On 12 November 1918 Austria was proclaimed a republic, a day after the last Habsburg emperor, Charles I, stepped back from state affairs. Austria-Hungary was breaking apart under the strain of the First World War, with food shortages and starvation in its Austrian half during the winter of 1917–1918 and demands from the military alliance with Germany. After the proclamation, a coup attempt by the communist Red Guard was defeated by the social-democratic Volkswehr, a people's militia.

Israeli reports also say the cabinet directed the military to prepare for a possible new attack on Iran.

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.