:00:21. > :00:24.This is BBC Newsline. The headlines this a Thursday evening... Nelson
:00:24. > :00:31.McCausland fails to stop the Housing Executive ending the
:00:31. > :00:35.contract with Red Sky. The family's vowed to fight on after dissident
:00:35. > :00:42.Republicans win their civil appeals. Today's graduates but not any
:00:42. > :00:47.decision about tuition fees. The animal on the run in the centre of
:00:47. > :00:51.Belfast. It is the latest in our special series. We have still got
:00:51. > :01:01.more rain coming. But I might have a glimmer of sunshine for the
:01:01. > :01:07.The Housing Minister has failed in his attempt to stop the Housing
:01:07. > :01:11.Executive ending the controversial contract with the company, Red Sky.
:01:11. > :01:14.Executive will terminate the contract next week as planned. The
:01:14. > :01:19.relationship between them and Nelson McCausland appears to have
:01:19. > :01:26.deteriorated. He said one letter to him from the Chairman was like a
:01:26. > :01:30.declaration of war. Here is our correspondent. The administrator
:01:30. > :01:35.had to be able to be given an assurance that he could continue to
:01:35. > :01:41.provide a service after due night. It turned out that was not possible
:01:41. > :01:47.and he could not give that assurance. -- after July. The best
:01:47. > :01:54.thing is to transfer the contract. Does that mean Red Sky is out of
:01:54. > :02:01.the picture? We have his contract, yes. You have not got your way. --
:02:01. > :02:11.with regard to this contract, yes. I made it clear the assurances had
:02:11. > :02:11.
:02:11. > :02:20.to be made with the administrator. We had to enable a new procurement
:02:20. > :02:23.process. What happens to the 400 jobs? You had expressed concern.
:02:23. > :02:28.Public representatives across Belfast in different political
:02:29. > :02:33.parties have expressed concern about that. Workers that have been
:02:33. > :02:39.working on housing contracts will transfer to a new contract or under
:02:39. > :02:44.current arrangements. I want to be absolutely certain that these
:02:44. > :02:50.arrangements are in place and the jobs are safeguarded. Why did you
:02:50. > :02:55.make an issue of this situation if they were going to be safeguarded?
:02:55. > :03:01.Because I wanted to have certainty moving forward. This issue is not
:03:01. > :03:07.about a company. It is about the housing executive itself. I have
:03:08. > :03:12.got serious concerns about the way it is managed and monitored. I have
:03:12. > :03:17.got serious concerns about the way in which the chairman of the
:03:17. > :03:24.Executive has conducted business in the past few days. I have made a
:03:24. > :03:34.reference to his letter. It was a declaration of war. House at the
:03:34. > :03:39.battle been won by the Executive? - - as the battle been won. You have
:03:39. > :03:44.seen the evidence as well as me. We have got serious problems with
:03:44. > :03:51.regard to the management of contracts. The Housing Executive
:03:51. > :03:59.and others are living in a state of denial. Explain to ask what exactly
:03:59. > :04:07.is going to happen to the staff at Red Sky. That is 80 questioned. We
:04:07. > :04:13.understand for hundred workers -- 400 workers would be affected but
:04:13. > :04:20.actually it is 350. About 175 would be directly affected by the
:04:20. > :04:28.contract. They have been told that under the Continuity arrangement
:04:28. > :04:33.referred to by the minister, it means the employees will transfer
:04:33. > :04:39.from Red Sky to the new contract. They have been given assurances
:04:39. > :04:42.that they will transfer into these contracts. But there is still some
:04:42. > :04:47.confusion in relation to administration as to whether or not
:04:47. > :04:52.people would transfer. But the intention is that the jobs would be
:04:52. > :04:59.safeguarded. That appears to be happening in relation to people
:04:59. > :05:05.working on contracts. But what about this declaration of war? The
:05:05. > :05:10.relationship between the minister and the Executive. Relations
:05:10. > :05:18.between the two have taken a battering. It is unusual to have a
:05:18. > :05:23.public debate like best. The minister accused the chairman of a
:05:23. > :05:28.declaration of war. That he had written a letter and he talked
:05:28. > :05:36.about them being aggressive towards them. There is a huge problem
:05:36. > :05:41.between these organisations. dissident Republicans have a won
:05:41. > :05:46.their appeals in the Omagh civil case which found them liable for
:05:46. > :05:54.the 1998 Real IRA bombing. But the Appeal Court has upheld the case
:05:54. > :06:01.against two others. Here is our correspondent. August 15th, 1998,
:06:01. > :06:06.Omagh. 29 people and to unborn children died. 200 were injured.
