:00:14. > :00:21.The Lord Chief Justice says it's a matter of urgency
:00:22. > :00:24.the new Stormont Executive agrees on a way to deal with the past.
:00:25. > :00:27.A man accused of the murder of prison officer Adrian Ismay
:00:28. > :00:29.worked with him as a volunteer in the St John Ambulance Service.
:00:30. > :00:33.On the eve of polling day, we challenge the party leaders
:00:34. > :00:37.on how they picture success in the Assembly election.
:00:38. > :00:40.More bad news for schools as the education authority
:00:41. > :00:56.For any teacher in Northern Ireland, I think the next number of years are
:00:57. > :00:58.going to be a maddeningly stressful. After his performance against
:00:59. > :01:01.Leinster is Paddy Jackson now Ireland's number one out half?
:01:02. > :01:03.And after a windy day with patchy rain,
:01:04. > :01:09.it's looking more settled again for the next couple of days.
:01:10. > :01:12.Hello, and welcome to the programme this Wednesday evening.
:01:13. > :01:15.Northern Ireland's top judge says he's disappointed the Stormont
:01:16. > :01:21.Executive has not yet made a bid for funding for inquests into
:01:22. > :01:23.some of the most controversial killings of the Troubles.
:01:24. > :01:25.Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan responded
:01:26. > :01:27.after BBC Newsline revealed last night
:01:28. > :01:29.that his five year plan to hear the inquests
:01:30. > :01:34.hasn't even been discussed by ministers, and is now on hold.
:01:35. > :01:42.Our home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney reports.
:01:43. > :01:51.This is a moment said Declan Morgan left the city of his quarters and
:01:52. > :01:55.step into the public and political domain. Three months ago the Lord
:01:56. > :01:58.Chief Justice met relatives of some of those killed in the most
:01:59. > :02:02.controversial issues of the Troubles stop he told them he had a five-year
:02:03. > :02:05.plan to deal with all outstanding legacy inquests. Afterwards, he
:02:06. > :02:09.expressed confidence that the government would give a sympathetic
:02:10. > :02:12.ear to a request for funding. Della macro I have been given to
:02:13. > :02:18.understand that if the Northern Ireland executive ask for resources
:02:19. > :02:22.for legacy request, the request will be given very serious consideration
:02:23. > :02:28.by the Secretary of State. But that request was never made, and his plan
:02:29. > :02:31.is now on hold. A proposal to ask the Secretary of State to provide
:02:32. > :02:36.more than ?10 million of funding, the government has earmarked for the
:02:37. > :02:40.past, was even discussed in the Stormont Executive because First
:02:41. > :02:45.Minister Arlene Foster blocked its inclusion on the agenda. She
:02:46. > :02:50.explained why during the leader's debate last night. I wanted the
:02:51. > :02:55.opportunity to discuss further with the Lord Chief Justice on the issue
:02:56. > :02:58.of victims and how we can deal with their issues and I make no apology
:02:59. > :03:00.for that whatsoever. I think the rights of innocent victims are
:03:01. > :03:06.buried here and all of this and I will not allow, I will not allow any
:03:07. > :03:09.process to rewrite the bus what happened in Northern Ireland was a
:03:10. > :03:15.the Deputy First Minister made it clear that he had a different view.
:03:16. > :03:20.I gave my ascent to the funding for those cases to be heard under the
:03:21. > :03:26.plan put forward by the Lord Chief Justice. The leader of the SDLP said
:03:27. > :03:30.those waiting for the inquest had been let down. They were very happy
:03:31. > :03:34.that this stuff had begun to change, that the senior Lord Chief Justice
:03:35. > :03:37.had begun to set about a process of finally addressing the wrong. They
:03:38. > :03:42.have been put through the mill time and time again. The Minister for
:03:43. > :03:46.Justice whose department said the proposal asking for funding from the
:03:47. > :03:49.Secretary of State agreed. Victims who thought when they had
:03:50. > :04:00.conversations with senior Billy macro -- members of the Executive
:04:01. > :04:18.things would go forward, have been left on alert once. ... The saddle
:04:19. > :04:26.trans-burped -- the Savile transcript... Well, you may well be
:04:27. > :04:32.right but as I said earlier, that was then. This is now. The Lord
:04:33. > :04:36.Chief Justice today made it clear that he is unhappy about the way the
:04:37. > :04:39.issue has been handled. In a statement, said Declan Morgan said
:04:40. > :04:42.he is disappointed the Executive had not yet submitted a bid to the
:04:43. > :04:47.secretary of State for funding. He also said that after tomorrow's
:04:48. > :04:51.assembly elections the incoming executive need to agree a way
:04:52. > :04:57.forward on these cases and all outstanding issues about the past.
