Tonight the Jewish fast of Tisha B’Av begins as the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing ends.
From Agence France Press:
[Hiroshima Mayor] Akiba strongly urged US President George W. Bush and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to personally visit Hiroshima and “confront the reality of nuclear war”.
As the clock clicked onto 8:15 am (2315 GMT Tuesday), the exact time the United States dropped the bomb on August 6, 1945, those at the ceremony at Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park bowed their heads for a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the attack.
During the 45-minute ceremony, officials added 5,050 names to the register of victims who died immediately or from the after-effects of radiation exposure in the bombing, bringing the total toll to 231,920, an official said.
Josh Eidelson 