:00:00. > :00:12.the triathlon, with Alistair beating his brother
:00:13. > :00:18.This is BBC Newsline and these are the headlines
:00:19. > :00:24.A Sinn Fein MLA resigns over claims about his contact with a key witness
:00:25. > :00:28.The latest from Rio after yesterday's arrest
:00:29. > :00:31.of Ireland's most senior Olympic official.
:00:32. > :00:35.The number of high A-level grades rises again -
:00:36. > :00:37.we'll hear from a careers advisor as decisions are made
:00:38. > :00:41.An appeal for accommodation for nurses from abroad coming
:00:42. > :00:49.On day 13 of the Olympic Games - join me live in Rio
:00:50. > :00:58.And the next couple of days will be very unsettled and unsummery,
:00:59. > :01:01.but there is light before the end of the weekend.
:01:02. > :01:10.It's been a day of accusations, a resignation and an apology
:01:11. > :01:17.Sinn Fein's Daithi McKay stood down from the Assembly
:01:18. > :01:21.It was claimed that when he was the Chair
:01:22. > :01:24.of the Assembly's Finance Committee, the North Antrim MLA advised
:01:25. > :01:27.the loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson about evidence
:01:28. > :01:31.he was to give to that committee about the sale of Northern Ireland's
:01:32. > :01:39.Mr McKay has now apologised saying his contact was inappropriate.
:01:40. > :01:47.Our political editor Mark Devenport is at Stormont.
:01:48. > :01:57.A day of upset. Tell us how this all kicked off. From the moment these
:01:58. > :02:01.revelations first emerged and on BBC Ulster radio show, things started to
:02:02. > :02:06.look very bad indeed for Daithi McKay. 11 months ago he was here at
:02:07. > :02:10.Stormont presiding over a that are making major headlines. But today,
:02:11. > :02:15.all the headlines were about whether the evidence given in those hearings
:02:16. > :02:23.were Whatley appeared on the surface. Last temper, Jamie Bryson
:02:24. > :02:27.used the privilege to make a series of explosive claims about the
:02:28. > :02:31.multi-million pound NAMA property deal, including best direct
:02:32. > :02:37.allegation that the then First Minister was involved. Can I take
:02:38. > :02:40.this committee that person a is Mr Peter Robinson MLA. Now it has
:02:41. > :02:44.emerged that before he gave the evidence, he was in contact with the
:02:45. > :02:47.committee cheer Daithi McKay and another Sinn Fein member about how
:02:48. > :02:55.exactly he should make the revelations. -- cheer. This is the
:02:56. > :03:03.former candidate Mr Mackay is meant to have put the blogger in touch
:03:04. > :03:07.with. He apparently sent messages on social media. In one message, he
:03:08. > :03:35.wrote... You are not denying that the truth
:03:36. > :03:39.of the message that have now emerged in public, that there were these
:03:40. > :03:47.exchanges between yourself, Mr Mackay and another Sinn Fein Amba?
:03:48. > :03:52.This was private and confidential information that has gone into the
:03:53. > :03:57.public domain. Peter Robinson strenuously denies any wrongdoing
:03:58. > :04:02.over NAMA and VDU people leaves the latest revelations prove he was the
:04:03. > :04:07.victim of a dirty tricks operation. -- DUP. This is a corruption of the
:04:08. > :04:11.Assembly process. They have found somebody who is prepared to work
:04:12. > :04:15.with them in corrupting the Assembly process. When I give evidence to the
:04:16. > :04:22.committee and the as me to go and give evidence, I called the Mickey
:04:23. > :04:25.Mouse committee. Had I known what I know now, it's more like a
:04:26. > :04:30.conspiracy. The blogger at the centre of it all insists he will not
:04:31. > :04:36.have anything to do with any investigation into the matter. Will
:04:37. > :04:41.you cooperate? No. I will not corroborate into any investigation,
:04:42. > :04:47.view my sources are. I will not be cooperating with any investigation.
