:00:00. > :00:14.That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me.
:00:15. > :00:17.Good evening. The headlines on BBC Newsline:
:00:18. > :00:20.The Education Minister praises teachers at the Lisburn school
:00:21. > :00:24.where a father and his two children were badly injured when they were
:00:25. > :00:30.The Kingsmills inquest into the killing of ten Protestant
:00:31. > :00:33.workmen 40 years ago is adjourned until later this month so the police
:00:34. > :00:38.Almost 5,000 low-rent social homes are to be built here
:00:39. > :00:42.after the European Investment Bank provides a huge loan.
:00:43. > :00:44.Also on the programme, the creepy crawly invasion
:00:45. > :00:51.Who are these mysterious green furry creatures?
:00:52. > :00:55.Kyle Lafferty tweets a "thumbs up" after today's scan on a groin
:00:56. > :00:59.injury, but will he be fit for Northern Irelands Euro 2016
:01:00. > :01:06.BBC Newsline has an in-depth interview with Republic manager
:01:07. > :01:11.And we have another warm day to come tomorrow but there'll be a very
:01:12. > :01:14.different feel to the weather by the end of the week.
:01:15. > :01:26.The father and his children injured in a lightning strike in Lisburn
:01:27. > :01:31.George Allen, who's 37, and his five-year-old son remain
:01:32. > :01:37.His seven-year-old daughter's condition is described as stable.
:01:38. > :01:39.Today, the Education Minister, Peter Weir, visited
:01:40. > :01:43.Killowen Primary School and praised the efforts of teachers.
:01:44. > :01:46.As Will Leitch reports, it's now emerged that both
:01:47. > :01:49.the principal and vice principal worked with the injured family
:01:50. > :02:02.George Allen was doing what any father would have done, collecting
:02:03. > :02:07.his children from school on a wet afternoon. The lightning strike left
:02:08. > :02:14.all three of them seriously ill in hospital and closed the school of
:02:15. > :02:16.450 pupils for the time being. This school, the classrooms, the
:02:17. > :02:26.playgrounds should have been buzzing today. It was to be sports day.
:02:27. > :02:29.Instead, the school is closed. The teachers are working with an
:02:30. > :02:31.independent counselling team to assess the questions the children
:02:32. > :02:37.are likely to ask in the coming days. I found it very sad driving up
:02:38. > :02:46.the driveway. Usually there is a buzz. Just to see the ending is and
:02:47. > :02:51.to feel the emptiness. Driving up, you think back to what happened
:02:52. > :02:55.yesterday and the tragedy. Some children witnessed the incident and
:02:56. > :02:59.sought senior teachers administering emergency first aid. The Education
:03:00. > :03:04.Minister has praised their actions. I think the intervention from the
:03:05. > :03:11.senior members of staff hopefully saved lives. I really want to
:03:12. > :03:15.commend them for their swift action. Local people have started
:03:16. > :03:18.fundraising for the family and at lunchtime pupils brought food for
:03:19. > :03:21.their teachers, worried about their welfare. Everyone at Killowen
:03:22. > :03:24.Primary School is pulling together. An inquest into the Kingsmill
:03:25. > :03:27.massacre has been adjourned It's looking into the murders
:03:28. > :03:31.of ten Protestant workmen in the County Armagh
:03:32. > :03:34.village in 1976. The coroner said police should be
:03:35. > :03:51.given time to pursue a new lead Before hearing the day's evidence,
:03:52. > :03:58.the coroner talked about last week's development and the incident found
:03:59. > :04:01.on a vehicle at the time of the incident was re-examined and for the
:04:02. > :04:05.first time linked directly to the suspect. He said that he understood
:04:06. > :04:11.how the families of those killed felt they no longer knew who to
:04:12. > :04:15.believe all what to believe, given the circumstances and particularly
:04:16. > :04:18.the timing of this development. However, he said this could
:04:19. > :04:23.potentially be one of the most crucial pieces of evidence to emerge
:04:24. > :04:28.and that the police had to be given the opportunity to pursue that lead
:04:29. > :04:33.and any leads that come from it. He said, however, this would not be an
:04:34. > :04:37.open-ended process and there would be putting in place a provisional
:04:38. > :04:41.timetable of leaving the families informed throughout.
