This Week in History (May 10–16): Israel is born, Sikkim joins India, France gets first woman PM, and more

Mankind has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, but some moments have left a bigger mark than others. In this series, we look back at key defining events and interesting developments, big and small, from the past, that continue to shape how we move about the world today.Take, for example, the commonly used phrase “blood, sweat and tears”. We trace how it entered everyday language from a moment that happened decades ago this week. This week also marks anniversaries of events such as Israel’s independence, Sikkim’s merger with India, India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests, and other defining political and global turning points that continue to shape the world order (and well, disorder) today.