27/06/2011 BBC Newsline


27/06/2011

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 27/06/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

This is BBC Newsline Noel Thompson and Donna Traynor. The headlines

:00:16.:00:21.

this evening: Gardai believe they have prevented a mortar attack on

:00:21.:00:26.

this side of the border. Two GAA officials are knocked out during

:00:26.:00:33.

violence at the end of a ladies' football match. There was nothing

:00:33.:00:38.

to suggest anything had happened prior to that and that makes it

:00:38.:00:41.

more disturbing. The Fire Service spends �8 million fighting this

:00:41.:00:45.

year's gorse fires. Looking back 40 years and the Festival launched to

:00:45.:00:49.

celebrate the foundation of Northern Ireland. We'll meet the

:00:49.:00:53.

Northern Ireland team heading to the World Cup finals. It has turned

:00:53.:00:56.

a bit fresher but at least tonight should be more comfortable for

:00:56.:01:05.

sleeping. Join me later. The Gardai believe they foiled a

:01:05.:01:08.

mortar bomb attack and possibly a car bombing on this side of the

:01:08.:01:11.

border. They raided a farm on Saturday and made a significant

:01:11.:01:15.

find of explosives. The operation centred on the town land of

:01:15.:01:18.

Hackballscross in County Louth. The army carried had a controlled

:01:18.:01:28.
:01:28.:01:29.

explosion at the site. It was on Saturday morning that

:01:29.:01:35.

detectives raided this farm close to Hackballscross. Inside they

:01:35.:01:40.

found huge quantities of fertiliser that is being mixed in preparation

:01:40.:01:46.

for making the explosives that were used by the IRA during the Troubles.

:01:46.:01:53.

Now it is being linked to the dissident group. The farm is just a

:01:53.:01:58.

short distance from the border with South Armagh. Right in the heart of

:01:58.:02:01.

a traditional Republican stronghold. Two men, both in the Fifties, were

:02:01.:02:06.

arrested at the scene. I understand one of them is the property's owner

:02:06.:02:10.

when the other also comes from the Hackballscross area and is known to

:02:10.:02:16.

Gardai. A mortar tube was also found that experts spent some six

:02:16.:02:20.

bars of the property on Saturday and at one stage, controlled out a

:02:20.:02:26.

controlled explosion. Six for the suspects were arrested earlier on

:02:26.:02:33.

in the week. On the Dublin-based security expert says the increase

:02:33.:02:37.

in arrests and seizures we have seen recently is due to both

:02:37.:02:41.

increased activity by the dissidents and improved

:02:41.:02:46.

intelligence gathering by the Gardai. They have been a number of

:02:46.:02:51.

arrests and seizures and despite these successes by the Gardai and

:02:51.:02:54.

PSNI, does it and are still determined to carry out more

:02:54.:02:58.

attacks on security forces. This brings to eight, the number of

:02:59.:03:02.

dissidents suspects arrested in the Republic over the past week. The

:03:02.:03:07.

other six men were believed to be connected to the Real IRA. With the

:03:07.:03:10.

dissident groups of clearly acted in the border area, it seems the

:03:10.:03:14.

security forces in Northern Ireland would have no choice but to remain

:03:14.:03:24.
:03:24.:03:27.

on high alert. The cost of dealing with 800 gorse

:03:27.:03:35.

fires has topped one side 8 million. On the May Day bank holiday, the

:03:35.:03:40.

Fire Service answered a call for every 45 seconds. Farm, Forest or

:03:40.:03:44.

open the whole site, mostly around Ballycastle and the Mourne

:03:44.:03:50.

mountains. The highest cost this year has been in the side down area.

:03:50.:03:56.

There were 519 incidents, costing �1.3 million. For the whole of

:03:56.:04:00.

Northern Ireland, there have been over 3000 incidents, costing over �

:04:00.:04:05.

8 million. In the last three financial years, they have been

:04:05.:04:10.

almost 11,000 deliberate fires, costing a massive �28.2 million.

:04:10.:04:14.

