:00:00. > :00:19.Hello this is BBC Newsline. Tonight's top stories...
:00:20. > :00:28.People with eating disorders say the hospital care they received was
:00:29. > :00:33.second rate. Most days I just sat in the bed or walked round and round
:00:34. > :00:36.award. A quarter of a billion pounds - the
:00:37. > :00:41.police's final bill for officers' hearing loss claims.
:00:42. > :00:46.Two men admit beating this man to death in an attack four years ago.
:00:47. > :00:52.We shall not be moved - the charity that's refusing to leave
:00:53. > :00:59.Hillsborough Castle. We just have nowhere to go. We have nowhere to
:01:00. > :01:04.go. Two big hitters in Ulster Rugby are
:01:05. > :01:08.nearing a return. A beautiful day to day and not
:01:09. > :01:13.looking too bad for the rest of the week either. The full forecast just
:01:14. > :01:16.before seven. First tonight, eating disorders. We
:01:17. > :01:19.hear from two families who say the care they've received here is second
:01:20. > :01:23.rate and claim that the money spent on treatment could be used more
:01:24. > :01:26.wisely. We'll talk to the father of a teenage girl who is currently
:01:27. > :01:29.being treated in hospital in London. And another patient, who claims she
:01:30. > :01:34.received electric shock treatment for depression associated with her
:01:35. > :01:38.eating disorder. But first, let's look at the figures. 307 adults and
:01:39. > :01:44.109 children were treated for eating disorders here last year. On
:01:45. > :01:48.average, it seems about ten people are sent to England each year for
:01:49. > :01:51.specialist treatment. Funding that is expensive - it costs on average
:01:52. > :01:58.?2 million pounds every year to send them away for treatment. The same
:01:59. > :02:03.amount - ?2 million - is the total spend on the 400 people treated here
:02:04. > :02:07.in Northern Ireland last year. I've been speaking to two families about
:02:08. > :02:11.their experiences. Amanda Gibson is 33 and has spent 20
:02:12. > :02:16.years living with bulimia. 18 months ago, she decided she'd had enough
:02:17. > :02:19.and tried to get treatment. She was admitted to the mental health unit
:02:20. > :02:23.at the Mater Hospital and spent three months there. Amanda, and her
:02:24. > :02:31.twin sister Claire, were surprised at how little treatment she was
:02:32. > :02:40.given. Most days I just sat on the bed or walked around the ward. There
:02:41. > :02:48.was nothing much to do. Sometimes they stopped walking round the ward,
:02:49. > :02:52.because they knew what she was doing, because she was doing it for
:02:53. > :02:58.exercise. They sometimes stopped, thinking it was bad thing. They had
:02:59. > :03:04.said a couple of times they would let her go to the gym, but she never
:03:05. > :03:08.did. All of the activities on the board never happens. There was
:03:09. > :03:15.nothing. Then she was given electric shock therapy or ECT, 12 sessions
:03:16. > :03:19.across six weeks. My memory is really bad. I've forgotten things
:03:20. > :03:25.like where I live. I had to ask a woman Querrey lived. I forgot my
:03:26. > :03:29.last house. I forgot how old I am. After all that, she was sent home
:03:30. > :03:36.with no follow-up care for her bulimia. I was told on the day I was
:03:37. > :03:44.discharged that I would not be seen my therapist any more. What did you
:03:45. > :03:53.think about that? I was surprised, because if anything, I'm worse. They
:03:54. > :03:56.just more or less said she is beyond help sushi is just left to deal with
:03:57. > :03:59.it. There are concerns too about children with eating disorders. One
:04:00. > :04:02.father, whose daughter is now being treated in London, told us the care
:04:03. > :04:06.she received at the Beechcroft unit in south Belfast, that treats all
:04:07. > :04:13.kinds of mental health problems, is completely different than the regime
:04:14. > :04:18.in England. You know, a complete ban on any kind of exercise, any kind of
:04:19. > :04:25.fresh air, any kind of home visit. She was really kept inside for 23
:04:26. > :04:28.months without breathing fresh air, except when she was taken to a
:04:29. > :04:32.different hospital. He believes the time has finally come for a
:04:33. > :04:40.specialist eating disorders unit in Northern Ireland. The staff at
:04:41. > :04:45.Beachcroft were trying their best to help and there were some good people
:04:46. > :04:52.there. There were some people who made meaningful connections with
:04:53. > :05:03.her. But I also feel that it should have been obvious very soon that
:05:04. > :05:05.they were losing this and somewhere with proper facilities and
:05:06. > :05:08.sophisticated treatment needed to be called upon.
