:00:23. > :00:33.headlines. The Dungannon woman arrested in Peru for drug
:00:33. > :00:34.
:00:34. > :00:40.trafficking insists he -- insist they were forced into it I I gang.
:00:40. > :00:46.-- by a gang. Are you coming to Tennent's Vital? I
:00:46. > :00:55.will have travel details. There is a big football
:00:55. > :01:05.international around the corner. If you are heading outdoors tonight
:01:05. > :01:08.you will need the waterproofs. I will have more details later.
:01:08. > :01:16.The woman accused of drug trafficking in South America has
:01:16. > :01:20.been speaking to the media for the first time. Michaella McCollum and
:01:20. > :01:29.her friend from Scotland were interviewed by a Daily Mirror
:01:30. > :01:39.journalist. He said they told him they had been forced into George
:01:40. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :01:53.trafficking. -- drug-trafficking. Michaella McCollum from Dungannon
:01:53. > :01:58.and Melissa Reid say they are OK. The journalist later said they told
:01:58. > :02:08.him they had been forced to go to south America by an international
:02:08. > :02:15.
:02:15. > :02:25.drugs gang. They were befriended and from there
:02:25. > :02:28.
:02:29. > :02:38.they were taken to San Antonio. They were introduced to attract cartel.
:02:39. > :02:39.
:02:39. > :02:44.-- a drug cartel. The story has made headlines around the world including
:02:44. > :02:54.in a smack where the relatives of Michaella McCollum are awaiting
:02:54. > :02:56.
:02:56. > :03:01.news. -- including in Dungannon. They have sent e-mails and made
:03:01. > :03:11.phone calls to international support groups in Peru. There is support in
:03:11. > :03:16.
:03:17. > :03:20.the town for the family. Nobody really knows what is happening.
:03:20. > :03:30.A retired Irish diplomat has been to see them to try to find out what is
:03:30. > :03:35.
:03:35. > :03:39.happening. We understand that some family members may be coming.
:03:39. > :03:44.were due to appear in court today but it seems the case has been
:03:44. > :03:48.delayed. For the sixth month in a row the
:03:48. > :03:53.number of people signing on the dole has dropped. The Enterprise Minister
:03:53. > :03:57.says that means the economy is regaining strength. In a moment we
:03:57. > :04:07.will see if those figures reflect what is happening on the ground.
:04:07. > :04:08.
:04:08. > :04:15.First let us take a look at the official numbers. In July 62,400
:04:15. > :04:20.people claimed and employment benefits. That is the drop of 500.
:04:21. > :04:25.The figures also point to some long-term problems. Look at the
:04:25. > :04:34.people classed as economic we enacted, which in most cases means
:04:34. > :04:38.they are not looking for work. -- economic li inactive.
:04:38. > :04:44.The town of Strabane has for many years suffered from high
:04:44. > :04:47.unemployment. A lot has been done to encourage people to learn new skills
:04:47. > :04:56.which will hopefully improve people mac chances of getting employment
:04:56. > :05:06.will stop -- which will hopefully improve the chances of people
:05:06. > :05:12.
:05:12. > :05:21.getting employment. A sprawling urban community. Work
:05:21. > :05:31.does not always come their way. Strabane has historically struggled
:05:31. > :05:32.
:05:32. > :05:42.with jobs. It finds itself above the average for Northern Ireland for
:05:42. > :05:45.
:05:45. > :05:53.people signing on the dole. Like many of his friends this man
:05:53. > :06:03.has no job. I was low in confidence and needed
:06:03. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:14.something to do. I asked for some help. They have been helping me with
:06:14. > :06:18.
:06:18. > :06:22.my music. Training like this helps but about real jobs. The people we
:06:22. > :06:32.work with have had a negative experience in school. They have low
:06:32. > :06:36.
:06:36. > :06:46.confidence. Young people keep coming here looking for training.
:06:46. > :06:47.
:06:47. > :06:57.ambition is to be a soccer coach. I want to get more qualifications.
:06:57. > :06:58.
:06:58. > :07:04.This is the training. All these young people need now are jobs.
