05/09/2011 BBC Newsline


05/09/2011

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Good evening. This is BBC Newsline. Our top story this Monday evening:

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A big blow for consumers as another energy supplier puts up its prices.

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Also tonight: an early departure chair for the Police Ombudsman. --

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an early departure for the. A man is charged with raping a

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schoolgirl. The schools are back and so is the

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gridlock for commuters. We is it when it scores go back this becomes

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a car park? -- went schools go back. Autumn is well and truly upon us

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this week. No sign of an Indian summer. I will have the latest.

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First it was electricity prices, then coal and oil, now gas prices

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are set to rise sharply for many consumers across Northern Ireland.

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It has emerged this evening that Firmus Energy is increasing its gas

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price by over 28%. The higher tariffs will apply to customers in

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ten towns. Our consumer correspondent is here to explain.

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This will affect Firmus Energy customers in the 10th towns

:01:34.:01:44.
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stretching from London dairy -- Londonderry. It is a 28.4% increase.

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I reckon that will add �130 to the average Firmus Energy bill. What

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about companies in the Belfast area? No announcement so far from

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Firmus Energy so far on that market. Phoenix Gas increased their prices

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by 39.1% in April, and we expect, after this move by Firmus Energy to

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follow with something similar in Greater Belfast. Explain why the

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increase. The same reason as electricity and coal prices going

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up. Bigger demand their energy and inflation pushing prices up. Thank

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you. The man in charge of investigating

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complaints against the PSNI, the Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson, is

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under renewed pressure tonight with a report pointing to serious

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failings in the way he runs the organisation. The report was

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commissioned by the Justice Minister and it suggests the

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independence of the Ombudsman has been undermined. It's the latest in

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a series of difficulties for Mr Hutchinson. Last summer, he was

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forced to withdraw a report into the McGurk's Bar bombing when

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victims' families complained that it contained inaccuracies. In April,

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the BBC revealed that Mr Hutchinson's chief executive had

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resigned, saying the independence of the organisation had been

:03:08.:03:14.

compromised. And in June, an independent review said Mr

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Hutchinson's weak leadership had undermined the effectiveness of his

:03:16.:03:26.
:03:26.:03:30.

office. Our home affairs correspondent reports.

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15 people died when a UVF bomb exploded in McGurk's Bar bar 40

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years ago. A key role of the office is to examine how the police

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investigated atrocities like this. How that work has been carried out

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has been strongly criticised in today's report. Al Hutchinson

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commissioned the report after the BBC revealed that his chief

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executive, seen on the right, announced his resignation. The

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Criminal Justice Inspectorate uphold his claim they have been a

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lowering of the independence of the office in the way it to investigate

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historical cases. Anything which historical cases. Anything which

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undermines confidence in the office is damaging. This report identified

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how it approached investigations. I think that is damaging to the

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opera's. The report says Al Hutchinson has lost the confidence

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of senior members of his staff and describes the Office as

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dysfunctional. Investigations are labelled inconsistent and flawed.

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Inspectors say some reports were redrafted to reduce criticism of

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the place. Some senior members of the staff claimed sensitive police

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material has been withheld. And two senior members of staff asked to be

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disassociated from some reports. The inspectors say Al Hutchinson

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should suspend investigations into historical events until the issues

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have been addressed, and he has agreed. He insists he is the best

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person to implement those changes. He says we he will step down

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earlier than planned because of criticism of his office.

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acknowledge the personal attacks on me are becoming dysfunctional in

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their impact in the office, and I have reflected on that and taken a

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decision, and I will announce that on Thursday. Politicians are

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divided about whether he should be allowed to choose the time of his

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departure. A Al Hutchinson wants to go on his 65th birthday. But I

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wonder hear from him on Thursday and allow him the opportunity to

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provide answers to the report. further delay there is, the further

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damage is done to the Ombudsman Office. Al Hutchinson should go now.

