22/08/2011 BBC Newsline

I'm live with the latest. The boat and the bullets. The impact of

Colonel Gaddafi's regime during the Troubles. Why some of these

trawlers may never returned to the Irish Sea. Join me shortly in

Kilkeel. And it's been mainly dry today with some pleasant sunshine,

but it's going to turn more unsettled before the week is out.

I'll have the details later. The bodies of the two Northern Ireland

women murdered in Turkey have been released by the authorities and are

expected to be flown home within the next few days. Kathy Dinsmore

and Marion Graham were stabbed to death near the port city of Izmir

on Thursday. They'd been staying in the resort of Kusadasi, about an

hour's drive away. Chris Page has been following this story since

last week and is in Izmir for us. It started as a holiday romance. It

ended in the worst way imaginable. Shannon, 15, match her boyfriend on

one of her regular visits to consider ASSI. He made his money by

putting tourists on the beach and bring the end to restaurants. He

was well known to people here. Several restaurant owners told me

he was a troubled young man. It is believed he wanted to marry Shannon

but her mother, Marion Graham, would not allow that. On tour

Sinnatt, Miss Graham and her friend, Kathy Dinsmore, were stabbed to

death in a wood. Police sources have shown we this apartment, where

they say the victims were staying, along with Shannon and her

boyfriend. The suspect initially told police he had taken the women

shopping and they had been abducted but the police did not find that

story convincing. They came back to investigate further and they found

blood stained clothes in a bag lying on the ground-share. The

suspect changed his story and confessed to the murders. Police

believe he took the woman by taxi to his near, one hour's drive away.

He then drove them himself to the forest where they were killed.

Shannon's father flew to Turkey on Saturday. He was then reunited with

his daughter at the mortuary, where her mother's body was. And take my

daughter home, she is my main concern and I want to take my

daughter home to Ireland under the tragic circumstances and arrange

for the bodies to be flown back. They have now left Turkey. People

cannot believe what has happened here. Did you know the family? Did

you see them about? Yes, they were here last year and one s are the

photographs, it was on the Irish News, when I saw them I was

surprised. I knew them. Last year, a few times they have been. They

would come in for a drink sometimes. Nice people. Lovely people. I'm so

sorry about this. She would come in with the daughter and the mother, I

am very upset. Scenes like this show you why this area is such a

huge row with tens of thousands of people from Northern Ireland alone

coming here. It is no wonder the people here are worried about the

effects that the murders might have on the tourist industry. This

couple from Bangor heard about the murders when the news broke at home.

I received text from home. People were worried, thinking something

will happen to me. I was asked to reply to make sure I was alive!

What was going through your head? cannot believe that. Utter surprise,

really. The people here say this is the first time anything like this

has happened. And the area is very safe. Tourists say the murders

would not put them off coming. have encountered no difficulties

whatsoever and I see no presence of any police. Certainly kindness to

the extreme. Across Turkey, the particularly brutal nature of these

killings has caused shock. Prayers were said for the victims at this

English-language church service in Izmir yesterday. It is sad for

Turkey. Sad for Ireland and for Britain in general. We can go back

live to Chris Page. It has been a very upsetting time, as we saw in

the report, but just for families but for holidaymakers. What is the

latest on the judicial process and the suspect in this murder. We're

clearly having difficulty with the satellite. We will try to get back

later on. In the meantime... Books of condolence have been opened in

Newry and other parts of south Down so the public can express their

sympathy with the Dinsmore and Graham families. But this was

delayed after a bomb was left by masked men inside a bank in the

city. It was defused by Army experts and police said it could

have killed and caused substantial damage. Our district journalist,

Francis Gorman, joins us now from Newry. What is the latest? Good

evening. At 945 in the Newry this morning, two masked men entered the

Santander Bank behind me in Market Street, in Hill Street and they had

a bag with the ball in it and give staff 45 minutes to get out.

