:00:16. > :00:21.This is BBC Newsline Noel Thompson and Donna Traynor. The headlines
:00:21. > :00:26.this evening: Gardai believe they have prevented a mortar attack on
:00:26. > :00:33.this side of the border. Two GAA officials are knocked out during
:00:33. > :00:38.violence at the end of a ladies' football match. There was nothing
:00:38. > :00:41.to suggest anything had happened prior to that and that makes it
:00:41. > :00:45.more disturbing. The Fire Service spends �8 million fighting this
:00:45. > :00:49.year's gorse fires. Looking back 40 years and the Festival launched to
:00:49. > :00:53.celebrate the foundation of Northern Ireland. We'll meet the
:00:53. > :00:56.Northern Ireland team heading to the World Cup finals. It has turned
:00:56. > :01:05.a bit fresher but at least tonight should be more comfortable for
:01:05. > :01:08.sleeping. Join me later. The Gardai believe they foiled a
:01:08. > :01:11.mortar bomb attack and possibly a car bombing on this side of the
:01:11. > :01:15.border. They raided a farm on Saturday and made a significant
:01:15. > :01:18.find of explosives. The operation centred on the town land of
:01:18. > :01:28.Hackballscross in County Louth. The army carried had a controlled
:01:28. > :01:29.
:01:29. > :01:35.explosion at the site. It was on Saturday morning that
:01:35. > :01:40.detectives raided this farm close to Hackballscross. Inside they
:01:40. > :01:46.found huge quantities of fertiliser that is being mixed in preparation
:01:46. > :01:53.for making the explosives that were used by the IRA during the Troubles.
:01:53. > :01:58.Now it is being linked to the dissident group. The farm is just a
:01:58. > :02:01.short distance from the border with South Armagh. Right in the heart of
:02:01. > :02:06.a traditional Republican stronghold. Two men, both in the Fifties, were
:02:06. > :02:10.arrested at the scene. I understand one of them is the property's owner
:02:10. > :02:16.when the other also comes from the Hackballscross area and is known to
:02:16. > :02:20.Gardai. A mortar tube was also found that experts spent some six
:02:20. > :02:26.bars of the property on Saturday and at one stage, controlled out a
:02:26. > :02:33.controlled explosion. Six for the suspects were arrested earlier on
:02:33. > :02:37.in the week. On the Dublin-based security expert says the increase
:02:37. > :02:41.in arrests and seizures we have seen recently is due to both
:02:41. > :02:46.increased activity by the dissidents and improved
:02:46. > :02:51.intelligence gathering by the Gardai. They have been a number of
:02:51. > :02:54.arrests and seizures and despite these successes by the Gardai and
:02:54. > :02:58.PSNI, does it and are still determined to carry out more
:02:59. > :03:02.attacks on security forces. This brings to eight, the number of
:03:02. > :03:07.dissidents suspects arrested in the Republic over the past week. The
:03:07. > :03:10.other six men were believed to be connected to the Real IRA. With the
:03:10. > :03:14.dissident groups of clearly acted in the border area, it seems the
:03:14. > :03:24.security forces in Northern Ireland would have no choice but to remain
:03:24. > :03:27.
:03:27. > :03:35.on high alert. The cost of dealing with 800 gorse
:03:35. > :03:40.fires has topped one side 8 million. On the May Day bank holiday, the
:03:40. > :03:44.Fire Service answered a call for every 45 seconds. Farm, Forest or
:03:44. > :03:50.open the whole site, mostly around Ballycastle and the Mourne
:03:50. > :03:56.mountains. The highest cost this year has been in the side down area.
:03:56. > :04:00.There were 519 incidents, costing �1.3 million. For the whole of
:04:00. > :04:05.Northern Ireland, there have been over 3000 incidents, costing over �
:04:05. > :04:10.8 million. In the last three financial years, they have been
:04:10. > :04:14.almost 11,000 deliberate fires, costing a massive �28.2 million.