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I intend to do with the issues raised. I think it is appropriate.

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Al Hutchinson's contract runs until November, 2014. But he had planned

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to step down in December after turning 65. He has now announced he

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will leave office earlier than planned. My understanding is that

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he will step down within the next six-nine months.

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A man has appeared in court charged with raping a teenage girl. The

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accused, who is from the south of England, faces a number of other

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charges. Chris Page's report contains details you may find

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upsetting. The man in the dock was Philip

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Shorten. He is charged with 11 of child sex offences including rape.

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The accused denies the charges. The court heard he met his alleged

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victim through an internet Messaging Service last year when

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she was 15. According to the prosecution, there chap started

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normally, but then he started asking her to perform sex acts

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Infanta the Web can. -- their chats. A detective told the court that Al

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Hutchinson -- Philip Shorten broom to the girl. When the girl asked

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the accused, why not someone older? He replied, 15 it is too young for

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some people, but perfect for me. The court heard Philip Shorten made

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four trips to Belfast to meet the teenager in hotels. The rape

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happened in February. Philip Shorten's solicitor claimed deep

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accused believe the goal was over 18. A defence lawyer argued for

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bail. But the detective opposed bail,

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saying Philip Shorten posed a risk to children. The district judge

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reminded the accused in custody. -- remanded.

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The row between the Irish government and the Vatican over the

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fallout from the clerical abuse scandal is set to continue. At the

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weekend, Rome rejected unprecedented criticism of it made

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by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. He had claimed the Vatican had interfered

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in a state inquiry into sex abuse by priests. The Vatican said the

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claim was unfounded. Now the Irish government appears to have more to

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say on the matter. I'm joined from Dublin by the Irish Times'

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religious afairs correspondent. No one is blinking so far end this

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stand-off. What can happen next? The Cabinet meets on Thursday. They

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will not respond before then, though end their Kelly said -- Edna

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Kelly said he would reiterate his stance. The government will prepare

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a response. It was only released on Saturday just gone. The government

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will not take as long as respected to respond, but there is no sign of

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the government backing down. two victims's groups are quoted as

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saying, at the Vatican is to try to deny responsibility, so the

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Church's reputation continues to suffer. The Vatican is not trying

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to deny responsibility, it has done so. It makes it clear it has clean

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hands. What happened in Ireland is the sole responsibility of the

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Church leadership here. It quotes a line, underlining this fact. It

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exonerates itself utterly. What can the government say? Will this does

:10:09.:10:19.
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continue? The government can point out the papacy refused to co-

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operate. The same papacy did not respond to the same commission. It

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wrote to him twice and he didn't respond. It wrote to the

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congregation into 2006. It didn't respond. The bad guy has form when

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it comes to dealing with inquiries like this. -- at the Vatican.

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you very much indeed. Still to come: Could this be

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another contender for the international goal of the year?

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And why does the end of the school holidays bring rush hour traffic to

:11:06.:11:16.
:11:16.:11:18.

a grinding halt? One of the biggest paramilitary

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trials in decades starts in Belfast tomorrow. Two convicted UVF members

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have turned Queen's evidence. They will testify against 14 men they

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say were at the heart of the terrorist organisation. It's a

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similar approach to the controversial supergrass trials of

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the 1980s when dozens were convicted on the word of informers.

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Most of the convictions were later overturned. So why is the approach

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being revived now? BBC Newsline's Will Leitch reports.

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The legal system send dozens to jail. Republicans and loyalists

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labelled them touts and pledged to kill them. In the 1980s, evidence

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was given against other members. Huge trials were held in front of a

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judge without a jury because of fears of intimidation. In one case,

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22 i i it -- IRA men were sentenced to more than 22,000 years.

