Defence Minister Simon Coveney has said an incident in which a soldier was tied up and subjected to a number of electric shocks to his feet and chest "should not have happened" and would be thoroughly investigated.

The Government has pledged an extra €2m to assist South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia, following a renewed intensity of violence there.

The Government has announced an emergency aid package of £250,000 for the people affected by flooding in the eastern Indian state of Orissa.