A US federal judge has said she is leaning toward approving a government settlement that will require Google to pay a US$22.5 million dollar (€17.6 million) fine to resolve allegations that it duped web surfers using the Safari browser in order to track their online activities.

A United States judge has rejected a request to dismiss charges against the main defendants in the Balco steroid case.

Balco founder Victor Conte has vowed to “tell the truth” about drugs in sport in an American television interview on Friday.