:04:48. > :04:53.Sinn Fein says the party as a whole had no knowledge of any prior
:04:54. > :04:59.contact with Jamie Bryson. Someone I have worked with over the last years
:05:00. > :05:04.but in this instance I think he accepts he made an error of judgment
:05:05. > :05:08.and an error of judgment which has led him to resign as an MLA and I
:05:09. > :05:13.think he did the appropriate steps. -- took the appropriate steps. When
:05:14. > :05:17.he was cheering the NAMA hearings, Daithi McKay was a high-flyer.
:05:18. > :05:27.Sometimes spoken about as a potential minister. Now, he'll have
:05:28. > :05:32.to be replaced as an MLA. His political career is in tatters.
:05:33. > :05:35.Mark, what reaction has been from other parties at Stormont? Other
:05:36. > :05:40.politicians are asking whether Daithi McKay conduct was in breach
:05:41. > :05:46.of any of the Stormont reels of conductconduct. One thing is clear
:05:47. > :05:52.is that the opposition parties have scepticism whether Mr Mackay could
:05:53. > :05:56.have acted on his own without the knowledge of any other Sinn Fein
:05:57. > :06:00.colleagues. This is what we do. They deny and is only after time you get
:06:01. > :06:06.the full truth. I think if you look at the culture of Sinn Fein, the
:06:07. > :06:13.fact you can't count paperclips without Connelly has given their
:06:14. > :06:18.approval, the fact it was so wrong. Sinn Fein representatives do what
:06:19. > :06:21.they are told. I've sat on Council and you are not allowed to sneeze
:06:22. > :06:25.without it being approved. Do not believe it was one person making
:06:26. > :06:31.such an orchestrated move within a committee, unless it was sanctioned
:06:32. > :06:33.from very high up. The DUP and see police investigation and an
:06:34. > :06:37.investigation by the Assembly authorities. Where do you think the
:06:38. > :06:44.process will go from here? The fact Daithi McKay has resigned from being
:06:45. > :06:48.an MLA, the current real say that if the complaint is brought by the
:06:49. > :06:53.member of public or other politician, during the course of the
:06:54. > :06:56.next couple of weeks, it can still be investigated. That seems quite
:06:57. > :06:59.likely. One thing I expect we will see early next week is another
:07:00. > :07:06.meeting of the Finance committee, which is now cheered by the DUP, she
:07:07. > :07:10.is trying to have an early meeting to discuss these revelations about
:07:11. > :07:11.her predecessor in the committee role, Daithi McKay. We believe that
:07:12. > :07:17.they are. -- we will leave it there. There's plenty to come before 7pm
:07:18. > :07:22.including: We've advice for young people who've just
:07:23. > :07:26.got their A level results. The Olympic Council of Ireland says
:07:27. > :07:29.it will defend itself "to the hilt" in any investigation
:07:30. > :07:31.into ticket-touting The Council's President Pat Hickey
:07:32. > :07:36.was arrested by the Brazilian And as BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson
:07:37. > :07:58.reports, the controversy is making Patrick Hickey. The senior Irish
:07:59. > :08:06.Olympic official has been arrested over ticket touting. One reason for
:08:07. > :08:11.the worldwide publicity, the circumstances of his arrest. Early
:08:12. > :08:15.yesterday morning at a hotel in Rio. Soon afterwards he took ill and
:08:16. > :08:22.spent last night in hospital. Irish Olympic officials have been allowed
:08:23. > :08:27.to visit him. He has had lots of tests and he has made no comment as
:08:28. > :08:34.about the allegations. We will defend ourselves to the hilt, that
:08:35. > :08:38.is all I will say. He did not want to talk about the tickets
:08:39. > :08:47.controversy. No comment at the moment. Pat Hickey has categorically
:08:48. > :08:50.denied any wrongdoing. According to Brazilian police, anyone caught
:08:51. > :09:00.selling Olympic tickets illegally could face a long jail sentence. If
:09:01. > :09:06.Pat Hickey is guilty in Brazil, he can get seven years of prison. It is
:09:07. > :09:11.alleged that some tickets for the opening ceremony were being sold at
:09:12. > :09:16.four times their face value. Ten days ago Brazilian police arrested
:09:17. > :09:21.an Irish businessman. He has insisted he did nothing wrong and is
:09:22. > :09:26.waiting to see what action, if any, the authorities in real going to
:09:27. > :09:30.take. Whatever happens in Brazil, it is already clear that back in
:09:31. > :09:33.Dublin, the Irish Government are going to carry out their own
:09:34. > :09:39.investigation. We are determined that we will set up an enquiry to
:09:40. > :09:47.find out what happened. I don't know what, event happening fast. Tonight,
:09:48. > :09:51.Pat Hickey remains in hospital under police guard.
