28/10/2013 BBC Newsline

power cuts to thousands of homes. Now we can join the

The headlines on BBC Newsline. A multi-million pound upgrade for one

of our busiest roads. We'll show you what's planned. A man has been in

court in Londonderry charged with having explosives and firearms.

Richard Haass is back in town. He says he's in listening and learning

mode. The row over the number of VIP tickets for a free Van Morrison

concert in Belfast. A showdown between the two biggest draws in

golf but it did Rory McIlroy eat Tiger Woods in China? If you are off

for the Halloween break, keep the waterproofs handy, we are in for a

blustery week. I will be back with the details.

The A1 is probably our most important road link. Running between

Belfast and Dublin, it carries 38,000 vehicles a day. The road has

seen piecemeal development over the years that has left different bits

of it with different speed limits and lots of drivers get caught in

the police speed traps. But now a major improvement scheme is being

proposed that would see tens of millions spent and might mean fewer

drivers being caught for speeding. Driving along the A1 you move from

70 miles an hour speed limits to 60. It is a hangover from the

mid-90s when major junctions at Banbridge and more accident

blackspots and the speed restrictions were a temporary fix. A

?30 million upgrade into thousand and nine sorted out those junctions

with ridges and underpasses but the temporary restrictions were never

lifted a stop addicts say it has meant easy pickings for police. I

dried this road twice a day every day and regularly see police speed

traps. I only ever see them in the sections where the speed is

restricted to 60 miles an hour. The irony is that the sections where it

is restricted to 60, like here at Banbridge, it is probably one of the

safest sections of this fast-moving dual carriageway. Police figures

released to the Belfast Telegraph show that in three years, 3447

people were convicted of speeding along the A1. A former roads

minister who commute along the road himself says it is time for a

rethink. It is time for a reassessment of the 60 mile an hour

speed limit. It was therefore purpose but that has now gone with

the infrastructure improvements that have been going on and that quite

clearly has had a reduction in accidents. Change is coming, a major

new scheme proposed would see for new flyovers and a new onset at

Banbridge. The cost would be ?50 million. It would also mean the

introduction of a central crash barrier and the closing off of some

minor roads that open onto the dual carriageway at the moment. The

public will be invited to see the plans next month. Many houses front

onto the road, it will mean some inconvenience for them? Yes,

inevitably, this is what happens when you upgrade a road, rather than

building a new dual carriageway. It will inconvenience some people

certainly. In the case of infrastructure like this, you have

to look at the benefits to society as a whole and the problem is, there

are people dying at these junctions. The roads service says it and the

police recently looked at the speed limit sections and concluded that

they should remain for now. The A1 southbound carriageway was

shut for a time this afternoon following a crash between two

vehicles. A tractor was involved in the collision on the road south of

Newry. Drivers were diverted by Camlough. The road reopened around

4:30. A man has appeared in court charged

with having a haul with explosives and guns including hand grenades and

an improvised submachinegun. Before the court was Ryan O'Reilly

from Strand Road. He faces a total of nine charges including the

possession of explosives, namely military hand grenades, in

suspicious circumstances. He is also accused the of firearms including a

submachinegun. Also, having two pistols and a stun gun. In relation

to the possession of one pistol, Ryan O'Reilly told police, that was

in my possession if you years ago. However, I have nothing to do with,

nor did I bring any explosives into Derry. I strongly deny importation

of drugs. He also strongly advise all other charges. In the brief

hearing, a detective told the court he believed he could connect Ryan

O'Reilly to the offences. There was no application for bail. He was

remanded in custody until the 21st of November.

A woman has died in a fire in Portadown. It was in the garage of a

house in Oakleigh Park. The woman's name will not be released until all

her family are told. The fire happened this morning at a

house in Oakleigh Park. Three fire crews and police were called to the

scene just before 7:20 if morning. A short time later, the body of a

woman was found in the garage adjoining the house. The Fire

Service have described the fire as significant and an investigation has

now begun. A forensic examination of the property is being carried out.

