World War 2

In a World War II reminder for Japan, war-era bomb detonates at airport

Japan authorities confirmed that a Second World War-era 500-pound US bomb was responsible for the explosion at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan, and no further threat remains

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

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

Destruction of housing in Gaza unprecedented, not seen since WW2: UN

The world hasn't seen anything like the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza since World War II, and it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel's bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today, the United Nations reported Thursday. The UN assessment said the social and economic impact of the war launched after Hamas' surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 has been increasing in an exponential manner. It called the level of casualties 5 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population -- unprecedented in such a short time. By mid-April, it said, over 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and more than 80,000 injured. About 7,000 others remain missing, most believed to be buried under the rubble. Every additional day that this war continues is exacting huge and compounding costs to Gazans and all Palestinians said United Nations Development Program Administrator Achim Steiner. The report by UNDP and the UN Economic Commission for ..

How the world once handled war crimes

Professor Gary J Bass delves into the forgotten history of the Tokyo trial after World War II, exploring the complex dynamics of justice, politics, and international law in the aftermath of conflict

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

Kishida marks 78th year of WWII's end, doesn't mention Japan's agression

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida renewed a peace pledge Tuesday as Japan observed the 78th anniversary of its World War II defeat but did not mention the country's wartime aggression in Asia, while three of his former and current Cabinet ministers visited a shrine seen by neighboring countries as a symbol of militarism. Japan will stick to our resolve to never repeat the tragedy of the war, Kishida said at a solemn ceremony in a speech that was almost identical to what he read last year. The absence of any reference to Japanese aggression across Asia in the first half of the 1900s or its victims in the region followed a precedent set by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013, in what was seen by critics as a move to whitewash Japan's wartime brutality. Kishida stressed the destruction that Japan suffered from the war, including the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, fire bombings across Japan and the bloody ground battle on Okinawa, and the suffering of Japanese ..

Tension on Taiwan Strait: What is the dispute between China and Taiwan?

The tensions between the two states on either side of the Taiwan Strait have remained high since World War II. Here is a look at the brief history of the conflict

Betrayal and survival

In The Collaborators, some readers may find Buruma's permissiveness toward his subjects' conduct and moral barometers disturbing

Italy's leader Meloni forms nation's first far-right-led govt since WWII

Giorgia Meloni on Friday formed Italy's new ruling coalition, assembling the country's first far-right-led government since the end of World War II and becoming the first woman to obtain the premiership. A presidential palace official announced that Meloni and her Cabinet would be sworn in on Saturday. Meloni's Brothers of Italy, a party with neo-fascist roots, was the top vote-getter in Italy's national election last month. A few hours before the new government's formation was announced, Meloni, 45, a career politician, told reporters that she and her allies had unanimously asked President Sergio Mattarella to give her the mandate to govern. Obtaining the premiership capped a remarkably quick rise for the Brothers of Italy. Meloni co-founded the party in December 2012, and it was considered a fringe movement on the right during its first years. Meloni made no public comments before leaving the Quirinal presidential palace. Earlier in the day, she met with Mattarella along with her

Japan marks 77th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing in final days of WWII

Japan on Saturday marked the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that took place in the final days of the Second World War

Poles mark 78th anniversary of Warsaw Uprising; compare to Ukraine

Poles marked the 78th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, with some including the president comparing the wartime Polish resistance to that of Ukrainians today fighting Russia's invasion

New Sri Lankan PM Gunawardena's India connection from World War II era

As Dinesh Gunawardena took oath as Sri Lanka's 15th prime minister, its local media highlighted the background of his father Philip Gunawardena who was at the centre of the anti-imperialist campaign

UN General Assembly approves resolution condemning Holocaust denial

The UN General Assembly approved an Israeli-sponsored resolution condemning any denial of the Holocaust

Investigation sheds new light on Anne Frank's betrayal after 77 years

The Jewish family of Anne Frank hiding in Amsterdam during World War Two was most likely betrayed by a notary in Amsterdam, says a new cold case investigation

World War II era Agartala airport to be 3rd international airport in NE

The Agartala airport, which was was used as a technical base for the Royal Air Force during World War II, would likely be declared an international airport soon

US budget deficit debt to hit $3.3 trillion, bigger than its economy's size

The spike in the deficit means that federal debt will exceed annual gross domestic product next year

Vandals deface WWII memory wall with Holocaust-denial graffiti in France

Vandals have scrawled graffiti denying the Holocaust on a wall in the village that was the site of the France's biggest massacre of civilians by the Nazis during World War II

Rajnath leaves for Russia amid China row; to press for S-400 delivery

Singh is primarily visiting Russia to attend a grand military parade in Moscow on June 24 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in the Second World War.

Towards a new 'road to serfdom'?

The classical liberal order is under threat from 'woke' progressives