:00:00. > 3:59:59missing. That's all from the BBC News at Six - so it's goodbye from
:00:00. > :00:17.Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline.
:00:18. > :00:19.The death of Coleraine man Kevin McDaid.
:00:20. > :00:28.Charges of manslaughter against 12 men have now been dropped.
:00:29. > :00:31.Jobs figures hit sky high in a record year for Invest NI.
:00:32. > :00:36.Why some are under more pressure than others.
:00:37. > :00:39.I'm here for day two of the Balmoral Show
:00:40. > :00:41.where we'll be focusing on agri-food jobs,
:00:42. > :00:45.and how last year's ambitious plans for the industry progressing.
:00:46. > :00:47.A rider crashes in practice for the NorthWest 200,
:00:48. > :00:55.And it's been the warmest day of the year.
:00:56. > :00:57.We have broken the 20 degree barrier.
:00:58. > :01:10.All 12 men charged in connection with the death of a
:01:11. > :01:13.community worker in Coleraine five years ago have had manslaughter and
:01:14. > :01:19.Kevin McDaid, a Catholic, died after
:01:20. > :01:26.The case involved one of the most high-profile police
:01:27. > :01:47.There have been tensions about flags in the Heights area leading up to
:01:48. > :01:50.the death of Kevin McDaid. A high-profile police investigation
:01:51. > :01:55.followed and 12 men were arrested and charged, all accused of the
:01:56. > :02:00.manslaughter of Mr McDaid and the attempted murder of his friend. They
:02:01. > :02:06.also faced other charges. Five years later, the case was due to come to
:02:07. > :02:09.trial. The case opened last week and the charges were dropped against
:02:10. > :02:15.seven of the accused after they pleaded guilty to less serious
:02:16. > :02:18.charges. At hearings this week, the manslaughter and attempted murder
:02:19. > :02:24.charges were dropped against three other defendants who pleaded guilty
:02:25. > :02:30.to other charges. Today, David Cochrane and Philip Kane were due to
:02:31. > :02:34.go on trial but they walked free with all charges against them
:02:35. > :02:37.dropped by the prosecution. The prosecution said, having reviewed
:02:38. > :02:48.all the evidence against the three men, they would offer no evidence
:02:49. > :02:52.against them. Mr Justice Weatherup told the defenders to leave the
:02:53. > :02:57.dock. The prosecution said they had asked the widow of Mr McDaid and Mr
:02:58. > :03:08.Fleming who was injured and if they wanted to make victim impact
:03:09. > :03:12.statements. The prosecution said they would be speaking to the
:03:13. > :03:17.family. The case will come before the court again next month. The
:03:18. > :03:20.family will be present. A date for sentencing for the lesser charges
:03:21. > :03:24.will be set. Three men from Londonderry,
:03:25. > :03:27.who were caught transporting an anti-personnel weapon,
:03:28. > :03:29.have each been sentenced to five 42-year-old Jason Ceulemans,
:03:30. > :03:33.48-year-old Damien Harkin and 49-year-old Neil Hegarty, all with
:03:34. > :03:36.addresses in the city, each pleaded The armour-piercing mortar,
:03:37. > :03:39.which was described as having the potential to kill or
:03:40. > :03:42.seriously injure, was found in a car in the Creggan area of the
:03:43. > :03:46.city after a police surveillance It sparked
:03:47. > :03:48.a major security operation. All three were handed
:03:49. > :03:51.a ten-year sentence, five years In recent years,
:03:52. > :03:55.dissident republicans have tried to use similar devices on
:03:56. > :04:01.at least two occasions. pushed over by two men who stole her
:04:02. > :04:06.handbag, has been treated in hospital. The incident happened
:04:07. > :04:09.yesterday afternoon in Edgecumbe Gardens in East Belfast. The woman
:04:10. > :04:13.has a suspected broken elbow and pelvis. One of the men is described
:04:14. > :04:17.as being in his early forties with dark hair, and the police
:04:18. > :04:22.are appealing for witnesses. An East Belfast man
