27/01/2017 BBC Newsline

This is BBC Newsline and these are tonight's headlines.

The police investigate allegations relating to this nursing home

A judge allows heat scheme boiler owners to challenge plans

Arlene Foster says the March election could be the most

The Lord Chief Justice defends his handling of legacy inquests.

A dancer and holocaust survivor is remembered by the city

It is very fitting that a plaque in her memory is here at an arts centre

in Belfast where she worked. All the way from from

Tigers Bay to topping the bill in Las Vegas -

Carl Frampton is just one day away from the biggest

fight of his career. And some long awaited sunshine

is on the way for tomorrow. I'll be back with the full

weekend forecast. The police have confirmed

they are carrying out an investigation into allegations

relating to a nursing home in County Armagh

which closed yesterday. Glenview care home in Portadown

agreed to close after the latest in a series

of critical inspection reports. Here's our south east

reporter Gordon Adair. The problems here at Glenview date

back some two and a half years to September 2014 when an initial

inspection was carried out that raised serious concerns. The home

undertook to correct those issues but it led to a series of follow-up

inspections and in 2016 to failure to comply notices were issued.

Yesterday another alleged inspector -- inspection was carried out as the

owner applied for cancellation of its registration. The home currently

has around 20 residents who will now come under the care of the local

health trust. Today the police told the BBC that allegations were being

directed by the public protection Branch and specially trained social

workers from the public health and social care trust. They did not give

any details of the allegations but said the safeguarding of vulnerable

victims was a priority for the PSNI. Companies with RHI boilers have been

told they can go ahead with a court action against plans

to publish their names. But it's not clear how many

will continue to benefit from a temporary injunction

preventing publication Our agriculture and

environment correspondent Between 500 and 600 border owners

are not party to a group action seeking to stop the publication of

their names. Today they were told it could go to a full hearing. Mr

Justice Dini said I case had been made that a plan to publish could be

in breach of human rights, that protection contract law and should

be protected but there was a twist. Nothing has been straightforward

about this story from the start and The 600 members of the renewable

heat Association who are part of this group action can

challenge the plans to publicly name them at a hearing but we do not

know how many of them will anonymity that was afforded to them

by this court this week. That's because there are three

categories of people in the action - those listed under their own names,

those whose company name would easily identify them and those

trading purely under It was argued that those

with a corporate identity That'll be decided next week ahead

of a full hearing The judge has said he will

hold what is called to ensure that the decision

on whether these boiler owners can be named will be heard

before polling day. The DUP Leader, Arlene Foster,

says the forthcoming Assembly election might be the most important

poll since the 1998 In an interview for the BBC Radio

Ulster Inside Politics programme, Arlene Foster said the election

was not a referendum She also said her former adviser

Dr Andrew Crawford will be cleared by the judicial inquiry due to get

under way in the coming days. Here's our political

correspondent Stephen Walker. The election campaign is now under

way. In an interview for BBC Radio Ulster, Arlene Foster made it clear

how she viewed the forthcoming poll. This is a hugely important election,

maybe the most important since the 1998 agreement because it will

decide the future direction of Northern Ireland. You may find that

strange given we have election eight months ago but a lot of issues have

arisen in relation to the religion ship between Sinn Fein and the DUP.

She claimed her former adviser Doctor Andrew Crawford will be

cleared by the judicial inquiry. He resigned after civil servant Andrew

McCormick said he thought Doctor Crawford was the special adviser who

used his influence to delay the introduction of excessively high

tariffs. When Doctor Crawford resigned, he insisted he had acted

with integrity. Today Sinn Fein accused Arlene Foster of prejudging

the investigation. Arlene Foster is interfering by telling the public

who will be cleared so she is an apparel universe if she does not

realise her standing is not that high. Question about the RHI scheme

remain unanswered. Who knew what and when and what decisions were taken?

