:00:00. > 3:59:59combat for the first time. That's all from the
:00:00. > :00:27.This is BBC Newsline. The headlines: A fresh war of words breaks out
:00:28. > :00:30.between Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness.
:00:31. > :00:33.A court in London rules that women from Northern Ireland aren't
:00:34. > :00:35.entitled to free abortions in England.
:00:36. > :00:38.400 jobs are on the way for Newtownabbey as an IT company
:00:39. > :00:41.expands. The Victims Commissioner calls for a
:00:42. > :00:52.pension for people seriously hurt in the Troubles. This is not about
:00:53. > :00:54.payment for war, this is about dignity for some. -- payment for
:00:55. > :00:57.all. We've heard about it for months,
:00:58. > :01:01.painted everything pink and now it's about to begin. I'm at the Opening
:01:02. > :01:04.Ceremony for the Big Start of the Girol D'Italia cycle race.
:01:05. > :01:08.There's no scarcity of rain clouds over the next few days but there
:01:09. > :01:18.will be some dry gaps, too. I'll have a full forecast later in the
:01:19. > :01:23.programme. A new row between the first and
:01:24. > :01:27.deputy first ministers has erupted this evening. Peter Robinson and
:01:28. > :01:31.Martin McGuinness are at the opening ceremony of the Giro d'Italia at
:01:32. > :01:37.Belfast City Hall. Mark, what is the latest? I was speaking to Martin
:01:38. > :01:42.McGuinness earlier on and he was angry on a number of fronts. Still
:01:43. > :01:47.angry about the handling of Gerry Adams' arrest by the police. He
:01:48. > :01:51.complains to two reasons really is about that. He complained about
:01:52. > :01:56.favouritism which he claims has been shown to the DUP as opposed to Sinn
:01:57. > :02:02.Fein. When I asked her about his work with Mr Robinson, who had
:02:03. > :02:06.talked about excluding Sinn Fein from government, you launch this
:02:07. > :02:10.attack on as partner in government. This man has shown no leadership
:02:11. > :02:18.whatsoever in Belfast. I would challenge anybody in the media to
:02:19. > :02:22.look for any MLA or any MP who has attributed the violence against the
:02:23. > :02:27.Alliance Party and against innocent people from Poland and Lithuania and
:02:28. > :02:31.other parts of eastern Europe. I challenge anybody to show me a
:02:32. > :02:36.statement from any of them. They have not done it, why have they
:02:37. > :02:49.not. That is in my opinion the worst kind of of cowardice. But the two
:02:50. > :02:55.men are supposed to be showing a united front for the Giro d'Italia?
:02:56. > :03:00.The DUP have described Martin McGuinness' comments as outrageous.
:03:01. > :03:04.They say the DUP has always condemned hate crime and they said
:03:05. > :03:07.that Peter Robinson had been consistent for the rule of law. In
:03:08. > :03:13.the course of the programme, you will see the two men together at the
:03:14. > :03:17.Giro d'Italia launch. Just give you an idea of the chemistry between
:03:18. > :03:22.them, Sinn Fein sources are saying there had been some job announcement
:03:23. > :03:26.that job announcement where Martin McGuinness had been kept in the dark
:03:27. > :03:29.and that is why he had not been at all these events. I don't know what
:03:30. > :03:36.the response from the other side will be to that but it shows you how
:03:37. > :03:39.petty some of these things can get. Within the last few minutes, we have
:03:40. > :03:45.heard from Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness. A lots of things have
:03:46. > :03:51.been said over the last week or ten days. Tonight, this is about the
:03:52. > :03:54.Giro d'Italia. It is -- there is an opportunity for Peter
:03:55. > :03:56.Giro d'Italia. It is -- there is an view of what happened and the same
:03:57. > :04:00.opportunity for me. I will not view of what happened and the same
:04:01. > :04:02.on that tonight, we have had our say. It is a matter of recognising
:04:03. > :04:05.on that tonight, we have had our that we face serious challenges but
:04:06. > :04:10.on that tonight, we have had our and responsibility to overcome those
:04:11. > :04:16.challenges and difficulties in the interests of our people. What is
:04:17. > :04:21.your response to those comments? We will respond in due course.
