Officials in Pakistan say four militants were killed in an American drone attack in the tribal area of North Waziristan, the second such attack on the same day. The first attack in South Waziristan killed five militants.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has threatened to halt oil exports to the United States if his country is attacked by Colombia, in an escalating dispute over allegations that Venezuela is harboring Colombian rebels. Mr Chavez said that he had received intelligence that the possibility of armed aggression from Colombia backed by the US was greater than it had ever been. Mr Chavez broke diplomatic ties with Colombia last week after Bogota presented detailed accusations that Farc and ELN rebels were operating inside Venezuela.

The Ferrari Formula-1 team has been fined $100,000 for breach of sporting regulations following the controversial victory of its Spanish driver Fernando Alonso at the German Grand Prix. The stewards at Hockenheim said Ferrari had instructed Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa to slow down towards the end of the race and make way for Alonso who had a better chance of winning the driver’s championship. David Croft reports.

A breach of Article 39.1, Ferrari guilty of issuing team orders, stage-managing Fernando Alonso’s victory at the expense of his teammate Felipe Massa. Not but it took a genius to work it out: the coded messages from Massa’s race engineer on the team radio, his apology to his driver after Massa conceded the lead, and the reaction of both the Brazilian and Fernando Alonso himself had given the game away long before the stewards issued their $100,000 fine.