Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has signed an order to deploy federal troops to help control fires in the Amazon rainforests.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and other European countries had earlier threatened to block the EU-Mercorsur trade deal unless action was taken.

Forces will arrive from Saturday and will remain in the area for a month, according to the presidential decree authorising their deployment.

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Leaders of some of the world's most industrialised nations will attend the G7 summit in France this weekend.

Climate change is among topics likely to dominate the agenda at the gathering in the seaside resort of Biarritz.

It will see Boris Johnson attend his first international summit as British Prime Minister - where he will meet other G7 leaders, including Donald Trump.

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US health officials say a patient's death may be the first in America to be linked to vaping.

They were admitted to a hospital in the state of Illinois after falling ill.

Authorities say almost 200 people in 22 states have contracted severe respiratory illnesses after using electronic cigarettes.

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Six Dublin schools have been told to make more places available for children with special educational needs.

The Department of Education has served the schools, in the Dublin 15 area, with statutory notices after a shortage was identified.

This is the second statutory notice that has been sent to schools in the area.

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Tributes are being paid to the Longford man who died in the US after appearing to fall from a height.

At midnight on Tuesday, 22-year-old Ciaran O'Boyle was found unresponsive and unconscious in Brooklyn, New York.

He was brought to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.