:04:58. > :05:01.As a matter of urgency. The DUP's reluctance to a quest funding for
:05:02. > :05:07.the Declan Morgan's plan may be expired by the vast majority of the
:05:08. > :05:10.inquest in both deaths caused by the state. Dealings by police officers
:05:11. > :05:16.and soldiers and incidents where there are allegations of collusion.
:05:17. > :05:22.Whatever the reason, the demands for answers aren't going to go away.
:05:23. > :05:24.After promises of what will happen in the future, after tomorrow's
:05:25. > :05:29.election, the question of how to deal with the past is likely to be
:05:30. > :05:31.one of the items at the top of the agenda in the months ahead.
:05:32. > :05:34.A court's heard that the man accused of murdering the prison officer
:05:35. > :05:36.Adrian Ismay in March had worked with him
:05:37. > :05:42.Mr Ismay, a father of three, died from injuries he sustained
:05:43. > :05:46.after a bomb exploded under his van outside his home in East Belfast.
:05:47. > :05:49.The man accused of his murder was today granted bail
:05:50. > :06:01.52-year-old Adrian Ismay was seriously injured in the attack on
:06:02. > :06:05.the 4th of March. He died 11 days later from a heart attack which was
:06:06. > :06:07.triggered by a blood clot was up today the court was told there was a
:06:08. > :06:13.firm link between those injuries and his death. At the time, dissident
:06:14. > :06:19.republicans claimed responsibility. Accused of his murder is 45-year-old
:06:20. > :06:23.Christopher Robinson from Aspen Park in Dunmurry put up the court was
:06:24. > :06:27.told that during the course of an interview the accused told the
:06:28. > :06:29.police he knew Adrian Ismay. He said they had both worked as volunteers
:06:30. > :06:33.for the St John Ambulance was that they had what described to the court
:06:34. > :06:36.as a good working relationship will stop at the Robinson appearing by
:06:37. > :06:42.filling Billy macro video link from Maghaberry prison sat quietly. He
:06:43. > :06:45.spoke only to confirm his name and say that he could hear court
:06:46. > :06:48.proceedings will stop the prosecution outlined its reasons for
:06:49. > :06:51.refusing bail. It claimed there was a risk of the applicant reoffending
:06:52. > :06:57.and interfering with witnesses. Anyone seen as target for dissident
:06:58. > :07:06.republican appear with the said B+ against could be seen as a risk. The
:07:07. > :07:13.prosecution barrister said there was CCTV footage of the device being
:07:14. > :07:15.planted at the victim's home. Forensic examination confirmed
:07:16. > :07:19.traces of high close it material. The defence said that for all sorts
:07:20. > :07:24.of selfish reasons there is no way visible Robinson would jeopardise a
:07:25. > :07:28.trial. The barrister said dissident rely on secrecy. The defendant was
:07:29. > :07:35.set to be the last person he would use. The judge noted the applicant
:07:36. > :07:36.knew the victim, which he said make it more heinous if found guilty.
:07:37. > :07:39.Bail was granted. A County Antrim woman says she's
:07:40. > :07:41.shocked and concerned about her mother who's being lying
:07:42. > :07:43.on a hospital trolley The woman, who doesn't want to be
:07:44. > :07:48.named, said her 83-year-old mother is dying of cancer,
:07:49. > :08:00.and is extremely frail. Last night, we arrived at the
:08:01. > :08:04.hospital, it was extremely busy, and Mum was left on a trolley, pushed up
:08:05. > :08:08.against the wall, and there were lots of trolleys pushed up against
:08:09. > :08:13.the wall and the place was really, really busy. I phoned this morning,
:08:14. > :08:17.and found that she is still on a trolley 15 hours later. I'm very
:08:18. > :08:20.concerned as she is a very old lady, she is a palliative patient.