The inquiry begins its work next week but there will be no public

hearings until after the Assembly election. And to some, that

timetable places voters in a quandary. Now people are being asked

to cast their judgment on the government that brought us does the

Baikal under secrecy culture around it but at the moment we just have

spin, not facts in the public domain because of the delay of those two

parties in agreeing to a public inquiry. Arlene Foster says that

election is not a referendum on the handling of the RHI scheme but her

opponents disagree. The voters will have to decide without the full

facts but they will look at the facts that this is seven weeks on

and the drip of something possibly corrupt will be a factor and should

be a factor. And others say the poll in March will be about the

performance of Sinn Fein and the DUP. This election is a referendum

of conference in government, which include the inability of the

Executive to produce a budget and deal with issues like RHI and many

others. It is a referendum on the competence of Sinn Fein and the DUP.

This election may not be a referendum on the RHI scheme but the

subject featured today at this DUP photocall.

The Lord Chief Justice has defended his handling of legacy inquests,

and denied suggestions he has given priority to cases involving

Sir Declan Morgan's remarks came in a speech to a victims group.

How do you deal with the past without being accused of bias? That

is one of the questions which has hampered the process, many people

involved had to defend their neutrality. The latest is Northern

Ireland's most senior judge. Lord Declan Morgan issued a statement

hitting back at his handling of the legacy inquest. He said...

It is the second time in two months that he has defended his actions and

insisted he is acting evenhandedly. My commitment has been to try to see

the broader picture and ensure that word the judiciary can contribute to

all those areas of the past which have to be addressed in relation to

all the victims and survivors, that we do what we can to help them. In

today's statement Sir Declan expressed frustration at the lack of

political progress in dealing with the past. He recognised that

everything is now on hold until after the election, and choosing his

words carefully he said we are now in a period of inaction that will

carry through until the end of March at the very least.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency's investigating a diesel

spill after a boat sank in Portaferry harbour.

The Exploris Aquarium at Portaferry and a marine laboratory attached

to Queen's University nearby have both closed their sea

The Regina Caelis has been moored at Portaferry

Despite plans to refurbish it and take it to further shores,

And by this morning, its fate was sealed.

I look out of the bedroom window and saw the mast lying over and I knew

what had happened because it was on the card, it was going to happen.

What kind of shape of this boat been in since it has been in the water

here? It hasn't been in great shape at all. People were trying to work

out to get it to go, but they weren't making much of a shift that

had to get it to go. Up to 1000 litres of fuel on board

is now seeping its way across the water, aided

by the wind and current. Strangford Lough is an important

marine environment with international protection -

not good news for wildlife. The spillage is also

a problem for fishermen, meaning any lobsters in pots are now

inedible - but specialist teams are have been brought

in for the clean-up. If you are going to have a pollutant

diesel is one of the least offensive. We find it breaks down

and evaporates with the action of the sea and waves, it floats on the

surface so it doesn't get into the water far so we're not overly

concerned, this isn't a major disaster. The Regina Caelis one save

again but it could be months before it is gone from this water. Its

final journey to the scrap yard will be a massive undertaking -- the

Regina Caelis will never sail again. Still to come... I can't quite

believe this has all come together and it is a functional boat. We look

at the traditional Irish boat set to make a splash on the Lagan.

A series of events are being staged this week to remember the 354 people

who lost their lives in a major maritime tragedy a century ago.

They were passengers on a liner called the Laurentic which was built

A new exhibition tells the tragic story, as Keiron Tourish reports.

A lament in honour of those who died on the Laurentic,

and in the audience, relatives of those who perished

Survivors and relatives were hosted by the Mayor in the Guildhall

a century ago and a photpgraph was taken for future generations.

Today the current first citizen, Hilary McClintock, welcomed families

from throughout Ireland and Canada - all who'd lost loved ones.

I lost my great uncle and he was on his way home on leave when the ship

went down and his body was never recovered. My grandfather was on the

boat and was lost and never found, so we presume he is on the sea bed

somewhere and it is hugely important to us to date because we have one

photograph only of him in his entire life, from his wedding day.

The Laurentic sank off the coast of Donegal on January 25th 1917.

The liner was carrying 479 passengers who were mostly naval

It hit two explosive mines laid by German U-boats.

Many made it onto lifeboats but due to the extreme cold -

it was -13 degrees - they tragically lost their lives.

The official death toll was 354 with 121 survivors.