:09:52. > :09:53.Thousands of students received their A-level results today.
:09:54. > :09:58.The number getting the top grades has risen again, and girls continue
:09:59. > :10:00.to out perform boys, as our education correspondent
:10:01. > :10:17.The moment of reckoning in east Belfast. And then relief. How did
:10:18. > :10:21.you get on? I got three days. That gets me into Queens next year. Very
:10:22. > :10:29.happy. There are plenty of others sharing good news. I do happy with
:10:30. > :10:35.that? I got an a star and two days. More than I was expecting. Today is
:10:36. > :10:39.not just sharing the a 's star is but hearing were the other going
:10:40. > :10:42.next and what they are heading off to an excitement. There is a slight
:10:43. > :10:49.rise in the numbers of students getting top marks. The proportion of
:10:50. > :10:57.students getting a two E grades did the same at 98.2%. It's another year
:10:58. > :11:04.in which local students have performed strongly. Young people now
:11:05. > :11:09.had on to university. There are plenty of other options, too. Some
:11:10. > :11:13.students at this college are planning to go into apprenticeships
:11:14. > :11:18.or work. Most of our students are going to university, but this year
:11:19. > :11:23.we are very lucky and had two successful students under it the
:11:24. > :11:29.apprenticeship programme. I want to earn money and get work experience
:11:30. > :11:37.and qualifications. I decided to go to hijab for an apprenticeship.
:11:38. > :11:44.There was some advice. -- I decided to go for an apprenticeship. Keep
:11:45. > :11:48.your options open and think ahead about what you want to do. It was
:11:49. > :11:57.also another good year for girls as they continue to get more top marks
:11:58. > :12:05.than boys. I got a PKU for a star is and I and alerted. -- I got for a
:12:06. > :12:14.star is. It was the same in Derry. I got an a star. I am so excited about
:12:15. > :12:19.that. I will be starting at Queens in September. The success is part of
:12:20. > :12:20.the reason why students here outperform those in England and
:12:21. > :12:21.Wales again. Christina Kelly is Deputy Head
:12:22. > :12:36.of the Careers Service Smiles for those who have done
:12:37. > :12:40.better than expected today. What advice do you give them? First Jews
:12:41. > :12:49.and to have done better than expected today, it is a day of great
:12:50. > :12:56.excitement again for them. -- for those students. They can look at
:12:57. > :13:02.upgrading. There will be students who have done less well than what
:13:03. > :13:06.they had hoped for. Again, for those students there are alternative
:13:07. > :13:13.options. For example, clearing would be the first option that the we well
:13:14. > :13:20.consider, which is where the higher institutions will have agencies that
:13:21. > :13:25.might appeal to the students. Aside from clearing, there are alternative
:13:26. > :13:34.options, such as apprenticeships, foundation degrees, HND is,
:13:35. > :13:42.agencies. There are alternatives in the Republic. Indeed there are other
:13:43. > :13:51.academic institutions that are possible. Also technical colleges
:13:52. > :13:55.offer educational opportunities as well. Some students may wish to
:13:56. > :14:00.declare for a year and have a think about whether the course they have
:14:01. > :14:07.chosen the right one for them. They may want to do a gap year. There are
:14:08. > :14:11.opportunities for all and further education colleges all across
:14:12. > :14:14.Northern Ireland. In regard to the colleges, for those students who
:14:15. > :14:21.want to reset and think they could do better next year but there are
