Thousands Of Refugees Arrive In Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of migrants and refugees have arrived by train and bus in cities across Germany overnight.

Police say a special train with 570 people on board arrived in the Thuringian town of Saalfeld late Saturday. More than half of them were taken onward to Dresden, where a school for German army officers has been cleared to provide temporary shelter for 350 newcomers.

Trains also took migrants to Hamburg in the north and Dortmund in the west of the country, while buses brought more than 300 people to the capital Berlin.

Thousands more people, mainly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans fleeing war and persecution, are expected to arrive in Germany and Austria from Hungary on Sunday.

The refugees were allowed to leave Hungary Saturday after the country opened its borders with Austria.

NEW: Merkel to hold crisis talks as migrants stream into Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to discuss Europe's migrant crisis with her coalition partners today.

The dpa news agency reports the Christian Social Union, the socially-conservative wing of Merkel's center-right bloc, has criticized the decision to open Germany's borders to migrants and refugees stuck in Hungary.

Meanwhile, the center-left Social Democrats, the third member of Merkel's three-party coalition, urged swift humanitarian help for those trekking through Europe in search of a better life.

Most Germans have been welcoming of the migrants. But far-right groups have protested their arrival, including in Dortmund overnight.

Merkel has warned that extremist groups might try to take advantage of the situation to stoke people's prejudices against refugees.

Pope makes appeal on behalf of refugees

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is asking faithful throughout Europe to shelter refugees fleeing "death from war and hunger."

Francis said today that the Vatican's two parishes are taking in two families of refugees. He gave no details as he addressed tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.

Francis said it's not enough to say, "Have courage, hang in there," to the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are on the march toward what he called "life's hope."

He called on every Catholic parish, convent, monastery and sanctuary in Europe to shelter a family, and asked bishops throughout Europe to urge their dioceses to do the same.

NEW: Drowned Syrian boys' aunt wants to bring family to Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Dozens of white balloons drifted over Vancouver harbor in British Columbia, Canada, to honor the young Syrian boys whose deaths at sea sparked worldwide outrage about the refugee crisis.

The boys' aunt stood looking at the sky Saturday after she and other mourners let go of the balloons, which had photos attached of 3-year-old Alan and 5-year-old Ghalib.

With tears in her eyes, Tima Kurdi tossed a bouquet of yellow flowers into the water.

Kurdi said she hopes to bring the rest of her family to Canada, which she made home more than two decades ago.

She says her brother isn't ready to leave his Syrian hometown where his sons and wife were buried on Friday. They drowned after piling into an overloaded boat in Turkey headed for the Greek island of Kos. Her brother was among the few survivors.