BBC news.

The oil giant Exxon Mobil says gunmen have attacked a ship supplying an oil platform off the coast of Nigeria and abducted one of its workers. In 2006, militants campainging for a great share of oil wealth began a wave of attacks against foreign oil companies, kidnapping workers and targeting pipelines.

London's leading shares index FTSE has registered its worst quarterly trading figures for 9 years. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been wiped off shares in the past three months. Stocks in France and Germany have also fallen in value by more than 25% since the end of June.

Paris is launching an electric car rental scheme similar to its pioneering self-service bike-hire fleet. Two hundred and fifty vehicles will be available at stands around the city. Christian Frazor has been sampling one.

It's electric. It's silent. And it's available from Decemember across Paris. Autolib, a fleet of help-yourself petrol-free cars designed to introduce commuters to new green techonology. It's a public-private initiative costing Paris 214m euros. The mayer hopes it will help curb 22000 cars by 2010 from the already congested streets. Visitors who want a daily subscription will need a credit card, a driving licence, and a good deal of courage to negotiate the notorious Paris traffic.

The American hip-hop pioneer Sylvia Robinson has died aged 75. She set up the influential Sugar Hill records in 1979 and produced hip-hop's first commerically successfully single " Rapper's Delight " with the group the Sugarhill gang.