The world was turned upside down for Norway this week after an extremist went on a killing spree, while elsewhere the death of a popstar and a historic win for an Australian cyclist consumed the headlines.
This week's news has been dominated by the shocking twin attacks in Norway, the country's worst peacetime atrocity which left at least 76 people dead and dozens injured.
News broke early on Saturday morning (Australia time) of an explosion in the Norwegian capital Oslo. Soon after reports came in of a shooting rampage at a Labour youth camp on the island of Utoeya, just south of Oslo. As the picture emerged of what had taken place, the death toll mounted.
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Over the next few days stories from survivors revealed the horror of what had happened. This translation of a blog written by Prableen Kaur gives a harrowing insight into the shooting massacre on Utoeya.
Graphic photographs captured the aftermath of the bombing and the shooting as survivors struggled to comprehend what had happened. The shock turned to grief with an outpouring of emotion.
Soon after the attacks, media outlets identified the suspect as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, a right-winger with anti-Muslim views. Despite his persuasions, many people could not understand what motivated Anders Behring Breivik to commit such an atrocity.
Soon questions were asked about why Breivik's activities, some of which were known to Norwegian police, hadn't raised alarm bells with the relevant authorities. Given the fact that he spent over 200 hours on Google searching for information related to bombs, some have even asked, could Google have caught the Norway killer?
HACKERS AND SINGERS
What is it about computer hacking that captures out attention? Our most-clicked on story this week was news that British police had arrested a teenager they suspected of being a key member of hacking collective Lulzsec. That's the group that boasted of hacking into the CIA, Sony and Murdoch-owned newspaper The Sun. But will the arrest result in an end to the activities of the group?
The news broke on Sunday morning (Australian time) that British popstar Amy Winehouse had died. The singer, who had battled alcohol and drug addictions, was found dead at her London flat.
FAMINE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND DEBT
The famine crisis in East Africa looks like it's going to get worse before it gets better. At last some much-need aid supplies are getting in, although the United Nations says not enough aid has been pledged. Find out how you can help here.
And while it's true that droughts are an act of nature, there's nothing natural about the resulting famine in Somalia, Dr Tanya Lyons from Flinders University tells SBS. For an insight into the causes of Somalia's famine, check out this interview.
Still the number one issue for many concerned citizens is how to tackle climate change. Amid the continuing debate in Australia over the Carbon tax, once again our feature that looks at carbon taxes around the world is among our most-viewed articles this week.
But what might soon become Issue Number One for many is the US debt crisis. If lawmakers don't agree on a plan to raise the national debt ceiling, the world's largest economy could default on its debt. And that would send shockwaves through the global economy. Get your head around the issue with this cheat-sheet.
SUPER TOUGH GUY
And we can't close the week without mentioning Australian cyclist Cadel Evans' victory at the Tour de France. The moment it became apparent that Evans would take the title was during the individual time trials in the penultimate stage of the three-week race. Evans needed to take 58 seconds off race leader Andy Schleck to win the Tour. Viewers were on the edge of their seats as the two raced against the clock. Evans did it with 1:34 to spare to become the first Australian in the race's 108 year history to win the Tour de France.
If only to appreciate some beautiful scenery, never mind gruelling athleticism, you can relive the entire three-week 3,430-km ride around France in 2 minutes 5 seconds by clicking here.
