The company said in a statement that it "continuously investigates unusual milk supply patterns and as such became aware of a situation in Waterford in recent months, which is currently under investigation".

The company would not comment on the individuals involved but it is understood to involve a handful of cases. Glanbia said "stringent penalties and actions" will be taken if the cases are proven.

GOOGLE went offline last week in search of ways to grow its advertising business, announcing plans to extend its online search advertisers to XM Satellite radio, the largest such service in the US with seven million paying subscribers. Google's AdWords clients will gain access to XM's non-music channels.

The deal is made possible using technology developed by dMarc, a radio advertising firm acquired by Google last year, and significant as the firm extends its reach beyond internet advertising. The company has also been researching an online advertising trading system for print media.

WINCOMM TECHNOLOGIES, a telecoms equipment company in Colorado, has been bought by a "recently formed Irish entity" for 13.2m, according to its parent company.

ARC Wireless Solutions announced it had sold Wincomm, which distributes network equipment such as wireless routers, but declined to name the buyer. The company's shareholders will have to approve the sale at an extraordinary general meeting which ARC said it will convene within 90 days. In the meantime it will not reveal further details about the transaction.

Among the possible Irish bidders for Wincomm, according to industry sources, is RIVADA NETWORKS. The Galway telecoms company, founded by entrepreneur Declan Ganley, specialises in setting up secure communications networks for public bodies and recently tendered for a 100m contract to build a digital radio network for the gardai.

Rivada's technology was used by various US government departments to coordinate emergency aid and rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina last year. The company has US of"ces in Virginia, Louisiana and Colorado.

Ganley, whose various business interests have included metals, forestry and online jewellery retailing, recently said Rivada was the most exciting he had ever been involved in "and it has the potential to be the most signi"cant, " he said.

TULLOW OIL said last week it had secured a stake in an offshore "eld in Angola and produced "rst crude from a "eld in Ivory Coast.

Sonagol, Angola's national oil company, awarded Tullow the 50% share in a block which covers 3,800 square kilometres in the Lower Congo Basin. The block contains three undeveloped oil "elds.

Tullow's project at West Espoir in Ivory Coast also produced its "rst oil.

Tullow holds a 21% stake in the venture. The "rst well extracted 5,000 barrels of oil and gas a day, "signi"cantly ahead of expectations, "the company said. The West Espoir development is expected to reach peak production of 10,000 barrels of oil a day in 2007.

QUINN GROUP, headed by Fermanagh businessman Sean Quinn (below), seems set to expand its property interests in Ukraine and Russia. Quinn Group recently sought to recruit a development manager for the region, while earlier this year it acquired an of"ce block in Kiev.

Quinn Group has recently established a property "rm in Ukraine and obtained an almost 30m line of credit from Anglo Irish Bank. Additional "nancing has been provided by Quinn Group Family Properties. Anglo Irish Bank is understood to be charging interest of just 1.75% on its one-year credit facility.

MOUNTAIN PROVINCE DIAMONDS (MPD), the Canadian "rm in which Dermot Desmond's Bottin International investment vehicle owns roughly 24% of stock, received notice 10 days ago from the US stock exchange that it was not in compliance with listing requirements.

MPD was required to "le an application for the listing of additional shares with respect to almost two million shares of its common stock issued at the end of July to "ve shareholders of Camphor Venture in exchange for approximately 33.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of Camphor.

Camphor was a joint venture partner on a diamond project that Mountain Province is involved in with De Beers. The partners are developing a major diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories.

MPD said it would "le the application by last Friday. At the time of writing no update was available.

Desmond's share in MPD is worth approximately 36m.

SHELL, after announcing that it will reroute the Rossport gas pipeline in Co Mayo, "nds itself embroiled in another battle, this time on Sakhalin Island, off the north coast of Russia.

The company was instructed last week to suspend construction of a pipeline there, threatening to delay a project whose costs doubled last year to $20bn.

The Russian natural resources ministry said Shell should stop construction of the link until it can complete environmental and safety studies at the end of the month. The government plans to sue the company to enforce the demand.

Environmental groups seeking to protect whales and salmon have already forced Shell to redesign and reroute onshore and offshore pipelines as part of the secondphase of the Shell-led Sakhalin-II project.