:04:22. > :04:23.Everybody recognises that tonight is a showcase event for the start of
:04:24. > :04:26.Everybody recognises that tonight is the Giro d'Italia. Of course my
:04:27. > :04:32.party will resist those kinds of comments but I don't think arguing
:04:33. > :04:36.-- dragging these controversial issues to an evening like this is
:04:37. > :04:41.the thing to do. We are agreed on a number of things, on getting
:04:42. > :04:43.visitors to Northern Ireland, having major events, having investment and
:04:44. > :04:48.we will continue to major events, having investment and
:04:49. > :04:52.issues together. We come from a very troubled past in Northern Ireland.
:04:53. > :04:56.There are clearly divisive issues to be dealt with and we are not running
:04:57. > :04:58.away from them or burying our heads. A 17-year-old girl and her mother
:04:59. > :05:02.have lost their court A 17-year-old girl and her mother
:05:03. > :05:06.allow women from here to access free abortions on the NHS in the rest of
:05:07. > :05:10.the UK. The teenager - who had to travel to England for a termination
:05:11. > :05:14.when she was 15 - challenged the law that meant she had to pay for the
:05:15. > :05:16.procedure. But today a High Court judge in London turned down her
:05:17. > :05:19.request. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has
:05:20. > :05:25.welcomed the ruling. Marie-Louise Connolly reports.
:05:26. > :05:29.It was in a Marie Stopes clinic like this one where the 15-year-old from
:05:30. > :05:32.Northern Ireland had an abortion. Alongside her mother, they travelled
:05:33. > :05:36.to Manchester as the procedure is unlawful here unless it's to
:05:37. > :05:40.preserve the life of the mother. Two years on, and today in London's High
:05:41. > :05:44.Court the girl and her mother argued that like other women in the UK they
:05:45. > :05:50.too should be able to access free abortions in hospitals in England.
:05:51. > :05:54.In a statement to the court, the girl's mother said the stress of not
:05:55. > :05:57.knowing whether it was going to be possible for her daughter to have
:05:58. > :06:01.the procedure and raise the funds was harrowing. She said she felt her
:06:02. > :06:04.daughter had been treated most unfairly because when she required
:06:05. > :06:07.treatment in another part of the UK, she didn't get it and was offered no
:06:08. > :06:22.assistance by the health care system. But the judge said this was
:06:23. > :06:26.not a discrimination issue but a devolved matter which must be
:06:27. > :06:30.resolved in Northern Ireland. We do not feel defeated but we need --
:06:31. > :06:32.there feels to be more detail about the engagement with the
:06:33. > :06:40.discrimination issue which we raised. The Society for the
:06:41. > :06:43.Protection of the Unborn Child welcomed the decision saying, "This
:06:44. > :06:47.decision had it gone the other way would have led to more abortions
:06:48. > :06:50.taking place which would have been a bad thing for women and children. It
:06:51. > :06:53.would also have had serious implications for the value of our
:06:54. > :06:55.devolved institutions." But according to others the mood for
:06:56. > :07:03.change including among politicians is growing. We also know that at the
:07:04. > :07:09.Assembly, despite what people say, there is support for a change in the
:07:10. > :07:12.law. We survey them in 2012 and 63% of those who replied said that women
:07:13. > :07:15.should not have to pay for a private abortion in England. With the
:07:16. > :07:17.Department of Health reviewing Northerm Ireland's abortion
:07:18. > :07:19.guidelines and the Justice Department considering consulting on
:07:20. > :07:27.changing aspects of abortion law, resolving this issue is unlikely to
:07:28. > :07:30.happen anytime soon. 400 new jobs are coming to
:07:31. > :07:33.Newtownabbey. The UK firm Capita is creating the posts in computing -
:07:34. > :07:37.with average salary levels almost twice the Northern Ireland average.
