April 2013

Almost exactly four years ago, in the early hours of April16 2009, Bolivian special forces burst into a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz in the east of the country.

Within minutes they had shot and killed three foreign guests, one of them Michael Dwyer, from Ballinderry in County Tipperary.

The soldiers arrested two other European men, who remain in custody today. In an official statement the Bolivian government accused the group of planning armed insurgency and of plotting to kill the country’s left- wing president, Evo Morales.

Complaint lodged by Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

The European Commission has asked the Government to explain why seismic surveying currently under way off the west coast is not subject to the requirements of EU directives on environmental impact.

It has also asked the State to explain what measures are being taken to monitor and to minimise the impact of seismic surveying on whales and dolphins.

OSSL seems to have been used as a “Mr Fixit” for SEPIL, allegedly facilitating the distribution of improper gifts to various parties, including the Garda, who rightly or wrongly, have been accused of acting as an offshoot of Shell security in policing protests against the project. It was also alleged that related invoices were falsified on Shell’s instructions.