:00:00. > :00:09.Police documents have revealed that a member of the INLA held someone
:00:10. > :00:12.hostage and questioned them at length about the disappearance
:00:13. > :00:17.of the Castlederg teenager Arlene Arkinson 22 years ago.
:00:18. > :00:20.On the second day of the inquest into her death, lawyers
:00:21. > :00:22.for the Arkinson family objected to some information from police
:00:23. > :00:28.The police have a Public Interest Immunity Certificate
:00:29. > :00:32.from the government which allows them to withhold details.
:00:33. > :00:41.Our reporter Colletta Smith was in court.
:00:42. > :00:47.This is a row about a file full of documents. The coroner has with the
:00:48. > :00:52.file but the lawyer acting of the half of the family has a copy of the
:00:53. > :00:58.file that has sections blacked out. Today the coroner decided that he
:00:59. > :01:01.would hear behind closed doors the arguments about why they don't want
:01:02. > :01:06.that information to be made public but before the members of the
:01:07. > :01:09.public, the family and the media were asked to lead the court room
:01:10. > :01:12.the lawyer acting and a half of the family said he wanted specific
:01:13. > :01:14.information on some of the issues that were hinted at around those
:01:15. > :01:16.blacked out sections. Arlene Arkinson disappeared
:01:17. > :01:17.from Castlederg in 1994. Today the court heard about police
:01:18. > :01:20.documents saying that someone was abducted by the INLA
:01:21. > :01:26.and questioned about her murder. The police have asked for the name
:01:27. > :01:30.of that person to be withheld. Another new revelation was that
:01:31. > :01:33.early in the investigation police thought there might be a link
:01:34. > :01:36.between Arlene's disappearance and the murder of the teenager
:01:37. > :01:41.Sylvia Fleming four years later. She was 17 and pregnant
:01:42. > :01:43.when she was murdered Her former boyfriend was found
:01:44. > :01:50.guilty and sent to prison. The Arkinson family want to know why
:01:51. > :01:53.police eventually decided there was no credible
:01:54. > :01:57.link between the cases. In 1996 police and the media arrived
:01:58. > :02:01.at the same time to dig up The family's lawyers want to know
:02:02. > :02:07.why the person who made the call leading to the search isn't named
:02:08. > :02:12.anywhere in the documents. That will all remain a mystery
:02:13. > :02:14.if the public interest immunity The judge will announce tomorrow how
:02:15. > :02:20.much if any of that file A major student housing scheme has
:02:21. > :02:27.been given the go-ahead The 476-bedroom accommodation
:02:28. > :02:33.will be built on the site of the old College of Business
:02:34. > :02:35.Studies. It will be used by Queens University
:02:36. > :02:39.and should be completed Two other housing applications
:02:40. > :02:43.were deferred pending site They are for a 407-unit scheme
:02:44. > :02:48.on York Street and a 156-unit scheme The council has also given approval
:02:49. > :02:55.for a new hotel in the Cathedral The ?8 million development will be
:02:56. > :02:59.at the former War Memorial Building Completion is expected
:03:00. > :03:06.towards the end of next year. The body which runs Stormont,
:03:07. > :03:08.the Assembly Commission, will meet tomorrow to discuss
:03:09. > :03:13.the issue of MLAs' expenses. Today the Westminster watchdog,
:03:14. > :03:16.the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority,
:03:17. > :03:18.said it had concerns about the way some Assembly members have been
:03:19. > :03:21.overturning refusals Our Political Correspondent
:03:22. > :03:27.Gareth Gordon reports. How should MLAs conduct themselves
:03:28. > :03:32.on the difficult issue of expenses? The First and Deputy First Ministers
:03:33. > :03:37.watched the Ulster Orchestra make They know the issue of money is back
:03:38. > :03:44.in play because of claims made by the independent panel
:03:45. > :03:50.that sets MLAs' pay. I'm sure there's not one MLA
:03:51. > :03:53.in the place who would object to having a fresh look at how we can
:03:54. > :03:58.remove from the public mind any suggestion whatsoever
:03:59. > :04:03.that there are people up here feathering their nests,
:04:04. > :04:09.and that isn't happening. We have always said there is a need
