India's 1991 economic reforms opened the economy after a balance-of-payments crisis. Foreign exchange reserves had fallen to about three weeks of imports, after a decade of large budget deficits and rising foreign debt. The Gulf War raised oil prices and cut the remittances sent home by Indian workers in the Gulf, and trade with the Soviet Union collapsed. The reforms cut tariffs, dismantled most industrial licensing, let the rupee's exchange rate be set by the market, opened many sectors to foreign investment and freed interest rates. Growth has been faster since then and poverty has fallen sharply, though economists still debate how much of that is due to the reforms.

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.