Cities drive evolution in wildlife, and human religion, politics and war are among the causes. In Oviedo, Spain, walls built around religious buildings between the 12th and 16th centuries split fire salamander populations, which then drifted genetically apart because they could not cross. Prayer animal release in Buddhism often moves captured animals into new places, adding non-native species. In China, the 1958 campaign to kill sparrows as pests led to crop-eating insect outbreaks and famine. Wars reshape animal paths too, such as the demilitarised zone between the Koreas, which has become a nature refuge.

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.