:00:00. > :00:16.power cuts to thousands of homes. Now we can join the
:00:17. > :00:23.The headlines on BBC Newsline. A multi-million pound upgrade for one
:00:24. > :00:27.of our busiest roads. We'll show you what's planned. A man has been in
:00:28. > :00:32.court in Londonderry charged with having explosives and firearms.
:00:33. > :00:38.Richard Haass is back in town. He says he's in listening and learning
:00:39. > :00:46.mode. The row over the number of VIP tickets for a free Van Morrison
:00:47. > :00:51.concert in Belfast. A showdown between the two biggest draws in
:00:52. > :00:55.golf but it did Rory McIlroy eat Tiger Woods in China? If you are off
:00:56. > :00:59.for the Halloween break, keep the waterproofs handy, we are in for a
:01:00. > :01:04.blustery week. I will be back with the details.
:01:05. > :01:08.The A1 is probably our most important road link. Running between
:01:09. > :01:13.Belfast and Dublin, it carries 38,000 vehicles a day. The road has
:01:14. > :01:17.seen piecemeal development over the years that has left different bits
:01:18. > :01:22.of it with different speed limits and lots of drivers get caught in
:01:23. > :01:25.the police speed traps. But now a major improvement scheme is being
:01:26. > :01:37.proposed that would see tens of millions spent and might mean fewer
:01:38. > :01:44.drivers being caught for speeding. Driving along the A1 you move from
:01:45. > :01:50.70 miles an hour speed limits to 60. It is a hangover from the
:01:51. > :01:53.mid-90s when major junctions at Banbridge and more accident
:01:54. > :01:58.blackspots and the speed restrictions were a temporary fix. A
:01:59. > :02:03.?30 million upgrade into thousand and nine sorted out those junctions
:02:04. > :02:06.with ridges and underpasses but the temporary restrictions were never
:02:07. > :02:11.lifted a stop addicts say it has meant easy pickings for police. I
:02:12. > :02:16.dried this road twice a day every day and regularly see police speed
:02:17. > :02:24.traps. I only ever see them in the sections where the speed is
:02:25. > :02:28.restricted to 60 miles an hour. The irony is that the sections where it
:02:29. > :02:36.is restricted to 60, like here at Banbridge, it is probably one of the
:02:37. > :02:40.safest sections of this fast-moving dual carriageway. Police figures
:02:41. > :02:47.released to the Belfast Telegraph show that in three years, 3447
:02:48. > :02:53.people were convicted of speeding along the A1. A former roads
:02:54. > :02:58.minister who commute along the road himself says it is time for a
:02:59. > :03:03.rethink. It is time for a reassessment of the 60 mile an hour
:03:04. > :03:06.speed limit. It was therefore purpose but that has now gone with
:03:07. > :03:11.the infrastructure improvements that have been going on and that quite
:03:12. > :03:16.clearly has had a reduction in accidents. Change is coming, a major
:03:17. > :03:24.new scheme proposed would see for new flyovers and a new onset at
:03:25. > :03:26.Banbridge. The cost would be ?50 million. It would also mean the
:03:27. > :03:31.introduction of a central crash barrier and the closing off of some
:03:32. > :03:34.minor roads that open onto the dual carriageway at the moment. The
:03:35. > :03:39.public will be invited to see the plans next month. Many houses front
:03:40. > :03:45.onto the road, it will mean some inconvenience for them? Yes,
:03:46. > :03:52.inevitably, this is what happens when you upgrade a road, rather than
:03:53. > :03:56.building a new dual carriageway. It will inconvenience some people
:03:57. > :03:58.certainly. In the case of infrastructure like this, you have
:03:59. > :04:03.to look at the benefits to society as a whole and the problem is, there
:04:04. > :04:08.are people dying at these junctions. The roads service says it and the
:04:09. > :04:11.police recently looked at the speed limit sections and concluded that
:04:12. > :04:14.they should remain for now. The A1 southbound carriageway was
:04:15. > :04:18.shut for a time this afternoon following a crash between two
:04:19. > :04:22.vehicles. A tractor was involved in the collision on the road south of
:04:23. > :04:28.Newry. Drivers were diverted by Camlough. The road reopened around
:04:29. > :04:31.4:30. A man has appeared in court charged
:04:32. > :04:44.with having a haul with explosives and guns including hand grenades and
:04:45. > :04:50.an improvised submachinegun. Before the court was Ryan O'Reilly
:04:51. > :04:53.from Strand Road. He faces a total of nine charges including the
:04:54. > :04:58.possession of explosives, namely military hand grenades, in
:04:59. > :05:05.suspicious circumstances. He is also accused the of firearms including a
:05:06. > :05:12.submachinegun. Also, having two pistols and a stun gun. In relation
:05:13. > :05:16.to the possession of one pistol, Ryan O'Reilly told police, that was
:05:17. > :05:22.in my possession if you years ago. However, I have nothing to do with,
:05:23. > :05:27.nor did I bring any explosives into Derry. I strongly deny importation
:05:28. > :05:31.of drugs. He also strongly advise all other charges. In the brief
:05:32. > :05:35.hearing, a detective told the court he believed he could connect Ryan
:05:36. > :05:39.O'Reilly to the offences. There was no application for bail. He was
:05:40. > :05:44.remanded in custody until the 21st of November.
