Pongal is a multi-day harvest festival celebrated by Tamils over three or four days, beginning on the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi. The main day, Thai Pongal, falls on the first day of the month of Thai, usually 14 or 15 January, and marks the end of winter solstice and the start of the Sun's northward journey. Its name means "boiling over" in Tamil and refers to the dish of newly harvested rice cooked with milk and jaggery until it spills over the pot. The second day, Mattu Pongal, honours cattle, which are bathed, have their horns polished and painted, and are garlanded before processions. Homes are decorated with rice-flour kolam designs, and families exchange gifts to renew bonds.

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.