The Trans-Siberian is not one train but a network of rail routes crossing Siberia from Moscow. The main line runs about 9,300 km through Perm, Yekaterinburg, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Khabarovsk to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast, and it was built between 1891 and 1916. Two branches leave the main line: the Trans-Mongolian heads south into Mongolia and China, and the Trans-Manchurian crosses Manchuria. Several named passenger trains run along these routes, and a full end-to-end journey takes about a week. The line was designed to bind Siberia's resources and population to European Russia.

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.