I am dealing with a fire in that the mountains, I will do with that

:04:14.:04:18.

but as we're getting more and more involved, it becomes busier and I

:04:18.:04:23.

am going to have to make some tough decisions. Do I send firefighters

:04:23.:04:26.

up to protect our beautiful countryside? But I have the

:04:26.:04:32.

resources, I will. Or do I use them to protect life and property, that

:04:32.:04:37.

would be a priority for me. Harrowing for Rangers would save

:04:37.:04:40.

money, according to this group. know where the fires often start

:04:40.:04:45.

and this is one place where they have been first before. It is very

:04:45.:04:49.

hard to prevent these but with four or five people available, we think

:04:49.:04:52.

we could probably maintain a presence that would be a deterrent

:04:52.:04:56.

and if not a deterrent, an early warning system. This fire raged for

:04:56.:05:00.

almost three days at the end of April and experts are worried that

:05:00.:05:03.

Forest might never recover. It brought widespread environmental

:05:03.:05:07.

damage and losses to local farms and businesses. The fire service

:05:07.:05:12.

now has a bill of �8 million for such virus for just the first six

:05:12.:05:15.

months of this year. They will be hoping no more of the countryside

:05:15.:05:25.
:05:25.:05:34.

goes up in smoke. The European Commission has

:05:34.:05:37.

indicated its support for a new round of peace money for Northern

:05:37.:05:46.

Northern Ireland could become one of the most attractive Gaughan

:05:46.:05:51.

locations in the world but as Rory McIlory lifted the trophy, the

:05:51.:05:54.

locker and the sort continues to look for a buyer after

:05:54.:05:59.

administrators were appointed. Invest NI poured �3.5 million of

:05:59.:06:03.

public money into the venture. Today, the chief Executive defended

:06:03.:06:07.

the decision and blame the Bank of Scotland in Ireland for the

:06:07.:06:13.

administration. The facility is a world-class facility that we should

:06:13.:06:18.

be proud of and I believe that when you get below the surface of the

:06:18.:06:22.

reasons why the events occurred the way they did, it was purely as a

:06:22.:06:27.

result of a bank wanting to get out of Northern Ireland. It is not a

:06:27.:06:30.

fundamental underperformers of the facility. We saw the facility

:06:30.:06:33.

growing and making a profit and we still are very supportive of that

:06:33.:06:38.

facility. Invest NI says it has had a good year and one of the

:06:38.:06:43.

companies it has enticed to come, and international law firm, will be

:06:43.:06:50.

locating 300 staff in central Belfast. Attracting customers from

:06:50.:06:53.

outside Belfast is considered to be an important engine of growth for

:06:53.:06:58.

the economy and its in areas like that and others that invest NI says

:06:58.:07:03.

it has so passed its key targets. It received promises from 41

:07:03.:07:07.

international companies that they will create more than 2800 jobs

:07:07.:07:11.

here over the next five years. Each one of will receive an average

:07:11.:07:16.

grant of �11,500. With Invest NI doing so well at attracting new

:07:16.:07:22.

jobs, why is unemployment creeping upwards? We need to look at the

:07:22.:07:26.

time frame between the unemployment and the news that we had given out

:07:26.:07:32.

this morning. Those will be delivered at some point in the

:07:32.:07:38.

future so there is a time-lag between the few. Under rules to

:07:38.:07:48.
:07:48.:07:48.

offer cash to come here, has to end by 2013. That is why it is seen by

:07:48.:07:53.

supporters as an important way of giving the economy and it.

:07:53.:07:58.

So to come on the programme: Remembering of the party to

:07:58.:08:03.

celebrate the birth of Northern Ireland. Ulster 71 is on two levels

:08:03.:08:08.

and these are the first exhibits upstairs. They are all people who

:08:08.:08:13.

are famous in Ulster. The evolution of the home help,

:08:13.:08:22.

cutting-edge research at the University of Ulster.

:08:22.:08:26.

The GAA is investigating assaults which left a referee and an

:08:26.:08:29.

official unconscious in County Tyrone at the weekend. They were

:08:29.:08:34.

attacked after the final whistle in the women's senior final between St

:08:34.:08:41.

a cartons and Carrickmore. A-night of sport turned to shock. A

:08:41.:08:49.

last minute free-kick meant Carrickmore were beaten by one..

