:00:16. > :00:23.Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Donna Traynor. The headlines:
:00:23. > :00:26.MLAs to get a �5,000 pay rise, but it's claimed money will be saved.
:00:27. > :00:36.The parents of a teenager murdered 13 years ago ask for help in
:00:37. > :00:41.
:00:41. > :00:44.finding his killer. We still miss him terribly.
:00:44. > :00:51.It's claimed some farmers are turning a blind eye to badger
:00:51. > :00:59.baiting on their land. We have a first look inside the new
:00:59. > :01:04.Titanic Belfast building. And the sleepy County Down village
:01:04. > :01:10.comes to life. We won't be losing the cloud in a
:01:11. > :01:14.hurry but a change is in store for many years later tomorrow.
:01:14. > :01:20.MLAs look set to get a pay rise of �5,000 from April next year. That's
:01:20. > :01:23.an 11% rise. The decision was taken by an independent review panel. It
:01:23. > :01:25.has also reduced the allowances politicians get to run their
:01:25. > :01:31.offices, and argues that the overall package will save the
:01:31. > :01:34.public more than �3 million. Here's our political editor, Mark
:01:34. > :01:44.Devenport. Why did this review happen and exactly why is it
:01:44. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :01:48.recommending a pay rise? The three- strong review team was appointed
:01:48. > :01:54.last year in order to take out of the politicians' hands the business
:01:54. > :01:58.of setting their own pay and allowances and to set it
:01:58. > :02:03.independently. They found that over the last decade the MLAs wages have
:02:03. > :02:07.been eroded in real terms so they've decided that the �5,000 pay
:02:07. > :02:13.rise is justified and that will take MLAs from their current pay of
:02:13. > :02:20.just over �43,000 to a new rate of �48,000. The public might not
:02:20. > :02:25.necessarily lightless put the chair says as far as the politicians are
:02:25. > :02:29.concerned, it is up to them whether they take -- take the extra cash.
:02:29. > :02:36.He if they wish to volunteer some of their salary back to the public
:02:37. > :02:43.first, we are very happy that they be allowed to do that. Senti 7% of
:02:43. > :02:49.the MLAs said they wanted to be paid more not less. That's right. I
:02:49. > :02:54.would expect that this time next year, MLAs will be accepting a pay
:02:54. > :02:59.increase. If they do that, the panel says we can still save money
:02:59. > :03:03.with all of this. It is not just magic, they have looked at the
:03:03. > :03:08.office costs allowances. That is the money the politicians used to
:03:08. > :03:15.run their constituency offices and that if they jump around 2007 when
:03:15. > :03:19.devolution was restored. The panel has decided that that is simply not
:03:19. > :03:27.justified. They are recommending in terms of office costs that the
:03:27. > :03:32.current cost which is �75,000 per politician should come down to just
:03:32. > :03:37.over �69,000. There are clawing back more than �6,000 per
:03:37. > :03:40.politicians. They have also come up with some other rulings in terms of
:03:40. > :03:47.MLA conditions. One is that all politicians should get their wages
:03:47. > :03:51.paid in their own personal accounts rather than central party coffers.
:03:51. > :03:57.Another ruling in this report is that each individual MLA should
:03:57. > :04:00.only employed one family member on their payroll and finally they have
:04:00. > :04:05.introduced some significant penalties for any politicians
:04:05. > :04:09.double jobbing in councils or in Westminster which would clawback
:04:09. > :04:13.more money. When you put all of this together, the independent
:04:13. > :04:16.review panel team argues there will be saving and they say that saving
:04:16. > :04:21.will be more than �3 million over the course of the next three years.
:04:21. > :04:27.When you compare this to what politicians get in England -- in
:04:27. > :04:30.Scotland and Wales, how do we fear? It as close the gap but it has not
:04:30. > :04:35.closed it completely. The review panel feels that if you look at the
:04:35. > :04:41.job of an MLA band how many there are in relation to voters, they are
:04:41. > :04:46.not up to the scale of their own Welsh were Scottish counterparts.
:04:46. > :04:51.An Assembly member in Wales earns �54,000 and average and in Scotland
:04:51. > :04:56.it is �57,000. Movement today in the Ulster Unionist leadership race
:04:56. > :05:00.as well. If it became clear today that Mike Nesbitt will almost
:05:00. > :05:10.definitely be entering this race. He will launch his campaign
:05:10. > :05:15.
