Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that he will let hundreds of thousands of migrants travel on to Europe if pushed by the EU.
He was reacting to a non-binding vote by the European Parliament to freeze talks on EU membership for Turkey.
The MEPs were alarmed by Mr Erdogan's "disproportionate" response to a failed coup attempt in July.
The migrant numbers reaching the Greek islands have dropped since an EU-Turkey deal in March to curb the influx.President Erdogan accused the EU of breaking its promises. As part of the March deal, Turkey was promised aid, visa-free travel for its nationals and accelerated membership talks."Listen to me: these border gates will be opened if you go any further," he warned the EU on Friday.
A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ulrike Demmer, said the deal was in the "interest of all parties" and that "threats on either side are not helpful".
Turkey plays its trump card: Mark Lowen, BBC News, Istanbul
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionTurkey currently hosts almost three million migrants
If the European Parliament hoped its vote to freeze accession talks with Turkey would prompt President Erdogan to row back on his policies, today came the answer.
It is Turkey's trump card: the key role it played in stemming the migrant flow under a deal with the EU to return failed asylum seekers here. And an increasingly combative Mr Erdogan seems ready to play it.
His tone - and his threat - are classic tactics of a president who knows Europe needs Turkey. And it is a sign that a man not known for a thick skin will not take the European Parliament vote lightly.
It is non-binding and Europe's leaders are unlikely to heed it, given how important Turkey is.
But the bad blood between the two sides is thickening - and the shaky EU-Turkey deal to halt the migrant flow looks more fragile still.
Turkey currently hosts almost three million migrants, mostly from Syria. Last year more than one million fled to Europe, mainly via Turkey.
Under the March 2016 agreement, migrants arriving in Greece are now sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or their claim is rejected.
For each Syrian migrant returned to Turkey, the EU is to take in another Syrian who has made a legitimate request.
Since then arrivals into Europe have slumped, as have the number of deaths of migrants making the dangerous sea crossing between Turkey and Greece.
Attempts to get visa-free travel for Turks stalled as the country refused to change its anti-terror laws and many in Europe have criticised Turkey's tough response to the failed coup.
Myanmar is seeking the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya minority from its territory, a senior UN official has told the BBC.
Armed forces have been killing Rohingya in Rakhine state, forcing many to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, says John McKissick of the UN refugee agency.
The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been conducting counter-insurgency operations since coordinated attacks on border guards in October.
It denies reports of atrocities.
A spokesman said the government was "very, very disappointed" by the comments.
Burmese officials say Rohingya are setting fire to their own houses in northern Rakhine state. The BBC cannot visit the area to verify what is occurring there as journalists and aid workers have been barred.
The Rohingya, who number about one million, are seen by many of Myanmar's Buddhist majority as illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
Media caption
Rohingya Muslims 'hated and hounded from Burmese soil'
Although Bangladesh's official policy is not to allow in illegal entrants across the border, the foreign ministry has confirmed that thousands of Rohingya have already sought refuge in the country. Thousands more are reportedly gathering on the border.
Efforts to resolve the issue must focus on "the root cause" inside Myanmar, Mr McKissick, head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR in the Bangladeshi border town of Cox's Bazar, told BBC Bengali's Akbar Hossain.
He said the Myanmar military and Border Guard Police had "engaged in collective punishment of the Rohingya minority" after the murders of nine border guards on 9 October which some politicians blamed on a Rohingya militant group.
Security forces have been "killing men, shooting them, slaughtering children, raping women, burning and looting houses, forcing these people to cross the river" into Bangladesh, Mr McKissick said.
"Now it's very difficult for the Bangladeshi government to say the border is open because this would further encourage the government of Myanmar to continue the atrocities and push them out until they have achieved their ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority in Myanmar," he said.
Where is Aung San Suu Kyi? - BBC Myanmar Correspondent Jonah Fisher
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is in a delicate position. She is Myanmar's de-facto leader, but security is under the control of the autonomous armed forces.
If Ms Suu Kyi bows to international pressure and sets up a credible investigation into the alleged abuses in Rakhine state, she risks fracturing her relationship with the army. It could jeopardise the stability of her young government.
So for the last six weeks Ms Suu Kyi has kept her head firmly in the sand, avoiding journalists and press conferences.