Reminiscent of an episode earlier in Londonderry another branch of

the bank, when the device did go off, causing serious damage. The

area was cleared all day from the cathedral right up to this town

hall beside me. Many businesses were closed. Even after the area

was cleared, many of the shutters simply stayed down and trainers did

not reason business. With me, I have the mayor of a Newry, Charlie

Casey. What do you make of this? All it did was cause massive

disruption in the city centre and it cost the loss of much-needed

business. This area is in a serious downturn with shops and stores

struggling and it caused them to lose business. What are the

consequences of that on -- one of the consequences was the council

could not deliver a book of condolences to the Champs Holywood

Arts Centre or the town hall in Newry. Later in the afternoon, they

were delivered and are there to be signed. What was the thinking for

those books of condolence? It was a councillors decision to do that, we

took that decision in the morning, the decision to launch site in the

boardroom and that was done and there after, to leave one in the

arts centre. To give local people some opportunity to sign the book

and just say what they felt about what had happened in Turkey. Those

books of condolence are in the Crossmaglen community centre. The

Arts Centre, Newry Town Hall, Warrenpoint town hall and the

leisure centre in Kilkeel. Thank you. The DUP's Nigel Dodds has

welcomed the capture of most of Tripoli by Libyan rebel forces as

good news for democracy and a triumph over tyranny. The party's

deputy leader says the fall of the regime will signal a new phase in

the campaign for compensation for the victims of IRA attacks carried

out using weapons supplied by Libya. Here's our political editor, Mark

Devenport. November 1987 - French customs intercepted and ship loaded

with 150 tonnes of Libyan weapons. The arms on board received before

getting to the IRA. During the 1970s and 1980s, several other

shipments from Libya did reach Irish republicans. Those guns and

explosives were used in the IRA's most deadly atrocities. What

prompted the Libyan leader to on those who he called Irish

revolutionaries? Generally, we support the Irish cause. This RTE

interview was recorded in the mid- 1980s, days after an American air

strike on Colonel Gaddafi's headquarters. Behind the lens was

local cameraman, Eugene mayday. knowledge was bars and literally

very black and white. We did not detect any new ones, he talked

about the fraternity with his Irish brothers, the oppressed Irish

people, the imperialistic British and what they had done to Ireland

and Libya. It was all like that. Eugene still has a copy of the

Islamic holy book, the Koran, which the Colonel give him. Of all the

people I have met, he did strike me as a pretty bizarre character. I

can remember several things, his appearance, driving up to the

compound, that bombed out compound, he sat in an old battered white

Peugeot car. He was wearing was seemed to be a flying suit. And he

did that famous hands in the air greeting. And proceeded to shake

hands with everyone. Even that entrance was quite bizarre.

Unionists are happy to see the end of the regime. But will a new

Libyan government prove willing to pay compensation to those harmed by

the colonels support for the IRA? am very confident that this claim

against the Libyan state for the damage that was inflicted, even

though it was under Colonel Gaddafi, that there will be progress and we

will continue relentlessly on behalf of the victims and their

representatives to make sure they have compensation and just as, no

matter what the colour of the regime in Tripoli. Whatever happens

to the eye and a compensation case, there is hope that the dramatic

developments in Tripoli will usher in a new chapter in what has been a

troubled relationship between Libya and Ireland over the last four

decades. You're watching BBC Newsline. Still to come on the

programme. 30 players representing Ireland at this year's Rugby World

Cup. And will have all the latest... And the local teenager who has

beaten 40,000 rivals to land a top We can now make contact with Chris

Page, reporting live from Turkey for us this evening and the latest

on the investigation into the murders of Kathy Dinsmore and

Marion Graham last weekend. What is the latest? Well, the first thing

is that the suspect is older than 17, as has been reported. He told

everyone he was a teenager but police sources tell me he was older,

meaning he could go to the Criminal Court rather than a juvenile court.

It could be some weeks before he appears in court. It could take a

couple of years before the whole process is finished but if

convicted of the double murder, he will face up to 72 years in jail.

The bodies of the women have been released back to their families. At

what stage to be expect those bodies to be coming back Kong?

were released today at lunchtime. They are being driven from Izmir,

where I am, to a city further down the coast and they will then be

flown back to Ireland, we expect that to happen in the next few days.

