:00:00. > :00:18.The headlines this Wednesday evening:
:00:19. > :00:20.More disturbing descriptions of child abuse in Australia
:00:21. > :00:31.at the Historical Abuse Inquiry - one man describes his experience.
:00:32. > :00:41.I can recall on the horsehair mattress going to bed at night
:00:42. > :00:45.crying myself, looking up at the stars thinking, what did I ever do
:00:46. > :00:47.to deserve this cruel, harsh environment?
:00:48. > :00:49.Charges are dropped against three people accused
:00:50. > :00:52.in connection with the murder of Robert Hamill 17 years ago.
:00:53. > :01:03.47 new jobs are created at a County Down aerospace factory.
:01:04. > :01:07.I will be finding out why free solar panels are stopping some people from
:01:08. > :01:08.selling their homes. The new arrival at Belfast Zoo
:01:09. > :01:11.that took everyone by surprise. The countdown is on to boxer
:01:12. > :01:14.Carl Frampton's world title fight - Temperatures made it close to
:01:15. > :01:18.20 degrees today - tomorrow A pensioner has told the
:01:19. > :01:30.Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry that he was physically
:01:31. > :01:33.and sexually abused as a young boy while in the care of the
:01:34. > :01:40.Presbyterian Church in Australia. He's the latest witness to give
:01:41. > :01:42.evidence from Australia this week. Our reporter Kevin Sharkey joins
:01:43. > :02:03.me now live from Banbridge. Today another story in this chain of
:02:04. > :02:09.stories of abuse and heartache. Today, a boy born in County Tyrone
:02:10. > :02:13.to an unmarried mother. His mother died a few years after his birth. He
:02:14. > :02:20.was put in an orphanage and then sent to Australia. Because of his
:02:21. > :02:26.Australia, the abuse he received there, his younger brother was meant
:02:27. > :02:31.to come to Australia and he sent him a letter saying not to come. Not all
:02:32. > :02:38.of the witnesses who will give evidence over the next few weeks
:02:39. > :02:41.will be travelling here. One former child migrant from Northern Ireland
:02:42. > :02:50.has been speaking to my colleague. His name is Tony Costa and this is
:02:51. > :02:54.his story. I can recall on horsehair mattress, going to bed at night
:02:55. > :02:59.crying and looking up to the stars thinking, what did I ever do to
:03:00. > :03:06.deserve this cruel, harsh environment? Painful memories of
:03:07. > :03:17.what he described as a robbed childhood in Australia. Part of the
:03:18. > :03:21.migration scheme, Tony Costa was rounded up and shipped off. But just
:03:22. > :03:27.ten years old he arrived at Fremantle to a rude awakening. It
:03:28. > :03:35.has left us all with scars of trauma, cruelty, intimidation,
:03:36. > :03:42.ridicule. Equally, with the appalling ill-treatment, and
:03:43. > :03:49.exploitation of children through hard labour and perversion. He is
:03:50. > :03:53.back in Ireland revisiting his long lost family on his fathers side. He
:03:54. > :04:00.wasn't aware he had any family until 2001. When he was four years old he
:04:01. > :04:09.went into care. I can't recall my mother. I can recall a lady with an
:04:10. > :04:16.orange bag. What hurts me more than ever is that my mother did go back
:04:17. > :04:23.looking for me and I was moved on. Just imagine the heart rate for that
:04:24. > :04:27.poor woman. I never met her. The closest I got was to visit her
:04:28. > :04:32.grave. That is the reality of what I'm coming to terms with. My mother
:04:33. > :04:39.died at the age of 56 traumatised by the fact that she was denied access
:04:40. > :04:49.to the child. I feel robbed and deceived, as she would have felt. He
:04:50. > :04:50.told me he was hoping his mum was looking down on him
:04:51. > :04:55.Kevin, the inquiry chair made a significant intervention today
:04:56. > :05:13.Quite a stinging and harsh comment by the judge. It related to the
:05:14. > :05:18.submission of documents in a timely fashion and he said in some cases
:05:19. > :05:23.they were only being handed into the enquiry days, and in some cases only
:05:24. > :05:27.times macro before witnesses came forward. He said it was causing
:05:28. > :05:31.considerable distress to the witnesses. He apologised for his
:05:32. > :05:36.intervention saying he did not want to do this but it was necessary to
:05:37. > :05:40.ram this message home and let the witnesses and general public know
:05:41. > :05:42.that it was not the fault of the enquiry. He was busy very annoyed
:05:43. > :05:44.and frustrated here today. A judge has thrown out the case
:05:45. > :05:47.of three people charged with perverting the course of justice
:05:48. > :05:50.in connection with the sectarian The Catholic man was attacked
:05:51. > :06:06.by a gang in Portadown in 1997. Controversy has always surrounded
:06:07. > :06:09.the death of Robert Hamill because for police officers were sitting in
:06:10. > :06:14.a Land Rover nearby at the time he was attacked but did not intervene.
