IBT Staff Reporter

Crude oil rose on Friday, with Brent above $116 a barrel, as Libyan security forces began a violent crackdown on protesters in Tripoli and clashed with rebels near a major oil terminal.

A sweeping insider trading case that shook the hedge fund world is finally set for trial, with onetime billionaire Raj Rajaratnam fighting to stay out of prison in a courtroom drama over corporate secrets, tapped telephones and friends-turned-government witnesses.

Social networking site Badoo.com has published a unique ranking of cities based on the number of online flirtations initiated per month by the average Badoo user in each of these. Take a look here at the numero uno as well as some of the other cities that have made it to the top 10 in the League.

Real Madrid crushed Malaga with a 7-0 victory, but it was marred by an injury to their star player Cristiano Ronaldo who walked off immediately after his scoring his third.

Russian spy Anna Chapman is in from the cold and out on the Internet with an official website featuring photos, news and an upbeat message urging Russians to smile and be self-reliant.

Stock index futures were mostly unchanged on Friday as upbeat labor market data earlier this week fed investor optimism about the upcoming February payrolls report.

ECB policymaker Axel Weber warned global central bankers on Friday that economic imbalances could worsen faster than first expected to pre-crisis levels and urged the G20 to push ahead with tackling them.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has been subject to fresh speculation about a move away from the Blues after his former Italy team-mate Ruggiero Rizzitell claimed he had held talks with AS Roma.

Longstanding rivals Google and Microsoft seem to have found friendship in a common enemy - GeoTag - whom they are teaming up to sue over patents.

Apple unveiled its lighter, thinner and faster rendition of iPad, the iPad 2 with upgrades sufficient enough to give a tough fight to the current breed of Android, webOS and QNX-based tablets.

Foreign banks have not gotten the message when it comes to helping American clients avoid paying taxes, a top U.S. tax prosecutor said on Thursday.

Stock index futures were mostly unchanged on Friday as upbeat labor market data earlier this week fed investor optimism about the upcoming February payrolls report.

Charlie Sheen continues to reign the world wide web as he takes Twitter into the mighty book of Guinness World Records and dominates almost all aspects of search with the latest being the video of Jimmy Fallon parody.

A federal judge said on Thursday he would approve the bankruptcy plan for Old GM, wrapping up one of the most complex Chapter 11 cases in U.S. history and paving the way for a distribution of General Motors stock and warrants to creditors.

China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest mobile carrier by subscribers, said on Friday that Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs has expressed interest in developing an iPhone based on the Chinese carrier's network standard.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open for Wall Street on Friday, adding to hefty gains on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq futures all up around 0.2 percent by 4.20 a.m. EST.

Goldman Sachs Group Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has agreed to testify for the U.S. government at the upcoming trial of Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sony Corp said on Friday shipments of its PlayStation 3 game consoles were being seized by customs officers in the Netherlands following a court injunction initiated by LG Electronics over a patent dispute.

President Barack Obama unleashing surprising sense of humor on Discovery astronauts in a lighthearted conversation on Robonaut 2, the first humanoid in space.

Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine said it launched 'Bing deals' for both the desktop and mobile, allowing consumers to find the best deals locally, a service that will pit it against daily deals website Groupon.

Goldman Sachs Group Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has agreed to testify for the U.S. government at the upcoming trial of Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The School asserted on Wednesday that they would be retaining him in the post of Chairman of the board.

As earlier reported search engine behemoth Google has been working on a secret project to enable cars cars that can drive themselves.

Asian stocks are heading for their biggest weekly gain in three months on bargain-hunting after their recent drop while the euro perked up after the central bank signaled a rate hike as early as next month.

Former 'American Idol' judge, Paula Abdul's Valentine's Day 911 call puts light on emergency etiquette as she declined to file a police report against her boyfriend citing it was just a verbal spat.

BP's $7.2-billion deal to jump into India's oil and gas sector with Reliance Industries is the first sign of new investment that could attract more players, helping to boost output and meet surging demand.

U.S. banks received a proposal from state attorneys general and several federal agencies that could require them to reduce loan balances of troubled mortgage borrowers, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Indian banks overall have sufficient capital to meet the new Basel III standard but a few may need to augment their capital to get there, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Thursday.

Students across universities are campaigning to get the embattled actor on campus at the 2012 commencement ceremonies.