The supposed reincarnation of the Virgin Mary is from Indonesia and her name is Lia Eden. Before she awakened to her spiritual claim as a deity, she was a florist who worked her way into arranging flowers for prominent political figures such as the first lady of Indonesia, Tien Soeharto. After seeing a spiritual vision of a UFO picking her up, she started to combine major religions and claimed that she is the key figure that maintains harmony amongst them. However people started to see the dark side of Lia’s cult. A 9 year-old boy admitted that he was burned twice & followers confirmed they participated in a ‘cleansing’ by fire. Her religion was met with backlash and met with a violent response from Indonesians. Religious Minorities in Indonesia like Lia Eden's cult face intimidation, threats, and violence. During the time Lia’s cult was active in 2012, there were nearly 250 cases of acts of violence towards religious minorities in Indonesia. Soon after, Lia and 50 of her lawyers were taken to court and she lost. The Indonesian government is failing to protect the country's religious minorities from growing religious intolerance and violence even if it’s a cult.

Hong Kong: World’s oldest living male giant panda, An An, has passed away at the age of 35 - he would be 105 in human years. Hong Kong Zoo’s Ocean Park shared that his health has been deteriorating, and decided to alleviate the panda’s discomfort. "An An has brought us fond memories with numerous heart-warming moments. His cleverness and playfulness will be dearly missed," said Paolo Pong, Chairman of Ocean Park Corporation. Since 1972 when China first sent two pandas to the U.S. as a gesture of good will, the so-called “panda diplomacy” has been used as a symbol of China’s soft power. An An first came to Hong Kong in 1999 with his mate Jia Jia, as gifts from the Chinese government to commemorate Hong Kong’s transition from British rule. Rest in Paradise An An. We hope you eat endless bamboo in panda heaven.

When you walk through the #BritishMuseum or #TheMet in New York, you will come across millions of objects from around the world – many of which were looted and trafficked to the west from their places of origin in formerly colonized countries. Recently, the governments of some of these countries – like Cambodia, China, and India - have been pushing for the return of these artifacts. But repatriating stolen artifacts to their home countries is complicated and difficult. Why? Because artifacts have often changed hands many times over decades, it’s difficult to trace exactly where and whom they belong to. There are also problems when the artifacts do make it home. In some cases, items returned home are stolen again because they’re in the hands of museums that aren’t the best caretakers. And this isn’t just a problem of the past. Right now, stolen artifact trafficking is the third largest illegal activity in the world, exceeded only by drugs and weapons. WhatsApp and Facebook groups make it easy to connect with smugglers, and it’s estimated that 10 billion dollars-worth of cultural property is trafficked every year. Putting an end to this practice is still an ongoing issue - and we need to keep having these complicated discussions around stolen artifacts and how to return them to their rightful owners in the future.

HoYeon Jung watched her follower count jump from 400,000 to 15 million in just three weeks. But before she was a globally recognised star, HoYeon had taken herself to audition for Korea’s Next Top Model at age 19, where she placed 2nd. . 6 months later she signed with a New York agency and became one of the most recognizable models South Korea has ever had. But as is the case with many models, the rise and fall was rapid, and soon HoYeon was getting less and less call backs. So, she began acting. It was in January of 2020 that Hwang Dong-hyuk, the 50-year-old South Korean writer-director who was casting for Squid Games, got a video from HoYeon, reading three scenes as Sae-byeok. The rest is history, the kind of history that gets you an #Emmys nomination for ‘Supporting Actress in a Drama Series’ for Squid Games. Watch how HoYeon went from an international model to one of the biggest breakthrough stars of 2021.

Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned on Thursday via email a day after he fled the country in the midst of chaos and protests. Last weekend, thousands of protestors stormed his home demanding his resignation. At least 55 have been injured from the clash, although the military denies firing at the crowds. The Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe - now the acting president - has also offered to resign after protestors started occupying his home as well. Sri Lanka is scheduled to vote on a new president next Wednesday. Mass protests have occurred since March due to the country’s devastating economic crisis which left people without food, electricity or medicine. The government has defaulted on its mismanaged foreign debt worth $51 billion, asking the IMF for a bailout. Watch our explainer on how Sri Lanka’s economic crisis began here.

Japan’s longest-serving former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated after he was shot twice while giving a speech in Nara prefecture during a campaign event. The suspected assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, was apprehended by the police, but he was successful in killing Abe with a homemade sawed-off shotgun. The shooter jaywalked across a two-way street, towards the former prime minister, shooting twice towards his back. According to TBS NEWS DIG, Yamagami assassinated his target in a matter of five seconds while the Nara police and the security had their backs against him. The Japanese news media is raising questions as to why there wasn’t more protection around the former prime minister. Yamagami had a grudge against former prime minister Abe. He believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a "huge donation” that led her to go bankrupt. On Monday, the president of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church confirmed that the suspect’s mother was a member – but said neither Abe nor the shooter himself had been members. The Unification Church - whose members are often called the “Moonies” - is a South Korean church notorious for its cult-like behaviors and rituals like mass wedding ceremonies.