:08:21. > :08:23.In a statement this afternoon, the Northern Trust said it was sorry
:08:24. > :08:25.that the patient and her family were disappointed with
:08:26. > :08:27.the care received in the Emergency Department.
:08:28. > :08:29.It added that the department had been extremely busy since
:08:30. > :08:32.last Friday, and that all possible measures were being taken to ensure
:08:33. > :08:37.Still to come on tonight's BBC Newsline:
:08:38. > :08:43.A look ahead to polling day, and beyond.
:08:44. > :08:51.The 108 seats are now empty. So, who is going to fill them when the new
:08:52. > :08:56.assembly meets here next week? The answer is... You decide.
:08:57. > :08:58.A young woman from south Armagh accused of running a bomb-making
:08:59. > :09:01.factory for dissident republicans has been acquitted of all charges.
:09:02. > :09:05.Her boyfriend was cleared of the majority of the charges.
:09:06. > :09:08.However, he was convicted of two counts of possessing items
:09:09. > :09:23.20-year-old Orla O'Hanlon, seen here leading an earlier court hearing was
:09:24. > :09:28.living with her partner, 21-year-old Keith McConnan, at Tievecrom Road in
:09:29. > :09:34.Forkhill when it was raided by police in December 20 13. Officers
:09:35. > :09:37.found a number of items, including an industrial grinder, fertiliser,
:09:38. > :09:42.and a bag containing an improvised mobile phone unit, power supply and
:09:43. > :09:46.ammunition. Items prosecutors claimed could be used to make
:09:47. > :09:51.home-made bombs. Today, at Belfast Crown Court, Orla O'Hanlon was
:09:52. > :09:56.cleared of all charges. Judge Sandra Crawford said there was insufficient
:09:57. > :09:59.evidence to suggest the defendant had any knowledge of the contents of
:10:00. > :10:04.the bag, adding that her fingerprints were not found on it.
:10:05. > :10:07.Miss O'Hanlon's solicitor said his client had maintained her innocence
:10:08. > :10:12.since the outset and was glad to put the case behind her. Her partner and
:10:13. > :10:16.co-accused, Keith McConnan, was cleared of the most serious of the
:10:17. > :10:21.charges, including the intention to commit acts of terrorism. During the
:10:22. > :10:24.trial he claims he was being threatened by a prominent dissident
:10:25. > :10:27.republican guards with links to the Omagh bomb. The judge said there was
:10:28. > :10:34.no direct evidence to support that claim. Keith McConnan was convicted
:10:35. > :10:38.of two counts of possessing a mobile phone unit and other items in
:10:39. > :10:43.suspicious circumstances. He will be sentenced next month. However,
:10:44. > :10:47.having already spent two and a half years in prison on remand, he will
:10:48. > :10:49.unlikely face further time behind bars up his legal team are making an
:10:50. > :10:53.application for bail on Friday. After weeks of campaigning,
:10:54. > :10:55.the wait is almost over. Tomorrow, voters will go
:10:56. > :11:00.to the polls to elect 108 MLAs Our political correspondent
:11:01. > :11:03.Gareth Gordon's been on the trail with the leaders
:11:04. > :11:14.of the five main parties. For weeks, Arlene Foster has been on
:11:15. > :11:20.a journey, with one destination in mind. She wants to return to the
:11:21. > :11:23.First Minister's office and it's been this campaign's enduring
:11:24. > :11:28.mantra. She has covered thousands of miles and countless billboards, but
:11:29. > :11:32.has it been a little overdone? No, not at all. In fact, it is my DUP
:11:33. > :11:37.candidate, I am the leader of the budget, I think that is important
:11:38. > :11:40.that they are candidates of my party. The more seats we have in
:11:41. > :11:44.this assembly then the more seeds we have around the Executive table and
:11:45. > :11:47.that is critically important if we want it meant our vision for
:11:48. > :11:49.Northern Ireland. There is a danger, if they're not thin and you have
:11:50. > :11:52.been accused of this, scaremongering? Should you not
:11:53. > :11:59.really beside Billy macro tried to stay ahead of modular seat question
:12:00. > :12:03.might the people accusing me of that are our opponents and you would
:12:04. > :12:06.expect that. From my point of view I have a positive vision for Northern
:12:07. > :12:10.Ireland, I want to implement it, and in order to do it, I have to get as
:12:11. > :12:20.many seats for my DUP candidate as I possibly can. She does not want to
:12:21. > :12:26.see this man become First Minister, and won't walk away if she does. If
:12:27. > :12:29.Sinn Fein happened to return as largest party, we will all have to
:12:30. > :12:35.work together, and I don't have any doubt that Arlene will work with me.
