♪ they say his apologies for the war don't go far enough, japan's prime minister criticized by japan and south korea. ♪ hello there you are watching al jazeera live from doha and coming newspaper the program people near the scene of the deadly blast in china are told to leave because of contamination fears. i'm in the gaza strip ten years after israel withdrew all of its settlers, coming up, we will hear from palestinians and israelis about how the effects of this so called disengagement

are still being felt today. waging war on the syrian economy, how the opposition is using foreign currency to undermine the government. ♪ china and south korea have criticized a speech by japan's prime minister marking 70 years since the end of the second world war and expressed deep remorse over japan's past saying future generations should not be obliged to apologize and said japan should have made a statement on the nature of the war of military and aggression and its responsibility on the war and said japan should have made a sincere apology to the countries affected and made a clean break of the past of the military aggression rather than being evasive on this major issue of principle. south korea's president said

japan's prime minister should have gone further with his apology and the comments left much to be desired and called on japan to match its words with actions. >> translator: from now on the japanese government should backup their decorations of succeeding historical consciousness of former cabinets with consistent and sincere acts so it can gain trust from neighboring countries and international society. the japanese government much solve the sexual slaves victimized by the japanese military immediately and properly. >> marking the anniversary and was at a memorial service in tokyo and emperor also attendeden echoed the words of remorse. >> translator: the feeling just overwhelms me looking back on the past and the deep regret towards the war, never again will we have to suffer the devastation of war is what we

pray and my heart felt condolence to prays to world peace. >> and harry faucet has more from tokyo. >> reporter: at a memorial event attended by some 5,000 relatives of those who lost their lives in world war ii the prime minister and emperor spoke and he talked about his renewed sorrow and feelings of deep remorse over the last war and prime minister talked about never repeating, pledging that japan would never repeat the horrors of war and it would face its history squarely and however he didn't as with his previous two speeches at this event speak about the damage and suffering inflicted by japanese forces in countries and that is departure how they handled the event in resent years and reflects what happened as well on the eve of this anniversary day in his key statements marking the 70 years since the end of world war ii. he renewed the apologized made

by predecessors so they would be unshakeable in the future but didn't make it personally and that was noted by the south korean president at an event marking what is known as liberation day in south korea saying more than a few things had been regrettably mentions calling on japan to show through its actions it was backing up the apologies and he wants to see this 70th anniversary something of a watershed and it's clear that history still dominates relationships with neighboring countries and plays a big part in domestic politics as well. staying in japan scores of residents of a small volcano island have been told to leave because of eruption and it's the highest alert and 50

kilometers from a nuclear reactor that was turned on this week. the scene of multiple blasts in northern china being evacuated because of contamination fears the death toll's from wednesday explosion in the port city of tianjin is 85 and fires are still burning at the scene. a team of nuclear and bio chemical specialists have been deployed to the area. angry relatives of firefighters mixing in the explosions have tried to storm a government press conference and demanding information on their loved ones and that security officials stopped them and locked the doors to the venue until the briefing had concluded. >> translator: they didn't notify us at all about it and watching the news and saw there was an explosion in tianjin and our son is a firefighter and we couldn't contact them and some firefighters have been sacrificed, my child is a firefighter too but a contract firefighter, why is there no news of him? >> reporter: the u.s. flag has

been raised over the restored american embassy in cuba with warming of ties between the countries and john kerry was there for the historic event and the first secretary of state to visit cuba in 70 years. >> it would 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. this day ten years ago israel began its withdraw from the gaza strip and parts of the west bank but a decade later israel continues to control all aspects of life in the territory deciding who can enter and leave and we have more from gaza. >> reporter: there is no shortage of work to do in these fields, everyday dozens of palestinian farmers cultivate this land growing fruit and vegetables and he is one of them and says up until ten years ago he never would have believed he would be able to grow his own

