Washington  - Democratic legislators and the White House have agreed on the outlines of a deal to keep the US car industry out of bankruptcy, offering a
15-billion-dollar loan in exchange for heavy government oversight.

But the language of the deal was not finalized and it remained unclear if enough Republican legislators had signed on for the agreement to pass Congress.

US politicians have been haggling for weeks on the details of a car industry bail-out. A vote in the House of Representatives was considered possible later Wednesday, but leaders in the upper Senate said they may only vote over the weekend.

Washington, Dec. 10 : The world economy is on the brink of a rare global recession, the World Bank said in a forecast released Tuesday, with world trade projected to fall next year for the first time since 1982 and capital flows to developing countries predicted to plunge 50 percent.

Panama City  - The Panama Canal Authority signed a series of agreements Tuesday, securing loans totalling 2.3 billion dollars to finance the expansion of the the canal.

Canal Authority head Alberto Aleman Zubieta signed loan contracts with several development banks, including the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Bank of Japan, the International Finance Corporation and the Andean Development Corporation.

"Today we have reached a major milestone for both the canal and our country. The support of these major lenders for the largest infrastructure project in Latin America is truly encouraging and inspiring. Thank you for the trust and confidence you have demonstrated for Panama," Aleman Zubieta said.

Hong Kong  - The popularity of Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang has slumped to an all-time low as the economic crisis takes its toll on the wealthy former British colony, a survey found Wednesday.

The popularity rating of Beijing-appointed Tsang fell from 54.5 points out of 100 in November to 50.2 points in December, his lowest score since taking office in 2005.

San Francisco - The economy is in the doldrums, and shoppers everywhere are cutting back on spending. Yet in stores and web outlets selling video games, times have rarely been better.

Thanks to the spread of video games to older demographics, to the mature product cycle of all three leading game consoles, and to the incredible popularity of the sector-changing Nintendo Wii, the video game industry is bucking the recession.

Washington  - US lawmakers were making progress Tuesday toward a 15-billion-dollar bail-out for the US car industry, but some conservative legislators were still balking at the idea of the federal government rescuing a failing industry.

The package being considered is less than half the money that General Motors Corp, Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co have sought from Congress. It contains a series of tough conditions including the creation of a White House "car czar" to oversee their restructuring.