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World War II
Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Hong Kong overnight so experts could defuse a large US-made bomb left over from World War II that was discovered at a construction site. Police said the bomb was 1.5 metres in length and weighed about 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). It was discovered by construction workers in Quarry Bay, a bustling residential and business district on the west side of Hong Kong Island. We have confirmed this object to be a bomb dating back to World War II, said Andy Chan Tin-Chu, a police official, speaking to reporters ahead of the operation. He said that because of the exceptionally high risks associated with its disposal, approximately 1,900 households involving 6,000 individuals were "urged to evacuate swiftly. The operation to deactivate the bomb began late Friday and lasted until around 11:30 am on Saturday. No one was injured in the operation. Bombs left over from World War II are discovered from time to time in Hong Kong. The city was .
As the World War II bomber Heaven Can Wait was hit by enemy fire off the Pacific island of New Guinea on March 11, 1944, the co-pilot managed a final salute to flyers in an adjacent plane before crashing into the water. All 11 men aboard were killed. Their remains, deep below the vast sea, were designated as non-recoverable. Yet four crew members' remains are beginning to return to their hometowns after a remarkable investigation by family members and a recovery mission involving elite Navy divers who descended 200 feet (61 metres) in a pressurised bell to reach the sea floor. Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan, the radio operator was buried military honours and community support on Saturday in his hometown of Wappingers Falls, New York, more than eight decades after leaving behind his wife and baby son. The bombardier, 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, was to be buried Monday in Livermore, California, where he grew up in a ranching family. The remains of the pilot, 1st Lt. Herbert Tennyson, and ...
Hardly any other country marks the end of World War II with the same fanfare and fervour as Russia, for which the victory over Nazi Germany 80 years ago remains a source of immense pride and a defining moment of history. Victory Day, celebrated on May 9, is Russia's most important secular holiday, reflecting its wartime sacrifice. But it's also used by the Kremlin to bolster patriotism and regain the superpower prestige it lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. President Vladimir Putin, who has ruled Russia for 25 of those 80 years, has turned Victory Day into a key pillar of his tenure and has tried to use it to justify his 3-year-old invasion of Ukraine. He has also sought to underline the failure of Western efforts to isolate Moscow by inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders to the festivities, which this year have been overshadowed by reports of Ukrainian drone attacks targetting Moscow and severe disruptions at the capital's airports, as well as cellphone
King Charles III on Monday led the UK's commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, referred to as Victory in Europe (VE) Day, with a new public poll calling for greater recognition of the contributions of Indians to the war effort. A 2.5-million-strong British Indian Army, then under colonial rule, fought alongside the Allied forces to defeat Nazi Germany, with victory declared by Britain's war-time prime minister Winston Churchill in May 1945. They were joined by other Commonwealth soldiers from Africa and the Caribbean, an involvement seen as crucial in major battles, sustaining military campaigns and providing intelligence and medical aid. "We should step up efforts to raise awareness for forces from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, said Sunder Katwala, Director of London-based think tank British Future. Nearly half of us don't know about the Indian Army's role in World War II, when we're talking about 2.5 million soldiers. Moments like VE Day 80 are
A unanimous Supreme Court on Friday dealt a severe blow to Holocaust survivors and their families in a long-running lawsuit seeking compensation from Hungary for property confiscated during World War II. The justices threw out an appeals court ruling that had allowed the lawsuit to continue despite a federal law that generally shields sovereign nations like Hungary from suits in US courts. The high court heard arguments in December in Hungary's latest bid to end the lawsuit filed in 2010 by survivors, all of whom are now over 90, and heirs of survivors. Some survived being sent to the Auschwitz death camp in what was German-occupied Poland. The appeals court had held that the survivors satisfied the exception the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act makes for property taken in violation of international law. To qualify, the survivors must be able to show that the property has some commercial tie to the United States. The survivors had argued that Hungary long ago sold off the property,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was visiting Poland on Wednesday after the two countries reached an agreement on a longstanding source of tensions between them: the exhumation of Polish victims of World War II-era massacres by Ukrainian nationalists. The office of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said early Wednesday he would welcome Zelenskyy in the late morning, and that the two would hold a joint news conference shortly after noon local time. The visit comes just days after Tusk announced progress on the issue of the exhumations, an issue that has strained relations for years. Finally a breakthrough. There is a decision on the first exhumations of Polish victims of the UPA," Tusk wrote on the social platform X on Friday, referring to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. I thank the ministers of culture of Poland and Ukraine for their good cooperation. We are waiting for further decisions. A non-governmental group, the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, said Monday it will begi
Japanese Princess Yuriko, the wife of wartime Emperor Hirohito's brother and the oldest member of the imperial family, has died after her health deteriorated recently, palace officials said. She was 101. Yuriko died Friday at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said. It did not announce the cause of death, but Japanese media said she died of pneumonia. Born in 1923 as an aristocrat, Yuriko married at age 18 to Prince Mikasa, the younger brother of Hirohito and the uncle of current Emperor Naruhito, months before the start of World War II. She has recounted living in a shelter with her husband and their baby daughter after their residence was burned down in the U.S. fire bombings of Tokyo in the final months of the war in 1945. Yuriko raised five children and supported Mikasa's research into ancient Near Eastern history, while also serving her official duties and taking part in philanthropic activities. She outlived her husband and all three sons. Her death reduces Japa
Lance Naik Charan Singh (retd), a World War II veteran who served the Army for 17 years and received the prestigious Burma Star Award has turned 100. The Army celebrated his centennial birthday on Saturday at his home in Himachal Pradesh, marking a century of extraordinary life and service. Born on September 7, 1924, Singh's journey with the Army began on August 26, 1942, at Firozepur Cantonment, when he got enrolled in the Indian Army, a senior official said on Sunday. His distinguished military career saw him serve with the Army Service Corps during the World War II. His service took him from Singapore to Lahore and eventually to Yol Cantonment in Himachal Pradesh, he said. "Over the years, his dedication was recognised with the prestigious Burma Star Award and the Indian Independence Medal. After 17 years of valiant service, he retired from the Indian Army on May 17, 1959," the Army said. Now residing in Dekwala village of Himachal Pradesh's Ropar district, Singh lives surround
Solemn ceremonies started early Sunday in Poland to mark the 85th anniversary of German Nazi forces invading and bombing Polish territory at the start of World War II. President Andrzej Duda attended observances in Wielun, the first civilian town targeted by German bombs in the small hours of September 1, 1939. Meanwhile, at a monument on the Baltic Sea's Westerplatte peninsula, where a military outpost was shelled by a German warship just minutes after Wielun was attacked, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz laid wreaths and attended a memorial roll call for fallen soldiers. At the time, the outpost's outnumbered troops fought for seven days before surrendering to the Germans, becoming a symbol of heroism and patriotism. In more than five years of war and brutal German occupation, Poland lost 6 million citizens or a sixth of its population, of which 3 million were Jewish. The country also suffered huge losses to its infrastructure, industry an