Potosí, a city high in the Bolivian Andes at about 4,067 metres, grew up around Cerro Rico, a mountain whose silver ore made it one of the richest places on Earth. Diego Huallpa, an indigenous prospector, is traditionally credited with finding the silver in 1545, and the city quickly boomed. For centuries it hosted the Spanish colonial silver mint, and its silver was carried by llama and mule to the Pacific coast, shipped north to Panama, hauled across the isthmus, and then sent to Spain on the treasure fleets. At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries it was the second largest city in the world, after London. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its colonial architecture and still a mining centre.

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.