Nigerian farmers can sue Shell in UK over pollution

Britain’s Supreme Court ruled Friday that a group of Nigerian farmers and fishermen can sue Royal Dutch Shell PLC for pollution. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Nigerian farmers can sue Shell in UK over pollution [Shell logo at a petrol station in London.] Credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Britain’s Supreme Court ruled Friday that a group of Nigerian farmers and fishermen [can sue Royal Dutch Shell PLC in English courts for clean up and compensation]( over pollution in the Niger River Delta, a region where the Anglo-Dutch energy giant has a subsidiary. In 2015, more than 40,000 members of Nigeria’s Ogale and Bille communities took Shell to court in London, home to Shell headquarters, because they say Nigerian courts were too corrupt. Their case alleged that [decades of oil spills have polluted the water](, contaminated the soil and destroyed the livelihood of thousands of people in the region. The long-running case has been closely watched for its implications about whether large corporations can be sued in London for activities of foreign subsidiaries. Five justices on UK's top court said Shell may owe a “duty of care” to the claimants over the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary. [Shell, which described the legal ruling as disappointing,](​ had argued that it was only a holding company for a firm that should be judged under Nigerian law. What The World is following Myanmar’s military leaders [extended the detention of deposed leader]( Aung San Suu Kyi until Feb. 17, when she will likely appear in court by videoconference, according to a lawyer asked by Suu Kyi’s party to represent her. With protests continuing across the country, the military [has warned]( of long sentences and fines for protesters and others found to incite “hatred or contempt” toward military leaders. Vaccination rates in Israel for the coronavirus are among the highest in the world. According to the Health Ministry, over a quarter of the population has received both doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine since December. Now, health authorities [have beefed up a digital task force]( to counter spurious claims about the vaccines, while local governments are turning to DJs and free food to lure people to vaccination centers. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Greece ‘finally’ has its #MeToo moment]( [A detainee mops the floor at the intake station at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, Nov. 15, 2019.]( Credit: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Since Greek sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou’s revelations in January against a top official in the sport, a wave of new accusations of sexual misconduct and other abuses by high-profile figures, including athletes and actors, has [rocked several sectors]( in Greece. Bekatorou, 43, alleged during an online conference in January that she was sexually assaulted by a high-ranking, Hellenic Sailing Federation official in 1998, when she was 21 years old. [Afghan returnees struggle with unemployment, violence at home]( [In this March 18, 2020, file photo, thousands of Afghan refugees walk as they enter Afghanistan at the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran, in the western Herat Province.]( Credit: Hamed Sarfarazi/AP For years, Afghans have moved to Iran and Pakistan to escape conflict, insecurity and lack of economic opportunities. Since last March, the pandemic, economic woes and deportations [have forced many back home.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Global hit Peter Gabriel is back with a re-recording of "Biko," a protest/tribute song to South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who was murdered while in police custody in 1977. [The latest version of Gabriel's song]( features 25 artists from around the globe in a virtual collaboration music project called "Playing for Change." (🎧) “Although the white minority government has gone in South Africa, the racism around the world that apartheid represented has not," [Gabriel told Rolling Stone](. [Screen grab from of a YouTube video from Playing for Change]( Credit: YouTube --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it from The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.