HIROSHIMA ANNIVERSARY
As the world marks today the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan's Prime Minister called for the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide, during a ceremony in the city where more than 140,000 were killed in the last moments of World War II.
Asked about the significance of the anniversary before meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Malaysia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was quoted as saying by Reuters that the ceremony was a powerful reminder of "the importance of the agreement we have reached with Iran to reduce the possibility of more nuclear weapons." Worldcrunch takes a look at the timeline of press coverage, and what it tells us about the evolution of reporting when faced with an inconceivably shocking event destined to become a chapter of human history.
MALAYSIAN AIRLINE DEBRIS ALL BUT VERIFIED
Photo: Raymond Wae Tion/Maxpp/ZUMA
An international team of investigators in France studying the flaperon found last week off the Indian Ocean island of Reunion declared Thursday a "high probability" that the section of the wing comes from the vanished Malaysian Flight MH370. Further tests are expected to give relatives long-awaited closure 17 months after the plane disappeared from the radar. Meanwhile, back on the remote French island of Reunion, the AFP reports more airplane debris has been identified, including seat parts and porthole. Read more in English from the BBC.
THE DONALD'S DEBATE
The Republican party's top White House hopefuls gather tonight in Cleveland, Ohio for the first debate ahead of this year's primaries. Real estate tycoon Donald Trump, who has made racist remarks about Mexicans and insulted former Republican nominee John McCain, is dominating the media circus — and leading in the polls, ahead of former Florida Governor and presidential brother-and-son Jeb Bush. The debate is limited to the top 10 candidates in the current poll rankings, out of 17 declared candidates. Have a look at our Extra! featuring the front page from the hometown Cleveland Plain Dealer. Read more from Politico.
GADDAFI ABUSE VIDEO
A video has emerged of guards in a Tripoli prison beating Saadi Gaddafi, son of the deposed dictator. The video, yet to be verified, was posted on the Internet soon after a court sentenced his brother Saif Al-Islam and other former regime officials to death for crimes during the 2011 uprising that toppled Col. Muammar Gaddafi, reports Al-Arabiya. The graphic nine minutes of footage have been denounced by human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch.
NEW MED MIGRANT TRAGEDY
Rescue operations continued Thursday after at least 150 people drowned when an overcrowded boat capsized 25 kilometers off Libya's coast. A distress call was picked up and one of the first ships to the scene Wednesday was Irish navy vessel, the LÉ Niamh. But as rescue boats were launched, the fishing boat capsized. It is believed too many people may had moved to one side of the fishing boat causing it to overturn. The boat — thought to have had some 700 on board, according to Commander Brian Fitzgerald of the Irish Naval Service — sank within two minutes. Read more from theIrish Independent.
ON THIS DAY
Time for today's 57-second shot of history, today featuring Hiroshima and Game of Thrones.
VERBATIM
"When corruption is systemic, paying bribes become routine and that is seen as part of the game," said Judge Sergio Moro after two former executives of Brazilian construction giant OAS were sentenced to up to 16 years in jail for corruption. In his ruling, Judge Moro reaffirmed OAS" participation in the scandal at state-owned oil company, Petrobras, writes O Globo.
WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO
Le Temps' Nic Ulmi delves into the latest scientific studies that help explain why humans are uniquely drawn to stories. "Outside the fields of biology and neuroscience, many essayists have attempted to describe and explain this compulsion. Fiction enables us to tame the real world and to extract meaning from more or less disparate events in our lives. The analysis was there. The only thing left to be done was for scientists to open up the brain's black box to see how our species' particularity fits into it and understand how our evolution through the ages gifted us with such a strange ability."
Read the full article, The Science Behind Our Love Of Storytelling.
MY GRAND-PÈRE'S WORLD
SIBLING RIVALRY
Many moms can identify with trying to get their child to say "mama" for the first time, but nobody expected their dog to beat the baby to it …
