JOHN DONOVAN...AUGUST 29, 2014 ARTICLES

Ebola in Nigeria: Royal Dutch Shell issues warning to employees

Aug 29th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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By John Donovan

I received an email from a regular contributor at noon today advising that“Ebola has reached Port Harcourt now. No doubt you are aware Shell has ‘some’ operations there…”

The contact also supplied a BBC News article: Ebola spreads to Nigeria oil hub Port Harcourt

Before I had time to decide whether to comment, Reuters published an article “Doctor dies of Ebola in Nigeria’s oil hub Port Harcourt”

Extracts

Port Harcourt lies at the heart of Nigeria’s two million barrels per day oil industry, Africa’s biggest, and is a hub for expatriate workers in major international oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, ENI, Total and Exxonmobil.

A spokesman for leading operator Royal Dutch Shell in London said the firm was “monitoring the Ebola outbreak very closely, and liaising with health authorities on the steps being taken to contain the disease.” The only actions he wished to make public were a “health education campaign for staff and contractors.”Shell also said it had advised against non-essential travel to Nigeria.

Shell employees in Nigeria already had to worry about the prospect of losing their jobs as a result of Shell’s asset firesale plans. They now also have to worry about Ebola. 

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Posted in: Africa, GoogleNews, Human Rights, John Donovan, Nigeria, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Employee Safety.
Tagged: Ebola · John Donovan · Niger Delta · Nigeria · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Royal Dutch Shell Files Arctic Drilling Plans

Aug 29th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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A Shell spokesperson claims that the company’s latest Arctic exploration plan takes into account lessons learned from the 2012 operation (which turned into a dangerous farce after Shell engaged in reckless machinations in an effort to evade tax).

By John Donovan

Royal Dutch Shell has filed a plan with US federal regulators that could result in a resumption of its Arctic drilling campaign in the summer of of 2015.

However, the oil giant still has significant regulatory and legal issues to deal with in the meantime.

A Shell spokesperson claims that the company’s latest Arctic exploration plan takes into account lessons learned from the 2012 operation (which turned into a dangerous farce after Shell engaged in reckless machinations in an effort to evade tax). 

Related articles with more detail:

Shell formally launches 2015 Arctic drilling bid

Extract

Environmentalists warn that drilling in Arctic waters is too risky and insist that any spill at the top of the globe would be impossible to clean up. While Shell plans to stash booms, skimmers and other spill response gear nearby, conservationists note that most of that equipment is geared toward warmer, calmer waters.

Shell formally launches 2015 Arctic drilling bid

Extract

The exploration plan filed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in Anchorage keeps the door open for Shell to resume its Arctic drilling campaign as soon as summer 2015, and is the strongest evidence yet that new CEO Ben van Beurden wants to keep pursuing a big discovery in the U.S. Arctic after an ill-fated exploration campaign in 2012.

Shell Submits a Plan for New Alaskan Arctic Oil Exploration

Extract

After years of legal and logistical setbacks and dogged opposition from environmentalists, Royal Dutch Shell submitted a plan to the federal …

THE FARCE IN 2012

Shell’s Arctic Ambitions on the Rocks: 2 Jan 2013

The Kulluk and Shell’s Arctic reputation both need salvaging: 2 Jan 2013

SHELL’S SHIPWRECKED AMBITIONS IN THE GULF OF ALASKA: 1 Jan 2013

Shell’s jinxed Arctic drilling farce: 29 December 2012

Shell risked offshore workers lives to dodge Alaskan tax bill: 9 April 2014

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Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Beaufort Sea, Ben van Beurden, Chukchi Sea, Environment,GoogleNews, John Donovan, Litigation, Oil, Oil Spill, Pollution, Royal Dutch Shell Plc,Shell, Shell Employee Safety, Shell Project Delays, Shell Project Overruns, Shell Tax Avoidance, United States.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Beaufort Sea · Chukchi Sea · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

HARRY ROQUE...AUGUST 29, 2014 ARTICLE

Harry Roque's Blog

Syrian rebels threat to Filipino UN peacekeepers a war crime

 

Aug29by Harry Roque

The Center for International Law (CenterLaw) said today Syrian rebels who have surrounded Filipino soldiers who are part of the UN contingent of peacekeepers in the Golan Heights and threaten to hold them hostage violate the latter’s protected status under international law .
“UN peacekeepers have been deployed not to take part in hostilities as combatants but to maintain international peace and security under the UN Charter,” said lawyer Romel Bagares, Executive Director of the non-profit dedicated to the promotion of international legal norms in Asia and the Philippines. “They therefore remain protected as civilian non-combatants and are not to be targeted nor taken as prisoners of war by any of the parties to the hostilities.”
Bagares appealed to the Syrian rebels to respect the Geneva Conventions granting protected status to UN peacekeepers, warning that they may be prosecuted for war crimes if they insist on ignoring the distinction between peacekeepers and combatants under the law on armed conflict and attack the UN peacekeepers.
He said three rebel commanders in Sudan are now being prosecuted before the International Criminal Court for leading an attack on African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.
“All persons who are neither members of the armed forces of a party to the are entitled to protection against direct attack unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.,” said Bagares.
Intentionally directing attacks against a peacekeeping mission is a crime under the Rome Statute, which created the world’s first permanent international criminal tribunal.
In this case, it is clear that the Filipino soldiers had been deployed under the color and authority of the UN and are readily distinguishable from combatants in the conflict for that reason, according to the lawyer.
He added that the Filipino peacekeepers have a recognized right to self-defense under international law and may use force to protect themselves from any attack.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.