:05:09. > :05:12.Earlier I spoke to Dr Stephen Bergin, an eating disorders
:05:13. > :05:18.specialist. I began by asking him if electric shock therapy was normal
:05:19. > :05:23.practice. In that specific case, we would have to approach the trust to
:05:24. > :05:26.find out the circumstances of why any particular treatment was
:05:27. > :05:32.provided. In general, for eating disorders, electroconvulsive therapy
:05:33. > :05:37.would not be standard treatment. I think in that case, there would be
:05:38. > :05:41.unique circumstances that indicated why a particular approach was
:05:42. > :05:49.required. I can assure the public that is not part and parcel of
:05:50. > :05:54.standard treatment approaches. We have taken measures of the last two
:05:55. > :05:56.years to develop the experience of our practitioners across Northern
:05:57. > :06:04.Ireland. We have been undertaking this over the last ten years.
:06:05. > :06:07.Certainly, we need to focus more strongly on developing capacity
:06:08. > :06:11.within our trusts. Only ten days ago we had 100 practitioners in Antrim
:06:12. > :06:16.with a visiting specialist from London. That was on what you have
:06:17. > :06:20.brought up, developing experience and capacity within our local mental
:06:21. > :06:27.health hospitals and medical hospitals in terms of specific
:06:28. > :06:34.expertise on the trading. Mac treatment of eating disorders. -- on
:06:35. > :06:41.the treatment of eating disorders. Would you accept there are
:06:42. > :06:46.problems? . Each year we receive about 500 referrals. About 100
:06:47. > :06:49.people are admitted to our inpatient wards per year and about ten of them
:06:50. > :06:52.would have to travel to England for very specialist treatment. We have a
:06:53. > :06:56.system in place that is developing and we would like to strengthen it
:06:57. > :07:03.and we would like additional resources to develop capacity. What
:07:04. > :07:07.about the resources - ?2 million spent sending a small number over to
:07:08. > :07:13.London and a similar amount treating the other 400 patients in Northern
:07:14. > :07:20.Ireland, is that enough? As you say, we have invested considerably
:07:21. > :07:23.over the last ten years. Ten years ago the rules zero specialist
:07:24. > :07:26.practitioners. As we stand here to date we have 40 specialist
:07:27. > :07:31.practitioners in those teams. I would like to make got stronger than
:07:32. > :07:35.it is. Funding pressures in the public sector are tied at the
:07:36. > :07:39.moment. You are right in saying that we do send people across to England,
:07:40. > :07:44.also the Republic of Ireland, for specialist care. That is around ten
:07:45. > :07:49.people per year. I should say they are unique and complex in terms of
:07:50. > :07:56.their circumstances. Even if we had a local specialist unit we might
:07:57. > :07:58.have to send people across the water because of those complex
:07:59. > :08:03.situations. I except it would be ideal if we had an original
:08:04. > :08:06.specialist unit and it would be something we are thinking about. If
:08:07. > :08:09.you have been affected by anything in this report you can visit our
:08:10. > :08:12.website for details of organisations that can help.
