iNEWS NIGERIA

* U.S. hopes others in Africa will adopt democratic norms

* IOC buys 1 mln barrels Escravos & Erha via tender

LAGOS, July 3 (Reuters) - Nigerian interbank lending rates
rose to 17.33 percent on average this week from 16.25 percent
previously, driven by cash outflows in the purchase of forex and
treasury bills, traders said on Friday.

(Updates prices based on other sources, specifies loading
months)

LONDON (Reuters) - Countries on the front line in the “war on terror” are using the battle against extremists as a smokescreen to crack down on minority groups, an international human rights group said on Thursday.

JOS, Nigeria, July 3 (Reuters) - The trial of top Nigerian
oil militant Henry Okah for gun-running and treason continued on
Friday despite President Umaru Yar’Adua’s order that a top
government official meet with him and offer him amnesty.

LAGOS, July 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s First Bank
said on Friday it had won regulatory approval from China to set
up office in Beijing, making it the first Nigerian bank to start
operations in one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

LAGOS, July 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama’s
choice of Ghana for his first official trip to Africa next week
has triggered a bout of self-questioning in Nigeria and Kenya,
where many see his itinerary as a deliberate snub.

ABUJA, July 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria, Algeria and Niger on
Friday signed an agreement to build a multi-billion dollar gas
pipeline across the Sahara that could send up to 30 billion
cubic metres a year of supplies to Europe.
“We have the expertise and I don’t think there is a problem
with finance in this project. I don’t think there is a problem
with a market. The market is there,” Algerian Energy Minister
Chakib Khelil said at a ceremony in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.
(Reporting by Randy Fabi; Edi

* Somali foreign minister hopes for stronger AU mandate

ABUJA, July 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s state-run oil firm NNPC
said on Friday it will create a new gas company to regulate the
disbursement of supplies to domestic and export markets.

STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary

* Trans-Saharan pipeline may help European energy security

(The following statement was released by the ratings agency)

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Light-heavy crude oil
differentials were squeezed further on Thursday as Nigerian
crude values came under pressure but heavier Angolan barrels
maintained their value or even strengthened.