Browse content similar to 16/09/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good evening. This is BBC Newsline, with Noel Thompson. The headlines | :00:12. | :00:21. | |
this Friday evening. Martin McGuinness is to run for the | :00:21. | :00:25. | |
Irish presidency. Two police officers are injured in | :00:25. | :00:32. | |
a bomb attack in a toy shop. And a rush hour rampage on shops in | :00:32. | :00:39. | |
West Belfast. And the SDLP leadership race gets | :00:39. | :00:46. | |
under way. And, can Ulster set the ball rolling with a win? | :00:46. | :00:50. | |
And, don't be getting your hopes up for the weekend weather. It's | :00:50. | :00:58. | |
Good evening. Sinn Fein has confirmed that the Deputy First | :00:58. | :01:01. | |
Minister Martin McGuiness will stand as the party's candidate for | :01:01. | :01:04. | |
the Irish presidency. He'll temporarily step aside from his job | :01:04. | :01:08. | |
as First Minister for the campaign. The Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams | :01:08. | :01:11. | |
says he believes Mr McGuinness can be the people's president, | :01:11. | :01:14. | |
personifying the genius and integrity of all the people of the | :01:14. | :01:18. | |
island, Catholic, Protestant and dissenter. Our political editor, | :01:18. | :01:27. | |
Mark Devenport, is with me. How much of a surprise? It is a | :01:27. | :01:31. | |
bold move in a sense Martin McGuinness was the highest profile | :01:31. | :01:40. | |
person Sinn Fein could throw into this, they believe he can take | :01:40. | :01:46. | |
votes. We are expecting him to stand down temporarily as Deputy | :01:46. | :01:48. | |
First Minister in the same way Peter Robinson stood down when he | :01:48. | :01:53. | |
had those difficulties and was replaced. Mr McGuinness will be | :01:53. | :01:59. | |
replaced by one of the Sinn Fein Executive ministers. And, it is | :01:59. | :02:09. | |
:02:09. | :02:13. | ||
looking likely that John O'Dowd is likely. Does Martin McGuinness have | :02:13. | :02:18. | |
a good chance? A idea this is why Sinn Fein has decided to be bold, | :02:18. | :02:22. | |
because they have seen other parties not putting up a candidate, | :02:22. | :02:29. | |
or low key candidates. They see an opportunity to raise their profile. | :02:29. | :02:34. | |
It will be a turn up if you got this. According to the Irish | :02:34. | :02:37. | |
constitution, he would not have to give up the Deputy First Minister | :02:37. | :02:42. | |
position to stand as a candidate, but he would have to if he emerged | :02:42. | :02:50. | |
as winner. I suspect this temporary arrangement is the most likely they | :02:50. | :02:55. | |
will put into place during the campaign and run-up into late | :02:55. | :02:59. | |
October. He will of course say that this shows a Sinn Fein is | :03:00. | :03:02. | |
concentrating not necessarily on the transitional arrangements at | :03:02. | :03:12. | |
:03:12. | :03:14. | ||
Stormont but on their golf of a united Ireland in the long run. | :03:14. | :03:17. | |
This is the back story of Martin McGuinness. | :03:17. | :03:22. | |
The Bogside of the 1950s, an unlikely starting point for the man | :03:22. | :03:27. | |
who would lead the IRA, become Sinn Fein's leader at Stormont, and now | :03:27. | :03:31. | |
the party's candidate for the Irish presidency. Many Unionists will | :03:31. | :03:35. | |
always see Martin McGuinness as one of the figures behind the bloody | :03:35. | :03:42. | |
conflict by the IRA. He first came to attention in the 1970s. Martin | :03:42. | :03:46. | |
McGuinness was second in command of the IRA at the time of Bloody | :03:46. | :03:51. | |
Sunday. Months later he was part of an IRA delegation in secret talks | :03:51. | :03:56. | |
in London. In 1974, with the bombing campaign at its height, he | :03:56. | :04:01. | |
was jailed in the Republic for IRA membership, something he regularly | :04:01. | :04:08. | |
denied. He stood for election to the Assembly in 1982 but still | :04:08. | :04:12. | |
articulated a hardline strategy. do not believe winning any amount | :04:12. | :04:16. | |