:05:15. > :05:22.officially tomorrow. He has at least for MLA is on side. -- MLAs.
:05:22. > :05:26.We also expect Danny Kennedy to put his hat in the ring tomorrow.
:05:26. > :05:31.Tomorrow could be quite a busy day in the contest. Martin McGuinness
:05:31. > :05:37.has again been talking about considering meeting the Queen.
:05:37. > :05:42.Martin McGuinness said he would meet the Queen as an Irish
:05:42. > :05:50.president. When he was asked whether he would do it as did the
:05:50. > :05:59.First Minister, he said he would have to think about it. -- Deputy
:05:59. > :06:02.First Minister. He says he was to be a deputy First Minister for
:06:02. > :06:07.everybody and this seems to be a clear hint that Sinn Fein are
:06:07. > :06:12.seriously considering a meeting between the Deputy First Minister
:06:12. > :06:15.and the Queen if she comes to Belfast during her jubilee year. He
:06:15. > :06:17.The parents of a teenager who was murdered 13 years ago have welcomed
:06:18. > :06:20.a decision by the police to reopen the investigation. Jonathan Cairns'
:06:20. > :06:30.body was found in Loughermore Forest outside Ballykelly. No-one
:06:30. > :06:30.
:06:30. > :06:34.has ever been convicted of killing him. Teresa Craig reports.
:06:34. > :06:40.Hazel and Raymond Cairns say not a game -- not a day goes by they
:06:40. > :06:44.don't think of their son. Jonathan Cairns was murdered on 25th April
:06:44. > :06:48.1999. One man was jailed for perverting the course of justice
:06:48. > :06:58.but there has never been a condition for his murder. I could
:06:58. > :06:58.
:06:58. > :07:07.not believe it was him. He never said a bad word to anyone. We still
:07:07. > :07:14.miss him terribly. Time heals a bit but the thought is always there.
:07:14. > :07:23.is like a knife through your heart all the time. It is like your
:07:23. > :07:30.stomach is being squeezed like a sponge. The body of the Ballykelly
:07:30. > :07:34.teenager was discovered by his cousin the day after he disappeared.
:07:34. > :07:40.His parents are offering a �30,000 reward for information in the hope
:07:40. > :07:46.of finding whoever is responsible for his murder. Earlier today, they
:07:46. > :07:56.met to discuss the progress of the new investigation. We just hope the
:07:56. > :07:58.
:07:58. > :08:08.perpetrators are brought to justice. They deserve justice. They have
:08:08. > :08:10.
:08:10. > :08:19.robbed William of his brother and robbed us of a son. Maybe we could
:08:19. > :08:22.have had grandchildren. The police confirmed they are following a
:08:22. > :08:26.number of new leads. They say they believe the killers live locally
:08:26. > :08:29.and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward. The
:08:29. > :08:33.last and Jonathan's parents saw him was outside the local chip shop on
:08:33. > :08:40.the main street less than 24 hours later the body of this and was
:08:40. > :08:44.found just a few miles away. It is hoped this investigation will shed
:08:44. > :08:47.light on what happened. This week, we've been lifting the
:08:47. > :08:50.lid on the world of badger baiting, a cruel and criminal underworld
:08:50. > :08:53.where gangs kill badgers for their own pleasure. Tonight's report
:08:53. > :08:56.focuses on farmers and landowners. One source, who was within that
:08:56. > :09:02.secretive world of badger baiting for many years, has told us that
:09:02. > :09:05.some farmers would encourage such activity on their property. The
:09:05. > :09:08.Ulster Farmers Union says it's not aware of any farmers involved and
:09:08. > :09:10.has urged its members to report suspected badger persecution to the
:09:10. > :09:20.police. Gordon Adair's exclusive report does contain images that
:09:20. > :09:26.