:06:06. > :06:12.The bomb weighed almost a quarter of a time. There has not been a
:06:12. > :06:17.successful criminal conviction. But 12 family members brought a
:06:17. > :06:21.successful civil case two years ago, winning damages of �1.6 million
:06:21. > :06:26.from people they considered responsible. These are the men
:06:26. > :06:31.found liable. They all appealed the decision with the benefit of legal
:06:31. > :06:35.aid and today, we heard the result. aid and today, we heard the result.
:06:35. > :06:41.These men boat had appeals dismissed. They are still held
:06:41. > :06:44.legally liable. But these men were both successful in overturning the
:06:44. > :06:50.both successful in overturning the case against them. The reasons were
:06:50. > :06:54.explained in court. The appeal judges felt too much weight was
:06:54. > :07:00.given to the fact that oral evidence was not given a. He was in
:07:00. > :07:05.fact awaiting another trial in connection with the Omagh bombing.
:07:05. > :07:09.They also felt that too much weight was given to inadmissible evidence.
:07:09. > :07:15.The court also dismissed an appeal by the victim's families to
:07:15. > :07:21.increase the damages awarded. But the main focus was not the money,
:07:21. > :07:29.but the search for justice. Everybody's reaction is that it is
:07:29. > :07:34.not good enough. But it is very difficult at the moment and it
:07:34. > :07:41.always has been but we will carry on fighting. We have learned never
:07:41. > :07:46.to be confident about anything. But we are determined. We have stood up
:07:46. > :07:51.and demonstrated to other victims that we can move forward and we can
:07:51. > :07:57.do this and have a successful legal action. That is what has happened
:07:57. > :08:01.and we will continue to do that. We will continue to make sure as much
:08:01. > :08:08.as we can bat victims are holding people responsible for what
:08:08. > :08:15.happened. They believe a trial should be faced again and the date
:08:15. > :08:23.has not been set. This man might be tried but might not. But the
:08:23. > :08:29.families have said their quest for The police are advising motorists
:08:29. > :08:34.to avoid these areas because of a vehicle hijackings. Eight lorry was
:08:34. > :08:39.set on fire close to the local college and two vehicles burnt out
:08:39. > :08:42.at the nearby roundabout. The president and Vice President of
:08:42. > :08:48.Republican Sinn Fein had appeared in court charged with organising an
:08:48. > :08:54.illegal parade in Lurgan. Des Dalton and Fergal MooreFergal Moore
:08:54. > :09:01.are said to have arranged and taken part in the parade, supporting a
:09:01. > :09:05.republican prisoner. Protesters protested outside. A police officer
:09:05. > :09:09.said the organisers of the parade, which took place in January had
:09:09. > :09:15.been warned it was illegal. She told the court the police had
:09:15. > :09:18.footage of the accused parading and making speeches. The men were given
:09:18. > :09:25.bail and Des Dalton claimed his arrest had been politically
:09:25. > :09:29.motivated. What happened with the arrest of myself and the Vice
:09:29. > :09:35.President I think is playing out the political pressure that has
:09:35. > :09:39.been applied against the national committee. It is not a coincidence
:09:39. > :09:44.that recently some politicians were making much of the fact that they
:09:44. > :09:50.had not been any arrests for illegal republican parades.
:09:51. > :09:53.army have carried out an explosion on a pipe bomb found in Newry. A
:09:53. > :10:01.stretch of the Camlough Road between Carnagat Road and Monaghan
:10:01. > :10:07.Street had been closed for a time. Coming up on the programme,
:10:07. > :10:12.Ferdinand, B bull - backed the bull almost upstaged a royal visit. --
:10:12. > :10:19.the bull almost upstaged a royal visit. The latest from the Golf
:10:19. > :10:23.Championship. There is anger among students and universities with the
:10:23. > :10:30.Executive not agreeing the level of local tuition fees will stop we
:10:30. > :10:34.will hear from Stormont later --. We will hear from Stormont later.
:10:34. > :10:40.It means students that have applied for courses are not certain how
:10:40. > :10:45.much they will be paying. Graduation day. You could say these
:10:45. > :10:49.students are lucky will stop when they started their courses they are
:10:49. > :10:56.disturbed --. When they started their courses they understood how
:10:56. > :11:00.much they would be paying. But these students have no idea.
