Austria is dropping its veto on Romania and Bulgaria becoming full members of Europe's Schengen free-travel area, its interior ministry said on Monday, paving the way for European Union interior ministers to approve the move at a meeting on Thursday.

Austria has withdrawn its opposition to Romania and Bulgaria becoming full members of Europe's Schengen free-travel area, the country's interior minister Gerhard Karner announced. This decision clears the way for European Union interior ministers to approve the move at their meeting on Thursday,

Some European countries are freezing asylum applications for people from Syria in the wake of the fall of its regime.

After over a decade of conflict, the Syrian Civil War seems to be over. In a handful of days, the forces of Bashar al-Assad have collapsed and he has fled to Moscow. Across Britain and Europe, many in the Syrian diaspora have celebrated in our streets.