:00:00. > :00:09.Good evening and welcome to BBC Newsline.
:00:10. > :00:12.A senior police officer has warned another dissident republican attack
:00:13. > :00:16.is highly likely following today's murder attempt on a prison officer.
:00:17. > :00:19.The 52-year-old, who works in Hydebank Wood, is understood
:00:20. > :00:23.to be in a stable condition in hospital after undergoing surgery.
:00:24. > :00:26.A bomb exploded under a van as he was driving it away
:00:27. > :00:30.from his home off the Woodstock road in east Belfast.
:00:31. > :00:41.The blast blew the front bumper of the van and damage the camp of the
:00:42. > :00:47.vehicle. The prison officer driving it suffered serious leg injuries. He
:00:48. > :00:55.was however able to get out and stagger away from the scene. I was
:00:56. > :01:04.asleep and I just heard the bang. That's all I heard. What does it
:01:05. > :01:06.make you think, having this happen? It frightened me. The explosion
:01:07. > :01:14.happened as the van was going over a speed bump, just before emerging
:01:15. > :01:16.onto the Woodstock road. Police are investigating whether that action
:01:17. > :01:24.may have dislodged or partially activated the device. The intention
:01:25. > :01:26.of this device was to kill. Someone prepared this device, someone
:01:27. > :01:33.transported it, and someone planted it. There are people watching these
:01:34. > :01:36.media broadcasts who have information that would help us catch
:01:37. > :01:43.those responsible. We need that information. We need that support.
:01:44. > :01:46.This appeal was repeated by the Justice Minister who went to the
:01:47. > :01:51.scene of the bombing first thing this morning. It would appear to be
:01:52. > :01:55.the hallmarks of what we associate with attacks from dissident
:01:56. > :02:00.republicans. Obviously, a lot of evidence is being gathered and we
:02:01. > :02:02.have a lot of work to do. What is crucial is ensuring anyone with any
:02:03. > :02:08.of a nation which will help the police, coming forward. I have asked
:02:09. > :02:14.for an updated threat assessment. We know the threat is currently rated
:02:15. > :02:18.at severe, that is the threat to my colleagues face on a daily basis so
:02:19. > :02:22.we will continue to work to keep ourselves and each other safe but it
:02:23. > :02:26.is important we go about our work and this will not deter us from
:02:27. > :02:31.continuing our job to keep people in northern Ireland safe. The army bomb
:02:32. > :02:35.disposal team has been carrying out a careful examination of the scene.
:02:36. > :02:40.If, as has been suggested, this device only partially exploded, it
:02:41. > :02:44.might be that important clues to the bombers will be able to be drawn
:02:45. > :02:47.from it. It is over three years ago that dissident republican shot dead
:02:48. > :02:53.prison officer David Black as he drove along the M1. Since then,
:02:54. > :02:59.prison officers association has been warning about threats to kill more
:03:00. > :03:05.officers. I can only assume the dissident republicans because we are
:03:06. > :03:08.aware threats exist against prison officers and the threat level is
:03:09. > :03:15.very high and I have no doubt of that. People were moved out of
:03:16. > :03:18.nearby homes during the follow-up security operation and several shops
:03:19. > :03:22.and businesses inside the cord and were also forced to close.
:03:23. > :03:24.This morning's attack on the prison officer has been condemned
:03:25. > :03:34.We do need to be vigilant and work with the police to make sure we are
:03:35. > :03:37.on alert to the possibility of these evil men, using tactics to thwart
:03:38. > :03:41.what we have been building in Northern Ireland, a peaceful
:03:42. > :03:45.positive future. There are some people that want to drag us back to
:03:46. > :03:50.the past and we need to work against them and bring them to justice. They
:03:51. > :03:57.can be at salute you no justification whatsoever for anybody
:03:58. > :04:00.going out with a gun or a bomb. Against the backdrop of the massive
:04:01. > :04:04.transformation taking place in our society over the last 30 years. If
:04:05. > :04:10.there are lessons to be learned, they will be. But I can assure all
:04:11. > :04:16.police and prison officers that huge efforts do go into insuring we keep
:04:17. > :04:20.them as safe as possible, but the reality is this threat is early for
:04:21. > :04:22.one which is why we will be vigilant now.
:04:23. > :04:24.Earlier on BBC Newsline our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent
:04:25. > :04:27.Kearney outlined concerns by the police that dissident
:04:28. > :04:29.republicans plan attacks to coincide with the centenary later this month
:04:30. > :04:40.This is the kind of attack the police have been expecting and
:04:41. > :04:43.fearing for some time. They have been saying for some months that
:04:44. > :04:48.dissident republicans were likely to make some sort of effort to step up
:04:49. > :04:53.their activities to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. At a
:04:54. > :05:00.press conference this morning, it was said the PSNI are well aware of
:05:01. > :05:04.this. It is the centenary of the Easter Rising. Many events planned
:05:05. > :05:07.across northern Ireland and the police hope to work with event
:05:08. > :05:13.organisers to make sure events pass off peacefully. It issued a stark
:05:14. > :05:16.warning about the intentions of dissident republican and the PSNI is
:05:17. > :05:21.deeply concerned about the threat level at this time. There are people
:05:22. > :05:29.within dissident republican groupings who want to mark the
:05:30. > :05:33.eastern 2016 100 anniversary in a sinister way. -- Easter. They want
:05:34. > :05:39.to kill police officers, prison officers and soldier. We think the
:05:40. > :05:43.threat is very high at the moment and we need community support. It is
:05:44. > :05:47.not inevitable that anybody needs to lose their life. This clearly
:05:48. > :05:51.demonstrates the police have credible intelligence and they
:05:52. > :05:55.believe dissident republicans will try to increase what they call their
:05:56. > :06:00.operational tempo to mark the Easter Rising centenary with a series of
:06:01. > :06:04.attacks, with targets being police and prison officers and soldiers.
