Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, and his works include Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and the 1812 Overture. He was trained as a civil servant, since Russia had almost no music education system when he was young. He graduated from the new Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1865, and its Western-style teaching set him apart from the nationalist group known as The Five. Despite his popularity, he suffered depression and personal crises, and he died suddenly in 1893 at 53, generally ascribed to cholera, though historians still debate that cause.

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.