crops here. back then this was a large israeli settlement and for decades it was home to more than 8500 israelis and a large israeli military presence and also off limits to most palestinians. all that is left is a few disused buildings and while he says he is happy the settlers and soldiers left as part of israel's part of disengagement of the gaza strip he is angry how things are now. >> translator: we live in a big prison. we cannot move outside the gaza strip which makes life hell for us, the occupation is the reason for all of our suffering as the israelis control everything, we palestinians deserve dignity. >> reporter: although israelis withdrew from the gaza strip israel's government never managed to truly disengage without a political settlement it exerted control over gaza and its people through its ongoing economic siege and repeated

rounds of military violence. >> reporter: the so called disengagement of gaza sharply divided israeli society when it expired in 2005 the settlers were removed by force and he was one of them, she lived in france but here for 20 years for what she described as reasons and some settlers still have not been able to rebuild their lives. >> i'm angry at my government who didn't know how to cope with the hardships of the people and still people are living here in temporary house ten years after. >> reporter: that anger is over shadowed by what followed the gaza disengagement. after israel pulled out hamas won a land slide in the 2006

general election and seized power shortly afterwards. since then hamas had three major wars with israel and killed several thousand palestinians and the israeli government continued the blockade crippled the economy making reconstruction almost impossible and most palestinians say they are not sure how much more suffering they can endure they say they are still happy the settlers are gone. >> we are live and you are in one of the areas where settlers were removed. i mean, this is an episode which it's still looming large in israel's collected memory. >> indeed. in fact, some israeli analysts described it as a scar in the israeli consciousness and, in fact, if you look at some polls of the leading newspapers in israel put out in resent days it says increasing israelis believe the so called disengagement was the wrong decision but the fact of the matter is the settlements

are gone and all that is really left are small buildings like this. in fact, let's take a look inside. this was once a building used for administrative purposes for the agricultural community here, that was a main source of income for settlers but you can see there is not a lot left. in fact, most of this building has been stripped. all you can really see is graffiti of a young person wrapped in sort of a scarf used to show palestinian solidarity and protests to israeli occupation. whatever the case the fact of the matter is that as we have been saying the settlements have been closed for now ten years but the situation here in gaza at least according to many palestinians is far worse. ten years the two sides no closer to peace and occupation continu continues. >> indeed and the occupation here in gaza is very different than what it was like ten years

ago when you had a huge israeli civilian population here but also a huge military presence as well. and while all of that is gone gaza is now effectively under siege, the borders it shares with israel are blocked, there is now big walls surrounding there and its neighbor e egypt and it has made the economy very weak and more than that we have seen three major wars with israel since hamas has control of the territory in 2006. so when you speak to pal stint palestinians will say they are happy the settlers are gone but disappointed at what gaza is today. >> mts in gaza there. still to come here on al jazeera. ♪ singing through the pain of civil war, how children are

coping with conflict in south sudan. and ten years after indoe indonesia they are threatening to pick up arms again. stay was. ♪ . ♪ . ♪ i. ♪ t. ♪ h. ♪ . ♪ u. ♪ s. ♪

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♪ welcome back, the top stories on al jazeera, china and south korea criticized a speech by japan's prime minister expressing remorse for aggression during world war ii and beijing says they should have offered a sincere apology to those affected. people near the scene of the

blasts of tianjin are told to leave because of contamination fears and the death toll has risen to 85. and the u.s. flag raised on the restored american embassy in cuba, the warming of ties between both countries. services held in britain to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war and simon mc-greger wood is there for us, simon. >> reporter: good morning, that is right, the 70th anniversary today with various events and the focus in london and in about an hour's time, in fact the first of a memorial service to be held in this church and the center of london in the square led by her majesty the queen of england and other members of the royal family with various veterans survivors of that conflict in the far east in

attendance there and throughout the day. victory over japan day occupies a special place in the collective memory of the british and to understand this better to help me explain the legacy of that conflict i'm joined by a group captain tony of the royal airforce whose father, your father, earnest was involved in that conflict as a prisoner of war and it's the prisoners of war of the japanese that had a particular legacy, a particular difficulty to overcome and can you explain in terms of your family's experience how it affected you? >> yes, as a legacy, i'm not sure as a child growing up. it was just something my dad had done. he was a prisoner of war in the far east and helped to build a rail way under the supervision of the japanese but i didn't know too much about it and when dad wasn't prepared to talk to me about it all it's very

