Spotlight
Icelandic star Bjork says her new album fuses the natural world and iPad apps to invent a music genre she calls an "appbox."
"Biophilia" — and a host of applications representing specific tracks on the album — are out Monday, and are meant to immerse listeners in a complete audio-visual experience.

Natalie Dessay was rapturous over the Vienna State Opera's new production of "La Traviata," declaring, "it was tailor-made for me, like a dress!"
If so, the tailor missed a stitch or two.

Flames lit up downtown Cairo, where massive clashes raged Sunday, drawing Christians angry over a recent church attack, Muslims and Egyptian security forces. At least 24 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the worst sectarian violence since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.
The rioting lasted late into the night, bringing out a deployment of more than 1,000 security forces and armored vehicles to defend the state television building along the Nile, where the trouble began. The military clamped a curfew on the area until 7 a.m.

A woman who claimed to be a psychic persuaded a 12-year-old girl to steal jewelry from her family and throw it into a cauldron to lift a curse and appease evil spirits, authorities said Friday.
Jackeline Lopez, 42, of Palmdale was arrested last month for investigation of extortion. She has since posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 18.

Nestle Purina PetCare is releasing what it says is the first television commercial designed to appeal to dogs.
The company told the St. Joseph News-Press that animal behavior experts at the Nestle Purina Product Technology Center in St. Joseph, Missouri, helped it develop the commercial aimed at selling Beneful dog food.

China's president on Sunday used the centennial of a revolution that ended imperial rule to make an appeal to further relations with Taiwan, saying they should move beyond the history that divides them and focus on common economic and cultural interests.
At a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Hu Jintao said that China and Taiwan should end antagonisms, "heal wounds of the past and work together to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in the Japanese city of Fukushima on Sunday to observe the massive decontamination effort following the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Local doctors also began a long-term survey of children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with radiation exposure. Officials hope to test some 360,000 people who were under the age of 18 when the nuclear crisis began in March, and then provide follow-ups throughout their lifetimes.

George W. Bush says that after eight years in the White House, he's happy to be back home in Texas and out of the spotlight.
But the former commander-in-chief tells The Associated Press there's one aspect of his presidency he still misses: interaction with U.S. troops. And Bush, who sent them to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says that despite his desire to remain largely out of the public eye, he wants to make sure veterans and military members know they still have his support.

Archaeologists say they've discovered the ruins of what is believed to be Peru's oldest Roman Catholic church.
The church outside the northern coastal city of Piura was built in 1534 but its mud walls deteriorated over time as Spanish conquistadors abandoned the area, said archaeologist Cesar Astuhuaman of Piura University.

The Dutch national railway has an unusual solution for passengers who need the bathroom on a train line designed without them: plastic bags.
The rail operator underlined that the bags, introduced Friday, are for use in emergencies only, when a train has stopped and passengers can't be evacuated.