Some of them did make it to shore but many froze to death and the ship

went down quite quickly to the bottom of the sea where it lies

today. The SS Laurentic was laiden

with gold bullion to buy The estimated value today

would be ?250 million. Most of that was recovered

by the government. But it's thought around 22 gold bars

still remain on the sea bed. Over the years divers

have tried to find it. It's proved elusive for 85-year-old

Ray Cossum whose family bought However the former Royal Navy member

remains proud the city I'm thrilled to bits, that's enough

treasure to me to see these men who lost their lives remembered. The

exhibition here in the park Museum runs until the 25th of June. --

Tower Museum. Helen Lewis came to Belfast

having survived the Nazi and went on to make a lasting impact

here as a choreographer Today, on Holocaust Memorial Day,

a blue plaque in her honour was unveiled

at the Crescent Arts Centre. Our education and arts correspondent

Robbie Meredith was there. She grew in Czechoslovakia, and,

as a Jew, faced the worst Those who were not fit and well

and healthy enough any longer to work were loaded onto a lorry

and it departed with them into the main camp, straight

into the gas chambers. Helen was a professional

dancer before she survived the concentration camps

where the Nazis killed After the war, she

arrived in Belfast. At a very difficult point in the

concentration camp where she was very ill, she was told she would

never dance again, it was unlikely she would ever survive.

She was too ill and too damaged to ever contemplate

returning to dance or teaching, but over time she did and dance became

It is true also that than saved her life and her enemies in the end did

not defeat. Today a permanent memorial

to her was unveiled. Although her experiences were

injured and had a particular period of time, so Northern Ireland has

gone through it spurious of time and we need to look to the future and

there are definite parallels here, lessons that can be learnt from the

past to build a future. Helen Lewis - survivor, dancer,

teacher, inspiration - Traditional boats are set to return

to the Lagan this weekend, after a group of volunteers built

one from scratch. The currach has been around for two

millennia and it's enjoying Louise Cullen went along

to see the Belfast one A labour of love, for two days a

week for almost a year these volunteers have been bringing the

currach back to life. So much work has gone into it. We expected it to

take less time but it has taken nine months. You start off with a pile of

wood and it goes from there, just slowly the boat started taking

shape. That includes steaming the oak ribs to curve them, they're

airing canvas and tar to waterproof it and then saturating it with oil.

It is a process unchanged in 2000 years and it has taken all hands and

all ages on deck. I brought my kids down and we decided to help. It

skills that children are not being taught anymore and at that stage the

boat was at an early stage and was the other way around so all these

nails, they had the experience of putting the nails in. As well as

building the boat, many of the volunteers will help man it, sharing

their skills with community groups and anyone interested in rowing. I

cannot quite believe this has all come together and it is a functional

boat that has such great possibilities for brilliant

expeditions. Those expeditions include forages to Scotland and

around the coast, but for now the Lagan will be far enough.

Carl Frampton is just a day away from the biggest

Gavin is here with this evening's sport.

The biggest fight of his career and biggest payday.

A journey which started in the Midland Club on Belfast's

Shore Road over two decades ago has taken Carl Frampton to top

In the early hours of Sunday morning the undefeated world champion

puts his title on the line in a rematch with

Thomas Kane is there for BBC Newsline.

Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world

and while the stakes are high, Carl Frampton believes it is not too

big a risk to face three-weight world champion Leo Santa Cruz

The Belfast boxer wants to go all in for the rest of his career

with potentially a huge contest on the cards.

It is the biggest payday and the biggest challenge so far

for Carl as he aims to become the king of Vegas.

This is the top of the boxing world, top of the bill on the MGM.

Not too many people from the UK and Ireland get to do that.

I'm not too many featherweights get to do it, so me and Leo are both in

a very lucky position. Do you feel you are within touching distance of

becoming a superstar? It's a big deal, I don't like words like

superstar, I think in terms of being a boxer I am very good and we are

doing our thing. I think the fan base I have at the moment, there is

not another fighter in the world that has a fan base like this.

Have you had any chance to interact with fans?

I've done a little bit, I've been walking around shaking

hands and people seem to be enjoying themselves.