:04:14. > :04:18.I am dealing with a fire in that the mountains, I will do with that
:04:18. > :04:23.but as we're getting more and more involved, it becomes busier and I
:04:23. > :04:26.am going to have to make some tough decisions. Do I send firefighters
:04:26. > :04:32.up to protect our beautiful countryside? But I have the
:04:32. > :04:37.resources, I will. Or do I use them to protect life and property, that
:04:37. > :04:40.would be a priority for me. Harrowing for Rangers would save
:04:40. > :04:45.money, according to this group. know where the fires often start
:04:45. > :04:49.and this is one place where they have been first before. It is very
:04:49. > :04:52.hard to prevent these but with four or five people available, we think
:04:52. > :04:56.we could probably maintain a presence that would be a deterrent
:04:56. > :05:00.and if not a deterrent, an early warning system. This fire raged for
:05:00. > :05:03.almost three days at the end of April and experts are worried that
:05:03. > :05:07.Forest might never recover. It brought widespread environmental
:05:07. > :05:12.damage and losses to local farms and businesses. The fire service
:05:12. > :05:15.now has a bill of �8 million for such virus for just the first six
:05:15. > :05:25.months of this year. They will be hoping no more of the countryside
:05:25. > :05:34.
:05:34. > :05:37.goes up in smoke. The European Commission has
:05:37. > :05:46.indicated its support for a new round of peace money for Northern
:05:46. > :05:51.Northern Ireland could become one of the most attractive Gaughan
:05:51. > :05:54.locations in the world but as Rory McIlory lifted the trophy, the
:05:54. > :05:59.locker and the sort continues to look for a buyer after
:05:59. > :06:03.administrators were appointed. Invest NI poured �3.5 million of
:06:03. > :06:07.public money into the venture. Today, the chief Executive defended
:06:07. > :06:13.the decision and blame the Bank of Scotland in Ireland for the
:06:13. > :06:18.administration. The facility is a world-class facility that we should
:06:18. > :06:22.be proud of and I believe that when you get below the surface of the
:06:22. > :06:27.reasons why the events occurred the way they did, it was purely as a
:06:27. > :06:30.result of a bank wanting to get out of Northern Ireland. It is not a
:06:30. > :06:33.fundamental underperformers of the facility. We saw the facility
:06:33. > :06:38.growing and making a profit and we still are very supportive of that
:06:38. > :06:43.facility. Invest NI says it has had a good year and one of the
:06:43. > :06:50.companies it has enticed to come, and international law firm, will be
:06:50. > :06:53.locating 300 staff in central Belfast. Attracting customers from
:06:53. > :06:58.outside Belfast is considered to be an important engine of growth for
:06:58. > :07:03.the economy and its in areas like that and others that invest NI says
:07:03. > :07:07.it has so passed its key targets. It received promises from 41
:07:07. > :07:11.international companies that they will create more than 2800 jobs
:07:11. > :07:16.here over the next five years. Each one of will receive an average
:07:16. > :07:22.grant of �11,500. With Invest NI doing so well at attracting new
:07:22. > :07:26.jobs, why is unemployment creeping upwards? We need to look at the
:07:26. > :07:32.time frame between the unemployment and the news that we had given out
:07:32. > :07:38.this morning. Those will be delivered at some point in the
:07:38. > :07:48.future so there is a time-lag between the few. Under rules to
:07:48. > :07:48.
:07:48. > :07:53.offer cash to come here, has to end by 2013. That is why it is seen by
:07:53. > :07:58.supporters as an important way of giving the economy and it.
:07:58. > :08:03.So to come on the programme: Remembering of the party to
:08:03. > :08:08.celebrate the birth of Northern Ireland. Ulster 71 is on two levels
:08:08. > :08:13.and these are the first exhibits upstairs. They are all people who
:08:13. > :08:22.are famous in Ulster. The evolution of the home help,
:08:22. > :08:26.cutting-edge research at the University of Ulster.
:08:26. > :08:29.The GAA is investigating assaults which left a referee and an
:08:29. > :08:34.official unconscious in County Tyrone at the weekend. They were
:08:34. > :08:41.attacked after the final whistle in the women's senior final between St
:08:41. > :08:49.a cartons and Carrickmore. A-night of sport turned to shock. A
:08:49. > :08:54.last minute free-kick meant Carrickmore were beaten by one..