:06:15. > :06:19.The case thrown out this morning involved another former police
:06:20. > :06:25.officer. Robert and Eleanor Atkinson were accused of trying to prefer the
:06:26. > :06:32.course of justice, but this morning here the judge said evidence before
:06:33. > :06:37.the court was insufficient to put the three people on trial. It
:06:38. > :06:42.revolved around a phone call made from the home of Robert Pack written
:06:43. > :06:48.on the morning of the attack. Kenneth Handy's son, Alistair... The
:06:49. > :06:55.allegation was an acting policeman had filmed the family and offered
:06:56. > :07:02.advice. This case has been stopped and restarted before over the
:07:03. > :07:06.reliability of Andrea Jones, also known as Andrea McKee. The judge
:07:07. > :07:10.said Andrea McKee had proven to be an utterly unreliable and
:07:11. > :07:13.unconvincing witness and he discharged all three accused of all
:07:14. > :07:18.matters before the court. In a statement issued through his
:07:19. > :07:23.solicitor, Kenneth Handy said he believed the decision to prosecute
:07:24. > :07:26.him and his co-accused for a third time was politically motivated and a
:07:27. > :07:30.waste of public money. A 15 year-old girl has been
:07:31. > :07:32.treated for facial injuries after It happened on the
:07:33. > :07:35.Ballymacarret Road last night. Shannon Thompson and a friend were
:07:36. > :07:38.attacked by a group of youths. She was hit
:07:39. > :07:58.in the face with a wooden object. We were at McDonald's. We went to
:07:59. > :08:03.the park and took a walk as I've was taking on one of my friends little
:08:04. > :08:11.brothers home. It happened so fast I just like site. They go at
:08:12. > :08:16.socialising, write to the park, doing what normal teenagers do. He
:08:17. > :08:21.don't expect to get a phone call saying your daughter has been beaten
:08:22. > :08:25.up by these mad people. Seeing her in that state last night, with my
:08:26. > :08:30.kids screaming and crying, so emotional after seeing her. We were
:08:31. > :08:32.in the hospital until after three o'clock this morning. Thankfully, no
:08:33. > :08:37.fractures, just badly bruised. An attack on gravestones
:08:38. > :08:39.in a Cookstown cemetery is being It happened early this morning
:08:40. > :08:43.at the graveyard on the Drum Road. Graffiti was sprayed and scraped
:08:44. > :08:46.onto the stones during the attack. Six men, aged between 19 and 21,
:08:47. > :08:49.have been arrested and are being questioned
:08:50. > :08:50.about anti-social behaviour. They are not being linked
:08:51. > :08:58.to damage to the graves. Two men charged with setting fire to
:08:59. > :09:01.a family's pet dog were today accused in court
:09:02. > :09:03.of repeatedly lying about their whereabouts on the morning
:09:04. > :09:05.of the incident in August 2012. The 23-year-olds are accused
:09:06. > :09:08.of causing unnecessary suffering to the Border collie, which had to be
:09:09. > :09:11.put down after it was attacked. Claire Savage was in court -
:09:12. > :09:15.and we would warn you that you may find some of the pictures
:09:16. > :09:32.in her report disturbing. Jamie Guiney from Moira, seen here
:09:33. > :09:39.on the left covering his face as he walked from court this afternoon. A
:09:40. > :09:43.short time later, Richard Stewart from Wellington Park in the Tyne at
:09:44. > :09:46.the same building. At the start of the case today the judge warned the
:09:47. > :09:55.jury they might find some of the details in the trial distressing.
