This Week in Explainers: Will recession in UK, Japan hit daily living?

It’s a Sunday and it’s time to sit back and take stock of the big events across the globe. And it has been an eventful week when it comes to world news.

There was yet again another election this week — in Indonesia. Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates also saw the inauguration of its first Hindu temple, the BAPS mandir, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This week was particularly significant as two countries, the United Kingdom and Japan, also slipped into recession. In fact, the Asian giant lost its spot as the world’s third-largest economy to Germany.

There was also the news of a woman in Spain marrying an AI-generated hologram that caught the eyeballs of many. As we unwind today, check out our list of important world stories in this week’s roundup of explainers.

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1) On Thursday, the world was stunned when it was reported that Japan was no longer the third most powerful economy, giving up its spot to Germany after slipping into an unexpected recession. On the same day, even the United Kingdom slipped into a shallow recession. Officials reported that in the UK, the economy contracted 0.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2023 after shrinking by 0.1 per cent in the July-September period. That’s a mild recession, but it shows economic weakness may continue.

While the experts mull what this means for the economies and the world, we simplify what is a recession? And more importantly what does this mean for us, the common man?

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2) This week was particularly poignant for Hindus. This is because Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first ever Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi — the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) mandir, which is an architectural marvel.

In our explainer, we explore how the temple is significant for India-UAE ties and how it connects the cultures of the two nations.

3) On Friday, came the shocking news that Russia’s most popular dissident, Alexei Navalny, had died at the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year-term. The news comes ahead of Russia’s elections, scheduled for March, where Vladimir Putin is almost guaranteed a fifth term as president.

Navalny, though not on the ballot, was Putin’s fiercest critic. In fact, he was also known as the ‘man who Putin feared the most’. But who was Navalny? And what made him such a vocal critic of the Russian president?

4) The year 2024 has been dubbed as the ‘year of elections’, as country after country goes to the polls. This week, Indonesia — the world’s third-largest democracy, went to the polls and unsurprisingly, its Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, who has a bloody history, has claimed victory.

The Indonesia polls garnered a lot of attention not only because of what it means for the world, but also for its strange and unheard of practices. Want to know what they are? Read here to find out more.

5) Talking about elections, the Pakistan poll results also threw up some big surprises. After delivering no clear winner — the Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)-backed Independents were single largest group, but still far away from the majority mark — the Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s PPP went into a huddle, discussing power-sharing and government formation.

All assumed that Nawaz Sharif would return as the Pakistan prime minister, a record fourth time. However, that wasn’t the case. Shehbaz Sharif, the former prime minister and brother of Nawaz, has been picked as the man of the hour. But why the change? Here’s the answer.

6) This week, on 14 February, also came the tragic story of an Indian-origin couple and their family being found dead in their $2.1 million California home. The family has been identified as Anand Sujith Henry, his wife Alice Priyanka, and four-year-old twin children Noah and Neithan.

As investigations continue in the matter, some shocking details have tumbled out into the open. The US authorities are of the opinion that Anand Henry, a former Meta software engineer, is the prime accused. Here’s what the probe reveals so far.

7) For lovers of the beauty brand The Body Shop, this week was particularly tough. The beloved brand, which began in 1976, is nearing bankruptcy, and has called in for administration — a UK process whereby financial experts are drafted in to try and save parts of a business. This process puts the brand’s 200-plus UK stores on the verge of shutting down.

But how did a brand that prized itself on being sustainable become unsustainable? What went wrong for this trailblazing brand? Our essay explores the rise and fall of The Body Shop.

8) This week was Valentine’s Day. As people celebrated the day of love, the news emerged of a woman in Spain, identified as Alicia Framis, all set to tie the knot with AILex — an AI-generated hologram.

While people may scoff at the idea, Framis said that human and robot romances were an inevitability. We explore this notion further: our humans headed to romancing chatbots and robots in the future? And why are people giving up on real love and choosing virtual lovers? 

And that’s it from us this week. If you like the way we break down the big stories for you, here’s where you may read more of our explainers.

Before we forget, if you are desperate to lose the inches around your tummy, read up on the new Atlantic Diet, which not only promises to be kind to your body, but also to the planet.