:05:45. > :05:49.A woman has died in a fire in Portadown. It was in the garage of a
:05:50. > :05:58.house in Oakleigh Park. The woman's name will not be released until all
:05:59. > :06:05.her family are told. The fire happened this morning at a
:06:06. > :06:10.house in Oakleigh Park. Three fire crews and police were called to the
:06:11. > :06:14.scene just before 7:20 if morning. A short time later, the body of a
:06:15. > :06:18.woman was found in the garage adjoining the house. The Fire
:06:19. > :06:22.Service have described the fire as significant and an investigation has
:06:23. > :06:27.now begun. A forensic examination of the property is being carried out.
:06:28. > :06:29.The American diplomat tasks with breaking political deadlock here
:06:30. > :06:34.says he believes most people are ready for compromise. Richard Haass,
:06:35. > :06:37.who returned to Belfast today, is chairing talks on outstanding issues
:06:38. > :06:43.such as flags, parading and the past. Dr Haass met the Assembly
:06:44. > :06:59.speaker as well as smaller parties such as the Greens, UKIP and NI21.
:07:00. > :07:08.The tail end of the storm, named for Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost
:07:09. > :07:12.causes. Cue the man who is resolving our conflicts about the past.
:07:13. > :07:15.Richard has said it was good to be back and after reading submissions
:07:16. > :07:20.from across the political spectrum, said there is still hope to be found
:07:21. > :07:24.here. There has been a lot of progress, there is more progress to
:07:25. > :07:30.be made. There is also some concern about some things that threaten the
:07:31. > :07:34.progress. My own sense, from the submissions, is that the vast
:07:35. > :07:42.majority of people here are ready for compromise and to move on. NI21
:07:43. > :07:49.was among the smaller parties meeting him today. And it claims our
:07:50. > :07:54.own political leaders should have been able to solve their own
:07:55. > :07:57.problems. We should not have had to bring in somebody from across the
:07:58. > :08:01.seas, we should have been able to do it around the Executive. We do not
:08:02. > :08:08.need people coming from other parts of the world to help us. Others saw
:08:09. > :08:14.little room for compromise. I was very strict with him in terms of
:08:15. > :08:18.what I asked him for. I asked him that the union flag needed to be
:08:19. > :08:26.reinstated all year around. I said to him that the criteria for victims
:08:27. > :08:32.needed to be decided and an urgent reply given by the Secretary of
:08:33. > :08:36.State, and that the lodges in Portadown and Megan Neil needed to
:08:37. > :08:41.complete their 12th of July walk. Richard Haass has promised to update
:08:42. > :08:45.us on Friday on these talks but he is due in London tomorrow to meet
:08:46. > :08:50.the Secretary of State and on Dublin on Thursday for talks there.
:08:51. > :08:55.Still to come on the programme, the free Van Morrison concert with 500
:08:56. > :09:07.tickets going to VIPs. We will have reaction.