:12:36. > :12:39.I have made my position clear in relation to... Even if you are First
:12:40. > :12:49.Minister? Absolutely. Ian Paisley Ashley made it clear during his time
:12:50. > :12:56.as First Minister that if Sinn Fein aged as the second body, they would
:12:57. > :13:00.work together. And this is the man in Martin McGuinness's sites. Colum
:13:01. > :13:04.Eastwood goes into his first election as SDLP leader knowing the
:13:05. > :13:08.vultures are circling for them about six months ago, there was a report
:13:09. > :13:12.done well publicised that we will lose five or six seats. That will
:13:13. > :13:16.not happen, we will have a good election, this is an election where
:13:17. > :13:21.we can build on the future for the fortunes of the SDLP and lots of
:13:22. > :13:27.good, new candidates will be elegant for arts. There is a piece in the
:13:28. > :13:31.metamorphosis of the SDLP to suggest growth. I will not put figures on
:13:32. > :13:37.anything, I have done it before and it does not always work very well.
:13:38. > :13:44.It is the first time in election for Mike Nesbitt. A big test he says
:13:45. > :13:51.both will be pass? Passes on 2011 when we got 16 returned. I am
:13:52. > :13:55.looking at 17 MLAs. Below 16 would be a disaster? 16 would not be
:13:56. > :14:00.enough, and I'm certainly looking beyond that, for real growth, to
:14:01. > :14:07.maintain the momentum that we have established over the last two years
:14:08. > :14:10.at the polls. We find ourselves in unity with the public and that has
:14:11. > :14:16.given us momentum and we want to maintain that. It could be the last
:14:17. > :14:18.election for this man. I remember when I first became leader,
:14:19. > :14:24.journalists like you asked me how badly would we do in the election?
:14:25. > :14:29.We have a round of good election result this time round, people want
:14:30. > :14:34.to see us do well, and we will ensure the alliances in the
:14:35. > :14:38.negotiation for the Executive table. A campaign has been dismissed as a
:14:39. > :14:43.nonevent. No clear winner emerged from last night public debate on the
:14:44. > :14:48.BBC was not the real show comes now. Parties are expected to return here
:14:49. > :14:52.next week, begin negotiations on a programme for government, but before
:14:53. > :14:54.that they face an even steeper test, in front of the electorate.
:14:55. > :14:57.The end of the election campaign means attention is now focused
:14:58. > :14:59.on Polling Day and the counting of the votes.
:15:00. > :15:02.Well, here in our virtual Stormont chamber is
:15:03. > :15:15.This is what the past five weeks have been about. All those election
:15:16. > :15:19.posters, all those leaflets, all aimed at winning these seats at
:15:20. > :15:23.Stormont. In the last assembly, lots of different parties and some
:15:24. > :15:28.independence, but they are now gone. The 108 seats are now empty. So who
:15:29. > :15:33.is going to feel them? The new assembly will meet in next week, and
:15:34. > :15:36.the answer is, you decide. The polls are open from seven o'clock in the
:15:37. > :15:42.morning until ten o'clock tomorrow night. As for turnout, last time it
:15:43. > :15:46.was 55%. This meant that almost half the electorate didn't vote. But the
:15:47. > :15:49.votes won't actually be counted overnight, counting does not begin
:15:50. > :15:52.until Friday morning and it could be Saturday afternoon or even Saturday
:15:53. > :15:57.evening before all these seats are filled. Now, good weather often
:15:58. > :16:00.leads to a good turnout, and tomorrow is expected to be sunny,
:16:01. > :16:06.with temperatures of up to 14 degrees. Elections of course are all
:16:07. > :16:08.about numbers, and at this stage the only number we can safely predict...