:08:13. > :08:16.More now on a story we brought you about hearing loss claims by former
:08:17. > :08:19.RUC officers. We revealed earlier this year that more than ?135
:08:20. > :08:22.million had been paid out to settle over 8,500 claims. Now it's been
:08:23. > :08:26.revealed that the final bill could be almost a quarter of a billion
:08:27. > :08:28.pounds. Our home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney
:08:29. > :08:31.reports. The RUC knew from the mid 1960s that
:08:32. > :08:40.officers engaged in firearms training should have been provided
:08:41. > :08:45.with proper ear protection. But they weren't issued with adequate
:08:46. > :08:49.equipment like this for 30 years. It was a costly mistake. The BBC
:08:50. > :08:53.revealed two months ago that up to the end of November last year, more
:08:54. > :09:00.than ?135 million was paid out to settle hearing loss claims by over
:09:01. > :09:03.8,500 former police officers. More than 2,000 claims have still to be
:09:04. > :09:09.settled and David Ford has revealed the estimated cost of doing so over
:09:10. > :09:13.the next five years. The bill in each of the next two years will be
:09:14. > :09:20.over 27 million, and more than 49 million during the next three. The
:09:21. > :09:25.total estimated five year cost is more than ?103 million. That will
:09:26. > :09:31.bring the total payments to just under ?239 million, with nearly half
:09:32. > :09:36.going on legal fees. Legal sources say they still expect significant
:09:37. > :09:38.numbers of new claims to be lodged. The Justice Minister was questioned
:09:39. > :09:49.about the issue in the Assembly yesterday. Is the Minister aware of
:09:50. > :09:53.the level of public frustration that the -- up the cost of the scheme to
:09:54. > :10:02.the public purse? It is an operational issue for the Chief
:10:03. > :10:04.Constable and administered by the police in Northern Ireland.
:10:05. > :10:07.Responsibility lies with the Chief Constable. More than 20,000 RUC
:10:08. > :10:09.officers are believed to have undergone firearms training using
:10:10. > :10:13.inadequate ear protection and so far, more than 11,000 have lodged
:10:14. > :10:16.claims. These compensation payments come on top of the Patten Redundancy
:10:17. > :10:19.Scheme for police officers, which cost almost half a billion pounds.
:10:20. > :10:22.That means the combined bill for compensating officers for hearing
:10:23. > :10:32.loss or early retirement could come to around 750 million.
:10:33. > :10:35.Two men - including a soldier in the Royal Irish Regiment - who were
:10:36. > :10:38.charged with murder have admitted unlawfully killing a man in Armagh.
:10:39. > :10:48.Lee Smyth never regained consciousness after the attack four
:10:49. > :11:00.years ago. Gordon Adair reports. 23-year-old soldier Michael Wilson,
:11:01. > :11:04.who is from Andrew -- Tandragee and a man from Portadown were charged
:11:05. > :11:07.with the murder of Lee Smyth in 2010. The police officer who arrived
:11:08. > :11:15.on the scene the following money described him as unrecognisable. Lee
:11:16. > :11:18.Smyth never regained consciousness, spending two years in a nursing home
:11:19. > :11:22.before his life support was switched off. Just before the trial was due
:11:23. > :11:26.to go into its second day, lawyers for the two men asked for them to
:11:27. > :11:36.be. Rearranged Again they pleaded not guilty to murder, but this time
:11:37. > :11:44.they pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The judge instructed the jury to
:11:45. > :11:47.find them not guilty of murder at guilty of manslaughter by way of
:11:48. > :11:50.confession. They will be sentenced at a later date.
:11:51. > :11:52.You're watching BBC Newsline, still to come...