of votes will win freedom for Northern Ireland. It will be the | :04:16. | :04:21. | |
cutting edge of the IRA. He played a key role in talks which led to | :04:21. | :04:27. | |
the IRA ceasefire. His support was enough to convince many Republicans | :04:27. | :04:33. | |
to sign up to the peace process. His first ministerial portfolio did | :04:33. | :04:37. | |
not go down well with Unionists. When the Assembly returned after | :04:37. | :04:42. | |
suspension, he was Deputy First Minister. The warmth of the | :04:42. | :04:45. | |
relationship with Ian Paisley developing into an unlikely double | :04:45. | :04:55. | |
:04:55. | :04:57. | ||
act. It has been more businesslike with Peter Robinson. I see it as | :04:57. | :05:05. | |
one of the true grit leaders of modern times. Martin McGuinness has | :05:05. | :05:08. | |
continued to attract substantial votes for both Assembly and | :05:09. | :05:14. | |
Westminster elections. Now he has put his name forward, he is bidding | :05:14. | :05:23. | |
to leave one iconic building for another. If let us go to Dublin. | :05:23. | :05:27. | |
Sinn Fein is still viewed with suspicion in political Dublin, what | :05:27. | :05:32. | |
has been the reaction? For there is a great deal of | :05:32. | :05:37. | |
surprise this evening among the political classes and commentators. | :05:37. | :05:40. | |
As to the other presidential campaign teams, they are saying | :05:40. | :05:45. | |
this won't make any difference. Sinn Fein are a growing political | :05:45. | :05:51. | |
force in the Republic, they would still be regarded with some | :05:51. | :05:58. | |
suspicion perhaps in the middle- class suburbs. If we look back to | :05:58. | :06:08. | |
:06:08. | :06:08. | ||
some add 2010, kenny said he wouldn't share power with Sinn Fein. | :06:08. | :06:13. | |
So a big Martin McGuinness can expect tough questioning about his | :06:13. | :06:18. | |
republican past. I asked Sinn Fein's deputy leader how she | :06:18. | :06:24. | |
thought he would cope? We all have our personal narrative in history. | :06:24. | :06:30. | |
In many respects it is a fascinating story. It parallels the | :06:30. | :06:35. | |
political developments in Ireland. So come up and think Martin will be | :06:35. | :06:40. | |
more than comfortable to answer any questions. I know him well. More | :06:40. | :06:45. | |
importantly, I think he has the capacity to offer the kind of | :06:45. | :06:51. | |
leadership people need, because we made debate the past but we are | :06:51. | :06:55. | |
reliant on carving out a decent and shared future. | :06:55. | :06:59. | |
It is the public which matters and it will be interesting to gauge | :06:59. | :07:05. | |
their reaction in the coming days. In recent opinion polls, people | :07:05. | :07:08. | |
have said they are not going to vote for any of the existing | :07:08. | :07:11. | |
candidates, so maybe Martin McGuinness will take all of the | :07:11. | :07:21. | |
:07:21. | :07:23. | ||
right boxes for them. Stay with us for the day's second | :07:23. | :07:25. | |
political story: the SDLP leadership contest. The party has | :07:25. | :07:29. | |
revealed that four men will battle it out to replace Margaret Ritchie. | :07:29. | :07:32. | |
They are the South Belfast MP Alastair McDonnell,. The Mid Ulster | :07:32. | :07:35. | |
MLA Patsy McGlone,. The Environment Minister Alex Attwood. And the | :07:35. | :07:43. | |
South Belfast MLA Conall McDevitt. We knew death and laid-back Patsy | :07:43. | :07:53. | |
:07:53. | :07:56. | ||
McGlone would be there. McDonnell has been making no secret. Conall | :07:56. | :08:02. | |
McDevitt was in the background picking up nominations. In the end, | :08:02. | :08:05. | |
all four have got the necessary five nominations to go ahead. We | :08:05. | :08:15. | |
:08:15. | :08:17. | ||
will see whether they made in the contest. We heard that the SDLP | :08:17. | :08:21. | |
have maybe got too used to losing votes in the past and they were | :08:22. | :08:27. | |
determined to change that. I have no intention of presiding over the | :08:27. | :08:33. | |