:08:54. > :08:57.The referee paid a price for his decision to award the kick.
:08:57. > :09:06.Somebody apparently came off from the edge of the feared and approach
:09:06. > :09:11.me and threw a punch at me. I can't remember anything else after that
:09:11. > :09:14.event. Apparently I came out of my unconscious state five minutes
:09:14. > :09:21.later. I didn't realise the chairman of the board had also been
:09:21. > :09:25.injured in a separate attack. men had to be taken to hospital for
:09:25. > :09:29.treatment. If they have an issue with the referee, in normally
:09:29. > :09:34.finishes with the final whistle and that is the way games are conducted.
:09:34. > :09:41.On this occasion, we had accepted, taking it on the chin, quite
:09:41. > :09:45.literally, and we will move on. I would not be removing myself from
:09:45. > :09:51.the football field because of this incident. Carrickmore said there
:09:51. > :09:57.are investigating a and the GAA say this has raised questions. What
:09:57. > :10:02.happened on Friday night, I think there are a lot of clubs now taking
:10:02. > :10:08.stock, how can we play our part to make sure that doesn't happen to
:10:09. > :10:11.our referee in our grounds and by our supporters. In a statement, the
:10:11. > :10:15.Tyrone ladies county board say there was a serious incident
:10:15. > :10:20.involving officials after the match. They condemned the perpetrators of
:10:20. > :10:23.the assaults and say a full investigation has been launched.
:10:23. > :10:28.How that investigation will be conducted will be discussed at a
:10:28. > :10:31.full general meeting of the Tyrone the Ladies' County Board. The last
:10:31. > :10:34.72 hours should have been spent talking about high the ladies had
:10:34. > :10:42.won their third title in a row and instead, violence, rather than
:10:42. > :10:45.sport, has done it. The European Commission has
:10:45. > :10:48.indicated its support for a new round of peace money for Northern
:10:48. > :10:52.Ireland and the Republic's border counties. The current �300 million
:10:52. > :10:56.programme, known as Peace 3, is due to run out in two years' time and
:10:56. > :10:58.had been thought it would not be renewed. But at the opening of the
:10:58. > :11:06.new peace bridge in Londonderry, a senior European official raised the
:11:06. > :11:12.prospect of more money coming our way.
:11:12. > :11:13.Fireworks and festivities marked this weekend's opening of the new
:11:14. > :11:18.peace bridge over the River Foyle. The �30 million for the bridge came
:11:18. > :11:24.from Europe's peace and reconciliation fund. The cash for
:11:24. > :11:30.what is known as Peace 3 runs out in 2013 but now a senior European
:11:30. > :11:35.official believes a new programme is needed. I think it might be
:11:35. > :11:41.necessary to continue, I will do everything I can to make sure money
:11:41. > :11:46.is available in the future, but as you might have heard, in particular,
:11:46. > :11:49.the British government is not in favour to spend a lot of money for
:11:49. > :11:54.European projects but I hope by the end of the day, we will find a
:11:54. > :12:00.positive solution. Hard at work on a new walkway around a lake in
:12:00. > :12:03.north Belfast's Alexandra Park, the park is divided by a peace line but
:12:03. > :12:08.the groundwork regeneration group is using a grant from Europe to
:12:08. > :12:12.improve its facilities. Community workers from both sides of the line
:12:12. > :12:16.are anxious that projects like this should continue. At one time, it
:12:16. > :12:21.was a no-go area for the people of Tiger's Bay and I think it is a big
:12:21. > :12:29.plus if we can carry on with the progress we are getting in around
:12:29. > :12:32.this part. This is a very practical project. We have seen here a
:12:32. > :12:35.passionate transformation and we hope it will be a full
:12:35. > :12:39.transformation in regard to the park. So, the omens are looking
:12:39. > :12:43.good but before of people in peace line areas like this can be assured
:12:43. > :12:48.of any extra cash, European member states will have to resolve their
:12:48. > :12:58.wider differences over the total European budget and that could be a
:12:58. > :13:01.