:08:49.:08:54.

The referee paid a price for his decision to award the kick.

:08:54.:08:57.

Somebody apparently came off from the edge of the feared and approach

:08:57.:09:06.

me and threw a punch at me. I can't remember anything else after that

:09:06.:09:11.

event. Apparently I came out of my unconscious state five minutes

:09:11.:09:14.

later. I didn't realise the chairman of the board had also been

:09:14.:09:21.

injured in a separate attack. men had to be taken to hospital for

:09:21.:09:25.

treatment. If they have an issue with the referee, in normally

:09:25.:09:29.

finishes with the final whistle and that is the way games are conducted.

:09:29.:09:34.

On this occasion, we had accepted, taking it on the chin, quite

:09:34.:09:41.

literally, and we will move on. I would not be removing myself from

:09:41.:09:45.

the football field because of this incident. Carrickmore said there

:09:45.:09:51.

are investigating a and the GAA say this has raised questions. What

:09:51.:09:57.

happened on Friday night, I think there are a lot of clubs now taking

:09:57.:10:02.

stock, how can we play our part to make sure that doesn't happen to

:10:02.:10:08.

our referee in our grounds and by our supporters. In a statement, the

:10:09.:10:11.

Tyrone ladies county board say there was a serious incident

:10:11.:10:15.

involving officials after the match. They condemned the perpetrators of

:10:15.:10:20.

the assaults and say a full investigation has been launched.

:10:20.:10:23.

How that investigation will be conducted will be discussed at a

:10:23.:10:28.

full general meeting of the Tyrone the Ladies' County Board. The last

:10:28.:10:31.

72 hours should have been spent talking about high the ladies had

:10:31.:10:34.

won their third title in a row and instead, violence, rather than

:10:34.:10:42.

sport, has done it. The European Commission has

:10:42.:10:45.

indicated its support for a new round of peace money for Northern

:10:45.:10:48.

Ireland and the Republic's border counties. The current �300 million

:10:48.:10:52.

programme, known as Peace 3, is due to run out in two years' time and

:10:52.:10:56.

had been thought it would not be renewed. But at the opening of the

:10:56.:10:58.

new peace bridge in Londonderry, a senior European official raised the

:10:58.:11:06.

prospect of more money coming our way.

:11:06.:11:12.

Fireworks and festivities marked this weekend's opening of the new

:11:12.:11:13.

peace bridge over the River Foyle. The �30 million for the bridge came

:11:14.:11:18.

from Europe's peace and reconciliation fund. The cash for

:11:18.:11:24.

what is known as Peace 3 runs out in 2013 but now a senior European

:11:24.:11:30.

official believes a new programme is needed. I think it might be

:11:30.:11:35.

necessary to continue, I will do everything I can to make sure money

:11:35.:11:41.

is available in the future, but as you might have heard, in particular,

:11:41.:11:46.

the British government is not in favour to spend a lot of money for

:11:46.:11:49.

European projects but I hope by the end of the day, we will find a

:11:49.:11:54.

positive solution. Hard at work on a new walkway around a lake in

:11:54.:12:00.

north Belfast's Alexandra Park, the park is divided by a peace line but

:12:00.:12:03.

the groundwork regeneration group is using a grant from Europe to

:12:03.:12:08.

improve its facilities. Community workers from both sides of the line

:12:08.:12:12.

are anxious that projects like this should continue. At one time, it

:12:12.:12:16.

was a no-go area for the people of Tiger's Bay and I think it is a big

:12:16.:12:21.

plus if we can carry on with the progress we are getting in around

:12:21.:12:29.

this part. This is a very practical project. We have seen here a

:12:29.:12:32.

passionate transformation and we hope it will be a full

:12:32.:12:35.

transformation in regard to the park. So, the omens are looking

:12:35.:12:39.

good but before of people in peace line areas like this can be assured

:12:39.:12:43.

of any extra cash, European member states will have to resolve their

:12:43.:12:48.

wider differences over the total European budget and that could be a

:12:48.:12:58.
:12:58.:13:01.

