20/01/2012 BBC Newsline

Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Noel Thompson and Donna

Traynor. The headlines this Friday evening.

I'm live at the Royal Jubilee Maternity where parents anxiously

await news of whether their babies have tested positive for the

pseudomonas infection. Next thing you were being told he is in

intensive care. A life sentence for Brian Shivers

for the murder of two soldiers at Massereene Barracks. This was a

terrible crime which stole the lives from their young men.

I'm live at Massereene. The police say at least six people were

involved and the investigation isn't over.

Dissident Republicans are being blamed for last night's two bomb

explosions in Londonderry. Can Ulster do what they haven't

done before and win in France? And there's still some rain left

for tonight. I'll have the full weekend forecast for you later in

Hospital staff at the Royal neo- natal unit in Belfast are trying to

find the source of the bacterial infection linked to the deaths of

three babies. All three children tested positive for Pseudomonas.

It's a relatively common bug and is spread via skin or medical

equipment. But outbreaks are rare. Our Health Correspondent Marie-

Louise Connolly is across this. She's outside the Maternity

hospital for us. Marie-Louise, the investigation has started what's

the latest there? Staff who work at the neonatal unit behind me are

currently preparing the air here for a deep clean process that is

due to get under way I am told tomorrow morning. It is an

extremely distressing time for everyone concerned here for parents

and staff. I have spent most of the day gauging reaction. This is the

neonatal unit which is at the centre of this outbreak. The babies

being treated here are mostly a premature and all have pre-

existing illnesses. Three babies have been lost and that is very

serious. Our sympathies go out to the families. They were never have

a greater trauma to go through. first baby died on 6th January, a

fortnight ago today. The second baby died a week later. It was not

until Monday night that test results showed both babies had died

from the stay in strain of pseudomonas. The news was made

public yesterday. A third baby died last night. Some of the babies may

be carrying the bacteria that it does not necessarily mean they

would get an infection as a result of the bacteria. The unit will be

separating out those babies who have the bacteria on up their skin

and those who do not. This is what the bacteria looks like under a

high-powered microscope. It is a relatively form -- common form of

hospital infection but it can have serious implications for those with

weak immune systems. The bacteria is passed from skin to skin and

lives in a warm and moist environment. It can be found in

pipes making it extremely difficult to find and treat. This four-year-

old also suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy. My heart goes

out to the parents. I know how we felt. The infection has not spread

beyond the neonatal unit. There is a concern. Next thing we are being

told he is in intensive care and a day at later you're being told

there is an infection outbreak. We thought he was being transferred

because he was getting better. is the Health Trust doing to tackle

the infection? The 23 babies currently being cared for in the

unit have been swapped and moved to other areas within the hospital.

Results of tests could take several days. A deep clean is about to

start in the infected unit to stop it from spreading. The

investigation has started. An indication of the pressure that a

crisis like this can create on a system, it has been confirmed to

the BBC tonight that to all women have been transferred from this --

a couple of women have been transferred from this hospital.

There are so many different groups caught up in a crisis like this.

There are children and their parents but we cannot forget the

staff. Staff become very much attached to the families and they

almost become part of the family unit. The next 48 hours and even to

the end of next week will be extremely anxious time for all

those concerned. We have the number of a helpline

has been set up for parents. It's Guilty and not guilty. Those were

the verdicts passed at Antrim Crown Court this afternoon by the judge

in the trial of the two men charged with murdering two soldiers at

Massereene Barracks in Antrim in 2009. Guilty is Brian Shivers a 46-

year-old unemployed man from Magherafelt. The judge found the

DNA evidence linked him beyond reasonable doubt to the killings.

But the judge was not convinced by the evidence against Colin Duffy, a

well known Republican from Lurgan, and he was acquitted on all counts.