further decline and disappearance of the SDLP. I am seeking that | :08:33. | :08:37. | |
leadership because I firmly believe that I am the only candidate who | :08:37. | :08:45. | |
can stop the decline and make the SDLP truly electable again. Can we | :08:45. | :08:51. | |
put them in any kind of order? Patsy McGlone, the first out of the | :08:51. | :08:58. | |
blocks, got the most nominations, the man to catch. The question is | :08:58. | :09:03. | |
whether of Conall McDevitt and Alex Attwood will try to unite their | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
position and one of them stand, because they come from a similar | :09:07. | :09:13. | |
camp within the party. McDonnell, he still insists he will go on. We | :09:13. | :09:17. | |
will see at least three of them. Two police officers are recovering | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
after a bomb was thrown at them as they answered a call to a toy shop | :09:22. | :09:25. | |
in County Antrim last night.T wo civilians suffered shock as they | :09:25. | :09:28. | |
were caught up in the attack which happened at Mill Road in | :09:28. | :09:31. | |
Newtownabbey. Dissident republicans are being blamed. | :09:31. | :09:37. | |
In Londonderry, the Army have dealt with a pipe bomb left at a car wash. | :09:37. | :09:41. | |
It was found at the Racecourse Road last night. Three masked men, | :09:41. | :09:44. | |
travelling in a silver car, were seen in the area at the time. | :09:44. | :09:48. | |
A shopkeeper has told BBC Newsline how he fought off an armed gang who | :09:48. | :09:51. | |
rampaged across South and West Belfast this morning. The gang | :09:51. | :09:54. | |
carried out a series of robberies in just over ten minutes. Sharon | :09:55. | :10:02. | |
Bradford reports. The terrifying moment when three | :10:02. | :10:07. | |
men burst into a shop. One of the men holding a knife to his son's | :10:08. | :10:12. | |
throat, the shop owner could only look on as the other two help | :10:12. | :10:16. | |
themselves to cash and cigarettes. The end of this shop has been left | :10:16. | :10:20. | |
so shaken he did not want to appear on camera or be named. He said he | :10:20. | :10:23. | |
has added business here for 36 years and has never experienced | :10:23. | :10:29. | |
anything like it. The newsagent's near by was also targeted. Three | :10:29. | :10:33. | |
men walked end, threatened a customer and tried to steal his | :10:33. | :10:39. | |
wallet. He was stabbed in the hand. A few minutes later, down the road, | :10:39. | :10:43. | |
two men went into another of newsagents brandishing a knife and | :10:43. | :10:48. | |
crowbar. The owner had just arrived. That filly for him, help was at | :10:48. | :10:57. | |
hand. The Fellow in the bakery, he grabbed the site outside and throw | :10:57. | :11:05. | |
it at the fellow with the crowbar. We went after them. He attacked the | :11:05. | :11:08. | |
one with the knife could try to cut him and managed to cut his back | :11:08. | :11:13. | |
with the knife. Police believe all three incidences are committed and | :11:13. | :11:18. | |
are appealing for anyone with information to contact them. Still | :11:18. | :11:21. | |
to come on the programme: what does Martin Rogan say about the boxing | :11:21. | :11:31. | |
bosses who've called off his world It would take a brave developer to | :11:31. | :11:34. | |
build apartments in Belfast in the current property market. And a | :11:34. | :11:39. | |
brave person to buy one too. But next week sees the launch of a new | :11:39. | :11:42. | |
style of city centre apartment. Our business and economics editor Jim | :11:42. | :11:50. | |
Fitzpatrick has seen the prototype. Belfast its skyline doesn't boast | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
too many cranes these days, the construction boom is over and we | :11:53. | :11:59. | |
are left with a glut of unwanted and overvalued property. Much in | :11:59. | :12:03. | |
apartments. Basic economics tells us price is a function of supply | :12:03. | :12:08. | |
and demand. Where demand outstrips supply, as in 2007, the average | :12:08. | :12:14. | |
