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The Niger Delta suffers another oil spill

The Niger delta has experienced another oil spill from one of Shells pipelines. Local environmental activists have said that it ranks as one of the worst in Nigeria for years.

The late November spill happened in Okolo Launch on Bonny Island. According to an investigation by shell and government officials 3,800 barrels have spilled recently, but 1,200 barrels had been recovered as of Tuesday.

In spite of efforts to manage the spill, vast quantities of oil have reached the shore and have started to have an adverse effect on the fragile ecosystem. "We saw dead fish, dead crabs ... This spill occurred 7-8 nautical miles from the shore ... so the volume runs into thousands of barrels," Alagoa Morris, head of the Niger Delta Resource Center for Environmental Rights Action

20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups inhabit areas of the delta, it is the largest wetland in Africa and contains one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. The unique ecosystem also has more species of freshwater fish than any ecosystem in West Africa.

Shell has placed the blame for the spill on failed crude theft, and claims that over the last five years 70 percent of all oil spills have been the result of sabotage.

However, Shell has recently been held accountable for the environmental damage caused by a 2011 oil leak in the offshore Bonga oil field, this incident saw nearly 40 thousand barrels of oil drained into the sea. The Nigerian parliament determined that Shell must pay nearly 4 billion dollars (3.2 billion euros).

In a recent investigation Amnesty International revealed that Shell has repeatedly made false claims about the size and impact of two major oil spills at Bodo in Nigeria that happened back in 2008. The aim of the company was to minimize its compensation payments for the damage caused to 15,000 people whose livelihoods were devastated by oil pollution. In a high-profile compensation case in England’s High Court, Shell did confirm that the two spills had been far greater than the previously believed. Yet Shell did not give a revised figure, which now stands at 4,144 barrels.

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Migrant death toll rises on route from Libya to Europe

Many migrants leaving Africa to escape instability have drowned near Tajoura, east of Tripoli. The migrants were attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach safety in Europe.

Navy spokesman Ayub Qassem said 26 people had been rescued after the vessel, carrying 250 went down. Qassem said most of the migrants were Africans and many were women. The use of poorly crafted wooden boats overloaded with desperate migrants have resulted in hundreds of deaths. This most recent tragedy comes just weeks after a vessel carrying migrants sank on the route from Libya to Italy, killing 100 people. Two more migrant vessels have been reported to have sunk in the past few weeks.

Human traffickers are using the unstable atmosphere in Africa to exploit those who seek asylum in Europe. The underequipped Libyan coastguard is struggling to deal with the problem and have few resources to search for survivors. They are currently using fishing boats and tugs borrowed from the oil ministry. 

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U.S. Air Marshal assaulted at Nigerian airport 

A U.S. air marshal was assaulted with a syringe containing an "unknown substance" at the Lagos airport in Nigeria on Sunday. There were fears that the syringe may have contained the Ebola virus that has claimed over 2,400 lives in western Africa. However officials have determined that the needle did not appear to contain Ebola or any other dangerous agent.

Officials from the Federal airports authority of Nigeria (FAAN) are in contact with U.S. diplomats to help with the investigation. Yakubu Dati, a spokesperson for FAAN said that a security team form the U.S. mission in Nigeria have reviewed CCTV footage and the Preliminary observation did not show evidence of the incident. The FBI continue to investigate the incident. 

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Suicide Bomber attacks U.N. base in Mali

Two U.N. peacekeepers were killed and nine others injured in a suicide attack on a patrol base in northern Mali. MINUSMA (the UN Multidimensional Stabilisation Mission in Mali) official said that both the soldiers who died were from neighbouring Burkina Faso. A pick-up truck laden with explosives drove into the UN camp in Ber, 50km (30 miles) east of Timbuktu, on Saturday. Eye witness "There was no checkpoint. The bomber was able to drive the vehicle right into the camp, among the tents, before blowing himself up."

It comes after three other international peacekeepers - two Bangladeshi, one Chadian - were injured when their vehicles drove over mines in two separate incidents at the end of last week.

Troops from former colonial power France intervened in Mali last year in an attempt to drive back Islamists who had taken advantage of an uprising in the north of the West African country.

There have so far been three weeks of talks between the Malian government and Tuareg separatist rebels in July and August, which were mediated by the Algerian government. Talks aimed at drawing up a road map for peace are due to resume in September.

Source:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/16/uk-mali-attacks-un-idUKKBN0GG0DJ20140816

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28824381

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Ebola

The death toll mounted to more than 961 individuals, with nearly 30 deaths occurring on Tuesday and Wednesday alone. Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and most recently Nigeria have been effected by the most severe outbreak since the virus was discovered. The World Health Organisation have asked leaders of effected countries to activate national disaster mechanisms. Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said that Ebola “is an infectious disease which can be contained . . . by no means implies that all countries, or that many countries, will see Ebola cases."

The US Food and Drug Administration has lifted regulatory holds on the experimental drug that Tekmira Pharmaceuticals has been developing for Ebola outbreaks. The experimental drug has shown the ability to protect non-human primates from Ebola. Human trials began in January, however full FDA approval is yet to be given.

The two US aid workers who contracted Ebola remain in isolation in Atlanta. Officials say they have been given an experimental drug known as ZMapp. The health of the two aid workers is said to be improving. Returning aid workers who have worked in Ebola affected countries are being placed in a three week quarantine by Health Officials in North Carolina.