On 12 November 1958 a team led by Warren Harding completed the first ascent of The Nose, the route up the prow of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. El Capitan is a granite wall of about 900 metres (3,000 ft), and many climbers considered it impossible. Harding's approach was 'siege-style': the team fixed ropes up the wall and returned to the ground between pushes, drilling and hammering in pitons to make progress over a period of more than a year. Harding, nicknamed 'Batso', developed his own gear for big walls, including the 'bat tent' for sleeping on cliffs and 'bat hooks' that grip tiny holds.

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.