:09:26. > :09:31.some viewers may find disturbing. Five men walking their dogs across
:09:31. > :09:34.fields. Nothing out of the ordinary and no cause for concern, and less
:09:34. > :09:44.you know what you're looking at. Look more closely at these pictures
:09:44. > :09:48.and look up the tools there can make -- carrying. The men are also
:09:48. > :09:53.have two types of Dogs, small terriers used to going to the sets
:09:53. > :09:58.to pen the badgers and beget specially bred dogs which are used
:09:58. > :10:03.to do the killing after the badger has been unearthed. The digs
:10:03. > :10:08.themselves cannot go on for hours and it can take some time for the
:10:08. > :10:13.dogs to kill the badger. This is happening in broad daylight. We
:10:13. > :10:18.have seen gangs park their vehicles, seemingly totally unconcerned about
:10:18. > :10:22.potentially being spotted. One source co-operated within this
:10:22. > :10:26.world for many years told me that not only would farmers sometimes
:10:26. > :10:32.turn a blind eye but on occasion they would actively encourage the
:10:32. > :10:40.diggers on to their land and ask to be shown badger carcasses. If it is
:10:40. > :10:48.a big set like this, it makes it more horrendous. Ian Hutchinson is
:10:48. > :10:54.the head of crime-prevention for a UK-wide police operation. He says
:10:54. > :11:03.some land Rosas -- landowners have little choice but to let the gangs
:11:03. > :11:07.do what they please. Sometimes the farmers are intimidated. The US PCA
:11:07. > :11:17.give us footage taken when they drove into a farm pretending to be
:11:17. > :11:31.
:11:31. > :11:41.I have also been shown posting unsocial media sites that shows a
:11:41. > :11:41.
:11:42. > :11:46.pack -- a picture of a damaged set. Any landowner, fears we have relied
:11:46. > :11:49.on you as the custodian of the countryside. Most of our best
:11:49. > :11:53.information comes from the farming community because they do love the
:11:53. > :12:01.animals and respect them. Any member of the farming community
:12:01. > :12:04.involved in this practice should be ashamed of themselves. One thing
:12:04. > :12:11.that is obvious is that a lot of badger digging takes place on or
:12:11. > :12:16.near dairy farms. Many farmers believe badgers can transmit TB to
:12:16. > :12:20.their animals, potentially costing them thousands of pounds. As the
:12:20. > :12:30.law stands, killing badgers is illegal but farmers are supporting
:12:30. > :12:32.
:12:32. > :12:38.calls for a cull. I am not aware of any farmers encouraging it. I would
:12:38. > :12:42.be very disappointed if any farmers were. Their livelihood is about
:12:42. > :12:46.looking after animals. I would be concerned if I knew of any farmer
:12:46. > :12:51.that was actively welcoming this on their land. Scientific experts are
:12:51. > :12:56.at loggerheads as to whether or not badgers carry TB and transmit it.
:12:56. > :12:59.It would seem however that few disagree that using dogs to tear
:12:59. > :13:04.badgers apart in the cruellest manner is no solution to any
:13:04. > :13:09.problem. Tomorrow night, with a look at just how those dogs also
:13:09. > :13:12.suffer. -- we will look. We understand this evening that
:13:12. > :13:17.police and USPCA are visiting premises in South Down in
:13:17. > :13:19.connection with badger baiting. We'll have the final part on this
:13:19. > :13:22.badger baiting investigation tomorrow night at 6:30pm. Our
:13:22. > :13:25.earlier reports have sparked a lot of reaction on our Facebook page,
:13:25. > :13:32.where the discussion continues, and if you missed the first report,
:13:32. > :13:41.it's on our news website. This is BBC Newsline and still to
:13:41. > :13:45.come on the programme: I am alive with the former Rangers player who
:13:45. > :13:52.was hoping to save the club until the end of the season.