:07:04. > :07:10.The recent loss of one of Strabane's best-known stories summed
:07:10. > :07:19.up the local impact of the global recession. Linton and Robinson's was
:07:19. > :07:22.a family run company. For the first time one of its founding directors
:07:22. > :07:29.has spoken on television about the heartbreaking decision to
:07:29. > :07:34.effectively end the business. The Linton and Robinson department store
:07:34. > :07:39.developed out of this hardware shop in 1954. It grew to become a
:07:39. > :07:46.household name. It sold furniture, hardware, and agricultural
:07:46. > :07:56.machinery. This is one of the original founding members. He
:07:56. > :07:57.
:07:57. > :08:06.recalls a thriving business which at one stage employed 75 people.
:08:06. > :08:16.and Robinson's was a household name. But computers came in. Online was
:08:16. > :08:27.
:08:27. > :08:35.the way that businesses went. You had the pressure of everything. It
:08:35. > :08:45.ruined the business. But the face of Strabane has changed John
:08:45. > :08:50.
:08:50. > :08:59.radically. -- changed considerably. One has only to look at the recent
:08:59. > :09:07.past, retailers who have been around for nearly 100 years. The retail
:09:07. > :09:13.cycle has become shorter and more intensive. Linton and Robinson's
:09:13. > :09:20.faced many challenges. It kept trading during the worst excesses of
:09:20. > :09:28.the troubles. In 2005 its farm machinery Department was targeted by
:09:28. > :09:38.the sudden stop one man who worked for almost 25 years said it was the
:09:38. > :09:41.
:09:41. > :09:51.end of the user. -- end of an user. I am very sad that Linton and
:09:51. > :09:51.
:09:51. > :10:01.Robinson has died. If I was 20 years younger I would have come back in
:10:01. > :10:07.again and see what I could do. retail park has led to a reduction
:10:07. > :10:17.in shoppers going into the town centre. Whether family run stores
:10:17. > :10:17.
:10:17. > :10:23.can flourish in the future remains an open question. The financial
:10:23. > :10:26.journalist Paul Gosling joins me now. 500 fewer people claiming an
:10:26. > :10:33.employment benefits, but how important is the detail of those who
:10:34. > :10:41.are economically inactive? They either do not qualify for the dole
:10:41. > :10:46.or they are not looking for work. The rate of people in work in
:10:46. > :10:53.Northern Ireland is the lowest in the UK. We have serious underlying
:10:53. > :10:57.problems. It is about the manned. A lot of people are not being pacified
:10:57. > :11:06.as unemployed because they are long-term sick. We have the
:11:06. > :11:11.underlying problems. -- classified as unemployed.
:11:11. > :11:18.It is a very slow improvements. In some measures and employment is
:11:18. > :11:22.improving, in some measures it is worse. We are just about struggling
:11:22. > :11:27.out of recession battered will be very slow. We will not recover at
:11:27. > :11:37.the same rate as the rest of the United kingdom.
:11:37. > :11:45.The end of the year for a department store. How much more could educators
:11:45. > :11:52.do take get the workforce back on the right track? That has to be the
:11:52. > :11:58.-- that has to be the emphasis. We need to ensure that every child who
:11:58. > :12:08.leads a school has basic skills. Too many people leave without basic
:12:08. > :12:12.
:12:12. > :12:19.skills. We have got the smallest higher education sector in the UK.
:12:19. > :12:22.Thank you for joining us. A prominent union flag protester has
:12:22. > :12:29.been acquitted of assaulting a police officer at a demonstration in
:12:30. > :12:36.Belfast. Jonny Harvey was also cleared of disorderly behaviour. He
:12:36. > :12:44.had been accused of pushing a senior officer last December. The judge
:12:44. > :12:54.dismissed the case. Still to come bash we are in County
:12:54. > :12:59.
:12:59. > :13:03.Tyrone. I will be speaking to the manager.
:13:03. > :13:06.The world police last week were described as the friendliest games
:13:07. > :13:16.in the event 's history but it has emerged that in the dead of night,
:13:16. > :13:19.thieves stole various items from two of the venues.
:13:19. > :13:24.One of the most colourful events during the world police and fire
:13:24. > :13:28.games. Whilst all eyes were on spectacles like this, there was
:13:28. > :13:33.something untoward going on elsewhere. No sooner had the rugby
:13:33. > :13:37.balls been put away when thieves struck. They got into this facility
:13:37. > :13:42.sometime during the early hours of the mooring and they took to
:13:42. > :13:50.generators and eight PA system. That is not all that was stolen. 40 kegs
:13:50. > :13:55.of beer. That is a lot of beer to disappear. �6,000 worth. Have you
:13:55. > :14:05.heard about the case of the missing beer kegs christen Mark I find that
:14:05. > :14:06.