:04:23. > :04:24.has been remanded into custody charged with possession
:04:25. > :04:26.of a weapon and ammunition Police officers from a unit
:04:27. > :04:34.investigating race hate crimes uncovered a weapon
:04:35. > :04:36.and ammunition at his home. The operation saw three arrests
:04:37. > :04:53.during searches in the Castlereagh The searches at homes in Castlereagh
:04:54. > :04:58.whereby police officers from a unit set up to tackle race hate crimes
:04:59. > :05:06.across East Belfast. Appearing in court was a 43-year-old father of
:05:07. > :05:09.three Robert Stephen Thompson. Detective -- a police officer said
:05:10. > :05:15.he was connected with the items found in the house. When they
:05:16. > :05:21.searched the home, under the stairs, they uncovered a pump action, sawn
:05:22. > :05:27.off shotgun and a holdall with 700 rounds of mixed ammunition and other
:05:28. > :05:31.equipment. She added the police feared there would be other weapons
:05:32. > :05:34.still to be found which might be used. She agreed there was no
:05:35. > :05:38.evidence linking Mr Thompson directly with any hate crime. He was
:05:39. > :05:45.remanded in custody to appear on June the 10th.
:05:46. > :05:47.You're watching BBC Newsline. Still to come on the programme:
:05:48. > :05:54.We'll be live at the Balmoral Show where we'll be finding out
:05:55. > :05:59.how last year's ambitious plan for more agri-food jobs is progressing.
:06:00. > :06:01.Invest NI has reported its best set of job results
:06:02. > :06:09.It promoted almost 11,000 jobs last year, and is confident most will be
:06:10. > :06:15.Here's our business correspondent Julian O'Neill.
:06:16. > :06:27.Jobs figures at invest NI have hit sky-high, it has been a record year.
:06:28. > :06:33.In 2013, it says it helps companies promote 10,800 new posts. That is an
:06:34. > :06:38.improvement of 49% on the year before. Almost 6000 of those jobs
:06:39. > :06:44.will be created by local companies. It could take five years for all of
:06:45. > :06:48.the jobs to materialise, and the company is committed to providing
:06:49. > :06:53.updates on progress. I am fairly confident, obviously
:06:54. > :06:57.some projects, companies change, there will be some changes. But I am
:06:58. > :07:05.confident the majority of jobs will be created.
:07:06. > :07:11.This is one of the firms creating jobs, it makes sensors monitoring
:07:12. > :07:16.the pressure of car tyres, a product sold worldwide. But still not enough
:07:17. > :07:20.companies are competing globally. There are errors were invest NI is
:07:21. > :07:25.struggling. Chief among them is helping companies to export more
:07:26. > :07:30.which is a vital part of growing the economy. Invest NI's performance has
:07:31. > :07:36.improved but it is still failing to hit targets set by storm want. MLAs
:07:37. > :07:40.were told today not to expect so many jobs next year.
:07:41. > :07:45.But, longer term, giving them powers to lower corporation tax could
:07:46. > :07:50.improve things. Corporation tax, I would be
:07:51. > :07:55.delighted that in October, the Prime Minister took a positive decision to
:07:56. > :07:59.give the assembly and executive powers for that, then we could get
:08:00. > :08:03.back into those sorts of numbers of jobs.
:08:04. > :08:09.New rules from Europe in June will impose restrictions on the projects
:08:10. > :08:14.which can be given grants. Getting some companies in under the wire
:08:15. > :08:20.partly explains this record 12 months.
:08:21. > :08:22.A plan to create thousands of new jobs in
:08:23. > :08:25.the agri-food industry was launched last year at the Balmoral Show.
:08:26. > :08:28.12 months on, we've been looking at what has been achieved.
:08:29. > :08:31.It's day two of the big agricultural and food fair
:08:32. > :08:40.Nicola Weir is there for us. Nicola.
:08:41. > :08:43.That Stormont-backed plan is called Going For Growth,
:08:44. > :08:49.Dramatic growth in the food and farming industry.