:09:08. > :09:09.A letter bomb has been sent to the offices of the Public Prosecution
:09:10. > :09:13.Service in Londonderry. The building on the Limavady Road was evacuated
:09:14. > :09:16.at around lunchtime. The Army took away the package for further
:09:17. > :09:19.examination. The police said the bomb was similar in make-up to two
:09:20. > :09:30.devices found in sorting offices last Friday.
:09:31. > :09:35.One fifth of the tickets for Van Morrison 's concert next month have
:09:36. > :09:39.been reserved for a city councillors. Confirmation of this
:09:40. > :09:42.has sparked anger among some ratepayers who feel all the tickets
:09:43. > :09:58.should be given to the people of the city.
:09:59. > :10:02.It will not be the first time people have seen Van Morrison free of
:10:03. > :10:06.charge in Belfast. He performed in front of the City Hall during
:10:07. > :10:11.President Clinton 's visit 18 years ago. This one is different. This
:10:12. > :10:16.time, the East Belfast singer songwriter is the sole star of the
:10:17. > :10:19.show. It was his idea to do a free concert to mark the official
:10:20. > :10:22.conferring of the Freedom of the city in recognition of his
:10:23. > :10:29.contribution to music around the world. News that 500 of the 2,500
:10:30. > :10:35.tickets are being held back for councillors and VIPs has got tongues
:10:36. > :10:40.wagging on the streets of Belfast. They should have given out more than
:10:41. > :10:44.that. They should be allowed to keep some for themselves but it is good
:10:45. > :10:50.for the public getting 2000 tickets. They get plenty. Give them out and
:10:51. > :10:56.share them with the people. Politicians and VIPs who would be
:10:57. > :11:04.getting a lot of wealth? If I was in their position, I would give ?100 to
:11:05. > :11:10.charity and that would take the sting out of the deal. Any contours
:11:11. > :11:15.that come to this town, the great and the good get everything first.
:11:16. > :11:18.The City Council says this is not a concert in the conventional sense
:11:19. > :11:24.and it is completely justifiable that representatives are given the
:11:25. > :11:29.opportunity to attend. Regardless of what you do, you will never please
:11:30. > :11:34.everybody. We have done our best. There are 31 councillors here and we
:11:35. > :11:39.are getting for each. Some of them will be giving away tickets to the
:11:40. > :11:44.disabled people and charitable organisations. We cannot bring
:11:45. > :11:48.everyone in. Some people suggested we should use the big screen at the
:11:49. > :11:53.front of the City Hall and allow people to see exactly what the
:11:54. > :11:59.occasion is like. I have asked the officers of the council to look at
:12:00. > :12:03.that. The City Council says, this is not a concert in the conventional
:12:04. > :12:09.sense and it is completely justifiable that elected
:12:10. > :12:12.representatives are given the opportunity to attend. The special
:12:13. > :12:17.concert takes place at the Waterfront Hall on the 15th of
:12:18. > :12:22.November. Applications close at 5pm this Wednesday but the City Council
:12:23. > :12:28.says it is likely that some of the 500 tickets which have been held
:12:29. > :12:31.back depending on uptake may well be released to Belfast ratepayers
:12:32. > :12:40.nearer the time of the concert. All is not lost for fans of a marathon.
:12:41. > :12:44.-- fans of Van Morrison. That has got some mini people
:12:45. > :12:49.talking on our Facebook page today. Let us know what you think, log onto
:12:50. > :12:52.Facebook and search for BBC Newsline.
