War News

Vandals spray swastikas on British war graves in Netherlands

By AFP

Den Haag - Vandals spray-painted swastikas and slogans about the crash of flight MH17 on a British cemetery for World War II soldiers in the Netherlands, police said Friday.

All-clear for German city Hanover after WWII bomb defused

By AFP

Berlin - More than 15,000 people evacuated from their homes in the German city of Hanover were free to return early Tuesday after city officials said an unexploded World War II bomb had been defused.

Uncle Ho's minders: The protectors of Vietnam's embalmed leader

By AFP

Hanoi - The task of safeguarding the embalmed corpse of Vietnam's revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh is gruelling: carefully-selected riflemen work around the clock, watching over the communist nation's founding father who died 50 years ago Monday.

AFP established in tumult of 1944 Paris uprising

By AFP

Paris - Agence France-Presse was created in the tumult of World War II by a band of journalists who stormed a pro-Nazi newsroom and took over as Paris was in revolt.

Japan's Hirohito 'prevented from voicing remorse over war'

By AFP

Apo - Japan's wartime emperor Hirohito wanted to express his regret and remorse shortly after World War II but the prime minister at the time stopped him, local media reported Tuesday, citing newly disclosed documents.

AFP established in tumult of 1944 Paris uprising

By AFP

Paris - Agence France-Presse was created in the tumult of World War II by a band of journalists who stormed a pro-Nazi newsroom and took over as Paris was in revolt.

Chocks away for round-the-world Spitfire flight

By AFP

Chichester - A vintage World War II Spitfire plane took off for an unprecedented journey around the world on Monday, which will see the iconic aircraft soar over some 30 countries.

'Majestic' WWII Spitfire takes off on round-the-world flight

By AFP

Chichester - An original Spitfire plane took off from Britain on Monday on an unprecedented attempt to fly the iconic World War II fighter around the globe.

At least 24 killed in brutal Papua New Guinea tribal massacres

By AFP

Port Moresby - At least 24 people, including two pregnant women and their unborn children, were killed in a three-day spasm of tribal violence in Papua New Guinea's lawless highlands, prompting the prime minister on Wednesday to promise swift justice.

24 killed in Papua New Guinea tribal massacres

By AFP

Port Moresby - Twenty-four people have died -- including two pregnant women with their unborn children -- in tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea's lawless highlands, prompting the prime minister on Wednesday to promise swift justice.

Kosovo celebrates '20 years free' with Clinton visit

By AFP

Pristina - With celebratory speeches, a new statue and a visit from former US president Bill Clinton, Kosovo will on Wednesday mark 20 years since the NATO intervention that ended its war with Serbia and cleared a path for independence.

France ramps up bid to return stolen WW2 Jewish assets

By AFP

Paris - The French government said on Wednesday it had launched a project to return cultural artefacts stolen from Jews in World War II.

US D-Day veterans find 'second family' in modern Normandy

By AFP

Sainte-m - Three quarters of a century ago, they came to Normandy's beaches as young men, many still in their teens, braving German fire to free France from Nazi occupation and help win the war in Europe.

50 years later, Montreal celebrates Lennon-Ono 'bed-in' for peace

By AFP

Montr - John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent a week in pajamas in 1969 at The Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal, welcoming journalists and recording "Give Peace a Chance" as the Vietnam War raged.

At 17, Bill Sisk fought from the shores of Normandy to Germany

By AFP

Lynchburg - Bill Sisk was 17 years old when he stormed Utah Beach in Normandy on D-Day and 18 when he witnessed firsthand the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp, but the former GI wouldn't call himself a hero."I was too young.

Spain divided over 80th anniversary of end of civil war

By AFP

Madrid - Spain on Monday marked the 80th anniversary of the 1936-39 civil war which ushered in the dictatorship of Francisco Franco with the country still divided over the issue.

Lebanon sees eastern EU refugee hardline as model to follow

By AFP

Prague - Lebanon said on Wednesday it wanted to follow the example of eastern EU states that have largely rejected refuging its own refugee crisis as a way of resolvs.

Karadzic trial to close, but Bosnia's divides remain open

By AFP

Srebrenica - Widows of the Srebrenica massacre hope he will die in prison, while Bosnian Serbs have honoured Radovan Karadzic with a university dorm in his name.

Srebrenica survivors hope Karadzic gets life sentence

By AFP

Tuzla - Survivors of Bosnia's Srebrenica massacre said Monday they hoped a UN court would sentence convicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic to life in jail when he receives his final verdict next week.

US, China 'miles and miles' from resolving trade conflict: US official

By AFP

Washington - Washington and Beijing are "miles and miles" from resolving their trade war, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday.

Bosnian Serbs parade for 'national holiday', angering Muslims

By AFP

Sarajevo - Thousands of Bosnian Serbs cheered parading security forces in celebration of the "national holiday" of their entity, Republika Srpska, on Wednesday, despite a legal ban and objections of Bosnian Muslims who view it as a provocation.

From arrows to M16s: PNG tribal fights get ever deadlier

By AFP

Port Moresby - Tribes in Papua New Guinea's rough and rugged highlands have fought each other for centuries, but a recent influx of automatic weapons risks turning minor beefs into all-out war.

Sombre ceremonies from Wellington to New Delhi mark WWI armistice centenary

By AFP

New Delhi - India, Australia and New Zealand paused Sunday on the centenary of the end of World War I to remember the more than 150,000 of their countrymen who died fighting on the other side of the world.

November 9: a fateful day in German history

By AFP

Berlin - So many momentous events happened in Germany on November 9 during the 20th century that it has become known as the country's "day of fate".

November 9: a fateful day in German history

By AFP

Berlin - So many momentous events happened in Germany on November 9 during the 20th century that it has become known as the country's "day of fate".

Former Croatian PM convicted of war profiteering

By AFP

Zagreb - Croatia's former premier Ivo Sanader was convicted on Monday of war profiteering, in a re-trial that found him guilty of taking a bribe from an Austrian bank during the country's 1990s conflict.

Biopic tribute to slain war reporter Marie Colvin as journalism comes 'under attack'

By AFP

London - A biopic of war correspondent Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, is a celebration of journalism as it increasingly comes "under attack", according to the film-makers.

Norway mourns WWII resistance fighter who halted Nazis' nuclear drive

By AFP

Oslo - Norwegian World War II hero Joachim Ronneberg, who led a major sabotage operation against the Nazis in his occupied homeland, died on Sunday, aged 99.

Over 60 world leaders to attend Paris WWI commemorations

By AFP

Paris - More than 60 world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, will travel to Paris next month for commemorations of the end of World War I a century ago, French officials said Thursday.

Norway apologises to mistreated war-time 'German girls'

By AFP

Oslo - Norway on Wednesday officially apologised for the "shameful treatment" of Norwegian women targeted for reprisals for their intimate relations with German soldiers during the country's war-time occupation.