:00:00. > 3:59:59That's all from us. On Newsnight on BBC2 in a few moments, Jeremy Paxman
:00:00. > :00:12.asks if Good evening.
:00:13. > :00:16.Two men are being questioned after a major security operation in County
:00:17. > :00:19.Tyrone. The police a substantial quantity of what they believe is
:00:20. > :00:23.fertiliser was found in a van stopped by officers near Fintona in
:00:24. > :00:29.the early hours of this morning. Our South West reporter Julian Fowler
:00:30. > :00:34.has more. The white van that sparked a major
:00:35. > :00:40.security operation. It was stopped by police at two o'clock this
:00:41. > :00:46.morning. Army bomb experts use robots to take a look inside the van
:00:47. > :00:49.and they removed a number of objects including a fertilizer spreader.
:00:50. > :00:54.Five homes along the road were evacuated. Witnesses described
:00:55. > :00:58.seeing a large number of police officers dressed in black and
:00:59. > :01:03.carrying machine guns. Layers are used to light up the surrounding
:01:04. > :01:08.fields and the police helicopter flew around the scene. The army left
:01:09. > :01:13.at lunchtime, and the main road was reopened as the police continued
:01:14. > :01:16.their investigation. Forensic officers have spent the afternoon
:01:17. > :01:21.examining the van and a number of items have been taking away for
:01:22. > :01:30.examination. Two men have been arrested and remain in police
:01:31. > :01:32.custody. Three brothers with over 200
:01:33. > :01:40.criminal convictions between them have been jailed for a rampage in a
:01:41. > :01:43.stolen car. They began on the M2 and drove through Belfast jumping seven
:01:44. > :01:46.red lights and nearly knocking down a pensioner. Mervyn Jess has more, A
:01:47. > :01:50.29-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the discovery of 16
:01:51. > :01:52.cars during a police search in County Down. The three brothers and
:01:53. > :01:54.the young woman all pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking. The
:01:55. > :01:59.car was stolen in east Belfast in the early hours of the morning in
:02:00. > :02:04.February of last year. It was later spotted by a mobile police vehicle
:02:05. > :02:08.on the M2 motorway but it sped off. The vehicle drove through a red
:02:09. > :02:14.light before going around a roundabout the wrong way, and then
:02:15. > :02:21.sped onto a road, turning onto another road and almost striking a
:02:22. > :02:27.pit -- pedestrian crossing. The stolen car then jumped a further six
:02:28. > :02:33.red lights as it continued up to a junction at the M2, then travelling
:02:34. > :02:39.and. A police helicopter tracked the vehicle to an area I'm a where all
:02:40. > :02:45.four occupants were observed running away from it. The three brothers
:02:46. > :02:48.were arrested and a young woman was found in an alleyway. The police say
:02:49. > :02:52.that at one point during the chase, the front seat passenger climbed
:02:53. > :02:57.over and changed places with the driver. None of those arrested would
:02:58. > :03:05.say who was driving the vehicle. Jonathan Gordon, age 27, which
:03:06. > :03:11.killed for 20 months, Peter Gordon was sentenced to 15 months, and the
:03:12. > :03:21.third brother, 20-year-old Anthony Gordon from Belfast was jailed for a
:03:22. > :03:26.year. A mother of two age 23 was put on probation for 18 months. The
:03:27. > :03:29.judge rebuked the brothers for their behaviour in court, saying that the
:03:30. > :03:43.reflected their blatant disregard for the court. Jonathan Gordon
:03:44. > :03:47.replied, so what? The company which runs the local power grid has been
:03:48. > :03:49.prevented from putting up its charges. Northern Ireland
:03:50. > :03:52.Electricity had wanted to bill customers more in order to pay for
:03:53. > :03:55.upgrading its network. Instead it's been told to reduce the charges, as
:03:56. > :04:04.our business correspondent Julian O'Neill report. M2 -- NIE operates
:04:05. > :04:08.the great and links to our homes to the big power stations. The company
:04:09. > :04:12.had planned a major overhaul of its network, paid for by increasing
:04:13. > :04:17.charges, but now it has been stopped in its tracks in a ruling from the
:04:18. > :04:23.competition and markets authority. The winner and this is the consumer,
:04:24. > :04:27.because we are seeing enhanced investment in the network going for
:04:28. > :04:32.it at no additional cost and that is a good result for consumers and it
:04:33. > :04:40.confirms the value of protecting the interests of consumers. M2 NIE's an
:04:41. > :04:48.initial plan would have increased domestic bills by ?57, but the
:04:49. > :04:52.ruling turns that on its head and instead customers will actually see
:04:53. > :04:59.charges reduced over the same period about ?10. This could be seen as a
:05:00. > :05:05.victory for the utility -- eternity regulator. NIE had been looking to
:05:06. > :05:09.make more improvements to the grid. This ruling means it. Have to make
:05:10. > :05:17.those improvements but not by charging customers more. It ensures
:05:18. > :05:21.that there will be enough investments but also that they are
:05:22. > :05:25.paying as little as possible, which is what consumers want. They want
:05:26. > :05:30.lower costs with security that the lights will stay on. NIE said very
:05:31. > :05:42.little in response to the building -- ruling. Today, it accepted the
:05:43. > :05:47.outcome. A 29-year-old man has been arrested
:05:48. > :05:54.in connection with the discovery of 16 cars. It is believed that the
:05:55. > :06:08.cars had been stolen. A lorry, tools, engine parts and documents
:06:09. > :06:11.were also seized by the police. Comber primary school has marked its
:06:12. > :06:14.75th anniversary by officially naming its assembly hall after the
:06:15. > :06:17.former pupil Corporal Channing Day who was killed in Afghanistan.
