Nowruz is New Year's Day on the Iranian calendars, and it falls on the spring equinox, which is why it lands between 19 and 22 March. The festival has roots in Zoroastrianism and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years across West and Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkans and South Asia. Today most people treat it as a secular holiday, though it remains sacred for Zoroastrians, Baha'is and Ismaili Muslims. Communities mark it with fire and water rituals, dancing, gift giving and poetry, and the customs vary from place to place. For the Northern Hemisphere it is the moment spring officially begins.

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.