Many people would remember 1971 as the year internment was introduced

:13:01.:13:03.

in Northern Ireland, but few remember the great exhibition that

:13:03.:13:05.

was staged in Belfast that year, Ulster '71.

:13:05.:13:08.

Yes, it's all but forgotten now, but in this 40th anniversary, our

:13:08.:13:10.

reporter Julie McCullough has been delving into the archives.

:13:10.:13:20.

And she reports from Botanic Gardens in south Belfast.

:13:20.:13:23.

Well, this is where it all happened 40 years ago. These gardens were

:13:23.:13:26.

filled with marquees and a funfair while the main exhibition was in

:13:26.:13:30.

what is now Queen's Physical Education Centre. This was supposed

:13:30.:13:33.

to be Northern Ireland's version of the famous Festival of Britain, but

:13:33.:13:43.
:13:43.:13:56.

it was overshadowed then and now by Northern Ireland in 1971. It

:13:56.:14:03.

fuzzier be stopped using old currency, it was the year that led

:14:03.:14:07.

Zeppelin played stairway to Heaven for the first time in the Ulster

:14:07.:14:17.
:14:17.:14:20.

And it was the year of the Troubles. The be the started to kick-off.

:14:20.:14:28.

Provisionals are shot dead the first British soldier. By August,

:14:28.:14:33.

the government had introduced internment. But this was the year

:14:33.:14:37.

one of the biggest exhibitions of its time it took place. They said

:14:37.:14:42.

we should not have had the festival, the time is not bright. The

:14:42.:14:46.

atmosphere is too rowdy and the future is to cloudy. But as usual,

:14:46.:14:52.

they said a lot of tripe. government at Stormont said they

:14:52.:14:57.

had been planning their exhibition for three years to mark the 50th

:14:57.:15:02.

anniversary of the creation of a Northern Ireland. But in 1971, it

:15:03.:15:06.

became increasingly difficult to celebrate something that was in

:15:06.:15:16.
:15:16.:15:18.

trouble. They had stopped talking about about it as a state jubilee,

:15:18.:15:25.

but as a community of festival. All parts of the community were to work

:15:25.:15:29.

together. If all parts of the committee could have worked

:15:29.:15:34.

together, it would have boded well for settling community problems.

:15:34.:15:39.

Easier said than done in 1971. Especially when a large part of the

:15:39.:15:43.

community felt there was not anything about partition to

:15:43.:15:48.

celebrate. They felt the exhibition offered nothing to them. Ulster was

:15:48.:15:58.
:15:58.:16:00.

mentioned everywhere, every place you went. It was a term

:16:00.:16:07.

appropriated by Unionist government and parties, so National latest --

:16:07.:16:11.

nationalists felt alienated. They felt it only appealed to one side

:16:11.:16:17.

of the committee. The main exhibition will be in the new

:16:17.:16:23.

sports centre at... As young Unionists, some of us were really

:16:23.:16:27.

annoyed because the essential thing about the foundation of Northern

:16:27.:16:31.

Ireland was neglected. Northern Ireland was our place and it had

:16:31.:16:39.

been bought to deliver the cost of lives and struggle. -- it had been

:16:39.:16:49.
:16:49.:16:53.

got at a dear price. Joining in the fund mack seemed to light hearted

:16:53.:17:03.
:17:03.:17:09.

an idea. These are the first exhibit. -- joining in the fund

:17:09.:17:17.

seemed a very light hearted idea. It was very well done. They brought

:17:17.:17:23.

in professionals from London to expose a northern Ireland. Critics

:17:23.:17:30.

said, with some justification, that this is mealy unionism in Northern

:17:31.:17:35.

Ireland beating the big drum for itself. Yes, undoubtedly that was

:17:35.:17:40.

true. What was also true was that we were beginning to feature on the

:17:40.:17:48.

world stage and we needed something else for people to focus on. Back

:17:48.:17:54.

in 1971, three quarters of a million pounds was spent with the

:17:54.:17:58.

idea of making this one of the most memorable festivals of its time. It

:17:58.:18:03.

was vital that people came to see it. The organisers give up of lots

:18:03.:18:08.

of different ways to attract visitors. One of which was to get

:18:08.:18:13.

