AFRICA: Two US oil workers and a British security expert began their second week as hostages in the swamps of southern Nigeria as talks to secure their release appeared deadlocked. The captives — Americans Cody Oswald and Russel Spell and Britain’s John Hudspith — were kidnapped along with six colleagues on February 18, during a series of attacks on oil installations by separatist guerrillas. Their fellow hostages were released last week, but the ethnic Ijaw rebel fighters have vowed to hold on to the remaining oilmen and to step up their attacks, with the aim of shutting down Africa’s biggest oil industry. Already, the energy giant Shell has been forced to slash Nigeria’s crude oil exports by around 20 percent, forcing up prices on the world market, and the insurgents have promised more and more violent raids in coming days. Full Story
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