:06:18. > :06:20.Generations of past pupils attended a special event at the school this
:06:21. > :06:23.evening. Stormont minister Simon Hamilton, who also went there,
:06:24. > :06:28.presented a memorial plaque to the Day family which will be mounted in
:06:29. > :06:32.the school hall. She always had a smile on her face that she would be
:06:33. > :06:38.having a giggle that the place where she played in school was now named
:06:39. > :06:43.after her. She would really be having a giggle about it. 50 posts
:06:44. > :06:50.are being created in Belfast by the IT firm Novosco. The jobs are part
:06:51. > :06:52.of a ?4 million investment by the company, which provides IT
:06:53. > :06:54.infrastructure to clients in Ireland and Britain. The Enterprise Minister
:06:55. > :06:57.says the new posts in software and engineering will pay salaries of
:06:58. > :07:04.around ?40,000. But 15 jobs are to go at the US
:07:05. > :07:06.software company Vello Systems. The company only officially opened its
:07:07. > :07:09.office in Belfast in February. Invest NI said although it had been
:07:10. > :07:19.offered financial support, none has yet been handed over.
:07:20. > :07:22.A man who was arrested in connection with murder of Kevin Kearney in
:07:23. > :07:26.north Belfast has been released unconditionally. Mr Kearney's body
:07:27. > :07:30.was found in a lake at Alexandra Park a day after he had been shot
:07:31. > :07:36.while walking his dogs in October last year.
:07:37. > :07:39.The annual Good Beach guide says all of Northern Ireland's beaches have
:07:40. > :07:41.an acceptable level of water quality. The Marine Conservation
:07:42. > :07:44.Society found nearly two thirds of beaches here have excellent water
:07:45. > :07:47.quality. When the society tested the water at beaches around the
:07:48. > :07:51.coastline last year, Newcastle beach was the only one to fail. However it
:07:52. > :08:03.was found to be clean enough to be included in this year's guide.
:08:04. > :08:08.The 2013 water results for the past since we started doing this some 20
:08:09. > :08:12.years ago, so a really good news story for Northern Ireland. It means
:08:13. > :08:15.a safer and more enjoyable day at the beach for families or anyone who
:08:16. > :08:18.wants to engage in anything energetic, such as kite surfing or
:08:19. > :08:25.anything that you can do at our lovely beaches. People can rushed
:08:26. > :08:35.ashore that they are safe. -- per rest assured. Quite a frosty start
:08:36. > :08:39.in places this morning. Tonight will not be quite as cold as last night.
:08:40. > :08:43.We will probably get a bit more cloud edging and later in the night
:08:44. > :08:49.and there is more of a southerly breeze, so temperature is around
:08:50. > :08:53.five or six degrees. Some places could dip to three or four. A change
:08:54. > :08:57.is on the way with a weather front coming in from the North West which
:08:58. > :09:01.will bring increasingly cloudy conditions and spells of rain will
:09:02. > :09:05.follow as well. It will be bright in the morning and breezy, but to three
:09:06. > :09:07.or four. A change is on the way with a weather front coming in from the
:09:08. > :09:09.North West which will bring increasingly cloudy conditions and
:09:10. > :09:11.spells of rain will follow as well. It will be bright in the morning and
:09:12. > :09:14.breezy, particularly in eastern areas, and mainly dry before the
:09:15. > :09:17.rain starts to march into the west later in the morning. Later on,
:09:18. > :09:21.rainbow push in two parts of Scotland with brisk winds. For
:09:22. > :09:27.Easter Scotland and the rest of the Republic, it will be dry and a fine
:09:28. > :09:31.day in other places with highs of 17 or 18 in the South East, hearts of
:09:32. > :09:38.the Coast will feel that the cooler, though. It is going to be a
:09:39. > :09:45.cooler affair tomorrow afternoon, 12 or 13 degrees as the rain continues
:09:46. > :09:48.to track its way across. Perhaps not quite as persistent and parts of the
:09:49. > :09:52.East. One or two showers into Thursday, but it looks as if there
:09:53. > :09:57.will be some dry spells as well, and towards the Easter weekend, it is
:09:58. > :10:01.dry but rather cloudy and cool. Good night.