:11:00. > :11:06.understood how much it would cost and we had plans for financial
:11:06. > :11:12.support. It will be difficult for the parents. It will be very
:11:12. > :11:18.stressful. They are enjoying the celebrations. But many are worried
:11:18. > :11:22.about getting other people to this point. The investment must be made
:11:22. > :11:29.now. The Assembly must bite the bullet and understand what will be
:11:29. > :11:36.invested him. We must look at the future of the economy. The cost is
:11:36. > :11:40.not certain. But it is adding greater worry to an uncertain time.
:11:40. > :11:46.I would have said at this stage that this sort of thing should be
:11:46. > :11:50.resolved. It is not just students and parents. People working in
:11:50. > :11:56.higher education also want urgent action. We must have a decision
:11:56. > :11:59.quickly. People must be informed and must make choices. They cannot
:11:59. > :12:04.decide where they are going until they understand the level of
:12:04. > :12:11.tuition fees and financial support. We cannot be certain when that
:12:11. > :12:17.decision will be taken. What is the advice for students waiting? People
:12:17. > :12:21.are panicking. But from our perspective, we must put pressure
:12:21. > :12:27.on local education authorities and contact councillors. We need an
:12:27. > :12:31.urgent decision. The admissions service says students hoping to
:12:31. > :12:36.attend university in September should apply as usual and that it
:12:36. > :12:42.will update the system as soon as information is available. While it
:12:42. > :12:48.is the end for some, for others, it begins in just 11 weeks. Many
:12:48. > :12:54.people are hoping Executive will make a decision shortly. -- the
:12:54. > :12:58.Executive. Confusion and uncertainty. What is the latest?
:12:59. > :13:04.Here is our correspondent. We thought this might have been agreed
:13:04. > :13:09.upon today. The minister responsible has drawn up paperwork
:13:09. > :13:13.with a number of options but it was not put on the agenda. The
:13:13. > :13:20.ministers wanted to agree the details before making a formal
:13:20. > :13:25.decision. It is thought it is likely to be set at �3,500. That is
:13:25. > :13:29.a modest increase for inflation. The minister is acknowledging this
:13:29. > :13:39.is urgent. They might have an urgent procedure to push this
:13:39. > :13:41.
:13:41. > :13:49.forward. I asked him if he could We would look to have a decision in
:13:49. > :13:52.July. Documents are being prepared for the next academic year intake,
:13:52. > :13:56.and by September, students will be looking to begin making their
:13:56. > :14:02.choices and the information must be in place with regard to the fee
:14:02. > :14:09.regime. What is holding up agreement, if
:14:09. > :14:14.not the level of beefy? It is how they pay for what will be a �40
:14:14. > :14:23.million hole in the budget. -- the fee. If they go for this level of
:14:23. > :14:28.fee, they will have to make up that demand, because the current budget
:14:28. > :14:33.allows for a different man. The question is, will this be spread
:14:33. > :14:36.between different departments, presumably all except health? Or
:14:36. > :14:40.will the Department of Health, learning and universities pay
:14:40. > :14:45.little? That is the argument which must be solved.
:14:45. > :14:49.A police search from infant's body at a house in Ballyclare has been
:14:49. > :14:53.called off. It began after a tip- off that the body of a small child
:14:53. > :14:57.had been buried at the rear of the house in hawthorn way. The police
:14:57. > :15:01.are satisfied there are no human remains there and the information
:15:02. > :15:05.was false. Hundreds of people packed out an
:15:05. > :15:10.auction for repossessed properties in Dublin today. There was
:15:10. > :15:15.something for all price brackets, with homes as cheap as 25,000 euros.
:15:15. > :15:22.They were being sold on behalf of receivers and financial
:15:22. > :15:25.institutions. How much would you pay for it? It
:15:25. > :15:31.would have fetched close to 10 million euros a few years ago. It
:15:31. > :15:41.needs a bit of work, but the reserve of 1.4 5 million is deemed
:15:41. > :15:44.
:15:44. > :15:48.a bargain. Going once... Going twice... A phone bidder snapped it
:15:48. > :15:52.up for 2.3 million. This is the second auction of distressed
:15:52. > :15:55.properties sold on behalf of banks and receivers. The auctioneers
:15:55. > :16:01.report interest from around the world. There was certainly plenty
:16:01. > :16:06.of interest in his property, in the South of the city. Maybe it is
:16:06. > :16:16.something to do with the neighbours? It is up the road from
:16:16. > :16:22.
:16:22. > :16:26.Bonneau. -- Bono. In the end, it fetched 320,000 euros and there was
:16:26. > :16:32.no shortage of willing bidders. Being willing and able to buy it is
:16:32. > :16:36.a step too far for many frustrated homeowners. The property is well
:16:36. > :16:43.priced, a great location. I would like to purchase it for myself,
:16:43. > :16:48.however, trying to access their mortgage is not realistic at the
:16:48. > :16:51.moment. They just do not want to give a mortgage, no matter what.
