It's scratchy, lasts only 78 seconds and features the world's first recorded blooper.

The modern masses can now listen to what experts say is the oldest playable recording of an American voice and the first-ever capturing of a musical performance, thanks to digital advances that allowed the sound to be transferred from flimsy tinfoil to computer.

An archaeologist says a structure that is believed to be the remains of an ancient Hindu temple has been unearthed on Indonesia's resort island of Bali.

Wayan Swantika of the local archaeology agency says workers digging a drainage basin last week in eastern Denpasar, Bali's capital, at first discovered a large stone about 1 meter (3 feet) underground.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims began to stone a pillar representing Satan in the Saudi holy city of Mina on Friday, the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Worshipers from 189 countries surrounded Jamrat al-Aqaba, the largest of three adjacent pillars, in the rite which they will continue at least until Saturday. The ritual marks the start of the Muslim holidays.

Bangladesh has started rebuilding 19 Buddhist temples vandalized by Muslim mobs in violence triggered by anger over Facebook content that defamed the Koran, officials said Thursday.

Army engineers will renovate the temples at a cost of nearly 120 million taka ($1.5 million) on the orders of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who recently visited the area, district administrator Ruhul Amin told Agence France Presse.

Vast crowds of Muslim pilgrims, all dressed in white, flocked from early Thursday to Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia's west to take part in the main rituals of the annual hajj.

Many pilgrims had camped overnight in the sprawling plain surrounding Mount Arafat but the majority began arriving at dawn.

Guatemala's Mayan people accused the government and tour groups on Wednesday of perpetuating the myth that their calendar foresees the imminent end of the world for monetary gain.

"We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles," charged Felipe Gomez, leader of the Maya alliance Oxlaljuj Ajpop.

China's religious affairs ministry has lashed out at the rampant commercialization of sacred places and temples in the country, including the practice of employing "fake monks" and fortune-tellers.

In a statement posted online, the State Administration for Religious Affairs, which oversees the country's religious organizations, also criticized plans by some Buddhist and Taoist temples to raise funds by listing on the stock market.

More than two million Muslims began the main rituals of the annual hajj pilgrimage on Wednesday, heading from Mecca to Mina where they rest and pray for the night before moving on to Mount Arafat.

The pilgrims, of whom nearly 1.7 million came to Saudi Arabia from abroad, started to travel by bus, on foot or with the Mashair light railway to the arid plain of Mina where they will spend the night in government supplied tents.

A teardrop of salt, a whisper of saffron, a drizzle of lobster: luxury in small doses was the keynote at a giant food industry fair outside Paris this week.

Out with mustard cubes and marshmallow fluff: simplicity and taste were the common thread among the 19 products to receive a special innovation prize, whittled from a shortlist of about 400 at this year's SIAL fair.

Women are closing the gender gap with men in health and education but struggle to get top jobs and salaries, data from a study of 135 countries showed on Wednesday.

"Gaps in senior positions, wages and leadership levels still persist," even in countries that promote equality in education and have a high level of economic integration among women, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in its annual Global Gender Gap Report.