Soldiers, civil servants and families worked frantically Tuesday to add more than 1 million sandbags to Bangkok's vulnerable northern flood defenses after the city's governor warned they were needed to keep waters from swamping the capital.

Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra said late Monday that a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) flood wall on the edge of the city's suburbs was vulnerable from massive pools of runoff flowing down from the north, signaling the threat to the city was still grave. He said the wall needed to be reinforced by Wednesday night.

Looking dazed, a thin and pale Gilad Shalit emerged from a pickup truck Tuesday under the escort of his Hamas captors and the Egyptian mediators who helped arrange the Israeli tank crewman's release after more than five years in captivity.

Freed in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, an ashen-faced Shalit struggled to breathe in an interview with Egyptian TV minutes after his release, saying that he had feared he would remain in captivity for "many more years." He said he was "very excited" to be headed home and that he missed his family and friends.

Trying to make amends for massive outages last week, Research In Motion announced a free premium apps giveaway for millions of its customers who may still feel jolted, and a month of technical support for some.

The Canadian company said Monday that the apps, worth more than $100, will be made available over the coming weeks on BlackBerry(at) App World. They include iSpeech Translator and the games "Bejeweled" and "Texas Hold'em Poker 2." The offer runs until the end of the year.

After more than a decade of restoration and study, the public is getting a glimpse at the oldest surviving copy of works by an ancient Greek mathematical genius at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.

The exhibition, "Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes," which opened Sunday, tells the story of the 1,000-year-old text and the work of dozens of scientists and scholars who uncovered its secrets. After the exhibition closes Jan. 1, the Archimedes Palimpsest will be returned to its anonymous owner.

American pop stars Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars will be performing at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Northern Ireland next month.

The music channel will be taking over the city of Belfast on Nov. 6 for its annual ceremony, and for the first time the MTV Europe Music Awards will be held in three different locations.

Fans of Clarence Clemons will get to hear the Big Man in time for Christmas.

Two Christmas songs recorded by the E Street Band saxophonist will be released at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on Nov. 18. Clemons died in June at age 69 after a stroke.

King Abdullah II on Monday named International Court of Justice judge Awn Khasawneh as prime minister, replacing Maarouf al-Bakhit, whose government has been accused of failing to meet growing demands for reforms, a government official said.

"Khasawneh is currently meeting with the king, who entrusted him to form the new government," said the official who requested anonymity.

Samsung Electronics is asking Japanese and Australian courts to block sales of Apple's new iPhone 4S in those countries.

The preliminary injunctions Samsung filed Monday in Tokyo District Court and the Federal Court in Australia are part of an intensifying patent battle between the smartphone giants.

About 3,000 U.S. and Filipino marines started two weeks of annual military drills in the Philippines on Monday that will include a hostile beach assault exercise near the disputed Spratly Islands.

U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Nick Eisenbeiser said the Oct. 17-28 maneuvers would focus on honing their joint capability to ensure regional security and were not aimed at China or any country as an imaginary target.

Race car drivers always know the worst can happen whenever they get behind the wheel.

On Sunday, it happened to one of IndyCar's biggest and most popular stars.