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North Korea’s ‘Squid Game’ Smuggler Sentenced to Death, convicts jailed

A man has reportedly been sentenced to death in North Korea for smuggling copies of Netflix’s blockbuster series “Squid Game” into the country. According to Radio Free Asia (via Variety), authorities were led to the man after they caught high school students watching the series. The report states that “Squid Game” was smuggled into the country from China through the use of a USB flash drive. “Squid Game” is not available in China but remains popular thanks to piracy websites. The smuggler faces death by firing squad, while the students involved in bringing “Squid Game” in to school are facing prison sentences.
Radio Free Asia reports: “A student who bought a drive received a life sentence, while six others who watched the show have been sentenced to five years hard labor, and teachers and school administrators have been fired and face banishment to work in remote mines.”
Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, “Squid Game” is a South Korean survival thriller that follows a group of contestants who agree to participate in a mysterious survival game with a grand prize total of nearly $40 million. The game includes hundreds of contestants who play traditional children’s games with deadly twists. Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, and Wi Ha-joon star. All nine episodes of the show’s first season debuted in September, and the show became a word-of-mouth sensation. “Squid Game” amassed 1.6 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days of release, making it the biggest Netflix original TV series in history and the single biggest piece of original Netflix content.
As noted by Variety: “In December 2020, North Korea passed the ‘Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture’ act, which prohibits the entry and dissemination of cultural material like films, plays, music and books in the country. The act is mainly aimed at preventing the spread of media from South Korea and the U.S. and those found distributing or consuming these are liable to be punished…According to widespread reports, in April this year a man was publicly executed for selling drives and CDs containing South Korean material.”
“Squid Game” is now streaming on Netflix globally. The streaming giant has yet to announce a second season, although its creator has said publicly that another round of episodes will happen.
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American tourist arrested for vandalizing Jesus statue at church in Jerusalem: ‘You can’t have idols’

An American tourist has been arrested for vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ at a church in Jerusalem, reportedly due to his belief that the statue constituted idolatry.
A man in his 40s, whose name has not been released to the press, was arrested Thursday after he defaced and broke parts of a statue of Jesus at the Franciscan Church of the Condemnation, a property that includes the Church of the Flagellation.
In a video taken at the church, the man could be heard shouting, “you can’t have idols in Jerusalem, this is a holy city,” Fox News reported.
According to tradition, the church was built on the space believed to be where Jesus was flogged by the Roman soldiers back in the first century and presented with a cross to carry.
“We take very seriously damage to religious institutions and sites,” an Israeli police spokesperson said in a statement. “The police will continue to act against acts of violence and vandalism in the holy places of all religions.”
Custodia Terrae Sanctae, a Franciscan organization that oversees the care and protection of Catholic Church holy sites in the Middle East, released a statement denouncing the vandalism.
The vandalism marked the fifth incident within the last month, according to Custodia Terrae Sanctae, which cited examples of recent vandalism that included attacks on a monastery and a local Christian cemetery.
“We follow with concern and strongly condemn this growing succession of serious acts of hatred and violence against the Christian community in Israel,” added Custodia Terrae Sanctae. “It is no coincidence that the legitimization of discrimination and violence in public opinion and in the current Israeli political environment also translates into acts of hatred and violence against the Christian community.”
The group went on to call upon the Israeli government to “act decisively to guarantee security for all communities, to guarantee the protection of religious minorities and to eradicate religious fanaticism.”
Last month, a group of people believed to be radical Jewish Israelis attacked an Armenian restaurant in the Christian quarter of the city, waving Israeli flags and throwing chairs at patrons.
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land denounced the violence leveled against the restaurant, expressing concern over “the escalation of violence in the Holy City.”
“This unprovoked violence instilled fear in the shopkeepers and residents of the Christian quarter as well as visitors,” stated the Assembly.
“It is only the latest in a series of episodes of religious violence that is affecting the symbols of the Christian community and beyond.”
Sources:Christian Post
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ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ അഭയാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് അഭയവിസകൾ നൽകണമെന്ന് യുഎസ് കോൺഗ്രസിനോട് ഫിയകോന

