LIVE BLOG: World refugee crisis

Middle East Eye will continue to report on the mass refugee crisis in Europe. Summary of today's events:

• Hundreds of refugees marched on foot through southern Denmark to Sweden unhindered by police
• Australian senate governor causes controversy as he suggests prioritising taking in Christian refugees only
• Greek island of Lesbos, which is hosting 20,000 refugees, witnessed clashes as crowds surged to ferries heading to Athens
• Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed EU proposal of resettling 120,000 refugees, and called for an open EU policy for asylum-seekers
• Hungary is building a new four metre high fence, with prime minister Viktor Orban not satisfied with building pace. Resignation of defense minister is thought to be connected with that

Hungary's prime minister vowed Tuesday to speed up the construction of an anti-migrants fence on its southern border as it emerged that the defence minister had quit because of the slow pace.

Viktor Orban paid a snap visit to the border late Monday to check on progress, later telling an online newspaper that he was convinced "the works in progress have to be sped up".

"Everyone has to get ready to do intensive work in the coming weeks," Orban said in an interview with the Magyar Idok website published Tuesday.

Hungary's border with Serbia has become a major crossing point into the European Union, with more than 160,000 entering Hungary so far this year including 2,706 on Monday alone, police said.

Most then seek to travel onwards to Germany via Austria. This weekend some 16,000 did so as Hungarian buses brought them to the border and Berlin and Vienna agreed to let the migrants go through.

A razor-wire barrier along the 175-kilometre (110-mile) frontier was completed on August 29, but has failed to stop large numbers of people climbing over or under it.

Hungary is therefore building an additional fence four metres (13 feet) high despite widespread criticism, with France's foreign minister saying the barrier does "not respect European values".

On Monday Csaba Hende resigned as defence minister after a meeting of the National Security Council to review progress on the fence.

No reason was given but a senior politician close to Orban said that Hende's resignation was tied to the pace of the construction of the security fence, which the prime minister was not satisfied with.

Hende's replacement as defence minister said meanwhile Tuesday that the fence was a "top priority".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday welcomed European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker's plan to relocate refugees from overstretched EU states, calling it "a first important step".

According to Juncker's proposal for mandatory quotas for EU states which is set to be unveiled Wednesday, Germany and France would take about half of the 120,000 refugees to be relocated from frontline states.

"There is another step that needs to be taken because neither Germany nor Sweden can determine the number of refugees given that it stems from the situation (on the ground)," said Merkel after talks with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

"We need an open system to share out those with a right to asylum," she added.

Merkel said the so-called Dublin 3 rule -- which requires the first EU port of entry to process asylum claims -- "no longer works" as it means that both Italy and Greece are left to take in the bulk of Europe's refugee influx.

"We must discuss a new asylum policy," she said.

Berlin has already stopped applying the rule for Syrians, and is allowing citizens of the war-torn country to apply for asylum in Germany irregardless of their first port of arrival in the EU.

"I'm seldom so convinced that this task will also determine Europe's future and whether the continent really accepts the value ... of individual freedom," Merkel said. 

"On this question, the whole world is watching. And we're not just saying Syria is so far away from us. Rather, we're simply taking care of the problem," she added.

The Swiss government has signed a deal on Monday which will enable the country to obtain six Hermes 900 drones made by Israel’s Elbit Systems.

Haaretz reported that attention on the global refugee crisis has sparked an interest among European Union member states to look to Israel, one of the world’s leading arm exporters, to secure their borders.

Additionally, reports circulated a few days ago that Hungary and Bulgaria are thinking about constructing security fences along their borders-similar to the one Israel built on the border to Egypt- to stop the flow of the refugee influx. 

The Israeli government for its part remained tight-lipped over such claims.

The Swiss government underlined that the drones are unarmed aerial vehicles that will be employed for the defence of the country’s borders. In statements made to a French news agency, defence minister Ueli Maurer said that Switzerland is purchasing the drones from a provate company and not from the Israeli state. The drones, Maurer added, will be used only for intelligence surveillance.

Clashes erupted between police and refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday, with authorities describing Lesbos as "on the verge of explosion".

Around 2,500 refugees surged towards a government-charted ferry bound for Athens. As the crowds desecended upon the main port, tens of coastgaurds and riot police screamed "keep back" and tried to control the situation. 