:11:53. > :12:01.The archaeological dig at the castle that's revealing new information
:12:02. > :12:04.about the past. The former US diplomat Richard Haass
:12:05. > :12:07.has warned that violence could re-emerge in Northern Ireland if
:12:08. > :12:10.progress is not made in dealing with the legacy of the Troubles. Dr
:12:11. > :12:13.Haass, who chaired six months of talks on flags, parades and the
:12:14. > :12:19.past, made the remarks in Washington. In a moment we'll hear
:12:20. > :12:22.from our political correspondent Martina Purdy, who's in the US
:12:23. > :12:26.capital. But first, our political editor Mark Devenport reports on Dr
:12:27. > :12:29.Haass's words of warning. The White House doesn't hold its
:12:30. > :12:32.official St Patrick's reception until Friday, but the US Congress
:12:33. > :12:35.got in early, with a special committee meeting to examine the
:12:36. > :12:42.challenges posed by the legacy of the Troubles. The star witness -
:12:43. > :12:44.Richard Haass. He insisted the blueprint which emerged from his New
:12:45. > :12:56.Year's negotiations remained viable and warned of the potential
:12:57. > :13:00.consequences of doing nothing. It worries me, and that kind of
:13:01. > :13:06.environment, particularly where politics is not making progress,
:13:07. > :13:13.alienation will fester and violence will re-emerge as a characteristic
:13:14. > :13:17.of daily life. It is premature to foot Northern Ireland, as much as we
:13:18. > :13:21.would like to, into the outbox of a problem solved. I would love for it
:13:22. > :13:25.to be there and I would look forward to that day, but it is not there
:13:26. > :13:28.yet. Dr Haass acknowledged the controversy over government letters
:13:29. > :13:34.to republican On The Runs has halted attempts to bridge the continuing
:13:35. > :13:38.differences at Stormont. The letters did not offer amnesty. I know of
:13:39. > :13:42.nothing in their content that would justify anyone walking away from the
:13:43. > :13:50.process we are discussing here today. The committee also heard from
:13:51. > :13:53.Geraldine Finegan, widow of Pat Finucane, and Eugene Devlin, who was
:13:54. > :13:57.injured in a drive-by shooting carried out by an army undercover
:13:58. > :14:05.unit called the Military Reaction Force. We can go now to Washington
:14:06. > :14:08.where we're joined by our political correspondent, Martina Purdy, who is
:14:09. > :14:11.there to cover the the annual St Patrick's Day events in the US
:14:12. > :14:18.capital. First of all, how have Haass's remarks been received?
:14:19. > :14:23.Well, I think Dr Haass's comments will be a big talking point here in
:14:24. > :14:26.Washington this week. They sharply contrast in some ways with what
:14:27. > :14:32.former US President Bill Clinton said in Northern Ireland last week
:14:33. > :14:35.that the conflict resolution process in Northern Ireland was a model for
:14:36. > :14:38.others trying to make their way out of conflict and that we are an
:14:39. > :14:44.inspiration. Although President Clinton did say we needed to finish
:14:45. > :14:47.the job. The DUP are unhappy with the way this Congressional hearing
:14:48. > :14:53.was handled. They felt that congressmen held -- heard a very
:14:54. > :14:57.one-sided view of dealing with the past and that IRA victims should
:14:58. > :15:01.have been heard from. Diane Dodds, the MEP, has written to the
:15:02. > :15:05.committee asking for the chance to give evidence. I have speaking to
:15:06. > :15:09.the Ulster Unionist Party is to, Danny Kennedy, among the first to
:15:10. > :15:12.arrive in Washington, and I asked him what he made of the comment that
:15:13. > :15:16.Northern Ireland was at risk of returning to violence.
