Tokyo - Sony Corp was expected to close a television manufacturing plant and cut 2,000 full-time jobs in Japan as it prepares to report the first operating loss in 14 years amid the global economic downturn, The Nikkei business daily said Thursday.

As a cost-cutting effort, the Japanese home electronics giant earlier announced its plan to dismiss more than 16,000 workers in and outside Japan.

Adelaide, Australia  - A crash Thursday midway through the third stage of the Tour Down Under dashed the hopes of German sprinter Andre Greipel, making it two in a row in the Australian classic.

The Rostock-born Columbia Team rider withdrew from the 802-kilometre event after being taken to an Adelaide hospital and being diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder.

Beijing  - China's economic growth fell to 6.8 per cent in the final
quarter of 2008, its slowest expansion since 2001, as the global
economic downturn hit China's exports, the national statistics bureau
said Thursday.

The year-on-year growth rate compared to 9-per-cent growth in the third quarter, the bureau said.

For all of 2008, China's economy expanded at a 9-per-cent pace,
reaching 30.07 trillion yuan (4.42 trillion dollars), the first time
since 2003 that it had not hit double digits.

Hamburg  - Every bride wants to be the most beautiful woman at her wedding. Her dress, shoes, veil and flowers are carefully selected, ordered, purchased and prepared in advance.

But the bride's outfit is not complete until her make-up is on and her hair is styled. However, women should not go overboard on their big day. Hair and makeup do not require a lot of preparation.

Monrovia  - When over 200 prisoners broke out of Monrovia Central Prison just before Christmas, some may have felt that the inmates, many of them on remand, were justified in their actions.

The prison system in Liberia, which is still recovering from a 14-year civil war that ended in 2003, is notoriously bad, with inmates facing serious overcrowding and brutality from prison officers.

The Liberian government has often been criticized for turning a blind eye to the increasingly poor conditions in prison facilities across the country.

Frankfurt  - There are many ways couples can save money when planning their wedding.

"The bridal gown most certainly can be rented for a reasonable price or bought second-hand," said Friederike Mauritz, chairwoman of the association of German wedding planners in Frankfurt. A second-hand dress may have to be altered, so that cost should be taken into consideration when considering the purchase.