Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa (Japanese: 沖縄戦, Hepburn: Okinawa-sen) (Okinawan: 沖縄戦, romanized: Uchinaa ikusa), codenamed Operation Iceberg,^[19] was a major battle of the Pacific Warfought on the island of Okinawa by United States Marine and Army forces against the Imperial Japanese Army.^[20] The initial invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II.^[21][22] The 82-day battle lasted from April 1 until June 22, 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 mi (550 km) away.

The United States created the Tenth Army, a cross-branch force consisting of the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th infantry divisions of the US Army with the 1st, 2nd, and 6th divisions of the Marine Corps, to fight on the island. The Tenth was unique in that it had its own tactical air force (joint Army-Marine command), and was also supported by combined naval and amphibious forces.

The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or tetsu no bōfū("violent wind of steel") in Japanese.^[23][24][25] The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Japanese kamikaze attacks, and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific, with approximately 160,000 casualties on both sides: at least 75,000 Allied and 84,166–117,000 Japanese,^[26][27] including drafted Okinawans wearing Japanese uniforms.^[16][28] 149,425 Okinawans were killed, committed suicide or went missing, a significant proportion of the estimated pre-war 300,000 local population.^[28]

In the naval operations surrounding the battle, both sides lost considerable numbers of ships and aircraft, including the Japanese battleship Yamato. After the battle, Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in proximity to Japan in preparation for a planned invasion.

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Marco POLO

Marco Polo (/ˈmɑːrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/ (listen), Venetian: [ˈmaɾko ˈpolo], Italian: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo], Venice; 1254 – January 8–9, Venice, 1324)^[1] was an Italian merchant, explorer, and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295.^[2][3][4] His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo(also known as Book of the Marvels of the World and Il Milione, c. 1300), a book that described to Europeans the then mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries.^[5]

Born in Venice, Marco learned the mercantile trade from his father and his uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, exploring many places along the Silk Road until they reached Cathay (China). They were received by the royal court of Kublai Khan, who was impressed by Marco's intelligence and humility. Marco was appointed to serve as Khan's foreign emissary to India and Burma, and he was sent on many diplomatic missions throughout the empire. As part of this appointment, Marco also traveled extensively inside China, living in the emperor's lands for 17 years and seeing many things that had previously been unknown to Europeans.^[3] Around 1291, the Polos also offered to accompany the Mongol princess Kököchin to Persia; they arrived around 1293. After leaving the princess, they travelled overland to Constantinople and then to Venice, returning home after 24 years.^[3] At this time, Venice was at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned and dictated his stories to Rustichello da Pisa, a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married, and had three children. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice.

Though he was not the first European to reach China (see Europeans in Medieval China), Marco Polo was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This book inspired Christopher Columbus^[6] and many other travellers. There is substantial literature based on Polo's writings; he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.

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assaulted student in LONDON

Mok's case is one of a number of incidents that have occurred in the UK during the global coronavirus outbreak, and hate crime awareness group Stop Hate UK recently raised concerns.

"Stop Hate UK has recently received an increasing number of calls, across our helpline areas, from people experiencing racism, discrimination and verbal abuse, arising from perceptions that they are members of the Chinese community and therefore likely to be carriers of the coronavirus," said the organization in a statement.

"We find this deeply concerning and we want our Helpline areas to know that we are here to help, advise and reassure anyone affected by such incidents."

Discrimination has been rising in the US, with experts blaming ignorance and misinformation for racist and xenophobic attacks against people who appear to be East Asian.

"With news of the coronavirus, we've seen an uptick in fear of people who look like this," said Rosalind Chou, a sociology professor at Georgia State University. "Real people are affected."

This story has been updated to include the nationality of the student.

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YOLO

Mok said doctors told him the assailants had left him with "a few fractures" in his face and he might need reconstructive surgery.

London's Metropolitan Police confirmed in a statement that they are investigating the "racially aggravated assault" against Mok.

"Enquiries continue to identify the suspects; including an assessment of available CCTV," said police in a statement. "There has been no arrest at this stage."

Mok said this was not the first time he had suffered racist abuse in the past few weeks, and underlined his determination to highlight an important issue.

"I've studied in London for the past 2 years and every year, I am subjected to racist remarks (whether innocent or made with malice)," he wrote. "To those people who told me that London isn't racist, think again."

CNN has contacted Mok for further comment.

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Faded Memory

A 23-year-old Singapore man of Chinese ethnicity who was studying in London has spoken out about racism linked to the coronavirus after suffering facial injuries in a "racially aggravated assault."

Jonathan Mok wrote about his ordeal in a public post on Facebook Monday, detailing how he was attacked by a group of people on Oxford Street, a busy shopping area in the center of the British capital, at about 9.15 p.m. local time (4.15 p.m. ET) on February 24.

The attack comes at a time of increasing xenophobia against people of East Asian appearance in the UK and around the world.

"The guy who tried to kick me then said, 'I don't want your coronavirus in my country', before swinging another sucker punch at me, which resulted in my face exploding with blood (from my nose)," wrote Mok.

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