Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has called the rerouting of his plane over suspicions that National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden was aboard a provocation to Latin America and urged European countries to “free themselves” from the United States.

A pair of rare monkeys have started a new family at Dublin Zoo.

Denis O’Brien’s international telecommunications business Digicel has reported a strong set of first-half results, with double-digit percentage growth evident across earnings, revenue, and subscriber levels.

TULLOW Oil shares soared almost 20% after its French Guiana exploration resulted in an offshore oil discovery, raising the prospect of the opening of a major offshore oil-producing operation in South America.

Tullow Oil plc has announced that it has agreed a new deepwater exploration licence with Suriname's state oil company Staatsolie for an area off the coast of the South American country

A stabbing death in a Suriname border town set off rioting that targeted foreign workers, with at least 20 women raped.

Two months before Dutch elections, the conservative government suffered a setback today with the resignation of two ministers who accepted blame for safety faults in an airport jail that led to the deaths of 11 prisoners.

The Dutch ministers of justice and housing will resign after an investigation found they were partially to blame for a fire at a jail at Amsterdam’s airport that killed 11 illegal immigrants awaiting deportation, the state broadcaster reported today.

VIETNAM slaughtered thousands of birds in its two largest cities yesterday while China vowed to vaccinate its entire stock of 14 billion poultry against bird flu, with the government promising to help pay for the process.

All European Union countries have plans to fight a possible bird flu pandemic, health officials said today, as tests confirmed the deadly strain of the virus had reached Croatia.

EUROPEAN UNION veterinary experts yesterday approved an EU-wide ban on the import of exotic birds to help counter the threat of bird flu.

European Union veterinary experts today approved an EU-wide ban on the import of exotic birds to help counter the threat of bird flu.

A bird that died in UK quarantine has been found to have a severe strain of avian flu, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs confirmed.

Brazil and Venezuela have agreed to build a $2.5bn (€2bn) oil refinery, the highlight of a South American summit to boost trade and co-operation.

Caribbean officials yesterday criticised a World Trade Organisation ruling against a new EU tariff on imported bananas, saying the move could squeeze regional producers out of a market vital to their fragile economies.

Suriname’s state oil company Staatsolie has signed an agreement with Denmark-based Maersk Oil for seismic exploration off the South American country’s shores.