:12:53. > :13:01.Still to come on the programme, how changes to qualifying for the Open
:13:02. > :13:06.could affect our golfers. 50 years ago today, a new airport
:13:07. > :13:09.was opened in County Antrim. It was called Aldergrove and was Northern
:13:10. > :13:13.Ireland's only civil airport at the time. It replaced the airport at
:13:14. > :13:17.Notts Corner which was straining to cope with increased air traffic and
:13:18. > :13:21.was prone to the effects of poor weather conditions. Aldergrove was
:13:22. > :13:24.renamed Belfast International in the 80s and it has witnessed the
:13:25. > :13:39.transition from the age of luxury air travel to the rise of budget
:13:40. > :13:44.airlines. It was a golden age of air travel, Northern Ireland's main
:13:45. > :13:49.airport was at Nutts Corner but as the planes got bigger a new one was
:13:50. > :13:57.needed. There was already a longer runway at Aldergrove. A decision was
:13:58. > :14:03.made in 1959 to move the main civilian airport to Aldergrove. The
:14:04. > :14:09.public were able to travel to 18 destinations across the UK and
:14:10. > :14:13.Ireland. Within a few years of opening, the terminal and runway
:14:14. > :14:19.were extended and transatlantic flights to New York began. When I
:14:20. > :14:24.first came, we were not big enough to take a large aircraft. The
:14:25. > :14:32.director said you will never get a jumbo in here or Concorde. Those are
:14:33. > :14:39.the outstanding items. Concorde was not a regular service but from 1977,
:14:40. > :14:44.jumbo jets were. Any big aircraft can land here, useful for military
:14:45. > :14:49.which maintains a presence on the site and freight. At one stage there
:14:50. > :14:55.were more flights during the night hours than June daylight hours. They
:14:56. > :15:05.were flying in newspapers most nights, 11 tonnes of live eels to
:15:06. > :15:10.Amsterdam and Germany. The airport had turbulent times as well, it
:15:11. > :15:18.became a target during the troubles, a mortar attack in 1976
:15:19. > :15:19.led to a permanent security checkpoint. It was removed after the
:15:20. > :15:23.peace agreement, something which coincided with the rise of budget
:15:24. > :15:29.airlines and a huge increase in air travel. The airport has seen the
:15:30. > :15:33.famous, the rich and powerful. Today, there was an opportunity to
:15:34. > :15:39.look on five decades and consider the future. The key issue for us
:15:40. > :15:46.over the next few years is to ensure road access between the motorways is
:15:47. > :15:51.upgraded to the airport to be sure people are getting the best possible
:15:52. > :16:07.service. 50 years, 120 million passengers and counting. Times have
:16:08. > :16:09.certainly changed. Turning to golf now and changes are afoot with the
:16:10. > :16:21.Open qualification. Stephen Watson is here to explain. What was the old
:16:22. > :16:24.way of qualifying question mark It's the biggest golf tournament in the
:16:25. > :16:27.world. Many ways to qualify - winning it like Darren Clarke or
:16:28. > :16:30.Padraig Harrington, win another major like Graeme McDowell or Rory
:16:31. > :16:35.McIlroy, Plus many separate rigorous qualifying events. Now the system
:16:36. > :16:41.been revamped with the introduction of a new international qualifying
:16:42. > :16:43.series. And the new way? Players can qualify from ten other regular
:16:44. > :16:47.tournaments - including importantly the Irish Open - which is likely to
:16:48. > :16:58.help attract even bigger names to the event. One player who has been
:16:59. > :17:03.through the qualification is one of our top professionals and he spoke
:17:04. > :17:05.to Thomas Kane. There are 44 qualification places available
:17:06. > :17:16.across the tournaments throughout the world. What do you make of the
:17:17. > :17:22.changes? They are good, it will be more fun at the Irish open and on
:17:23. > :17:30.the downside the amateurs will lose out because anybody can enter so now
:17:31. > :17:36.that will not be the case. Is it fairer? In terms of a better field,
:17:37. > :17:41.it is. The field will get stronger and deeper. A big part of the open
:17:42. > :17:48.was the amateurs playing and that created a buzz. How big a boost is
:17:49. > :17:52.this for the Irish open in terms of attracting the field?