ന്യൂയോർക് :മതപരമായ അക്രമത്തിന് ഇരയായ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ അഭയാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് 10,000 അഭയവിസകൾ നീക്കിവെക്കണമെന്നും മതപരമായ അക്രമത്തിന് ഇരയായവർക്കും വ്യാജ പോലീസ് കേസുകൾ ചുമത്തപ്പെട്ടവർക്കും ഇന്റർനാഷണൽ നിയമത്തിനു വിധേയമായി അമേരിക്കൻ കോടതികളിൽ പോലീസിനും സർക്കാർ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർക്കും എതിരെ കേസ് ഫയൽ ചെയ്യാൻ അനുവദിക്കുന്ന ഒരു നിയമം പാസാക്കണമെന്നും ഫെഡറേഷൻ ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യൻ അമേരിക്കൻ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ ഓർഗനൈസേഷൻ ജനുവരി 30 നു പുറത്തിറക്കിയ വാർഷീക റിപ്പോർട്ടിൽ യുഎസ് കോൺഗ്രസിനോട് ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടു.
ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ സമൂഹത്തിനുണ്ടായ നഷ്ടം കണക്കാക്കുകയും അക്രമത്തിന് ഇരയായവർക്ക് ഇന്ത്യൻ സർക്കാർ നഷ്ടപരിഹാരം നൽകണമെന്ന് തുടർന്നു റിപ്പോർട്ടിൽ ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടു. പൗരന്മാരെ സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നതിൽ ഭരണകൂടം പരാജയപ്പെട്ടതിന്റെ ഫലമാണ് ഈ നഷ്ടം സംഭവിച്ചതെന്ന് ഫിയകോന വിലയിരുത്തി. ഇന്ത്യയിൽ ഇതുവരെ ആരും ഇത് ഉന്നയിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. USAID അല്ലെങ്കിൽ DoS പോലുള്ള യുഎസ് ഏജൻസികൾ ഈ വിഷയത്തിൽ കൂടുതൽ പര്യവേക്ഷണം ചെയ്യാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ വിശദമായ പഠനം നടത്താനും ഫിയകോന തയാറാണെന്നും പ്രസിഡന്റ് കെ ജോർജ് (ന്യൂയോർക് )പറഞ്ഞു
Sources:globalindiannews
us news
Church mourns pastor, wife who died trying to save son from drowning at the beach

A Brazilian church is mourning the loss of a pastor and his wife, who died attempting to save their teenage son from drowning at the beach.
Felisberto Sampaio, 43, and his wife, Inalda Sampaio, 42, saw their 13-year-old son, Ian Sampaio, struggling in the water at Camacari Beach in Brazil on Jan. 10. The couple entered the ocean to rescue the boy, but they failed to reach him.
As Brazilian news outlet Universo Online reported, the incident occurred around 10 a.m., citing the Civil Police, who reported that the boy was rescued by a fisherman and another family member while his parents were not pulled from the water in time.
The Fire Department confirmed to UOL that the two victims were removed from the water. The department attempted to revive them, eventually declaring the couple dead at the scene.
The Sampaio family was from the city of Campina Grande in Brazil, and the father had been a pastor for 12 years at the Assembly of God Church in Quixaba, Paraíba, according to The Daily Mail. The family was spending a couple of days in the Paraíba city of Lucena.
Members of the church mourned the couple’s death, as well as Leonardo Meneses, a pastor at a church that the family had frequently attended.
“I know that the circumstances are painful and difficult for us to understand. Only eternity will explain all the mysteries of life,” Meneses said
The couple’s oldest son, Issac Sampaio, told TV Borborema on Jan. 11 that he planned to visit his parents before their tragic deaths. The eldest child said he last saw his parents on Jan. 8.
“The thing that goes through people’s minds is that it’s a lie,” he said.
Sources:Christian Post
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