When forced she has commented that the military in Rakhine is operating according to the "rule of law". Few believe that to be the case.
While there are loud calls from overseas for action, most Burmese have very little sympathy for the Rohingya. The army's "clearance operations" against the "violent attackers" of Rakhine state appear to have strong popular support, putting Ms Suu Kyi under very little domestic pressure.
Myanmar's presidential spokesman Zaw Htay said Mr McKissick "should maintain his professionalism and his ethics as a United Nations officer because his comments are just allegations".
"He should only speak based on concrete and strong evidence on the ground," he said.
On Wednesday, the Bangladesh foreign ministry summoned Myanmar's ambassador to express "deep concern" over the military operation in northern Rakhine state.
It said "desperate people" were crossing the border seeking safety and shelter and asked Myanmar to "ensure the integrity of its border".
Authorities in Bangladesh have been detaining and repatriating hundreds of fleeing Rohingya.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch released satellite images which it said showed that more than 1,200 homes had been razed in Rohingya villages over the past six weeks.
Image copyrightHUMAN RIGHTS WATCHImage captionA satellite image of the village of Wa Peik, Maungdaw district on 10 NovemberImage copyrightHUMAN RIGHTS WATCHImage captionThe same area pictured in a satellite image recorded on 18 November
What is happening in Rakhine state?
A massive security operation was launched last month after nine police officers were killed in co-ordinated attacks on border posts in Maungdaw.
Some government officials blamed a militant Rohingya group for the attacks. Security forces then sealed off access to Maungdaw district and launched a counter-insurgency operation.
Rohingya activists say more than 100 people have been killed and hundreds arrested amid the crackdown.
Soldiers have also been accused of serious human rights abuses, including torture, rape and executions, which the government has flatly denied.
It says militants have attacked helicopter gunships providing air support to troops.
Who are the Rohingya?
The estimated one million Muslim Rohingya are seen by many in mainly Buddhist Myanmar as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. They are denied citizenship by the government despite many having lived there for generations.
Communal violence in Rakhine state in 2012 left scores dead and displaced more than 100,000 people, with many Rohingya still remaining in decrepit camps.
They face widespread discrimination and mistreatment.
Is the government to blame?
Myanmar held its first openly contested election in 25 years last November, with Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy winning a landslide victory.
Though she is barred from the presidency due to a constitutional rule, Ms Suu Kyi, who serves as State Counsellor, is seen as de-facto leader.
But her government, led as it is by a former human rights icon, has faced international criticism over the dire situation in Rakhine state.
Rights groups have questioned why journalists and aid workers are not being allowed to enter northern Rakhine.
Presidential spokesman Zaw Htay says the international media is misreporting what is going on.
An Iraqi paramilitary force says it has seized a key road west of Mosul, effectively encircling the city controlled by so-called Islamic State.
The Popular Mobilisation (Hashd al-Shaabi) declared it had taken control of the road between Tal Afar and Sinjar after linking up with Kurdish forces.
IS militants still control the section of the road between Tal Afar and Mosul.
Meanwhile, an air strike reportedly hit another bridge in Mosul, as troops advanced further into eastern areas.
There is now only one functioning bridge left spanning the River Tigris, which flows through the city.
About 50,000 Iraqi security forces personnel, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen are involved in the five-week-old offensive to drive IS militants out of their last major urban stronghold in the country.
The Popular Mobilisation, which is dominated by Iranian-backed Shia militias, said it had cut the road between the IS-held town of Tal Afar, 50km (31 miles) from Mosul, and Kurdish-controlled town of Sinjar, 45km (28 miles) further west, on Wednesday afternoon.
A Kurdish security official told the AFP news agency that PM fighters had linked up with other anti-IS forces, including members of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in three villages in the area.
A prominent PM leader, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, suggested it would now focus on severing the route between Mosul and Tal Afar.But the PM has been warned by the Turkish government not to attempt to storm the predominantly Sunni Turkmen town, from which thousands of civilians have reportedly been leaving for Kurdish-held territory to the north.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionThe Popular Mobilisation recently captured Tal Afar's military airport, south of the town
"People are fleeing due to the Hashid's advance, there are great fears among the civilians," said Nuraldin Qablan, a representative for Tal Afar in the Nineveh provincial council, currently based in the city of Irbil in Iraq's Kurdistan Region.
