Lionel Messi was controversially sent off as Argentina beat Chile 2-1 to win the Copa America third-place play-off in Sao Paulo.

Emma Gallagher has been promoted to account director with corporate PR firm Heneghan PR.

Brazil cruised into the quarter-finals of the Copa America with a thumping 5-0 victory over Peru at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo.

Language students, who in some cases paid as much as €4,800 to study here, have been left “high and dry” following the sudden closure of an agency offering packages across the country.

Philippe Coutinho scored a quickfire double as hosts Brazil kicked off their Copa America campaign with a 3-0 victory over Bolivia.

A Brazilian police document says an unidentified woman has accused football star Neymar of raping her in Paris last month.

Not long after she had dropped and stopped the previously undefeated Rose Volante in Philadelphia, dispossessing her of the WBO lightweight title in the process, Katie Taylor received a message from the 36-year-old Brazilian.

Irish-owned IT solutions and managed services company, Arkphire, has named Oliver Surdival as head of cloud services as part of its continuing growth strategy.

Retailers in Cork are planning a series of workshops with teenagers to find out how they can improve the retail offering to a vast untapped teenage market.

New appointments in Ireland's busy jobs market.

Search efforts are continuing for survivors and for more victims.

It’s the ultimate battle of philosophies in Manchester tomorrow. A classic clash of styles as the family pulling every stroke to pump as much money as possible into their club faces the family working every trick in the book to take it out.

The IDA spent almost €17.2m funding its operations overseas last year.

Brazil have spent four years trying to atone for its last World Cup match, the calamitous 7-1 defeat as hosts by Germany.

A 12-year jail sentence was imposed on the main man behind a cocaine factory in Kinsale, while a local woman who was his girlfriend was jailed for seven years.

Dublin-based computer game content provider Keywords Studios has added two further acquisitions to its rapidly growing arsenal of subsidiaries and has agreed a new €105m credit facility to fund further takeover opportunities.

Daniel Storey reviews this weekend’s Premier League action.

Former Brazil, AC Milan and Real Madrid playmaker Kaka has retired from football.

The Supreme Court in Brazil has granted an injunction to suspend the Rio de Janeiro court hearing in which Kevin Mallon was due to give evidence as part of his ongoing trial for alleged ticket touting and other crimes during last year’s Olympic Games.

A supreme court judge in Brazil has dismissed a request to suspend the court hearing of Kevin Mallon, the THG executive arrested on the eve of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro last year.

Talks over extending Mesut Ozil’s contract at Arsenal are “going in a positive way”, according to the agent of the German midfielder.

Ireland is to double the number of diplomats and enterprise and investment agents in overseas missions by 2025.

The world's 50 best restaurants have been announced today in Melbourne, Australia.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s controversial St Patrick’s Day meeting with US president Donald Trump will take place during an expanded trade mission, writes political correspondent Fiachra Ó Cionnaith.

Latest: A chartered plane with a Brazilian first division football team has crashed in Colombia while on its way to the finals of a regional tournament, killing 76 people.

Lewis Hamilton has conceded it is now unlikely he will stop Nico Rosberg from winning the Formula One title after claiming his rival is “doing all he has to do” to get over the finish line to seal his maiden championship.

A laid-back Lewis Hamilton insisted he was “just chilling” as he delivered a wet-weather masterclass to triumph in a chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix and take the championship battle to the deciding race of the season.

Following back-toback races in America and Mexico, Formula One heads south to Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Here are the key talking points ahead of the penultimate round of the championship.

Lewis Hamilton insists he will fight championship rival Nico Rosberg until the "bitter end" as the British driver bids to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in Formula One history.

Kehlan Kirwan finds little in the Budget that will inspire entrepreneurs and start-ups. The Government’s priorities appear to be fixed on multinationals and not domestic small businesses.

Brazilian prosecutors have brought new charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, adding another accusation to a series of corruption charges.

Latest: Former Brazil World Cup winner turned Senator Romario has stated he tipped off authorities to the alleged ticket touting operation.

Despite the political turmoil, the Zika virus, junk bond rating of its sovereign debt and its deepest recession in a century, Brazil still stands as one of the world’s largest economies – and one of the most important trading partners for Ireland in South America.

Pregnant women have been urged not to travel to support Irish athletes at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Bernie Ecclestone’s mother-in-law, who had been kidnapped in Brazil for a ransom of £28m, has been freed, according to police.

Bernie Ecclestone's mother-in-law has been kidnapped in Brazil for a ransom of £28m (€33m), according to reports.

Ride hailing company Uber has begun a helicopter service in Brazil's biggest city.

Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez has spoken warmly about the bond between her son, Lucas, and his father, Mick Jagger.

Brazil’s leftist president Dilma Rousseff has suffered a humiliating loss in a crucial impeachment vote in the lower house of Congress and is almost certain to be forced from office months before the nation hosts the Olympics.