:04:42. > :04:44.Housing in Northern Ireland has received a major boost thanks
:04:45. > :04:50.It's to provide ?280 million of loans towards building
:04:51. > :04:58.Here's our business correspondent Julian O'Neill.
:04:59. > :05:07.The money will bankroll a future pipeline of projects in all 4700
:05:08. > :05:13.homes in the social housing sector. Schemes not unlike this one. Two
:05:14. > :05:19.housing bodies will also get top funds from Stormont in an ongoing
:05:20. > :05:23.drive to cut waiting lists for low rent housing. There is a huge need
:05:24. > :05:28.for housing in Northern Ireland. The waiting list has over 40,000 people
:05:29. > :05:33.on it. This investment and the thousands of new homes, affordable
:05:34. > :05:37.homes that will be built as a result, will make a start in
:05:38. > :05:42.bringing that number down. The European investment bank is based in
:05:43. > :05:47.Luxembourg and makes low interest long-term loan deals. It has been
:05:48. > :05:51.involved in many road projects in Northern Ireland as well as
:05:52. > :05:57.providing ?150 million worth of capital towards the University of
:05:58. > :06:01.Ulster's new Belfast campus. Run by the EU, the bank is a nonprofit and
:06:02. > :06:06.the outcome of the referendum will not affect this deal. It has no
:06:07. > :06:12.bearing on existing loans, loans we have already agreed. They may well
:06:13. > :06:17.be locations for the future. It is difficult to say what those will be.
:06:18. > :06:21.The construction sector will join in the celebrations, such is the scale
:06:22. > :06:23.of this announcement. Spread over five years, it will deliver on sites
:06:24. > :06:33.across Northern Ireland. Still to come on the programme, some
:06:34. > :06:35.of the war stories behind the faces in an old box of the grass found in
:06:36. > :06:39.an old Belfast College. The mass exodus of football
:06:40. > :06:42.fans from here to France At the same time, French security
:06:43. > :06:47.forces are carrying out final anti-terrorism measures ahead
:06:48. > :06:50.of Friday's start of the tournament. As BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson
:06:51. > :06:53.reports, one of the cities they're focusing on is Lyon, where
:06:54. > :07:08.Northern Ireland play next week. It is only a training exercise. But
:07:09. > :07:13.it does show just how seriously the French authorities are taking the
:07:14. > :07:18.threat of an attack at the Euros. This is the fan zone in the centre
:07:19. > :07:22.of Lyon, where Northern Ireland play Ukraine next week. A mock suicide
:07:23. > :07:28.bomb and gun attack was carried out to teach the police and emergency
:07:29. > :07:32.services how to cope. It made for chilling viewing, especially as this
:07:33. > :07:37.square is due to have 32,000 fans in the league. But the message to
:07:38. > :07:44.supporters is to come and they will protect you. TRANSLATION: Are we
:07:45. > :07:48.prepared? I think we are showing in Lyon as in other French cities we
:07:49. > :07:53.are prepared and because we are prepared, we are calm, and because
:07:54. > :07:57.we are calm, the event will go well. That is the message every football
:07:58. > :08:07.fan wants to hear and the tournament begins in just two days' time. And
:08:08. > :08:14.And we want to hear from the fans on your Euro 2016 adventures.
:08:15. > :08:19.Stephen Watson will join us live from France later in the programme.
:08:20. > :08:21.The Police Ombudsman will tomorrow publish the findings
:08:22. > :08:24.of an investigation into allegations of collusion between police officers
:08:25. > :08:27.and a UVF gang that killed six Catholics in Loughinisland
:08:28. > :08:35.Our home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney reports.