:09:56. > :10:03.This is Cody, three-year-old boarder Colley. The family noticed she was
:10:04. > :10:06.missing. She arrived at their jaw over 60 minutes later suffering from
:10:07. > :10:12.severe burns. She had to be put to sleep. In the prosecution's opening
:10:13. > :10:16.statement the jury was told that the two accused had told lie after lie
:10:17. > :10:19.about their whereabouts on the Sunday morning and added that the
:10:20. > :10:24.pair had done a circuit of Maghaberry Village, either to walk
:10:25. > :10:29.off the effect of a party they were at the night before or to finish off
:10:30. > :10:34.alcohol they had with them. For whatever reason, they decided to
:10:35. > :10:37.take a dog, poor flammable liquid on it and set it alight. Both men
:10:38. > :10:42.denied the charges. The trial is due to resume tomorrow.
:10:43. > :10:47.The nuclear bunker that caused an outbreak of hostilities between one
:10:48. > :10:59.The Health Minister, Edwin Poots, has told an emergency committee
:11:00. > :11:02.meeting that he has not created a doomsday scenario by warning
:11:03. > :11:07.about the impact of potential cuts to the Health Service.
:11:08. > :11:08.The meeting, which lasted almost two-and-a-half
:11:09. > :11:11.hours became heated at times, with Sinn Fein and the Minister coming to
:11:12. > :11:18.Speaking publicly for the first time about the current
:11:19. > :11:21.crisis to the budget, the Chief Medical Officer reiterated the
:11:22. > :11:30.Minister's comments by saying he couldn't support the proposed cuts.
:11:31. > :11:37.The consequence if these decisions are made will be more people will be
:11:38. > :11:41.waiting for approved drugs and we will have to develop a waiting list
:11:42. > :11:48.for people to access not only drugs for arthritis, but drugs that people
:11:49. > :11:51.are currently receiving for MS and a range of conditions, that is not to
:11:52. > :11:57.mention the new drugs that will be approved next year.
:11:58. > :12:00.The aerospace firm Majellan is creating 47 jobs at its factory
:12:01. > :12:02.The Canadian firm's investment is being supported with
:12:03. > :12:10.Here's our Economics and Business Editor, John Campbell.
:12:11. > :12:16.John took control of this back to two years ago when it bought a local
:12:17. > :12:22.firm for ?10 million. Today it has announced another investment,
:12:23. > :12:25.spending ?6 million in the next four years to build an extension and buy
:12:26. > :12:31.more equipment. The workforce will grow by 50%. Tempting is a major
:12:32. > :12:36.supplier to bombard the eighth, but also makes parts for other aircraft
:12:37. > :12:41.manufacturers. This will end up on the wing of an Airbus. The company
:12:42. > :12:45.says the investment meter can do new things here. Since we have taken
:12:46. > :12:50.over and we have been able to bring more work and expand the facility.