Cox cornflakes to run a competition with the first prize being a week's

:18:13.:18:16.

holiday in northern Allah. But when you consider what was going on here

:18:16.:18:23.

at the time, it led some people to ask if the second prize was at two

:18:23.:18:28.

weeks? That competition never ran. But thousands of people from here

:18:28.:18:33.

did visit the exhibition and had great memories of it. Most were not

:18:33.:18:37.

interested or aware of the politics behind it, just happy to have

:18:37.:18:41.

something to go to. Tomorrow evening, we'll be hearing

:18:41.:18:44.

the memories of some of those who both visited the festival and took

:18:44.:18:51.

part. Back to you in the studio. Long before our time.

:18:52.:18:54.

Totally. Intelligent robots who can think

:18:54.:18:58.

and reason sound like the stuff of a sci-fi movie, but it's happening

:18:58.:19:00.

at the University of Ulster's campus at Magee. A team of

:19:00.:19:03.

researchers are working to build robots who learn from their

:19:03.:19:07.

mistakes and experiences, just like we do. It's all about making them

:19:07.:19:10.

more human so they can help us out at homes and work.

:19:10.:19:20.
:19:20.:19:36.

BBC Newsline's Natasha Sayee has Sure his Lordship then, Mabel.

:19:36.:19:42.

has taken are signs many years, but we have finally got here. There is

:19:42.:19:47.

a robot can easily make a cup of coffee and it does much more. The

:19:47.:19:52.

team here have programmed the 400,000 by the shame to work a

:19:53.:19:58.

pretty complex problems. -- �400,000 machine to work out

:19:58.:20:03.

complex problems. Robots like this could soon be working out in our

:20:03.:20:10.

homes. This robot is capable of handling several objects. It can

:20:10.:20:18.

help to prepare food, make coffee, ford clothes. It can help with

:20:18.:20:24.

everyday tasks which can be difficult for people with

:20:24.:20:31.

disabilities, or elderly people. This robot can help them. It does

:20:31.:20:37.

look a bit like Terminator's hands. The plan is to make it useful to

:20:37.:20:41.

humans. That is the purpose of all the robots here. At the moment,

:20:41.:20:45.

they are very simple. They do tasks they are programmed for, but that

:20:46.:20:52.

is it. If the task changes, you have to change the programme. We

:20:52.:20:56.

want to get into a situation where if the task changes, they can

:20:56.:21:04.

automatically react. researchers are leading the world

:21:04.:21:08.

in a developing these intelligent machines. They could soon be coming

:21:08.:21:12.

to a house near you. It is clear that what is being developed here

:21:12.:21:20.

today will have a very big impact on tomorrow. Thank you. That is it

:21:20.:21:30.
:21:30.:21:45.

from here. We need to watch out! Would a MOD...

:21:45.:21:48.

Next to a sports team from Northern Ireland which is about to contest a

:21:48.:21:50.

World Cup. Austin O'Callaghan's with them at Stormont.

:21:50.:21:53.

We're here with the Northern Ireland netball team who are having

:21:53.:21:56.

a reception before they leave for the World Cup Finals in Singapore.

:21:56.:21:59.

We'll be chatting to some excited members of the travelling party

:21:59.:22:01.

shortly. But first Tyrone and Armagh's stranglehold on Gaelic

:22:01.:22:06.

Football's Ulster Championship has finally been broken. Donegal will

:22:06.:22:09.

play Derry in next month's final after they beat Tyrone in a

:22:09.:22:12.

dramatic finish to yesterday's semi-final. Thomas Niblock takes up

:22:12.:22:22.
:22:22.:22:25.

The Joy was obvious. Donegal are back in an Ulster final. For the

:22:25.:22:35.

first time since 1992. Just before the final whistle, the game was

:22:35.:22:45.
:22:45.:22:51.

destined for a draw until this happened. A goal! It must be!

