Refugees trek in misery through torrential rain

Hungary says its new border fence should be done by early October

Thousands of refugees trudged through mud and torrential rain to Greece's border with Macedonia on Thursday, swelling a human tide across Europe that authorities appear powerless to control.

Hungary, a key transit country for migrants trying to reach richer and more-welcoming countries such as Germany and Sweden, said it expected to finish building a fence along its border with Serbia by early October to help stem the flow. On Friday, Austria partially shut a freeway linking Vienna and Hungary as dozens of migrants who had crossed the border set off for the Austrian capital on foot rather than wait for struggling authorities to arrange transport.