:14:22. > :14:26.schools don't allow them to reset in their academic school, what are the
:14:27. > :14:29.options for them? The further education colleges, of which there
:14:30. > :14:35.are six right across Northern Ireland, they offer a broad range of
:14:36. > :14:39.academic, professional and technical qualifications. There will be
:14:40. > :14:43.courses there that are suitable for every young person. It could be a
:14:44. > :14:51.here apprenticeship, foundation degree... Those further education
:14:52. > :14:56.colleges also offer degrees. You mentioned a gap year. Not everyone
:14:57. > :15:01.can afford to be away for a year into something very different. Many
:15:02. > :15:04.young people want to get a job. Given the long-term unemployment
:15:05. > :15:08.problems with young people, how difficult is it going to be for
:15:09. > :15:14.them? It is going to be difficult for young people now after they have
:15:15. > :15:18.done A-levels to get a job. The higher apprenticeships that I just
:15:19. > :15:25.talked to you about, the actually combine a job with accumulating
:15:26. > :15:29.qualifications, experience and skills. They are a very valid and
:15:30. > :15:33.legitimate route first you don't because they can learn while the
:15:34. > :15:41.errand. Also foundation degrees, which are on offer at colleges,
:15:42. > :15:46.those foundation degrees are very good stepping stone on to career
:15:47. > :15:54.pathways. -- learn while the errant. They learn about local industries
:15:55. > :16:01.and they road and a first step of the career pathway. It's a
:16:02. > :16:04.progression route onto other higher grades altercations. Clearly, lots
:16:05. > :16:08.of options out there. Thank you very much.
:16:09. > :16:11.And if you check out our news online story on A-levels there are details
:16:12. > :16:16.of how you can get in contact an advisor at the Careers Service.
:16:17. > :16:19.The BBC has learned that the health service has offered over 500
:16:20. > :16:26.A majority will be arriving in September from the Philippines
:16:27. > :16:28.and will be trained across the 5 health trusts.
:16:29. > :16:31.An appeal has also been made to landlords for accommodation.
:16:32. > :16:33.Our health correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly has been
:16:34. > :16:43.to Craigavon to meet a Filipino nurse who arrived 14 years ago.
:16:44. > :16:52.Hello. It's a long way from the Philippines to Craigavon. 14 years
:16:53. > :16:58.ago, Genevieve made that very trip to pursue a career in nursing. After
:16:59. > :17:08.12 years being a nurse and a senior nurse, I applied for the sister
:17:09. > :17:13.post. I got it. I was so delighted and it's been tested that no matter
:17:14. > :17:18.where you have come from, you have the same opportunity. Following for
:17:19. > :17:26.overseas recruitment campaigns, the health service has made 43 offers
:17:27. > :17:32.two nurses in Remain and Italy. -- Romania. They will be working as
:17:33. > :17:38.health work to here assistants, while they complete the registration
:17:39. > :17:45.process. There are a number of reasons for this current shortage.
:17:46. > :17:51.Back in 2010 the health minister cut the annual number of nursing
:17:52. > :17:58.training posts by 100. Recently, the profession has lost a number of
:17:59. > :18:02.experienced nurses. Preparations are underway to house foreign nurses.
:18:03. > :18:06.This appeal to local landlords to get in touch. The Royal College of
:18:07. > :18:11.Nursing says they will support the new arrivals and it's unfortunate
:18:12. > :18:15.this shortage exist in the first place. It could've been avoided if
:18:16. > :18:21.we had planned and they had planned appropriately going back ten ago.