:16:51. > :16:55.is a common complaint which is contributing to a stagnant property
:16:55. > :17:02.market. The hope is that all options like this at least give the
:17:02. > :17:08.market something of a boost, and with 98% of our properties sold, it
:17:08. > :17:14.is a good day for the auctioneers. Smiles all round also for some very
:17:15. > :17:21.happy customers. Sadly, one person's loss is
:17:21. > :17:26.another's day. On to the next of our reports featuring old cinema
:17:26. > :17:30.newsreels from the British Pathe archive. Today, we look at the
:17:30. > :17:40.industry which made Belfast famous, our reporter is in the Titanic
:17:40. > :17:45.quarter. Hello. The landscape behind me symbolises the
:17:45. > :17:49.shipbuilding industry in Belfast. You are about to see some
:17:49. > :17:59.remarkable scenes. You might want to look out for a cameo appearance
:17:59. > :18:07.
:18:07. > :18:17.by a bloke called Ferdinand. -- In 1946, the then heir to the
:18:17. > :18:17.
:18:17. > :18:25.throne, launched the second biggest aircraft carrier ever built.
:18:25. > :18:31.God protect her and all who sail in her. The HMS Eagle was almost 250
:18:31. > :18:35.metres long. The launch was a highlight in the history of the
:18:35. > :18:45.company. Princess Elizabeth was a regular visit to to the shipyard
:18:45. > :18:47.
:18:47. > :18:51.them. Later on this trip, there was a touch of the absurd. Butting in
:18:51. > :18:59.on a great occasion, Ferdinand got a laugh and a headline. Fortunately,
:18:59. > :19:03.the boisterous bovine did not deter royals from returning. In 1954,
:19:03. > :19:13.Elizabeth was back, this time as Queen. She became the first monarch
:19:13. > :19:18.
:19:18. > :19:22.to lodge a passenger ship, when she The Southern Cross. Airliner of
:19:22. > :19:32.20,000 tonnes. It will make four round-the-world voyages per year,
:19:32. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:43.calling at Panama, Fiji, New Zealand, Africa and South America.
:19:43. > :19:52.This engineer remembers working on the ship. It was a fantastic entity.
:19:52. > :20:00.We had great pride in having been part of creating that. They were
:20:00. > :20:10.things of beauty. Many great liners had been made in
:20:10. > :20:11.
:20:11. > :20:16.Belfast Stamper, including the Canberra. -- stamp. There was
:20:16. > :20:23.massive public interest in launches like this. Engineers felt a mixture
:20:23. > :20:29.of nervousness and excitement. seemed nothing could stop it.
:20:29. > :20:36.Slowly and gently gathering speed. When it entered the water and
:20:36. > :20:39.gently stopped. On one or two occasions, it did not stop in time.
:20:39. > :20:43.No history of the shipyard would be complete with a dimension of the
:20:44. > :20:53.white Star Line, which had a long association with the company. The
:20:54. > :20:59.
:21:00. > :21:05.last white Star liner was built in Well, it was truly a different age
:21:05. > :21:15.in the 1930s. Tomorrow night, we would go back even further, to 1924,
:21:15. > :21:18.
:21:18. > :21:21.to look at the Irish Free State's answer to the Olympic games.
:21:21. > :21:24.Music can lift your mood, especially at work, and it is
:21:24. > :21:28.played a lot in businesses for employees and customers. But did
:21:28. > :21:31.you know that you need not one, but two licences to play it on the
:21:31. > :21:36.premises? Our reporter in South Down, has been finding out how even
:21:36. > :21:41.diligent business owners have been caught out.
:21:41. > :21:45.This jeweller pays �70 per year to play the radio in the shop.
:21:45. > :21:49.Recently, he received a bill for a second licence from inspectors.
:21:49. > :21:53.thought it was fair enough when they paid the first bill but then I
:21:53. > :22:03.had agreed to pay another �200, just to play the same thing.
:22:03. > :22:11.
:22:11. > :22:17.The law says that businesses must They were indirectly telling me
:22:17. > :22:23.that the money goes to the likes of Paul McCartney and be unsafe.
:22:23. > :22:33.Frankly, that amazes me. That they would need a small substances --
:22:33. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:40.subsidy from businesses like my own. -- Paul McCartney and and Beyonce.