:12:51. > :12:54.With a grant funding we are receiving from the Northern Ireland
:12:55. > :13:00.assembly, we will be able to take it to the next level. Manufacturing has
:13:01. > :13:05.been the one of the bright spots in the local economy over the last
:13:06. > :13:09.year. The enterprise minister says the sector is creating high-quality
:13:10. > :13:15.jobs. We have recognised that we can compete with China and India for the
:13:16. > :13:17.simple processes, but high-quality manufacturing is something that is
:13:18. > :13:21.anchoring itself here in Northern Ireland. Aerospace is a growth
:13:22. > :13:28.industry here. There are ambitious plans to double the annual revenues
:13:29. > :13:29.to ?2 billion in ten years. This announcement will go some way to
:13:30. > :13:32.meeting the target. The Secretary of State,
:13:33. > :13:34.Theresa Villiers, says suspected On The Run paramilitaries,
:13:35. > :13:36.who received letters from the Government assuring them they were
:13:37. > :13:38.not being sought by the authorities, She also told the Northern Ireland
:13:39. > :13:42.Affairs Committee at Westminster that she will make a statement
:13:43. > :13:45.shortly to Parliament and has no She told MPs she believes
:13:46. > :14:02.the so-called 'On the Run letters' What I have made clear today is that
:14:03. > :14:06.they cannot be relied on even as statements of fact. The government
:14:07. > :14:10.no longer stands behind them because we cannot be certain they were
:14:11. > :14:17.accurate and reliable at the time. So, there can be no question of
:14:18. > :14:22.looking back at past decisions by prosecutors and police. What will
:14:23. > :14:27.count is what is the evidence available to date and does it
:14:28. > :14:31.justify arrest, prosecution? That decision will be made by today's
:14:32. > :14:33.police and prosecutors, regardless of what judgements were made in the
:14:34. > :14:34.past. With soaring energy costs,
:14:35. > :14:36.it can seem a tempting option - get free solar panels bolted to
:14:37. > :14:39.your roof and benefit There are currently
:14:40. > :14:42.around 5,000 private homes making the most of solar energy,
:14:43. > :14:44.and the number is growing fast. But now people are being warned
:14:45. > :14:47.that accepting a deal for free solar panels could one day prevent
:14:48. > :15:08.you from selling your house. Cathy signed on the dotted line for
:15:09. > :15:12.her free solar panels a year ago. They have generated about 4.5
:15:13. > :15:16.kilowatts of energy. She now wants to move, but the problem is they can
:15:17. > :15:22.only get a mortgage with the Halifax, he apparently will touch
:15:23. > :15:26.houses with free solar panels. The Halifax's value as stated in his
:15:27. > :15:30.report he was unable to value my house with the solar panels in
:15:31. > :15:35.place. With them removed, he could value the house of the agreed price.
:15:36. > :15:39.If you want solar panels forge a riff you can buy them yourself or
:15:40. > :15:44.about ?7,500. What if you don't have the cash? There is a host of
:15:45. > :15:50.companies offering to put solar panels on your roof completely for
:15:51. > :15:55.free. Well, free sort of. It is expected to sign a contract leasing
:15:56. > :16:01.the airspace above your roof to them for 20 years. The mortgage companies
:16:02. > :16:06.are reluctant at the moment to lend on properties were these leasing
:16:07. > :16:09.agreements are in place. It is the finance agreement who feel that
:16:10. > :16:13.their entitlement will be undermined the existence of these leasing
:16:14. > :16:18.agreements. He says she should have been told about all this before she
:16:19. > :16:23.signed her contract. We did ask the question, what would happen if we
:16:24. > :16:27.decided to sell the house. We were assured that all that would happen
:16:28. > :16:32.would be that the people buying the house would sign over the lease and
:16:33. > :16:36.it would become theirs. The company in question says the Halifax's
:16:37. > :16:39.decision is not the view taken by many of the leading mortgage
:16:40. > :16:45.providers in Northern Ireland and they continue to receive consent
:16:46. > :16:50.from mortgage providers. As for Cathy, she has to buy her panels for
:16:51. > :16:55.?7,000 and take them to her new house. 20 years is a long time to
:16:56. > :17:01.take a gamble that you will stay in the same house. So, while solar
:17:02. > :17:05.panels create free energy for your home, it seems they can also create
:17:06. > :17:06.serious issues when you come to sell.
:17:07. > :17:09.The Office of the First and Deputy First Minister says it is now
:17:10. > :17:12.working with a Cold War enthusiast to lend him some artefacts from a
:17:13. > :17:16.He'd previously been told by officials that he wouldn't be
:17:17. > :17:19.able to retrieve the items in time for an exhibition he's planning.
:17:20. > :17:32.Kevin Magee has been finding out more.
