Ikea stampede
The week's news at a glance.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Three people were trampled to death this week at the opening of a new Ikea store in Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city. As a promotional measure, the Swedish furniture company was offering $130 vouchers to the first 250 people to show up. Around 10,000 eager customers thronged outside the store and surged forward as soon as the doors opened. Ikea offered its “deep sorrow over the tragic incident” and said it would re-evaluate future discount offers and review its crowd-control measures.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How military service works for K-pop idols
Under The Radar All seven members of K-pop sensation BTS have now completed mandatory national service
-
The Week contest: Flight fraud
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Is Trump sidelining Congress' war powers?
Today's Big Question The Iran attack renews a long-running debate