Nigeria oil cut by rebel attack

An attack on two oil pipelines in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region has cut production and raised the price of oil. Oil giant Shell confirmed it had stopped pumping crude oil through a majorpipeline but did not say how much was being held back.

The pipeline attacked by militants carries 130,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters news agency.  Nigeria’s oil production had been creeping back up to its Opec quota of 2.2m barrels a day. A series of violent attacks in recent years had led to a 20% cut in Nigeria’s output.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) claimed responsibility for the attacks. They attacked a major trunk pipeline in Nembe Creek, Shell confirmed. Mend said they would attack two major pipelines in order to prove they were not being paid protection money to stay away from oil infrastructure.

Guinea Bissau ‘foils coup plot’ Guinea Bissau says it has foiled an attempt by the head of the country’s navy to overthrow President JoaoBernardo Vieira. An army spokesman said Rear Admiral Americo Bubo Na Tchuto was arrested after telephoning senior officers to ask for help in ousting Vieira.

The alleged coup comes amid political turmoil in Guinea Bissau. The president has dissolved parliament, a month after one of the three main partiesquit the unity government. “We have foiled a coup attempt that should have been carried out by a group of officers led by Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, head of the navy,” an army spokesman told reporters in the capital, Bissau.

Deal agreed on Sudan oil region A deal has been reached between north and south Sudan over the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei. The two sides have agreed on an interim administration with a southerner named as chief administrator and a member of a local Arab clan as his deputy Fighting in May between northern and southern troops drove 50,000 people from their homes in the region. Many feared the violence would re-ignite the bloody civil war that ended in 2005 with a peace deal.

Kenya bans holiday school tuition The Kenyan government has banned extra holiday tuition for students in private and public schools. Education Permanent Secretary Karega said children need to rest during holidays and not do extra work. Concerns were raised about the strain students are under after more than 300 secondary schools experienced riots. A parliamentary committee set up to probe the unrest interviewed students who complained about an overloaded curriculum and long school terms.

Chad ex-leader sentenced to death A court in Chad has sentenced to death former President Hissen Habre for planning to overthrow the government. He was sentenced in absentia along with several rebel leaders, who launched an assault on the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, earlier this year.

Habre, sometimes dubbed “Africa’s Pinochet”, was deposed in 1990 and lives in exile in Senegal. He was deposed after eight years in power in an uprising led by current President Idriss Deby, and denies knowledge of the alleged murder and torture of political opponents. A commission of inquiry said Habre’s government was responsible for some 40,000 politically motivated murders and 200,000 cases of torture.

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