WWII Surrender: Japan Marks 70th Anniversary

WWII Surrender: Japan Marks 70th Anniversary, Emperor Akihito expressed rare “deep remorse” over his country’s wartime actions in an address Saturday marking the 70th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender, a day after the prime minister fell short of apologizing in his own words to the victims of Japanese aggression.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, stayed away from a contentious Yasukuni shrine that honors war criminals among other war dead. He instead prayed and laid flowers at a nearby national cemetery for unnamed fallen soldiers ahead of the annual ceremony at Tokyo’s Budokan hall.

That ceremony started with a moment of silence at noon to mark the radio announcement by Emperor Hirohito, Akihito’s father, of Japan’s surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.

“Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse over the last war, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated,” Akihito said in his speech. Japanese media said it was the first time he had used the words “deep remorse” in reference to the war in his annual war-end anniversary speech.

Akihito also emphasized that Japan’s peace and prosperity stand on “the people’s tireless endeavors and their earnest desire for peace,” and renewed his war-renouncing pledge.

Even though they are subtle and still rather neutral, remarks by the emperor on Japan’s wartime past in recent years have caught attention, often portrayed in the media to contrast Abe’s nationalist and hawkish image, especially as he pushes to give Japan’s military an expanded role and change Japan’s pacifist constitution.

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Visitors bow to pay respects to the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Ja …
Abe, who also spoke at the memorial service, avoided any reference to the damage caused by Japan’s aggression for the third year in a row since he took office in December 2012.

Instead, as if talking to the spirits of the war dead, Abe thanked them for the sacrifice on which he said Japan’s peace and prosperity are built.

Abe did promise, however, to “face the past” and “never to repeat the calamity of the war.”

On Friday, Abe issued a closely monitored statement, acknowledging damage and suffering on innocent people but falling short of apologizing in his own words to the victims of Japan’s aggression.

His statement had been widely anticipated because of his past remarks on historical issues that suggested a revisionist stance. He has repeatedly said there is no clear definition of aggression, and has denied that Japan’s wartime government coerced foreign women to become military prostitutes, citing lack of documentary evidence.

Friday’s statement drew mixed reactions from overseas – including criticism from China and South Korea, and praise from the United States. South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the statement “left a lot to be desired,” and China called it evasive.

Firefighter Shot In Staten Island, NY Standoff

Firefighter Shot In Staten Island, NY Standoff, The fugitive, barricaded in his basement apartment, had shot a firefighter – the first time a New York City firefighter had been hit with gunfire in the line of duty in more than 20 years. The man had then kept negotiators on the phone for hours, and in three instances, he had fired his gun.

Still, the authorities said, the negotiators were hopeful. Friends had been summoned to talk to the man, a 38-year-old former convict named Garland Tyree who was wanted for violating parole, and his mother had been flown to New York from Delaware in a Police Department helicopter. In a phone call from outside the house, she told Mr. Tyree that she loved him.

Six hours after the standoff began, it sounded as if he would relent.

Instead, Mr. Tyree emerged from his Staten Island apartment on Friday wielding a fully automatic AK-47 and began shooting. The cadre of law enforcement officers that surrounded him returned fire, the police said, and Mr. Tyree was killed.

“This is a very challenging day for our first responders – for our police officers, for our firefighters, for our E.M.T.s,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on Staten Island after the standoff was over. “But it’s a day when they all handled their jobs in an exemplary fashion.

“There’s a lot to be proud of today in the way our first responders handled something you just can’t be fully prepared for.”

Officials said they were grateful that the injured firefighter, Lt. James S. Hayes, a 31-year veteran of the Fire Department, was in stable condition and would recover, and they praised the performance of law enforcement officers.

“It’s hard work and they did it well,” Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said. “We want these situations to end with everyone safe, but it’s the public’s safety that takes precedence.”

The standoff escalated soon after it began. A team of United States Marshals Service members and New York police detectives arrived just before sunrise at the multifamily house on Destiny Court in the Mariners Harbor neighborhood. They were ready to arrest Mr. Tyree for the parole violation, but found smoke billowing from his apartment.

The police later discovered that Mr. Tyree had set off a smoke bomb. Unaware of that at the time, officers on the scene thought there was a fire and called in the Fire Department. Lieutenant Hayes went into the apartment, where Mr. Tyree shot him twice, in the ankle and the hip, the authorities said.

Lieutenant Hayes, 53, was carried out and taken to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was being treated for wounds that officials said were not life-threatening.

“This certainly could have been a tragic day for the New York City Fire Department,” Daniel A. Nigro, the fire commissioner, said. Instead, he added, “Lieutenant Hayes is recovering in the hospital with his family and for us, we are quite thankful.”

During the news conference, Mr. de Blasio dismissed questions about reports that he had been exercising at a gym in Brooklyn as the episode on Staten Island unfolded. “We’re briefing you all on a very serious situation, and that’s just not a serious question,” he told reporters. Representatives for the mayor were quick to note that he had been in close contact with police and fire officials throughout the morning.

