In court

pulp appraisal: A federal court in Australia agreed to expedite an appeal hearing over an Aus $2 billion pulp
mill proposal in Tasmania state. Environmental groups had challenged the government's environmental assessment of the proposed mill. A lower court
had rejected the groups' challenge, following which they appealed the federal court and requested it to expedite the hearing.

Blocking Shell: A US federal appeals court in San Francisco county has upheld an order blocking the Royal
Dutch Shell Plc from exploratory drilling in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast. The ruling delivers a serious blow to Shell's plan to drill four
exploration wells during the Arctic summer. Environmental groups have been saying that exploration work will harm the Arctic and threaten the
endangered bowhead whales.