Kolam is a traditional South Indian decorative art in which geometric patterns are drawn with rice flour, and sometimes white stone powder or chalk. The designs are built around a grid of dots, with straight lines, curves and loops connecting them into symmetrical shapes. Women and girls in the family usually draw them daily in front of the house entrance, and men and boys sometimes do too. The practice is found across all South Indian states and in parts of Goa and Maharashtra, and it has spread through the diaspora to Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Its regional variants go by different names, such as rangoli in Maharashtra, aripan in Mithila and alpona in West Bengal. Complex kolams with added colour are drawn for festivals.

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.