:22:51.:23:01.
:23:01.:23:01.

has always said to go for it. We have had a lot of pain or the last

:23:01.:23:06.

few years, we have not produced anything. But we are now in the

:23:06.:23:16.
:23:16.:23:19.

final. Michael Hart said it that too many chances were missed.

:23:19.:23:23.

was not something that you would normally have been booked for, but

:23:23.:23:27.

I think somebody else intervened. I do not think it was consistent

:23:27.:23:34.

across the Wall Game. Some incidents got away. -- the whole

:23:34.:23:44.
:23:44.:23:46.

game. The key things where the goals and that is what one our game.

:23:46.:23:49.

It worked out very well for us. great afternoon for the Donegal

:23:50.:23:55.

players, the supporters and the manager's family.

:23:55.:23:58.

There were important qualifier wins for Antrim and Down, but the most

:23:58.:24:01.

eye-catching Gaelic Football result of the weekend was in Ruislip where

:24:01.:24:04.

London knocked Fermanagh out of the championship with a 15 points to 9

:24:04.:24:13.

win. It's the exiles first championship victory for 34 years

:24:13.:24:20.

and ends a hugely disappointing football year for the Erne county.

:24:20.:24:24.

London's hunger all across the pitch was phenomenal. We did not

:24:24.:24:27.

match it and ultimately that was a difference. We performed well

:24:27.:24:35.

against London this year, but they have had five or six good players

:24:35.:24:39.

in since then. Good luck to them. They will give whoever they meet in

:24:39.:24:43.

the next round are plenty of trouble. Hopefully, these ladies

:24:43.:24:49.

will give trouble to have they meet at the next round in Senator. You

:24:49.:24:54.

are off in the morning, this is a big deal? It is. It is the top of

:24:54.:24:58.

her game and we are hoping to be up to it when they get over there and

:24:58.:25:03.

become prove that we are good enough. Can you believe that you

:25:03.:25:07.

are competing in the world Championship? It is a big surprise,

:25:07.:25:12.

but we haven't worked hard. Some people may not know too much about

:25:12.:25:21.

met Paul -- netball, but you know what it is like. I have played at

:25:21.:25:26.

the higher levels before. It is totally different. It is mostly a

:25:26.:25:30.

Commonwealth sport. What should we expect from this team or the next

:25:30.:25:35.

few weeks? Probably the fighting Irish is what we are known for. We

:25:35.:25:43.

will dig deep. We will fight hard for every resort. Well, we wish you

:25:43.:25:53.
:25:53.:25:56.

well. Good luck. Just time to tell you that Rory market Roy -- for

:25:56.:26:06.
:26:06.:26:06.

Rory McIlroy is now up to number It has turned a litter the fresher

:26:06.:26:16.
:26:16.:26:19.

today after the weekend when we saw temperatures in the low twenties.

:26:19.:26:25.

Not as warm beer as it was in parts of the south-east of England. 33

:26:25.:26:30.

there, compare that with 18 in Northern Ireland. But at least the

:26:30.:26:38.

cloud has started to shift away to the east. It is going to be a

:26:38.:26:45.

cooler and clearer might. Many places around eight or nine degrees.

:26:45.:26:50.

Rural spot so that law. A cool start the day tomorrow, but it is

:26:50.:26:55.

also a bright one. Some lovely sunshine in the morning. But do not

:26:55.:27:03.

forget the umbrella if your heading out just in case. Some blue skies

:27:03.:27:11.

coming through before the shower clouds start to bubble up. They

:27:11.:27:15.

will do that first of all in the West. That will be in the late

:27:15.:27:22.

morning, early afternoon. But I think we could find a few heavier

:27:22.:27:26.

showers are developing a cross Antrim later in the afternoon. Not

:27:26.:27:33.

all parts will get them. Some places will avoid them and stay dry.

:27:33.:27:37.

A little bit fresher around the coast. But at least you might get a

:27:37.:27:42.

bit of relief from the high pollen levels. Tomorrow night, that

:27:42.:27:48.

showery rain moves away to the east. For many of us, a largely dry night

:27:48.:27:52.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS