First description of Hiroshima devastation published
5 September 1945. The LondonDaily Expresspublishes Wilfred Burchett’s ‘scoop of the century’, an account of his visit to Hiroshima three days earlier, the first by a western journalist after the atomic bomb was dropped. ‘The Atomic Plague’ is the first public description in western media of the effects of radiation and nuclear fallout. Burchett’s account begins, ‘I write this as a warning to the world.’
Increased Vietnamese involvement in Laotian affairs
5 September 1945. Prince Phetsarath is contacted by his half-brother, Prince Souphanouvong, who for the last 16 years has been working as a civil engineer in Vietnam. Souphanouvong explains he is in Hanoi negotiating Vietnamese support for the Lao independence struggle. The viceroy rejects the overture; he has long held anti-Vietnamese views and is already concerned about Viet Kieu involvement in the nationalist movement. Indeed, only days earlier Viet Minh-allied forces in Thakhek organized local youth into armed units to oppose the French. These Lao–Viet units will become the model for future joint Lao Issara and Viet Minh collaboration.
Yogyakarta declares for the Republic
5 September 1945. Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogyakarta in Central Java sends a letter to Sukarno, expressing his support for the newly born nation of Indonesia and acknowledging the Yogyakarta Sultanate is part of the Republic. The region receives the status of a special territory. Four weeks will pass before Japanese troops in the city actually relinquish power.
East Timor reverts to Portuguese authority
5 September 1945. Portuguese (East) Timor accepts transfer of authority from the Japanese, although the Australians insist upon a separate ceremony in Dili, alongside the official Japanese surrender ceremony conducted in Kupang (West Timor) on the 11th. Portuguese and local communities look forward to the arrival of Portuguese relief ships and truly welcome them when they appear on the 27th.