:14:06. > :14:12.really hard to believe. It is hard to fathom. Have you seen anyone
:14:12. > :14:17.rolling any kegs done any hills? I've seen nothing, unfortunately.
:14:17. > :14:22.you have seen anyone running around with 40 of these, a pop-up gazebo,
:14:23. > :14:29.to generators and a PA system, contact police.
:14:29. > :14:31.Big crowds are descending on south Belfast this evening. Some are
:14:32. > :14:36.heading to the international football match at Windsor Park. Less
:14:36. > :14:39.than half a mile down the road for the start of a huge music festival
:14:39. > :14:43.with tens of thousands of people expected at the Tennent's Vital
:14:43. > :14:51.event. Our reporter Conor Macauley is on Boucher Road for us. I'd say
:14:51. > :14:55.walking is the best form of transport there.
:14:55. > :15:00.Yes, people have been flooding in through the gates since half past
:15:00. > :15:04.four. When you take into account there is another 10,000 or so down
:15:04. > :15:08.the road at the football match, you can see the potential for traffic
:15:08. > :15:12.chaos on the Boucher Road. But the traffic management system is working
:15:12. > :15:18.very well so far. Absolutely no problems that I have seen. But the
:15:18. > :15:23.best way to get here is probably by public transport.
:15:23. > :15:27.The buses and trains, what is the best way to get here? Thousands of
:15:27. > :15:30.people have been getting here by buses and trains. We have special
:15:30. > :15:39.trains from all parts of the network and special coaches from across
:15:39. > :15:43.Northern Ireland. Getting away from these things is sometimes more
:15:43. > :15:49.difficult than getting to them. What are the arrangements for later on?
:15:49. > :15:53.We have a special service to the city centre. Boucher Road will be
:15:53. > :15:58.closed off to all traffic. We also have special trains travelling on
:15:58. > :16:02.all parts of the network to get people home. We will get people
:16:02. > :16:07.home. Thank you very much. That is good news.
:16:07. > :16:12.I have seen a lot of people being dropped off in taxis. It is not a
:16:12. > :16:22.problem now but it will be a problem at 11pm when the concert is over.
:16:22. > :16:25.
:16:25. > :16:30.The roads will be closed to traffic. We will have the weather forecast
:16:30. > :16:37.for Belfast this evening shortly. Still to come, how the statue of a
:16:37. > :16:40.Lurgan legend is now in its rightful home.
:16:40. > :16:46.Northern Ireland have a big task ahead tonight in a World Cup
:16:46. > :16:51.qualifier. The Russians are in town. Stephen Watson is live at Windsor
:16:51. > :16:56.Park. This game was due to be played on
:16:56. > :16:59.the 22nd March but the big freeze meant it was called off. No concerns
:16:59. > :17:03.tonight but the challenge is daunting. Michael O'Neill looking
:17:03. > :17:13.for his first win in his tenth game in charge against Fabio Capello's
:17:13. > :17:15.
:17:15. > :17:18.Russian side. They're aiming to go top of Group F. We have just heard
:17:18. > :17:21.that Jonny Evans of Manchester United is out. With me is a man who
:17:21. > :17:26.knows all about big occasions at this ground, former international
:17:26. > :17:30.Keith Gillespie. Your reaction to that news?
:17:30. > :17:34.Yes, it is a big blow for Northern Ireland. He has been a consistent
:17:34. > :17:38.performer both at club level and international level. Despite being
:17:38. > :17:43.quite young still, he is very experienced at international level
:17:43. > :17:48.now. It obviously gives another player an opportunity to come in. He
:17:48. > :17:51.can show what he can do but it will be a big mess. And if Northern
:17:51. > :17:56.Ireland were to win or even get a draw tonight, it was about the
:17:57. > :18:03.experienced players. Yes, it is important there are experienced
:18:03. > :18:07.players playing well. They have been there and done it. They know what
:18:07. > :18:09.the occasion is all about. This is a big occasion tonight. Michael
:18:10. > :18:17.O'Neill is still looking for his first victory. Hopefully tonight can
:18:17. > :18:22.be the time. Northern Ireland have sprung a surprise or two here in the
:18:22. > :18:26.past. Can we realistically see them doing tonight? Why not? Nobody gave
:18:26. > :18:32.as much hope when we played England and Spain. Nobody thought we could
:18:32. > :18:36.beat them. Tonight, Russia, it will be a very difficult team. They have
:18:36. > :18:40.a very experienced side and an experienced manager. It will be nice
:18:40. > :18:45.to see some rain on the surface. It will make for a good passing game.
