Oil giant BP is set to take another battering after a US judge ruled thousands of fishermen and business owners hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster could sue for punitive damages, it was reported today.

Edinburgh-based explorer Cairn Energy today hailed signs of a possible oil discovery in the untapped waters off the coast of Greenland.

THE yacht co-owned by Tony Hayward, the embattled chief executive of BP, is due to take part in the Cork Week regatta.