:13:52. > :13:54.And a first look inside the new The Sinn Fein Culture Minister
:13:54. > :13:59.Caral Ni Chuillin has refused to rule out appointing another ex
:13:59. > :14:05.prisoner as her special adviser. It follows the decision of convicted
:14:05. > :14:08.murdered Mary McArdle to leave the post after only ten months. The
:14:08. > :14:14.sister of the woman she was convicted of killing says she's
:14:14. > :14:23.delighted at the move. Here's our political correspondent Gareth
:14:23. > :14:27.Gordon. We only ever got one brief public
:14:27. > :14:30.glimpse of Mary McCardle in her role as special adviser to the
:14:30. > :14:35.culture minister, probably because the appointment of the woman who
:14:35. > :14:39.was sentenced to life imprisonment for her part in the murder of Mary
:14:39. > :14:45.Travers was so controversial. The teacher was shot in the back as she
:14:45. > :14:50.left Mass with her magistrate father. He was also shot but
:14:50. > :14:53.survived. The family campaigned to have Mary McCardle removed from has
:14:53. > :14:56.dormant post and last night it was confirmed she would be leaving that
:14:56. > :15:01.job. It was like everything had been
:15:01. > :15:06.lifted off my shoulders. As if all the stress and strains of the last
:15:06. > :15:12.10 months and all the feelings that I was worth and we were worth
:15:13. > :15:17.nothing, Mary wasn't worth nothing, her memory was being solid,
:15:17. > :15:22.suddenly it all disappear. Sinn Fein denies it bowed to
:15:22. > :15:27.pressure. He I don't agree with that at all.
:15:27. > :15:33.Mary McCardle is a political ex- prisoner, as am I and many people.
:15:33. > :15:37.The appointment was made for the right reasons then. Mary's decision
:15:37. > :15:41.to read -- to move on is supported by myself as well.
:15:41. > :15:45.And Travers says she wants Mary McCardle to tell her who else was
:15:45. > :15:49.involved in the murder and the name of the person who ordered the
:15:49. > :15:53.operation. Caral Ni Chuillin says she may appoint another ex-prisoner
:15:53. > :15:55.to replace her. A former justice minister in the
:15:55. > :15:58.Republic has rejected suggestions that the Taoiseach Jack Lynch
:15:58. > :16:04.described the 1979 murders of 18 soldiers at Narrow Water, as a
:16:04. > :16:08.'political crime'. The claim was made yesterday by a former senior
:16:08. > :16:10.RUC officer in evidence to the Smithwick Tribunal. The retired
:16:10. > :16:16.assistant chief constable did not specify whether the Taoiseach he
:16:16. > :16:21.was referring to was Jack Lynch or Charles Haughey. Some media reports
:16:21. > :16:24.attributed the quote to Jack Lynch. But in a letter to the Tribunal,
:16:24. > :16:34.Gerry Collins disputed the account and said Mr Lynch was "vehemently
:16:34. > :16:41.
:16:41. > :16:44.opposed" to the IRA's campaign of violence.
:16:44. > :16:47.We'll have a first look around the new Titanic building shortly but
:16:47. > :16:50.first as the crisis at Rangers football club deepens even more.
:16:50. > :16:53.The former player Sandy Jardine is in Belfast this evening asking fans
:16:53. > :16:56.for financial support to help save the club. He's with our reporter
:16:56. > :17:00.Thomas Niblock. Rangers fans are a fighting club. I
:17:00. > :17:04.am joined by a former Rangers player who is helping spearhead
:17:04. > :17:09.this attempt to safeguard Rangers season until at least the end of
:17:09. > :17:14.the season. Tell me about what you're asking the Rangers
:17:14. > :17:19.supporters in Northern Ireland to Obviously, when the club first went
:17:19. > :17:23.into administration, we were inundated from supporters all over
:17:23. > :17:31.the world wanting to support money to help the club. We weren't quite
:17:31. > :17:35.ready to do anything and had to get ourselves organised. With the
:17:35. > :17:39.players taking a salary cut, we decided to have a bank account
:17:39. > :17:46.which would be controlled by the Rangers Association. All donations
:17:46. > :17:49.would go into that and we would be the administrators on a weekly
:17:49. > :17:53.basis and drip-feed money to keep the club running from now until,
:17:53. > :17:58.hopefully, the end of the season. You are meeting fans tonight in
:17:58. > :18:05.Belfast. He met some in Glasgow. Are they and they?
:18:05. > :18:11.No. It is not about anger. Everybody wants to blame somebody
:18:11. > :18:15.and it in about being positive and looking ahead. On Saturday, we had
:18:15. > :18:21.300 officials from all of the Rangers supporters in Scotland.
:18:21. > :18:26.They endorsed it and tonight we are Rover in Northern Ireland were a
:18:26. > :18:29.lot of the loyal Rangers associations will in Dorset as well.