:22:40. > :22:43.Did not have a right to be paid for their creativity? The radio
:22:43. > :22:50.stations already pay them for the records, so in effect, they are
:22:50. > :22:54.paid twice. Around the corner, this lady needs
:22:54. > :22:58.two licences to play CDs. She says the public do not realise what
:22:58. > :23:02.retailers have to pay before opening their doors for business.
:23:02. > :23:07.I might not have anyone in the shop all day so how do they assess it?
:23:07. > :23:13.The government have to look at this. What's would you like them to do?
:23:13. > :23:17.want them to think about the small shopkeeper. Because services to
:23:18. > :23:22.talk about small shopkeepers as the backbone of the economy. -- the
:23:22. > :23:26.Conservatives. I have to make sure this shop stays open and is busy.
:23:26. > :23:30.That we will have a vibrant town will be able to visit.
:23:30. > :23:36.The Government is reviewing the two licence system and says a report is
:23:36. > :23:46.due on this issue within a month. Rory McIlroy has decided to give
:23:46. > :23:47.
:23:47. > :23:49.this weeks Scottish Open tournament a miss. It is the last warm-up
:23:49. > :23:52.tournament before next week's Open Championship at Royal St Georges in
:23:52. > :24:02.Sandwich, but fellow Ulstermen Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke
:24:02. > :24:06.
:24:06. > :24:12.are well in contention. In fairy-tale surroundings at
:24:12. > :24:19.castle steward Golf Links near Inverness, Sir Alex Ferguson looked
:24:19. > :24:24.on as Darren Clarke made one eagle, four birdies and recorded a score
:24:24. > :24:31.of three under par. Graham McDowell almost had an eagle on the part for
:24:31. > :24:41.a 10th hole, and on the 14th again, it was his putting which let him
:24:41. > :24:44.
:24:44. > :24:47.down. -- Graeme. He showed a rare glimpse of frustration but went on
:24:47. > :24:56.to record a solid three under par, which leaves him four shots off the
:24:56. > :24:58.lead. News of another medal tonight in
:24:58. > :25:01.Belgrade at the European Junior Swimming Championship where
:25:01. > :25:05.Sycerika McMahon has just won a gold in the 400m freestyle, her
:25:05. > :25:09.second in as many days, smashing her own Irish Junior Record in the
:25:09. > :25:11.process. Two local football teams are in
:25:11. > :25:14.action in Europa League qualifying matches tonight. Glentoran are
:25:14. > :25:17.looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit when they play Renova of Macedonia
:25:17. > :25:20.in the second leg at the Oval, and Tommy Breslin's Cliftonville face
:25:20. > :25:30.the Welsh Premier side The New Saints with the tie 1-1 after the
:25:30. > :25:34.first leg. We will have action from both games tomorrow.
:25:34. > :25:43.A lightning strike today left 40,000 people in Ulster without
:25:43. > :25:47.electricity. It is back now, so I The indeed, dramatic weather today.
:25:47. > :25:57.Our weather Potters have been very excited and been out with their
:25:57. > :26:01.cameras. We had Dancing rain in the streets of Belfast. There were
:26:01. > :26:08.torrential downpours in a lot of places, and thunder and lightning
:26:08. > :26:12.as well. The you can see the lights on in these cars as the dark clouds
:26:12. > :26:17.approach. They were responsible for today's lighting problems, were
:26:17. > :26:22.people had their electricity supply disrupted. A few storms are still
:26:22. > :26:27.expected over the next few hours and a rain warning is still valid.
:26:27. > :26:32.Things are still improving. The greens and yellows here indicate
:26:32. > :26:38.heaviest storms and showers. There is some drier weather at the moment
:26:38. > :26:43.in the east. The storms are moving up in two parts of Down. Over the
:26:43. > :26:47.next couple of hours, they could still be heavy downpours before
:26:47. > :26:53.they ease away. A lot of places in the North will end up dry tonight
:26:53. > :26:57.but a second area of rain will move into southern counties. So, more
:26:57. > :27:07.wet weather to come tomorrow. It will largely affect southern
:27:07. > :27:07.
:27:08. > :27:12.counties during rush hour. For the North and West, a quieter day to
:27:12. > :27:15.come tomorrow. It looks like the drier weather will feed down from
:27:16. > :27:20.the north-west during the day. Lunchtime tomorrow, the South East
:27:20. > :27:25.still has a risk of heavy showers, not as intense as today but still
:27:25. > :27:30.pretty nasty and cool without much sunshine. Although, gradually,
:27:30. > :27:34.drier weather will feed down from the North West on a breeze. The
:27:34. > :27:37.drier weather will push away the rain from South Eastern areas
:27:37. > :27:43.during the afternoon and evening tomorrow, meaning the weekend will