As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the first use of a nuclear weapon, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima near the end of World War II, the planet is closer to seeing them used again than it has been in decades,

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later brought a scale of destruction the world had never seen. Many who survived the blasts died in the weeks, months and years that followed.

Mayor Kazumi Matsui called on leaders to heed the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and warned of the consequences of the global trend towards a military buildup.

Authorities defused the British-made bomb, saying it will be moved to a safe location.

The British World War II bomb discovered in Dresden during demolition work has been defused, police in the eastern German city announced on Wednesday. Earlier some 17,000 people had to be evacuated from the area surrounding Dresden's Carola bridge following the discovery on Tuesday of the bomb during demolition work on the bridge,