Morning Ireland

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RUC investigate Derry barracks blast A bomb has gone off at a British Army base in Derry. The blast occured at Ebrington Barracks in The Waterside area.

Mark Patterson, BBC Radio Foyle Reporter, discusses the blast

Ethiopia rejects criticisms of famine relief effort Yesterday morning we heard John Shea from GOAL talk about the famine in Ethiopia. He believed that the government there did not want to be properly accountable for the monies spent on famine relief, he spoke about the red tape and bureaucratic difficulties faced by aid agencies like GOAL, and he also said that the impact of the Ethiopian governments war against Eritrea meant this was in part at least, a man made famine.

Alemsebed Gegrejohannes, Ethiopia's Consul General in London, discusses the crisis in Ethiopia and reacts to John O'Shea's comments

Ahmer Daoudi, Liaison Officer with the World Food Programme, discusses the relief effort

Boom allows Irish business to look to new markets For the Irish economy, time was when the words 'import-export' meant just goods and services. But that's all changed now. Now it's jobs that are being exported, and foreign workers that are being imported, to meet the needs of Irish companies. So what is going on?

Sean Whelan, Europe Reporter, travels to Budapest to analyse the future for Irish business

Fall in technology stocks causes rethink amongst investors Investors in technology stocks have been given a bit of a mugging on the stock market in recent days. But even allowing for the recent fall in price, they are still up by about 30% on six months ago. But most commentators agree that the collapse was always on the cards, that too many speculators and gamblers had been in there pushing up prices. But has the bubble well and truly burst?

Frank O'Brien, an independent investment advisor, discusses the highs and lows of technology stocks

Irish nun fights for way of life in Cajun village Now to the story of an Irish nun who has taken on some very powerful opponents in her battle to defend the rights of a small community in Louisiana. Galway born sister Miriam Mitchell has been living and working in Cajun country for nearly 30 years. The people of a small town in Louisiana now have a major battle on their hands, one in which they say their way of life is at risk. And Sister Miriam is leading the defence.

Mark Little, Washington Correspondent, reports on Sister Miriam Mitchell

Civil servants criticise decentralisation plan "We may be getting back to the situation of Government handing out civil servants like smarties in pursuit of electoral advantage." That cynical view of decentralisation comes from no less a body than the association of higher civil servants in the latest edition of their newsletter as we face into the biggest relocation of civil servants in the history of the State. Those words were penned by the General Secretary of the Association Sean O'Riordain.

Sean O'Riordain, General Secretary of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants, discusses the decentralisation issue

Long journeys the norm for rural patients In the fourth of our series of reports on the health service, we are looking at rural hospitals. While there are hospitals in every county, the range of services on offer differs greatly from region to region. The result is that many people still find that a long journey is needed if they are to get to the treatment they need.

Ray Colgan reports on health services in rural areas

McCreevy convinced that boom will continue The Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy appeared on television recently and, in his usual cheerful manner, exhorted the Irish people and the 'doubting Thomases' among the economic commentators to celebrate the boom and forget the grim warnings of an economic bust. But the warnings keep coming: from the ESRI, from the EU, from the European Central Bank and elsewhere. So have they all got it wrong or is the Minister who has got it wrong?

Charlie McCreevy, Minister for Finance, discusses the growth of the Irish economy

Boom leads to mixed fortunes for Newry and Dundalk To people along the border, Dundalk and Newry will always be seen as sister towns. Both suffered badly during the Troubles, both have come through, and are looking to the future with some optimism. There the resemblance ends, however, because the southern town is leaving the Northern town behind. Lower Corporation Tax, the exchange rate between the Irish Pound and Sterling, and the huge demand for skilled labour in Dundalk have meant the fortunes of the two towns have begun to differ sharply. Computer industry graduates in the North are moving South to benefit from salaries almost double what they can get at home. The problems were shown up at a cross border jobs fair in Newry.

Elaine Keogh reports from the cross border jobs fair

Joyce relationship explored in new film The Dublin Film Festival opens tonight with Pat Murphy's new film Nora, about eight years in the life of James' Joyce lover Nora Barnacle. Nora has been seen by many as the muse for the famous character of Molly Bloom in Ulysses, but this film looks at Nora in her own right, concentrating on the first eight years of their relationship.

Brenda Madox, the author on whose book the film is based, discusses the life of Nora Barnacle