 "Israeli Iron Dome air defence system launches to intercept missiles fired from Iran, in central Israel. Iran launched its first direct military attack against Israel on Saturday. AP")
A lot went by this week around the world.
North America witnessed its second full solar eclipse in seven years. Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles Israel on Saturday in retaliation to the airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s Damascus last week.
From Asia, big news also emerged. South Korea conducted a general election, which delivered a brutal blow to President Yoon Suk Yeol, who still has three years in office. And Vietnam sentenced a business tycoon to death over committing the largest fraud in the nation.
Besides these events, news emerged that oil-rich Saudi Arabia was scaling back its grand megacity plans in the desert. And Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister, also made headlines for his choice of shoes.
But if you missed all of this through the week and want a quick recap, we have you covered.
1. Tensions in West Asia have reached a boiling point. Iran launched more than 200 drones and missiles at Israel in an unprecedented attack on Saturday. Israel’s military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirming the same said, “Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel.”
The attack comes after Wall Street Journal and other agencies had reported that an attack was imminent. But why has Iran attacked Israel ? And what weapons does Tehran have in its arsenal?
Impact Shorts
More Shorts2. On Thursday, came the shocking news of Vietnam sentencing real estate tycoon Truong My Lan to death. While Vietnam is one of the world’s leading countries in execution, a death sentence for a financial crime is rare. In our explainer , we take a closer look at who is 67-year-old Truong My Lan and what was the financial fraud she committed.
3. This next piece of news could be upsetting for women. An Australian court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Australian women in which they alleged that they were strip-searched by officials of Qatar Airways. But what exactly happened? And why did they lose the case? Read here to find out more about this matter that dates back to 2020 and even led to a diplomatic fallout between the two nations.
4. In recent times, Saudi Arabia had announced a slew of infrastructural projects. One of them is The Line, a sprawling, futuristic city it plans to contain within a pair of mirror-clad skyscrapers, within NEOM project itself. However, it seems that it may be the end of The Line. The oil-rich kingdom is reportedly scaling back its plans for this futuristic city — from 170 km to just 2.4 km. Moreover, the city which was originally meant to house around 1.5 million residents by the end of the decade will only now be home to 300,000. Want to know why? Click here to find out more.
5. World shoe giant Adidas’ Samba shoes were deemed 2024’s ‘It’ shoes. That was until British prime minister Rishi Sunak was seen wearing them at a recent event. Now, the shoe has lost all its cred and reputation. How did Sunak’s shoe choice become such a big deal and create such a flutter? Explore our essay to find out what went wrong.
6. The past week also saw Sierra Leone declare a national emergency over the rampant drug use, especially over the use of kush. It’s also because of this narcotic that people in the West African nation are increasingly turning to robbing graves. How are the two linked? Read this interesting essay to understand what is kush and how it’s leading dealers and addicts to dig up graves, and rob skeletons away.
And that’s a wrap from us this week. If you liked what you read and you seek more explainers, bookmark this tab .
PS: Meet Russ Cook , the first man to run across the length of Africa. How did he push through? This and more in our Sunday read for you.