:15:17. > :15:22.We were interested in that comment and clearly we would like to perhaps
:15:23. > :15:27.pursue with Dr Haass who made that comment to him or whether or not he
:15:28. > :15:31.had gained that by his own instincts, but if Republicans were
:15:32. > :15:36.in some way trying to bully either Dr Haass or indeed others involved
:15:37. > :15:39.in the process by using that thinly veiled threat, that is a huge
:15:40. > :15:41.mistake. Martina come is this failure to
:15:42. > :15:51.agree overshadowing the trip? I think in some ways it has. The
:15:52. > :15:55.local media interest in this and the annual st patrick's Day event is
:15:56. > :15:59.because there are problems in the process. Instead of focusing on
:16:00. > :16:04.cultural ties and trying to build tourism and investment possibilities
:16:05. > :16:07.we are once again talking about our problems and I think the message of
:16:08. > :16:12.finish the job is something that Peter Robinson and Martin McGuiness
:16:13. > :16:16.will hear from the US vice president, Joe Biden, when he meets
:16:17. > :16:20.them in Washington this week. They are en route from California this
:16:21. > :16:23.evening, they are hopeful about making investment announcements in
:16:24. > :16:26.the week ahead but in the meeting they will have to deal with the
:16:27. > :16:36.fallouts from these Dr Haass remarks.
:16:37. > :16:39.A soldier has been remanded in custody charged with murdering a
:16:40. > :16:42.County Antrim soldier at his base in England. Corporal Geoffrey McNeill
:16:43. > :16:45.from Ballymoney was serving with the Royal Irish Regiment. Lance Corporal
:16:46. > :16:47.Richard Farrell appeared in court this morning accused of killing
:16:48. > :16:49.Corporal McNeill at the weekend. Sarah Falkland was at the court in
:16:50. > :16:53.Shropshire. It was a very brief hearing this
:16:54. > :16:57.morning, just the committal to the Crown Court. Richard Farrell stood
:16:58. > :17:01.in a black sweatshirt with his hand held loosely in front of him. He
:17:02. > :17:08.spoke to confirm his name, his age, 23, and his address, near market
:17:09. > :17:13.Drayton in Shropshire. The charge of murder was read out to him, there
:17:14. > :17:19.was no plea and he was remanded in custody, handcuffed and led away. He
:17:20. > :17:24.will now appear before Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday. We have heard
:17:25. > :17:28.no more from the army yet this morning but having spoken to one of
:17:29. > :17:31.the military police here in court I understand that the annual st
:17:32. > :17:34.patrick 's Day parade which is held every year on the barracks will go
:17:35. > :17:43.ahead as scheduled for this Saturday, but understandably the
:17:44. > :17:47.atmosphere is quite muted. On the programme before 7pm...
:17:48. > :17:51.The beach is a great place to walk the dog when the sun is shining, but
:17:52. > :17:56.amongst the seaweed and shelves, this has been found - it is a deadly
:17:57. > :18:04.toxic plant. I am in County Down to find out
:18:05. > :18:09.more. The Northern Ireland Office want a mental health charity which
:18:10. > :18:13.runs a coffee shop in the grounds of full Castle to leave.
:18:14. > :18:17.But today the charity told them "we're not moving". Praxis Care say
:18:18. > :18:20.they have nowhere else to go, and today their supporters staged a
:18:21. > :18:25.protest outside the Castle. Mark Simpson was there.
:18:26. > :18:31.Demonstrations outside Hillsborough Castle over the years have been a
:18:32. > :18:35.lot bigger and louder than this one. But behind the polite protest was a
:18:36. > :18:39.real depth of feeling. My message to Theresa Villiers is to
:18:40. > :18:46.keep the cafe open if she has a bone of compassion in her body. If she
:18:47. > :18:49.does not, shame on her. Seven staff under 16 people with learning
:18:50. > :18:52.difficulties worked in the cafe at the back of the castle.
:18:53. > :18:57.The coffee shop and garden are part of a project run by the mental
:18:58. > :19:01.health charity Praxis Care, but they have been told to leave. A new
:19:02. > :19:06.body, historic Royal palaces, is taking over the running of the
:19:07. > :19:09.castle and meets the premises. For the moment, the secret Garden
:19:10. > :19:15.coffee shop is open and remains busy, but its days are numbered. The
:19:16. > :19:19.charity knows this, but they have spent ?400,000 on these premises,
:19:20. > :19:23.and they are not moving. The Secretary of State has said she
:19:24. > :19:28.really wants us to leave within four weeks, and we have said to her that
:19:29. > :19:32.we are just -- have just absolutely nowhere to move to.