The American diplomat tasks with breaking political deadlock here

says he believes most people are ready for compromise. Richard Haass,

who returned to Belfast today, is chairing talks on outstanding issues

such as flags, parading and the past. Dr Haass met the Assembly

speaker as well as smaller parties such as the Greens, UKIP and NI21.

The tail end of the storm, named for Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost

causes. Cue the man who is resolving our conflicts about the past.

Richard has said it was good to be back and after reading submissions

from across the political spectrum, said there is still hope to be found

here. There has been a lot of progress, there is more progress to

be made. There is also some concern about some things that threaten the

progress. My own sense, from the submissions, is that the vast

majority of people here are ready for compromise and to move on. NI21

was among the smaller parties meeting him today. And it claims our

own political leaders should have been able to solve their own

problems. We should not have had to bring in somebody from across the

seas, we should have been able to do it around the Executive. We do not

need people coming from other parts of the world to help us. Others saw

little room for compromise. I was very strict with him in terms of

what I asked him for. I asked him that the union flag needed to be

reinstated all year around. I said to him that the criteria for victims

needed to be decided and an urgent reply given by the Secretary of

State, and that the lodges in Portadown and Megan Neil needed to

complete their 12th of July walk. Richard Haass has promised to update

us on Friday on these talks but he is due in London tomorrow to meet

the Secretary of State and on Dublin on Thursday for talks there.

Still to come on the programme, the free Van Morrison concert with 500

tickets going to VIPs. We will have reaction.

A letter bomb has been sent to the offices of the Public Prosecution

Service in Londonderry. The building on the Limavady Road was evacuated

at around lunchtime. The Army took away the package for further

examination. The police said the bomb was similar in make-up to two

devices found in sorting offices last Friday.

One fifth of the tickets for Van Morrison 's concert next month have

been reserved for a city councillors. Confirmation of this

has sparked anger among some ratepayers who feel all the tickets

should be given to the people of the city.

It will not be the first time people have seen Van Morrison free of

charge in Belfast. He performed in front of the City Hall during

President Clinton 's visit 18 years ago. This one is different. This

time, the East Belfast singer songwriter is the sole star of the

show. It was his idea to do a free concert to mark the official

conferring of the Freedom of the city in recognition of his

contribution to music around the world. News that 500 of the 2,500

tickets are being held back for councillors and VIPs has got tongues

wagging on the streets of Belfast. They should have given out more than

that. They should be allowed to keep some for themselves but it is good

for the public getting 2000 tickets. They get plenty. Give them out and

share them with the people. Politicians and VIPs who would be

getting a lot of wealth? If I was in their position, I would give ?100 to

charity and that would take the sting out of the deal. Any contours

that come to this town, the great and the good get everything first.

The City Council says this is not a concert in the conventional sense

and it is completely justifiable that representatives are given the

opportunity to attend. Regardless of what you do, you will never please

everybody. We have done our best. There are 31 councillors here and we

are getting for each. Some of them will be giving away tickets to the

disabled people and charitable organisations. We cannot bring

everyone in. Some people suggested we should use the big screen at the

front of the City Hall and allow people to see exactly what the

occasion is like. I have asked the officers of the council to look at

that. The City Council says, this is not a concert in the conventional

sense and it is completely justifiable that elected

representatives are given the opportunity to attend. The special

concert takes place at the Waterfront Hall on the 15th of

November. Applications close at 5pm this Wednesday but the City Council

says it is likely that some of the 500 tickets which have been held

back depending on uptake may well be released to Belfast ratepayers

nearer the time of the concert. All is not lost for fans of a marathon.

-- fans of Van Morrison. That has got some mini people

talking on our Facebook page today. Let us know what you think, log onto

Facebook and search for BBC Newsline.

