NIGERIA

Last week's failed plot to bomb a U.S. passenger jet has exposed lingering fissures within the U.S. intelligence community, which had information from interviews and clandestine intercepts but did not put the pieces together, officials said.

The path toward rolling out wider use of whole-body security scanners in U.S. airports runs through the White House.

The major international airport of the Netherlands, the Schiphol Airport, will begin using full-body scanners on passengers flying to the United States, the Dutch interior minister said on Wednesday.

Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian unit will face allegations of negligence over oil spills in a court in the Netherlands after the court ruled on Wednesday it was competent to handle the cases.

The Nigerian charged with trying to blow up a U.S. airliner planned to study Islamic law in Yemen, the Arabian peninsular state which is fighting a local branch of al Qaeda, the Nigerian government said on Tuesday.

The foiled Christmas Day bomb attack on a U.S. airliner has put further pressure on ailing Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua to either confirm he is fit to govern or hand over to his deputy.

The family of a Nigerian man who tried to blow up a U.S. passenger airliner said on Monday they had lost contact with him while he was studying abroad and reported his disappearance to security agencies two months ago.

U.S. authorities on Saturday charged a Nigerian man with trying to blow up a U.S. passenger jet with high explosives and were investigating his claim that he had links to al Qaeda.

The Justice Department charged Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab with attempting to destroy an airplane on Christmas day by using a PETN explosive.

A Nigerian who has been detained in Detroit after trying to ignite an explosive device on a U.S. passenger plane is the son of a prominent former banker, a family member told Reuters on Saturday.

A Nigerian man with possible links to al Qaeda militants was in custody on Saturday after he tried to ignite an explosive device on a U.S. passenger plane as it approached Detroit, U.S. officials said.

Airports and airlines across Europe moved rapidly to tighten security on U.S.-bound flights on Saturday after a man tried to set off explosives on a plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.

OPEC agreed on Tuesday to keep supply curbs unchanged but faces a battle to crack down on those in its ranks who are failing to comply with quota restrictions if it wants to drain bulging global fuel inventories.

OPEC agreed on Tuesday to keep supply curbs unchanged but faces an uphill battle to crack down on those in its ranks failing to comply with quota restrictions if it wants to drain bulging global fuel inventories.

OPEC agreed on Tuesday to keep supply curbs unchanged but faces an uphill battle to improve compliance with self-imposed quota restrictions if it wants to drain bulging global fuel inventories.

Heating oil differentials in the New York Harbor moved up slightly despite a National Weather Service report showing that heating demand will be below normal during the coming week.

Royal Dutch Shell , Europe's largest oil company, is planning to sell oilfields in Nigeria valued at up to $5 billion, the Sunday Times reported, citing sources linked to companies interested in the assets.

Royal Dutch Shell , Europe's largest oil company, is planning to sell oilfields in Nigeria valued at up to $5 billion, the Sunday Times reported, citing sources linked to companies interested in the assets.

A new vaccine against polio, being used for the first time on children in Afghanistan this week, will be critical in the drive to eradicate the crippling virus, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

The draw of the teams who will face each other in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa took place Friday in South Africa.

Debt in Dubai and the interplay of politics and IMF deals in Ukraine, Romania and Latvia provide the main political risks to regional emerging markets in December, while in Nigeria presidential health will be in focus.