[ chanting ] china shows off its military muscle as it marks 70 years since japan's surrender since world war ii welcome to al jazeera, live from doha. coming up in the next half hour... ..thousands of refugees blocked from boarding trains in budapest as europe struggles to cope with the influx. u.n.i.c.e.f. says 13 millions across the middle east and africa are not able to attend school because of conflict.

>> president obama gains enough congressional support to secure the iran nuclear deal the chinese president xi jinping will reduce the size of the military by 300,000 soldiers. they made the announcement as 12,000 troops marched in beijing, marking 70 years since japan surrendered. the event is about the past. china's neighbours are likely to see the parade as a message for the future. we are live in seoul and beijing. correspondents harry fawcett is in the south korean capital. let's first go to adrian brown, live in beijing. now, adrian, xi jinping says he wants to reduce the people's liberation army about 300,000. what is behind the decision? >> well, xi jinping appeared

today not as the president of chi china or the secretary of the communist party. today china sent a message to the world - we were on the winning side in the war against japan 70 years ago, and we'd be on the winning side again should that country or any other attack us because of this vast military arsenal that we have. president xi jinping, as you pointed out, announced a 15% cut in the size of his armed forces. analysts say one of the reasons for this is that he wants to have a modern army, a fit ir military, and focus more on the navy and the air force. that has implications for disputes in the south china and east china sea. let's listen to what the president said a short time ago. >> translation: we will make sure that we can build a new

international relationship based on mutual respect, development and peace. i hereby announce that china will reduce the military number by 300,000 now, adrian, interesting that beijing says the parade of military ice is a parade of peace. what is the message the communist party is sending out, with the spectacle on show? >> well i think there was a lot of heavy symbolism. president xi jinping appeared in a uniform. he wants to become the most powerful leader since mao tse-tung, and that would have been solidified in the minds of many people as the president addressed the nation. i think he was saying china was week 70 years ago, but will not be in that position again, because we have a strong military. this army is here to protect

you. the p.l.a. prejudices allegiance to the communicatist party first, and the people second. and the people, incidentally, were not invited to this particular party. any living along the parade group was told they couldn't stand at the window or on the balconies to watch the parade. large parts of beijing have been shot down, it was a vast security operation, thousands of factories have been closed for weeks. shops and offices will be shut for three days, and all happens at a time when the chinese economy is slowing and the measures would not have helped to improve the economy. today about china's military, and the face of the military in the future. it will be smaller and leaner, we have to see in this context that xi jinping, in 1985, cut the military bay million. president cut it by half that figure in 1997.

in that context, it could be seen as a modest cut, but nevertheless a significant one. interesting to see how far china has come since then. thank you adrian brown speaking to us live. now across the pond to seoul, where harry fawcett is standing by. >> beijing's regional neighbours watching closely. representatives are in attendance. beijing's ties between the two countries shifted over the years. take us through some of that. well, that's right. what is notable is that the representative more north korea, not the leader of the country, kim jong un, declining the invitation, sending a senior official instead. that senior official did meet xi jinping, as did all the dell kates. he was positioned -- delegates, but he was positioned a long way

from the chinese leader, in the photograph and seating arrangements. south korea's president was there, next to the president of china, xi jinping, as they walked from the forbidden city to tiana min square and sat a seat away. vladimir putin, the russian president in between them. that was - it's an interesting contrast between the current state of relations between beijing and pyongyang, and what we saw 60 years ago. we have a still photograph of kim un sun, and now it's the south korean president taking up that position as opposed to the leader of north korea. >> now, harry, you mentioned south korea's president park geun-hye. who is attending the parade. but western allies are absent.

what do we read in the decision to attend the ceremony. >> it was a big consideration, whether to go to a display of chinese might. they were the first president. china fought on the north korean said in the korean war. it was a balance of factors. obviously china is an important trading partner for south korea, a quarter of south korean exports go to the chinese market, and at a time when the exports are under pressure, it's important to keep relations as close as possible. the president has made significant steps to improve ties between china and south korea, this is the sixth face to face meeting between her and xi jinping, and at the same time balancing a key relationship. the united states wants the two big allies, south korea and

japan, to cooperate ever more closely, but, of course, this is at a time when relations between japan and south korea are at a very low point. because of the continued historical grievances from japan's actions leading up to and during world war ii. there's a lot of common ground between china and south korea in that regard. what has happened at the meeting between xi jinping and park geun-hye is an agreement to pursue a trilateral summit between korea, south korea. we had the chief internet secretary saying various issues need to be discussed. because there's issues, we need to have talks, there's an indication that japan is open. perhaps it was a big thing to have come from the military parade. >> thank you for putting that into context.

harry fawcett speaking to us from seoul. moving on. europe is struggling to deal with a huge influx of refugees fleeing the conflict zone. the hungarian prime minister is expected to meet european union officials on thursday to discuss the crisis. over the past 24 hours, more than 1,600 have been rescued from boats in the mediterranean. 4,000 others arrived in greece and turkey. there's frustration among the refugees stuck at the macedonian border with greece. they broke through a police cordon, trying to enter the country. in hungary, these are the scenes where angry protests have been taking place, hundreds of refugees stranded outside the main train station in budda pest, after they were stopped from entering germany. from there, tom symonds reports. -- andrew simmonds reports.