:17:33. > :17:37.This is the nuclear monitoring post in County Armagh which has been
:17:38. > :17:42.fully restored by Cold War enthusiast Alistair McCann. Very 15
:17:43. > :17:49.feet underground, some of these bunkers were in use until 1991. We
:17:50. > :17:56.are in the monitoring room of 45 post Portadown, 158 nuclear
:17:57. > :18:00.monitoring posts built in Northern Ireland to reports the effect of
:18:01. > :18:10.nuclear explosions and the radioactive fallout. The bunkers
:18:11. > :18:15.were stacked by the Royal Observer Corps and to commemorate its
:18:16. > :18:20.formation he is planning a special exhibition. For his display he had
:18:21. > :18:28.hoped to borrow exhibits from inside the government's mean nuclear bunker
:18:29. > :18:32.in Ballymena. The Ballymena bunker was one of the last regional nuclear
:18:33. > :18:35.shelters built anywhere in the United Kingdom. As a result, it
:18:36. > :18:41.contains some of the best examples of equipment used at the height of
:18:42. > :18:44.the Cold War. While it was agreed he could borrow some exhibits, like
:18:45. > :18:48.these, the problem was he was told he was not allowed inside the bunker
:18:49. > :18:57.to select them because there had been a recent fire. It is just a
:18:58. > :19:01.real shame. If they had a piece of paper that I could sign to say I
:19:02. > :19:08.would go in with the torch and come straight out, I would do it. By
:19:09. > :19:11.Saturday I could have it on display. Officials at the Office of the First
:19:12. > :19:15.and Deputy First Minister had told him that the bunker would not be
:19:16. > :19:20.accessible for a significant period, but when asked when he might be
:19:21. > :19:25.allowed in it appears there might be a bit of compliance being shown. The
:19:26. > :19:28.Office of the First and Deputy First Minister no set it is working with
:19:29. > :19:30.Mr McCann to retrieve the artefacts in the near future.
:19:31. > :19:34.Plenty still to come before 7.00pm: We catch up with Carl Frampton ahead
:19:35. > :19:44.Visitors to Belfast Zoo got a shock when a baby giraffe was born
:19:45. > :19:48.The new arrival had been expected, though not quite so soon.
:19:49. > :20:04.Mother and baby together just minutes after the birth. It happened
:20:05. > :20:08.in full view of visitors. They could not leave their eyes as the baby
:20:09. > :20:11.suddenly appeared. If you're squeamish, you may want to look away
:20:12. > :20:23.because the actual moment of birth was caught on video by Lurgan
:20:24. > :20:28.teenager Maria Armstrong. In all, the baby dropped five feet. If you
:20:29. > :20:35.watch the footage again he could see it had a relatively soft landing.
:20:36. > :20:42.Within 30 minutes it was on its feet and meeting its family. The big
:20:43. > :20:46.question is, is it a boy or girl? Leave it or not, those zookeepers
:20:47. > :20:50.are not sure. Since it was born they have allowed it to bond with its
:20:51. > :20:58.mother and have distance. They have come up with names, Ballymena United
:20:59. > :21:02.is a girl, and Bally Rory if it is a boy. The breath was on Monday. There
:21:03. > :21:07.were some concerns about the health of the giraffe, but nothing serious.
:21:08. > :21:10.He or she should be back in the public eye very soon.
:21:11. > :21:12.The countdown continues ahead of Saturday's world title showdown.
:21:13. > :21:19.It's the biggest boxing event in Belfast for many years -
:21:20. > :21:21.so big they've taken the fight outdoors to the Titanic Quarter.
:21:22. > :21:23.Carl Frampton takes on the World Champion, Kiko Martinez.
:21:24. > :21:27.Today, the two took part in a brief public work.
:21:28. > :21:30.Hundreds of fans turned up to catch a glimpse of the pair who will go
:21:31. > :21:50.Kiko Martinez feels that there is unfinished as between him and Carl
:21:51. > :21:56.Frampton. 19 months after being knocked down by the Belfast boxer.
:21:57. > :22:00.What will happen on Saturday night? It'll be a long, hard fight. He is
:22:01. > :22:07.not here for a holiday. People get the title back. What will it be like
:22:08. > :22:13.coming into that environment? Everyone has been treating me very
:22:14. > :22:17.well. You know is that the Irish crowd can be really hostile because
:22:18. > :22:26.they know a lot about boxing, but they know how to recognise when
:22:27. > :22:29.someone is better. Carl Frampton acknowledges that the Spaniard is a
:22:30. > :22:32.better fighter now when they last met but feels that his personal
:22:33. > :22:40.development has been even more significant. Just ready to go. The
:22:41. > :22:47.best training camp I ever had. I easily made my weight. I have been
:22:48. > :22:51.able to make it easier on my body. I am a super-bantamweight. How do you
:22:52. > :22:57.separate yourself from this kind of buzz, hundreds of people turning out
:22:58. > :23:09.to see you? Eddie McGrady separate myself. I enjoyed doing this stuff.