:17:53. > :17:58.Ten players, ten top-class players that were not going to play to start
:17:59. > :18:06.with. It is great. What calibre of player could it
:18:07. > :18:14.attract given the time of year? Qualifying isn't easy. The top 50
:18:15. > :18:19.are guaranteed in, players from 52 150 from America or Asia or
:18:20. > :18:26.Australia. It will definitely add to the tournament. Thank you for
:18:27. > :18:33.joining us. Gareth is black in South Africa in a month. One golfer
:18:34. > :18:36.already in next year's Open is Rory McIlroy. By his standards this
:18:37. > :18:39.season has been a disappointing one. But today he recorded his first
:18:40. > :18:43.tournament win. It may only have been an 18-hole exhibition match in
:18:44. > :18:48.China. But he did beat World number one Tiger Woods. Gavin Andrews
:18:49. > :18:54.reports. The world number one and Rory
:18:55. > :18:59.arrived to a fanfare, even after a difficult year, McIlroy is still one
:19:00. > :19:08.of the biggest draws. Immediately he warms up an enthusiastic crowd. An
:19:09. > :19:13.impressive back nine including this stunning approach to the par-5/12
:19:14. > :19:22.made sure the public had plenty to cheer about. But in terms of
:19:23. > :19:32.competition between the rivals, this event was more about reaching out to
:19:33. > :19:39.a golf mad nation. It is always fun to play with Tiger, we have a lot of
:19:40. > :19:43.fun. It is great we can bring these matches to places like China and
:19:44. > :19:50.across the world and we can do that in the future as well. We had a
:19:51. > :20:01.great time. Everybody enjoyed it. We did not play our best on the front
:20:02. > :20:06.nine or back nine. Shooting five of 600 par respectively. Rory will hope
:20:07. > :20:14.to keep it going. The world golf champion event in Shanghai starts on
:20:15. > :20:17.Thursday. It was a whirlwind 24 hours for this multi talented
:20:18. > :20:20.sportsman. On Saturday Chrissy McKaigue represented Ireland in
:20:21. > :20:23.their easy victory over Australia in the International Rules match at
:20:24. > :20:26.Croke Park. Yesterday he played for his club in the Ulster Club hurling
:20:27. > :20:35.final. But McKaigue wasn't very happy about his playing schedule.
:20:36. > :20:45.Thomas Niblock has the story. A former player in the AFL with
:20:46. > :20:50.Sydney Swans, Chrissy McKaigue was critical on Saturday night. 18 hours
:20:51. > :20:59.later, McKaigue was playing for Slaughtneil.
:21:00. > :21:11.The Derry champions led by eight points at one stage. It could have
:21:12. > :21:17.The Derry champions led by eight been a big upset. Loughgiel came
:21:18. > :21:20.back and won. They look forward to the All-Ireland series. A sense of
:21:21. > :21:23.frustration for McKaigue the players are put in a position where they
:21:24. > :21:34.have to choose between club and country. It is the way things are at
:21:35. > :21:39.the moment. It is disappointing. There are other guys in the same
:21:40. > :21:48.boat. I can't understand why these games had to be played so quickly.
:21:49. > :21:53.It is not my area of expertise but maybe they could have changed it.
:21:54. > :21:58.McKaigue's club asked for the game to be the Spode but the Ulster
:21:59. > :22:01.Council source said it came six days before the game and too late.
:22:02. > :22:07.Ireland won the international rules and Loughgiel one the Championship.
:22:08. > :22:16.McKaigue is approaching preseason, the season that never seems to stop.
:22:17. > :22:19.Derry City are currently looking for a new manager after parting company
:22:20. > :22:23.with Declan Devine. The 40-year-old, who led City to the FAI cup last
:22:24. > :22:26.season was appointed manager back in January 2012. But the club today
:22:27. > :22:31.said the decision to remove Devine as manager had been taken by mutual
:22:32. > :22:34.consent. Ballinamallard United manager Whitey
:22:35. > :22:37.Anderson has been hit with a three game touchline ban. He received the
:22:38. > :22:40.suspension for comments made during a BBC interview, when he described a
:22:41. > :22:43.referee's decision to send off one of his players as shocking. Now
:22:44. > :22:46.Glentoran manager Eddie Patterson is facing a similar ban after
:22:47. > :22:58.criticising a referee at the weekend. Thomas Kane reports.
