Mother India is a 1957 epic about Radha, a village woman who is left to raise her sons alone and fights a cunning moneylender through poverty and disaster. Its story is an allegory for the new nation of India, which had become independent in 1947, and it draws on Hindu mythology and the idea of the mother who sacrifices everything for society. The film was shot on location in villages in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, and its music by Naushad brought Western orchestral sounds into Hindi cinema. It was one of the most expensive Indian productions of its time and became the highest-grossing Indian film of its day. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the first Indian film to be nominated.

Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka handed his resignation to parliament after questions were raised about his eligibility for office and his academic credentials. Gibran is the son of former president Joko Widodo, and his resignation came as Widodo publicly backed the president, Prabowo Subianto. Gibran had been elected vice president in 2024 as Prabowo's running mate. His candidacy was made possible by a 2023 Constitutional Court ruling on the minimum age for candidates, which was itself controversial. Parliament will now consider the resignation.

Angkor, near Siem Reap in northern Cambodia, was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of mainland Southeast Asia between roughly the 9th and 15th centuries. At its height the city spread across about 3,000 square kilometres, making it the largest pre-industrial city on Earth by area. Its growth depended on water: huge reservoirs called barays, along with canals and embankments, stored monsoon rain and carried it to rice fields. That system let farmers harvest more than once a year and fed a very large population through the dry season. The temple complex of Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century, is the best-known monument and still stands at the heart of the park.