difficult to sort of understand fully what went on so life just carried on for us. >> in general terms as i have got to know a little bit more about this story the victory of the british over the japanese doesn't occupy the intimate place that the equivalent victory over the germans, nazis in europe occupies and i think some of the people refer to it as the forgotten army and i felt a little resentful of that, is that true do you think? >> i don't know if my father was resentful but he was reluctant to speak about it and perhaps as i reflect on it today i think might have been because he felt his contribution towards victory and winning the war outright as today commemorates maybe his contribution wasn't as great as others. >> we also understand in the post war years perhaps because of what seemed to be japanese reluctance to apologize very

clearly that relations between your father's generation and japan were complicated, do you think we have now overcome that? >> if my father was standing here today he would say most definitely yes. you must remember that he had an enemy. they also viewed him as an enemy and that was a war of national survival so it was one soldier against another and what he thought of his captiors he kept to himself and if the roles were reversed he would not treat them the same as he was treated but later in life he bought a japanese car and the argument wasn't against japanese as a race and he moved on. >> thank you for sharing the memories with us and your time today. so that is it from here for the time being and in about an hour the queen of england will lead veterans and their family members in a service of remembrance at this church

behind me, the first in a series of events to be held in central london on this very special 70th anniversary. >> thank you very much indeed for that. homeless, hungry and hunted by recruiters by armed groups is still reality for many children in south sudan since the country was in civil war two years ago and we traveled to been bentiu and people are getting help in a u.n. camp. >> reporter: 14-year-old peter says he watched soldiers kill his uncle, when the family fled from their village his neighbors drown as they tried to cross a river and he and his family are struggling to live in a camp in bentiu and soldiers already tried to recruit him. >> translator: if i join the military i will be wasting my money and maybe i will kill someone or kill myself and i will solve my problems with

education. >> reporter: the children here are enduring the trauma of south sudan's civil war that started nearly two years ago after the president fired his deputy and the fighting began. their teachers here who are trained to offer what little psychological support they can. >> most do not listen to teachers. most of them also it's like they lose hope ♪ there are also some recreation activities designed to remind the children of better times to help them cope. ♪ they might be safe here but they are still suffering, there is not enough food, water and shelter to accommodate the thousands who keep arriving at the gate. a u.n. official says the camp's population has doubled since the beginning of the year to 124,000 people. this is a screening room at a

unicef clinic. as you can see it's full of children but they are quiet, none of them are playing, that is because they don't have any energy. unicef says an estimated 248,000 children in south sudan are suffering from severe malnutrition. and the three-year-old son is one of them. she is sick too. >> translator: there is no choice for us but to stay alone here. we will be safe. we will tolerate it even if there is no food for us to eat. >> reporter: as difficult as conditions at this camp may be for peter and others like him, there are at least within reach of assistance. humanitarian organizations are worried about the almost one million people they can't help right now. i'm with al jazeera bentiu south sudan. opposition controlled institutions in aleppo province begin to use the turkish money

instead of the pound and more from beirut. >> reporter: they are now receiving their wages in turkish money instead of syrian pounds, a growing opposition run institutions in northern syria which started to use turkey's currency. the local council of aleppo in areas is behind the decision which it helps will hope the syrian economy collapse. >> translator: islamic court like rebel run have welcomed this and they welcome being paid in turkish money. >> reporter: the pound lost its value over the years when the civil war began in march 2011 one u.s. dollar could be exchanged for 47 pounds. the rate now is at least 190 pounds. prices of basic goods, many of them now imported have risen dramatically and the local council of aleppo says the decision will help people because of the stability against the u.s. dollar but there are

others it may be linked to turkey's plan to create the so called safe haven in northern controlled syria. >> the governments bring up what we might call a de facto zone and may say the opposition decision might be an advance and getting ready to govern in this area somehow. >> reporter: the turkish government hopes the military campaign to get rid of i.s.i.l. in aleppo countryside will strengthen groups there and lead to a safe zone for refugees. >> it has been years since the government lost control of much of northern syria but it has been fighting to keep the western half of aleppo city which was once syria's financial capitol and there are reports that its main ally iran is suggesting placing the divided city under international protection as part of a potential peace deal. the opposition decision to stop using syrian pounds in the north

