marking 70 years since the end of world war ii, japan holds a special ceremony. from al jazeera's headquarters here in doha. i'm darren jordan. also ahead, the death toll from a huge explosion in tienjin in china rises to 85. plus. >> coming up we'll hear from palestinians answer israelis about how the effects of the so-called disengagement are

still being felt today. >> and we take a look at efforts to put a shine back on the city that was once known as the pearl of the orient. a memorial service has been held in japan to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. shinzo abe was at the event and expressed remorse for the rlg tragedy otragedy of the war. >> never again will we need to suffer the tragedy of war we pray. >> al jazeera's harry fawcett has more. >> at a memorial event attended

by some 5,000 who lost their families during world war ii. emperor akihiko spoke about his sorrow and feeling of deep remorse over the last war. and shinzo abe pledged that japan would never repeat the hors ohorrors of war. he never spoke about the damage and suffering inflicted by japanese soldiers and what happened as well on the eve of the anniversary day in his key statements marking the 70 years since the end of world war ii. he renewed the apologize mad poe but did not make that

personally, at an event mark liberation day in south korea, more than a few things had been regrettable in shinzo abe's speech, calling on japan that it was really back up those previous apologies. shinzo abe wants to see this 70th anniversary as somewhat of a watershed but very much dominates the relationships with neighboring countries. >> services will also be held in britain to mark the 70th anniversary of the war. simon mcgregor wood talks about one of the issues in the campaign. >> as the years go on, the numbers fade, he's 90 now but his memory doesn't fade. he fought a retreating japanese army for six months of fighting until the final surrender. the jungle conditions and the brutal nature of the fighting.

>> the japanese were very much proud to die. war is frightening. it's terrifying at times when you got a pan 30 yards away shouting at you saying i'm chinese i'm coming in, and don't shoot me, and he's got two grenades in his hands to lob at you. war is very frightening. >> men like vick were what was called the forgotten army. war in europe was over. war against japan in which the united states took the lead dragged on and seem like a long way away. he shows us his war time diary and the bullet hole that helped him to survive. >> it took mere nearly a year to get home after that. and what is going to happen now i'm going to go home. i haven't got a trade i haven't

got a home, i think my girlfriend is still there. you don't know. >> the fit anniversary will be l be the last one with veterans like vick, prisoners of war and their seeming reluctance to apologize that created resentment which has taken years to overcome. of 50,000 british troops captured 12,000 died of starvation and disease. many were forced into slave labor. it left deep physical and emotional scars. victory over the chinese never had the triumphalism of the german war. >> i think experience in the pacific has been sort of divided between this idea that they couldn't come to the rescue of the empire until it was very

late and when they did it was the support of the united states. >> the qualified readmonishes it he showed in postwar years made the process of reconciliation much slower. simon mcgregor wood, al jazeera, london. the death toll from multiple explosions in northern china has riz ton 85. thick black smoke is still billowing into the air, chemists have been deployed to the area for fear of toxic chemicals in the air. the government says the air should be safe to breathe. fighters killed in southeastern turkey. the military says the trooms wertroopswere attacked by outlad people'turkish people's party o.

under the initiative of then prime minister ariel sharon, at least 9,000 were relocated from gaza some of them using force. finally left the trip in strip n september 2005. but israel still controls all aspect of the territory deciding who can enter or leave. imtiaz tyab has more from gaza. >> there is no shortage of work to do in these fields. palestinian workers cultivate this land, cultivating fruit and vegetables. up until ten years ago he would never have believed he could

grow his own crops here. for decades it was home to more than 8500 israelis and a large israeli military presence. it was also off limits to many palestinians. all that's left is unused buildings. descrealisrael's disengagement e strip. >> we live in a prison, we can't move out of the gaza strip which makes life hell for us. the israelis control everything. we palestinians deserve dignity. >> although israel withdrew from the gaza strip, israel did not truly disengage. it exerted its control over gaza and its people through its ongoing economic siege and repeated rounds of military violence.

