02/02/2016 BBC Newsline

A man's been stabbed in Newcastle in County Down.

He's been taken to hospital in Belfast where he's said to be

Our reporter David Maxwell sent us this report a short time ago.

Police were alerted to this stabbing at around 7:30pm. We understand the

victim is a man in his 40s and that he was stabbed five times outside

this Tesco in Newcastle. The victim's injuries are described as

serious and he was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for

treatment. We understand one man has been arrested in connection with

this stabbing and this evening you can see the evidence of what

happened with clothing and bloodstains on the ground. The

police are appealing for information. They say this would

have been a busy area at 7:30pm, people coming back and forth from

the shopping centre and they want those people to come forward.

Community leaders here expressing shock something like this could

happen. Our thoughts are with the victim. It's been a shock to the

community. I was talking with local residents half an hour ago and they

are non-at what has happened. Police have a line of enquiry and arrest

has been made. That goes some way to reassuring the public that the

police are on top of it. Some of the emergency vehicles are still here,

the area remains cordoned off and crime scene investigators have

arrived. They are expected to be here for some hours to come.

Police have launched an investigation after a body

was found on Tyrella beach in County Down this afternoon.

It's understood the body of a woman was found by a person

Nothing about the identity of the woman or the circumstances

The Ambulance Service has apologised to an elderly man and his family

for having to wait nearly six hours before he was taken to hospital.

As Maggie Taggart reports, the service has held up its hands

to admit that the service in the Bangor and Newtownards area

At 10pm yesterday a call was made to the Ambulance Service about an

elderly man in Bangor. He was in his 80s and had either a fractured it or

broken leg, it wasn't known at that time. The analysis was that was a

category C nonurgent goal but it's should be responded to within an

hour. The response to that call took no less than six hours. Even a

seasoned ambulance crew around here were shocked at the delay and the

suffering of that man. I know, speaking to every single member of

staff, and personally speaking, if this was my father I would be

raging, I would be absolutely livid. I would expect an unreserved

apology. In a statement, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

is a sincere apology to the patient involved and his family.

A new law prohibiting the selling of so-called legal highs has

passed its final hurdle at Westminster.

From the spring, offenders face up to seven years in prison.

Several young people have died from taking these substances,

which can be stronger than current illegal drugs.

Among them was Sean Paul Carnahan from west Belfast.

BBC Newsline's Tara Mills has been speaking to his mother.

Sean Polwart 's 22 when he died. He lost his dad at the age of ten and

his mum said he always had trouble coming to terms with it. -- Sean

Polwart. What age would he have been then? Tracy knew he had been to a

party but it was only afterwards he -- she found out what he had taken.

A few weeks later the boy told me Sean Paul had taken legal highs. At

that stage I had never heard of them. I asked his friends, his best

friend, please tell me how long he had taken. He told me had taken

another drugs, but that was his first time taking legal highs. Were

you able to find out where he got them from? From a shop which has now

closed down. The drugs are now known as psychoactive substances. They

mimic the effects of drugs like cocaine and ecstasy, but their

effects on mental health can be even more severe. If a drug dealer was to

sell me drugs at the door now, the police would arrest him. But shops

can sell them. Those working to protect young people are relieved

the legislation has made its way through Westminster. The current

legislation gives the impression that these substances are safe.

Throughout will work with services that work with both young people and

adults, it's clear these substances have the potential to cause

individuals a lot of harm. Yes, we certainly welcome the legislation

today. The damage that can because it to mental health by these drugs

has been well-documented. What's not so well known is the devastation

caused to the families left behind to grieve and mourn the loss of a

life. The winter storms led to huge

flooding around Lough Neagh, but they've also created another big

issue which is only now The flooded waters have carried

tonnes of rubbish into the Lough and it's now being washed

up along its shores. Our agriculture and environment

correspondent, Conor Macauley, The winter weather is still whipping

up the swollen waters, but now there's a new problem coming to

light after the unprecedented rainfall that filled it to

overflowing. This is Randall Stout, 140 14 National nature reserves in

Northern Ireland. It's an important habitat which we've pledged to

conserve, but as you approach the shoreline, you quickly realise the

place is in a shocking state. As far as I can see in both directions

there is a long line of plastic, a tide mark. The kind of thing you

would see at the seaside. Broken basin, an old workman 's helmet. And

a skittle. But probably the most concerning thing I've found is this.

