London - A couple accused of drugs offences admitted in court on Friday that they had sold drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, to the British singer Amy Winehouse.

The 34-year-old man and his 22-year-old partner pleaded guilty to drugs charges.

The prosecution in the case has alleged that the pair filmed Winehouse apparently smoking crack cocaine and then sold the images to The Sun newspaper after they had sold the drugs to her.

London - Britain's Barclays bank said in London Friday it plans to raise some 7.3 billion pounds (11.8 billion dollars) in fresh capital from investors, mostly from the Middle East, thereby avoiding a cash hand-out from the British government.

The investments would mostly come from state funds in the Gulf state of Qatar and the royal family of Abu Dhabi, but also from existing shareholders and institutional investors.

The investors would own 32 per cent of the bank after the capital injection.

Barclays said the move fulfilled the British government's strict regulations for raising capital.

Paris - The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband are shortly to travel to the threatened Congolese city of Goma.

London - Convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohammed al-Megrahi has applied for interim liberation pending the outcome of an appeal, British media reported Friday.

London  - British Telecom Friday issued a surprise profit warning, telling shareholders results for the quarter ending September would be slightly down on expectations.

It said its Global Services section, used by big multinational companies, had failed to meet its targets after cost-cutting measures took effect more slowly than expected.

All the company's other areas of operation had performed as expected or slightly better. BT's half-yearly results are due to be published on November 13.

The company's latest announcement sent the value of its shares slumping, losing a fifth of their value in the first hour and a half of trading Friday.

London  - Britain's Barclays bank said in London Friday it plans to raise some 7.3 billion pounds (11.8 billion dollars) in fresh capital from investors, mostly from the Middle East.

Barclays said the move fulfilled government regulations for raising capital and avoided a government bail-out for the bank, keeping it "strong and independent."

The investments would mostly come from state funds and the royal families in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, but also from existing shareholders and institutional investors.

There would be no dividend paid out for the end of 2008.

The bank said that preliminary results for the first nine months of 2008 were "slightly ahead" of the same period in 2007.