Homer Simpson was created by Matt Groening in an unlikely setting: he was in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office, hoping to pitch shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell, and came away with a new set of characters instead. Homer first appeared in the short Good Night on The Tracey Ullman Show in April 1987, and the family got its own series on Fox in December 1989. He is a safety inspector at a nuclear power plant, overweight, lazy and easily distracted, yet fiercely protective of his family, which is why audiences still root for him. His voice was first loosely based on Walter Matthau before settling into the familiar tone of Dan Castellaneta.

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.