A box for used needles. People -- places like pharmacies and doctors

surgeries, and there are needles in it. Much of the land adjoining the

Lough is privately owned, but one organisation hopes to get funding to

start and sort the litter problem. Basically get volunteers to identify

and put in a scheduled clean-up twice a year or three times a year

over the next five years. Start doing two things. Begin to address

and take some of the rubbish away, but also to look at it

scientifically and get a feel for the size and scale of it. That's

worked that badly needs done at what is supposed to be one of our most

highly protected habitats. A radical plan for an official

opposition in the Assembly has been Parties including Sinn Fein,

the SDLP and the DUP objected to major parts of a bill drawn up

by the independent unionist John He claims that what is left

is still a major breakthrough. Here's our political

correspondent, Gareth Gordon It's the highlight of Westminster's

week. We've done more on tax evasion and tax avoidance than Labour ever

did. The truth is they are running to catch up but I haven't got a leg

to stand on. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition doing

battle across a crowded chamber. Officially Stormont doesn't have an

opposition though parties who share the executive table often share

little else. That may change if the independent Unionist MLA John

McAllister gets his way. He proposed radical plan. As it stands every MLA

has to align themselves to either the Unionist nationalist community.

He wants that the end. Gone would be the current system of community

designation is where parties are identified as Unionist, nationalist

or other. No cross community voting system. And six or more MLAs could

form the opposition. What we are more likely to end up with other

proposals can turn -- contained in the fresh start deal.

In other words, large parts of John McAllister's bill have been killed.

We believe the fresh start has provided an administrative basis for

an opposition. We believe in the sap can -- second aspect around

community designation. It's a national -- natural evolution that

this assembly would have the proper functions of an opposition, properly

resourced and with proper speaking time. We think it's very, very bored

and to maintain the power-sharing provisions we all struggled so hard

to achieve. The DUP also had problems with other aspects of the

bill. It is more significant than some people would claim it is. There

are other technical aspects we don't think it would be prudent to follow

through on, but most of this bill will be supportive of. It's almost

inescapable now that a private members bill at this late stage will

only be acceptable if they have the support of the DUP and Sinn Fein.

But the man behind the original bill is not responding. -- despondent.

The principal that we will have the rights and parties will have the

rights to take up an opposition role in the assembly and provide that

scrutiny and choice and challenge to voters. A step forward, maybe, but

not the Lee P1 did. Once again this place has shown it only changes

Vakatawa pace. -- at its own pace. Football, and there have been plenty

of goals tonight And Linfield moved into second place

thanks to a 6-0 victory over One of the best goals of the match

was this first-half breakaway A look ahead now to a story

that our investigations reporter, Kevin Magee, will have on tomorrow's

Good Morning Ulster programme, Another developer wants to build a

tower block just the students. It will be in the heart of Shaftesbury

Square just over there. At eight stories tall, local residents are

calling it the holy land in the sky. Coverage begins on BBC ready Ulster

in the morning and I'll have more on BBC newsline at 6:30pm tomorrow. --

BBC Radio 1 Ulster. Now let's have a look at the weather.

At its peak, storm Henry gave gusts of 75 mph. That storm now pushing

off towards Scandinavia. The winds have dropped, but we still have

tightly packed isobars and for this evening and tonight, as the weather

front sinks, we get squeezed so is very strong winds again. We could be

seen gusts of 50 to 60 mph around the coast as the band of rain, sleet

and snow works its way south. Some of the snow settling on the hills.

Temperatures close to freezing so it will become quite icy in places. It

is a bit touch and go, a bit marginal but later in the night

temperatures might start to creep up a bit and that means ice and snow

will become more patchy. Do be prepared for some icy patches

tomorrow morning. Then it's a bright and breezy day to come. A few

showers jury the morning, but in between some pleasant spells of

sunshine. A few showers trickling across the Republic of Ireland,

across the Irish Sea into Wales. Wintry on the hill tops. Some wintry

flurries for the hills of sunshine. In the afternoon, still bright

enough, one or two showers, but more dry than wet weather. We will start

to see cloud increasing and temperatures of seven or eight

Celsius. Then a band of wet and windy weather tomorrow night.

Temperatures rise and it stays mild for the rest of the week. Wet and

windy on Friday. Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25am

during Breakfast here on BBC One. You can also keep updated

with news online.