:18:22. > :18:26.Unfortunately the number of home-grown nurses and post has
:18:27. > :18:30.reduced year on year. That has had an effect, we have close to 1000
:18:31. > :18:36.nurses less in the system than we should have. Like Genevieve, the new
:18:37. > :18:42.recruits will have to sit an English test. 14 years on, she is almost
:18:43. > :18:47.sounding like a local. You have a bit of the accent. Yes ex-mac
:18:48. > :18:50.anywhere you go they would say, you're from Northern Ireland. Yes, I
:18:51. > :18:55.think so. Tourist numbers had a slow
:18:56. > :18:57.start in the early part of the year with fewer
:18:58. > :18:59.having stay-at-home breaks. Though there were better
:19:00. > :19:01.figures for visitors Today also brought news that a
:19:02. > :19:04.major American hotel chain Here's our business
:19:05. > :19:20.correspondent Julian O'Neill. Belfast is seeing a boom in hotel
:19:21. > :19:25.activity and arriving for the first time as Marriott International, the
:19:26. > :19:30.global chain has signed a franchise agrees mint for a 4-star hotel to
:19:31. > :19:39.include new office blocks and will open in 2018. -- franchise agreement
:19:40. > :19:46.for a 4-star hotel. There has been a shortage of new hotels. The demand
:19:47. > :19:52.is there and we are very positive about the future. Several new hotels
:19:53. > :19:57.are being built here, mostly in anticipation of increased business
:19:58. > :20:01.from conferences. They represent long-term investments, pitched a
:20:02. > :20:05.growing numbers from external markets, Britain and beyond. Figures
:20:06. > :20:10.released today by the Department for the economy sure that the British
:20:11. > :20:16.and overseas visitor markets are thriving. A slump in stay at home
:20:17. > :20:21.breaks has pulled down the tourism sector's performance in the first
:20:22. > :20:26.three months of 2016. A struggle on the home front but not all bad news.
:20:27. > :20:32.That's according to one hotelier that sits on the board of two is
:20:33. > :20:35.Northern Ireland. On the lead up to Brexit people were nervous. I don't
:20:36. > :20:40.think there is any big surprise. I am pleased to see people who are
:20:41. > :20:45.coming is doing longer and spending more, that's what is ideal. The
:20:46. > :20:50.tourism sector believes things have improved since the period covered by
:20:51. > :20:53.the figures. Recent falls in sterling is said to be giving a
:20:54. > :21:04.Brexit rounds and keeping locals at home and bringing more visitors from
:21:05. > :21:10.outside. A major exhibition by a man believed to be one of the great
:21:11. > :21:17.painters opens tomorrow. David Hockney's work will be on display
:21:18. > :21:23.tomorrow. David Maxwell has had a preview. This much anticipated
:21:24. > :21:28.exhibition of David Hockney's work has arrived in Belfast and there are
:21:29. > :21:33.62 pieces of his artwork here. This is the largest of them from his
:21:34. > :21:39.deeper pools series from the 1970s. Somebody who can tell us more about
:21:40. > :21:44.the exhibition is and, the chief executive of the studio. What can
:21:45. > :21:48.people see here? As you say, so many of David Hockney's artwork. Some of
:21:49. > :21:54.the famous ones but some of my famous ones are behind me from the
:21:55. > :22:00.arrival of spring series. It's an example of how David Hockney threw
:22:01. > :22:05.out his practice really pushed boundaries. -- throughout his
:22:06. > :22:11.practice. What does it mean to have this exhibition? It's a big deal for
:22:12. > :22:17.Belfast and northern Ireland to exhibit David Hockney's work year.
:22:18. > :22:20.This is the first major exhibition in the island of Ireland ever. Some
:22:21. > :22:28.of his work has been done on the iPad and some very close to some of
:22:29. > :22:33.our artists will be training. That is really interesting because for
:22:34. > :22:36.Hockney it is all about drawing. He loves to draw. Ulster University is
:22:37. > :22:42.one of the very few art schools left in the UK that still has a life
:22:43. > :22:47.drawing class. And, thank you very much indeed. It is ticketed entry
:22:48. > :22:54.and the art expecting a big demand. A donation is expected to be made.