:08:50. > :08:51.But, as our economics and business editor John Campbell reports,
:08:52. > :09:04.Food and farming have been the star of economic performance during these
:09:05. > :09:10.difficult years. Jobs, sales and exports are all up, compared to
:09:11. > :09:16.2007. Few other sectors can make that boast. And at Balmoral last
:09:17. > :09:21.year, ambitious plans were revealed for even bigger growth. The Going
:09:22. > :09:25.For Growth plan was laid out by the strategy board which brings together
:09:26. > :09:31.representatives of the industry and government. It aims to create 15,000
:09:32. > :09:38.new jobs by 2020, and increase sales by 60%. What has happened since this
:09:39. > :09:43.time last year? A major part of the plan is a loan scheme supported by
:09:44. > :09:47.the banks and invest NI to provide capital to fuel growth. But progress
:09:48. > :09:53.has been very slow. The first loan was only approved a month ago.
:09:54. > :09:57.It is fair to say it took us a much longer time than we expected getting
:09:58. > :10:01.the banks to agree the programme. However, it is in place and it has
:10:02. > :10:06.started to open up opportunities for farmers.
:10:07. > :10:11.Underpinning the plans for growth is the assumption the executive will
:10:12. > :10:17.pump ?400 million of public money into the sector. That is a huge
:10:18. > :10:23.sum. There has been no commitment to make it available. But the
:10:24. > :10:26.agriculture minister told us an agreement should be reached in the
:10:27. > :10:31.future. One economist has questioned what has been proposed being value
:10:32. > :10:38.for money. When we look at the products, 15,000
:10:39. > :10:44.jobs, ?400 million from the government over four years. We felt
:10:45. > :10:49.that was a little bit ambitious. In terms of the jobs, the price per job
:10:50. > :10:55.is relatively high compared to the investment position.
:10:56. > :11:00.Farmers's centres worried that their arrival industries in Scotland are
:11:01. > :11:06.moving ahead with their own plans. We can learn from Scotland. We can
:11:07. > :11:14.deliver a strategy that is not only equal but better. We are concerned
:11:15. > :11:17.we don't fall behind, we believe if we have a signed off by the
:11:18. > :11:22.executive we are in a good position. It is likely some
:11:23. > :11:26.financial commitment will be made. What is certain is whether the
:11:27. > :11:31.European subsidies will be sorted out. But they will be more modest
:11:32. > :11:36.than many in the industry would like.
:11:37. > :11:40.And you'll be hearing more from me the on all the sights and sounds of
:11:41. > :11:44.the biggest show in the countryside, later in the programme.
:11:45. > :11:46.Residents around Victoria Street in Lurgan have been allowed to
:11:47. > :11:49.return to their homes, following a police search in the area.
:11:50. > :11:52.Officers removed items for further examination.
:11:53. > :11:55.The police say today's operation is part of an investigation
:11:56. > :12:05.Research about pupils and their prospects at school has
:12:06. > :12:07.highlighted the low achievements of some Protestant boys.
:12:08. > :12:11.But wider studies show that boys of any religion can have problems.
:12:12. > :12:13.MLAs have been focussing on it and, today,
:12:14. > :12:16.a head teachers' conference is hearing how they can change things.
:12:17. > :12:19.One shining example is a rural school, and our education
:12:20. > :12:28.correspondent, Maggie Taggart, has been to see what it's doing.
:12:29. > :12:34.More than half the pupils at the school boys and a lot of the chat is
:12:35. > :12:43.about sport. But what other interests? The Balmoral show is on.
:12:44. > :12:48.Teachers want to find out why at the age of 14 boys begin to play up. In
:12:49. > :12:51.this high school, they thought everything was going well until they
:12:52. > :12:56.surveyed the pupils and found some of the boys in particular were not
:12:57. > :13:00.at ease with themselves and that was having an impact on school and home.