:19:33. > :19:37.We have also said to her that the 16 learning disabled people who depend
:19:38. > :19:43.on this site for their jobs are very distressed at this point in time. In
:19:44. > :19:49.effect, you are refusing to move? We just have nowhere to go. We have
:19:50. > :19:51.nowhere to go. But the Northern Ireland Office say
:19:52. > :20:02.they must move. In a statement they said...
:20:03. > :20:07.Behind the scenes, some efforts are being made to reach a compromise. In
:20:08. > :20:14.this highly unusual version of Hillsborough talks.
:20:15. > :20:20.People are being warned to be on the lookout for a plant which is highly
:20:21. > :20:23.toxic and can kill dogs. The Hemlock Water Dropwort has been found on
:20:24. > :20:27.beaches for a couple of weeks now. It is not uncommon but Donna was in
:20:28. > :20:33.County Down this afternoon where more has been washed ashore.
:20:34. > :20:40.With the sunshine need here in County Down, this beach is a magnet
:20:41. > :20:43.for dog walkers, but there are potential dangers if you are walking
:20:44. > :20:47.your pet at the moment. And dangerous toxic plant has been
:20:48. > :20:51.located on the shoreline here in 20 down and also in County Antrim.
:20:52. > :21:01.Hillary Mayne was walking her dog yesterday and found this poisonous
:21:02. > :21:05.plant. It is called, Nelly -- commonly poisonous parsnips and I
:21:06. > :21:09.can see why. Did you know what to look for? I had an idea, but because
:21:10. > :21:13.of the party name it was easy to associate this with what I was
:21:14. > :21:17.looking for. -- because of the parsnip name. I
:21:18. > :21:22.think it is because of the storms and coastal erosion this has ended
:21:23. > :21:26.up on shore with the tide coming in and out, watching bits in and along
:21:27. > :21:30.the shore, as well, leaving it deposited along the beaches.
:21:31. > :21:34.It has been all along the course line.
:21:35. > :21:42.In fact a dog died near Laugharne in County Antrim and they reckon it is
:21:43. > :21:45.because the dog tried to eat that poisonous parsnip. Not everyone
:21:46. > :21:51.would recognise it and see possibly do not know the dangers. Craig
:21:52. > :21:55.Reilly is a local vet. Dogs will have a rummage for seaweed, how
:21:56. > :22:00.dangerous is it for those animals? If they eat it is very dangerous,
:22:01. > :22:04.like threaten -- life-threatening. It is a neurotoxin so it will cause
:22:05. > :22:09.seizures, coma and death quite quickly. What sort of symptoms
:22:10. > :22:13.should dog owners beyond the lookout for?
:22:14. > :22:18.The symptoms would be very fast, it would happen very quickly.
:22:19. > :22:21.The nerve system would be aggravated and therefore they would be chomping
:22:22. > :22:24.at the mouth, maybe forming, collapsing with twitching. It would
:22:25. > :22:29.be very obvious something is happening.
:22:30. > :22:32.If you have any worries at all, check out our news online website
:22:33. > :22:35.for more information. Check out Facebook and also on
:22:36. > :22:41.Twitter a lot of people have been talking about this poisonous
:22:42. > :22:50.parsnip. Let's hope no dogs -- other dogs are casualties of it.
:22:51. > :22:52.A wealth of new information about Carrickfergus Castle is coming to
:22:53. > :22:55.light through an archaeological dig. Experts from Queen's University and
:22:56. > :22:58.the Environment Agency have been excavating sites within the walls of
:22:59. > :23:01.the Anglo-Norman castle for the past month. They have found pottery
:23:02. > :23:04.fragments, uniform buttons and the foundations of medieval walls that
:23:05. > :23:07.have never been seen before. David Maxwell reports.