It took Mr Justice Hart four weeks to consider his verdict on the

murders of Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey who were shot dead

as they collected a pizza delivery at the gate of the barracks, the

day before they were due to go to Afghanistan. We have series of

reports on the investigation, and the effect of the killings on the

victim's families but we focus first on the events Antrim court

house, with Ciara Riddell. Moments after this, a couple of soldiers

were dead. Real IRA gunmen opened fire as they collected a pizza

delivery. Patrick Azimkav was 21 and Mark Quinsey was at 23. We have

had a shooting outside the camp. What happened? There has been a

mobile the shooting. The court heard of the pandemonium on that

night. DNA evidence was that the core of this case. Colin Duffy's

was on the seat belt buckle in the getaway car. The judge accepted a

Colin Duffy's DNA had been found in the getaway car but he said the

prosecution had failed to give him a role in the attack. After almost

three years in jail awaiting trial, he left court a free man, geode by

loyalists. The defence team said he was unlikely. But the judge said he

had set fire to the car and then lied. We welcome the conviction

today but we now want to take some time to study the judgment in fall

while at the same time continuing with the investigation. The my

world has been torn apart and I cannot change that. Please help the

police before these people destroyed more families. My brother

left his life that it was stolen away from them at an early age.

we are relieved that today one man has been found guilty of the murder

of our son and brother. Brian Shivers begins his prison sentence

tonight. Behind every murder there is the

shock and sense of loss felt by the families of the victims. The

parents of Patrick Azimkar have talked about how their world was

turned upside down by the sudden and violent death of their son.

thought he would be safe there because it had been a long time. It

had been 12 years since the previous shooting of a British

soldier. He was only nine when that happened. He was a little boy. We

did think he would be safe. We were really worried about him going to

Afghanistan but we had to accept that, that is part of being in the

army. We were worried about it but we never worried about him going to

Northern Ireland. We never thought about that. We came home in the

early hours and at about 5 o'clock the phone rang. The phone is down

here in the hall. I went to answer it and just as I went to answer it,

it stopped ringing and the doorbell rang. I opened the door and there

were a couple of men they are dressed in suits. They were

standing there and they asked me who I was. They asked if I was

Patrick's mother. I said I was and they asked to come in. I was

thinking, this is strange. As far as we knew he was on his way to

Afghanistan. He should have been on route. I was thinking they cannot

be anything serious because he would not have got to Afghanistan

yet. Then, one of the men said he had bad news and said Patrick was

dead. They kept saying he had died from gunshot wounds. It was not

Afghanistan, it was a Northern Ireland. It was the most surreal

and terrible moment of Our lives. They kept saying it was an incident.

You can imagine, what happened, how did it happen? We did not know

anything. A we had hundreds of questions. The shock lasted well

over a year. That shock, that profound state of shock. I feel the

act of the gunmen did, for me, personally, I see it as a 45

seconds of distilled evil. The Act was distilled evil. And acted, in

my opinion, of distilled evil. A horrible and sharp and quick

bombardment of evil and terror. want to know exactly what happened.

You want to see for yourself. did an innocent boy, just minding

his own business, popping out to get a pizza, get blown away by

bullets. But nobody can take away the actual reality of what you have

to sit through. Somehow, you feel you need to. You have to feel you

have got to. You have to know what happened. You have to know. Never

would I want to kill somebody else's child, trying to get my

cause further it. Violence is not the way. Do not do it. To not to it.

The parents of Patrick Azimkar. Brian Shivers have not been in the

public eye before this trial, in contrast to his killed up a --

court used Colin Duffy. It is the third time he has walked away from

murder charges. Our correspondent joins us from Massereene Barracks.