:18:45. > :18:48.Hopefully the boys can go out there and do us proud. People have been
:18:48. > :18:54.used to watching David Healy scoring all the goals and he is now semi
:18:54. > :18:59.retired. Martin Paterson will lead the line
:18:59. > :19:04.tonight. Yes, it has been a real problem for Northern Ireland
:19:04. > :19:07.recently. There have been problems with injury. If you did David 's
:19:07. > :19:11.goals out of the team and you are really struggling. But Martin has a
:19:11. > :19:15.chance tonight. He only has one goal at international level so far but
:19:15. > :19:20.hopefully he will add to that tonight. It is a thankless task
:19:20. > :19:26.playing up there on his own. He is not the tallest and he will work the
:19:26. > :19:30.line very well. It gives him a chance to show what he can do.
:19:30. > :19:35.will be joining me on our television highlights tonight on BBC One. You
:19:35. > :19:38.can also listen to live commentary of the game on BBC radio Ulster FM.
:19:38. > :19:41.Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has rung the changes to
:19:41. > :19:46.his side for tonight's friendy with Wales in Cardiff. Only two players
:19:46. > :19:49.are retained from the friendly with Spain in June. James McClean misses
:19:49. > :19:53.out in the last game before the World Cup qualifiers against Sweden
:19:53. > :19:56.and Austria next month. Gaelic Football and Tyrone's Conor Gormley
:19:56. > :20:03.is set to miss the All-Ireland football semifinal with Mayo, He's
:20:03. > :20:08.been hit with a one match ban by the GAA. So will Tyrone be appealing
:20:08. > :20:13.appeal? Thomas Kane is live in the county with the manager Mickey
:20:13. > :20:19.Harte. Yes, thank you very much. It follows
:20:19. > :20:24.an incident as the players made their way off the field in that
:20:24. > :20:31.quarterfinal. The GAA are looking at a grassed respectively. Joining me
:20:31. > :20:36.is Mickey Harte. We are not appealing. We have applied for a
:20:36. > :20:42.hearing and we are delighted to have the opportunity to do that. Conor
:20:42. > :20:45.Gormley can present is out of what happened. We are very hopeful that
:20:45. > :20:50.the people on the board will listen carefully and be in a position to
:20:50. > :20:55.make a real judgement on what went on. What is your view of the
:20:55. > :20:59.incident? My view is it deserves a hearing. It needs the players to
:20:59. > :21:03.give their side of the story and to the people making the decision. At
:21:03. > :21:06.the moment, that is still there to be decided upon. They have to have
:21:06. > :21:13.the right to put their side of the story there. We are delighted they
:21:13. > :21:18.have the opportunity to do that. There has been criticism in the
:21:18. > :21:24.media. Do you think that has influenced the GAA? I would not
:21:24. > :21:26.believe that is the case. The players are big enough to stand on
:21:26. > :21:33.their own two feet. These things will go on in press circles and in
:21:33. > :21:41.the media. The people who make decisions make them in good faith.
:21:41. > :21:48.So much has been said about that tackle. Well, he held his hands up
:21:48. > :21:57.and he said it was a foul but I would like to say that the kind of
:21:57. > :22:00.file that was committed it not hurt anyone. Some of the players may well
:22:00. > :22:04.injure players but they do not attract the attention. But is life.
:22:04. > :22:08.I do not think this cynicism which was attributed to so much, I don't
:22:08. > :22:13.think we deserve that tag. It is not something any of us want to see in
:22:13. > :22:20.the game. Steps will be taken to reduce it and continue to be taken
:22:20. > :22:25.to reduce it. Mickey Harte, thank you for joining us. Unbelievable
:22:25. > :22:29.facilities. This centre opens next month. Rugby. Ulster's Tommy Bowe
:22:30. > :22:34.could miss the first three months of the season due to a an injury he
:22:34. > :22:37.sustained on duty with the British and Irish Lions. Bowe had
:22:37. > :22:41.exploratory surgery today on his wrist which he broke in Australia
:22:41. > :22:46.earlier this summer. He was scheduled to return to action with
:22:46. > :22:55.Ulster in early October but could be now out for 12 weeks. That means he
:22:55. > :23:01.would miss the opening two games in the Heineken Cup. But is it from
:23:01. > :23:05.Windsor Park. Just two wins in the last 33 matches for Northern
:23:05. > :23:08.Ireland. It is hard to be optimistic but you never know.
