News Wrap: More than 10,000 migrants reach Austrian border in 24 hours

HARI SREENIVASAN:

The flow of refugees and migrants across Austria turned into a mass march today. Hundreds of people gave up waiting at the Hungarian border, after Austrian officials stopped running special trains. Instead, they started the 40-mile walk to Vienna. More than 10,000 arrived at the border in the last 24 hours alone, bound for Germany.

And United Nations officials appealed today for humane treatment.

WILLIAM SPINDLER, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Refugees who are coming to Europe looking for protection who have already suffered so much and risked their lives to come here to find safety should be treated in a humane way. They shouldn't be received with police batons and with tear gas and with barbed wire and with fences and walls.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

Meanwhile, video from Human Rights Watch showed Hungarian police throwing food at crowds in a border camp. The group said the refugees are being treated like animals. In turn, Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, praised police, and said they face an open rebellion.

And in Brussels, European Union diplomats worked toward a critical Monday meeting on resettling 160,000 people. We will take a closer look at families making the journey to Europe after the news summary.

Disaster struck in Saudi Arabia today when a construction crane collapsed in Mecca. At least 87 people were killed, and more than 180 hurt. The crane plunged into the east side of the Grand Mosque complex, the world's largest. The site had been buffeted by high winds and rain as crews prepared for the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

President Obama is warning Russia that its military buildup in Syria is bound to fail. Moscow has been sending more troops and weapons to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. And the Kremlin called today for military talks with the U.S. to avoid — quote — "unintended incidents."

But at Fort Meade, Virginia, the president said any talks should have a different goal.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

We are going to be engaging Russia to let them know that you can't continue to double down on a strategy that's doomed to failure, and that if they're willing to work with us and the 60-nation coalition that we have put together, then there's the possibility of a political settlement in which Assad would be transitioned out.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

Russia says its buildup is designed to battle Islamic State forces in Syria. The U.S. has been conducting airstrikes against ISIS targets there for a year.

House Republicans staged symbolic votes against the nuclear deal with Iran today. They first rejected the agreement, then voted to delay lifting sanctions on Iran. But there's little chance the House actions will matter. That's because Democrats have blocked the Senate from rejecting the nuclear deal, meaning no such bill will ever reach the president's desk.

Republican Rick Perry has become the first major candidate to drop out of the 2016 presidential race. The former Texas governor announced his decision this afternoon in Saint Louis. It was his second bid for the White House, but he'd struggled to raise funds and was polling near zero.

In India, a judge has convicted 12 Islamist militants for the 2006 bombings in Mumbai, after a trial that lasted seven years; 188 people were killed and more than 800 wounded in the evening rush hour attack. Seven bombs exploded in a span of 10 minutes. The trial concluded a year ago, but it took the judge a year to write the verdict. The defendants could be sentenced to death by hanging.

The flood disaster in Japan intensified today as more rivers overflowed their banks. Three people have died and 23 others are still missing since a tropical storm touched off the deluge. Many of the homes destroyed in the hardest-hit areas northeast of Tokyo are still being inundated by muddy water. Disaster experts assessed the devastation today.

MAN (through interpretor):

It is worse than I had expected. The buildings near the river are completely destroyed by the power of the water current. I have been to many disaster sites, but, once again, I was reminded of the energy of water disasters.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

Some parts of Japan got more than twice the normal amount of rainfall for all of September in the span of just 48 hours.

The government of Indonesia promised action today to disperse a thick, smoky haze. Officials said they're sending more than 10,000 troops to fight fires in Southern Sumatra. The smoke has made thousands of people sick, and delayed flights across the region, including in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. The fires in Sumatra are set in part to clear land for pulp companies and palm oil plantations.

Cuba says it is releasing more than 3,500 prisoners, ahead of next week's visit by Pope Francis. They include a mix of women, young people and the sick, but apparently no political prisoners. This is the third time that Cuba's communist government has freed inmates ahead of a papal visit.

And Wall Street closed out the week on a positive note. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points to close above 16430. The Nasdaq rose 26 points, and the S&P 500 added eight. For the week, the Dow and the S&P gained 2 percent. The Nasdaq rose 3 percent.