Global oil prices fall:

LONDON: World oil prices fell on Wednesday as traders geared up for the weekly snapshot of US crude inventory figures. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery fell 32 cents to $46.80 a barrel in electronic deals. In London, price of Brent North Sea crude oil for March delivery fell 21 cents to $44.61 a barrel. — AFP

Google’s profit surges:

SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc’s Internet-leading search engine fuelled a sevenfold increase in fourth-quarter profits to soar past analyst expectations. The Mountain View-based company said on Tuesday that it earned $204.1 million, or 71 cents (54.5 euro cents) per share, during the final three months of 2004. — AP

German jobless rate rises:

FRANKFURT: The number of unemployed Germans topped the politically sensitive mark of five million last month, Economy and Labour Minister Wolfgang Clement revealed on Wednesday. Sources close to the Federal Labour Agency said the jobless total rose to 5.037 million in January, taking the jobless rate up to 12.1 per cent. — AFP

Graft threatens funding:

NAIROBI: Government corruption in Kenya is threatening the disbursement of millions of dollars in foreign aid to fight HIV/AIDS, the US ambassador to the east African nation said in comments released on Wednesday. The envoy, William Bellamy, said graft was a primary reason that only a fraction of the $70 million the US allocated for anti-AIDS programmes in Kenya last year had been spen. — AFP