Why Southeast Asia is a wreck diving paradise with its many sunken World War II ships

Why Southeast Asia is a wreck diving paradise with its many sunken World War II ships

Shopping in Singapore, looking down from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, taking in the massive ancient temples in Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, and Borobudur in Java: tropical Southeast Asia is hardly short of things to do for tourists or places to go. Some of the region’s best attractions are not on land. Diving is another … Read more

Taiwan loses only ‘comfort women’ memorial as land sold at auction

Taiwan loses only ‘comfort women’ memorial as land sold at auction

Taiwan’s only memorial to wartime “comfort women” has been removed after the land it stood on was sold at auction, according to Taiwanese media. The removal of the statue – which commemorated atrocities committed by the Japanese military during World War II – comes as the island’s leadership continues its drive to erase common historical … Read more

Opinion | Why demonising ultra-processed foods like Bernie Sanders is doing is not always helpful

Opinion | Why demonising ultra-processed foods like Bernie Sanders is doing is not always helpful

Bernie Sanders, the curmudgeonly American politician, is always on a crusade. The Vermont senator’s latest campaign is to warn us all about ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This is now the generally accepted term for mass-produced foods. They typically include ingredients with long chemical names, sometimes with a number enclosed in brackets. These ingredients – preservatives, emulsifiers, … Read more

China honours WWII Flying Tiger pilots amid push to improve people-to-people ties with US

China honours WWII Flying Tiger pilots amid push to improve people-to-people ties with US

China has hailed American “Flying Tiger” pilots in a ceremony commemorating the end of World War II, in the latest push to foster people-to-people relations between the two nations. For the first time, the names of more than 2,500 pilots who died fighting the Japanese on behalf of China have been published. At a ceremony … Read more

VR tour in Japan shows World War II atomic bomb’s devastating aftermath in Hiroshima

VR tour in Japan shows World War II atomic bomb’s devastating aftermath in Hiroshima

The images begin with the city before the bomb was dropped, and, after showing its immediate impact, present glimpses through the decades leading to the city’s current state. The remains of Hiroshima’s Prefectural Industry Promotion Building, which was later preserved as a monument, in September 1945. Photo: AFP “As the number of atomic bomb survivors … Read more

Hong Kong’s Southorn Playground, haven for sports and socialising amid the urban jungle

Hong Kong’s Southorn Playground, haven for sports and socialising amid the urban jungle

The playground, originally called Wan Chai Children’s Playground, opened in 1934; it was later renamed after Sir Wilfred Thomas Southorn, Hong Kong’s colonial secretary from 1925 to 1936. A photograph taken around 1950 shows Southorn Playground nestled among rows of tenement houses in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai neighbourhood. Photo: Hong Kong Public Libraries For history … Read more

Israel’s Holocaust memorial opens a facility to store artifacts, photos and more

Israel’s Holocaust memorial opens a facility to store artifacts, photos and more

JERUSALEM —  Israel’s national Holocaust museum opened a new conservation facility in Jerusalem on Monday that will preserve, restore and store its more than 45,000 artifacts and works of art in a vast new building, including five floors of underground storage. Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, serves as both a museum and a … Read more

‘O Lord, Give Us Faith’: The Anniversary of D-Day and FDR’s Prayer Broadcast to the Nation

‘O Lord, Give Us Faith’: The Anniversary of D-Day and FDR’s Prayer Broadcast to the Nation

Thursday, June 6, marks the 80-year anniversary of D-Day, the day of the greatest military invasion in modern history. Codenamed “Operation Overlord,” D-Day (June 6, 1944) began at 6:30 am when an Allied force of 156,000 troops made up of primarily Americans, Britons, and Canadians landed on five beaches stretching 50 miles along a heavily … Read more

Star Trek’s George Takei on his life’s mission: to tell his Japanese-American story as often as he can

Star Trek’s George Takei on his life’s mission: to tell his Japanese-American story as often as he can

The incarceration of 120,000 Japanese-Americans, including children, labelled enemies during World War II is an historical experience that has traumatised, and galvanised, the Japanese-American community over the decades. For George Takei, who portrayed Hikaru Sulu aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek, it is a story he is determined to keep telling every opportunity he … Read more

The rebuilt Admiral Hotel Manila – MGallery offers great harbour views and a classic car tour of the Philippine capital

The rebuilt Admiral Hotel Manila – MGallery offers great harbour views and a classic car tour of the Philippine capital

The original structure was demolished in 2012 because of safety concerns, but the hotel was rebuilt on the same spot with the same iconic facade, and reopened under the MGallery brand in 2022. The Admiral Apartments in Manila, the Philippines, in a photo probably taken after World War II. The soul and legacy of the … Read more