:07:38. > :07:42.Our business correspondent Julian O'Neill has more details.
:07:43. > :07:45.Soon, the empty desks here will be filled with workers. This is the
:07:46. > :07:48.Capita office in Newtownabbey where its computer technology staff
:07:49. > :07:55.provide business support to a host of firms like Bombardier. Capita
:07:56. > :08:05.took over this building a year ago when it bought over another
:08:06. > :08:09.business. This is a significant expansion by a company which is
:08:10. > :08:13.hoping to increase its workload over the next four years when these
:08:14. > :08:18.additional posts will be created. They are highly skilled jobs, paying
:08:19. > :08:21.on average ?35,000 a year. The expansion will bring the payroll to
:08:22. > :08:27.nearly 1,000 and is based on the company's belief that it will find
:08:28. > :08:30.more work. We will be targeting new customers across the United Kingdom
:08:31. > :08:34.and also in the Republic of Ireland. We will use Northern
:08:35. > :08:42.Ireland as a base to services customers. We support all the IT
:08:43. > :08:46.systems for several -- from here for all over the UK. The Executive says
:08:47. > :08:49.this investment is an endorsement of Northen Ireland and it is giving
:08:50. > :08:53.Capita ?1 million towards the training of new staff. This
:08:54. > :08:58.announcement shows that we can compete based upon the skill that we
:08:59. > :09:03.have today and Northern Ireland -- in Northern Ireland, and also the
:09:04. > :09:06.ones that we are developing. This is a vindication of our skills based.
:09:07. > :09:09.Other public money, ?4 million, is coming from Invest NI. This project
:09:10. > :09:13.is getting help from the public purse just in time because new rules
:09:14. > :09:21.from Europe will shortly change the type of venture eligible for future
:09:22. > :09:24.state aid. The outgoing Victims Commissioner
:09:25. > :09:27.has called for a pension for those severely injured in the Troubles.
:09:28. > :09:32.It's one of several recommendations made by Kathryn Stone to the First
:09:33. > :09:36.and Deputy First Minister. While it has been welcomed by some victims,
:09:37. > :09:38.there is controversy over how such a scheme could be implemented, with
:09:39. > :09:50.Peter Robinson insisting no former paramilitary should benefit. Martina
:09:51. > :09:55.Purdy has this report. This man was 21 when he was the
:09:56. > :10:01.victim of a sectarian shooting. He was left permanently disabled and
:10:02. > :10:04.has spent the fast -- past four years campaigning for pension rights
:10:05. > :10:08.for victims. I know a lot of innocent people who were walking
:10:09. > :10:14.down the street or sitting in a restaurant and who were shot in
:10:15. > :10:20.their own homes. They are the people I meet all the time. They need this.
:10:21. > :10:28.He says there is a small window or that of opportunity. People are
:10:29. > :10:39.already dead, they will not see the benefit of it. As the years go on,
:10:40. > :10:42.we will be burying more people. As somebody said, when you get my
:10:43. > :10:49.cheque, you consented to the cemetery. The Victims Commissioner
:10:50. > :10:53.calls for action now for victims. As they get older, their needs
:10:54. > :10:59.increase. We need to make sure we care for people properly. But what
:11:00. > :11:05.about concerns that paramilitaries may get a pension due to injuries
:11:06. > :11:07.sustained by their own bomb. What I have heard from victims, those
:11:08. > :11:15.themselves who was seriously injured, is let's not allow the
:11:16. > :11:20.potential for a tiny minority of people to undermine the
:11:21. > :11:22.opportunities for the majority. This victims campaigner says that the
:11:23. > :11:28.victim should not be morally blackmailed. We strongly support a
:11:29. > :11:36.pension for those who were actually harmed in the course of rape --
:11:37. > :11:42.offensive act being carried out on them. But those individuals who made
:11:43. > :11:50.the choice to attempt to take the life of another or to harm must not
:11:51. > :11:55.be divided for in this way. In a statement, the office of the first
:11:56. > :11:58.and Deputy First Minister said the issue was being considered. But it
:11:59. > :12:03.is clear that Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson do not see eye to
:12:04. > :12:08.eye. The Deputy First Minister has supported the idea but Peter
:12:09. > :12:12.Robinson has objected to the idea that any paramilitary could benefit.