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court was packed with police officers. There would have been

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people sitting close to the judge to make sure no one would attack

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him. The relatives of the people in the dock attended all the hearing,

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and they were quite often jeered and cheered. The judge sometimes

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had difficulty maintaining order. Dozens were convicted here. But the

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system like the building itself was to crumble. Most of the convictions

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were overturned. But now, there is a new court house, new legislation,

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and a new police service, and a similar tactic is being tried again.

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Legislation was provided for serious organised crime across the

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United Kingdom. They are relevant sections in that legislation, and

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that provides for non jury trials. The public is getting confused with

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the old corpse, which no longer prevail, and were non statutory.

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There are other differences. The witness signed a contract with the

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prosecution. They must have admitted all their crimes, and if

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they withdraw from the trial process, they felt does aggravate

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:13:46.:13:48.

this the fault process. -- they face a new process. Two for members

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of the UN -- UVF have come forward. They have admitted their crimes and

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been sentenced. They are pointing the finger at the people they say

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were involved. Chief among them is this loyalists. He and his

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associates go on trial for a range of offences. They are linked to the

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murder of plummy English killed in 2004 stop -- Tommy English. The

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trial will be held in this Belfast court room. The authorities say

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that is to allow more people to be present and insure proceedings are

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open and transparent. But there is opposition to the approach. We are

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all out for justice. This is a supergrass trial, and a supergrass

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trial is the supergrass trial. There is no difference here and the

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deer 2011. The stakes are high. If it is successful, others could

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follow. Already, a senior member of the UVF has come forward and is

:15:00.:15:07.

The new term at Stormont began today, with no programme for

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government yet in place. Our political correspondent, Martina

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Purdy, looks at the Executive's in- tray.

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It is that time of year again. A new term at Stormont and the work

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is piling up already. But where to start? There are decisions to be

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taken on tuition fees, council reform and the future of accident

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and emergency units. Top of the file is the need to priorities in a

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new Programme for Government. had one meeting of party leaders

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before recess and puts forward some ideas but nothing has come to

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fruition it since that meeting to see if we can get some agreement on

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some of these issues that will be a very controversial. Critics of the

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first and Deputy First ministers are already complaining that some

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of the issues they have to clear-up have not changed much from last

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term. The review of the North-South institutions has yet to be

:16:14.:16:18.

published, the development of the Maze prison site has yet to be

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agreed, we have yet to see the review of public administration and

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decisions around the boundaries Commission. And so the list goes on.

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The leaves may be turning gold but there's less to be had in the

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Stormont coffers. A key challenge for ministers. I do not know if

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:16:50.:16:51.

Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness can show the wisdom of

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Solomon, but that is what we need in these difficult times. A source

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in the First Minister's Office insists there will be no undue

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delay in delivering a programme for government and that a number of

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outstanding issues including councillor for and are close to

:17:08.:17:11.

resolution. Keeping harmony will indeed be a challenge but the new

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term has brought a new approach. Following old tensions over an

:17:17.:17:27.
:17:27.:17:29.

Irish Language Act. Coming up in a few minutes: What a

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difference a week makes. The schools are back - and so is that

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morning rush hour. There's never been a World

:17:36.:17:38.

Heavyweight boxing challenge fight in Ireland, but it's happening next

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month in Belfast. Gavin Andrews is here with all the news.

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Martin Rogan will take on Panama's Lewis Andreas Pineda for the vacant

:17:47.:17:51.

WBU heavyweight title at the Odyssey Arena. The bout is

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scheduled for the 27th October and was revealed today in West Belfast.

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The WBU belt is seen by some as one of the lesser titles in the

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heavyweight division, but Rogan's having none of that.

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Did George Foreman call it the lesser belt? Did Rory Sandra's call

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it that lesser belt? Ricky Hatton earned all his best fights off it.

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They did not use it as a platform but it did get them to where they

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wanted to go. That is just a few. They all held that belt. I do not

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make the belts, I'd just fight for them. It is a great opportunity for

:18:41.:18:51.
:18:51.:18:51.