price of an apartment topped �213,000. Recently we demand at a | :12:14. | :12:22. | |
low, that has slumped to �126,000. Could demand return if prices | :12:22. | :12:26. | |
dropped further. One developer has come up with an idea he is hoping | :12:26. | :12:31. | |
will do that trick. It is a compact apartment with everything ready to | :12:31. | :12:39. | |
go, a luxury bathroom. Storage space. You have your sleeping area | :12:39. | :12:43. | |
with a sound system and television already installed. And right beside | :12:43. | :12:48. | |
it, your compact kitchen with appliances already in place. It is | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
smaller than anything we have seen but it comes with a smaller price. | :12:53. | :12:57. | |
Could this be the kind of thing to kick-start the property market? | :12:57. | :13:01. | |
Let's talk to the man who has to sell these? It is different in | :13:01. | :13:07. | |
terms of design, use of space, and above all price come up under | :13:07. | :13:12. | |
�80,000. It gives people an opportunity to get in. Departments | :13:12. | :13:18. | |
are not yet built but this replica is ready to view. The purpose of | :13:18. | :13:22. | |
building this, this is the first time this has existed other than | :13:22. | :13:27. | |
show houses in conventional schemes. This gives people an opportunity | :13:27. | :13:30. | |
absolutely what they're getting for their money, the size, so there is | :13:30. | :13:36. | |
no ambiguity, No Extras, this is what you get. Is it a good idea to | :13:36. | :13:41. | |
encourage people to live in tiny boxes? As long as you know what | :13:41. | :13:46. | |
you're paying for, it seems. Physically, it gets down to a point | :13:46. | :13:50. | |
where it is too small. There can be judgments taken by people, if | :13:50. | :14:00. | |
they're going in with their eyes open. You have to be aware of this. | :14:00. | :14:03. | |
The 48 apartments will sit on Montgomerie Street. Construction | :14:03. | :14:08. | |
will begin only if sales happen. It won't be long to discover if there | :14:08. | :14:16. | |
Work is now complete on Northern Ireland's biggest piece of public | :14:16. | :14:18. | |
artwork. The Rise, at the Broadway roundabout in West Belfast, has | :14:18. | :14:22. | |
cost almost half a million pounds. Let's go live to our reporter Kevin | :14:22. | :14:32. | |
:14:32. | :14:32. | ||
Sharkey. A get a first view from the | :14:32. | :14:36. | |
motorway, an impressive addition to the skyline of Belfast. | :14:36. | :14:43. | |
So beside it, you see just how big it is. It is 7.5 metres tall, 30 | :14:43. | :14:48. | |
metres wide. Imposing from all angles, just under have won here in | :14:48. | :14:53. | |
the making from a nondescript roundabout to a new city roundabout. | :14:53. | :15:03. | |
:15:03. | :15:04. | ||
It symbolises a new Belfast. This nouvelle first is vibrant, diverse | :15:04. | :15:13. | |
and confident. So buried underneath it, a time capsule from a two | :15:13. | :15:23. | |
:15:23. | :15:28. | ||
community is revealing hopes for their tomorrows. I want to make a | :15:28. | :15:32. | |
sculpture like the Rise. Are I would like to be an artist because | :15:32. | :15:36. | |
it is something I have wanted to do for my whole life. But while this | :15:36. | :15:39. | |
is a Belfast projects, it is already paying dividends in other | :15:39. | :15:44. | |
areas. The steelwork was manufactured elsewhere and now | :15:44. | :15:49. | |
London is calling. These are the early stages. We are just trying to | :15:49. | :15:55. | |
be involved in the costings in a project in the east of London. It | :15:55. | :16:01. | |
is rather different to this one. oppressive it may be, but the risk | :16:01. | :16:09. | |
of anti-social behaviour lurks. A lot of people try to climate. From | :16:09. | :16:13. | |
afar it looks easier to climate but up close, these are right angles | :16:13. | :16:18. | |
which makes it incredibly difficult. The paint itself is very slippery. | :16:18. | :16:24. | |
So not that easy to climate. It does not stop some! And it has of | :16:24. | :16:34. | |