:23:08. > :23:14.It has stood on the shores of Belfast Lough for 800 years, and why
:23:15. > :23:18.Carrickfergus Castle -- while Carrickfergus Castle is now a
:23:19. > :23:22.tourist attraction it was a military Arison up until the 20th century.
:23:23. > :23:26.Inside, evidence of those who lived and worked here is being uncovered.
:23:27. > :23:30.The excavation started at the beginning of February and a lot has
:23:31. > :23:33.been found, including dozens of these flints and guns that would
:23:34. > :23:37.have been used in the 17th century. It has been so productive they have
:23:38. > :23:40.extended their work here by three weeks.
:23:41. > :23:46.It is slow, painstaking work but the ward -- rewards have been great. I
:23:47. > :23:50.am on one of the most exciting parts of the excavation.
:23:51. > :23:55.We have 750 years of garrison life in the castle. This will hear dates
:23:56. > :24:03.to the 12th century, can temporarily with the keeper. This is a munitions
:24:04. > :24:09.rail that brought munitions in from the pier to the ward.
:24:10. > :24:13.This team is unearthing the Great Hall which hosted feasts and held
:24:14. > :24:16.firearms. This is something special.
:24:17. > :24:21.Where it came from is a question, maybe Scotland, there is some from
:24:22. > :24:26.the Bristol area and quite a lot from France.
:24:27. > :24:30.The environment minister, Mark Durkan, believes work like this will
:24:31. > :24:33.increase the visitor offered, and after viewing the work for himself
:24:34. > :24:38.he decided the public should have free entry to the castle during the
:24:39. > :24:39.last week of the day so as many as possible can witness our history
:24:40. > :24:50.Sport now. It's day two of the Cheltenham Festival, and it has been
:24:51. > :24:52.another good one for the Irish. Mark's here with the sport.
:24:53. > :24:56.It certainly has. I'll wager there are a few happy
:24:57. > :24:59.punters in the village of Newton hamilton this evening as County
:25:00. > :25:02.Armagh jockey Brian Hughes landed his first festival winner in the
:25:03. > :25:06.Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on the 33-1 priced Hawk High. Meanwhile, Ruby
:25:07. > :25:12.Walsh, leading jockey last year, is in irrepressible form.
:25:13. > :25:15.Ruby, who won the opener yesterday, also took today's curtain raiser in
:25:16. > :25:20.emphatic style on the the heavily backed, Willie Mullins trained 6-4
:25:21. > :25:24.favourite, Faugheen. There he is crossing the line. And celebrating.
:25:25. > :25:29.AP McCoy continues to have a frustrating festival. The champion
:25:30. > :25:32.jockey came with surge on the 12-1 priced Get Me Outta Here only to be
:25:33. > :25:41.beaten in a photo finish in the Coral Cup. To the Winter games.
:25:42. > :25:44.The Paralympic champion Kelly Gallagher and her guide, Charlotte
:25:45. > :25:47.Evans, have failed to finish their second race in as many days at the
:25:48. > :25:50.Sochi Winter Games The visually impaired 28-year-old from Bangor
:25:51. > :25:54.wasn't due back on the slopes until Friday, but the Slalom event was
:25:55. > :25:56.moved forward and for the second consecutive day she fell in the
:25:57. > :26:00.sticky snow. Kelly, who won gold in the Super G
:26:01. > :26:10.event on Monday, has one more chance of a medal in the Giant Slalom,
:26:11. > :26:13.which is scheduled for Sunday. AS Ulster prepare to meet the
:26:14. > :26:16.Scarlets in Belfast this Friday the squad has been boosted by the
:26:17. > :26:19.inclusion of return of long term injured Stephen Ferris. The players
:26:20. > :26:23.have also welcomed the return of the recently disciplined Nick Williams.
