Cologne, Germany An unexploded WWII aerial bomb retrieved from the Rhine River forced the closure of shipping operations and the airspace above the river as experts safely defused the bomb.

The massive British-made munition was moved to a dredging vessel positioned far enough from residential areas to avoid the need for any evacuations during defusal operations, according to Cologne city officials.

Once diffused, it was transported ashore on a tractor and loaded onto an EOD vehicle. Discovery of UXO is common in Cologne, which was heavily bombed by Allied air forces during the war.

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Kita-Kyushu, Japan Japanese self-defense forces carried out a controlled detonation of a WWII U.S. mine found during windfarm construction in the Kanmon Straits. This marked the first explosive operation conducted in the area in nearly a decade.

In a two-step process, a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) minesweeper successfully cleared the mine. "We managed to dispose of it without fail," said Lt. Cmdr. Akira Ito of the 43rd Mine Warfare Force.

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The Canadian government issued a warning after divers discovered more than a dozen unexploded bombs and artillery projectiles in a US Navy shipwreck. The Royal Canadian Navy reported the discovery of over twelve unexploded bombs and artillery projectiles in a WWII US Navy shipwreck situated off the coast of Newfoundland.

In a statement the Navy said, "Returning from their operational area, they've (divers) identified over a dozen 227kg bombs and numerous artillery projectiles. The relentless corrosion from decades of saltwater exposure has left these historical artifacts fragmented and weather-beaten."

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Block Island, Rhode Island A trawler fishing four miles off the coast line pulled in an explosive catch when their nets captured WWI era a depth charge. Upon discovery, the crew contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, who then requested assistance from the U.S. Navy.

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Tokyo, Japan Residents of an Air Force base in northeastern Japan were asked to shelter in place after an airman reported finding what turned out to be a WWII Japanese grenade while snorkeling.

The base issued the following statement on its social media page, "Out of an abundance of caution the acting Misawa Air Base installation commander issued a shelter in place warning notification for north base housing after a community member discovered an unexploded ordnance 23 Sept."

The post also stated, "Misawa's Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel immediately responded to the scene and determined the object was not a threat."

Senior Airman Layne Ring found the suspect munition while he and his wife were snorkeling at Mutsu Bay, located 45 minutes north of the base. In a statement Ring said, "My wife and I love to look for sea glass, glass float, sea marbles. While we were there, I pulled out my snorkel gear and started snorkeling near the shore and found a ton of glass, and then I stumbled upon what I thought was a ceramic pot at first but to my knowledge assumed it was a ceramic fishing weight or something."

A few days later, while looking through the objects he collected, Ring noticed what appeared to be a fuse. "I realized I found a Japanese imperial navy Type 4 ceramic grenade ... created from 1944-1945 as a 'last ditch' effort to defend Japan's citizens from the Americans if they invaded," Ring said.

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Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has begun operations to dispose of more than 600 UXO uncovered on Okinawa this year. Approximately 319 items were safely detonated a half-mile offshore from Naha Port's Shinko Wharf, according to a Naha city spokesperson.

The ordnance was uncovered during dredging operations off Naha Port between March and November. The UXO are believed to be American-made and were likely dropped during the pivotal Battle of Okinawa that lasted from April 1 to June 22, 1945. The city spokesman said, "The disposal was conducted as planned and without any trouble."

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Drigg Beach, United Kingdom A Millom Coastguard Rescue Team responded to a call for suspicious items that washed up on the Beach. The team confirmed that the items were military munitions, likely WWII-era. They sent photos to the Royal Navy EOD Team from Northern Diving Group at Faslane who came to safely dispose of the items.

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Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts A state police bomb squad responded to recover and dispose of unidentified military ordnance that washed onshore on the Vineyard. The ordnance, believed to be practice rounds fired on Nomans Land prior to WWII, was safely counter-charged at the old Edgartown landfill, according to Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee. The ordnance was recovered over the course of a weekend on South Beach in Edgartown, as well as on Wasque Beach on Chappaquiddick.

Stamp End, United Kingdom A 50-year old man and his 13-year old son pulled a hand grenade from the River Soar while magnet fishing. The two instantly recognized the potential hazard from previous UXO finds while magnet fishing and notified police.

Police, an Army EOD unit, paramedics, firefighters and other agencies responded to dispose of the hand grenade identified as a Mills grenade. A controlled detonation was carried out along the riverbank as the item was reportedly too dangerous to move.

Following the incident, the father posted his find on Social Media with the following comments: "It could have killed someone! We pulled out a live WW2 mills grenade. The bomb squad usually take grenades away to somewhere quiet and carry out a controlled explosion. When the bomb squad examined and x-rayed our grenade they deemed it to be too unstable to move. The grenade could have exploded at any time!! The grenade had to be blown up at the side of the river where it was found. Nearby homes had to be evacuated for safety."

Pacific Beach, Washington Police responded to reports of at least 10 rounds of WWII ammunition washing ashore. Police confirmed the ordnance was of military origin and contacted the EOD team from Joint Base Lewis-McChord for technical assistance.

EOD safely disposed of the munitions which included 20mm rounds (exact nomenclatures not reported). Following the incident, the local police searched the immediate are for other ordnance but none was found.

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