Police examine Spears drug claims

Police in Los Angeles say they are looking into allegations that pop star Britney Spears was drugged.

Police Captain Kyle Jackson said the claims were "being considered", although a formal investigation has not been launched.

No suspect has been identified as yet, he added.

Ms Spears' mother claimed in recent court papers that the pop star's former manager Sam Lutfi drugged her, cut her home phone and yelled at her.

The allegations led to a restraining order against Mr Lutfi, who was barred from coming within 250 yards (228 metres) of the singer.

Ms Spears has endured a very public meltdown since splitting from her husband, Kevin Federline, in 2006.

Her increasingly eccentric behaviour - which included shaving off her hair in full view of the paparazzi and a shambolic performance at the MTV awards - ended with a spell in a psychiatric ward at the beginning of February.

Family reunion

Her father, James Spears, has since been granted "temporary conservatorship" over his 26-year-old daughter's life and her estate, thought to be worth $100m (£50.8m).

Conservatorships are generally granted for people deemed to be unable to care for themselves or their affairs.

Over the weekend, Ms Spears was allowed to see her sons for the first time in nearly two months after reaching an agreement with her ex-husband.

"The process of reinstating the children's mother as a participant in their lives can commence," said Mr Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

Mr Federline's spokesman, Elliot Mintz, said Ms Spears' father had played a key part in making possible her visit to Jayden James, aged one, and Sean Preston, two.

He gave no further details of the reunion.

Yahoo sued over handling of bid

Web giant Yahoo has said it is facing seven shareholder lawsuits over its handling of Microsoft's unsolicited takeover bid, which it has rejected.

There is currently a stalemate between Yahoo and Microsoft

It also said that dealing with the unwanted proposal, worth more than $40bn (£20.2bn), was distracting for management and staff.

The comments, made in Yahoo's annual report, come as Microsoft steps up efforts to take control of the firm.

Yahoo has said it is worth more than the $31-a-share it is being offered.

But Microsoft has maintained that its cash-and-share proposal is a "full and fair" valuation.

It emerged last week that the software developer has hired a firm that specialises in corporate actions in a sign that it is preparing to try to overthrow Yahoo's board and replace it with directors more sympathetic with its objectives.

The impasse has triggered seven lawsuits against Yahoo from disgruntled shareholders, including pension funds.

Five accuse the firm, which owns one of the most popular internet search engines, of rebuffing Microsoft without trying to get a better deal.

'Significant distraction'

In its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Yahoo suggested that Microsoft's move had the potential to scare off business partners and made it difficult to retain and hire new talent.

"The review and consideration of the Microsoft proposal (and any alternate proposals...) have been, and may continue to be, a significant distraction for our management and employees," Yahoo said.

It added that consideration of the proposals may require "significant time and resources" to review.

Deadly missile strike in Pakistan

South Waziristan is a stronghold of al-Qaeda and Taleban militants. At least 10 suspected militants have died in a missile attack on a house in a Pakistani village near the Afghan border, officials and residents say.

South Waziristan is a stronghold of al-Qaeda and Taleban militants

The house in Kalosha village, in the troubled South Waziristan region, was destroyed, they report.

Local residents told the BBC some Arab militants were living in the house.

Last month, a senior al-Qaeda leader, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed in a similar attack in the neighbouring North Waziristan district.

'Huge explosion'

A rocket fired from an unknown direction hit a house in Kalosha village near Wana, the district headquarters, at about 0200 (2100GMT Wednesday), witnesses said.

"There was a huge explosion, driving people out of their houses," Abdullah, a resident of Wana, told the BBC by telephone.

"It is difficult to say where the missile came from, but we think it was fired from Afghan territory," he said.

Residents of Kalosha said the house that was hit by the rocket was being occupied by some Arabs.

But they were unable to confirm if any known Arab militant was among the dead.

Arabs and other foreigners linked to al-Qaeda take shelter in the tribal region, as do the Taleban and their local supporters.

In January, top al-Qaeda militant Abu Laith al-Libi was killed in the region by a missile strike which is believed to have been carried out by an unmanned US aircraft. The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says US forces have fired missiles at suspected militants in Pakistan's tribal belt several times in recent years.

Sanctuary

But the US and Pakistan seldom confirm such strikes, as they are widely seen as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty, she adds.

Polls show that a vast majority of Pakistanis do not think their government should cooperate with the US in its so-called "war on terror", even though they acknowledge that Islamic militancy is a serious problem in the country.

South Waziristan, which is near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, is viewed by Nato troops as a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taleban militants operating in Afghanistan.

Last year, a local Taleban commander ousted Central Asian militants and their local supporters from the area with the help of Pakistani troops.

But local residents say some Arab militants are still living in the area under the protection of local militants.