:13:01. > :13:07.Some said they were sad or lonely and had no one to talk to about
:13:08. > :13:13.their emotions. Motions like anger, this is a barrier to learning. They
:13:14. > :13:19.bring this into school, sport, home. Quite often, that is the main route
:13:20. > :13:27.of them not performing well in school. Agencies have been brought
:13:28. > :13:34.in to help the boys express themselves. They are well versed in
:13:35. > :13:38.to what to look out for. Maybe if they think they are not good enough,
:13:39. > :13:48.that they have to be different. They may think the way they act isn't
:13:49. > :13:53.cool. A lot of people think, maybe, they don't express themselves and
:13:54. > :14:02.hold it in. So they are frustrated and angry. Now special attention is
:14:03. > :14:05.paid to boys at risk. There was a group of pupils when I started to
:14:06. > :14:12.look, I thought, I wasn't aware that child was under pressure.
:14:13. > :14:20.So I took the time in a discreet manner to start to nurture and work
:14:21. > :14:23.my way through the problems. According to the boys, everything in
:14:24. > :14:25.this school is just perfect, but they may be exaggerating a little
:14:26. > :14:28.bit. Tina McKenzie
:14:29. > :14:31.from NI21 says Northern Ireland's current MEPs are either ?lukewarm
:14:32. > :14:34.on Europe or hostile? to it. Speaking at the launch
:14:35. > :14:37.of her party's European manifesto, she said MEPs from Sinn Fein,
:14:38. > :14:41.the DUP and the UUP ?don't value or even fully realise the role
:14:42. > :14:43.the European Union can play?. She said her party offered
:14:44. > :15:03.the electorate real change. send United Northern Ireland to
:15:04. > :15:07.Europe. The first time we will be able to unite people under one
:15:08. > :15:11.identity, being Northern Irish. Yet, at the same time, not stopping
:15:12. > :15:15.people to celebrate their Irishness, Britishness, whether they
:15:16. > :15:19.are Polish, whatever they are. A businessman in Belfast has been
:15:20. > :15:22.told to remove awnings and posters from outside his restaurant because
:15:23. > :15:26.they did not have planning permission before going up. But they
:15:27. > :15:31.have been there for about three years, and the owner thinks he
:15:32. > :15:39.should not have to take them down. This is the building Belfast
:15:40. > :15:41.planners have a problem with. This restaurant on a per Arthur Street.
:15:42. > :15:48.Renovation was done about three years ago, retrospective planning
:15:49. > :15:53.permission was sought but now elements are being turned down.
:15:54. > :15:56.Planning officials have told the corner the green facade, the
:15:57. > :16:02.advertising and the awning must come down. If that does not happen, he
:16:03. > :16:06.could face fines of ?3000 per month. If you are in the main thoroughfare,
:16:07. > :16:10.you need to have an incentive to walk up my street, I need that
:16:11. > :16:14.incentive which is why I need this fascia to be the way it is. A
:16:15. > :16:19.statement from the Department of environment says that the building
:16:20. > :16:20.falls within a conservation area in the heart of Belfast. The statement
:16:21. > :16:36.continues... The man is due to meet planning
:16:37. > :16:40.officials on Monday to see if a resolution can be reached. Issues
:16:41. > :16:44.like this one will still be in the lap of local councillors. In a
:16:45. > :16:48.months time, people go to the polls, new councils will be voted in
:16:49. > :16:51.and eventually they will have this possibility for planning policy.
:16:52. > :16:57.Decisions like this are the ones they will have to make.
:16:58. > :17:06.In a few minutes, we will go to the North West 200, the race pulls in
:17:07. > :17:11.people in their thousands, so too does the Balmoral show.
:17:12. > :17:15.It is another hello from the show, it has been a glorious day here. No
:17:16. > :17:20.sand but plenty of sun. The queue to get in here this morning was
:17:21. > :17:24.phenomenal. It shows there is plenty of enthusiasm for the farming life.
