:00:00. > :00:07.growth. Join me now on and 11 in Scotland.
:00:08. > :00:12.The Health Minister has lifted the ban on gay
:00:13. > :00:14.and bisexual men giving blood, just eight days after
:00:15. > :00:18.Her predecessors - all DUP ministers -
:00:19. > :00:23.But Michelle O'Neill said her decision to remove
:00:24. > :00:25.it was based on sound scientific evidence.
:00:26. > :00:31.Our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly reports.
:00:32. > :00:35.With her feet barely under the ministerial table,
:00:36. > :00:44.The speed of reversing the ban took many by surprise.
:00:45. > :00:47.The evidence has been there for some time.
:00:48. > :00:54.I looked at the evidence I had in front of me.
:00:55. > :00:57.It is a positive story, I think it is the right decision we
:00:58. > :01:03.My priority is obviously patient safety, and I have used the
:01:04. > :01:05.scientific evidence available to me, which has allowed me to meet a
:01:06. > :01:09.decision and the Executive have endorsed it.
:01:10. > :01:12.The reaction from those at the centre of the story was
:01:13. > :01:19.It feels like another barrier towards equality has been addressed,
:01:20. > :01:22.and we now know the Assembly can deliver for LGBT people.
:01:23. > :01:25.This is the first move by our Assembly to
:01:26. > :01:27.address the inequalities, and this is something we very
:01:28. > :01:36.The ban was put in place across the UK during the AIDS
:01:37. > :01:52.But the ban was lifted in England, Scotland and Wales in 2011.
:01:53. > :01:55.In Northern Ireland, however, the health ministers
:01:56. > :01:58.insisted it remain in place, on the grounds of patient
:01:59. > :02:03.That prompted protests from the LGBT community, who said keeping
:02:04. > :02:10.A gay man took further action by launching a
:02:11. > :02:14.judicial review challenging the decision.
:02:15. > :02:18.That led to a lengthy, and complicated and expensive court
:02:19. > :02:25.battle, where at one point a judge ruled
:02:26. > :02:27.that the decision not to change the policy was irrational and
:02:28. > :02:34.A judge said the matter should be taken out of Northern
:02:35. > :02:48.Ireland's hand and resolved by the Health Secretary.
:02:49. > :02:51.The Appeal Court ruled that there should be time to review
:02:52. > :02:54.They also said there was no basis to conclude
:02:55. > :02:56.that the original decision was predetermined by Christian values.
:02:57. > :02:58.The decision comes into effect from the 1st of September.
:02:59. > :03:01.As in England, to donate blood, gay men will have to
:03:02. > :03:09.have abstained from having sex for one year.
:03:10. > :03:12.The only survivor of the Kingsmills massacre has been reunited -
:03:13. > :03:15.for the first time in 40 years - with the man who found him,
:03:16. > :03:21.Gerry McKeown said a prayer for Alan Black and his murdered
:03:22. > :03:26.workmates, holding him until medical help arrived.
:03:27. > :03:31.The last time these two men were side-by-side,
:03:32. > :03:33.they were right at the centre of a story of almost
:03:34. > :03:37.Alan Black on the right was badly injured when shot
:03:38. > :03:45.Gerry McKeown was one of the first on the scene.
:03:46. > :03:47.He held Alan and said a prayer for him.
:03:48. > :03:49.Both men suffered chilling flashbacks, but the
:03:50. > :03:51.overriding memory for Gerry is of Alan's selflessness, and for Alan,
:03:52. > :04:08.We spoke about something this morning, about when I visited
:04:09. > :04:14.him in hospital, I said, hello, Alan, and what did you say?
:04:15. > :04:17.I couldn't see who had said it, but I
:04:18. > :04:23.I recognised his voice, because he brought
:04:24. > :04:26.such comfort to me on the side of that road.
:04:27. > :04:36.Saying prayers over me, it brought me such comfort.
:04:37. > :04:38.He described seeing a local farmer gathering up what he
:04:39. > :04:41.believed to be spent bullet casings immediately
:04:42. > :04:47.after the attack, yet in
:04:48. > :04:50.40 years, no police officer has ever spoken to him about this,
:04:51. > :04:51.something he finds difficult to understand.