:08:36. > :08:41.The horrific aftermath of an attack that left six men dead and five
:08:42. > :08:47.others wounded. They had been watching a World Cup game in a bar
:08:48. > :08:52.when UVF gunman struck. No one has ever been convicted in connection
:08:53. > :08:55.with the attack. Families of the victims have claimed that is because
:08:56. > :09:00.the police were protecting informers. Five years ago, the
:09:01. > :09:05.previous police ombudsman upheld their complaint that the police had
:09:06. > :09:09.not properly investigated the killings, but he said there was no
:09:10. > :09:14.evidence of police collusion. The families took legal action and that
:09:15. > :09:18.report was quashed. The current police ombudsman reopened the
:09:19. > :09:25.investigation. The families are hoping for a very different outcome.
:09:26. > :09:29.It is quite simple, they seek an independent, impartial, robust
:09:30. > :09:34.analysis of the facts on where there are failings that may be highlighted
:09:35. > :09:38.as failings and we're there requires to be accountability that the
:09:39. > :09:43.appropriate censure is made. The ombudsman's findings will be
:09:44. > :09:47.published tomorrow morning. The report will contain thousands of
:09:48. > :09:51.words but for the families of those killed her 22 years ago, the focus
:09:52. > :09:55.will be on whether he uses one word, collusion.
:09:56. > :09:58.We continue now with our series of reports on how you view future
:09:59. > :10:04.We've been to the Tyrone-Donegal border, where some worry
:10:05. > :10:06.about a re-introduction of controls which might affect trade.
:10:07. > :10:09.As we already know, those in the Remain camp have been
:10:10. > :10:17.Here's our North-West reporter, Keiron Tourish.
:10:18. > :10:25.The border between these towns has changed dramatically in a
:10:26. > :10:29.generation. Gone are the heavily fortified checkpoints and in its
:10:30. > :10:34.place an impressive piece of art reflecting all cultures. But there
:10:35. > :10:39.is no consensus on Europe. I am very confused by the whole thing. I have
:10:40. > :10:49.read the booklet and I am none the wiser. I think we should stay. There
:10:50. > :10:55.is too much to lose. This family business has been trading since 1979
:10:56. > :11:04.in good times and bad. They don't want to return to border controls. I
:11:05. > :11:07.remember before and basically you had to work around when the
:11:08. > :11:16.customers were on duty to deliver your goods. This farmer closely
:11:17. > :11:22.follows the EU debate. He wants out as he believes the UK will be better
:11:23. > :11:25.off. It would be foolish for the European Union to ostracise the UK
:11:26. > :11:31.as we import more from Europe than we export. They would be the losers.
:11:32. > :11:38.This restaurant is right on the border. Its owners says the EU is
:11:39. > :11:42.too big and bureaucratic and rejects any notion of a return to major
:11:43. > :11:50.border controls. It is anti-democratic. We are a business
:11:51. > :11:53.-- for a big business, big banks, politicians, and for small to
:11:54. > :12:00.medium-sized businesses, it has been stifled by overregulation. Like some
:12:01. > :12:06.of his staff, this supermarket manager lives in Donegal but works
:12:07. > :12:10.nearby, where he also represents the chamber of commerce. We think it
:12:11. > :12:13.would be a disaster for Northern Ireland to leave Europe at this
:12:14. > :12:18.stage because the border control will be on at some level. The
:12:19. > :12:22.freedom of movement for my staff as well as my customers, coming from
:12:23. > :12:32.southern island, we don't know where that is going to end up. With so
:12:33. > :12:35.much controversy over the EU, it remains unlikely.
:12:36. > :12:39.Now, if you're at your tea, it might be time to push the plate away.
:12:40. > :12:42.And if you've a morbid hatred of creepy crawlies then our next
:12:43. > :12:45.Our agriculture and environment correspondent Conor Macauley has
:12:46. > :12:47.been out to investigate reports of an infestation of caterpillars
:12:48. > :12:52.attacking ash trees in south Belfast.
