region:southern niger

Pirates kidnap 12 crew members from Swiss vessel in Nigerian waters - ship operator | Reuters
▻https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nigeria-piracy/pirates-kidnap-12-crew-members-from-swiss-vessel-in-nigerian-waters-ship

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Pirates kidnapped 12 crew members from a Swiss merchant vessel on Saturday in Nigerian waters, the ship’s operator said in a statement.

Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in parts of Nigeria. A number of foreigners have been kidnapped in the last few years in the southern Niger Delta region, source of most of the crude oil which is the mainstay of west Africa’s biggest economy.

Massoel Shipping, operator of MV Glarus, said the vessel carrying wheat was travelling between the southwestern commercial capital Lagos and southern Niger Delta oil hub Port Harcourt when it was boarded by pirates, who took 12 away of the 19 crew members.

It said the attack happened around 45 nautical miles south west of Bonny Island.

“The company is working with the authorities and specialists to secure the speedy and safe release of those being held,” Massoel Shipping said in its statement. The statement did not give the nationalities of the crew members.

Switzerland’s foreign ministry said it had learned from the company that none of the crew members were from Switzerland itself.

Nigeria’s navy and maritime police said they were unaware of the kidnapping and would investigate.

Ubang: The Nigerian village where men and women ’speak different languages’ - BBC News
▻https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45262081

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In Ubang, a farming community in southern Nigeria, men and women say they speak different languages. They view this unique difference as “a blessing from God”, but as more young people leave for greener pastures and the English language becomes more popular, there are concerns it won’t survive, reports the BBC’s Yemisi Adegoke.

Dressed in a brightly coloured traditional outfit, a red chief’s cap and holding a staff, Chief Oliver Ibang calls over his two young children, eager to demonstrate the different languages.

He holds up a yam and asks his daughter what it is called.

“It’s ’irui’,” she says, without hesitating.

But in Ubang’s “male language” the word for yam, one of Nigeria’s staple foods, is “itong”.

And there are many other examples, such as the word for clothing, which is “nki” for women and “ariga” for men.

#nigéria #langues #langage #genre

Migrants in Libya : Pushed away, pulled back

As EU policies drive migrants away, Libyan authorities push them into dire detention centres. For some who reach Europe, it is worth the risk

▻http://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/migrants-libya-pushed-back-pulled-back-409483752
#pull-back #push-back #Libye #externalisation
#renvois #expulsions #retour_au_pays #prostitution #asile #migrations #réfugiés #Nigeria #trafic_d'êtres_humains :

Eight years ago, Joy was a teenager when she was offered a job as a nanny in London. In the event, she was flown by plane to Milan, and ordered to work off a nearly $60,000 debt as a sex worker.

When Joy fled to what she thought was the safety of her home in southern Nigeria’s Edo State however, it turned out to be “hell”.

“Returning was one of the worst things I could have done,” she said.
Her local recruiters repeatedly threatened the lives of her family for cash. Joy’s uncle beat her, and sold her off to be married twice.

Et qu’est-ce qu’elle fait Joy quelques années après ?

Years later, she resolved to return to Italy for a better life, by land through Libya, with her eyes open. “Everyone knows the story about Libya,” she said. “We all know it is dangerous.”

Shell, villagers agree to $83.5 million for huge oil spill

▻http://bigstory.ap.org/article/aaed3128c6374c268bd0129ac2fa7cb1/shell-villagers-agree-835-million-huge-oil-spill

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oil giant Shell has agreed to pay a Nigerian fishing community 55 million pounds (about $83.5 million) for the worst oil spill ever suffered in Nigeria.

Wednesday’s agreement ends a three-year legal battle in Britain over two spills in 2008 that destroyed thousands of hectares (acres) of mangroves and the fish and shellfish that sustained villagers of the Bodo community in Nigeria’s southern Niger Delta.

It “is thought to be one of the largest payouts to an entire community following environmental damage,” the claimants’ London lawyers, Leigh Day, said.

Shell said it is paying 35 million pounds ($53.1 million) to 15,600 fishermen and farmers and 20 million pounds ($30.4 million) to their Bodo community.

“We’ve always wanted to compensate the community fairly,” said Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director of Shell Nigeria, which is 55 percent owned by the Nigerian government.

#nigeria #énergie #pollution #shell signalé par Pierre Ageron sur twitter

Sustainable plans for #Lebanon’s #Oil and #Gas reserves
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sustainable-plans-lebanon%E2%80%99s-oil-and-gas-reserves

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A view of oil giant Shell’s oil and gas terminal on Bonny Island in southern Nigeria’s Niger Delta. (Photo:Pius Utomi Ekpei) A view of oil giant Shell’s oil and gas terminal on Bonny Island in southern Nigeria’s Niger Delta. (Photo:Pius Utomi Ekpei)

In the coming years Lebanon could begin to reap the first fruits of its oil and gas reserves. Lebanon’s natural resources could be worth tens of billions of dollars, which is particularly important in a country with a yearly GDP of no more than $40 billion.

Sami Atallah

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#Opinion #Articles