The scenes of chaos underscored the difficulty authorities across Europe face as they struggle with a surge of people making a hazardous trek through the continent as they flee war and misery in their home countries.

Many protested the waiting conditions, while others tried to jostle their way to the front.

Lesbos is home to 85,000 people, and according to the United Nations refugee agency, is now hosting more than 20,000 mostly Syrian refugees arriving on its shore.

"It seems that over the weekend the numbers (of arrivals in Greece) surged and then died down," Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency said, pointing out that there were "30,000 refugees on the Greek islands right now."

With other Greek islands close to Turkey also overwhelmed, the European Union president Donald Tusk insisted "the wave of migration is not a one-time incident but the beginning of a real exodus, which only means that we will have to deal with this problem for many years to come." 

The Australian government senate leader, Eric Abets, has caused controversy after saying that he would prioritise religious minorities, namely Christians, among refugees from the Middle East.

“Given that Christians are the most persecuted group in the world and especially in the Middle East,” Australia will prioritise these refugees, Abets told reporters, while also stressing that need would also be taken into account when considering who to take.  

A backbencher, speaking on condition of anonymity, told ABC that the government’s message would be: "No more Muslim men."

Prime Minister Tony Abbot over the weekend said he would take in more refugees but did not specify a number. His government is currently holding consultations with the UN about how to move forward.

While the opposition Labor Party seems to be keen to take in 10,000 people, the Greens want to take in at least 20,000.

Other coalition government ministers, like Malcolm Turnbull, have also argued for accepting more Syrian Christians, while some government figures have suggested taking in minorities like the Yazidis.

Dozens of Moroccans took to the beaches on Monday to pay tribute to three-year-old Aylan Kurdi who drowned last week on his way to Europe.

The body of the Kurdish-Syrian toddler later washed ashore, with images of his lifeless body face down in the sand helping to spark international outrage.

The protesters in Rabat lay in the same position as Kurdi when he was found and donned the same red and blue clothing, to highlight the plight of refugees fleeing conflict.

Palestinians in Gaza also paid tribute Kurdi on Monday, by crafting a large sand sculpture of the boy on Gaza beach. 

Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, told AP that: "everyone should be asked to do more" to help the migrants and refugees. 

"I think we need to have a broad-based global response," Clinton said in an interview published on Tuesday. "The United States certainly should be at the table, but so should everybody else."

"And if countries are not able to do more physically in taking in these refugees, they should do more financially," she said, in a clear reference to oil-rich Gulf states who have been widely criticised for not taking in any Syrian refugees. 

"They should be funding a lot of the resettlement work and supporting those countries that are bearing the burden of the refugees," Clinton said.

Tens of thousands of people held candlelight vigils across Australia to urge its government to take in more refugees on Monday evening. 

The crowds gathered for the Light the Dark events in Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne and other major cities. 

Brazil will take in 20,000 Syrian refugees, President Dilma Rousseff said late on Monday, while stressing the country would welcome them with "open arms". 

Our government remained comitted to welcoming "those who, driven from their homeland, want to come live, work and contribute to the prosperity and peace of Brazil," she said. 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has also ordered his foreign ministry to take steps to receive 20,000 Syrians while Chile's President Michelle Bachelet said her country also would be happy to take in refugees, although she did not specify a number or nationality.

"Throughout our history, we have always had our doors open to those, sometimes coming from far away places, bringing their history and cultural to the construction of our nation," Bachelet said. 

Leaders of Chile's Arab community, which numbers around 300,000 people, approached the government recently with a plan to offer shelter and support to about 100 refugee families from Syria.

Police in southern Denmark late on Monday closed a motorway as groups of refugees marched towards the border with Sweden, known for its more generous asylum policies.

Police said the closure -  which impacted the road from Rodby harbour in southern Denmark to Copenhagen - was due to safety fears. 

Earlier in the day, up to 150 refugees began marching towards the border after some 300 arrived by boat from Germany on Sunday. Many later agreed to be taken to police stations to register for asylum in Denmark, but scuffles broke out with police when some ran off to avoid having their fingerprints taken in fear they would be registered as seeking refuge in Denmark and unable to go on to Sweden, where many said they had family.