:04:10. > :04:12.to be as open as possible. Indeed, we had suggested when this
:04:13. > :04:16.came up the last time that we should move to a model that they have
:04:17. > :04:20.in Westminster and they are happy to operate in that model
:04:21. > :04:33.and so are we. IPSA is the Independent
:04:34. > :04:34.Parliamentary Standards Authority which sets MPs' pay
:04:35. > :04:36.and expenses at Westminster, the body behind the report leaked
:04:37. > :04:41.to the BBC as new questions over how MLAs at Stormont challenge
:04:42. > :04:44.the authorities when expenses They said they were told of one
:04:45. > :04:51.or two cases in which MLAs having had a claim refused approached
:04:52. > :04:57.a senior member of Assembly staff. Often these approaches
:04:58. > :05:00.were successful. In one case, a Stormont staff member
:05:01. > :05:03.requested justification value bill incurred
:05:04. > :05:09.while the MLA was on holiday. The unnamed politician escalated
:05:10. > :05:12.the issue to the senior management They concluded this informal,
:05:13. > :05:21.ad hoc approach is not a robust mechanism for reviewing
:05:22. > :05:26.refusals of claims. The body has now said that
:05:27. > :05:28.Stormont's review system should be strengthened so it becomes entirely
:05:29. > :05:32.formal, documented and consistent. The idea seems to have struck
:05:33. > :05:34.a chord with the executive's leaders, will a change
:05:35. > :05:42.of tune now follow? In an unusual compensation case,
:05:43. > :05:46.a pigeon fancier in County Armagh A court found his birds had been
:05:47. > :06:05.killed by hounds from a hunt, This is Mr Weir at the Avery where
:06:06. > :06:11.59 of his birds were killed and up to 15 hunting dogs that forced their
:06:12. > :06:15.way into this pigeon loft in February 2009. It happened on the
:06:16. > :06:21.day to club is holding a hunt. It was like being hit with a sledge on
:06:22. > :06:27.the head the day that when I came out having my lunch seeing all the
:06:28. > :06:34.pigeons lying dead on the hounds in the Avery and in the loft and it has
:06:35. > :06:38.been a nightmare to say the least. Mr Weir took the Countryside
:06:39. > :06:42.Alliance to the High Court. He claimed his plans to a small pigeon
:06:43. > :06:46.breeding business were ruined. His barrister claimed the hunters were
:06:47. > :06:49.negligent because they didn't control their dogs. The defence
:06:50. > :06:54.insisted none of the hounds from the hunt came into contact with his
:06:55. > :06:58.birds on that day. At the High Court in Belfast, the judge backed Mr
:06:59. > :07:03.Weir's account of what happened describing him as an honest and
:07:04. > :07:07.straightforward witness. She ruled that the hounds had been on the
:07:08. > :07:11.property, gained entry to the coop and in all probability they had
:07:12. > :07:17.killed the pigeons. She awarded Mr Weir more than ?62,000 in damages to
:07:18. > :07:21.cover the physical damage and the distressed that he suffered. The
:07:22. > :07:23.Countryside Alliance now has six weeks to decide if they want to
:07:24. > :07:26.appeal that verdict. A group of teachers were at Stormont
:07:27. > :07:29.today to express their anger over a Department of Education scheme
:07:30. > :07:33.to replace 500 older staff Our Education Correspondent Robbie
:07:34. > :07:38.Meredith was listening as some experienced teachers
:07:39. > :07:41.voiced their concern After seven years of teaching
:07:42. > :07:51.on temporary contracts, Katrina wants a full-time teaching
:07:52. > :07:54.job but she has a fight At half term, she's brought
:07:55. > :07:59.her plea to Stormont. Every year around this
:08:00. > :08:02.time I start to worry. I have to save throughout the year
:08:03. > :08:15.to create myself a wage The problem is that she has too
:08:16. > :08:22.much experience to apply The department said they will only
:08:23. > :08:27.be open to those who have graduated Today she and some of the teachers
:08:28. > :08:31.who are also affected are in the room behind me
:08:32. > :08:35.telling their stories to members Give us more funding to support
:08:36. > :08:41.smaller class sizes, better education for children
:08:42. > :08:44.and a better future Many of the stories
:08:45. > :08:49.they heard were the same. I would love a full-time
:08:50. > :08:57.teaching job. At the end of the day,
