TOKYO -- Japan's economy slid into a recession for the first time since 2001, the government said today, as companies sharply cut back on spending in the third quarter amid the unfolding global financial crisis.
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The Asian automaker will repurchase the shares for $230 million. >>
India: Tibetan exiles seek new ideas on dealing with China / Australia: Nonlethal whale research planned / Congo: Rebel leader agrees to U.N. peace talks / Mexico: 4 Scuba divers die during aqueduct m >>
The Koreatown lender leads in California, with women in 5 of 6 top positions. >>
Shipments out of Pakistan bound for U.S. and NATO forces have been suspended pending a review of security in the vulnerable Khyber Pass, near where Taliban fighters hijacked several transports. >>
Japan's economy slid into a recession for the first time since 2001, the government said today, as companies sharply cut back on spending in the third quarter amid the unfolding global financial crisis. >>
STREET SCENES
It is a mélange of colors and sounds and smells. Among the diverse mini-cultures in and around Los Angeles County, the pocket of Indian businesses clustered mainly on Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia in the southeast part of the county is among the most distinctive of the area. >>
Marques I. Knight had a tough childhood. As his sister, Summer, recalled, their parents died when they were both young in Alabama. >>
The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq: >>
The U.S. ally's finance chief says the International Monetary Fund agreed to the bailout after endorsing plans to tackle the country's huge budget and trade deficits. >>
GLOBAL ECONOMY
Pressure mounts on Beijing, with its huge foreign exchange reserves, to do more to help alleviate the financial crisis. >>
He also defends his Vietnam-era conduct. >>
Most of those killed in missile strikes and military helicopter fire are said to be militants. >>
HAPPENING
In its 18-year history, the Los Angeles Asian & Tribal Art Show has grown to include a world of antiques, sculpture, textiles and other crafts. The annual event opens this weekend at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium with more than 60 exhibitors, including Marina del Rey-based Mark A. Johnson, who specializes in colorful 19th and early 20th century ceremonial wood carvings from Borneo. Philip Garaway of Venice will have Native American basketry, while the Anthropos gallery of Laguna Beach will cast an even broader net with ancient and tribal art from Alaska to Mexico. Included in Anthropos' offerings: a rare Chilkat dancing blanket, right, originally purchased by Western novelist Zane Grey (priced at $115,000) and a Maya cylinder that dates to 550 to 950 ($12,500). Admission to the show is $12; hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 1855 Main St., Santa Monica; (310) 455-2886; www.caskeylees.com. >>
The world's leading source of illegal opiates is Afghanistan, which produces more than 90% of the world's opium, the main ingredient in heroin, earning farmers and traffickers about $4 billion a year. >>
Some intelligence is smuggled out by groups and individuals these days, but the main thing outsiders know about the reclusive regime is that they know nothing. >>
Federal health officials on Thursday ordered dozens of imported foods from China held at the border as possible health risks. Most are ethnic treats, including snacks, drinks and chocolates. >>
An attack on a military convoy killed at least eight bystanders and injured more than 60. Western military officials say Taliban-led militants have deliberately caused hundreds of civilian deaths this >>
Rahmatullah Raufi, the governor of Kandahar province where the attack took place, blamed Taliban militants for the violence. >>
Stephen Vance was working in an area of the country that is a stronghold of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. His driver was also killed. >>
Sudan: President offers cease-fire in Darfur / United Nations: Saudi king calls terrorism the enemy of all religions / Germany: Anti-terr >>
It never agreed to that provision in a deal with the U.S., Pyongyang says, but Washington disputes such talk. >>
Trip to Mumbai helps 'The Full Monty' writer convey the story of poverty and love in 'Slumdog.' >>
BAGEL TOWN
The Uighurs in rural China have a passion for their bagel tradition. American versions are catching on in Beijing. >>
Traders bet that near-term demand will continue to drop, despite news of China's massive economic stimulus package. >>
The move by Burma's military regime is a slap in the face to the United Nations and foreign governments that have demanded reforms. >>
The $3-million refurbishing of a Beijing studio belonging to one of China's most artistic emperors demanded an extraordinary international partnership. >>
Karzai says the deaths of 14 men guarding a road construction project were unnecessary. But the Afghan Interior Ministry and the U.S. military say the men fired at coalition forces. >>
Congo: Cholera spreads to town / Taiwan: Ex-president's arrest expected / Somalia: Gunmen kidnap 2 nuns in Kenya / Britain: Extremist preacher Abu Qatada faces hearing / Mexico: U.S. unveils consulate >>
Enthusiasm over China's stimulus package had given shares an early boost. The Dow closes down 73 points after rising as high as 215. >>
ON CALIFORNIA: ESSAYS FROM THE GOLDEN STATE
'The Crosses of Lafayette,' planted on an East Bay hillside for U.S. war dead, evoke gratitude, fury and resignation. >>
The planned spending, more than expected, should have a global effect, analysts say. >>
Mellissa Fung, with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., says she was blindfolded for 4 weeks. She was kidnapped from a refugee camp in Kabul that had been considered safe to visit. >>
HERO COMPLEX
Chip Kidd's 'Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan' is a treasure trove for fans of the caped crusader. >>
From Europe to Asia, Mexico to the Mideast, the realities on the ground will prove far more complex than the promises of the campaign. >>
MUSIC REVIEW
In its first performance here since returning from Asia, the orchestra performs works written in North America. >>
Café sua dá (Iced Vietnamese coffee)>>In the countryside, listless adults and children wander about. Many in the isolated nation try to work the fields, but lack fertilizer and equipment. >>
As would-be mediators emerge, the prospect of negotiations between Western and Afghan officials and the Taliban is not so readily dismissed. >>
DANCE REVIEW
Linda Sohl-Ellison's troupe taps into an abundance of cheer during a 27th-anniversary performance. >>
As a timber faller, Bruno de Solenni labored through the spring and summer in groves of giant redwood, cedar and fir. As a soldier, he died in Afghanistan, and the tree trunks he sawed and milled became his coffin. >>
Roughly 51% of Vietnamese voters, many of whom were tortured in North Vietnamese prisons like McCain, say they identify with the Arizona senator and believe he'll support their causes. >>
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