11/03/2016 BBC Newsline

Good evening.

A 45-year-old man's been charged with attempted murder

following a bomb attack on a prison officer in East Belfast last week.

He'll also face explosives charges when he appears

at Laganside Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

It comes as the police say they've prevented a number of attempted

murders by dissident republicans since last week's attack.

Our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney has more.

This day last week, a prison officer escaped an attempt to kill him

when a bomb exploded under his van.

In a statement to the BBC saying it carried out the attack,

the dissident republican group calling itself the IRA said further

attacks were planned.

The police today they said they foiled other planned attacks

during the past seven days.

The police won't reveal precise detail but they say they prevented

a number of attempted murders by dissident republicans

since the attack in East Belfast last week.

During the past year, dissident republicans have launched

attacks using assault rifles, homemade mortars and under-car

booby trap bombs.

The PSNI officer who leads efforts to combat dissident activity today

said he's deeply concerned about their increasing capabilities

and the numbers of people involved.

Several hundred people who are active dissident republicans

who are involved in the various groupings, whatever they call

themselves at the moment, there are significantly fewer people

than that and most of them have terrorist experienced

who are involved in directly running these organisations,

but there are several hundred active DRs at the moment.

The police and MI5 devote huge resources to undercover covert

activities to monitor and gather intelligence about dissident groups.

The PSNI says that work disrupts three or four planned attacks

for every one that takes place.

Last week the police issued a stark warning about the intentions

of dissident republicans in the run up to the centenary

of the Easter Rising.

That warning was reinforced today.

The police have appealed to members of the public to help

them combat the threat.

We know communities have more information about these groupings,

who they are, what they do, what their plans are.

The best way we can do this is for those communities to stop

viewing the passing of information to police services as somehow a bad

thing, a dirty word, informing or touting and seeing it

as a civic duty.

The police rarely talk about intelligence matters

or discuss the capabilities of dissident republican groups.

The fact that they've done so today, and that this is the second serious

the level of concern they have about what might happen

in the weeks ahead.

Robert Howard.

before telling detectives.

But she did warn the Castlederg teenager Arlene Arkinson not

to spend time in Howard's company.

Will Leitch reports.

It's now clear that when 15-year-old Arlene Arkinson went missing

in 1994, the main suspect Robert Howard had already carried

out many assaults on young women and children.

Now the inquest into Arlene's death has heard of an assault

of another teenage girl.

The woman can't be named for legal reasons.

She was just 14 years old around 1993.

She didn't like Howard - he'd had a habit of staring at her,

making her feel uncomfortable.

The court heard she sometimes went to Howard's flat with friends.

But on one occasion she went there with Donna Quinn.

Many believed her mum was Howard's girlfriend.

The flat was dark, the curtains drawn, and they began

to play a game.

The witness described what happened next -

in chilling detail.

Howard followed her to a room, assaulted her, and attempted

to rape her.

She told detectives in 2002...

"I thought we were playing an innocent game of hide

"and go seek."

But then...

"I knew that Bob Howard was going to have sex with me

"against my will and I was so lucky to get away."

A shout for help to Donna Quinn hadn't helped - but the teenager

managed to strike Howard with her knee and escape

into another room.

She told the court she was surprised to find Donna there.

She also explained how she immediately left the flat

and did her best to avoid contact with Robert Howard

or Donna Quinn thereafter.

The next year she heard Arlene refer to meeting Howard and tried

to warn her off him without saying why.

The woman explained how for years she hadn't told anyone what had

happened, until she spoke to detectives about it almost

a decade later.

She told a barrister...

"That incident was a living nightmare.

"When it came into my head, I had to shut it out."

It was around a year after this incident that Arlene went missing

after a night out with Howard and others.

The inquest resumes next week.

A man who describes himself as the close companion of the late

Ulster Unionist Party leader Lord Molyneaux has spoken

about their relationship.

Lord Molyneaux died last year.

On the anniversary of his death, Christopher Luke, who is openly gay,

has told BBC Radio Ulster that the pair of them had

a very loving relationship and that he loved the

politician as a brother.

Our political correspondent Chris Page reports.

An MP for almost 30 years, the leader of unionism for a decade

and a half - James Molyneaux was one of the most important politicians

in Northern Ireland's recent history.

Before going into politics he was in the RAF during World War II.

He helped to liberate the Belsen concentration camp.

Lord Molyneaux died last year aged 94.

This week was the anniversary of his death.

Christopher Luke says he was Lord Molyneaux's close companion.

In a newspaper tribute, he paraphrased a Bible verse,

writing...

"You were very dear to me.

"Your love for me was wonderful - more wonderful than that of women."

This morning, the Irish News reproduced the memorial notice

and published this photograph.

Mr Luke has spoken to BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.

He believes Lord Molyneaux's legacy has been forgotten

by unionism and loyalism.

His Parliamentary achievement in terms of what he achieved

for Northern Ireland, they have been airbrushed from history.

In paying tribute to him this week, I just hope that his legacy will be

once remembered and revered by everybody as much as me.

He says they met in 1984 when Mr Luke was 16.

He still finds the loss of Lord Molyneaux very difficult.

I had a very loving relationship with Jim.

I loved him as a brother.

He will always have a place in my heart.

Was it a romantic relationship?

There was love between us, but there are different

forms of love.

I wish people would stop putting two and two together and coming

up with five.

James Molyneaux was the Ulster Unionist leader during some

of Northern Ireland's most difficult years.

What Christopher Luke has said helps to shine a light on a man who had

a very public role, but was a very private person.

Now, with Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 opener in France just 12 weeks

away, here's Mark Simpson with a look ahead to some special

reports on BBC Newsline next Monday and Tuesday.

I've been taking a closer look at the cities where Northern Ireland

are going to play during the Euro is this summer, not just Paris,

but also Lille, right in the heart of France.

And finally to Nice in the south of France, where Northern Ireland

play their first match in just three months' time.

What will it be like for the fans in France this summer?

I have been road testing the Euros.

That's coming up on BBC Newsline next week.

Now finally onto the weekend weather forecast with Cecilia Daly.

Hello, good evening.

There will be some rain for a while tonight,

but we are expecting things to dry up as the night goes on.

It will continue to be mild.

Increasing amounts of brightness as well through the weekend,

but it's next week when we are likely to see some stunning sunny

skies once again.

Hopefully that will last until the Bank Holiday

on St Patrick's Day.

Tonight lots of cloud, breezy and mild.

Some rain from time to time.

Temperatures no lower than seven or eight Celsius.

Initially on Saturday it will still be rather damp and murky

but it will improve as the day goes on.

For the early risers on Saturday morning,

some rain, some drizzle to contend with.

Mist and murk over the hills.

That area of wet weather moves northwards into Scotland away

from us as the day goes on.

Parts of Scotland could see temperatures as high

as the mid-teens on the eastern side.

And for many parts of England and Wales away from the Northwest,

it will also be dry with some sunshine towards the east.

The Republic of Ireland is drying up as well.

Plenty of cloud around, but temperatures in Dublin

at the Aviva Stadium could well hit 13 Celsius.

Up north we are looking at temperatures of around 12

Celsius tomorrow.

Possibly 13.

Hints of brightness are likely in the East later in the day.

It will end up quite nice on Saturday.

Sunday looks like being the better of the two days this weekend.

More chance of some sunshine.

Temperatures could hit 14 Celsius somewhere before the day is out.

Then as we move into the new week, high pressure builds,

so lots of dry weather to come.

Still quite mild during the day.

More in the way of sunshine.

A little bit cooler at night.

Have a great weekend.

That's it from us until 5:10pm tomorrow evening.

In the meantime you can also keep updated with News Online.