:04:52. > :04:56.Today Arlene Foster met some families who were concerned
:04:57. > :05:02.that the recent reopening of the criminal investigation could have an
:05:03. > :05:10.They were reassured this is something that would not be
:05:11. > :05:13.The evidence that prompted that new investigation was
:05:14. > :05:17.uncovered when a forensic officer on a tea break saw coverage of the
:05:18. > :05:21.inquest and asked to re-run tests on a palm print,
:05:22. > :05:34.The High Street retailer BHS has gone into liquidation threatening
:05:35. > :05:37.200 jobs here and thousands across the UK.
:05:38. > :05:39.Stores in Belfast, Holywood, Newtownabbey and Lisburn
:05:40. > :05:45.The liquidation comes after the company went
:05:46. > :05:48.into administration in April but efforts to find a buyer failed.
:05:49. > :05:49.This is the biggest High Street collapse
:05:50. > :05:54.The administrators blame seismic shifts in the retail
:05:55. > :05:57.It's understood all 163 stores will remain open for closing-down
:05:58. > :06:12.The actor and comedian Eddie Izzard was in Belfast tonight
:06:13. > :06:17.he spoke on behalf of his 'Stand Up for Europe' campaign.
:06:18. > :06:21.He's set to visit 31 cities in 31 days across the UK.
:06:22. > :06:24.Tonight's debate also included the DUP MP Sammy Wilson who spoke
:06:25. > :06:28.The pair clashed on a number of issues including borders,
:06:29. > :06:45.Emigration is a factor and people do get worried about it but if we
:06:46. > :06:49.change it, if we pull out we will go into recession and you worry about
:06:50. > :06:55.jobs. You would have even less opportunities. Immigration is the
:06:56. > :06:59.thing we need to control but I do not think Brexit is going to make
:07:00. > :07:04.the big difference. One of the things angers me about this debate
:07:05. > :07:10.is the scare stories pushed around that somehow or other, if we leave
:07:11. > :07:16.the EU, we will not be able to cross the Channel to go to France,
:07:17. > :07:21.Germany, Spain. Just as people can cross the Atlantic to America and we
:07:22. > :07:24.do not have a union with them, we can still cross the Channel to go
:07:25. > :07:29.And Eddie Izzard and Sammy Wilson are both guests on The View which is
:07:30. > :07:33.The Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister has visited the site of the Battle
:07:34. > :07:36.After laying a wreath to the dead of the 36th
:07:37. > :07:38.Ulster Division Martin McGuinness admitted he was out
:07:39. > :07:46.From France here's our political correspondent Gareth Gordon.
:07:47. > :07:49.It was from these trenches that men of the 36th Ulster Division went
:07:50. > :07:57.Martin McGuinness was brought to see the front line and paid his respects
:07:58. > :08:01.at the tower that serves as their memorial close by.
:08:02. > :08:04.Martin McGuinness will see this as another
:08:05. > :08:07.symbolic step on the road to reconciliation,
:08:08. > :08:10.but he will know that for some it is too much and for
:08:11. > :08:14.I am out of my comfort zone here today, but that is
:08:15. > :08:20.I think if you are a leader you have to lead from the
:08:21. > :08:30.front and do what you think is right.
:08:31. > :08:33.The memorial to the fallen the 16th Irish division much less
:08:34. > :08:35.imposing, although the sacrifice was just the same.
:08:36. > :08:36.Next month a major commemoration will mark the
:08:37. > :08:38.centenary of the awful events which occurred here,
:08:39. > :08:40.but Martin McGuinness feared his presence would stop some
:08:41. > :08:46.A number of them said publicly that that was too much
:08:47. > :08:49.for them, that was a journey to far for them.
:08:50. > :08:52.They said if I was to be there, they could not go.
:08:53. > :08:56.I am not going to be responsible for anybody
:08:57. > :08:59.who wishes to go to the Somme to commemorate an event that is of
:09:00. > :09:03.I am not going to be the person responsible
:09:04. > :09:07.One of the organisers backs his decision
:09:08. > :09:17.It is understandable why some people might feel aggrieved
:09:18. > :09:20.by the Deputy First Minister coming on the first of July.
:09:21. > :09:26.I think it is important he has come today.
:09:27. > :09:31.He has realised the significance of what the 1st of July is to people.
:09:32. > :09:33.More centenaries lie ahead, threatening comfort zones on all
:09:34. > :09:49.Six off-duty police officers have been arrested after a fight outside
:09:50. > :09:53.It happened in the early hours of yesterday morning -
:09:54. > :09:56.Our north-east reporter Sara Girvin reports
:09:57. > :09:58.A fight in this area of Portstewart is now
:09:59. > :10:03.Following the brawl at around 1am on Wednesday, eight
:10:04. > :10:08.Six of them were off-duty police officers.
:10:09. > :10:12.The other two were foreign nationals.
:10:13. > :10:14.Three people were taken to hospital and treated
:10:15. > :10:17.for what are described as minor injuries.
:10:18. > :10:21.All eight of those arrested have now been released on bail.
:10:22. > :10:24.The PSNI are now investigating if there was a hate crime
:10:25. > :10:31.They've asked anyone who may have witnessed it to come forward.
:10:32. > :10:34.Police have also launched an internal investigation.
:10:35. > :10:39.That will be led by the PSNI's discipline branch.
:10:40. > :10:41.The PSNI say their officers must act professionally,
:10:42. > :10:44.ethically and with the greatest integrity at all times.
:10:45. > :10:54.They say anything that falls below that standard is not acceptable.
:10:55. > :10:57.On BBC Newsline tomorrow we're continuing our EU referendum
:10:58. > :10:59.coverage and our Agriculture and Environment correspondent
:11:00. > :11:01.Conor Macauley has been taking the temperature of farmers
:11:02. > :11:06.In Co Down he met a crop farmer who loves big machines and believes
:11:07. > :11:09.passionately that we'd be better off outside the EU.
:11:10. > :11:11.But his daughter who helps run the family business
:11:12. > :11:28.remember that farming used to be something we were proud of. You
:11:29. > :11:31.would be proud of your daughter marrying a farmer but now that is
:11:32. > :11:37.the last person you would want her to marry. I remember visiting the
:11:38. > :11:45.War graves in Europe for World War I and I really believe that we need
:11:46. > :11:46.the six countries to stop War and we have not had a water since then.
:11:47. > :11:50.That's coming up on BBC Newsline tomorrow at 6.30.
:11:51. > :11:54.Now let's get the weather forecast with Cecilia
:11:55. > :12:02.Good evening. It's been another fantastic day. Once again
:12:03. > :12:07.temperatures have been in the low 20s. Fermanagh and to loan have been
:12:08. > :12:15.the hot spots. Temperatures are currently dropping away tonight. It
:12:16. > :12:20.can still get down to low values at night. If you're up early tomorrow
:12:21. > :12:27.morning, there will be some mist and fall in river valleys. It will not
:12:28. > :12:32.last long. The sun is up so early the mist will burn off quickly. We
:12:33. > :12:38.have quite light winds tomorrow so it will feel warm quickly as well.
:12:39. > :12:43.Another glorious day in the Republic of Ireland, temperatures in the low
:12:44. > :12:49.20s, probably the lowest -- the warmest place. Also sentient --
:12:50. > :12:55.sunshine in south-west Scotland. Much cloudier over central and
:12:56. > :13:01.eastern regions of Britain. Temperatures likely to be at their
:13:02. > :13:11.highest in the south-west tomorrow, up to 20 degrees. Probably warmer up
:13:12. > :13:15.towards the north coast. Saturday, some cloud around and one or two
:13:16. > :13:19.showers but it will brighten up as the day goes on and it is still
:13:20. > :13:24.warm. Sunny skies returned on Sunday. It looks like they will
:13:25. > :13:26.continue into the beginning of next week as well. Have a great evening.
:13:27. > :13:31.Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25 in the morning
:13:32. > :13:32.You can also keep updated with News Online.