Armed militants in Nigeria vowed on Sunday to cut daily oil exports from this West African nation's troubled delta region by another 1 million barrels by the end of this month, as OPEC nations prepared for a strategy meeting in Vienna this week.
A wave of militant assaults on pipelines and oil facilities has already cut production by 455,000 barrels per day in Nigeria, which normally exports 2.5 million barrels of crude daily.
In recent days, militants have repeatedly threatened to escalate the conflict with new attacks and rocket assaults on international oil tankers in Nigerian waters. There have been no new attacks since militants destroyed Shell-operated pipeline on Feb. 20.
PHOTO: AP
In an e-mail to reporters, the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said "we are going to inflict one huge, crippling blow on the Nigerian oil industry and a most embarrassing attack on the Nigerian government."
"Our target for the month of March is a further cut of 1 million barrels," the email said.
The militant group claims to be fighting for the interests of the people of the Niger Delta region, which has remained poor despite the fact that most of Nigeria's oil is being pumped from it.
Attacks since January have caused severe disruptions to oil exports by Nigeria, one of OPEC's leading producers. The attacks have helped push edgy oil prices higher on international markets.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, meets tomorrow in Vienna to map out strategies for the spring and early summer.
Ethnic Ijaw militants took nine foreign oil workers hostages on Feb. 18 and released six of them last week. On Sunday, the militants said they had no plans to release the remaining three -- two Americans and one Briton.
The militant group wants President Olusegun Obasanjo's federal government to release two prominent, jailed Ijaws -- one militant leader accused of treason and a former regional governor held on corruption charges after he fled money laundering charges in Britain. They also want the federal government to increase the region's share of oil wealth.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed