Irish authorities have detained a cargo ship close to Kinvara in south Galway bay after its hull sprang a leak while loading cargo for the Bahamas.

The offices of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection in Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim are closed today - because of an oil spill.

Energy giant Shell has been fined £22,500 (€31,943) in relation to an oil spill in the North Sea which was the worst in the region for a decade.

Limerick City and County Council says it is satisfied that the oil spill, which occurred near Tournafulla in Co Limerick yesterday afternoon is being contained with no negative impact on public water supplies.

The US Supreme Court will not hear appeals from energy giants BP and Anadarko Petroleum over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.