12/01/2017 BBC Newsline

A man and a woman in their 50s have been shot in the Turf Lodge

The couple who are believed to be married were both injured

in the legs during the attack which happened this evening.

Our reporter David Maxwell has been to the scene.

It was just after 6:15pm this evening when shots were fired inside

this house. It is understood to be the home of a married couple who

were both injured in the legs. They were taken to hospital for

treatment, but their injuries and thought to be life-threatening.

There is still a very active police presence in this area this evening

as people come to terms with this attack on a couple who are said to

be well-known and in this community. The fact that they were unknown to

me, there is no way this family is involved in commonality of any sort.

Whatever the motivation was for the shooting, there is absolutely no

justification for it whatsoever. The people in this street are now

terrified as a result of this shooting. Kids are scared, women and

other people in the street are terrified as a result of what has

happened. Police have appealed for anyone with

information about this attack to get in touch.

A boy is in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria hospital

after being knocked down in Magheralin in County Down.

It happened at Malcolmson Park just before five o'clock this evening.

Funding to an Irish Language scheme has been reinstated,

The ?50,000 cut to the Liofa scheme caused anger,

and supporters protested at the office of the Communities

Our Education Correspondent Robbie Meredith reports.

A protest which tended to bit of a party, due to an unexpected U-turn.

The minister said he had found money for the Liofa scheme, which had been

stopped on the last day before Christmas. The crowd behind me are

salivating the return of the ton-macro funding. This is the

latest occasion of rows over the Irish language and the prominence it

has in our society, having made the headlines. Two years ago, the DUP's

Gregory Campbell appeared to mark Irish to thank the speaker in the

assembly. Last year, the DUP agriculture minister ordered that

the Irish nameplate on a fisheries inspection boat be removed and

replaced with a name in English. Although the boat's power supply

today was still defying her decision. Irish language activists

want much more than the Liofa scheme. They want laws which put

Irish on a par with English as an official language.

We have asked all the parties who have stood with us thus far to

continue to stand with us, and not to agree to any agreement or

executive, or any political agreements coming out of the current

crisis, without an Irish language act for Irish speakers being a real

issue. So what in practice with an Irish

language act mean? Would guarantee a number of things, including the

option for Irish to be used in court, in debates in the assembly,

and its use by all state bodies, including the police. There would

also be an Irish language commissioner to ensure that the

language was being facilitated. So, was today's U-turn itself part of a

deal between the DUP and Sinn Fein? The answer was unambiguous.

It absolutely isn't, and it won't be either. The decision at round at

removing Liofa was a disgraceful one. I am glad it is reversed. What

we need coming out of an election, and that is the only way this will

get sorted is an election, is an Irish language act and an Irish

language strategy. And tonight, no soft words from Paul

Givan. The Irish language has been doing

very well through Stormont, and the Ulster Scots has been playing catch

up for a long time in respect of that. But Sinn Fein wanted to use

that decision in order to try and extract during the selection process

damages, as they would see it, upon the DUP, and I was not prepared to

allow them to do that. So even the dogs in the street don't

know if today heralds any future agreement.

So can the Liofa decision help prevent a political

crisis at Stormont? It appears not.

After a day of meetings, everyone is agreed an election

Here's our political correspondent Gareth Gordon.

Where the DUP seemingly in reverse, Sinn Fein signalled it was full team

ahead. Destination: Election. Martin McGuinness laid out a

delegation this morning, and we met with both the British and Irish

Lions. We reminded them of their responsibilities as co-guarantors of

the Good Friday Agreement in relation to the delivery of

equality. We reminded them that the DUP cannot be allowed to continue to

block equality and deliver for all of our citizens. Martin made his

position very clear when he tendered his resignation in the assembly on

Monday. We now need to move to an election.

They only allowed two questions and they were off. Nothing else needed

saying. The man whose job it is to try and save the day appeared

resigned to failure. The reality remains, the

hypermobility remains that we are heading towards an election.

The Irish government met the parties, then set it to.

I said on Monday in the aftermath of the publication of the letter of the

then Deputy First Minister that I felt an election was likely. I say

now as we move towards the end of the week that that scenario is even

more likely. The DUP's critic in chief, Paul

Givan's change of heart over Irish language bursaries, was a

humiliation. They certainly acted at the demand

of Sinn Fein, such as the desperation of the DUP to avoid an

election. When it comes to politics here, you

never quite rule anything in or out of right now, an election is as

close to a certainty as you are going to get. Stormont's committees

continue to meet, maybe for the final time.

I will advise members that the next meeting of the committee is

scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 19, 2025.

The laughter, nervous, with good reason.

The BBC understands that a radical plan to tackle hospital Waiting

lists in Northern Ireland has had to be shelved due to the political

Last November the Health Minister, Michelle O'Neill, said

she would make a significant announcement in January

about a detailed strategy to tackle the soaring lists

The Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine,

Sean McGovern has said he and his colleagues feel let down.

Political wrangling over Stormont's plan to mitigate the impact

of the so-called bedroom tax appears to be coming to an end.

The Communities Minister Paul Givan said he will introduce legislation

next week which will set up the mitigation scheme.

The legislation should have been approved by the Executive

but as it is no longer functioning Mr Givan said he will take

the extraordinary step of bringing it direct to the Assembly.

And The View will have the very latest on all those stories coming

up in the next few minutes with Mark Carruthers.

Yes, Tara - whether it's bedroom tax, Irish language funding

or what looks like the inevitable election, we have the only guests

you'd want on a day like this - the DUP's Paul Givan

That's The View, here on BBC1 immediately after this bulletin.

A Toomebridge man has been jailed for a year for selling fake fire

safety glass to the construction industry which was installed

at schools, shops and hospitals in Northern Ireland and England.

58-year-old Seamus James Laverty, of Deer Park Road, pleaded guilty

to 16 counts of fraud at Antrim Crown Court last month

Police say that lives had been put in danger.

get the forecast. Hello. We are all in very very chilly night

as snow showers continued to come in. Warning is enforced through the

day tomorrow. On top of that, as temperatures to nightfall to

freezing and below, we have the added risk of ice. So through the

night as snow showers continue to come and go, problems on the roads

first thing. Showers will be hit and miss, not for everyone, so don't be

disappointed if you wake up tomorrow morning to no snow, but some of us

will, so you may need to clear the car windscreens of snow tomorrow,

because it will be a frosty start. Through the day, we hold onto Arctic

winds which continue to drive some scattered showers our way. Mainly

for high ground areas, some lower-level areas will see a dusting

of snow as well, so causing further problems on the roads.

The snow showers will most likely be confined to northern areas of

Ireland and parts of Scotland first thing. The much of Britain an island

tomorrow, not a bad day in terms of dry weather. Plenty of sunshine too,

but feeling bitterly cold when you factor in those winds. If you

scattered showers will continue to the day across parts of Northern

Ireland, here and there, but an awful lot of dry weather too and

some crisp sunshine to go out and enjoy. Into tomorrow evening, we

continue to see a flow of scattered showers. A bit of a mix of sleet and

snow as temperatures rise a little bit, so tomorrow night, 2-3 degrees.

For Saturday, temperatures continue to climb, so increasingly, showers

fall as rain. We hold onto bitterly cold winds, however. Sunday,

temperatures are back into double figures.

Our next BBC Newsline is at six twenty five in the morning

You can also keep updated with News Online.

With visitors to Northern Ireland on the rise,

The way the tours are run in Belfast at the moment, it's really a war.

That's our eighth bus that went out now full. Bring it on.

Because selling bums on seats is a serious business.