A hijacked milk van has been left outside Strand Road Police Station and the roads between Lawrence Hill and Asylum Road are cordoned off.

An area around Bishop Street Courthouse is also closed after another hijacked vehicle was abandoned at Bishop’s Gate.

At least three controlled explosions have been carried out. People have been evacuated from both areas.

The Craigavon Bridge is also closed.

A police helicopter is monitoring Madam’s Bank Road, but it remains open.

Motorists have been asked to avoid the areas if possible.

Journalist Eamon McDermott was contacted by the Real IRA who claimed repsonsibility for todays events:

From Monday the 22nd of March the service will cease.

The service has been in place in the border village since 1985.

Independent local Councillor, Thomas Pringle, says Bus Eireann need to reverse there decision immediately

The Carn centre, when opened, promised to offer the people of Inishowen a local service which would see them avoid having to travel great distances to get their car tested.

However Cecilia Keaveney says that is not currently the case but has been assured the situation will be addressed:

The party is launching proposals in Dublin today aimed at tackling youth unemployment.

The measures will also include a thousand extra third level conversion courses, 5 thousand ECDL advance places and an aim to position Ireland as a digital hub.

Sinn Féin Senator Pearse Doherty says the measures will hopefully combat the ‘brain drain’ of qualified graduates emigrating

Stranorlar Councillor Martin Harley says the situation seems to be particularly bad in his area.

He says currently staff that leave FAS are not being replaced and as a result people seeking the agencies services are experiencing unacceptable delays:

Seamus Hegarty was involved in reaching the deal with a woman who alleged she was abused by an unnamed priest between 1979 and 1989.

In a statement this evening, the Bishop says the confidentiality agreement was proposed by one of the other parties involved in the case and in order to reach a settlement, the diocese agreed.

The civil action was settled in 2000 – without admission of liability.

12,000 pounds was paid to the alleged victim – subject to a confidentiality agreement.

The man has pleaded not guilty to raping the now 26-year-old woman on July 1, 2004.

Mr Alex Owens SC (with Mr Paul Greene SC), prosecuting, said it was the State’s case that the accused and the complainant had been going out with each other for four years prior to the alleged incident and had a young child together.

They had been living together but the previous Sunday she had asked him to leave following a fall out. Four days later she came downstairs sometime after midnight, having heard noises, and found the accused there.

Mr Owens said it would be the State’s case that the accused had drink taken. He asked the complainant if they could get back together and suggested they go for counselling.

She asked him to leave a number of times and rang a taxi for him but he stayed on. An argument broke out when the taxi arrived to take him away but he sent it off.

Mr Owens told the jury it would hear evidence that the man accused the complainant of having affairs with other women before a fight broke out between them which led to him raping her on the floor, having ripped her underwear.

“Against her objections he had sex with her, without her consent and he knew it was without her consent,” Mr Owens said.

He said the jury would hear from the complainant that after a short time, she managed to get herself together and eventually got the accused to leave.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Barry White and a jury of six men and six women.

SDLP Health spokesperson, Mark H Durkan, is calling on the government to immediately ban such substances.

He says urgent action is needed following the deaths of two teenagers in England after they took the drug.

The fire service tackled three gorse fires in the Crolly, Hornhead, Falcarragh and Dunfanaghy areas over recent days stretching the services resources.

While it hasnt been determined if the fires were started accidentally or deliberately Bobby McMenamin says given the current ground conditions a discarded cigarette would be enough to spark a gorse fire.

A search was launched at eight o’clock last night after a man was spotted going into the water.

At 7 o clock last evening the emergency services from north and south of the border, were alerted, and an extensive search was instigated, with help from the air sea rescue helicopter based in Sligo.

Roads in the area were closed off both sides of the border to co-operate with the search.

After an extensive search, lasting 5 hours, a body was recovered from the River Erne at 1:15am this morning by the Northern Ireland fire And Rescue Service.

The man has been named as Gordon Brock, who’s believed to be in 20s..