is a sign that rebels have no plans to reconcile with the government in damascus. it is also being seen as an indication of turkey's growing influence in this corner of syria. al jazeera, beirut. it's ten years since a peace deal was signed between indonesia government and the free movement, the rebel group had been fighting to gain independence and brought an end of 30 years of conflict and much of what was agreed has failed to be delivered and many of the former fighters are now threatening to pick up arms again. >> a grieving mother who lost her son fighting with indonesia soldiers and angry a peace deal signed ten years ago had not improved his life so he joined a rebel group. the commander says he is fighting the former leadership of the movement which now governs. >> translator: the reality we are facing is not an agreement with the promises made during the peace deal. >> reporter: the peace

agreement was signed in finland shortly after a tsunami destroyed much of it and thousands handed in their weapons and agreed to a deal and giving autonomy and revenue package but the money has yet to reach most of the people. he wonders why he risked his life fighting in the jungle and now he is struggling to survive as a farmer and promised he would be given land and a proper house have not been kept. >> i'm worried that former fighters have to live like this and a new and bigger conflict will start before the peace deal because many are disappointed and peace did not give us what we hoped for. >> reporter: many jobless former combatants are threatening to pick up arms and join the rebel commander if the situation doesn't improve. a decade of peace and most are still living in poverty. the piece deal was seen as an international success store i

have and example to resolve other conflicts around the world and ten years on many are wondering how much longer before an armed conflict will start again. while many are struggling to get by government officials are building new offices and houses and government leaders and the eu who will monitor the peace deal are worried about allegations of corruptions. >> translator: what we are worried about is the lack of accountability of the government. maybe the government still has to learn a lot, how to return a government for example. >> reporter: the former rebel leadership admits wrongdoing. >> this is something predominant, national predominant and not only here but even in jakatar you can hear everyday in the news corruption cases everyday. >> reporter: the leadership has

asked the government and the international community to assist with good governance and help implement the peace agreement. human rights organizations call it a lost decade. economic promises have yet to be fulfilled and justice of human rights during the conflict has yet to be done, al jazeera. flood waters in argentina providence of buenos aires has started to recede but thousands forced out of their homes are angry and said the government could have done more to prevent the floods from happening and we report from one of the affected areas in the town. >> reporter: going back home after days of living in a shelter. she and her family living in the province of buenos aires, they were forced to leave their house when the river flooded the area. >> translator: i cried. that is the only thing i could do. thinking about what we went

through, it's the second time in the year. if they don't do anything this will continue and continue and we will lose everything. >> reporter: she is one of the thousands affected by the flooding in the province of buenos aires. people here tell me that when they saw the water was coming into their homes they left the fridge and some of their belongings to save whatever they could. the problem is that local authorities have no plan in place so people know what to do when the river rises. but that's not the only problem. intense rainfall has few places to flow and people claim that is because of the construction in the province. >> translator: they authorized construction of gaited communities in the wetlands cutting off the natural drainage and one of the reasons it's getting worse. >> reporter: even though the water is receding it will take several days before people can move back.

>> translator: the government doesn't do enough to prevent this from happening and we see this over and over again. >> reporter: experts seem to agree with him. >> this is a plan, a public works plan infrastructure and that plan was developed in the 90s and it is really 20 years old and it has not been finished so we do not have all the facts of the plan. as a consequence of that several parts of the system are not in a condition to deal with the water. >> reporter: people will struggle for months to recover from the floods which came in hours and lasted for days. as the weather becomes more severe, they want the government to do what's necessary to prevent them from losing their homes again. al jazeera, argentina. and you can get more of the day's news and all the sport and

of course we have blogs from our reporters in the field and all the developing stories there on our website. the address to go to as ever is al jazeera.com. that's al jazeera.com. i'm libby casey, thanks. >> while many cheered the raising of the american flag in havana not all cuban americans are overjoyed about the reopening of the u.s. embassy in cuba. for some memories of repression at the hands of the castros are stilt raw. even with tensions easing and change coming some cuban americans will find that going home is not that easy. returning to cuba, it is the "inside story"