What do we now know about the background to Brian Shivers? What

we know about Brian Shivers is that he was not even on the police radar

or before Massereene. He had no criminal record up until these

killings. It was said in court that he supported Sinn Fein and backed

the peace process, but his actions the judge found, were in stark

contrast to this. He has a terminal illness and in 2008 he was said to

have only five years to live. As he begins a sentence behind bars, he

may never see freedom again. His solicitor said he would be

appealing. At different story for Colin Duffy? That is right. Colin

Duffy has faced murder charges on three occasions. Today, something

of deja vu. He has spent three years on remand, exactly the same

time he spent in jail before the Appeal Court overturned and they --

a murder conviction at in the mid- 1990s. He was accused of killing

out a UDR soldier. In 1997, he faced two charges. The DPP directed

at those charges be dropped. Today, another acquittal. For him and his

supporters, it will add to his suspicions that he has been the

victim of state persecution. The is case was based on forensic

evidence? That is right. At the heart of this case was forensic

evidence. My colleague has been assessing how it is used and

presented in evidence in the courts. Much of the forensic evidence in

this case was gleaned from this car. It was abandoned on a country road

near Magherafelt after the shootings. An attempt to bring the

vehicle failed. Inside, investigators found the fingertip

from a latex glove. DNA from Colin Duffy was discovered on it. A DNA

expert from America said it traces found on the seat belt were nearly

six trillion times more likely to have come from Colin Duffy than

from anyone else. The DNA swab taken from a phone was over 6

billion times more likely to be from Brian Shivers than anyone else.

His DNA was also detected on a matchstick have found lying outside

the vehicle. However, this was not enough to convince the judge that

they were both involved in the murders. These are the laboratories

in Carrickfergus. It is here that evidence gathered at crime scenes

like Massereene is brought to be scientifically analysed before been

place before the courts. That evidence can then be made available

and used by both the prosecution and the defence. When we first turn

up at a crime scene for an incident, we need to establish what evidence

is there in terms of supporting the investigation and how that feed

through. We are looking for the evidence ranging from visual

evidence such as bloodstain patterns and interpreting those,

from fingerprints, footprints, right through to small amounts of

trace evidence light fibres, particles of glass or paint and

traces of drugs and human DNA. was DNA, the human chemical code

unique to each individual, that lay at the heart of this prosecution

case. Evidence that led to one defendant been convicted and the

other acquitted. So Colin Duffy walked free today, is anything been

said by him or his family? As we saw earlier, he left court without

any comment. He is maintaining a vow of silence. I spoke to a close

associate of his and was told it was at home with his wife and

children and will take his time before deciding, if anything, he is

prepared to say publicly. New lease three years after the

murders, one person has been convicted. Detectives say many

others were involved. They have vowed to continue their

investigations. Our Home Affairs correspondent reports. The army has

closed the barracks at Massereene. Today, floral tributes marked the

deaths of young soldiers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar, killed

when two gunmen fired 63 bullets in less than 40 seconds. The gunmen

fired an initial burst of shots and then moved forward and opened fire

again as the soldiers lay on the ground. Today, one man has been

found guilty of involvement in the murders. Detectives believe that at

least six other people were involved and they say the

investigation is far from over. Flanked by the families of the two

soldiers, the officer who led the investigation had this message for

the killers. I want to make it clear that police are determined to

use every legitimate avenue to pursue terrorist criminals. This

investigation isn't over. We will continue to pursue all of those

involved in these evil murderers. And again urge anyone with

information about the events of this horrible night to come forward

to police. Veteran republican Marion Price is seen here leaving

court, has already been charged in connection with the attack. It is

alleged that she provided a mobile phone use by the Real IRA to permit

responsibility for the killings. Detectives are pursuing a number of

lines of enquiry about the attack and they hope others will soon be

brought before the courts. The police say dissident

republicans are responsible for the two bombs which exploded in

Londonderry last night. They went off within 10 minutes of each other

at the tourist centre on Foyle Street and at Strand Road close to

the benefits of us. No one was hurt. Enjoying breakfast after a

difficult night, these older people had to leave their homes last night

after one of the bombs was left across the road from the sheltered

accommodation. We all rushed down. The first bomb went off and it was

a terrible loud bang. Very frightening. We all got out safe

and sound. We have not got much time to grab what medication we

were on. So far, so good. They were not the only ones feeling the

effects. The journey to work was disrupted this morning and the

police cordon remained in place until late this afternoon. These

people have carried on this campaign for some time and it will

not work. When will they realise that? 99% of the community are

totally opposed to them. Scenes like these make it harder for those

promoting Derry ahead of it becoming the City of Culture next

year. We are positive and our staff are positive. Derry, Londonderry,

is the place to come and visit in Northern Ireland. It is a fantastic

tourism destination and we are behind that. The police say the

bombs could have been dead leaf. They were not controlled explosions,

they actually exploded. There is no doubt that if anyone had been

passing, if anyone had of lifted the bike and it exploded, they

would have been killed. The Deputy First Minister believe the bombs

are a direct response to the progress in Derry. I duet very much

as an attack on the City of Derry and the people of Derry and on the

hopes and aspirations of the people of Derry at a time when we are

involved in important regeneration projects. Tonight, things are

getting back to normal and everyone I have spoken to say that is what

they want, to get on with their lives in peace.

