In the 19th century, tuberculosis, called consumption, was widely linked with creative genius. Its patients often looked pale and thin, and writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Emily Brontë and John Keats were admired as romantic invalids. Physicians described a state of high spirits called spes phthisica, and some believed fever, toxins or enforced rest sharpened the mind. Patients were sent to sanatoriums in warm places and told to rest, which clashed with the writing they were drawn to. Stevenson worked on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde while in bed, and he also used opium, cocaine and morphine, which may have shaped his work.

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.