:17:25. > :17:30.The sun was out and it brought record numbers through the gates on
:17:31. > :17:35.the second day of the Balmoral show. Many events proved big crowd
:17:36. > :17:38.political and thousands from the walkways around the Venus. Today, it
:17:39. > :17:45.was time for the young farmer to take centre stage. The junior cattle
:17:46. > :17:49.competitions were hotly contested, proving there is plenty of young
:17:50. > :17:59.blood in the industry. I am a farm at home, and our numbers are up to
:18:00. > :18:01.3000 members across the counties across Northern Ireland so our
:18:02. > :18:06.organisation is going from strength to strength. It is a tough way of
:18:07. > :18:11.life but it seems agriculture is popular with the next generation.
:18:12. > :18:15.Sometimes you wonder, is it the best thing, you could get an easier
:18:16. > :18:19.lifestyle, a proper life targeting different thing. When you're brought
:18:20. > :18:23.up with it, you love it and if you love it, that is the main thing. You
:18:24. > :18:32.are up early and you work long hours, but it is great thing, --
:18:33. > :18:37.great fun, and it is something you have done yourself and you can call
:18:38. > :18:39.your own. With the show fuelling enthusiasm for the country life, it
:18:40. > :18:47.looks like the farming future is in good hands.
:18:48. > :18:53.Great to see a young female farmer there. One little boy told me he
:18:54. > :19:00.would love to have bought a tractor but his money only gave him ?5 to
:19:01. > :19:02.spend! -- his money. It has been a great day, and the show will shut up
:19:03. > :19:12.shop for another year tomorrow. An update now on the stolen parrot
:19:13. > :19:15.story we had earlier this week. The three birds were taken from the
:19:16. > :19:18.Butterfly House in Seaforde County Down are now back with their owner.
:19:19. > :19:22.The police say the two African grey parrots were returned by a member of
:19:23. > :19:26.the public. The Amazonian parrot was found at a property in Newtownards.
:19:27. > :19:35.The practice is over, the roads are close, the racing has begun, at the
:19:36. > :19:40.North West 200. And the sun is shining, and the
:19:41. > :19:44.first race is over. And there has been an Northern Ireland winner.
:19:45. > :19:51.Alistair Seeley has literally just won the Supersport race, couple of
:19:52. > :19:55.minutes ago. Joining me is the commentator who is catching his
:19:56. > :19:59.breath, it was a thriller. What a way to get under way. Just so
:20:00. > :20:03.spectacular. The first tight corner there, Alistair Seeley got one out
:20:04. > :20:06.wide, Lee Johnston went down and pushed off the tracks, he was 15
:20:07. > :20:12.seconds back and worked his way through. Nobody had a chance of
:20:13. > :20:15.winning. Very unlucky bought Guy Martin, he was looking good for a
:20:16. > :20:20.close second, you could be neck and neck but he got caught by a back
:20:21. > :20:23.marker. If that is anything to go by for the racing this week, we are
:20:24. > :20:28.going to have to get our breath together. All of the ride is fine
:20:29. > :20:32.after that little spill the first corner. After the wash-out of last
:20:33. > :20:36.year, it is great see that the organisers have had some luck with
:20:37. > :20:39.weather. Absolutely, it is spectacular, the sun is glinting off
:20:40. > :20:45.the sea, the crowds are out and that was a stupendous race, I cannot get
:20:46. > :20:51.around it, I am still getting my breath back! This morning in
:20:52. > :20:56.practice, the only female rider here, Maria Costello, pity
:20:57. > :21:01.spectacular crash? -- a pretty spectacular crash? Yes, she was
:21:02. > :21:06.perfectly OK, she is going to be racing later in the week, maybe even
:21:07. > :21:16.tonight. Two more races you can watch on the BBC sport website? I
:21:17. > :21:22.think I have to go and get a drink to settle myself down! If you go
:21:23. > :21:27.onto the BBC sport website straight after BBC Newsline, you can see the
:21:28. > :21:30.Supertwin and the Superstock race. I will be back on BBC Newsline this
:21:31. > :21:36.evening bringing you reaction from Alistair Seeley. Just a mention of
:21:37. > :21:41.Paddy Wallace, the Ulster rugby player, who has hung up his boots
:21:42. > :21:46.today after 189 games for Ulster, and 30 appearances for island, he
:21:47. > :21:50.has decided to call it a day. I think the body made it for me, it
:21:51. > :21:56.has been a frustrating year and a half, almost, lots of rehab and
:21:57. > :22:03.trying to get back from injury. I think Father Time waits for no one.
