Nelson Mandela celebrated his 90th birthday Friday by urging the wealthy to share their prosperity and by saying he wished he’d been able to spend more time with his family during the anti-apartheid struggle.

Gardeners mowed the lawn outside the tiny museum honoring local hero Nelson Mandela on Thursday, while a work crew laid new tarmac on the road outside his house and a school choir rehearsed a song they created especially for him.

U.S. oil major Chevron said on Tuesday production has been restored at its 120,000-barrel per day Escravos crude oil pipeline in Nigeria, nearly a month after armed youths sabotaged it.

Nigerian senior oil workers union and Chevron are expected to resume talks on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to avert an all-out strike that could sharply cut output from the world's eighth largest exporter.

U.S. oil major Chevron declared a force majeure on its Nigerian Escravos crude oil exports after armed youths blew up a supply pipeline last week, a company official said on Wednesday.

Royal Dutch Shell said it shut down production at an offshore oil installation that produces about 200,000 barrels per day after the most powerful militant group in Nigeria said it launched an attack there Thursday.

Oil rose on Wednesday after U.S. government data showed a bigger-than-expected decline in gasoline stocks ahead of the summer driving season, offsetting a build in crude inventories.

Oil surged more than $2 to close at a record settling price near $120 a barrel on Tuesday as supply concerns from Nigeria and the North Sea propelled crude higher.

Crude oil prices hit a record closing high over $117 a barrel on Monday as rebel attacks cut Nigerian supplies and a Scottish refinery strike threatened North Sea crude production.

U.S. light, sweet crude settled up 36 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $101.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday after a day of choppy trading.

Is Africa worth a look for the American investor?  Tim Seymour of Seygem Asset Management and Terrence Gray of DWS Scudder answer emphatically in the affirmative.