the so-called disengagement of gaza sharply divided israeli society at the time when the deadline to leave expired on august 15th, 2005, the remaining settlers were removed by force. she was one of them. she lived there for nearly 20 years for what she described as ideologic reasons. she said many of the israeli settlers who were forced to leave still haven't been able to rebuild their lives. >> i'm angry at my government who didn't know how to cope with the heartships of the people -- with the hardships of the people. still people are living in temporary housing ten years after. >> that anger is overshadowed over awhat was called as the gaza disengagement. landslide victory in the 2006 are general election and viole

violently seized power afterwards. the war killing several thousand palestinians, crippled gaza's economy making reconstruction almost impossible. they don't know how much suffering they can endure but still happy the settlers are gone. imtiaz tyab, al jazeera, gaza. >> the united nations is calling on iraq to close what it calls secret detention centers, where minors are tortured. >> we received numerous reports from different organizations, saying that people in a certain way disappeared and they reappear, if they reappear, after a long time. where the problem of ill

treatment torture is acute, is especially in those places of detention run by the ministry of the interior and the ministry of defense. this is why one of the conditions we made was to transfer the authority of the prison system to the ministry of justice. >> meanwhile, thousands of iraqis have marched through the streets of baghdad in a show of support for recent reforms announced by prime minister haider al-abadi. widespread corruption has led to youth driving the protest, mohammed jamjoom has more. >> reporter: tired of seemingly endless roadblocks, he and his friends decided it was time to hit the streets. >> translator: i'm left with no other option but to go out and fight corruption. >> reporter: the medical student and activist like so many others of his generation says he tired of feeling despair

and decided to do something about it. >> translator: we created groups to help our friends and families because they are all in need of important services. that rnd bein aren't being prov. the most basic are electricity clean water and jobs. >> reporter: now he meets regularly with a group of like minded activists. they use every tool at their disposal to plan demonstrations. social media has become as important as physical publications in spreading the word in conveying their most important message. >> all trees protesters are peaceful in nature. but it isn't just violence he wants to avoid. he wants to keep politics out of the conversation too. so far it's been working. later in the day as thousands

gather in baghdad's tahrir square, the celebration is joyous one. the crowd feels empowered. men and women of all ages can be spotted throughout. but it's the youth groups who really dominate here. many clearly enjoying themselves as they chant against iraq's political history. the beginnings of a civil society movement that will empower them and so many other iraqis to demand much-needed change. >> the group can barely contain its excitement. at long last, they feel a budding sense of optimism. >> translator: i'm happy and i'm feeling proud because our groups have become bigger and

bigger. we are keeping up the momentum, friday after friday, demanding our basic human rights and doing that in the most legitimate and peaceful manner. >> reporter: while this youth movement may still be in its infancy, renewed hope for old and young is growing far faster than anyone expected it to. mohammed jamjoom, al jazeera, baghdad. >> lots more to come here on al jazeera. can he pull it off? have i lahave isri lanka's presa come back. more, stay with us

>> welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. the ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. the prime minister as well as the emperor and empress attended the deat event. fears of toxic contamination in chinese explosion in tienjin. and turkey has undergone a strike from the pkk. u.s. and cuba have celebrated the opening of the

u.s. embassy in havana. our latin american editor lucia newman has more. >> it took more than half ocentury but the three former u.s. marines who 54 years ago took down the american flag to close down the u.s. embassy in havana lived to see it restored to the flag pole. a ceremony as moving as it was historic. >> for more than half a century u.s. cuban relations have been suspended in the amber of cold war politics. >> reporter: outside the gates, hundreds watched the ceremony. like catalonia. i felt so much emotion it did not fit inside me. i give thanks that i'm here to see this. the first secretary of state to

visit cuba since 1945 spoke in english and spanish. john kerry acknowledged the differences that continue to separate the u.s. and communist cuba, especially issues of democracy and human rights. >> it will be equally unrealistic to expect normalizing relations to have in a short term a transformational impact. after all cuba's future is for cubans to shape. >> at a joint news conference, cuba's foreign minister made it clear, cuba does not expect united states to interfere in its internal affairs. >> on the basis of respect and equality. >> despite being under strong domestic pressure, secretary kerry did not invite cuban dissidents to the embassy summary.

opting for a compromise there was a second flag raising ceremony at the ambassador's residence at which a large reception was held in which dissidents were invited in which many opposed the reestablishment of diplomatic ties. this citizen disagrees. >> this is what we needed, openness, this is the most important, openness. >> an openness poignantly represented by the flying of this flag, symbolizing that cuba and the united states are no longer enemies but neighbors. lucia newman al jazeera, havana. >> sri lanka will vote for a new president on monday. former president is hoping to be one of its 225 members. he's been working hard on the campaign trail to convince

voters. liddy dutt reports. >> this is perhaps the hardest election campaign in the political career of mahinda rajabaxa. he can still pull a crowd but what he needs is for these voters to vote for him. >> translator: i'm disappointed when i see all of this. after, the investors are all leaving. this government is telling lies and they came to power with these lies. that's how they do politics. >> reporter: to maim sure his message is heard beyond campaign rallies, he is turning to people like a lieutenant in the sri lankan army. his injuries are a permanent reminder of the final stages of a long civil war which rajapaxa is credited with ending. >> he does what he says.

