Wal-Mart tops global Fortune 500, edges out Shell
Extract from a CBS money watch article published 7 July 2014
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), the world’s largest retailer, topped the latest Fortune 500 global rankings of the most valuable companies by revenue, edging out Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A), the Anglo-Dutch oil and natural gas company, which finished in second place. This marks a comeback for Wal-Mart, which trailed first-place finisher Shell last year. A 40 percent drop-off in profit and a 4.6 percent decline in sales in 2013 hurt the energy giant.
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Disarray continues at Irish Police Ombudsman Commission
By John Donovan
It is not long off a year since the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) begun investigating OSSL whistleblower allegations of police corruption against Royal Dutch Shell in relation to the troubled Corrib Gas Project.
Although Johan Groenewald, the person leading the investigation,said some time ago that publication of his findings was imminent, the process seems to have ground to a halt, possibly due to other controversial events surrounding the GSOC.
There is some indication of the degree of disarray by the news today that a high level whistleblower – no less than a deputy chief of the GSOC – has “put the boot into watchdog boss and his former colleagues in a scathing five-page resignation letter.”
GSOC deputy chief lifts the lid on ‘failures’ at the Ombudsman HQ: Irish Independent.ie Monday, 7 July 2014
Extract
WHEN Ray Leonard resigned as deputy head of investigations at the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission last weekend, he claimed it was because of a litany of operational deficits and difficulties he had with the policing watchdog. His extraordinary five-page resignation letter – seen by the Sunday Independent – reveals all was not well behind the glass doors of GSOC headquarters on Dublin’s Abbey Street. His departure was the latest curious twist in the Garda spying saga that brought GSOC to crisis point, seriously damaged the force, and prompted an ultimately inconclusive inquiry by retired High Court judge, John Cooke.
This news will further undermine the credibility of all findings of GSOC investigations undertaken while the unit has been operating in crisis mode.
The ongoing scandals have already led to the resignations of the Irish Justice Minister and the Garda Commissioner (Chief of the Irish Police Force).
If Mr Leonard has any difficulty in publishing his comments in the Irish media, I would be pleased to oblige.
Shell flies in $30m for air support
Extracts from an article by Peter Klinger published by The West Australian on 7 July 2014
The first pieces of support infrastructure to back up the burgeoning Browse Basin oil and gas industry have arrived, with Royal Dutch Shell committing $30 million to underpin a dedicated search and rescue helicopter service out of Broome. Shell, which is developing the pioneering Prelude floating LNG project, is committing the funds over an 18-month period. “As a result of the Prelude FLNG project, our activity offshore in the region is increasing,” Shell Australia chairman Andrew Smith said.
