TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Tuesday that Tehran has started to produce 20 percent enriched uranium at its Natanz plant, the ISNA news agency reported.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan Airlines, after declaring bankruptcy last month, Tuesday said it will maintain and expand its alliance with American Airlines and its Oneworld partners rather than switch to Delta Air Lines.

BEIJING (AFP) - UN envoy Lynn Pascoe arrived in North Korea on Tuesday, China's state Xinhua news agency reported, on a mission to try to revive long-stalled six-party nuclear disarmament talks.

TOKYO (AFP) - Toyota's president Akio Toyoda said Tuesday he plans to go to the United States to explain the car maker's mass safety recalls that have now spread to its Prius hybrid.

FRANKFURT (AFP) - German exports fell by 18.4 percent in 2009 from their level one year earlier, the sharpest drop since 1950, figures released on Tuesday by the national statistics office showed.