he's a strong leader that's why we like him. for him i'm ready to sacrifice my life. >> rajapaxa's stronghold is deep in the country. volunteers campaigning for his reelection to parliament are finding sympathetic ears here because most belong to the majority sinalese community, either serving in the military or have done. the former president needs them to vote for him but not all military personnel he once led are convinced of his political come back. retired flight sergeant admires the former president for his war time leadership but he doesn't think his return to politics is good for sri lanka. >> if rajapaxa becomes prime

minister won't let the the president work freely and there will be conflict. >> voted for change a few months ago. >> after ten years in power people reelected him. new prime minister, cabinet, people are not going to change their minds. >> he seems to think otherwise. we asked him why he thinks sri lankans should vote for him. he told us to ask them. liddy dutt, al jazeera, sri lanka. at least 19 people have been killed in a wave of shootings in brazil. people in sao paulo are trying to determine whether the incidents are related. floodwaters in argentina's

province buenos ayer aires have started to recede. teresa bowe reports from one of the affected areas. >> going back home after living in a shelter, maria and her family live in the province of buenos aires, forced to evacuate after the flood filled the area. >> it's the second niem a year. if they don't do anything this will continue and continue and we will lose everything. >> maria is one of the thousands affected in the flooding in the province of buenos aires. people tell me, they left the fridge and some of their belong

totion try to save everything they exop the problem is that local authorities have no problem in place so people like maria know what to do when the river rises. but that's not the only problem. intense rainfall has few places to flow and people like leonardo say that is because the influx in building. >> it will take several days before the people can move back. >> the government doesn't do enough to prevent this from happening. we see this over and over again. >> reporter: and experts seem to agree with him. >> there is already a plan a public works plan infrastructure to deal with the issue. and that plan was developed in the '90s. it is already 20 years old and it has not been finished so we

do not have all the infrastructure that that plan implied. as a consequence of that, several parts of the system are not in a good condition to convey the water. >> reporter: people here will struggle with the floods which came in, in hours and stayed for days. they want the government to do what's necessary to prevent them from losing their homes again. teresa vo, al jazeera, argentina. european ministers have approved another bailout program for greece, it will help greece from defaulting on its debt. approved hours after the greek parliament voted to accept bailout terms. striking doctors in gawn have beeghana,.voting for a baie

international monetary fund. >> demolished to make way for new commercial properties. in part 3 of our preserving heritage series, jamilla allendogan reports. >> hundreds of filipinos were killed during the span period. it is also where roman catholic popes gathered and protested in revolution. but the monument is one of the world's threatened heritage sites and all because of this. a commercial building that many here say has disrespected what

many considered to be an important part of the nation's identity. paolo says there are many heritage sites like this one which are across the capital of manila. >> manila has a rich architectural legacy, unfortunately much of that was lost during the war but tempered with the fact that there are clusters of buildings that are still extant. >> the metropolitan theater was once a testament to the richness of manila's artistry. it was built in the 1920s t at the time when the country was slowly carving its own cultural identity. now the metropolitan theater has been a symbol of manila's decay. its restoration is to happen soon thanks oa break through after decades of legal battle

between government agencies. it has been abandoned for decades and what we can see now is a shell of what the theater used to be. >> there's so many people connected to the met from so many generations. the older generation artist, the younger generation artists and even the ones who just attended to watch the artists. >> those working to protect sites like the met say it is more than just fighting for dilapidated buildings. >> the appreciation has lasting effect. it is the appreciation of the cultural property that allows us to become a country, that creates an awareness of the filipino genius and it is that genius that holds us together. >> manila was once called the pearl of the orient but not anymore. the middle classes have left for safer, better run areas of the city. but restoration efforts like these promise to revive some of that lost glory.

jamilla allendoggan, al jazeera. >> a quick reminder, you can keep up on all the latest, the address aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" in philadelphia, tonight, black votes matter. why so many african american men are missing in the polls. plus history in havana, how so many americans could profit from opening of diplomacy. the watts riots in los angeles started when a white highway patrol officer stopped a black motorist suspected of drunk driving.