:22:59. > :23:04.This was the tackle which divided opinion. Mervyn Smith had no
:23:05. > :23:12.hesitation in showing even the red card to the annoyance of the
:23:13. > :23:16.Glentoran manager. Farcical. It is the third time he has done this
:23:17. > :23:20.season. Stephen McAlorum watched it, it is nothing. We had those
:23:21. > :23:27.decisions from the start of the game. The Glentoran player, he
:23:28. > :23:33.committed a challenge which endangered the safety of the
:23:34. > :23:45.opponent. As a result, I dismissed him for foul play. The match ended
:23:46. > :23:53.in a draw and there was a suspected broken jaw against Linfield. He
:23:54. > :24:00.played on but had to pick the ball out of the net three more times as
:24:01. > :24:11.Jefferies's side won 4-1. Patrick out Portadown to a win over
:24:12. > :24:19.Dungannon swifts. While Crusaders defeated Warrenpoint town.
:24:20. > :24:22.A footballer from Larne is in the headlines in America again.
:24:23. > :24:26.Jonny Steele who we featured earlier this year on the programme helped
:24:27. > :24:28.guide his team the New York Red Bulls to their first piece of
:24:29. > :24:32.silverware ever. Thierry Henry set up Steele to score the last goal in
:24:33. > :24:35.their 5-2 victory over Chicago Fire. The 27-year-old still has
:24:36. > :24:40.aspirations of an international call up.
:24:41. > :24:44.Motorcyling misfortune continued at the weekend. Earlier this year the
:24:45. > :24:48.North West 200 road race was washed out because of the weather. On
:24:49. > :24:51.Saturday the big end of season short circuit race the Sunflower Trophy
:24:52. > :24:54.was abandoned because of a serious oil spill - and then heavy rain.
:24:55. > :24:57.Race officials worked tirelessly to clear the Bishopscourt track before
:24:58. > :25:00.the decision to call off the meeting. But there was one happy
:25:01. > :25:11.rider who clinched the Irish championship without his bike
:25:12. > :25:18.leaving the garage. It is unbelievable. You are
:25:19. > :25:25.following people for so long, those guys being champions, Ulster and
:25:26. > :25:30.Irish Superbike Champion, a dream come true. He had a very very good
:25:31. > :25:32.long season. The storm that hit southern England last night
:25:33. > :25:43.by-passed Ireland altogether thankfully. But the forecast is
:25:44. > :25:47.keeping Cecilia busy today. I know that a week, we have blustery winds
:25:48. > :25:55.to contender with. If you are off for a break, it will be a mixed bag.
:25:56. > :25:59.It gives me a chance to bring out the pumpkin globe. More of those
:26:00. > :26:05.pumpkins later. We have already had some fireworks, perfect conditions
:26:06. > :26:08.last night around the Odyssey and Titanic building with more clear
:26:09. > :26:14.evenings as we head towards Halloween. The big storm is seeing
:26:15. > :26:18.out -- sitting over Scandinavia, packing winds of over 100 miles an
:26:19. > :26:24.hour. Back home, very blustery, lots of showers. This is the radar
:26:25. > :26:30.picture. Showers continue through the evening and overnight, frequent
:26:31. > :26:36.in the west, not so many over towards part of Down and Armagh.
:26:37. > :26:43.Temperatures could be chilly in rural areas. Tomorrow, it is going
:26:44. > :26:47.to be a day of blustery showers and sunshine but the showers will be
:26:48. > :26:56.light and less frequent. The wind is blustery, some choppy waves on the
:26:57. > :26:59.north coast. Still some showers around but more in the way of son
:27:00. > :27:07.Trent right morning with showers not as heavy or nasty as today. A chance
:27:08. > :27:12.of getting caught in showers tomorrow. In the breeze, feeling
:27:13. > :27:17.quite cold, ten or 11 degrees. More sunshine developing as the afternoon
:27:18. > :27:23.goes on. Sheltered parts of the Southeast will look pretty but feel
:27:24. > :27:27.chilly. Tomorrow, most of the showers will go, skies are clear to
:27:28. > :27:33.dry night and it will be dry in places. A touch of frost in one or
:27:34. > :27:38.two spots. The next weather system comes in on Wednesday bringing heavy
:27:39. > :27:42.rain and on Wednesday morning and into the early hours, it will be dry
:27:43. > :27:44.rain and on Wednesday morning and later. The late summary is that
:27:45. > :27:47.10:25pm. Goodbye.