The Western Ghats, also called the Sahyadri, run about 1,600 km along India's west coast, from the Tapti River down to the southern tip of the peninsula. They formed when India broke away from Africa during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and rise to over 2,000 metres in several places, with Anamudi the highest at 2,695 metres. The range blocks the moist monsoon winds coming off the Arabian Sea, so it rains heavily on the western slopes. The air that crosses the crest is dry, which creates a rain shadow over the Deccan Plateau. Its forests are a biodiversity hotspot, with many species found nowhere else.

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.