Thank you. Northern Ireland's whitefish fleet has been forced to

tie up in port this week and skippers warn that their boats may

never return to the Irish Sea. Our rural affairs correspondent, Martin

Cassidy, is at Kilkeel harbour, where the remainder of the

whitefish fleet is moored. The crisis has been sparked about

called Stocks. -- called stock. Conditions are perfect for corn and

haddock fishing but despite the clear seas and the blue skies, many

of the whitefish boats remain tied up in the port and it seems there

is little prospect of them getting out any time soon. The white fish

sector has been so important for the local industry. But it has been

in decline. This week, the few remaining trawlers reached crisis

point. The weather is fine and the fishing is good. But rather than

being at sea chasing down shoals of cord and haddock, the sparkling sea

and her skipper find themselves high and dry. Prevented from

catching any more fish. This is the end of the line for the fleet. We

cannot go to sea and fish viably without the quota of court. The

Irish Sea is abundant at the minute. We cannot convince the scientists

at the fish are there. Therefore, they say they're not there. Little

over a decade ago, Northern Ireland had a 40 strong streak of white

fish trawlers. But as court stocks declined, Irish Sea fishermen have

faced ever tighter restrictions on white fish. From 40 boats, the

Fleet has dwindled to just four of them. And now they are calling it a

day. That means we are at 99.9%. We have no quota left for the rest of

the year. And that means, unfortunately, we cannot legally

land any. In the low-cost tourist shops, the maritime history is

visible but there are few amongst the younger generation here who see

themselves following their fathers and grandfathers to fishing.

didn't know, it's not as good as it used to be, there's not enough

money in it. It has gone down. else could you do? Nothing, really.

Anything else in Kilkeel? Aircraft? Making seats. If the outlook is

bleak, so is the future for the last few boats in the local

whitefish fleet. The only hope I have is that we will be allowed

some scientific quota to go to sea and prove that the cord is there

and change things. Stop the reductions in the days at sea and

the reductions in the quota. Because they have done what they

set out to do. They have reduced the fleet but still they are

relentless in their path of destruction of this late in

30 years ago, Kilkeel was enjoying a fishing boom. Unlike today, they

were rich pickings for school leavers prepared to go to sea. Some

came home with �1000 after a good week's fishing. The bars and local

car dealerships flourished on the back of that boom. Today, all that

remains is the prawn fleet, where wages can be as low as �12,000 a

year. These are sobering times along the County Down coast.

Walk down any high street in Northern Ireland and you will see

boarded-up shopfronts and To Let signs. Now a survey has shown we

have more empty shops than anywhere else in the UK, around one in six

in fact. Our business and economy editor, Jim Fitzpatrick, joins us

from Belfast city centre. Is this just down to the recession?

Obviously, it is a big factor but today we have learnt that than foot

faults on the High Street has dropped 6% here in Northern Ireland

in the same period last year and that leads to empty shops. We are

the empty shop couple of the UK. We also have our charity shops in our

high streets and charity shops are essentially empty shops in disguise

because the landlord lets the charity in, sometimes for free,

because it avoids him of paying rates. Why is it so difficult to

get retailers into shops? economic downturn here has affected

as drastically. This is happening across Northern Ireland, not just

Belfast. Is there anything that can be done? We need the feel-good

factor to come back but at the moment, there is no sign of that

happening. It is very difficult to attract retailers here. Rates are

the big cost for retailers? Yes, rates could be �3500 a week, which

is a barrier for retailers. rates are the big thing on

retailers minds. Can the politicians do something about it?

We will wait and see. We apologise for the loss of good

sound, we're having one of those bites!

Ireland's professional rugby players have been waiting nervously

for today and the announcement of who is going to the World Cup in

New Zealand. Austin O'Callaghan is here to tell us who have secured a

squad place. There are some notable omissions

which we will get to shortly. Five Ulster players will be on the

flight to Auckland next week. Rory Best, Tom Court, Andrew Trimble,

Paddy Wallace and perhaps the most relieved of all, flanker Stephen

Ferris. There were times in the last few

months when it wasn't just Stephen Ferris's World Cup dream that

appeared to be under threat, injury almost ruined his future in the

game. The significance of his 20 minute cameo against France cannot

be underestimated. I walked onto the pitch for the first 20 metres

and to get all then again, I was looking around and thinking, it was

like a first cap all over again. I knew as soon as if took my first

contact, but I was ready and I didn't think about my knee the

whole time I played. There were times when I went into training and

the lads were out with smiles on their faces and I was stuck in the

gym. I had a few dark days indeed but they are all behind me. Stephen

Ferris does make the trip to New Zealand but there were a number of

selection dilemmas for the coach, Declan Kidney. Among those who did

not make it, Thomas O'Leary, John Hayes. We always said that the

criteria we would use his knowing what criteria guys bring to the

party. Knowing how they finished the season, knowing how they

entered pre-season and then we would see how they went in games.

We considered all those factors and then came up with the decision we

did. Ireland take on England in their final warm-up game on

Saturday before leaving for New Zealand next week.

