Manga 'pop opera' prepares to take Europe by storm

Legendary rocker Lou Reed and artist wife Laurie Anderson will next month bring one of the most bizarre performances to Sydney's Opera House -- a recital for dogs, largely inaudible to human ears.At a press conference on Friday the pair said their programme for Sydney's Vivid LIVE arts festival includes an eclectic mix of heavy guitar music, martial arts and music for dogs.

A 5-year-old boy was back with his ecstatic family and playing with his toy dinosaur after his nearly weeklong ordeal as a hostage in an underground bunker was ended by a sudden police raid and the death of his kidnapper. The FBI and other law enforcement officials left plenty of questions open about how they made the call to rush in and what happened inside the closet-sized hideout on a rural Alabama property, where the boy had been held by Jimmy Lee Dykes. But relatives said there was no question about the relief they feel.

MONTREAL — The strong Canadian dollar, surging production costs and the worldwide economic downturn are all being blamed by the Cirque du Soleil for its decision to lay off 400 employees. Most of the layoffs will be at the artistic giant’s Montreal headquarters. Company spokeswoman Renee-Claude Menard moved to dispel speculation the Cirque is flailing. “The first thing to say is that the Circus is not in crisis,” Menard told a news conference Wednesday. “Let’s get that straight.

As I watch the implosion of Greece, with shops closing everywhere and GDP plunging like a rock, I cannot help but wonder if we are witnessing the start of a similar trend in Italy. To be sure, Italy has a manufacturing base that Greece does not have, but retail aspects and shop closings in Rome as compared to Athens seems rather similar. If that sounds far-fetched, please consider Summer of gloom for crisis-hit Rome shops

Please consider auto sales numbers from a Google Translation of  the article Portugal leads drop in car sales in Europe.

Colleagues at the factory where Michel Parchet works may not quite imagine him as a ninja. But on Saturday, the 27-year-old put on a yellow spiky wig and an orange tunic, turning himself into the manga character Naruto.Parchet was among hundreds of others who were cosplaying -- dressed up in costumes and role-playing -- at western Switzerland's anime, manga and video games festival Polymanga."It's really just for fun," said Parchet, who had turned up with 24-year-old Denis Fontannaz, also dressed as a character in the same manga series that features the young ninja Naruto.