:12:13. > :12:18.I will not put my hand to any proposal that will reward those who
:12:19. > :12:23.have been engaged in terrorism. One compromise could be rolling out
:12:24. > :12:27.compensation for those involved in any illegal -- in any illegal
:12:28. > :12:32.activity. This is BBC Newsline. Coming up: We
:12:33. > :12:38.hear from the film-makers who have designs on young local talent.
:12:39. > :12:41.Four people due to stand trial charged with arranging Provisional
:12:42. > :12:45.IRA meetings have had the charges dropped after the prosecution
:12:46. > :12:48.offered "no evidence" against them. A judge entered not guilty verdicts
:12:49. > :12:54.against Padraic Wilson, Breige Wright, Seamus Finucane and Agnes
:12:55. > :12:58.McCrory all from West Belfast. Padraic Wilson was the only one of
:12:59. > :13:01.the four who was present in the public gallery to hear the verdicts.
:13:02. > :13:08.The charges related to alleged meetings of the provisional IRA in
:13:09. > :13:11.the late 1990s and 2000. The opening ceremony of the Giro
:13:12. > :13:16.D'Italia cycle race is about to begin in Belfast. The world's elite
:13:17. > :13:27.cyclists will then hit the road for three days of team trials and races.
:13:28. > :13:31.Donna is at the City Hall. It is -- it has actually begun.
:13:32. > :13:34.5,500 members of the public are gathering here to be part of this
:13:35. > :13:38.occasion as representatives from each of the 22 teams are introduced
:13:39. > :13:42.on stage. This is the formal bit of what they call the Big Start. And
:13:43. > :13:45.this will be the 11th time the race has started outside of Italy. This
:13:46. > :13:49.year's route that begins in Belfast and ends in Dublin beat off a bid
:13:50. > :13:52.from Venice in no small part because of the ?5.5 million investment from
:13:53. > :14:04.councils, tourism bodies and sponsorship north and south. Pink,
:14:05. > :14:14.pink and more pink - as Mark Simpson reports, it's the Giro colour that's
:14:15. > :14:21.got so many of us in a spin. Just when you thought you had seen
:14:22. > :14:25.it all, a pink pylon. Near Whitehead in East Antrim. And while we were
:14:26. > :14:32.filming, who should turn up but one of the Giro d'Italia teams. Out for
:14:33. > :14:36.a leisurely 40 mile ride. The professional cyclists seem to be
:14:37. > :14:40.enjoying Northern Ireland. Two of the teams are staying at the Park
:14:41. > :14:45.Avenue Hotel in East Belfast so that they can be close to the start of
:14:46. > :14:51.the race at Titanic. When they are not training, they are eating. One
:14:52. > :14:55.team did bring their own chefs for the cyclists. He is looking after
:14:56. > :15:00.nine people. He has fitted well into the kitchen and we will adopt him
:15:01. > :15:05.and not go back to Italy with them! It is all very relaxed at the
:15:06. > :15:10.moment, but the action is about to start. Tomorrow is day one of the
:15:11. > :15:16.big race, its print from Titanic to store Mont through South Belfast and
:15:17. > :15:20.finishing at City Hall. -- to Stormont. Saturday cover the area
:15:21. > :15:26.from Belfast to the Causeway Coast and back. Then it is from our more
:15:27. > :15:33.to Dublin. -- it is from Armagh to Dublin. When the drivers are going
:15:34. > :15:38.through the -- with the riders are going through this village, it could
:15:39. > :15:41.become noisy. We decided to welcome the riders by playing our
:15:42. > :15:49.instruments, the loudest instrument in the world. I hope they don't get
:15:50. > :15:53.scared and fall off their bicycles. Spectators going to watch the Giro
:15:54. > :15:58.d'Italia are being advised to cycle, walk, or use public transport. But
:15:59. > :16:05.if you want to take your bike on the train, space will be very limited.
