Nigeria

Douala, Cameroon -- 25 August 2008 -- Oil palms are grown throughout West and Central Africa, but the development of the palm oil industry has been slow, despite a thriving market. A project sponsored by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization is about to change the palm oil industry in Cameroon and Nigeria.

A palm oil plantation: Photo by Angela Sevin (CC)

Palm oil is a common ingredient in traditional dishes in West and Central Africa. It is cheaper than vegetable oil and can also be used to make soap and pomade.    » read more »

Abuja -- 13 August 2008 -- Animal health specialists warn a new strain of highly pathogenic bird flu in Nigeria - which has previously not been recorded in sub-Saharan Africa - increases the risk of avian influenza spreading to other countries in West Africa.

Nigeria's bird flu officials blame infected migratory birds from Europe or Central Asia for the spread of the new strain of H5N1 to the country.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization says the newly discovered virus strain is genetically different from the strain that circulated in Nigeria in 2006 and 2007.

The U.N. food agency says the new strain is similar to ones previously identified in Italy, Afghanistan and Iran, last year.    » read more »

Abuja -- 09 June 2008 -- The Nigerian military says navy personnel escorting an oil vessel repelled an attack by militants off the Nigerian coast early Monday. The statement contradicts earlier reports that militants seized eight navy escorts in the latest attack in Nigeria's main oil-producing region.

Oil pipelines and gas flares in Nigeria: Photo by only e (CC)

According to the spokesman for the Nigerian military in the troubled Niger Delta, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, military escorts assigned to safeguard oil vessels in transit won the early morning shootout in the Delta creeks.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., May 14, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a settled enforcement action charging Willbros Group, Inc. and four former employees with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), alleging that they paid more than $6 million in undisclosed bribes to Nigerian government officials and others to obtain significant contracts for the Houston-based company.    » read more »

20 December 2007 -- UNICEF recommends that women breast feed during the first few months of their baby’s life to improve the child’s chances of survival. Health specialists say that’s because of the important ingredients available in the milk, especially in the portion called colostrum. That message and others were emphasized at a forum held at the headquarters of the Development Communications Network in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital recently to mark annual breastfeeding week.    » read more »

16 December 2007 -- With the approach of Christmas and Muslims marking Sallah, poultry consumption in Nigeria is expected to reach an all-time high this month. As Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA from Abuja, recent reports indicating the virus remains entrenched in Nigeria and an outbreak in neighboring Benin have prompted fresh concerns about bird flu infecting humans in Nigeria.

Health officials in northern Nigeria are disinfecting poultry markets in a bid to stem cases of bird flu before Christmas and the Muslim festival of Sallah, this month.    » read more »

17 September 2007, Hangzhou, China (By Jim Stevenson) -- Germany has defeated Japan, 2-0, to reach the quarterfinal round of the Women's World Cup football (soccer) tournament in China. VOA's Jim Stevenson was at the game in Hangzhou, where the defending champions seemed to struggle at times, despite playing a relatively weaker opponent.    » read more »