Idomeni, Greece: Greek police on Wednesday loaded hundreds of refugees who have been stranded for three weeks at the Macedonian border onto buses bound for Athens, a police official and a witness said, ending their hopes of reaching northern Europe. Scuffles broke out but not on the scale of recent clashes between police and the roughly 1,200 people — mostly men from Pakistan, Morocco and Iran — stuck near the town of Idomeni, after Macedonia began filtering refugees by nationality. Some 30 men resisted police and were taken to a police station but were later put on the Athens-bound buses as well. At the other end of the country, 12 refugees drowned when their boat sank off the small Greek island of Farmakonisi, close to Turkey, in the early hours of Wednesday, a coastguard official said, while 26 were rescued and 12 more were missing. The UN refugee agency said those rescued included a 7-year-old child both of whose parents were missing. Six other children were among those drowned. Refugees continue to attempt the perilous crossing despite the onset of winter weather, mounting obstacles in Europe and increased efforts by Turkey to crack down on people smugglers. Hundreds of thousands of people have streamed into Europe this year, mostly through Greece. Balkan states began blocking passage last month to all but Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, who are considered as refugees because they are fleeing war zones. Some of those stranded near Idomeni began hunger strikes and a hand...