>> reporter: demonstrations are heated. one group ran across to the station. the next minute riot police rushed to the station, forming a line. scuffles broke out. it isn't the police calming it down, it's the demonstrators themselves. the police are standing by, it's closer and closer to the direct conflict. "no police", they chanted, as one group tried to calm the situation, by trying to form another line between the police and refugees. eventually the police pushed forward clearing the road, and demonstrators backed off. it did not come to all of out confrontation. >> throughout wednesday, protests have been getting louder. hungarian people have been told no to sell tickets to people without visas or the right

passport. it's excruciating for families in the hope that policies may cleaning. it's looking unlikely. one level down from the station's main approach. this is a transit zone. it's been in place since the crisis began, it's never been as full. >> i will stay here, in this station. i will not move. i will stay here. i will sleep in the streets, i just want to the go out of here. they do not make us to go by train. we'll see another way. >> what he means is snuggled across the border. there are warnings from the hungarian hard line policy, will encourage more people smuggling. >> this is clear, that they do not want to stay in hungary, they want to go to the western european countries, and it is

clear that if the authorities here prevent them from leaving the country, they will opt for the services of human smugglers. >> it will keep order. obviously the people shouldn't be there. again, following european protocols after being apprehended at the border, as illegal migrants. they designated places they should stay and wait until the case is judged. >> for now, everyone here has to struggle with the reality of their situation. >> many say they've been through worst danger and hardship than this a judge in guatemala ordered the arrest of otto molina perez. congress voted on tuesday to transcript the 64-year-old of his immunity. let's go to david mercer joining us via skype. his immunity has been stripped.

what does it mean for him? >> well, it is all happening at an incredibly fast rate. as you said, congress decided yesterday, to strip him of his immunity. the order came out, an order for capture, 6 o'clock in the morning. thursday, he could be taken before a judge. and if the judge decides to send him to preventative prison, that could be the end of his presidency, it's happening at a fast pace. this follows months of ro test. demanding that he steps down. he has no connection, it's been said, are for the tax fraud corruption scandal. is looks like he'll be taken to task. >> how does the scandal a come about, how does guatemala find

itself in that situation today. >> well, corruption in guatemala goes back a long time and certainly the military during the 36 year civil war, the military had an extensive network of illicit activities. and a lot of controls followed through null the present day, and a lot of the actors are in the same situation, what changed is the work of groups, internationally backed groups fighting corruption, there's a strong attorney-general working alongside so the public ministry working alongside the anticorruption group, and very a done investigations that they have not counted on. together with the popular protests, brought out one of the primes that i think is going on. it's brought them to light, and a lot of people think there

could be something done about them. >> that is david mercer putting it into context for us. still to come - once outcast from families, these women are returning to ghana, and their communities.

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>> al jazeera america, weekday mornings. catch up on what happened overnight with a full morning brief. get a first hand look with in-depth reports and investigations. start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion. you're watching al jazeera. a recap of the top stories, china's president xi jinping is reducing the size of the country's military by 300,000 troops, making the announcement

in a military parade, marking 70 years since japan surrendered in world war ii hundreds of refugees stranded outside the main train station in budapest. the hungarian prime minister is expected to meet with european union officials on thursday to discuss the refugee crisis. >> 11 syrians, and three children drowned when their boat sank off the turkish coast the the boat went down, a warning to the viewers, you may find some of the images in this report disturbing. >> it's become a symbol of the discretion facing thousands, and an image synonymous with the crisis unfolding on the european shores. the body of this 3-year-old wash upped on the shore. he and his 5-year-old brother were among a group who drowned trying to make a dangerous crossing to the greek island of

cos. >> the boy's mother and sister survived. they comforted each other. the mother fainted. >> another man wept as he spoke on the phone. >> the image triggered an outcry on social media. in the hours after the accident. it had been retreated thousands of times. pressure is mounting on politicians to do more. not only is it a policy crisis, but a moral one. >> we had to deploy a team to crease, to les boss, and the three neighbouring alds, where two-thirds of the refugees that sort offed in europe landed. and what they are telling me is horrifying stories then having children abused on the passage to europe, and on the worst cases, seeing people cross the

petter yanian drowning. >> coast yards rescued 400 people, there are stories of survival, and death and despair while the rest of europe decides on how to deal with the growing influx of refugees, people in iceland are opening doors to give them shelter. the government offered to host 50 syrian refugees. 15,000 joined the group, and many are offering clothes, food and shelter to the refugees. >> translation: i thought about the ya room we had, and if you can make a difference in someone's life, and someone can survive by staying here with us for a short time, you must offer assistance. >> russia is delaying the approval of an international investigation into chemical attack in syria. clarification on how the