:16:34. | :16:34. | ||
course immediately become so the Balls On The Falls! | :16:34. | :16:37. | |
There's a big weekend of rugby ahead - Ireland take on Australia | :16:37. | :16:41. | |
tomorrow at the World Cup - but it all kicks off at Ravenhill tonight. | :16:41. | :16:43. | |
And Mark Sidebottom is there with this evening's sport. | :16:43. | :16:46. | |
Yes, Ulster take on the Cardiff Blues this evening - more on that | :16:46. | :16:49. | |
in a moment. We'll talk about Ulster's task shortly, but first | :16:49. | :16:52. | |
let's turn our thoughts to Auckland. Ireland's World Cup record against | :16:52. | :16:55. | |
Australia is played four, lost four - so can the boys in green upset | :16:55. | :17:04. | |
the odds tomorrow? Thomas Niblock has been trawling the archives. | :17:04. | :17:07. | |
Australia in the docks -- in the dark shirts kick off against | :17:07. | :17:13. | |
Ireland. 1950 it was the thirstier Ireland defeated Australia. Since | :17:13. | :17:19. | |
then, the Aussies have dominated. They are ranked second in the world. | :17:19. | :17:24. | |
But confidence of our first ever as World Cup victory over the Giants | :17:24. | :17:32. | |
is high. We have had a lot of support a, not just from the Irish, | :17:32. | :17:38. | |
but also for whatever reason the New Zealanders. That is great. It | :17:38. | :17:42. | |
is pretty close to a packed house here, so that is what you want to | :17:42. | :17:46. | |
play. You want to be in the big games and there is no bigger stage | :17:46. | :17:50. | |
than the Rugby World Cup. As his cause, we are very much looking | :17:50. | :17:54. | |
forward to Rick's. Australia are seen as New Zealand's biggest | :17:54. | :17:59. | |
rivals to winning the Cup, but she David Coulthard may be injured for | :17:59. | :18:09. | |
:18:09. | :18:10. | ||
tomorrow's clash, and that would help Ireland. hopefully he is all | :18:10. | :18:13. | |
right. He will make that call, the doctors and medical staff will make | :18:13. | :18:18. | |
that call. If he does not feel he can get out there and play, he | :18:18. | :18:23. | |
obviously won't. We understand this is a huge game far as, a massive | :18:23. | :18:29. | |
game in this tournament. Ireland's captain Brian O'Driscoll, who | :18:29. | :18:33. | |
collects his 150th cap tomorrow, knows how to test the Australians. | :18:33. | :18:40. | |
For supporters will be hoping he can do it at least one more time. | :18:40. | :18:50. | |
:18:50. | :18:51. | ||
Just as another number 13 did over 50 years ago. that was of course | :18:51. | :18:54. | |
the former Ireland captain way back in 1958. | :18:54. | :18:56. | |
Now to a man with divided loyalties, Australian international Ryan | :18:56. | :19:06. | |
Constable - now very much an adopted Ulsterman. Do you give | :19:06. | :19:10. | |
Ireland any chance tomorrow? Look, they are underdogs. They will have | :19:11. | :19:15. | |
to find a new level of intensity and smuggle that very -- smother | :19:15. | :19:20. | |
that very talented pair in the middle. Discipline will be key. | :19:20. | :19:24. | |
They are underdogs for a reason that they have the individuals. | :19:24. | :19:29. | |
this evening's game. The Cardiff crews are in town. It has been | :19:29. | :19:35. | |
pointed out Ulster played very well last season. But there are 3, 4, | :19:35. | :19:39. | |
five of them who should be out at the World Cup. There is quality in | :19:39. | :19:43. | |
both teams. There is a reason Cardiff have 10 points. He have an | :19:43. | :19:47. | |
open style of robbery and experience throughout the team. It | :19:47. | :19:54. | |
is experienced that really counts. Ulster need to control the game. | :19:54. | :20:01. | |
I'm looking forward to seeing the Auckland make his debut? If you can | :20:01. | :20:06. | |
take that sort of form into an Ulster Jersey, he is a very | :20:06. | :20:12. | |
exciting prospect. So I think that is possibly bolstered to win. Now, | :20:12. | :20:14. | |
on to boxing. Martin Rogan's world title fight, | :20:14. | :20:18. | |
scheduled for next month in Belfast, is off. Two weeks ago, the former | :20:18. | :20:20. | |