:26:24. > :26:26.Thomas Niblock reports. Following an internal investigation
:26:27. > :26:30.into Nick Williams's alleged absence without leave, he is back for
:26:31. > :26:35.selection this weekend. Roger Wilson will earn his 150th cap for Ulster
:26:36. > :26:41.and he is delighted Williams is back on board. Nick is one of the most
:26:42. > :26:45.popular memories of the squad. You know, not just within the
:26:46. > :26:51.players but within the management and the supporters. He is a real fan
:26:52. > :26:54.favourite. We are delighted that we are drawing a line under it and we
:26:55. > :27:00.can move on. He will have a huge impact for the rest of the season,
:27:01. > :27:05.and whatever remaining years he has at Ulster. Stephen Ferris has been
:27:06. > :27:09.out of action since November 2012. On Friday the main make a substitute
:27:10. > :27:12.appearance against the Scarlets, testament to his dedication at
:27:13. > :27:17.overcoming a career threatening ankle injury.
:27:18. > :27:21.I think we have all come in here every morning and he has been busy
:27:22. > :27:26.for a couple of hours already. He has had to do so much rehab and
:27:27. > :27:29.extra sessions. To see him back hopefully playing again we are all
:27:30. > :27:34.excited, what a great talent he is and what a brilliant player he has
:27:35. > :27:39.been for us in the past. To see him back at his best will be great for
:27:40. > :27:43.us as a club and I think all of Ulster will just be excited to see
:27:44. > :27:47.him running onto this pitch again. Ulster lost to the Scarlets earlier
:27:48. > :27:49.in the season but the possible return of two key players will help
:27:50. > :27:56.the Sidekick -- add yet another -- at yet another sell-out Ravenhill.
:27:57. > :28:00.And the Ireland team to take on France in Paris in the final game of
:28:01. > :28:03.the Six Nations will be named tomorrow. BBC Newsline will be in
:28:04. > :28:08.Paris for that. Now for the weather.
:28:09. > :28:11.Wasn't that an absolutely lovely day?
:28:12. > :28:15.It started off a little bit grey and foggy, but it got better. Whether
:28:16. > :28:19.you were out on a motorbike or just out and about a really lovely
:28:20. > :28:23.afternoon across Northern Ireland. The clear skies we saw this
:28:24. > :28:28.afternoon mean that this evening drop away markedly through the first
:28:29. > :28:34.part of the night for the cloud works away in from the west later
:28:35. > :28:39.on. The spread of overnight temperatures, down to one or two
:28:40. > :28:43.Celsius before they pick up towards the morning. Tomorrow will be a
:28:44. > :28:46.decent day, mainly dry and break just about everywhere but with a lot
:28:47. > :28:52.more cloud around courtesy of this little weather front working its way
:28:53. > :28:55.across to the north of us. It does not bring much rain but fills in
:28:56. > :28:59.more cloud through the day. The upside of that is it does help
:29:00. > :29:04.temperatures started to work their way up a bit, so we could see highs
:29:05. > :29:11.of 12 or 13 Celsius tomorrow, and we could catch a break in the cloud for
:29:12. > :29:14.a very nice afternoon. If you are lucky enough to be handing --
:29:15. > :29:18.heading to Cheltenham for the reasons you are in for a good day,
:29:19. > :29:22.12 Celsius, light breeze, the perfect day to go racing. The big
:29:23. > :29:25.difference between this evening and tomorrow night will be the overnight
:29:26. > :29:30.temperatures, because all of the cloud we will see tomorrow keeps
:29:31. > :29:33.things more mild-mannered we head into Friday. The weather has been
:29:34. > :29:37.regulated by this high-pressure system which is giving us a good
:29:38. > :29:41.deal of protection from the lows coming from the Atlantic. On Friday
:29:42. > :29:47.we could see some rain working its way into the west later on, but with
:29:48. > :29:51.that those numbers -10, 11 Celsius, a similar picture on Saturday,
:29:52. > :29:54.really not bad. As the high pressure remains in charge we are looking at
:29:55. > :29:57.pretty decent weather towards the end of the week.
:29:58. > :29:59.That is it from us, have a good evening.