:23:09. > :23:14.Name a famous greyhound and in this part of the world there's only one
:23:14. > :23:18.that many will say, Master McGrath. He was one of sports most celebrated
:23:18. > :23:24.animals from the 19th century. So celebrated, Queen Victoria asked to
:23:24. > :23:26.meet him. In his home town of Lurgan though there was a distinct lack of
:23:26. > :23:36.recognition. Until now. As our district reporter Gordon Adair's
:23:36. > :23:37.
:23:37. > :23:44.been finding out every dog does indeed have its day.
:23:44. > :23:54.It was from Brownslow House, hold of his -- home of his ill owner that
:23:54. > :23:56.
:23:56. > :24:06.Master McGrath set off in 1868 and his place as a sporting legend.
:24:06. > :24:08.
:24:08. > :24:11.It was the only dog that won it three times. Another dog did not win
:24:11. > :24:19.because it was believed that the dog was doped by the trainer. They
:24:19. > :24:29.brought a new trainer in and it won the following year. The year that he
:24:29. > :24:38.
:24:38. > :24:42.lost, it was thought that he had �10,000 on it. The family gave his
:24:42. > :24:46.bronze to the people of Lurgan and it stood outside the Civic Centre in
:24:46. > :24:52.Craigavon for decades. Not any more though, now it is back home in
:24:52. > :24:57.Lurgan. People are absolutely delighted to see him back. This is
:24:57. > :25:01.where he belongs. I am delighted. And so are the people of Lurgan. I
:25:01. > :25:06.would like to thank the Council for giving the dog back, so to speak.
:25:06. > :25:13.But he does belong to the people of Lurgan, he is a Lurgan dog, not a
:25:13. > :25:20.Craigavon dog. In front of me, there was a man with two young children
:25:20. > :25:25.and the bronze was there the day before. The father started to tell
:25:25. > :25:28.the children about the famous greyhound, Master McGrath. The
:25:28. > :25:38.children were not aware of what it was. They were getting a history
:25:38. > :25:42.lesson. Pride of place. Now let's get the latest on the weather.
:25:42. > :25:52.People go into the football in south Belfast, all of those going to the
:25:52. > :25:53.
:25:53. > :25:58.ponchos are bound to be doing a roaring trade this evening. It is
:25:58. > :26:01.not a great night to be outdoors. We do have quite a bit of rain to come.
:26:01. > :26:06.The rain has eased off. If you are heading to Windsor Park for the
:26:06. > :26:09.game, or indeed Cardiff for the Republic game, we are expecting some
:26:09. > :26:15.damp weather. And for the Tennent's Vital, we are expecting heavy rain
:26:15. > :26:19.pushing in later this evening. This is the picture. This is the rain
:26:19. > :26:22.edging its way in from the West. As you can see, the dark colours
:26:22. > :26:31.indicates that rain will be heavy as we go through the night. It is not
:26:31. > :26:34.going to be a cold night. Anything around 15 or 16 degrees for most of
:26:34. > :26:39.us. That'll give us a mild start tomorrow. It will also be grey and
:26:39. > :26:43.damp. But don't despair, there will be brighter weather developing by
:26:43. > :26:46.lunchtime. Tomorrow morning, damp and drizzly to begin with for many
:26:46. > :26:51.places and it will then begin to brighten up towards lunchtime. We
:26:51. > :26:56.have some more rain heading our way. But before that, some sunshine,
:26:56. > :27:01.especially towards the north coast. Temperatures of 19 or 20 degrees is
:27:01. > :27:06.still above average for the time of year. But then the afternoon, this
:27:06. > :27:13.rain pushing up. Some of that rain is going to be quite heavy.
:27:13. > :27:18.Eventually, the heavy rain will push westwards. A wet evening to come
:27:18. > :27:22.tomorrow night as well. It will turn dry around a bit of a cooler night
:27:22. > :27:28.tomorrow. 12 or 13 degrees. That'll give this a better start Friday.
:27:28. > :27:33.Certainly promising. But we can expect some more outbreaks of rain.
:27:33. > :27:36.Not all the time. There will be dry weather to. We hold onto those