:12:53. > :12:58.It is the stuff of nightmares. A plague of green buds munching their
:12:59. > :13:04.way through these trees in south Belfast. They have stripped them
:13:05. > :13:12.almost bare in just over a week. It is enough to make you itch a lot. If
:13:13. > :13:15.you listen really closely, you can actually hear the larvae eating the
:13:16. > :13:19.leaves in the tree above me. The problem with that is that you are so
:13:20. > :13:28.close they are constantly falling on your head. It is a bit
:13:29. > :13:32.disconcerting. We have posted videos on social media and our friends are
:13:33. > :13:40.enjoying this much more than we are. The Ulster wildlife moth man comes
:13:41. > :13:45.an explanation. As they are flies, not months, he is a little
:13:46. > :13:54.disappointed. You have got boom and bust. You will get these plagues and
:13:55. > :13:58.infestations so it is uncommon but always spooky when you see it.
:13:59. > :14:01.Experts are to be sent out for a look but local say this happened
:14:02. > :14:04.last year as well and the trees did not suffer.
:14:05. > :14:07.As the anniversary of the Somme centenary draws closer,
:14:08. > :14:10.we're featuring a series of reports on the impact that First World War
:14:11. > :14:13.battle had and still has on life in Ireland.
:14:14. > :14:16.This evening, Mervyn Jess looks at the affect the war had on one
:14:17. > :14:19.particular seat of learning at College Square in Belfast city
:14:20. > :14:27.centre and how a recent discovery shed some new light on that.
:14:28. > :14:35.The old Belfast Tech building before work started converting it into city
:14:36. > :14:39.centre student accommodation. Just before the developers moved in, a
:14:40. > :14:43.box of old photographs was discovered and handed over to the
:14:44. > :14:48.college historian. You are staring into the faces of people who either
:14:49. > :14:52.died or fought in that war, and I think those photographs were they so
:14:53. > :14:56.that relatives could come into the college as a memorial and look at
:14:57. > :15:01.them. In the early part of the 20th century, this old college was a
:15:02. > :15:05.microcosm of life in Belfast. And in the years running up to the outbreak
:15:06. > :15:09.of the Great War, all strands of society were to be found within its
:15:10. > :15:15.walls. The impact of the carnage in Europe felt her was felt in cities
:15:16. > :15:23.towns and villages right across the country. You have offices, you have
:15:24. > :15:26.people who won honours and medals, and you have got the ordinary boys
:15:27. > :15:32.who lost their lives as an officer on a ship. You have got the strange
:15:33. > :15:35.Case of somebody who ended up in the Italian army and somebody ended up
:15:36. > :15:40.in the Australian court. Among the young men who joined up, this man
:15:41. > :15:46.from Belfast. The first soldier to die at the Somme on the morning of
:15:47. > :15:52.the 1st of July. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour. David
:15:53. > :15:55.Brown is a Somme history research and enthusiasts. His job was to
:15:56. > :16:15.distribute bronze -- bombs. He secured the ropes and when the
:16:16. > :16:21.ropes broke off, the bombs came out of the box, the pins came out of the
:16:22. > :16:26.bombs, they dropped to the floor. There were only 600 men in the
:16:27. > :16:32.trench at the time. He had four seconds of his life and that is all
:16:33. > :16:39.that was left that he could do was to throw himself on top of him and
:16:40. > :16:51.was blown to smithereens. These people volunteered. He would have
:16:52. > :16:55.probably held meetings in this hall, encouraging boys in those heady days
:16:56. > :17:00.of 1914 to go off and fight for King and country. Remember, there was a
:17:01. > :17:04.heightened tension here with the home rule Bill and people felt they
:17:05. > :17:09.were fighting for King and country that would actually stop home rule.
:17:10. > :17:13.In a way, it is part very much of the history not just of the war but
:17:14. > :17:19.also what was happening here politically in 1912-14. While the
:17:20. > :17:23.building has taken on a new life, for those from it who fought at the
:17:24. > :17:25.Somme and elsewhere, their memory now rests with their families and
:17:26. > :17:29.the historians for generations to come.
:17:30. > :17:33.The countdown continues to the start of Euro 2016.