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington has announced his squad

for the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifying matches at home to

Serbia and away to Estonia. The Rangers striker Kyle Laverty

returns from injury, West Brom's Chris Brunt is back after

suspension. There is a recall for the goalkeeper Maik Taylor who

turns 40 next month. Taylor is currently without a club after his

release by Birmingham in the summer but has fully recovered from a

shoulder injury. Worthington's men will face Serbia at Windsor Park on

2nd September and are then away to Estonia four days later.

You just cannot turn your back on somebody who has given so much

loyalty and came time to the country. That is the reason why I

have brought Maik Taylor back in in the current situation, because even

though he is just not playing games at the moment, he will inspire

other keepers and the group and pushed them and that is what I want.

It was a busy weekend in local football. Derry City are top of the

Eircom League after a 1-0 win against Bohemians on Friday.

Linfield remain top of the Carling Premiership after defeating

Dungannon Swifts but the biggest shock of the weekend came at the

Oval. DC were thrashed 5-0 last week but

scored twice against Glentoran to give them the three pounds. Gary

Hamilton scored a consolation but it finished a bad day for Glentoran,

losing 2-1. Congratulations to Donegal, they fought hard and

caused us problems when we were down to 10 men. For us to lose

today is not good enough, we have met so many people down. We let

ourselves down, we let the fans down, they didn't deserve that.

Linfield are now top of the lead and are now the only side

undefeated after a 4-1 win against Dungannon. Rory Patterson scoring

his first goal. Mark Patton helped Lisburn Distillery to a 3-2 win

over Coleraine. Portadown picked up their second win of the season,

defeating Cliftonville 2-0. Carrick Rangers won their first game since

1995. Paul Owens helping them to win by 2-1. Robbie Keane is already

a favourite with the supporters of the LA Galaxy. He scored in their

2-1 when and he believes it can only get better. I've only been

here two days so it is difficult to get to know players. As the Games

will go on, I'll get to know the players even better and that will

be good for myself and the players. Hopefully that will make us a

better team. The Holywood fans are A teenager from Londonderry has

beaten 40,000 competitors to win a role in one of America's most

successful TV shows. Damian McGinty will be taking part in Glee, the

series about a high-school show choir. Keiron Tourish has been

The thing I want to tell you is... You have also one of The Glee

Project. A life change and the object. The moment he was named as

one of the reality contestants. am lost for words! You have both

won the chance to be in seven episodes! It is just beginning to

sink in and it is an incredible feeling. I just hit the roof, I

could not believe it. It was, without question, the best moment

of my life and I don't think it gets any better than that, I really

don't. Back home in Derry, his family have been eagerly watching

his progress as he beat 40,000 hopefuls for the chance to fulfil a

dream. It is just fantastic. We'll gathered last night and watched it

and is a great result for him, it is absolutely brilliant and we are

ecstatic. From an early age, he has shown great potential as a

performer. He appeared in the hugely successful Celtic under To

which showcased Irish talent on the other side of the Atlantic. He has

even been aghast at the White House, meeting the President and First

Lady. His father says he will take his new found success all in his

stride. He always wanted it and he always had that ambition inside him

and thank God, he is a good lad and he is very grounded which is more

important to me than anything else. As long as he stays grounded, with

the help of God, he will do OK. Damian McGinty would get hold until

December but they are already planning a party to remember.

One out of 40,000! Fantastic! Over the course of the weekend, it

wasn't too bad and thanks to everybody who send in photographs.

It was a mixed weekend with Saturday probably a better day. At

least we didn't need the umbrellas today, there was the odd shower

around but they faded away so it will be allowed to dry night for

tonight. Temperatures holding about nine or 10 Celsius but as has been

the case in recent nights, temperatures could dip back in

rural spots. Perhaps the odd pocket of mist. For tomorrow, the day of

summer spells and perhaps the odd shower. Essentially, a lot of dry

weather to come tomorrow. First thing, we are talking about bright

rather than sunny skies above the cloud will break up and we will see

some sunshine breaking through. There will be some rain skirting

parts of the East Coast. Even if you do catch a shark, it will be

well spaced out and fairly light and patchy. Further west, West is

best tomorrow, here we will get the best of the sunshine. As we head

into the afternoon, essentially, and not of dry weather and the

cloud is well programme at the stage. Temperatures responding to

the sunshine with highs of 19 degrees. It is all change on

Tuesday night, wet weather pushes and from the Atlantic and as a

result, it will not be a school and there will be heavy pulses of rain.

This indicates a change into the second half of the week. No