In the Asante Kingdom of present-day Ghana, a king's ceremonial knife had a cast iron blade wrapped in gold sheaths. Only members of the goldsmiths' guild could make gold ornaments for the royal household, and gold was valued because it embodied life force, called kra, and was seen as the sun's earthly counterpart. This tip was decorated with repoussé: the goldsmith pushed floral, leaf and geometric designs out from the back of a soft gold sheet, then punched small dots to outline some motifs. Gold objects were often melted down and remade in new fashions, so surviving pieces show only part of the original output.

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.