Now sports news, and the Ulster Rugby team may have defeated the

Leicester Tigers last week in emphatic fashion, but they have one

more hurdle to overcome if they are to make it to the quarter-finals of

the Heineken Cup. They take on a them mighty Clermont Auvergne in

France. Even the great David Humphreys did not achieve it, nor

has any Ulster team and that his win in France. Rugby is like a

religion here, but Ulster believe. There are not so challenge is for

us. It is our 100 this game in Europe. We have never won in France

and Clermont had not been beaten at and 36 matches. There are lots of

challenges and lots of little monkeys to get off our backs.

Hopefully we can get a quarter- final back home for our fans.

are in France, should she not be in skill? I should be, but no one

knows. I am hoping no one sees this! And after last week, we can

expect anything and we expect a result. We did not come here to

lose. Ulster to win? Absolutely. Definitely. Tomorrow it will change.

We can do it. Really? After last week, there is no doubt. November

2009 was the last time Clermont lost at home and Ulster's waveform

can only be described as patchy at best. Clermont won their last

European game and Ulster will be without Darren Cave. The odds are

stacked against them, yet the management, the players and the

supporters believe that Ulster will win in France and they will qualify

for yet another Heineken Cup quarter-final. That is the

confidence we like to hear. Lester said they were intimidated at the

crowd at Ravenhill. It has been confirmed that Jeremy McWilliams

will be riding at this year's Northwest 200. He made his name in

MotoGP and he will be entering the new Supertwins race at the age of

48. The Northwest 200 starts on a 13. Our mouths dropped open. I

13. Our mouths dropped open. I It was pretty wet and miserable

today and it is looking a bit drier for the coming weekend.

We have not completely finished with the rain, although the heavier

stuff is clearing away from the North Coast and the Antrim coast.

It is fairly mild and breezy, but it will be damp at times. There

will be further drugs and drabs of light rain and drizzle coming

through. A lot of cloud around and as the wind picks up tonight, it

means temperatures will not drop much lower than five or six degrees.

No frost tonight, but the wind will be a significant feature, both by

the end at night and into the weekend. That went will make it

feel pretty cold at times. The other thing about the wind is

double punch some holes in the cloud and from mid-morning onwards

we will see some sunshine. It will not be so grey. Much drier in many

places. A few passing showers, mainly in the North Coast. Winds

will be noticeable and gales are likely in coastal areas, but gusts

of up to 60 mph, particularly across parts of County Antrim and

towards the North Coast. Even in the west, there will be a lively

wind and temperatures of seven degrees and it will feel chilly. As

we head east to work at all important rugby match is taking

place, it will be damper in Clermont, but it will not be windy.

Coverage will be on BBC Radio Ulster. Back home, the end the day

tomorrow with sunshine and some keen that winds and you may catch a

decent sum set tomorrow evening. This is the scene in Carrickfergus

yesterday. If you are star-gazing, it will cloud up and rain will push

through. Not so good tomorrow night for star-gazing, but back cloudy

and wet weather should clear away on Sunday, so Sunday night into

Monday will be better if you are hoping to catch a glimpse of the

Northern Lights. Finally, we will leave you with a reminder of the

headlines. Hospital staff at the Royal neonatal unit in Belfast are

trying to find the source of the bacterial infection linked to the

deaths of three babies. All three tested positive for pseudomonas.

Brian Shivers has been found guilty of the murders of two soldiers

outside the army barracks in Antrim three years ago. He has been

sentenced to life in prison. Colin Duffy has been acquitted of all

charges. Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar were shot dead as

they collected a pizza delivery. Now, are late summary is at 10:25pm.