investigation will proceed is first needed. moscow is in talks with baghdad on an international inquiry into chemical weapons used by i.s.i.l. fighters in iraq. >> the reports which are there, the reports that may be toxic chemicals and chemical weapons, gas, may be used on the territory of iraq. clearly should be a concern because i.s.i.l. does not recognise borders. >> u.n.i.c.e.f. says 13 million across the middle east and africa are not able to attend school because of conflict. it estimates around 9,000 schools are not used in syria, iraq, yemen. this is because of fighting, all the buildings have been damaged or used as makeshift shelters. u.n.i.c.e.f. says children and teachers stay home out of fear of being attacked. then there's the burden of

influx of host countries, there's more than 700,000 refugee children in jordan, lebanon and turkey. >> this is an international human rights lawyer, and says more needs to be done to ensure children in conflict zones receive an education. it's important to keep in mind that syria surpassed afghanistan as the country that warehouses refugees around the world. the rates of children is, you know and something that is acro sanct in international law. in the 1989 un convention on the rights of the child, providing for the right to life, liberty, and acts as health care and education. it's important to keep in mind, if you don't keep care of the children, there may be a lost area emphasise said by the lost boys in sudan you know, as prominent human

rights lawyer, the first thing i would suggest is neighbouring countries need to accept more refugees. if you look at gulf nations, they have not repatriated one refugee, it's a horrific statistic, first we need to get into safe haven, and the refugee camps ensure the children have access to education, learning capabilities, we don't want to create a lost generation, sucked up by a nefarious element in these studies. >> u.s. res dent president obama secured enough votes in the senate to support the nuclear deal. this means that obama will stop congress overriding his veto on any possible resolution, opposing the accord. from washington patty culhane explains. >> reporter: the israeli government pulled out all the stops to stop the iran deal going forward. before the agreement was reached, the israeli prime

minister lobbied the u.s. congress with the speech, deciding it was worth angering president obama, who was not consulted. the pro-israeli government lobby apex spent tense of millions on tv and lobbying. hosting rallies like this. urging its supporters to get involved. >> we spoke to members of congress, we reached out to the office. it didn't work. from maryland, support was announced. that guarantees the president can keep and overright a veto in an attempt to scuttle a deal by other nations and iran. the obama administration launched a lobbying campaign. >> i enjoy the iran debate. president obama did press conference bs. energy secretary tried to

explain the complications of nuclear science. allies paid for their own ads, spending a trauct opposed to the deal. >> apec is in a difficult position, and members are free to move away from the apec line. as long as president obama is in office. apec will be divisive. >> the administration is selling the deal. they'll speak with jewish leaders and the secretary of state. the consequences of congress intervening. >> it's hard to concede of a quicker blow. not only with respect to this one issue, but i'm telling you across the board, economically, politically, militarily and morally. >> the administration is pushing to get a handful of additional

votes. if they do, they could keep congress from voting on the deal. arguing that it would send the wrong message to the world. the substance of it will not change. the u.s. is expected to honour its part in this historic agreement fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant have claimed responsibility for two attacks in the yemeni capital sanaa. 28 died in the bombings at a shi'a mosque. the first explosion inside the mosque during sunset prayers. the second was a car bomb that went off as balances arrived and people fled. >> the international committee of the red cross is shocked and appalled by the willing of two staff in yemen. the government attacked the car in the western province, while they were travelling from sadr to sanaa, both houthi controlled areas. the red cross says the vehicle cas clearly marked. last week the agency stopped

operating in aden, after an attack on its office. >> mexico's president acknowledged his country's anger over crime, corruption and a pore economy. and in his annual state of union address, peno nieto planned to use the last half of his 6-year term to tackle crime and corruption. the approval rating is at a low. mexicans are angry at a series of unsolved cases, including the disappearance of 43 students and the prison escape of drug lord gossman. >> the situations are different from each other. they hurt the spirit of the mexican people and trust in institutions, to this environmental we have to add concerned about the future of the economies. >> in ghana, women accused of witchcraft face abuse and threats to their lives. hundreds have been forced out of their communities, and are living in camps.

now they are teaming up with n.g.o.s and leaders to stop the women being ostracized. >> this settlement is known as coquoz camp. a safe haven for women accused of being witches. >> for this woman, she has been here for three years. today her daughter came to visit. she says she left her home after she was blamed for her niece falling sick. >> and the crowd attacked me. i was sad. they came with sticks and other things, and the intention was to kill me, the chief stepped in to say i should not be killed in is one of the minority of women accepted back into a regular community. she is living with her brother and his family after 20 years of being in a camp. >> being home with my family helped me. now that i am with my brother, if i am sick, he's there to see

it. if i have problems, he is there. i'm happy here. >> the government is working to respeaking grate more -- reintegrate more women into the communities, he's wound down one camp. there's five left. it has been difficult to do away with it. what we do is use it as a means, working with immunity and still society, and particularly working with the traditional leaders, to get them to appreciate and understand that it is totally wrong. it's a human rights violation. >> some of the camps have been around for more than 100 years. the idea that a woman can be a witch is engrained. any can be accused, but it's often those that can't have children, elderly or outspoken. the government's plan is to grose the camps.

this person is afraid of returning home because the trauma that she went through. like all the women, she wants to be accepted. you can get the latest from our website. pass >> on "america tonight," the sins of a saints. >> what some will forget, father jun junipero serra. >> back baltimore.