Belfast. It is massive for our city, massive in every way. I am going to

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join the ranks of those fighting for a world title and I am going to

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take it. Now from a world heavyweight

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contender, to a goal that might make the rest of the world take

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notice. Matty Burrows famously did it last year. Now Coleraine's Jonny

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Black has produced another Irish league wondergoal. Thomas Niblock

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reports. It looks like any typical free-kick

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on any normal Saturday afternoon. The Johnny Black Strike was

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anything but however. It is only September but it looks as if we

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have already seen the goal of the season. All the boys have been

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giving me a bit of grief about it, saying it was in before it even hit

:19:35.:19:45.
:19:45.:19:47.

the net. But I just knew it. On the BBC's Board website alone, how many

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people do you think have argued that go? It is now over half-a-

:19:55.:20:01.

million. That is crazy. That is more than the amount of people who

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watched Usain Bolt at the weekend. You are bigger than Usain Bolt!

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would not say that but it is nice to get that many hits. Janine Black

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provided the cross for of Burroughs and that famous strike last year.

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But spare a thought for the goalkeeper that day. They say

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lightning cannot strike twice. Those pictures of that goal have

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been a massive success on the internet. If you want to see the

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goal again and leave a comment, check out the BBC Newsline facebook

:20:41.:20:43.

page. We're also on Twitter and our email address is

:20:43.:20:46.

[email protected]. Nigel Worthington has today been

:20:46.:20:50.

defending his tactics and his record. Northern Ireland have been

:20:50.:20:52.

beaten just three times in the last 14 qualifying games, but after

:20:52.:20:55.

losing to Serbia on Friday, their Euro 2012 qualification hopes are

:20:55.:20:57.

hanging by a thread. Northern Ireland must win their last three

:20:57.:21:00.

games to make it to the finals, starting with a win tomorrow in

:21:00.:21:06.

Estonia. Stephen Watson is with the squad in Tallin.

:21:06.:21:11.

Depressed and deflated said the negative body-language as rather a

:21:11.:21:15.

Ireland arrived in his Downie up with alarm bells ringing. The

:21:15.:21:23.

message from the Under Fire manager however is much more positive.

:21:23.:21:31.

going to take it calmly. We are a group and we have to work together.

:21:31.:21:37.

We all want to win. And the squad is keen to take some of the heat

:21:37.:21:43.

off the man in charge. The boss gets paid to pick the team and we

:21:43.:21:50.

stand by that. We will go out and we worked our socks off. I think

:21:51.:21:56.

some of the criticism towards him may be is just a bit unfair.

:21:56.:22:00.

here in Estonia players are firmly behind their manager and remaining

:22:00.:22:04.

optimistic that they can still make it to the European finals. But the

:22:04.:22:08.

fans have different ideas about qualification and the future of the

:22:08.:22:15.

boss. I think any manager with a record like that is going to be

:22:15.:22:20.

under pressure. You always hope the manager can do good things but I

:22:20.:22:30.
:22:30.:22:30.

think he has had his chance. What is your take on the manager?

:22:30.:22:34.

kinky will have to go. Does Nigel Worthington have three games to

:22:34.:22:39.

save his job? One thing is for certain - he needs a victory

:22:39.:22:43.

tomorrow would the sun will finally set on another island's qualifying

:22:43.:22:47.

campaign. Darren O'Dea and Stephen Kelly have

:22:47.:22:49.

been drafted into the Republic of Ireland team for the Euro 2012

:22:49.:22:53.

qualifier against Russia in Moscow. They replace the suspended Sean St

:22:53.:22:55.