Indian train hits crowd on tracks

At least 16 people have been killed in western India after a high-speed train ran into them, railway officials say.

The victims were hit by the train as they walked in the dark on the tracks near Surat in Gujarat state.

Their bodies were spotted by the driver of another train, police said. Several women and children were among the dead, who were reported to be labourers.
Accidents are common on India's busy state-run rail system, especially at the many unmanned road crossings.

The victims were crossing unguarded rail tracks on foot when a train ploughed into them, police inspector HM Patel was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.
The victims were migrant workers and their families from the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Patel said.

More than 13m passengers are carried every day on the rail network - one of the world's largest but also one of the most dangerous.

Oil hits $102 for the first time

The price of oil has hit a record high for the second day running, touching $102.08 a barrel for US sweet crude.

Petrol and electricity costs are surging on the higher oil price

However, the figure is still surpassed in inflation-adjusted terms by the peak of $102.53 reached in 1980, the International Energy Agency says.

The oil price surge is supported by traders switching their cash out of shares and currencies and into commodities, traders say.

Fears that producers' cartel Opec will cut supply have also been blamed.

"[Opec] appears reluctant to heed requests from Western leaders to add more barrels to the market in order to soften prices," said Robert Laughlin at MF Global.

London Brent crude was trading near $100 a barrel after surpassing that level on Tuesday.

"Commodities are generally considered a hedge against inflation... we are therefore seeing these strong prices that have really little to do with oil market fundamentals"

Victor Shum, energy analyst

Trend buying?
Other analysts say a bigger catalyst in the latest oil surge is continued uncertainty in the global economic outlook, which is causing turmoil in currency and equity markets.

The euro hit a high of $1.50 on Tuesday after traders bet that the Federal Reserve will have to cut rates below 3% to prevent the US economy from sinking into a recession.

US interest rate cuts generally lower the value of the dollar as traders move to other investments with a higher rate of return.

Investors are pumping cash into commodities and metals, which look a safer bet because of continued high demand in Asia to feed the region's industrial boom.

Gold reached a historic high at $957.60 on continued power supply problems in South Africa, while aluminium and copper prices also rose.

"The US dollar weakened against the euro and the economic data also indicated that inflation in the US rose in January," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
"Commodities are generally considered a hedge against inflation. We are therefore seeing these strong prices that have really little to do with oil market fundamentals."

A raft of gloomy US economic data out on Tuesday included lower consumer confidence and higher home foreclosures.

Ad revenue worries knock Google

Fears a slowing US economy may be hitting Google have led analysts to cut the share price target for the firm.

Google shares fell sharply after analysts reduced price targets

The move came after research firm Comscore reported a sluggish January in the viewing of paid-for-advertisements on the Google site.


The total clicking on to Google's paid adverts was 532 million, down from 533 million a year before, Comscore said.

UBS cut its price target from $650 to $590, and BMO from $690 to $590. Google shares fell 4.57% to $464 on Tuesday.

Its shares reached a peak of $747.24 in early November 2007 and were just below $700 as 2008 began.

However, now it appears that shares in Google may be getting dragged down by the sluggish US economy.


Wider worries
Although there was strong growth in searches on Google's US website in January, there was a decline in the number of people clicking on through to the paid-for advertisements which create the bulk of Google revenues.

UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter also warned that international growth, including the UK, Google's second-largest market, was a concern.

There had first been signs of a slowdown at Google after it reported disappointing profits at the end of January.

Google's profits were up 17% to $1.21bn (£608m) for the three months to the end of December, but some analysts had been hoping for stronger growth.

Dollar falls to record euro low

The dollar has fallen to a record low against the euro as traders bet that further interest rate cuts will be needed to stem a US recession.

The euro rose to $1.509 after buying $1.50 on Tuesday for the first time. Sterling climbed against the greenback too, reaching almost $2.

The dollar is falling as investors worry about the US economy

Lower US rates tend to send investors in search of other currencies which give a better rate of return.

The view is that UK and eurozone rates will not fall as much as in the US.

The UK pound traded at $1.988 in morning European trade after a raft of gloomy economic numbers issued on Tuesday.

In addition, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn suggested that risks of a cooling economy were overshadowing the worries of rising inflation, hinting that US rates will be cut below their current level of 3%.

Five-year low

The latest sign of falling US consumer confidence came from the closely-watched Conference Board survey.

It said consumer sentiment fell to a five-year low in February because of growing recession fears.

At the same time, the number of US homes facing foreclosure rose 57% in January, compared with the same month of 2007.

Last month, the Fed slashed interest rates to 3% as it tried to prevent the US economy falling into recession.

"With so few consumers expecting conditions to turn around in the months ahead, the outlook for the economy continues to worsen and the risk of a recession continues to increase," said Lynn Franco, a director of the Conference Board's consumer research centre.