Heavy rain and 185 mph winds lashed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico's north-east coast on Wednesday as Hurricane Irma roared through Caribbean islands on its way to a possible hit on South Florida.

The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda has appointed actor Robert De Niro as special economic envoy of the twin-island nation in the eastern Caribbean.

The Republic of Ireland have moved up a place in the latest FIFA world rankings following their two World Cup qualifying draws.

Tropical Storm Rafael has lashed the eastern Caribbean with heavy rains which are expected to unleash floods on islands around the region.

Tropical Storm Rafael has formed over the eastern Caribbean Sea, and warnings have been issued for numerous Caribbean islands.

A potential hurricane is posing a threat to next week’s Republican National Convention in Florida, which culminates in the nomination of Mitt Romney for presidential candidate.

A cargo ship which ran aground in rough seas will be broken up and scrapped, the owners said today.

Environmental officers are today working to safely remove 40,000 litres of fuel from a stricken cargo ship which ran aground in rough seas off the coast of Wales, sparking the rescue of seven crew members.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and other leaders in the left-leaning ALBA bloc have backed Argentina in its long-running dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands.

Flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee is being blamed for two deaths in Pennsylvania and numerous water rescues and road closures around a soggy north-eastern United States.

FIFA have given all 25 Caribbean associations 48 hours to provide statements about the events at the meeting in Trinidad which led to Mohamed Bin Hammam being banned for life for bribery.

PAUL HESSION faces his first big test of the season when he lines up for the 200m at Cork City Sports today in a field that includes Alonso Edward (Panama), silver medallist behind Usain Bolt at the World Championships in Berlin two years ago when the Jamaican shaved .11 of a second off the world record he set at the Olympic Games in Beijing the previous year.

Hurricane Earl battered tiny islands across the north-eastern Caribbean with heavy rain and roof-ripping winds as it rapidly intensified into a major Category 4 storm and threatening the US.

Hurricane warnings went out across a large part of the Caribbean today as a major storm grew in force.

Danish special forces today stormed a ship captured by armed Somali pirates and freed the 25 crew on board, an EU naval spokesman said, marking the first time a warship has intervened during a hijacking.

Cuba’s President Raul Castro declared the global climate summit in Copenhagen a failure from the start and urged left-wing Latin American leaders to devise their own plan on how to cope with climate change.

Antigua’s prime minister said parliament will reconvene to deal with fallout from allegations of fraud against Allen Stanford, the country’s largest private employer.

Caribbean regulators today took control of an Antiguan bank owned by cricket entrepreneur Allen Stanford to prevent its collapse as depositors rushed to pull their money after the American financier was accused of fraud.

Texas billionaire and cricket mogul Allen Stanford sought to reassure his employees as US regulators probed his investment firm and Caribbean bank, which have delivered higher-than-average returns to investors and depositors despite the global meltdown.

NEWLYWED Ben Mullany, who was left in a coma after a shooting in Antigua in which his doctor wife was killed, was flown back home to Wales yesterday.

PAUL HESSION singled out Brendan Christian (Antigua & Barbuda) as the favourite to win the race before he went to the line for last evening’s 200m at the Bislett Games Golden League meeting in Oslo and then went on to challenge him for the lead coming off the bend.

EUROPE’S online gambling companies are pressing the EU to insist the US changes its laws to allow them operate there or demand $100 billion (€70bn) in compensation.

Hurricane Dean is heading towards Caribbean islands today with 100mph winds.

DENIS O’Brien’s pan-Caribbean mobile phone company Digicel has launched services in Trinidad and Tobago.

A freighter collided with another vessel in a busy shipping lane off the Dutch coast today and sank, a coast guard spokesman said.

There was a 38% drop in the number of foreign flag ships detained in 2004 in Ireland for violating international safety standards, the Department of Communication, Marine and Natural Resources said today.

Around 100 people died when floods unleashed by torrential rains swept through a small farming town in the Dominican Republic, officials said.

Prime minister Lester Bird conceded defeat today in a general election that toppled the family dynasty that has dominated Antigua and Barbuda for more than half a century.

Voters stood in long lines to choose a new parliament as corruption charges and scandals linked to sex and drugs threatened to topple the family dynasty that has governed Antigua and Barbuda for nearly three decades.

DEPOSED Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide spoke on Central African Republic state radio soon after landing in the capital, Bangui.

The number of British visitors to the island of Ireland is predicted to rise 6% this year, it was revealed today.