Obama Calls Out GOP Opposition On Nuclear Deal

Obama Calls Out GOP Opposition On Nuclear Deal, Brushing off criticism from a majority in Congress, President Barack Obama said Republicans are reflexively opposing the Iran nuclear deal because his name is on it.

Ahead of next month’s deadline for a vote that could derail the agreement, Obama argued in two interviews released Monday that solid GOP opposition was unsurprising. He cited Republicans’ resistance to his health care law and budget proposals as evidence that their recent hostility had nothing to do with what’s in the deal.

“Unfortunately, a large portion of the Republican Party, if not a near unanimous portion of Republican representatives, are going to be opposed to anything that I do,” Obama told NPR News.

That hasn’t always been the case.

Related images of Democrats who oppose the Iran nuclear deal:

In June, Republicans drove legislation through that gave Obama expanded authority to negotiate trade deals with Europe and Asia, even as many in Obama’s own Democratic Party deserted him. Many Republicans also have shown a willingness to work with Obama on criminal justice matters and on military spending that exceeds caps imposed by both parties.

On the Iran deal, Obama has tried to discredit the opposition and attract as much Democratic support as possible before Congress votes on the agreement roughly a month from now. The White House has acknowledged that Congress probably will pass legislation opposing the deal, which Obama will veto. Obama’s goal is to secure enough Democratic votes to prevent Congress from overriding his veto.

So far, some three dozen House members, all Democrats, have announced support, along with nearly 20 Democratic senators. Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Monday became the latest to side with Obama.

“There is no other alternative that achieves these results,” Schatz said.

A blow came last week when New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, in line to be the top Democrat in the Senate, announced his opposition. Obama’s interviews were recorded before Schumer’s announcement, but were released Monday as the White House tried to keep the president’s voice in the debate during the August lull. Lawmakers have left Washington for their annual congressional recess, and Obama is in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts for his family vacation.

In an interview with online news site Mic, Obama shifted his focus to young people, including some in Iran and Israel who posed questions to the president via video.

Ferguson Police Arrest Protesters Amid Unruly Riots

Ferguson Police Arrest Protesters Amid Unruly Riots, The latest in the events marking a year since the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri (all times local):

10 p.m.

Police have made several arrests in Ferguson after protesters blocked a traffic lane on West Florissant Avenue.

Officers with bullhorns directed protesters to clear the roadway, and others in riot gear forced people out of the street. Some demonstrators threw water bottles and other debris at officers.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told The Associated Press: “They’re not going to take the street tonight. That’s not going to happen.”

Several people were handcuffed and put into two vans.

“What did I do?” one woman asked repeatedly.

Monday marks the fourth consecutive night of protests marking the anniversary of the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

A demonstration in the same location a night earlier was interrupted by gunfire. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger has declared a state of emergency, authorizing Belmar to take control of police emergency management in and around Ferguson.

New Light Shed On MH370 With ‘Major Breakthrough’

New Light Shed On MH370 With ‘Major Breakthrough’, Malaysia said on Thursday paint color and maintenance-record matches proved that a piece of wing found on the shore of an Indian Ocean island was part of the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished without trace last year.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said investigators on the French island of Reunion had collected more aircraft debris, including a plane window and aluminum foil, but there was no confirmation they also belonged to the missing plane.

With the first trace of the plane confirmed, Malaysia has asked the governments of neighboring Mauritius and Madagascar to help widen the search area, he told reporters.

Earlier, Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the piece of debris was from the Boeing777 airliner that was bound for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew on board when it went missing.

“Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370,” Najib said in a televised address.

The airline described the find as “a major breakthrough”.

The first piece of direct evidence that the plane crashed in the sea closed a chapter in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history.

But exactly what happened remains unknown and Najib’s announcement did not appear to represent any kind of resolution for the families of those on board, most of whom were Chinese.

The fragment of wing known as a flaperon was flown to mainland France after being found last week covered in barnacles on a Reunion beach.

Despite the Malaysian confirmation, prosecutors in France stopped short of declaring they were certain, saying only that there was a “very strong presumption”.

Deputy Paris Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said this was based on technical data supplied by both the manufacturer and airline but gave no indication that experts had discovered a serial number or unique markings that would put the link beyond doubt.

Representatives of manufacturer Boeing confirmed that the flaperon came from a 777 jet, he said, and Malaysia Airlines provided documentation of the missing aircraft.

Mackowiak told reporters more analysis would be carried out on Thursday, and a fragment of luggage also found in Reunion would be examined by French police.

“We appreciate the French team and their support and respect their decision to continue with the verification,” Liow said, adding that Malaysian experts were convinced the flaperon was from MH370 because a seal on the part matched a maintenance record and the paint was the same color.

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