:18:29. > :18:31.Are you have been Rangers would go into liquidation at the end of the
:18:31. > :18:36.season? I am more than happy to say that. I
:18:36. > :18:43.don't think we'll get anywhere near it liquidation. The donations we
:18:43. > :18:48.get will be out of administration. There are three people trying to
:18:48. > :18:52.buy the club and hopefully we will take liquidation out of the picture.
:18:52. > :18:55.Thank you for your time. Day two of the Cheltenham festival
:18:55. > :18:58.belonged to Barry Geraghty with a hat-trick of winners this afternoon.
:18:58. > :19:07.As for the big Ulster interest, that centered on the County Down
:19:07. > :19:15.Village of Ballygowan. Let's go now go live to Claire Savage to tell us
:19:15. > :19:20.just why? I am in the town where Moscow Mannon is named after. It
:19:20. > :19:26.wasn't quite what people had hoped for, 4th place. People are happy he
:19:26. > :19:31.made it that far. You work in Bryan Hamilton's yard. He is the trainer.
:19:31. > :19:37.What is the mood like? Everyone is over the moon with him.
:19:37. > :19:40.Moscow Mannon never lets you down. Unfortunately, the ground wasn't
:19:40. > :19:44.there for him but he ran his heart out.
:19:44. > :19:48.You actually broke Moscow Mannon in. Were you disappointed in those
:19:48. > :19:52.final furlongs, you didn't see the sprint which we saw in the previous
:19:52. > :19:57.three wins? No, I'm delighted with him. We
:19:57. > :20:02.can't wait till the next year. He will be even better and better. I'm
:20:02. > :20:06.delighted. Of course, the homecoming party
:20:06. > :20:10.will be planned but any words you wish to say to the trainer and the
:20:10. > :20:15.rider today? I would like to say a big world and
:20:15. > :20:20.to Bryan Hamilton. He has put a lot of effort into that wars. And to
:20:20. > :20:24.Declan, I would like to say well done.
:20:24. > :20:28.Declan was up against one of the best, Tony McCoy, in that race
:20:28. > :20:38.today. It may not have been the fairy-tale ending but nonetheless,
:20:38. > :20:41.
:20:41. > :20:44.Moscow Mannon will be having a massive homecoming party here.
:20:44. > :20:46.Unfortunately he didn't qualify for an each-way bet.
:20:46. > :20:49.The Sports Minister today confirmed five further countries will use
:20:49. > :20:54.Northern Ireland as their pre- Olympic training base. They're all
:20:54. > :20:59.from the Middle East. Mark Sidebottom has the details. For so
:20:59. > :21:04.long, it has all been about London. Now the Olympic ripples are being
:21:04. > :21:08.felt in Belfast and beyond. The athletes of Sudan, catarrh, Jordan,
:21:08. > :21:13.Kuwait and Egypt will soon be his strutting their stuff on this
:21:13. > :21:15.facility and a little further down the track, Stormont hopes to foster
:21:15. > :21:19.relations with Africa and the Middle East.
:21:19. > :21:23.We need to spend money on attracting people here to spend
:21:23. > :21:28.money here, to come back here to spend money. As well as that, to
:21:28. > :21:32.show what we have to offer and the nation's we are representing. We
:21:33. > :21:37.are going to have a brand which is associated with the Olympics, a
:21:37. > :21:41.great thing. We also need a brand which will have its own legacy and
:21:41. > :21:45.that will be, this is a good product.
:21:46. > :21:52.The real benefits are that we will see a Olympic athletes training
:21:52. > :21:57.here on our facilities. It will mean our local athletes will be
:21:57. > :22:03.able to see what calf -- what class athletes are. It puts Northern
:22:03. > :22:07.Ireland on the map and puts the forum on the map.
