The Annamite Mountains, running through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, have been called the 'Amazon of Asia' for their huge variety of species, and a long-term camera-trap study has now recorded a wealth of wildlife there. The range is famous for discoveries that surprised science: the saola, a rare forest bovid, was described only in 1992, and the area also shelters the Annamite striped rabbit and several muntjac species. Camera traps, motion-triggered cameras left in forest for months, reveal shy animals that rarely meet people. Hunting, especially with snares, and tree loss threaten the area, and conservationists are racing to formulate a protection plan.

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.