Ledger and injured John O'Shea. After the disappointing nil-nil

:22:55.:22:57.

draw against Slovakia on Friday, Giovanni Trappatoni's men really

:22:57.:23:00.

need a win in Moscow against the group leaders to retain hopes of

:23:00.:23:10.
:23:10.:23:13.

automatic qualification. Every game away from home is always

:23:13.:23:18.

tough. When you play against a team like Russia who have great

:23:18.:23:24.

individual players, it is going to be a tough game. Do not think for

:23:24.:23:30.

one second that we are coming here to lie down and think that Russia

:23:30.:23:36.

are just going to roll as over. The players certainly know that we're

:23:36.:23:40.

coming here to get something out of this game and we will not make it

:23:40.:23:49.

easy for it Russia.. Alan Campbell won a bronze medal in the single

:23:49.:23:51.

sculls at the World Championships in Slovenia - a third success for

:23:51.:24:01.

the Coleraine contingent in the Great British rowing team.

:24:01.:24:03.

If you are a commuter on the roads, you probably noticed a big

:24:03.:24:06.

difference this morning with the return of the dreaded rush hour

:24:06.:24:08.

traffic. The congestion is usually blamed on the return to school

:24:08.:24:10.

after the summer holidays. But as Mervyn Jess explains, there's more

:24:10.:24:17.

to it than that. It was all change this morning on

:24:17.:24:20.

the roads into Belfast. The congestion build up that began at

:24:20.:24:24.

the start of September hit home today. There was a marked

:24:24.:24:28.

difference on some of the major roads and junctions compared to the

:24:28.:24:34.

traffic situation last week. It is just six minutes past eight. This

:24:34.:24:39.

is Romany rush hour. I'm coming down the Castlereagh Road. The

:24:39.:24:45.

traffic is flowing freely. Not that much of it about and it has been

:24:45.:24:48.

that weight since the school's got off for their summer holidays. So

:24:48.:24:56.

why is it that when the schools comeback this becomes a car-park?

:24:56.:24:58.

Well those of us lead any increase in volume with the schools

:24:58.:25:04.

returning but there are also factors like how the traffic drives,

:25:04.:25:10.

stopping to let kids off, moving in and out of side roads. And the

:25:10.:25:17.

weather as well, the capacity of the roads to slightly reduced.

:25:17.:25:20.

Belfast control centre has one of the most advanced traffic

:25:20.:25:24.

management systems in Europe with more than 100 CCTV cameras watching

:25:24.:25:31.

on roads. There's nothing especially scientific about traffic.

:25:31.:25:36.

A large part of it is down to how we behave on the roads. What is for

:25:36.:25:40.

sure is that the holidays are coming to an end for the schools

:25:41.:25:47.

and colleges and also for the motorist.

:25:47.:25:53.

It is never going to change! Just to run in to Radio Ulster, that

:25:53.:26:01.

passes the time! Of course everything is rest when the weather

:26:01.:26:08.

is wet. We had a few showers today. And the rain is certainly around

:26:08.:26:14.

And the rain is certainly around this evening.

:26:14.:26:21.

The rain has been moving in from an Atlantic weather system. It is the

:26:21.:26:25.

first autumn storm. Nothing exceptional, but it will make it

:26:25.:26:31.

feel quite a Tumilty this weekend. And it makes the evening of that

:26:31.:26:41.
:26:41.:26:47.

much darker as well. -- feel quite Some unsettled weather for the rest

:26:47.:26:57.

of the coming week. That is the mega picture at the moment. Heavy

:26:57.:27:02.

and steady rain coming in the next few hours until it turns more to

:27:02.:27:12.

showers during the eight hours. The wind also picks up tonight. That

:27:12.:27:18.

tour will be a some sunshine around. -- but tomorrow there will be some

:27:19.:27:25.

sunshine around. The wind will be quite strong and gusty making it

:27:25.:27:31.

feel quite chilly. And showers are likely to merge to from a longer

:27:31.:27:41.
:27:41.:27:49.

spell of rain in the afternoon. Temperatures of just 15 degrees.

:27:49.:27:56.

There is that airier of rain moving south-east during the latter part

:27:56.:28:04.

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