:16:09. > :16:11.Is that one. Well, let's take the election
:16:12. > :16:13.temperature now, with our political
:16:14. > :16:24.editor Mark Devenport. Well, it hasn't really been Donald
:16:25. > :16:27.Trump and Hillary Clinton, it is been rather more lacklustre than
:16:28. > :16:32.that. Some in Stormont Main say that is no mean achievement because in
:16:33. > :16:34.the past few months we have had ministerial resignations in Stormont
:16:35. > :16:40.on the back so the fact that we have had a low-key election shows that we
:16:41. > :16:44.have returned to track in Stormont. Most of the tensions in the campaign
:16:45. > :16:48.had been between unionists, between nationalists, this tends to be the
:16:49. > :16:52.case. The smaller parties say look, this isn't as good as it gets, and
:16:53. > :16:56.the bigger parties say, give us a fresh chance. We will move forward
:16:57. > :17:01.rather better than we did last time. I don't expect any seismic changes
:17:02. > :17:05.in the made up of Stormont, but even small changes could affect who
:17:06. > :17:09.qualifies to go into the Executive, and who may find themselves in
:17:10. > :17:13.opposition for the Mark I just remind us, this is not a fast past
:17:14. > :17:17.the post election will stop is very important, it is proportional
:17:18. > :17:21.representation, and under our system, known as STV, all you have
:17:22. > :17:26.two remember is Mark your ballot papers 123 and so on, in order of
:17:27. > :17:31.preference will stop you can put as many or as few numbers as you like,
:17:32. > :17:36.but don't go for the eggs, that was last year. Instead go for one to
:17:37. > :17:38.three, and as we have just seen, over the course of Friday and
:17:39. > :17:44.Saturday the votes will be laboriously counted, this gets a bit
:17:45. > :17:47.more confident. But don't have to worry about that as long as they are
:17:48. > :17:50.nice and clear in the preference in which they put down their choices on
:17:51. > :17:52.their ballot papers. OK, Mark, thanks very much.
:17:53. > :17:54.A 61-year-old man has appeared at Londonderry Magistrates' Court
:17:55. > :17:56.charged in connection with the murder of Paul McCauley.
:17:57. > :17:59.Mr McCauley was attacked and left in a vegetative state
:18:00. > :18:02.while at a friend's barbeque in Londonderry in 2006.
:18:03. > :18:05.He died nine years later in a care facility.
:18:06. > :18:07.Charles Buckingham, from Nash Court Gardens in Margate, Kent,
:18:08. > :18:11.is charged with three offences of withholding information.
:18:12. > :18:16.An Orange Hall in Country Tyrone has been attacked
:18:17. > :18:19.for the third time in less than three months.
:18:20. > :18:23.The Orange Order says that as many as 14 windows were smashed
:18:24. > :18:26.in the hall at Strawletterdallon, near Newtownstewart,
:18:27. > :18:30.Police say they're treating the incident as a hate crime.
:18:31. > :18:33.The last time the hall was attacked was in February,
:18:34. > :18:35.when a number of windows were also smashed.
:18:36. > :18:39.The Orange Order says the hall is used for a range of community
:18:40. > :18:42.activities and the local community will be appalled
:18:43. > :18:58.The Education Authority is facing a ?22 million reduction
:18:59. > :19:03.In a letter to school principals, the head of the EA warns
:19:04. > :19:06.it will have to take "difficult decisions"
:19:07. > :19:09.As our education correspondent Robbie Meredith reports,
:19:10. > :19:11.school principals are worried about what impact
:19:12. > :19:24.The education authority provides and pays for transport, meals and other
:19:25. > :19:29.services or pupils like these at Seaview primary school in Belfast.
:19:30. > :19:33.But in his letter to principles, it is Chief Executive Gavin Boyd saying
:19:34. > :19:36.that losing ?22 million will lead to very real pressures for the
:19:37. > :19:42.authority as demand for services continues to increase. Seaview's
:19:43. > :19:45.principle says essential services like educational psychology and help
:19:46. > :19:50.for children not attending school enough are at risk. We have a number
:19:51. > :19:54.of children who are coming into school with poor English, we have a
:19:55. > :19:59.number of children coming to school who find it very difficult to cope
:20:00. > :20:04.in a mainstream situation, but because the support isn't there for
:20:05. > :20:07.children, we are having to deal with the out workings of that, and for
:20:08. > :20:11.any teacher in Northern Ireland I think the next number of years are
:20:12. > :20:14.going to be unimaginably stressful. This is the second part of the
:20:15. > :20:18.double financial blow for school. Many principals say they will have
:20:19. > :20:21.two loose teachers because of cuts to their own budgets. In the last
:20:22. > :20:25.week, some have even written to parents, pointing out the difficulty
:20:26. > :20:33.their losses are going to cause. Including this principle of a 200
:20:34. > :20:36.people primary School in County Down. Parents need to be aware
:20:37. > :20:42.especially with the election on Thursday that there are changing
:20:43. > :20:46.situations and challenges that we as principals need to take up they need
:20:47. > :20:50.to be asking their rep sedatives what are they going to do to help
:20:51. > :20:54.children? The only way we can get a first-class educational system is to
:20:55. > :20:57.actually funded properly. It will be up to a new assembly and a new
:20:58. > :21:00.education Minister meet that challenge.
:21:01. > :21:02.Now sport, and as Ulster prepare for another big game
:21:03. > :21:05.at the end of the season, high praise for their fly-half.
:21:06. > :21:11.Paddy Jackson was the toast of his team-mates after his commanding
:21:12. > :21:13.performance in the weekends comprehensive 30-6 victory over
:21:14. > :21:19.Leinster, 16 of those points coming from the out half.
:21:20. > :21:24.One team-mate went so far as to say Jackson should now be considered
:21:25. > :21:31.Ireland's number one in the position.
:21:32. > :21:37.I think it is the way he takes control. I think it is his
:21:38. > :21:43.decision-making, not being in two minds, not making a 50-50 decision,
:21:44. > :21:46.I think it's the fact that if it gets, it's perfect, and we regain
:21:47. > :21:49.ground on that. The confidence he plays with, just every game coming
:21:50. > :21:52.he seems to be getting better, getting better, getting better.
:21:53. > :21:58.That's exactly what we want in a fly half, that's the taking control,
:21:59. > :22:03.making good decisions, and making it easier for us forward. If you were
:22:04. > :22:08.picking the Ireland team at the moment, on form, who would you pick
:22:09. > :22:11.Jonny Sexton, or Paddy Jackson? Paddy Jackson, definitely was a bit
:22:12. > :22:16.shout on the weekend when he played, I think he was just phenomenal, over
:22:17. > :22:21.the weekend, and everything he did. From kicking off to goalkeeping,
:22:22. > :22:24.general play, if you played really well. His defence, interceptions, is
:22:25. > :22:30.tried. High praise there. Bethany Firth has qualified
:22:31. > :22:32.for the final of the women's 100m breaststroke at the IPC
:22:33. > :22:34.European Swimming championships. Firth, from Seaforde in County Down,
:22:35. > :22:37.won her heat comfortably and posted the second fastest time overall
:22:38. > :22:40.to go through to tonight's final in Portugal in just
:22:41. > :22:44.over an hour's time. It's the first time she has been
:22:45. > :22:47.in international competition as a Team GB swimmer since switching
:22:48. > :22:55.from Team Ireland. We will let you know how she gets
:22:56. > :22:57.on. Lisnagarvey completed the double
:22:58. > :23:00.in men's hockey, when they added the Champions Trophy to the League
:23:01. > :23:02.title they already Dublin side Hermes achieved the same
:23:03. > :23:06.feat with their victory in the women's final at the expense
:23:07. > :23:16.of Ulster side Pegasus. The goals of Hanno Flannigan have
:23:17. > :23:22.been a big reason why Hermes have been the big force in Irish hockey
:23:23. > :23:27.this evening Billy McRae season, so it came as no surprise when she
:23:28. > :23:31.opened the scoring was up with this finish, she made it to nil, leaving
:23:32. > :23:38.Pegasus to decline. They tried valiantly to halt this, but were
:23:39. > :23:43.awarded a goal from Pete Doherty. -- take Doherty. It was Irish
:23:44. > :23:53.international whose scored the third goal to seal the famous double.
:23:54. > :24:03.Lisnagarvey were given the lead, but secured, when penalty stroke was
:24:04. > :24:06.given. The third goal arrived on the stroke of half-time with Matthew
:24:07. > :24:09.Nelson getting the final touch. There was no further scoring, and
:24:10. > :24:15.Lisnagarvey were able to celebrate yet another trophy success. Two
:24:16. > :24:17.trophies in one year, it's a very, very special achievement, but this
:24:18. > :24:21.has come from a lot of hard work from the end of last season, when
:24:22. > :24:25.everybody else would have hung up their sticks, we drank an extra six
:24:26. > :24:32.weeks. And it has really paid up. -- we trained another six weeks. We
:24:33. > :24:34.have set the standard for other clubs to follow next season. That I
:24:35. > :24:36.could they have set the standard. The Belfast Giants have been boosted
:24:37. > :24:39.by the news that captain Adam Keefe has signed a new contract
:24:40. > :24:42.which will keep him with the side During his five years in Belfast,
:24:43. > :24:55.Keefe has been a key player in two I love it here and I love the
:24:56. > :25:01.passion the city has for ice hockey, and just for the city in general. I
:25:02. > :25:05.love the championships, and I enjoy chasing them, and trying to bring
:25:06. > :25:11.out here in this season. Every game is important, and it is important to
:25:12. > :25:13.really strikes that point across, to newcomers to the leak, I think every
:25:14. > :25:15.night is a play-off game. A very popular move
:25:16. > :25:25.with the Giants fans that one. Stephen, thank you for that lets get
:25:26. > :25:30.the weather, now, and Andy is here. Yes, with the exception of Saturday,
:25:31. > :25:34.it is looking more settled and springlike. At the Giants Causeway
:25:35. > :25:41.it got up to 15 Celsius despite losing the sunshine. That is because
:25:42. > :25:46.we have had a weather front off the Atlantic bringing patchy rain and
:25:47. > :25:49.quite brisk breeze, as we can see here for the choppy waves there. The
:25:50. > :25:53.wind is still with us through this evening, quite a gusty wind, still
:25:54. > :25:56.some patchy rain running across the eastern counties, and once that
:25:57. > :25:59.clears it will turn drier, with clear spells throughout the course
:26:00. > :26:03.of the night. It remains quite breezy, even quite dusty towards the
:26:04. > :26:05.north and north-west. Those southerly winds should help to hold
:26:06. > :26:08.the cabbage is up, maybe just dipping to four or 5 degrees in
:26:09. > :26:14.rural spots once again. Tomorrow, at least the bright
:26:15. > :26:17.weather is back with us, I love of dry weather again. Quite a keen
:26:18. > :26:21.breeze blowing tomorrow morning, still quite dusty towards the north
:26:22. > :26:27.coast as well. That breeze will gradually eased down as we go
:26:28. > :26:30.through the course of the day. There will be some fair katakana coming in
:26:31. > :26:32.on that breeze as well, but hopefully not spoiling things too
:26:33. > :26:35.much. It will still be bright, still be some sunny spells, and
:26:36. > :26:42.temperatures should reach 14 or 15 degrees. We go into tomorrow night
:26:43. > :26:47.on a mainly dry night. The winds continue to drop away, almost
:26:48. > :26:52.calming places. Some patches towards the east, some list and sea fog
:26:53. > :26:54.towards the east coast as wealth is Kira towards the wet and here we see
:26:55. > :26:57.the temperatures in countryside down to two or three degrees, that may
:26:58. > :27:02.just give us the odd pockets of ground frost. On to Friday, and it
:27:03. > :27:07.is still a mainly dry day, a bit more of a northerly breeze, a bit of
:27:08. > :27:10.mist around the coast, a bit more cloud but even then still a lot of
:27:11. > :27:14.dry and bright weather for the height of 40 in the south, a bit
:27:15. > :27:16.pressure on the north coast where you have that onshore breeze. A
:27:17. > :27:20.little bit of a ridge of high pressure on Friday, this system we
:27:21. > :27:24.will be watching for Saturday as it edges north. The isobars packed in
:27:25. > :27:27.to bring windy conditions and Sons showers, potentially turning to
:27:28. > :27:30.heavy downpours and the risk of thunder. Lighter winds on Sunday
:27:31. > :27:32.temperatures coming up as well. Our late summary
:27:33. > :27:34.is at half past ten. You can also keep in contact with us
:27:35. > :27:38.via Facebook and Twitter.