:22:04. > :22:09.It is just a battle. I am not in the right shape to play rugby any more
:22:10. > :22:12.unfortunately. Behind me at the moment, Alistair
:22:13. > :22:18.Seeley is making his weight onto the winner 's podium. It is fantastic to
:22:19. > :22:21.see fantastic crowd tonight, literally thousands of people have
:22:22. > :22:27.descended on to the North Coast area for the racing. It is great that the
:22:28. > :22:30.organisers have had some luck with the weather. The forecast not quite
:22:31. > :22:33.as good for Saturday but there will be a good try window for racing and
:22:34. > :22:38.we are looking forward to that as well.
:22:39. > :22:43.God is there this evening on the north coast, and it has been the
:22:44. > :22:48.warmest day -- it is gorgeous there this evening on the north coast, and
:22:49. > :22:54.it has been the warmest day of year so far. The last time we had 20
:22:55. > :23:01.degrees was over Easter. It has been a lovely day everywhere, sunshine on
:23:02. > :23:04.the north coast. And the sun has been shining in Belfast as well,
:23:05. > :23:08.lots of people enjoying it down at the continental market today. It has
:23:09. > :23:12.been pretty sunny generally, and you can see from the satellite picture,
:23:13. > :23:19.a few stray clouds developing in the last couple of hours. A slim chance
:23:20. > :23:25.of a shower over the Antrim Hills. Otherwise, a fine night to come.
:23:26. > :23:30.Miles, mist and low cloud don't -- it will be mild, mist and low cloud
:23:31. > :23:34.developing. Friday is going to be another warm day. There could be
:23:35. > :23:37.mist and low cloud to begin with but it will disappear quickly. Much
:23:38. > :23:40.sunnier to begin with tomorrow compared to this morning. As a
:23:41. > :23:48.result, it will warm up quite nicely. Temperature is already
:23:49. > :23:51.getting up to the mid-teens. A bit of breeze picking up towards the
:23:52. > :23:54.west and the north coast, a breezy day tomorrow. If you are heading to
:23:55. > :24:02.Balmoral for the last day tomorrow, and nice day. Bit of a breeze,
:24:03. > :24:09.temperatures up to 18 degrees. Most places fine, warm and sunny in the
:24:10. > :24:13.afternoon. Some cloud approaching the north-west, which will bring a
:24:14. > :24:16.little bit of rain tomorrow night. Especially across northern and
:24:17. > :24:19.western areas. That is a weak weather front and it will combine
:24:20. > :24:24.with another weather front on Saturday to eventually bring some
:24:25. > :24:27.wetter weather. During the day, most of that wet weather will be in the
:24:28. > :24:31.north and west, to the south-east, not as sunny but it will still be
:24:32. > :24:38.dry and warm. It means for the race day, it will be wet weather around.
:24:39. > :24:42.Not a complete wash-out, but we will all see some rain by Sunday.
:24:43. > :24:51.All 12 men charged with the murder of Kevin McDaid in Coleraine 12
:24:52. > :24:59.years ago have had manslaughter and attempted man's ashlar grew a tented
:25:00. > :25:09.murder charges dropped. Three men -- attempted murder have all had their
:25:10. > :25:13.charges dropped. Three men each pleaded guilty to
:25:14. > :25:21.having the device. Our late summary is at 10:25pm. On our Facebook page,
:25:22. > :25:26.we have a report on the tattooed which is opening auditions this
:25:27. > :25:28.weekend. You can also keep in touch via Twitter.