Ankara/Davos, Switzerland  - Thousands of Turks gathered early Friday morning to welcome home Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on Thursday night stormed out of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos after a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Tokyo  - Japan's industrial production plunged to an unprecedented 9.6 per cent in December and unemployment rose, as the widening global recession cut export demands, the government said Friday.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry revealed a steeper drop in production as compared to the previous record low of 8.5 per cent a month earlier.

The unemployment rate climbed to 4.4 per cent from 3.9 percent, the biggest jump in 41 years.

Davos, Switzerland  - The Prime Miniister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stormed out of the World Economic Forum at Davos, saying he would never return, following a debate on the Gaza Strip during which he complained he was not given enough time to speak.

"For me, Davos is over," he said, walking off stage in the final moments of the session. "They would not let me speak," he later added to reporters.

He also accused Israel of "knowing very well" how to kill people and babies

Johannesburg/Harare - 's government Thursday declared all foreign currencies to be legal tender, alongside the near-worthless Zimbabwe currency, legalising the domination of hard currency in the country's collapsed economy.

The regime also introduced a wide range of economic reforms in an attempt to revitalise the crisis-stricken economy, where economists can only guess at the rate of hyperinflation, where the productive sector has foundered and the infrastructure is crumbling.

Manila  - The Philippines' economic growth slowed down to 4.6 per cent in 2008 as the country began to feel the impact of the global economic crisis, the government said Thursday.

The 2008 gross domestic growth (GDP) was down from 7.2 per cent posted in 2007, a three-decade high, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board
(NSCB).

The country's gross national product (GNP), which includes remittances from Filipinos abroad, grew 6.1 per cent in 2008, down from 8 per cent the previous year.

Hong Kong  - Less than one in 10 Hong Kong workers expects a pay rise in 2009 as the global economic slump takes its toll on the former British colony, a survey found Thursday.

Only 7 per cent of workers surveyed said they expected to get a raise compared to 36 per cent in the same survey in 2008 when the city's economy was buoyant.

Twenty-eight per cent of respondents to the survey conducted by a pro-democracy organization said they expected to see their pay cut in 2009, compared to just 5 per cent in 2008.