Furby was an electronic toy created by Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung, who spent months on its design and behaviour. After two attempts at licensing it, they worked with the inventor Richard C. Levy, whose contact brought the toy to Tiger Electronics. It was first shown at the 1998 American International Toy Fair and launched on October 2, 1998 at about $35. Demand over Christmas 1998 pushed resale prices above $100, sometimes to several hundred dollars, and shortages encouraged fraud in which buyers paid for toys that never arrived. During one 12-month period, 27 million Furbies sold. Its appeal came from a changing personality: the toy responded to its surroundings and gradually altered its behaviour.

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.