:08:58. > :09:02.I'm not asking anybody to give me a job but we just want the chance
:09:03. > :09:07.to be able to go for jobs. In the next two years there will be
:09:08. > :09:10.huge decisions for my family To actually move to somewhere like
:09:11. > :09:16.Australia. The final decision rests
:09:17. > :09:22.with the education minister. What I'm doing is creating new jobs,
:09:23. > :09:27.new employment opportunities. When you look at the employment
:09:28. > :09:31.statistics, it shows those teachers who are qualified most recently,
:09:32. > :09:35.within the last three years, find it most difficult to obtain
:09:36. > :09:38.permanent employment. Katrina won't be alone in hoping
:09:39. > :09:48.John O'Dowd has room for manoeuvre. World War II veterans
:09:49. > :09:51.from Northern Ireland have been honoured for the part they played
:09:52. > :09:54.in the liberation of France. The medal ceremony was in Lisburn
:09:55. > :09:58.but the award was given There's some flash photography
:09:59. > :10:04.in Mervyn Jess's report. They may not be just as able
:10:05. > :10:08.as they once were but there is no denying the strength of bond that
:10:09. > :10:13.still unites these D-Day veterans. More than 20 former servicemen
:10:14. > :10:15.from Northern Ireland gathered at the barracks in
:10:16. > :10:18.Lisburn this morning. They receive the highest
:10:19. > :10:28.distinction France can bestow. The Honorary Consul from France
:10:29. > :10:31.pinned the award on regimental blazers already straining
:10:32. > :10:35.with World War II medals. The decision to give the highest
:10:36. > :10:38.distinction the country can offer to all those involved in D-Day
:10:39. > :10:41.and the liberation of France was announced in 2014 on the 70th
:10:42. > :10:46.anniversary of the landings. You've got a lot
:10:47. > :10:59.of medals below that! I always wondered, it must have been
:11:00. > :11:07.terrible to arrive there and I never thought I would have spoken and met
:11:08. > :11:12.some of the soldiers who came there. Former commando George landed
:11:13. > :11:17.in France before the I landed before the assault
:11:18. > :11:25.group and guided them in. There was 100-odd of us and only
:11:26. > :11:29.four of us came back. Their numbers may be dwindling
:11:30. > :11:35.but today the people of France officially recognised what they did
:11:36. > :11:43.more than 70 years ago. There's some snow
:11:44. > :11:45.on the way overnight. With the details,
:11:46. > :11:55.here's Angie Philips. Good evening. After a fine start the
:11:56. > :12:00.week yesterday all downhill today the wet and windy weather. Now we
:12:01. > :12:05.have some snow in the forecast as well. Through the night, as the wind
:12:06. > :12:09.eases and that rain starts to slide out of the way the temperatures will
:12:10. > :12:12.fall with cold air digging in behind. Those tempered as close to
:12:13. > :12:15.freezing so the back edge of the rain and showers that follow will
:12:16. > :12:21.have a tendency to turn to sleet and snow. Especially but not as close of
:12:22. > :12:25.the over hills of Antrim. They snow warning is in place, that lingers
:12:26. > :12:31.into tomorrow morning 's rush hour. To be slushy and some roads and I
:12:32. > :12:35.see in a few spots. It is a dull start to the day tomorrow. Wintry
:12:36. > :12:39.showers around and potentially quite icy. Things will improve and it will
:12:40. > :12:43.turn drier and brighter as we go through the day. Indeed, it will do
:12:44. > :12:46.across the Republic of Ireland and it will brighten up across Scotland.
:12:47. > :12:51.There will be some wintry showers around here too. In the meantime
:12:52. > :12:56.that band of rain slide into England and Wales with sleet and hill snow.
:12:57. > :12:59.Not reaching the south-east until the evening and by tomorrow evening
:13:00. > :13:07.we may see some wintry nurse in the levels. For Northern Ireland, it's a
:13:08. > :13:11.crisp in fine afternoon. Lots of wintry sunshine. By the winds today
:13:12. > :13:17.but temperatures back down at five or 6 degrees. We could see wintry
:13:18. > :13:21.showers towards the north-west. Frost and icy patches tomorrow night
:13:22. > :13:27.and if you wintry showers on Thursday but sunshine away from
:13:28. > :13:29.those, milder towards the weekend but more subtle. -- and settle.