:13:01. > :13:03.Many people would remember 1971 as the year internment was introduced
:13:03. > :13:05.in Northern Ireland, but few remember the great exhibition that
:13:05. > :13:08.was staged in Belfast that year, Ulster '71.
:13:08. > :13:10.Yes, it's all but forgotten now, but in this 40th anniversary, our
:13:10. > :13:20.reporter Julie McCullough has been delving into the archives.
:13:20. > :13:23.And she reports from Botanic Gardens in south Belfast.
:13:23. > :13:26.Well, this is where it all happened 40 years ago. These gardens were
:13:26. > :13:30.filled with marquees and a funfair while the main exhibition was in
:13:30. > :13:33.what is now Queen's Physical Education Centre. This was supposed
:13:33. > :13:43.to be Northern Ireland's version of the famous Festival of Britain, but
:13:43. > :13:56.
:13:56. > :14:03.it was overshadowed then and now by Northern Ireland in 1971. It
:14:03. > :14:07.fuzzier be stopped using old currency, it was the year that led
:14:07. > :14:17.Zeppelin played stairway to Heaven for the first time in the Ulster
:14:17. > :14:20.
:14:20. > :14:28.And it was the year of the Troubles. The be the started to kick-off.
:14:28. > :14:33.Provisionals are shot dead the first British soldier. By August,
:14:33. > :14:37.the government had introduced internment. But this was the year
:14:37. > :14:42.one of the biggest exhibitions of its time it took place. They said
:14:42. > :14:46.we should not have had the festival, the time is not bright. The
:14:46. > :14:52.atmosphere is too rowdy and the future is to cloudy. But as usual,
:14:52. > :14:57.they said a lot of tripe. government at Stormont said they
:14:57. > :15:02.had been planning their exhibition for three years to mark the 50th
:15:03. > :15:06.anniversary of the creation of a Northern Ireland. But in 1971, it
:15:06. > :15:16.became increasingly difficult to celebrate something that was in
:15:16. > :15:18.
:15:18. > :15:25.trouble. They had stopped talking about about it as a state jubilee,
:15:25. > :15:29.but as a community of festival. All parts of the community were to work
:15:29. > :15:34.together. If all parts of the committee could have worked
:15:34. > :15:39.together, it would have boded well for settling community problems.
:15:39. > :15:43.Easier said than done in 1971. Especially when a large part of the
:15:43. > :15:48.community felt there was not anything about partition to
:15:48. > :15:58.celebrate. They felt the exhibition offered nothing to them. Ulster was
:15:58. > :16:00.
:16:00. > :16:07.mentioned everywhere, every place you went. It was a term
:16:07. > :16:11.appropriated by Unionist government and parties, so National latest --
:16:11. > :16:17.nationalists felt alienated. They felt it only appealed to one side
:16:17. > :16:23.of the committee. The main exhibition will be in the new
:16:23. > :16:27.sports centre at... As young Unionists, some of us were really
:16:27. > :16:31.annoyed because the essential thing about the foundation of Northern
:16:31. > :16:39.Ireland was neglected. Northern Ireland was our place and it had
:16:39. > :16:49.been bought to deliver the cost of lives and struggle. -- it had been
:16:49. > :16:53.
:16:53. > :17:03.got at a dear price. Joining in the fund mack seemed to light hearted
:17:03. > :17:09.
:17:09. > :17:17.an idea. These are the first exhibit. -- joining in the fund
:17:17. > :17:23.seemed a very light hearted idea. It was very well done. They brought
:17:23. > :17:30.in professionals from London to expose a northern Ireland. Critics
:17:31. > :17:35.said, with some justification, that this is mealy unionism in Northern
:17:35. > :17:40.Ireland beating the big drum for itself. Yes, undoubtedly that was
:17:40. > :17:48.true. What was also true was that we were beginning to feature on the
:17:48. > :17:54.world stage and we needed something else for people to focus on. Back
:17:54. > :17:58.in 1971, three quarters of a million pounds was spent with the
:17:58. > :18:03.idea of making this one of the most memorable festivals of its time. It
:18:03. > :18:08.was vital that people came to see it. The organisers give up of lots
:18:08. > :18:13.of different ways to attract visitors. One of which was to get
:18:13. > :18:16.Cox cornflakes to run a competition with the first prize being a week's
:18:16. > :18:23.holiday in northern Allah. But when you consider what was going on here
:18:23. > :18:28.at the time, it led some people to ask if the second prize was at two
:18:28. > :18:33.weeks? That competition never ran. But thousands of people from here
:18:33. > :18:37.did visit the exhibition and had great memories of it. Most were not
:18:37. > :18:41.interested or aware of the politics behind it, just happy to have
:18:41. > :18:44.something to go to. Tomorrow evening, we'll be hearing
:18:44. > :18:51.the memories of some of those who both visited the festival and took
:18:52. > :18:54.part. Back to you in the studio. Long before our time.
:18:54. > :18:58.Totally. Intelligent robots who can think
:18:58. > :19:00.and reason sound like the stuff of a sci-fi movie, but it's happening
:19:00. > :19:03.at the University of Ulster's campus at Magee. A team of
:19:03. > :19:07.researchers are working to build robots who learn from their
:19:07. > :19:10.mistakes and experiences, just like we do. It's all about making them
:19:10. > :19:20.more human so they can help us out at homes and work.
:19:20. > :19:36.
:19:36. > :19:42.BBC Newsline's Natasha Sayee has Sure his Lordship then, Mabel.
:19:42. > :19:47.has taken are signs many years, but we have finally got here. There is
:19:47. > :19:52.a robot can easily make a cup of coffee and it does much more. The
:19:53. > :19:58.team here have programmed the 400,000 by the shame to work a
:19:58. > :20:03.pretty complex problems. -- �400,000 machine to work out
:20:03. > :20:10.complex problems. Robots like this could soon be working out in our
:20:10. > :20:18.homes. This robot is capable of handling several objects. It can
:20:18. > :20:24.help to prepare food, make coffee, ford clothes. It can help with
:20:24. > :20:31.everyday tasks which can be difficult for people with
:20:31. > :20:37.disabilities, or elderly people. This robot can help them. It does
:20:37. > :20:41.look a bit like Terminator's hands. The plan is to make it useful to
:20:41. > :20:45.humans. That is the purpose of all the robots here. At the moment,
:20:46. > :20:52.they are very simple. They do tasks they are programmed for, but that
:20:52. > :20:56.is it. If the task changes, you have to change the programme. We
:20:56. > :21:04.want to get into a situation where if the task changes, they can
:21:04. > :21:08.automatically react. researchers are leading the world
:21:08. > :21:12.in a developing these intelligent machines. They could soon be coming
:21:12. > :21:20.to a house near you. It is clear that what is being developed here
:21:20. > :21:30.today will have a very big impact on tomorrow. Thank you. That is it
:21:30. > :21:45.
:21:45. > :21:48.from here. We need to watch out! Would a MOD...
:21:48. > :21:50.Next to a sports team from Northern Ireland which is about to contest a
:21:50. > :21:53.World Cup. Austin O'Callaghan's with them at Stormont.
:21:53. > :21:56.We're here with the Northern Ireland netball team who are having
:21:56. > :21:59.a reception before they leave for the World Cup Finals in Singapore.
:21:59. > :22:01.We'll be chatting to some excited members of the travelling party
:22:01. > :22:06.shortly. But first Tyrone and Armagh's stranglehold on Gaelic
:22:06. > :22:09.Football's Ulster Championship has finally been broken. Donegal will
:22:09. > :22:12.play Derry in next month's final after they beat Tyrone in a
:22:12. > :22:22.dramatic finish to yesterday's semi-final. Thomas Niblock takes up
:22:22. > :22:25.
:22:25. > :22:35.The Joy was obvious. Donegal are back in an Ulster final. For the
:22:35. > :22:45.first time since 1992. Just before the final whistle, the game was
:22:45. > :22:51.
:22:51. > :23:01.destined for a draw until this happened. A goal! It must be!
:23:01. > :23:01.
:23:01. > :23:06.has always said to go for it. We have had a lot of pain or the last
:23:06. > :23:16.few years, we have not produced anything. But we are now in the
:23:16. > :23:19.
:23:19. > :23:23.final. Michael Hart said it that too many chances were missed.
:23:23. > :23:27.was not something that you would normally have been booked for, but
:23:27. > :23:34.I think somebody else intervened. I do not think it was consistent
:23:34. > :23:44.across the Wall Game. Some incidents got away. -- the whole
:23:44. > :23:46.
:23:46. > :23:49.game. The key things where the goals and that is what one our game.
:23:50. > :23:55.It worked out very well for us. great afternoon for the Donegal
:23:55. > :23:58.players, the supporters and the manager's family.
:23:58. > :24:01.There were important qualifier wins for Antrim and Down, but the most
:24:01. > :24:04.eye-catching Gaelic Football result of the weekend was in Ruislip where
:24:04. > :24:13.London knocked Fermanagh out of the championship with a 15 points to 9
:24:13. > :24:20.win. It's the exiles first championship victory for 34 years
:24:20. > :24:24.and ends a hugely disappointing football year for the Erne county.
:24:24. > :24:27.London's hunger all across the pitch was phenomenal. We did not
:24:27. > :24:35.match it and ultimately that was a difference. We performed well
:24:35. > :24:39.against London this year, but they have had five or six good players
:24:39. > :24:43.in since then. Good luck to them. They will give whoever they meet in
:24:43. > :24:49.the next round are plenty of trouble. Hopefully, these ladies
:24:49. > :24:54.will give trouble to have they meet at the next round in Senator. You
:24:54. > :24:58.are off in the morning, this is a big deal? It is. It is the top of
:24:58. > :25:03.her game and we are hoping to be up to it when they get over there and
:25:03. > :25:07.become prove that we are good enough. Can you believe that you
:25:07. > :25:12.are competing in the world Championship? It is a big surprise,
:25:12. > :25:21.but we haven't worked hard. Some people may not know too much about
:25:21. > :25:26.met Paul -- netball, but you know what it is like. I have played at
:25:26. > :25:30.the higher levels before. It is totally different. It is mostly a
:25:30. > :25:35.Commonwealth sport. What should we expect from this team or the next
:25:35. > :25:43.few weeks? Probably the fighting Irish is what we are known for. We
:25:43. > :25:53.will dig deep. We will fight hard for every resort. Well, we wish you
:25:53. > :25:56.
:25:56. > :26:06.well. Good luck. Just time to tell you that Rory market Roy -- for
:26:06. > :26:06.
:26:06. > :26:16.Rory McIlroy is now up to number It has turned a litter the fresher
:26:16. > :26:19.
:26:19. > :26:25.today after the weekend when we saw temperatures in the low twenties.
:26:25. > :26:30.Not as warm beer as it was in parts of the south-east of England. 33
:26:30. > :26:38.there, compare that with 18 in Northern Ireland. But at least the
:26:38. > :26:45.cloud has started to shift away to the east. It is going to be a
:26:45. > :26:50.cooler and clearer might. Many places around eight or nine degrees.
:26:50. > :26:55.Rural spot so that law. A cool start the day tomorrow, but it is
:26:55. > :27:03.also a bright one. Some lovely sunshine in the morning. But do not
:27:03. > :27:11.forget the umbrella if your heading out just in case. Some blue skies
:27:11. > :27:15.coming through before the shower clouds start to bubble up. They
:27:15. > :27:22.will do that first of all in the West. That will be in the late
:27:22. > :27:26.morning, early afternoon. But I think we could find a few heavier
:27:26. > :27:33.showers are developing a cross Antrim later in the afternoon. Not
:27:33. > :27:37.all parts will get them. Some places will avoid them and stay dry.
:27:37. > :27:42.A little bit fresher around the coast. But at least you might get a
:27:42. > :27:48.bit of relief from the high pollen levels. Tomorrow night, that
:27:48. > :27:52.showery rain moves away to the east. For many of us, a largely dry night