Irish Water has admitted it signed a 10-year, €16m lease extension to its corporate headquarters just days after the general election — despite growing concerns about its future.

Gardaí in Dublin are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 17-year-old Mark O' Brien is missing from his home in Cherry Orchard - in Ballyfermot.

A third unsolicited bid has been lodged for the South African publishing assets of Independent News & Media, but management isn’t anticipating a sale to conclude before the end of the year.

In the North, army bomb disposal experts were this afternoon dealing with a suspicious object at James Street in Newtownards.