Commonwealth champion announced he would fight Luis Pineda for the | :20:20. | :20:23. | |
vacant WBU world heavyweight title. But the British Boxing Board of | :20:23. | :20:26. | |
Control has refused to sanction the bout. Rogan told me that he can't | :20:26. | :20:33. | |
understand the decision. The faster they turned me down without giving | :20:33. | :20:38. | |
me any reason just leaves me puzzled in any way. -- the fact | :20:38. | :20:46. | |
they turned me down. There have been former champions switch we | :20:46. | :20:54. | |
know so it is acknowledged. So it is hard because I have worked hard | :20:54. | :20:58. | |
to get where I am. In a brief statement today, the British Boxing | :20:58. | :21:02. | |
Board of Control said it did not recognise the WBU belt - the WBU | :21:02. | :21:08. | |
has countered saying it will now stage the bout in America. | :21:08. | :21:11. | |
Local football and the top two meet in the Carling premiership tomorrow, | :21:11. | :21:13. | |
as champions Linfield travel to Shamrock Park where second-placed | :21:13. | :21:16. | |
Portadown are aiming to preserve a 100 percent home record - here's | :21:16. | :21:26. | |
:21:26. | :21:27. | ||
Thomas Kane. There is a late goal made it four | :21:27. | :21:32. | |
victories in four home games and Portadown and was further evidence | :21:32. | :21:37. | |
that the side could challenge Linfield's dominance this season. | :21:37. | :21:40. | |
think that they may well be a measuring stick to see how far they | :21:40. | :21:50. | |
have improved. They are realistic challengers this season and that is | :21:50. | :21:54. | |
something there fans will be wanting. He only Linfield have | :21:54. | :21:58. | |
scored more goals than quarter down this year and they have beaten | :21:58. | :22:02. | |
tomorrow's opponents in the last five meetings between the sides. | :22:02. | :22:07. | |
Linfield are the best team in the league. Their proven that. The last | :22:07. | :22:13. | |
time we played them at trammel Park, they humiliated us. It was 4- 0. We | :22:13. | :22:16. | |
felt a bit embarrassed after that result. We want to go out on | :22:17. | :22:20. | |
Saturday and put that result right and hopefully we can do it. There | :22:20. | :22:26. | |
is no reason why we can't. Portadown have a 100% home record. | :22:26. | :22:31. | |
Linford have a 100% away record. So at least one of those statistics | :22:31. | :22:40. | |
will be redundant in 24 hours' time. Something has to give tomorrow. | :22:40. | :22:45. | |
Goals and action live from five as usual. You will get the match live | :22:45. | :22:49. | |
after BBC News line. And there will be a minute's silence observed | :22:49. | :22:54. | |
before kick off the saving in memory of those four miners who | :22:54. | :23:04. | |
:23:04. | :23:04. | ||
tragically lost their lives. Now, to North Belfast where a new | :23:04. | :23:09. | |
peace wall has opened. There are hopes a whole community can share | :23:09. | :23:19. | |
:23:19. | :23:22. | ||
the space. 5, 4, 3, 2, who want. Yes! | :23:22. | :23:26. | |
It only took five seconds to overturn decades of separation. | :23:26. | :23:31. | |
These pupils were the first to go if you the new Peace Gate in | :23:31. | :23:35. | |
Alexandra Park. It is the only part in Western Europe with a three- | :23:35. | :23:39. | |
metre high fence running right through the middle of it. It has | :23:39. | :23:44. | |
two separate playgrounds, one used mainly by Protestants, the other | :23:44. | :23:49. | |
mainly by Catholics. Sectarian fighting forced the building of the | :23:49. | :23:53. | |
security fence, but community relations have now improved and | :23:53. | :23:59. | |
from today schoolchildren will be able to play in both parts. It is a | :23:59. | :24:03. | |
chance to make new friends and we can all stay together. You can play | :24:03. | :24:07. | |
with other friends, like from this side. You can call for them, and | :24:07. | :24:12. | |
take them to the park and show them all around the park. The adults | :24:12. | :24:16. | |
