three hours in the tents."

The camp has been set up on the border to provide facilities for those waiting, including tents, food, water, showers and areas for mothers with young babies. Donated clothes are also available.

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12:30 p.m.

Sweden says a record number of 10,201 asylum-seekers arrived in the country last week, bringing the total so far this year to more than 122,000.

The Migration Agency said Monday it was the first time since records began that the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Sweden exceeded 10,000 during seven days. Among them were 2,827 unaccompanied minors - also a new seven-day record.

More than 4,300 of the new arrivals came from Afghanistan, followed by some 2,720 from Syria and 1,400 from Iraq.

Last week, Sweden said it will request to transfer some migrants to other European countries under an EU relocation plan because migration authorities were overstretched by the large influx. About 160,000 asylum-seekers are expected this year, making Sweden the highest recipient of asylum-seekers per capita in the 28-nation bloc, according to government officials.

People wait in a queue to be allowed to pass from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Well over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey and the vast majority don't want to stay so head north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
Migrants and refugees wait in a queue inside a large tent, to be allowed to pass from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Well over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey and the vast majority don't want to stay so head north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
Migrants and refugees wait in a queue to be allowed to pass from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Well over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey and the vast majority don't want to stay so head north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
Migrants and refugees wait to pass from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday Nov. 9, 2015. Well over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey and the vast majority don't want to stay so head north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
Children watch cartoons in a refugee camp near the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece but want to continue north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
People stand in the doorway of a bus as migrants and refugees wait to pass from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece but want to continue north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
A girl lights a fire as migrants and refugees wait to pass from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece but want to continue north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
Migrants and refugees wait in a queue inside a large tent, to be allowed to pass from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Well over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey and the vast majority don't want to stay so head north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
In this Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 photo, a four-year-old Eritrean girl looks from out of a shelter at the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Residents of France’s biggest refugee camp near the English Channel port of Calais must combat hunger, filth and illness in a tent village as they scramble to build hard roofs for the winter. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The Associated Press
In this Friday, Nov. 7, 2015 photo, migrants reach out for blankets and sleeping bags delivered by the aid organization L’Auberge des Migrants at the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Many of the estimated 6,000 residents spend hours queuing for six-minute showers and one daily meal at a government-funded facility on the camp’s Atlantic-facing edge. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The Associated Press
Children watch cartoons in a refugee camp near the northern Greek village of Idomeni to southern Macedonia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Over half a million migrants have arrived in Greece but want to continue north through the Balkans to other, more prosperous European Union countries. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo, a migrant makes a fire for making tea inside the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Many of the estimated 6,000 residents spend hours queuing for six-minute showers and one daily meal at a government-funded facility on the camp’s Atlantic-facing edge. Elsewhere, campers stand in mud to collect cold water from batteries of hose-fed taps and burn tree branches to cook and boil water, turning the air acrid with smoke. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The Associated Press
In this Friday, Nov. 6, 2015 photo a makeshift cooking space is placed inside the shelter of a Sudanese refugee inside the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Many of the estimated 6,000 residents spend hours queuing for six-minute showers and one daily meal at a government-funded facility on the camp’s Atlantic-facing edge. Elsewhere, campers stand in mud to collect cold water from batteries of hose-fed taps and burn tree branches to cook and boil water, turning the air acrid with smoke. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The Associated Press
In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, a migrant woman walks through the bushes between tents inside the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Many of the estimated 6,000 residents spend hours queuing for six-minute showers and one daily meal at a government-funded facility on the camp’s Atlantic-facing edge. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo, a migrant boy walks between tents inside the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The Associated Press
In this Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 photo, Migrants burn garbage near their tents at the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Residents of France’s biggest refugee camp near the English Channel port of Calais must combat hunger, filth and illness in a tent village as they scramble to build hard roofs for the winter. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) The Associated Press
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