Bolivian officials have declared a health emergency after three deaths attributed to dengue hemorrhagic fever, the often-lethal form of a mosquito-borne disease that more than 1,000 Bolivians are thought to have contracted since November.
Bolivians are expected to approve a new constitution on Sunday that the first indigenous president of the country Evo Morales hopes will transform the life of millions of his fellow citizens by giving them more power.
China's economic growth slowed to 9% last year, its lowest rate of growth for seven years (6.8% in the last quarter). The world's third-largest economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis that led to a fall in orders for Chinese exports.
Exxon Mobil Corp., Hess Corp. and Petrobras found evidence of oil at an offshore block in Brazil's Santos Basin in an area close to the largest oil discovery in three decades in the American continent.
United States carmaker General Motors sold fewer vehicles than Toyota last year, ending GM's 77-year reign as the world's top-selling car firm. GM said it sold 8,350,000 vehicles in 2008, while Toyota said sales totalled 8,972,000 vehicles.
Argentina's oil production fell for the seventh consecutive year in 2008, declining 1.8% to 230 million barrels, according to a report from an economic consulting firm cited Wednesday in the Buenos Aires press.
Brazilian government managed energy giant Petrobras produced an average of 2.4 million barrels per day of crude and natural gas at its operations inside and outside Brazil in 2008, an increase of 4.3%, or roughly 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared to 2007.