:16:06. > :16:09.Our bicycle policy is that after 9:30am and at the weekend, we can
:16:10. > :16:15.carry up to four bicycles on the train and only fold bicycles will be
:16:16. > :16:19.able to be carried. And that is not changing for the Giro d'Italia?
:16:20. > :16:25.Unfortunately not. It reflects the increased numbers we've -- we
:16:26. > :16:29.expected the carrying. The race starts tomorrow at Titanic
:16:30. > :16:35.Slipways. This time tomorrow, it will be bikes on the road. They will
:16:36. > :16:41.be going a lot faster than these. Speeds of over 40 mph. The Guaranty
:16:42. > :16:45.-- the riders are guaranteed a warm and colourful welcome, no matter
:16:46. > :16:49.what the weather. And we have been told to stress the
:16:50. > :16:52.traffic disruption will be significant along the Giro route
:16:53. > :17:01.over the next three days. All the details of road closures are on the
:17:02. > :17:15.official traffic website - trafficwatchni.com. Explain how
:17:16. > :17:25.important this is in the cycling calendar. We start with this one
:17:26. > :17:31.then have the Tour de France and then we have the Spanish one in
:17:32. > :17:36.September. This is the second oldest and probably the second biggest. In
:17:37. > :17:43.the last 30 years the Tour de France have gotten bigger. The GE Road
:17:44. > :17:52.Italia is still very big and people in Italy will not see anything
:17:53. > :18:00.against it. -- Giro D'Italia. How tough is the route compared to what
:18:01. > :18:06.they face in Italy? To be fair, these guys ride a lot. It will be
:18:07. > :18:12.straight forward for them. That is not a reflection of Northern Ireland
:18:13. > :18:19.or Ireland. It is the first week of the tour, they have to stay fresh.
:18:20. > :18:23.This race is won and lost in the high mountains. If you want to know
:18:24. > :18:29.who will win you have to keep watching all the way to the
:18:30. > :18:34.Dolomites. The guys have nutritionists, medical back-up teams
:18:35. > :18:42.and bikes made with computer precision. It was very different in
:18:43. > :18:50.1914. We have a trial -- travel writer here who retraced the race in
:18:51. > :18:57.traditional costume, what was it like then? Back then they had
:18:58. > :19:07.traditional machines with wooden wheels. The races were much longer,
:19:08. > :19:14.they started at midnight. The Dee fuelled on red wine. You retraced
:19:15. > :19:18.the route yourself on this contraption here. It is quite old,
:19:19. > :19:26.how difficult was it for you personally? For me personally, going
:19:27. > :19:32.uphill without any gears, I am not in the prime of my life, it was very
:19:33. > :19:39.hard. Going downhill was far worse because the brakes did not work,
:19:40. > :19:45.terrifying! Thank you. We are covering the biggest act of the race
:19:46. > :19:51.live tomorrow at half past six on BBC Two. That is for the time trials
:19:52. > :19:56.in Belfast. There is also a programme on Saturday and Sunday
:19:57. > :20:03.afternoon. When it moves to Italy keep watching, the highlights are on
:20:04. > :20:15.BBC sport Northern Ireland. From the wet opening ceremony, back to the
:20:16. > :20:18.studio. With many graduates leaving university with little prospect of a
:20:19. > :20:21.job, any industry that is desperate for recruits must seem attractive.
:20:22. > :20:25.Animated film makers have just been allowed a UK tax break and there's
:20:26. > :20:28.going to be a lot more money for Northern Ireland companies involved.