And there are more people coming and arriving, so at this point I'm

trying my best to hide but I been doing a little bit and will do some

more with the fans after the fight. He's like a little brother to me,

I'm so proud to see his name in lights in Vegas. We always said over

the years we would love to see crop front and boxy and it's a dream come

true for myself. We got in the taxi from the airport and he was on the

buses and the billboards, and we think, it's just Carl, you can't

believe what he has achieved. The support he's got has done him a

massive favour and they are doing him proud and the noise they make in

the arena will make a big impact for him, he's confident, he's saying all

the right things, for me I think it will be another barnstormer, a tough

fight but he's in no real danger of losing this. He's got eyes in his

blood. He's the most die under pressure, the more pressure the more

cooler and composed he gets. I believe it will be another

blockbuster fight, so exciting. So far in his professional

career Carl Frampton has 23 fights and 23 wins,

but victory number 24 on the biggest stage of all would propel him

to another level within the sport. Another rematch closer to home sees

Bank of Ireland McKenna Cup holders Tyrone take on Derry tomorrow under

lights in Newry. Last year it took extra-time

for Mickey Harte's men to edge out their neighbours and the Tyrone

manager is expecting The sound bites coming out of their

camp are that there are a lot of people there who have decided to

stay and give their lot with Gerry and maybe there are some people gone

that they would have used that they want the people there to be

committed and they seem to be committed to the Jersey and that is

the most difficult thing to beat, not a name for someone with a record

that people who work wearing the jersey and want to fight for it and

we hope we have people of the same opinion and that should make for an

interesting contest. We'll have extended highlights

of that final on the BBC iPlayer and Sport NI website

from Sunday evening. Tomorrow in Dublin history beckons

for Northern Ireland's only Womens' The Ulster Rockets, boosted by a few

imports from the USA, are through to the final

of the All-Ireland Senior Cup. The Ulster rockets and training for

the biggest match in the team's history, the senior women's cup

final in an All-Ireland competition. It's huge, especially this year

because we have two American players and that is a new rule brought in by

basketball Ireland and it has impacted women's basketball, they

are not only great players but they do a lot of coaching so we are

getting great crowds, for the first time we are filling the hole with

young people these girls are coaching. And the visitors are

enjoying the experience. It's different from the states, it's not

like a first sport here so you get a different feel but it's also fun

because you have to teach the girls and can make some of them loved and

that makes it worth that. We coach here with the girls under 14 is and

at Lisburn, we coach a lot of girls, anything to keep them out of

trouble. A win this weekend would be a massive boost to the team and the

sport in Northern Ireland. It would be amazing, it would spread more

awareness of girls basketball, especially in Northern Ireland. We

have greeted more awareness, even with my family everyone has been

more engaged now. There are rockets take on the Marble city hawks of

Kilkenny in the final this Sunday. Our weekend BBC Newsline

bulletins will bring Carl Frampton's fight is live

on BBC Radio Ulster and 5live And good luck to him. Cecilia is

here with the weekend weather forecast.

We've got to the last weekend of January, some mixed weather to come,

we will see some blue sky like here in Portstewart but it will be chilly

in places tonight, a touch of frost and eyes, most of the patchy rain

clearing away soon, a few showers moving in from the West but clearing

skies and temperatures will drop close to freezing in the countryside

said there is a risk of frost and ice and one or two mist and fog

patches. For the weekend, a bright day on Saturday, cloudier on Sunday,

still some doubt as to how much rain we will see on Sunday so stay tuned

to the forecast if you have plans and both nights will see bad bit of

frost and ice. Tomorrow looks like the drier and brighter day, a lot of

sunshine in most places, it will start misty and murky in places with

fog patches lifting and a bit chilly but lots of dry weather in the

morning, any showers largely confined to Donegal and the far

north-west. Temperatures are banked on where they should be for January,

any showers mainly over parts of the North West into parts of Tyrone and

Fermanagh and much of the day will be dry and bright, so pretty good

for any sporting activities, but later the showers will come south

and east, so there will be some sharp around tomorrow evening,

temperatures could fall close to freezing which will give us a risk

of frost and eyes. On Sunday the system comes in across the Republic

of Ireland, bringing rain, then slides East, and it looks like the

further north you are the drier and brighter it will be. Temperatures

around average on Monday but there is milder weather on the way back

next week. Thanks for watching, and have a

great weekend. Goodbye.