:06:05. > :06:06.Several hundred people have attended an event this evening organised
:06:07. > :06:09.by politicians campaigning to leave the European Union.
:06:10. > :06:12.The Ukip leader Nigel Farage and Labour MP Kate Hoey were among
:06:13. > :06:14.a number of speakers at the Titanic Exhibition
:06:15. > :06:17.centre in Belfast. Claire Graham reports.
:06:18. > :06:23.They came in a hundreds to hear from some of the biggest out campaigners
:06:24. > :06:28.of the UK. There is no part of the UK that has talked more about
:06:29. > :06:31.sovereignty than Northern Ireland. Whether you believe Northern Ireland
:06:32. > :06:35.should stay part of the United Kingdom, if you are a nationalist
:06:36. > :06:40.and you believe in a united Ireland, both positions are concerned with
:06:41. > :06:43.sovereignty and I want to say to both communities, as members of the
:06:44. > :06:47.European Union, you cannot have any sovereignty. The sun, it was
:06:48. > :06:52.preaching to the converted but others wanted to hear the arguments.
:06:53. > :06:56.I have heard a lot about why we are staying -- we should stay in and now
:06:57. > :07:02.I want to hear why we should leave. I want to know what they offer. I am
:07:03. > :07:07.undecided on this issue but I am leaning towards staying in but I am
:07:08. > :07:11.open to all arguments. The DUP is recommending voters to leave the EU
:07:12. > :07:17.but said it is up to each individual to decide. As a public
:07:18. > :07:21.representative, I'm expressing my views and trying to encourage people
:07:22. > :07:28.because don't forget, this debate will be about the facts of the case.
:07:29. > :07:32.Is it good to stay in or better to get out? One of Labour's leading
:07:33. > :07:39.Eurosceptics also made their case clear. The EU has changed so much
:07:40. > :07:43.since 1975 and it is now for me, about whether we want to control our
:07:44. > :07:47.own country. Campaigning and discussions will continue over the
:07:48. > :07:49.coming months. In around 16 weeks, we will have an answer to the
:07:50. > :07:52.question, to stay or to go. Rugby and Ulster had a 32-0
:07:53. > :07:55.Pro-12 victory over Zebre Two those were from Man
:07:56. > :08:00.of the Match Nick Williams with Peter Browne and Paul Marshall
:08:01. > :08:02.also touching down to secure Paddy Jackson, who earlier kicked
:08:03. > :08:07.two penalties, converted three Football and Derry City
:08:08. > :08:12.were in action tonight in their first League game
:08:13. > :08:14.of the season, they went down to north-west rivals Finn Harps
:08:15. > :08:17.by two goals to one. Now with the weekend weather
:08:18. > :08:20.forecast here's Cecilia Daly. It is a cold old night out there,
:08:21. > :08:25.really nasty winds blowing. It will stay cold this weekend
:08:26. > :08:28.but there will be lots of dry weather, so hopefully
:08:29. > :08:30.if you wrap up warm, you will be able to
:08:31. > :08:32.get out and enjoy it. Quite bright at times as well
:08:33. > :08:35.and that bitter wind will gradually The breeze is coming from the north,
:08:36. > :08:41.there will be a few One or two could be a bit wintry
:08:42. > :08:48.over the high ground and by the end of the night, lots of places will be
:08:49. > :08:51.dry and quite clear. Temperatures in sheltered spots
:08:52. > :08:54.close to freezing so one or two icy Lots of cold, bright but dry weather
:08:55. > :08:58.to come on Saturday. A few early warning showers,
:08:59. > :09:00.still quite a nasty, nagging wind, especially up
:09:01. > :09:02.towards the north coast. There will be some snow showers
:09:03. > :09:05.pushing across parts of Scotland, and northern England.
:09:06. > :09:06.Icy conditions here. Some ice briefly possible over
:09:07. > :09:09.south-east England as an area Otherwise, lots of dry weather
:09:10. > :09:14.outside the showers but a really bitter wind blowing from the north
:09:15. > :09:17.so up along the north coast, it will be particularly cold
:09:18. > :09:20.at times but there will be lots of sunshine around,
:09:21. > :09:22.lots of dry weather, As the wind eases, it will lead
:09:23. > :09:28.to a sharp frost on Saturday night Mostly fine on Sunday,
:09:29. > :09:34.clouding over late in the day. Some wintry showers in the west
:09:35. > :09:37.but many places will get away with a dry day and the wind will be
:09:38. > :09:40.a lot lighter. It looks like we will see a little
:09:41. > :09:43.bit of rain and sleet, maybe hill snow through Sunday
:09:44. > :09:46.night and into Monday, Quite cold initially next
:09:47. > :09:51.week but getting milder as the week goes on.
:09:52. > :09:53.Have a great weekend. Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25am
:09:54. > :09:59.during Breakfast here on BBC One.