Midday Roundup: Drowned toddler a new symbol of migrant despair

Heartbreaking. A Syrian toddler who drowned along with his 5-year-old brother and mother as the family attempted to make it from Turkey to Greece has become the face of the pain and suffering of Middle Eastern refugees. Three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s body washed up on a beach in the Turkish resort town of Bodram. Newspapers across Europe ran the photo of him lying facedown in the sand with headlines such as, “Unbearable,” and, “Europe could not save him.” The boy’s father, who survived, said he knew his family was lost when their overloaded boat capsized. The family was from the countryside near the Syrian town of Kobani, which has been overrun by Islamic State (ISIS) militants. Another group of desperate migrants prepared to camp out for another day outside the Keleti international train station in Budapest, Hungary. Police who had been blocking access to the station left today, allowing thousands of hopeful passengers to stream into the lobby. But officials announced they had canceled all trains to Western Europe, continuing to stymie the migrants’ attempts to reach Germany. Rumors spread among those who did scramble aboard trains that they were headed for detention centers where asylum-seekers are being processed. “Even if they take us to the camp, it’s better than staying in the station,” Ali al-Taai, a Syrian from Deir al-Zour, told The New York Times. “I’ve been there for six days without food and water. I’ve had enough.”

Pre-season win. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady won what may be his most important victory of the year this morning when a federal judge tossed out the National Football League’s punishment for his alleged involvement in “Deflategate.” U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman ruled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should not have given Brady a four-game suspension just because he might have known about someone else’s decision to let air out of the footballs during last season’s American Football Conference championship game. Text messages gathered from the cellphones of the team’s equipment assistant and locker room attendant, indicated they conspired to deflate the balls to help make them easier for Brady to catch. The quarterback has maintained he played no role in the decision. With Berman’s blessing, Brady will be able to start the season with the team’s opener against the Pittsburg Steelers on Sept. 10.

Promoting peace? Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a “gesture of peace” on Wednesday—reducing the communist nation’s military by 300,000 troops. The news came during official celebrations to mark the end of World War II with victory over Japan. The event included a massive parade through Beijing featuring 12,000 troops, 200 fighter jets, and 500 pieces of military hardware. Leaders from 49 countries attended the celebration. While Xi touted his nation’s peaceful intentions, analysts suggested the move isn’t really altruistic. Rory Medcalf, head of the national security college at Australian National University, told the Los Angeles Times the troop cuts might be more about reallocating resources than reducing military might. “Infantry are no longer a measure of power,” he said. “One metric to watch is overall military spending, which goes up in China by double digits each year—ahead of economic growth. Another metric to watch is the development of new and leading-edge technologies like cyber, hypersonic missiles and submarines.”

Breaking the ice. Speaking in Seward, Alaska, this week, President Barack Obama said he wants the United States to build more heavy-duty icebreakers—and fast. “These icebreakers are examples of something we need to get online now,” he said. “They can’t wait. And I’m looking forward to trying to work with Congress to make that happen.” The U.S. Coast Guard would use the vessels to police the Arctic seas, where melting ice is opening up shipping routes and access to a rich store of natural resources and minerals, something that’s long been on the radar of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Compared with Russia’s 40 icebreakers, the president said America doesn’t have enough of the ships. Forty percent of the world’s oil and natural gas reserves are stored beneath the Arctic, and some say the race to claim them could mean an ice war.

WORLD Radio’s Mary Reichard contributed to this report.