This Week in Explainers: Why WeWork did not work

And just like that, the second week of November has also come to an end. It’s Diwali, a time for celebration for millions the world over. A lot happened this week around the globe that you may have missed because of the festivities. We have you covered.

It has been a little over a month since Israel’s deadly war with Hamas broke out. Over 11,000 Palestinians, including over 4,000 children, have been killed in Gaza by Israel in its retaliatory strikes, according to Hamas-run Health Ministry’s data. Over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, died during Hamas’ initial 7 October attacks on the West Asian country.

As criticism of Israel grows amid the rising death toll in Gaza, the United States has managed to convince the West Asian country to allow a four-hour “humanitarian pause” daily in its operations in northern Gaza so civilians can flee to the south.

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American startup WeWork has failed. The firm, backed by Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp, filed for US bankruptcy protection this week. We will return to this story later.

A new COVID-19 variant has been detected by scientists in the US. Even though the coronavirus has slipped from our minds, it is still there and keeps grabbing headlines every now and then.

Check out our list of important world stories in this week’s roundup of explainers.

1. Israel has hit out at four global media outlets – the New York Times (NYT), CNN, Associated Press (AP) and Reuters, claiming their photojournalists in Gaza had prior knowledge of Hamas’ 7 October attack. The news organisations have strongly rejected the Israeli government’s allegations, with NYT terming them “outrageous” and stating that such claims put “journalists on the ground in Israel and Gaza at risk.”

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Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi wrote on X, “It has come to our attention that certain individuals within your organisation, including photographers and others, had prior knowledge of these horrific actions and may have maintained a troubling connection with the perpetrators”.

Why did Israel make such claims and does it have any proof? You can read our explainer here.

2. Although Israel’s war has overshadowed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (a fact lamented by Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently), Kyiv had something to cheer about this week. The European Union’s executive commission has recommended that formal talks on Ukraine and Moldova becoming member states can be started next year. It also suggested granting the status of a candidate country to Georgia once it meets certain conditions.

While experts say this is a key milestone for Kyiv’s aspirations of Western integration, the process may actually take a lot longer. Read all about it here.

3. The stunning fall of office-sharing company WeWork was one of the biggest news this week. Once the most valuable US startup worth $47 billion, the rising losses due to reduced demand for office space from companies and increasing debt led to the meteoric fall of WeWork.

As concerns about the operations of the flexible workspace provider in other locations rose, WeWork India CEO, Karan Virwani, clarified that its business will not be impacted. “WeWork India is a separate entity from WeWork Global. The recent Chapter 11 filing will not impact our members and stakeholders in India. We will continue to operate and serve our members, landlords, and partners as usual. Committed to the growth and success of our business”, the company said in a statement on X.

4. An Indian man was sentenced to life in prison in Florida in the United States for the horrific murder of his wife in 2020. Philip Mathew had stabbed his 26-year-old wife, Merin Joy, 17 times and then drove over her body before fleeing from the scene. Read our Explainer on the heart-rending case here.

5. Israel has vowed to crush Hamas and has no plans to stop before achieving its goal. The rising death toll in Gaza does not seem a deterrent either. But what happens after it eliminates the Palestinian militant group? Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally shed some light on that, saying his country would maintain indefinite “overall security responsibility” in the narrow enclave.

Israel’s ally, the US, has cautioned the war-stricken nation must not reoccupy Gaza but can control the territory for a transition period. However, Israel’s security role in the enclave could risk further fueling tensions in West Asia. We explain how this would happen.

6. Japan has a new island. An underwater volcanic eruption has given birth to the unnamed island off the coast of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean. According to the Japanese Geospatial Information Authority, the Asian country was home to over 14,125 islands. While it adds some islands, it also loses others. Let’s take a deep dive into the story here.

7. The US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has flagged a new COVID-19 variant, known as JN.1. First detected in Luxembourg on 25 August, JN.1 has also been found in England, Iceland, France and the US. A strain of Omicron, scientists say it has increased transmissibility and could become the ‘the winter variant’.

The news can be grim. But as we find some cheer this festive season, we can only hope and pray that light and love prevail.

We will continue analysing the news. To read our explainers, you can bookmark this page.