:17:34. > :17:38.Let's join Stephen Watson live outside the team hotel in France.
:17:39. > :17:42.The news emerging from the Northern Ireland camp today
:17:43. > :17:46.is that Kyle Lafferty says he's had the results of a scan on his injured
:17:47. > :17:52.groin and will be fit to play against Poland on Sunday.
:17:53. > :17:56.The pictures today perhaps tell a different story.
:17:57. > :17:59.Lafferty didn't train and simply spent 15 minutes on an exercise
:18:00. > :18:03.bike as his team mates prepared for the game.
:18:04. > :18:06.Lafferty was all smiles for the cameras but was still
:18:07. > :18:12.walking very gingerly and it remains to be seen whether he will win his
:18:13. > :18:16.race to be fit in time for the game in Nice.
:18:17. > :18:19.There are four sets of brothers playing in the Euro 2016.
:18:20. > :18:22.One set will line up for Northern Ireland.
:18:23. > :18:25.Joel Taggart has been talking to Jonny and Corey Evans,
:18:26. > :18:28.and started by asking Corey about his first memories
:18:29. > :18:40.Just out in the street, kicking a ball about. He was a bit older and
:18:41. > :18:46.he was playing with a few kids and I would be standing around watching.
:18:47. > :18:53.Once I got a bit older I was allowed to to join in. I always welcomed
:18:54. > :19:00.him. Corey was a fast centre forward at that stage. He always scored the
:19:01. > :19:08.goals. Even playing street football. Was he a good big Brother? He was
:19:09. > :19:17.all right. Just all right? Could have been better? No, he's good. The
:19:18. > :19:22.first ever brothers to appear for Northern Ireland in major finals.
:19:23. > :19:27.How nice will it be to be able to share it with Corey? It will be
:19:28. > :19:34.great. We always share rooms when we come away. We enjoy all the
:19:35. > :19:39.experiences together. Even now, we live close together. It would be
:19:40. > :19:44.great to go into the tournament, which is something we are both very
:19:45. > :19:49.proud of, representing our country. The only thing that would top all of
:19:50. > :19:53.this would be two of you on the pitch at the same time celebrating a
:19:54. > :20:00.goal. It would be better if he set me up. That would top it all off. A
:20:01. > :20:02.very talented duo indeed. The Republic of Ireland arrived
:20:03. > :20:05.in France today ahead of Monday night's opening
:20:06. > :20:06.fixture against Sweden. Martin O'Neill has based his squad
:20:07. > :20:19.in Versailles and our reporter The players and management have just
:20:20. > :20:22.checked into the team hotel here. They will take part in an open
:20:23. > :20:27.public training session nearby tomorrow morning. But I am sure that
:20:28. > :20:32.even Roy Keane will be happy with all that Versailles has to offer. In
:20:33. > :20:37.a special interview, Martin O'Neill has been telling me about his
:20:38. > :20:40.expectations for the tournament and reflecting on how his unlikely
:20:41. > :20:46.partnership with Roy Keane has guided the Republic to France. I
:20:47. > :20:50.suppose I can speak from a position of strength because we have
:20:51. > :20:56.qualified. If we had not qualified, people would say it did not work. It
:20:57. > :20:59.has worked out pretty well. We meet each other occasionally outside but
:21:00. > :21:04.we don't socialise. We don't socialise together. From that
:21:05. > :21:09.viewpoint, when we go into the camp, we are there to work. We enjoy it,
:21:10. > :21:14.don't get me wrong, things are great. He is a motivational
:21:15. > :21:18.character himself. He has been splendid for the group of players
:21:19. > :21:23.here and these players will have grown up with him being there he
:21:24. > :21:28.wrote. So we have got all of those things. But in terms of our own mix,
:21:29. > :21:34.I can only turn around and say it is fine. I can say it has worked
:21:35. > :21:38.because we have qualified. If we had not qualified, I would have said it
:21:39. > :21:42.was the biggest disaster of all time. Looking ahead to the first
:21:43. > :21:47.game against Sweden, because potentially three points will be
:21:48. > :21:52.enough, how important is momentum in international football? You do need
:21:53. > :21:57.to get off to a decent start. First of all, it breeds a bit of
:21:58. > :22:01.confidence, it is nice to get one point on the board rather than none,
:22:02. > :22:08.it is nice to get free rather than one, and you feel that if you could
:22:09. > :22:12.win the first game, you are giving yourself a heck of a chance to make
:22:13. > :22:17.it through to the next stages. Everyone will look to let Jonathan
:22:18. > :22:21.Walters, Shane Long for the goals, big performances from the big
:22:22. > :22:25.players in the squad, but what else do you like about this squad? The
:22:26. > :22:33.only thing I will say about this squad is I think they have shown a
:22:34. > :22:40.desire to pull themselves around. You can make a lot of late goals but
:22:41. > :22:47.if you do it often enough, they must be something in it. A never say die
:22:48. > :22:53.spirit. You talk about 1982, I could draw a lot of things but the one
:22:54. > :22:59.thing the 1982 team had, we had a great desire and a great spirit.
:23:00. > :23:03.Catholics and Protestants playing in the side, we were really strong, and
:23:04. > :23:09.those are the things. And we had a wee bit of talent. We had a young
:23:10. > :23:14.centre forward coming in called Norman Whiteside, who was only 17
:23:15. > :23:19.years of age but was a proper man. Armstrong played the tournament of
:23:20. > :23:23.his life. And the rest of us fit in with our ability somewhere along the
:23:24. > :23:29.way. We had some really strong characters. That is what I like to
:23:30. > :23:34.think we have here. An interesting insight from the
:23:35. > :23:38.former Northern Ireland captain. That is it life from France. We will
:23:39. > :23:42.be back with more tonight and we will be reporting in the Euro 2016
:23:43. > :23:44.preview programme tonight on BBC One.
:23:45. > :23:58.Let's get a look at the weather now. It turned out nice again today. Part
:23:59. > :24:03.of the coastline did hold onto some mist and low cloud. But can see that
:24:04. > :24:07.on the satellite picture. Some fog of the north coast. That is going to
:24:08. > :24:13.roll back inland and particularly after dark. It may well start off
:24:14. > :24:18.like this tomorrow morning, as indeed it did this morning, along
:24:19. > :24:22.parts of the East Antrim coast. It will be a lovely evening. Another
:24:23. > :24:28.warm one tonight, perhaps uncomfortably so for some. And once
:24:29. > :24:31.we lose that mist and low cloud, we are in for another warm afternoon
:24:32. > :24:36.tomorrow with similar temperatures to today. But to begin with they
:24:37. > :24:42.will be areas of sea floor, especially along the County Down
:24:43. > :24:48.coast. The ferry may be delayed. It should burn off a little bit more
:24:49. > :24:53.quickly compared to today. Once it goes, temperatures will rise quite
:24:54. > :24:57.nicely into the low 20s. There is a possibility of one or two showers
:24:58. > :25:07.tomorrow, particularly in the North West. That may just be enough to set
:25:08. > :25:12.them off. Tomorrow evening is the first gig at this venue and it will
:25:13. > :25:15.be a level evening as well. But then the weather starts to come in from
:25:16. > :25:21.the Atlantic so cloud and rain pushing in from the Atlantic. It
:25:22. > :25:24.will feel cooler. It is also the start of fresher, more unsettled
:25:25. > :25:29.weather this weekend. If the heat has been too much for you, you may
:25:30. > :25:32.well come a little bit of rain. There will still be some dry weather
:25:33. > :25:37.at times this weekend, but Italy on Saturday. If you are waiting for
:25:38. > :25:42.Sunday evening and the first match, hopefully the showers will have
:25:43. > :25:44.moved on. For those travelling to France, it is much nicer, warm and
:25:45. > :25:55.sunny. Our late summary is that 10:30pm.
:25:56. > :25:58.From everyone on the team, enjoy what is left of that sunshine and
:25:59. > :26:00.have a good night. Goodbye.