World War

Kim Jong-un orders mass production of attack drones

US bomb from WW II explodes at Japan airport, causes large crater

An unexploded US bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said. Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan. Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defence Forces and police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 500-pound US bomb and there was no further danger. They were determining what caused its sudden detonation. A video recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of asphalt into the air like a fountain. Videos broadcast on Japanese television showed a crater in the taxiway reportedly about 7 meters in diameter and 3 feet deep. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said more than 80 flights had been cancelled at the airport, which hopes to resume operations on Thursday morning. Miyaza

Potrait of a German refugee who became key to India's artistic awakening

Reema Desai's book shows political cartoonist Rudolf Von Leyden championing the works of Krishnaji Howlaji Ara, M F Husain and others much before they became legendary on the international art circuit

Netaji's grandnephew appeals to PM to bring Bose's mortal remains back

Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring the mortal remains of the freedom fighter from Renkoji temple in Japan to India. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Bose on Saturday said "On the eve of August 18, the death anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, I once again appeal to you to bring Netaji's remains from Renkoji to India." Netaji's grandnephew said the life of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has passed into the realm of legend. "His magnetic personality, brilliance of mind, extraordinary courage, selflessness, and unwavering dedication to the cause of India's freedom have made him forever a hero in the hearts and minds of not only men and women in India, but of freedom-loving people everywhere," he said. He said that the circumstances of his (Netaji's) death from an air crash while leaving Taiwan in a Japanese military aircraft in the aftermath of Japan's surrender in August 1945, perhaps with a plan t

Brazilian govt apologises for post-WWII persecution of Japanese immigrants

The Brazilian government on Thursday apologized for human rights violations in the persecution and incarceration of Japanese immigrants in the years after World War II. I want to apologize on behalf of the Brazilian state for the persecution your ancestors suffered, for all the barbarities, atrocities, cruelties, tortures, prejudice, ignorance, xenophobia and racism, said Ene de Stutz e Almeida, president of the Amnesty Commission, an advisory board of Brazil's Ministry of Human Rights that analyzes amnesty and reparation requests to victims of political persecution in the country. The board approved the apology plea in a session in Brasilia attended by members of the Brazilian government and prominent members of the Japanese community. Flags of both countries were displayed on the table where the speakers sat. A report by the Amnesty Commission acknowledged that 172 immigrants were sent to a concentration camp off the coast of So Paulo, where they were mistreated and tortured from

The lucky cohort

Unlike those born in the 1940s and '50s, the current generation can no longer take global peace and lifelong economic progress for granted

US destroys last of its chemical weapons, closing deadly chapter from WWI

The last of the United States' declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has announced, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I. Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decades-long campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totalled more than 30,000 tonnes. "Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss," McConnell said in a statement on Friday. "Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil." The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts .

World heading toward a wider war, fears UN chief Antonio Guterres

The United Nations chief warned Monday that the world is facing a convergence of challenges unlike any in our lifetimes and expressed fear of a wider war as the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said experts who surveyed the state of the world in 2023 set the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight the closest ever to total global catastrophe, He pointed to the war in Ukraine, runaway climate catastrophe, rising nuclear threats, the widening gulf between the world's haves and have-nots, and the epic geopolitical divisions undermining global solidarity and trust. In a wide-ranging address Guterres urged the General Assembly's 193 member nations to change their mindset on decision-making from near-term thinking, which he called irresponsible and immoral, to looking at what will happen to all of us tomorrow and act. He said this year's 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should serve as a remin

Ukraine War: What are Kamikaze drones deployed by the Russian military?

As Russia has unleashed a wave of Kamikaze drones on Ukraine for the second time, let's understand what is this weapon and how does it work

After the mess in Ukraine, is Vladimir Putin of any use to Russia?

Putin's claim to power has evolved over his nearly 22 years atop the Kremlin

Oldest US veteran of WWII, Lawrence N. Brooks, dies at 112

Brooks, born on Sept. 12, 1909, was known for his good-natured sense of humor, positivity and kindness

EU says war rhetoric unacceptable after Polish PM's comment

The European Union's executive told Poland Monday that there is no place for rhetoric referring to war among EU partners

Explained: Why Tokyo Olympics will be like no other amid Covid-19

Covid-19 is still spreading but the games appear to be going ahead, in what would be the biggest world event of the pandemic era

Terrorism new way of waging war, threatens to do what World Wars did: India

Terrorism has emerged as one of the means of waging war in the contemporary world and it threatens to engulf the planet in a carnage similar to the one witnessed during the two World Wars, India said

Portents for a future world war

The author painstakingly links events taking place in one theatre with those unfolding in another and how their mutual dynamics affected outcomes in each

How a World War helped the ball pen to take off

It is true that many Indians make startling innovations, but these innovators also need the equivalent of the RAF order.

India sends back remains of WWII American soldiers

The excavated skeletal remains of soldiers and artefacts of a US Air Force B-24 bomber that had crashed in north east India during the second World War were given a full honors ceremony