On 23 June 1757, the British East India Company under Robert Clive defeated the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, at Plassey near Murshidabad. Siraj-ud-Daulah's army was far larger, with about 50,000 soldiers, but Clive had secretly bribed its commander Mir Jafar, who had promised to make him Nawab. Mir Jafar and other conspirators held their troops back, and the Nawab fled the field, so the battle ended in about eleven hours. The victory let the company take control of Bengal, which is widely seen as the start of British rule in India, and its wealth from Bengal financed further expansion.

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.