Still to come on the programme, how changes to qualifying for the Open

could affect our golfers. 50 years ago today, a new airport

was opened in County Antrim. It was called Aldergrove and was Northern

Ireland's only civil airport at the time. It replaced the airport at

Notts Corner which was straining to cope with increased air traffic and

was prone to the effects of poor weather conditions. Aldergrove was

renamed Belfast International in the 80s and it has witnessed the

transition from the age of luxury air travel to the rise of budget

airlines. It was a golden age of air travel, Northern Ireland's main

airport was at Nutts Corner but as the planes got bigger a new one was

needed. There was already a longer runway at Aldergrove. A decision was

made in 1959 to move the main civilian airport to Aldergrove. The

public were able to travel to 18 destinations across the UK and

Ireland. Within a few years of opening, the terminal and runway

were extended and transatlantic flights to New York began. When I

first came, we were not big enough to take a large aircraft. The

director said you will never get a jumbo in here or Concorde. Those are

the outstanding items. Concorde was not a regular service but from 1977,

jumbo jets were. Any big aircraft can land here, useful for military

which maintains a presence on the site and freight. At one stage there

were more flights during the night hours than June daylight hours. They

were flying in newspapers most nights, 11 tonnes of live eels to

Amsterdam and Germany. The airport had turbulent times as well, it

became a target during the troubles, a mortar attack in 1976

led to a permanent security checkpoint. It was removed after the

peace agreement, something which coincided with the rise of budget

airlines and a huge increase in air travel. The airport has seen the

famous, the rich and powerful. Today, there was an opportunity to

look on five decades and consider the future. The key issue for us

over the next few years is to ensure road access between the motorways is

upgraded to the airport to be sure people are getting the best possible

service. 50 years, 120 million passengers and counting. Times have

certainly changed. Turning to golf now and changes are afoot with the

Open qualification. Stephen Watson is here to explain. What was the old

way of qualifying question mark It's the biggest golf tournament in the

world. Many ways to qualify - winning it like Darren Clarke or

Padraig Harrington, win another major like Graeme McDowell or Rory

McIlroy, Plus many separate rigorous qualifying events. Now the system

been revamped with the introduction of a new international qualifying

series. And the new way? Players can qualify from ten other regular

tournaments - including importantly the Irish Open - which is likely to

help attract even bigger names to the event. One player who has been

through the qualification is one of our top professionals and he spoke

to Thomas Kane. There are 44 qualification places available

across the tournaments throughout the world. What do you make of the

changes? They are good, it will be more fun at the Irish open and on

the downside the amateurs will lose out because anybody can enter so now

that will not be the case. Is it fairer? In terms of a better field,

it is. The field will get stronger and deeper. A big part of the open

was the amateurs playing and that created a buzz. How big a boost is

this for the Irish open in terms of attracting the field?

Ten players, ten top-class players that were not going to play to start

with. It is great. What calibre of player could it

attract given the time of year? Qualifying isn't easy. The top 50

are guaranteed in, players from 52 150 from America or Asia or

Australia. It will definitely add to the tournament. Thank you for

joining us. Gareth is black in South Africa in a month. One golfer

already in next year's Open is Rory McIlroy. By his standards this

season has been a disappointing one. But today he recorded his first

tournament win. It may only have been an 18-hole exhibition match in

China. But he did beat World number one Tiger Woods. Gavin Andrews

reports. The world number one and Rory

arrived to a fanfare, even after a difficult year, McIlroy is still one

of the biggest draws. Immediately he warms up an enthusiastic crowd. An

impressive back nine including this stunning approach to the par-5/12

made sure the public had plenty to cheer about. But in terms of

competition between the rivals, this event was more about reaching out to

a golf mad nation. It is always fun to play with Tiger, we have a lot of

fun. It is great we can bring these matches to places like China and

across the world and we can do that in the future as well. We had a

great time. Everybody enjoyed it. We did not play our best on the front

nine or back nine. Shooting five of 600 par respectively. Rory will hope

to keep it going. The world golf champion event in Shanghai starts on

Thursday. It was a whirlwind 24 hours for this multi talented

sportsman. On Saturday Chrissy McKaigue represented Ireland in

their easy victory over Australia in the International Rules match at

Croke Park. Yesterday he played for his club in the Ulster Club hurling

final. But McKaigue wasn't very happy about his playing schedule.

Thomas Niblock has the story. A former player in the AFL with

Sydney Swans, Chrissy McKaigue was critical on Saturday night. 18 hours

later, McKaigue was playing for Slaughtneil.