:22:55. > :22:56.Next, the Olympic Games and Stephen Watson has been
:22:57. > :23:13.This was the day we had pencilled in for the boxing semifinal but he was
:23:14. > :23:19.beaten earlier this week and went on to land that the judges. The fallout
:23:20. > :23:23.from the boxing has continued today. As is the excerpt from the finals
:23:24. > :23:27.wasn't controversial enough, the opponent that Conlon thought he
:23:28. > :23:32.beat, the boxer who was deemed to be awarded the contest by the judges,
:23:33. > :23:36.the Russian, has withdrawn from the competition due to the injuries he
:23:37. > :23:43.suffered against Conlon. The Russian world not fight for a place in the
:23:44. > :23:48.final but will receive a bronze medal. Team Ireland came agonisingly
:23:49. > :23:57.close to the Meadow for the first time in 16 years. -- medal. He
:23:58. > :24:03.finished in fourth place in the final of the men's 400 metre
:24:04. > :24:08.hurdles. His time was a new Irish record and would have been an offer
:24:09. > :24:17.a bronze in London and is over in Beijing and Athens. I'm delighted
:24:18. > :24:26.how the race went. It was a step too far this time round. It's my first
:24:27. > :24:31.final and more to come. When I was overheard ten and I was gaining
:24:32. > :24:35.ground, if I'd had another few hundred metres, who knows what could
:24:36. > :24:41.have happened. Unfortunately it's a 500 metre race. To be anywhere close
:24:42. > :24:47.to a medal, that's great. He did so well.
:24:48. > :24:49.Elsewhere today, in the second round of the women's golf
:24:50. > :24:51.tournament, Stephanie Meadow is now on four over,
:24:52. > :24:54.some 13 shots off the lead while Leona Maguire is fairing
:24:55. > :24:57.a little better on three under par after a round of 65 -
:24:58. > :25:02.but she is still 4 shots off the pace for a medal.
:25:03. > :25:04.And at the sailing - the Irish 49er crew
:25:05. > :25:11.of Carrick's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern from Ballyholme,
:25:12. > :25:17.are in the medal race of the 49er class.
:25:18. > :25:30.They can't get a medal but we will let you know how they get on. Now
:25:31. > :25:37.for the weather. We have rain coming in tonight. Temperatures up to 20
:25:38. > :25:43.Celsius tonight. Today. As we zoom round, we can see the cloud is over
:25:44. > :25:47.the Republic. Here is the rain moving into the south west of
:25:48. > :25:51.Ireland, which is coming our way later on tonight. It won't rain
:25:52. > :25:59.until after midnight, this evening is going to be dry and warm. After
:26:00. > :26:03.midnight, the rain comes. On the sticky side. We have this area of
:26:04. > :26:07.low pressure, which would be more at home on a chart in the middle of
:26:08. > :26:11.autumn, rather than the end of summer. Very unseasonable weather
:26:12. > :26:16.tomorrow and Saturday. It moves away and get this ridge of high pressure
:26:17. > :26:19.coming in to give us drier and brighter conditions, at least for
:26:20. > :26:24.the second half of the weekend. Tomorrow is all about the rain. From
:26:25. > :26:34.the north coast it will be dry but that rain will be too far away. Once
:26:35. > :26:37.it arrives, it will be persistent and heavy at times. That means lots
:26:38. > :26:39.of puddles and not great for driving or cycling or generally walking. By
:26:40. > :26:46.lunchtime it is still raining in most places. Temperature not
:26:47. > :26:52.surprisingly down on today's values. 20 Celsius today and maybe 18 at
:26:53. > :26:57.best tomorrow. It will start to dry up. Most of that rain clearing away
:26:58. > :27:01.and the sunshine coming through as the rain stops and there may have
:27:02. > :27:05.some sharp showers and some of those will get heavy tomorrow evening as
:27:06. > :27:10.in the north words. Another warm night tomorrow night, too. Moving on
:27:11. > :27:15.to Saturday, were looking at a day of sunshine but also some heavy
:27:16. > :27:19.showers breaking out, which could break out anywhere. Not necessarily
:27:20. > :27:25.everywhere. If you're heading to the cultural show on Saturday, bringing
:27:26. > :27:29.the umbrella but it will be raining all the time. One of the best
:27:30. > :27:31.pictures of the deer they are. I love it.
:27:32. > :27:33.Our late summary is at the earlier time of 10:20pm.
:27:34. > :27:37.You can also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter.