 "This Year in Most Read: From Trump’s shooter to Indonesia’s ‘pleasure marriages’, our stories that kept you hooked")
2024 is nearing its end. As the New Year approaches, it is pertinent to take a look back at the year about to become the past.
We are all excited to welcome 2025, hoping it will be a better year. But before it knocks on our door, we flip the pages to check which stories our readers preferred the most.
Here are the explainers that caught your eye and kept you hooked.
1. South Korea continued to hit international headlines this year. The country was plunged into uncertainty after its now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, which was later withdrawn.
While South Korea deals with the aftermath of Yoon’s decision, the East Asian nation is staring at a crisis threatening its existence. South Korea could become the first country to disappear amid a worsening fertility crisis. We explain in this story what is going on.
2. In a big jolt for Indian companies, Switzerland announced its plan to revoke the Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) status with India from January 1, 2025. The term is used in international trade agreements to ensure that a country offers the best possible treatment or tariff rates to another nation.
The Swiss finance department in its official statement in early December cited the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling in the Nestle case as the reason for this unilateral decision. Here’s our detailed report on the development.
3. 2024 was a violent year. Be it stabbings, airstrikes on innocent civilians or mass shootings, the world witnessed horrific scenes. In the United Kingdom, a 17-year-old boy stabbed to death three young girls in the seaside town of Southport, near Liverpool.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe stabbing incident triggered anti-Muslim riots in parts of the UK. The attacker was identified as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, who was described as “shy and introverted” by his neighbours. But why did the teen attack the three young girls – aged six, seven and nine – and injure five others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event for children? We explain in this story.
4. Israel and Iran came quite close to an all-out war this year. The West Asian countries carried out tit-for-tat missile strikes, with concerns rising of a wider conflict in the region. The shadow war between Israel and Iran has burst into the open since Hamas’ attack on Israel last October.
Israel has weakened Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen.
In October, Israel launched three waves of overnight strikes on Iran in retaliation to Tehran launching at least 180 missiles into Israel earlier that month. While there is a lull in tensions now, we explore who has the bigger and better military .
5. While you might not get to travel abroad, countries like the UK and Schengen nations are raking in millions by rejecting visas. As per Lago Collective’s data, the European Union nations and the UK made nearly $200 million last year in rejected visa application fees.
The fees, also known as ‘reverse remittances’, are non-refundable. Experts say low and middle-income nations have the highest rejection rates. We take a look at this in one of the most-read explainers of this year.
6. Donald Trump, who is set to return as the United States president for a second non-consecutive term in January, survived two apparent assassination attempts in two months during his election campaigning.
During the first such bid in July, the gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired at Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter and one audience member died.
Dramatic photos of a defiant and bloodied Trump surviving the attack had emerged, giving a small boost to his favourability ratings.
But who was this young shooter and how was he killed? We explain in this story .
7. It was a year of elections. India was among the countries that went to the ballots to elect a new government. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) returned to power for a third consecutive term, although with a reduced mandate in the Lok Sabha polls.
While this came as a surprise for many, Mumbai’s low voter turnout did not. India’s financial capital is notorious for not turning up to vote. But why? Here’s our report examining the matter.
8. New Zealand has a big problem at hand. Its citizens are leaving the country as it witnesses record-breaking migration losses. In the year leading up to April 2024, New Zealand recorded a net migration loss of 56,500 citizens.
A significant number of its nationals are moving to Australia. Some attribute this to Kiwis seeking overseas experience and better living conditions abroad. We explain in this story what is going on.
9. Women in an Indonesian village are getting into “pleasure marriages”. The practice in Puncak involves young women from low-income families entering short-term marriages with male tourists in return for money.
A brief, informal wedding ceremony is held with the consent of both parties, after which the man gives the woman a bride price. These “pleasure marriages” have come under scrutiny as some tourists are using them to exploit local women. Read more about it in our explainer .
10. India was embarrassed yet again by the treatment of women. Smriti Singh, the young widow of Kirti Chakra awardee Captain Anshuman Singh, was subjected to lewd remarks on social media after her photograph at Rashtrapati Bhavan accepting an award on behalf of her late husband went viral.
As this stirred an uproar against the men who made the comments, the National Commission for Women (NCW) intervened, asking the Delhi Police to take action. Captain Anshuman, serving in the 26 Punjab Regiment, was a medical officer in the Indian Army who died last year in a major fire in Siachen. Here’s what we know about him and Smriti Singh .
11. Incest is rising in the US. Seen as taboo in most cultures, incest is a sexual relationship between close relatives, including half-siblings, aunts, uncles, and so on. Research using popular genealogical tests has revealed that the prevalence of incest in America stands at one in 7,000, a much higher level than previously thought.
The numbers are shocking since the 1975 estimate was at one in a million. Babies born of incest are more susceptible to birth abnormalities, developmental delays, and genetic illnesses. We take a look at this in our explainer .
12. A major sex scandal involving a high-ranking official in Equatorial Guinea emerged in November. Baltasar Engonga, who was the director general of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), was arrested for allegedly recording more than 400 sex tapes involving him and the wives of prominent people in the country.
The scandal came to light amid an economic fraud probe into the 54-year-old economist. Here’s our report on the issue.
This is all we have for you in our yearly wrap. If you like the way we explain things, you can bookmark this page .
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