Shia militias have been accused of committing serious violations, including abducting and killing Sunni civilians, during previous operations against IS.
Also on Thursday, troops continued to advance further into eastern Mosul, where they have faced fierce resistance from the 5,000 to 6,000 militants estimated to be dug in inside the city.
Earlier, the US-led multinational coalition supporting the offensive bombed another of the bridges over the River Tigris that link eastern and western Mosul.
An Iraqi military commander told the Associated Press that the strike on the so-called Third Bridge had taken place before dawn on Thursday, while a report by IS's self-styled news agency, Amaq, reported that it had been "put out of service".
Image copyrightAMAQImage captionAn IS-linked news agency posted video purportedly showing a bridge damaged on Monday
There were five functioning bridges over the Tigris in Mosul shortly before pro-government forces launched a major offensive to retake the city on 17 October.
A month ago, a US air strike destroyed the Second Bridge, in the city centre. Two weeks later, another strike took out the Fifth Bridge, to the north. On Monday, Amaq reported that the Fourth Bridge, the southernmost, had been damaged.
"This effort impedes Daesh's freedom of movement in Mosul," coalition spokesman Col John Dorrian told Reuters news agency on Tuesday, using a pejorative term for IS based on the acronym of its previous name in Arabic.
Image copyrightAPImage captionThe UN has expressed concern for the up to 1.5 million civilians estimated to be inside Mosul
"It inhibits their ability to resupply or reinforce their fighters throughout the city."
However, the UN's International Organisation for Migration warned that the destruction of the bridges could hamper the evacuation of the estimated 1.5 million civilians inside Mosul.
The UN says 68,000 people have been displaced in the past five weeks, with 59,000 coming from districts surrounding Mosul and the rest from inside the city.
They waged two wars over it and are now nuclear armed. Why do India and Pakistan dispute Kashmir?
How old is this fight?
Even before India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain in August 1947, Kashmir was hotly contested, since it was a Muslin majority area ruled by Skih Raja Hari Singh who bought this area from Britain.
Under the partition plan provided by the Indian Independence Act, Kashmir was free to accede to India or Pakistan.
The maharaja (local ruler), Hari Singh, chose India and a two-year war erupted in 1947.
A new war followed in 1965, while in 1999 India fought a brief but bitter conflict with Pakistani-backed forces.
By that time, India and Pakistan had both declared themselves to be nuclear powers.
Why so much unrest inside the Indian part?
Many people in the territory do not want it to be governed by India, preferring instead either independence or union with Pakistan.
The population of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir is more than 60% Muslim, making it the only state within India where Muslims are in the majority.
High unemployment and complaints of heavy-handed tactics by security forces battling street protesters and fighting insurgents have aggravated the problem.
The teenager blinded by pellets in Kashmir
Weren't there high hopes for peace in the new century?
India and Pakistan did indeed agree a ceasefire in 2003 after years of bloodshed along the de facto border (formally known as the Line of Control).
Pakistan later promised to stop funding insurgents in the territory while India offered them an amnesty if they renounced militancy.
Then, in 2014, a new Indian government came to power promising a tough line on Pakistan.
Are we back to square one?
A bloody summer of street protests in the Indian-administered part had already raised tension this year before a militant attack on Indian soldiers left 19 dead in September.
Blaming the attack on a Pakistan-based militant group, the Indian military responded with cross-border raids.
Officials in Pakistan say at least nine people were killed when cross-border shelling from India hit a passenger bus in the disputed Kashmir region.
Eleven others were reportedly wounded. Officials say two people also died in Indian shelling elsewhere in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
India had earlier vowed to avenge the killing of three soldiers, one of whose bodies it said had been mutilated.
Tensions have risen since militants killed 19 Indian troops in September.Both countries accuse each other of violating a 2003 truce accord.
Why India and Pakistan fight over Kashmir
Five things to know about Kashmir
India and Pakistan have disputed the territory for nearly 70 years - since independence from Britain because it was decided that Muslim majority areas will be part of Pakistan and Hindu majority areas will go to India. Kashmir has 95% Muslim majority.
Both countries claim the whole territory but control only parts of it
Since 1989 there has been an armed revolt in the Muslim-majority region against rule by India.
Two out of three wars fought between India and Pakistan centred on Kashmir
A new war could be even more disastrous as both states now have nuclear arsenals
Kashmir - the region at the heart of dispute
The teenager blinded by pellets in Indian Kashmir
The passenger bus reportedly came under fire from India's side of the de facto border as it was travelling from Kel to Muzaffarabad in the Neelum valley region.
Pakistani officials accused India of deliberately targeting civilians. There was no immediate response from India.
On Tuesday the Indian army promised "heavy" retribution" after one of its patrols was ambushed in the Kupwara sector.
Pakistan says more than 30 civilians and 11 soldiers have been killed on its side in fighting since August. India says 12 civilians and 11 of its soldiers have died over a similar period.
Dozens more have been injured and thousands of people have left the area or are trapped in their homes.
Did India really "surgically strike" Kashmir militants?
How bad is the situation?
Before the new deaths this week, the Pakistani military apparently suffered its biggest single loss of life in Kashmir since the 2003 truce, when seven soldiers were killed in shelling in a single day.
Firing from both sides has increased since the deadly militant attack on an Indian army base on 18 September. India hit back on 30 September with cross-border "surgical strikes" targeting militant groups blamed for killing the soldiers.
A BBC investigation found that Indian troops had crossed the de facto border (the "Line of Control") to hit border posts but then pulled back without going deep into Pakistani-administered territory.
Why did India go in so hard?
Narendra Modi's BJP government swept to power in 2014 promising a tough line on Pakistan and was under tremendous pressure to hit back after its soldiers were killed in September.
Many observers say Mr Modi feels he has to placate an angry domestic constituency and send out a message that he is a strong leader.
Pakistan accuses India of taking military action to deflect attention from human rights abuses in the region.
At least 85 people, nearly all protesters, have died in months of violent unrest against Indian rule since a popular militant leader was killed in the summer.
The scandal in South Korea involving President Park Geun-hye has taken an unexpected twist with news that Viagra has been found in her offices.
Authorities found the pills - usually used to treat erectile dysfunction - while investigating corruption allegations against Ms Park.
The government says the Viagra was bought to combat altitude sickness.
The South Korean leader is accused of allowing her friend, Choi Soon-sil, to influence her decisions.
The presidential office confirmed it bought 364 Viagra and similar generic pills to deal with altitude sickness on official trips to East Africa, although the pills were never used.
The BBC's Stephen Evans in Seoul, says the discovery of Viagra will add an air of remoteness to the president. Many Koreans believe Ms Park is living in a "different world" which will exacerbate political pressure on her to resign.
Some early rumours among Koreans alleged Ms Park could have been involved with cultish rituals with her friend Ms Choi.
Ms Choi, a long-time friend of Ms Park's, is the daughter of Choi Tae-min, a shadowy quasi-religious leader who was closely linked to Ms Park's father, then-president Park Chung-hee.
Viagra and altitude sickness?
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionViagra is Pfizer's brand name for sildenafil
The discovery of Viagra grew out of the drug UK92480, a new treatment for angina, a heart condition that constricts the vessels that supply the heart with blood.
It failed in treating angina, but during drug trials many volunteers reported an unusual side effect - lots of erections. Scientists ran more tests and discovered its effectiveness at treating erectile dysfunction.
Because of biological similarities between the lungs and penis, scientists also discovered it could help protect against pulmonary hypertension, common in climbers.
At high altitudes decreased levels of oxygen can trigger high blood pressure in the lungs, which in extreme circumstance can be fatal.
Viagra reduces high blood pressure and improves the transport of oxygen in the blood.
Meanwhile, South Korean authorities have raided the offices of Samsung and the national pension fund as part of a corruption investigation linked to the president.
They are probing whether Ms Park pressured the fund to support a Samsung merger, said the Yonhap news agency.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionInvestigators seized evidence at the National Pension Service
Samsung's offices had already been raided over related allegations.
Wednesday's raid had to do with a merger last year between the electronics giant's construction arm, Samsung C&T, and an affiliate firm, Cheil Industries.
For weeks, tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in Seoul to demand Ms Park's resignation - a call she has resisted.
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