European countries will increase identity checks and baggage controls on trains after American passengers thwarted an attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, France's interior minister said Saturday.

Bernard Cazeneuve said the checks would be carried out "everywhere it is necessary" but did not give other details. He spoke after an emergency meeting in Paris with top security and transport officials from nine countries and the European Union in the wake of last week's attack attempt.

The leaders of France, Germany and Russia discussed the Ukraine crisis over the phone on Saturday and agreed to hold a new summit in the coming weeks, said the French presidency.

Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin once again reaffirmed their support for the "Minsk II" peace measures agreed in February. 

A top Republican from the U.S. Congress on Saturday blasted the Iran nuclear deal as "deeply flawed" and said the agreement would make the world "less safe."

Congress is due to vote next month on whether to endorse the deal reached in July between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

German police said Friday they have launched a criminal probe against a female protester who hurled insults at Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to a refugee shelter.

The woman, who has not been named, can be seen shouting "bitch" at Merkel in a video on YouTube, tabloid Bild reported.

German authorities canceled Friday a party to welcome refugees in the town of Heidenau, recently the scene of violent far-right protests, saying the public's safety could not be guaranteed due to a shortage of police.

The decision came as police reported an apparent arson attempt against an asylum-seekers' shelter in another town.

German authorities cancelled Friday a party to welcome refugees in the town of Heidenau, recently the scene of violent far-right protests, saying the public's safety could not be guaranteed due to a shortage of police.

"Police forces currently available are not in a position to meet the forecasted developments in the situation," said Saxony regional authorities in a statement announcing a ban on all outdoor public gatherings from Friday 2pm to Monday 6am.

Austrian police found the decomposing bodies of up to 50 migrants in an abandoned truck on Thursday, sparking a cross-border hunt for the people-smugglers responsible in the latest tragedy in the Europe-wide crisis.

The grisly discovery on a motorway near the Slovakia and Hungary borders came as European leaders again met to try to find ways to handle the flow of tens of thousands of people seeking refuge in the European Union.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Balkan leaders gathered in Vienna Thursday to seek how to tackle together the biggest migration crisis to hit Europe since World War II.

The talks come a day after Merkel vowed zero tolerance for "vile" anti-migrant violence in Germany, and amid growing criticism of the European Union's failure to agree a joint response.

More than 1,000 NATO paratroopers jumped from aircraft above Germany Wednesday in one of the alliance's largest airborne training exercise in Europe since the Cold War ended, the US army said.

Amid a drive by NATO to boost its defenses in light of the Ukraine crisis, 11 member countries are taking part in Exercise Swift Response at the U.S. training area of Hohenfels in southern Germany. It will run until September 13.

Ties between the EU and Russia remain at their lowest ebb over the conflict in Ukraine, ahead of a series of key talks including a visit by President Petro Poroshenko to Brussels on Thursday.

Renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Moscow rebels and Kiev's government forces has made a mockery of a February ceasefire, while the European Union has renewed tough sanctions against Russia.