:20:29. > :20:31.The industry is expanding rapidly and educators are racing to keep up
:20:32. > :20:34.with demand. Our arts correspondent Maggie Taggart has the last of her
:20:35. > :20:42.special reports on the creative industries. This company makes the
:20:43. > :20:48.children's TV series. It has just opened a studio in Belfast and
:20:49. > :20:57.performance -- employees 27 animators. It will need to expand to
:20:58. > :21:03.60 next year. The media company came to Belfast without the benefit for
:21:04. > :21:12.the UK tax break for animation. It was not eligible because it mixes an
:21:13. > :21:17.animated character with real actors. We knew there was a growing
:21:18. > :21:21.industry. There was this energy coming from Northern Ireland and
:21:22. > :21:29.there was the talent that had not been discovered. They are
:21:30. > :21:36.purpose-built in the courses at the University of Ulster. Our applicants
:21:37. > :21:37.tend to be the student who would have traditionally looked at fine
:21:38. > :21:43.art but have traditionally looked at fine
:21:44. > :21:47.graphic designers. They love to have traditionally looked at fine
:21:48. > :21:55.and the design of characters and backgrounds and getting the
:21:56. > :22:05.environment right. There has been an increase in the budget to help
:22:06. > :22:10.companies. It is up 50%. This course is only in its second year but with
:22:11. > :22:16.the expansion of animation companies it is a race against time to produce
:22:17. > :22:21.enough trained recruits to satisfy even the local Northern Ireland
:22:22. > :22:27.industry. The industry could be growing faster. It is hard to find
:22:28. > :22:30.people who will work in animation. There are jobs aplenty and the
:22:31. > :22:40.studios will be screaming out for more people. I will be having lunch
:22:41. > :22:51.with a very special hen. The biggest project here at the moment is
:22:52. > :22:57.narrated by Stephen Fry. Almost 100 are working on it and the maker
:22:58. > :23:02.hopes to recruit more for its next secret project. Like the other
:23:03. > :23:11.companies, some staff have come from abroad and it supports the training
:23:12. > :23:18.of new animators and intends to promote locals. Now the weather. I
:23:19. > :23:21.think we will need pink max, umbrellas and waterproofs over the
:23:22. > :23:30.next few days. The wind should not be a major feature to begin with
:23:31. > :23:35.during the weekend. We have showers moving in during the weekend. At the
:23:36. > :23:40.moment the showers are well scattered. After dark heavy showers
:23:41. > :23:45.moving in. There could be some thunder and lightning tonight. That
:23:46. > :23:50.will continue right through the night. It will not be particularly
:23:51. > :23:57.cold but some of the heavy showers will be around tomorrow morning. I
:23:58. > :24:02.suspect there will be some heavy showers around at seven in the
:24:03. > :24:09.morning across northern counties. These winds and showers may well
:24:10. > :24:16.affect Belfast but perhaps not so many further south. As the day goes
:24:17. > :24:20.on the showers will ease in frequency and intensity. There will
:24:21. > :24:28.be more in the way of sunshine tomorrow afternoon. The showers will
:24:29. > :24:34.become less frequent by tomorrow evening which is good news for the
:24:35. > :24:42.time trials around Belfast. We are keeping the link Giro D'Italia
:24:43. > :24:47.theme. Onto tomorrow night heavy rain will move in. Some of that
:24:48. > :24:53.could still be around first thing on Saturday. The weather itself for
:24:54. > :24:58.Saturday is more shabby but not persistent rain, there will be some
:24:59. > :25:04.dry and sunny gaps in between. There will be a risk of showers as the
:25:05. > :25:10.cyclists head up to the North Coast and then come right down again. If
:25:11. > :25:15.you are planning to stand outside there will be some gaps in between.
:25:16. > :25:24.On Sunday more of the peas from the north-west. Our late summary is at
:25:25. > :25:26.10.25. You can also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter.
:25:27. > :25:32.From BBC Newsline, goodnight.