:23:10. > :23:10.It gives me something to do. -- I don't really separate myself from
:23:11. > :23:16.it. Ballymena United are back on top
:23:17. > :23:18.of the Danskebank Premiership after coming from behind
:23:19. > :23:20.against Institute last night. But the chasing pack is gathering -
:23:21. > :23:23.with wins for Crusaders and Glenavon and a hard fought point shared
:23:24. > :23:26.between Cliftonville and Linfield. Gavin Andrews report begins
:23:27. > :23:41.at the home of the league leaders. Stephen O'Flynn found himself in the
:23:42. > :23:45.right face at the right time to give Institute the lead at the Ballymena
:23:46. > :23:58.Showgrounds. Haggart responded with two goals. The manager was full of
:23:59. > :24:09.praise for the visitors. Institute tried to play the ball -- football.
:24:10. > :24:26.It was good to see the ball on the deck. There was plenty to admire at
:24:27. > :24:30.Crusaders. They won 6-2. Cliftonville could not break down as
:24:31. > :24:36.stubborn Linfield defence. It finished scoreless. The boss of the
:24:37. > :24:42.blues can't understand why people think he has made a stuttering
:24:43. > :24:53.started the season. It has been a fantastic start for us. A new team,
:24:54. > :24:59.new players, we are starting to gel. Blaenavon moved into the top four.
:25:00. > :25:04.Glentoran drew 1-1 with Portadown. David Scullion but their goal.
:25:05. > :25:10.Darren Merry equalised with a penalty. Warrenpoint town picked up
:25:11. > :25:12.their first points of the season with a 2-0 win over Dungannon
:25:13. > :25:16.Swifts. The Republc of Ireland take on Oman
:25:17. > :25:20.tonight in a friendly in Dublin. We'll have the goals on tonight's
:25:21. > :25:40.late bulletin. Some of us got up to 20 degrees
:25:41. > :25:45.today in parts of County Down. Some of us will have a few spots of
:25:46. > :25:52.evening sunshine this evening. Overnight, it will stay dry and
:25:53. > :25:56.mild. The skies will clear -- if the skies to clear where you are, we
:25:57. > :26:00.could see temperatures down to single figures. There will be some
:26:01. > :26:06.mist and fog tomorrow morning, but it will clear quickly. It will be at
:26:07. > :26:12.day much like today. Lots of cloud around, but at times it will
:26:13. > :26:18.brighten up. To begin with, mist and fog for some of us. That will lift.
:26:19. > :26:21.Into the afternoon, things will brighten up nicely. The cloud will
:26:22. > :26:31.break up in the sunshine will come through at times. Under the cloud,
:26:32. > :26:39.temperatures will be 1920, so still above average for the time of year.
:26:40. > :26:44.Not much difference in Great Britain and Ireland. Lots of cloud around.
:26:45. > :26:52.In the south-east of England, 23 degrees. Across Ireland,
:26:53. > :26:58.temperatures moving up into the low 20s. For Northern Ireland,
:26:59. > :27:02.heightened about tomorrow it will be pleasant. There is the risk of one
:27:03. > :27:08.of two isolated showers. Overnight, it will stay quite mild with
:27:09. > :27:11.temperatures of 13 or 14 degrees. Then this week weather from coming
:27:12. > :27:16.in from the Atlantic. It will push its way southwards on Friday,
:27:17. > :27:23.bringing with it some grey, damp, drizzly weather. It will be a
:27:24. > :27:27.cooler, fresher day on Friday. The wet weather Wiltshire and for the
:27:28. > :27:31.time being the weekend is shaping up to be pretty decent. The hype
:27:32. > :27:38.pressure and maintain control, so plenty of dry weather.
:27:39. > :27:43.You can also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter.