This Week in Explainers: How tremors in Iran led to fears of a secret nuclear bomb test

It’s been a momentous week in the world. At the beginning of this week, Israel marked the one year of its war in Gaza against Hamas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, “We are changing the security reality in our region; for the sake of our children, for the sake of our future, to ensure that what happened on October 7 will not happen again. Never again.”

This week also saw Israel keeping up its bombing of Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah leaders. On Tuesday (8 October), the Jewish nation claimed to have eliminated Hezbollah’s new leader, Hashem Safieddine, who took over as chief of the Lebanese group after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah.

Meanwhile, the American state of Florida was battered and bruised by the deadly Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm, just two weeks after it was hit by another cyclonic storm — Hurricane Helene.

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This week also saw Zakir Naik, the controversial Islamic preacher, make headlines, albeit for all the wrong reasons. The controversial figure, who faces a number of criminal charges in India, is in Pakistan for a month-long visit at the invitation of the government.

It’s also the Nobel Prize this week; awards for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace have been given out, with two of the big prizes going to individuals from Asia.

We take a look at all of this in our weekly wrap.

1) Monday (October 7) marked the first anniversary of Israel’s war against Hamas following the militant group’s attack last October. Since then, the world has changed . The country is battling against Iran, against Hezbollah in Lebanon, against Hamas in Gaza and against the Houthis in Yemen. In their battle against Hezbollah, Israel continues to pound Lebanon, taking out leader after leader. On Tuesday (October 8), following intense airstrikes, Netanyahu said, “Israel has “degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities; we took out thousands of terrorists, including [longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and his replacement’s replacement.”

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Who was Nasrallah’s replacement, Hashem Safieddine? How did Israel kill him? And what’s left of the Hezbollah leadership? Our explainer has the answers you are looking for.

2) The world awaits Israel’s response to Iran’s barrage of missile strikes, last Tuesday. Many speculate that the Jewish nation will strike back, aiming at the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities. Amid this speculation, Iran recorded tremors, measuring 4.6 magnitude, on Saturday (October 5). While some believed it was an earthquake, others thought it to be a secret nuclear test that the country had conducted. But was it naturally occurring or was it indeed the result of a nuclear bomb test? Here’s what we found out.

3) Late Wednesday night (October 9), Hurricane Milton made its landfall in Florida, wreaking havoc in the American state. At least 10 people have died and thousands of others are now trying to piece back their lives after the destruction. Amid this devastation, officials also had to contend with misinformation that was pouring in from all corners of social media. In our essay , we look at the numerous theories circulating.

And it seems that the people of Florida can’t catch a break. While they try to bring back normalcy to the state, weather officials are already concerned about a potential Tropical Storm Nadine . Will it hit the US?

4) Away from the news of war and destruction, big headlines emerged from India’s neighbouring country, Pakistan. The Shehbaz Sharif-led government has invited controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik to the country for a near-month-long visit. The trip by the 58-year-old was seen by many as Islamabad’s efforts to irk New Delhi — as he faces charges of money laundering and inciting hate between communities. But it’s turned out to be an embarrassment for Pakistan. Here’s why .

5) This week is also Nobel Prize week. From October 7 to 14, awards are being handed out to individuals who have made significant contributions to the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economics. But how are these winners chosen? What are the criteria used to pick them? Read on to find out.

6) If you are a teacher in a state-run school in China, chances are your passport has been recalled by officials. That’s the news that came out of the Asian giant this week, with many noting that it’s one more way of Xi Jinping tightening his grip on civil society. We take a closer look at what’s going on and what it means for people in the country.

7) We are less than a month away from the US presidential election; voting is scheduled for November 5. Both candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have stepped up their campaigning as the elections draw closer. But the Democratic candidate’s campaign has been hit by a few bumps along the way, as new accusations are being levelled against Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband and current ‘Second Gentleman’. What’s going on? Why is he being called a misogynist? Did he slap his former girlfriend? We get you the full story .

And that ends our weekly wrap. We hope you liked our explainers. If yes, here’s where you can find many more.

PS: If you are in the mood for some weekend reading, here’s an interesting one about Indonesian women and the ‘ pleasure marriages ’ they are getting into with tourists. Hope you like it!