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A new digital library of Europe’s cultural heritage crashed just hours after it went online and will be out of operation for several weeks, the European Commission said Friday.

Vowing to protect French industry from foreign predators and a worsening economic slump, President Nicolas Sarkozy introduced an investment fund of 20 billion euros ($25 billion) on Thursday.

European Union governments agreed Thursday to overhaul the way the trade bloc distributes tens of billions of euros in subsidies to farmers.

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia announced tax cuts and increased spending on social programs.

Asian stock markets followed New York’s plunge but then rebounded when Japan’s finance minister said that governments should be prepared to take action.

As a new bout of fear gripped the financial markets, stocks fell sharply again, and the credit markets seized up as confidence in the nation’s financial system ebbed.

In post-apartheid South Africa, the welfare of miners — nearly all of them black — is a matter of scrupulous concern.

The worsening economy is squeezing Europe’s flag carriers, with dwindling sales of premium-class tickets starting to take their toll.

Iceland finally received international backing for its bailout plan on Thursday, as Nordic countries followed up a $2.1 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund.

A new digital library, called Europeana, intends to showcase Europe’s history, literature, arts and science.

Finland’s Finance Ministry said that four Nordic countries would lend Iceland $2.5 billion to help the country recover from its economic meltdown.

The U.S. opened a branch of the Food and Drug Administration in the Chinese capital, the first of several overseas offices aimed at regulating the safety of imported food and medicine.

Some American officials are on edge following French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s aggressive statements about American capitalism, and his decision to hold his own financial summit meeting.

Two years after his stint at the helm of the central bank ended in scandal, Antonio Fazio goes on trial in Milan, accused of rigging markets to keep Italian banks in Italian hands.

BASF said that it would temporarily halt or slow production at 180 plants around the world as it adjusted to a “massive decline in demand” brought on by the current economic turmoil.

Despite the worldwide downturn, the ties between small businesses in China and Southern California should continue to grow.

It will take the efforts of China and other emerging nations to lead the global economy out of what is likely to be a long and painful recession, according to a gathering of economic experts.

China’s car industry is quietly pressing Beijing for government help as it copes with a jarring slowdown, top Chinese auto executives said.

The French retail giant Carrefour said it would replace José Luis Durán as its chief executive to try to end shareholder tension over its performance and strategy.

The cuts are part of a restructuring plan at Pepsi Bottling Group, which cut its forecast for full-year earnings, citing weaker foreign currencies.