were excited as well. I think it is very significant. This is what we | :24:16. | :24:20. | |
have all been working towards, with communities working together and | :24:20. | :24:23. | |
dealing with their problems his partnership. For me, this is on a | :24:23. | :24:29. | |
par with the Berlin Wall. I am just so pleased to be cut of living | :24:29. | :24:32. | |
histories year in Northern Ireland. But the so-called Peace Gate will | :24:32. | :24:37. | |
not be open all of that time. It will be shut every afternoon at 3pm. | :24:37. | :24:43. | |
It will also be closed at weekends. The divisions in Northern Ireland | :24:43. | :24:48. | |
run deep. There are 59 peace walls. Removing these barriers will be a | :24:48. | :24:58. | |
long and difficult process. But today at least it began. | :24:58. | :25:02. | |
Now, a happy coincidence that Mark Sidebottom at Ravenhill said he was | :25:02. | :25:07. | |
as white as an altar's pocket, because it relates to our picture | :25:07. | :25:10. | |
of the day. Time now for our Naturewatch spot | :25:10. | :25:13. | |
and some rare pictures of one of the most notoriously shy residents | :25:13. | :25:15. | |
of our waterways. One of our viewers, John Armstrong, caught | :25:15. | :25:19. | |
this otter on Belfast Lough near Bangor as it tucked into a fish | :25:19. | :25:21. | |
supper, completely oblivious to his audience. The USPCA say otter | :25:21. | :25:24. | |
sightings are uncommon because the creatures are so good at keeping | :25:24. | :25:27. | |
out of our way - and that their presence is an encouraging sign of | :25:27. | :25:31. | |
the health of the water in Belfast Lough and the Lagan. Oops, this | :25:31. | :25:41. | |
:25:41. | :25:42. | ||
fella then decided that a takeaway The now, a look at the weather. It | :25:42. | :25:46. | |
will be a white, breezy weekend. Certainly raincoats were needed for | :25:46. | :25:49. | |
today with that weather front living in earlier on, bringing a | :25:49. | :25:54. | |
band of heavy and quite persistent rain. Sunshine did come through in | :25:54. | :25:58. | |
the afternoon, but it has been quite unstable. One of two | :25:58. | :26:06. | |
thunderstorms as well. Still a few showers this evening, especially | :26:06. | :26:12. | |
towards the north and west. Still a few showers around the Belfast area | :26:12. | :26:16. | |
at the moment so raven which is not out of the woods. It could be | :26:16. | :26:23. | |
slippery weather risk of showers. Hopefully some drier spells as well. | :26:23. | :26:26. | |
Overnight, that westerly breeze starts to pick up, bringing more | :26:26. | :26:30. | |
showers in an almost anywhere could catch them. They will be more | :26:30. | :26:35. | |
frequent across the north and the west. There could be a rumble or | :26:35. | :26:40. | |
two of thunder. Overnight lows 10 degrees. For the weekend we are | :26:40. | :26:45. | |
looking at a pretty strong winds. There will be some showers at times, | :26:45. | :26:49. | |
particularly tomorrow. Having said that, for the Southern Counties | :26:49. | :26:52. | |
tomorrow morning I think they showers will be scattered and there | :26:52. | :26:58. | |
will be dry, bright gaps in between. They will be more frequent towards | :26:58. | :27:01. | |
the north coast though with some thunder. There is a chance into the | :27:01. | :27:06. | |
afternoon that they could become a more prolonged and drift across | :27:06. | :27:11. | |
parts of County Antrim. Inland, a mixture of bright spells and | :27:11. | :27:16. | |
showers. Chalice might ease towards the evening although it cannot be | :27:16. | :27:23. | |
guaranteed. All of us, a cool day. Highs of 14 Celsius. It could be a | :27:23. | :27:27. | |
while before they cleared to give a drier end to the night. Sunday, | :27:27. | :27:37. | |
:27:37. | :27:41. | ||
still breezy and fairly cloudy but Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness is to | :27:41. | :27:46. | |
stand as the party candidate in the Irish presidential election. He is | :27:46. | :27:48. | |
in New York at the moment on an investment trip with the First | :27:48. | :27:52. |