side of the lines during World War I. 1916 – White war on the Italian front (World War I): during a mine warfare in high altitude on the Dolomites, the Italian troops conquer the Col di Lana held by the Austrian army. 1917 – The II Italian Corps in France leaves from Italy for the western front. It will distinguish itself during the Third Battle of the Aisne and the Second Battle of the Marne, in Bligny and on the sector Courmas – Bois du Petit Champ, where it will considerably contribute to stop the German offensive on Eparnay, aimed to outflank Reims. 1930 – The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) announced that "there is no news" in their evening report. 1939 – Robert Menzies, who became Australia's longest-serving prime minister, is elected as leader of the United Australia Party after the death of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons. 1942 – World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed. 1942 – Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France. 1943 – World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island. 1945 – Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany. 1945 – Italian resistance movement: In Turin, despite the harsh repressive measures adopted by Nazi-fascists, a great pre-insurrectional strike begins. 1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands. 1947 – The Operation Big Bang, the largest non-nuclear man-made explosion to that time, destroys bunkers and military installations on the North Sea island of Heligoland, Germany. 1949 – The Republic of Ireland Act comes into force, declaring Éire to be a republic and severing Ireland "association" with the Commonwealth of Nations. 1954 – Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt. 1955 – Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference. 1972 – East African Airways Flight 720 crashes during a rejected takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 43. 1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency. 1988 – The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II. 1988 – In Israel John