05/08/2014 BBC Newsline

An aviation charity is caught in the middle of a row between the DUP

and Sinn Fein over the development of the former Maze Prison site.

The Ulster Aviation Society, which is based on the site,

says it has had to cancel two open days after being refused permission

Our Political Reporter Stephen Walker has the story.

The Ulster Aviation Society hoped to show off planes and

helicopters to the public later this month.

Permission for the event was needed from the Office of the First

Despite a series of letters, approval was not forthcoming.

We have had three open days here before.

All very well attended by the public.

We have got real disappointment on the Facebook site.

One year ago the DUP withdrew support for the centre and that

Since then there has not been a consensus.

The DUP said Peter Robinson approved the open day and then

Sinn Fein are saying that nothing will happen until we deal with

They are using the hunger strike hospital and the present building

as political leverage and I think that is wrong.

Why should a charity like this be punished because

But Sinn Fein say that the DUP are to blame.

It was done by Peter Robinson because he agreed to open a centre.

The development was for at least 5,000 jobs.

Others have said that the cancellation

The cancellation does not mean an end to some events at this site.

Next week the largest trucking event in Europe will take place here.

While automobiles get the green lights,

The Ulster Aviation Society said they had been dragged into a

This is where they say the blame lies.

They said even if permission was granted today it

would be too late to try and organise the event for this year.

The big hope is that permission will be granted for 2015.

Police forensic scientists will examine items found

by specialist search dogs at the home of a Portadown woman

Searches have been taking place at the house where Caroline Graham

Our south east reporter Gordon Adair has been to the scene.

The dogs and the handlers spent yesterday examining this

flat where Caroline Graham lived with her then boyfriend.

The police know that on the night she went missing she

had been at a nightclub and they think that she returned here to

collect some clothes and that was the last time she was ever seen.

The dogs are trained to detect even minute traces of human remains.

I understand that they both independently indicated items

of interest in the house and it was this

which prompted the police to call in specialist scientific officers.

The detectives have not said what the items are,

but I understand they are not body parts.

It has the potential to be a significant development.

The police think that the public will still be

There are a circle of people, they think, that know what happened.

They want to break that circle and do that by encouraging somebody

to come forward 25 years later and tell them what they know.

A member of police staff has been arrested as part of the

investigation into the awarding of a number of PSNI vehicle contracts.

The 54 year-old has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct

Seven men have previously been arrested as part

of this investigation, including the retired former

Assistant Chief Constable, Duncan McCausland.

No-one has yet been charged in relation to the investigation.

Thousands of trees are being felled in a Belfast forest

The forest service says it hopes cutting down around 6,500 larch

trees in Belvoir Forest will reduce the risk of disease spreading to

The latest tree to fall in a 1,000 hector swathe is coming down.

to prevent more spores being released in the autumn.

Almost 7,000 trees will come down here in the next few weeks.

Amounting to about one third of the whole forest.

The regeneration, we are aiming to put it back in, the

The public will be quite aware that this place is very famous for

We hope to regenerate that type of environment

The bark and branches are kept separate.

The timber can be used normally in local sawmills.

Felling has been going on for about one day.

The disease was discovered here early in 2014.

Clearance of the dozens of acres affected was postponed

for a few weeks in deference to local birdlife.

Workers are being asked to keep away from the felling zones.

Three firms accused of receiving overpayments

of ?18 million from the Housing Executive

The Housing Executive also accepts that a fourth contractor which had

been accused was in fact underpaid and will receive compensation.

The ?18 million overcharging allegation was made

by housing minister Nelson McCausland last year.

In some of the cos there was an overpayment in the region of ?12

million. -- some companies. Actually they are only paying back 670,000.

?2 million on top of that. This is back to the swings and roundabouts

situation they were operating under, ?12 million overpayment and

elsewhere, under payment because things have not been claimed. It was

like there was an understanding between the contractors, some of

them and the executive that he will win on this and lose on that. Thomas

Bates and his brother, 42-year-old gallery were -- Gary were directors

of Ace Bates Skip Hire. The company has been charged with sale offences.

The brothers have become the work granted bail at ?250 each.

In a first ever meeting, Ireland's women have beaten hotly

fancied New Zealand 17-14 at the Rugby World Cup in France.

Despite Ireland's dominance, it was world champions New Zealand

who opened the scoring with this breakaway try.

Trailing 8-7 at the break, Ireland then pushed on through

a brilliant individual try from Alison Millar to dramatically beat

Ireland now face Kazakhstan on Saturday.

Now the weather. I am afraid we are in for a very wet night. Weather

warnings have been issued, valid until tomorrow morning. It might

still affect some places tomorrow morning into the rush-hour. It might

be worth some extra time if you are out on the roads tomorrow.

Travelling to night, be prepared for a lot of spray and surface water on

the roads. Possibly localised flooding as we will have thundery

downpours mixed in with this bunch. Pretty warm and humid as well. It

will start wet but it will get brighter with showers developing

tomorrow afternoon. And improving day as we move on. To start with,

cloudy, wet, a lot of surface water with puddles and spray. Getting

brighter from the south and west as the morning goes on. This is sitting

over central Scotland and moving north and affecting parts of

northern England for a while. South and west across England and Wales,

some sunshine, some quite heavy showers and likewise over the

Republic of Ireland, some sunshine and some heavy showers. Temperatures

and sunshine reaching the low, middle 20s. Quite warm in Northern

Ireland is tomorrow afternoon. Some sunny bursts but some heavy showers

and times as well. And possibly thundery downpours. The showers will

be few and far between on Thursday, mainly in the far west but otherwise

pretty good with lots of dry conditions and sunshine. The showers

are back on Friday and Saturday. That is it until 25 past six in the

morning. From