:22:07. > :22:15.It is anticipated the Cuban boxing team will also set up camp in
:22:15. > :22:20.Northern Ireland. Hopefully more countries yet to come. From east
:22:20. > :22:23.Belfast, back to the warm studio. Now for the first look inside
:22:23. > :22:26.Titanic Belfast. The signature building at the docks is due to
:22:26. > :22:28.open in just over two weeks and 80,000 tickets have already been
:22:28. > :22:31.sold. The six storey structure will house interactive exhibitions about
:22:31. > :22:39.the construction of the ship and its sinking. Chris Page gives us a
:22:39. > :22:44.tour. Just died the ship itself, Titanic
:22:44. > :22:48.Belfast is six storeys high and has taken three years to build. Now for
:22:48. > :22:51.the first time, some of the exhibits have been revealed. There
:22:52. > :22:56.will be nine Galleries, one will be capture working life in the
:22:56. > :22:59.shipyard. Another section will feature this replica of a first-
:22:59. > :23:04.class cabin. The challenge was to capture the grandeur and the
:23:04. > :23:09.tragedy. Three galleries will look at the sinking, its aftermath and
:23:09. > :23:13.how the story has inspired writers and film-makers. One of the most
:23:13. > :23:19.impressive sights is in the banqueting suite, a reconstruction
:23:19. > :23:23.of the Titanic's grand staircase. The staircase is definitely be
:23:23. > :23:29.while moment. We've had people in tears, would you believe. It is
:23:29. > :23:33.such a phenomenal backtracked. It evokes feelings of romance, passion
:23:33. > :23:37.and grandeur. This is just a small preview and
:23:37. > :23:42.the centre will contain much more. Everyone involved in Titanic
:23:42. > :23:47.Belfast is emphasising it will be an interactive experience. It is
:23:47. > :23:52.designed to enable visitors to visualise what happened on the
:23:52. > :23:58.slipways where the Titanic took shape. 80,000 tickets have already
:23:58. > :24:03.been sold. The people behind Titanic Belfast say they are
:24:03. > :24:08.confident expectations will be met and this attraction will transform
:24:08. > :24:11.Belfast's international reputation. And on the anniversary of the
:24:11. > :24:14.Titanic sinking on April the 15th we'll have a special programme live
:24:14. > :24:24.from that new building and we'll also be linking with BBC teams in
:24:24. > :24:28.Cobh, Southampton and on board a boat in the Atlantic. That's all on
:24:28. > :24:30.Sunday 15th of April. We'll have more details for you nearer the
:24:30. > :24:37.time. Now the latest weather news, here's
:24:37. > :24:41.We are eventually going to see a change but it will be a slow
:24:41. > :24:45.process through the next 24 hours. While we were expecting some bright
:24:45. > :24:51.spells to develop today, sadly, that ended up not being the case.
:24:51. > :24:56.We were shrouded beneath that gloom. That makes it four days in a row
:24:56. > :25:00.when we have seen little sunshine. For many of us, the sky ended up
:25:00. > :25:04.looking bland and grey, even gloomy in places. That cloud is going
:25:04. > :25:10.nowhere fast. A cloudy evening and night to come. As with previous
:25:10. > :25:13.nights, it might bring some hill fog and there could be some
:25:13. > :25:19.dampness and drizzle in the air but nothing more than that and it is
:25:19. > :25:24.frost-free. Temperatures at around six degrees. A weather front will
:25:24. > :25:28.eventually move its way in but I think it will be late in the day
:25:28. > :25:32.before we start to feel the impact of that. Still a lot of dry weather
:25:32. > :25:36.to come through the day tomorrow. Cloudy, dry start to tomorrow
:25:36. > :25:41.morning, just the odd spot of drizzle starting to edge in two
:25:41. > :25:46.parts of Donegal. For parts of Antrim and down, the cloud could
:25:46. > :25:51.then a little and give a bright spells. That could linger into the
:25:51. > :25:56.afternoon. The cloud starts to pile back in after that. Temperatures of
:25:56. > :26:01.12 Celsius but the cloud begins to thicken and spells of rain in
:26:01. > :26:06.Londonderry. Not a pleasant evening during rush-hour with moderate
:26:06. > :26:09.bursts of rain. That rain transfers eastwards into tomorrow evening and
:26:09. > :26:14.continues on and off through the course of tomorrow night. The
:26:14. > :26:17.breeze picks up as we head into Friday, pushing the rain out of the
:26:17. > :26:22.way and eventually bringing brighter spells from the Atlantic
:26:22. > :26:27.but there will be showers coming in, too. Fat breeze makes it feel
:26:27. > :26:31.chilly even in the sunshine. That stays with us into the weekend with
:26:31. > :26:41.some frosty nights. Brighter skies during the day but there will be
:26:41. > :26:44.
:26:44. > :26:48.showers around, more so on Saturday. Our late summary is at 10:25pm. We
:26:48. > :26:52.will tell you how there can be bright lights in the night sky over