The Derry champions led by eight points at one stage. It could have

The Derry champions led by eight been a big upset. Loughgiel came

back and won. They look forward to the All-Ireland series. A sense of

frustration for McKaigue the players are put in a position where they

have to choose between club and country. It is the way things are at

the moment. It is disappointing. There are other guys in the same

boat. I can't understand why these games had to be played so quickly.

It is not my area of expertise but maybe they could have changed it.

McKaigue's club asked for the game to be the Spode but the Ulster

Council source said it came six days before the game and too late.

Ireland won the international rules and Loughgiel one the Championship.

McKaigue is approaching preseason, the season that never seems to stop.

Derry City are currently looking for a new manager after parting company

with Declan Devine. The 40-year-old, who led City to the FAI cup last

season was appointed manager back in January 2012. But the club today

said the decision to remove Devine as manager had been taken by mutual

consent. Ballinamallard United manager Whitey

Anderson has been hit with a three game touchline ban. He received the

suspension for comments made during a BBC interview, when he described a

referee's decision to send off one of his players as shocking. Now

Glentoran manager Eddie Patterson is facing a similar ban after

criticising a referee at the weekend. Thomas Kane reports.

This was the tackle which divided opinion. Mervyn Smith had no

hesitation in showing even the red card to the annoyance of the

Glentoran manager. Farcical. It is the third time he has done this

season. Stephen McAlorum watched it, it is nothing. We had those

decisions from the start of the game. The Glentoran player, he

committed a challenge which endangered the safety of the

opponent. As a result, I dismissed him for foul play. The match ended

in a draw and there was a suspected broken jaw against Linfield. He

played on but had to pick the ball out of the net three more times as

Jefferies's side won 4-1. Patrick out Portadown to a win over

Dungannon swifts. While Crusaders defeated Warrenpoint town.

A footballer from Larne is in the headlines in America again.

Jonny Steele who we featured earlier this year on the programme helped

guide his team the New York Red Bulls to their first piece of

silverware ever. Thierry Henry set up Steele to score the last goal in

their 5-2 victory over Chicago Fire. The 27-year-old still has

aspirations of an international call up.

Motorcyling misfortune continued at the weekend. Earlier this year the

North West 200 road race was washed out because of the weather. On

Saturday the big end of season short circuit race the Sunflower Trophy

was abandoned because of a serious oil spill - and then heavy rain.

Race officials worked tirelessly to clear the Bishopscourt track before

the decision to call off the meeting. But there was one happy

rider who clinched the Irish championship without his bike

leaving the garage. It is unbelievable. You are

following people for so long, those guys being champions, Ulster and

Irish Superbike Champion, a dream come true. He had a very very good

long season. The storm that hit southern England last night

by-passed Ireland altogether thankfully. But the forecast is

keeping Cecilia busy today. I know that a week, we have blustery winds

to contender with. If you are off for a break, it will be a mixed bag.

It gives me a chance to bring out the pumpkin globe. More of those

pumpkins later. We have already had some fireworks, perfect conditions

last night around the Odyssey and Titanic building with more clear

evenings as we head towards Halloween. The big storm is seeing

out -- sitting over Scandinavia, packing winds of over 100 miles an

hour. Back home, very blustery, lots of showers. This is the radar

picture. Showers continue through the evening and overnight, frequent

in the west, not so many over towards part of Down and Armagh.

Temperatures could be chilly in rural areas. Tomorrow, it is going

to be a day of blustery showers and sunshine but the showers will be

light and less frequent. The wind is blustery, some choppy waves on the

north coast. Still some showers around but more in the way of son

Trent right morning with showers not as heavy or nasty as today. A chance

of getting caught in showers tomorrow. In the breeze, feeling

quite cold, ten or 11 degrees. More sunshine developing as the afternoon

goes on. Sheltered parts of the Southeast will look pretty but feel

chilly. Tomorrow, most of the showers will go, skies are clear to

dry night and it will be dry in places. A touch of frost in one or

two spots. The next weather system comes in on Wednesday bringing heavy

rain and on Wednesday morning and into the early hours, it will be dry

rain and on Wednesday morning and later. The late summary is that

10:25pm. Goodbye.