Throwing rice at weddings does not make birds explode. The story says that uncooked rice swells in a bird's stomach, and that yeast and Alka-Seltzer also release gas that makes it burst. Birds can pass gas and regurgitate to expel gas, and some eat wild rice naturally. The myth has led many weddings to use millet, confetti or other things instead of rice. It is rarely fatal and not explosive.

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.