12/09/2012 BBC Newsline

Good evening. The headlines on BBC Newsline.

The police hunt for a gang up who viciously beat a Chinese man

outside his own home. Cowardly and disgusting. If you have a problem

with society go to change it. The Justice Minister intervenes in

the case of a shooting victim who was reduced state compensation.

The deal we pays out damages for distress caused to people living

near a gold mine. Inside the special school and

damaged by fire. I am live in Omagh and --.

They are not Brazil, they are Luxembourg. But have they dashed

Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifications.

A windy spell of weather coming. Nothing exceptional, but the winds

will bring some high temperatures. I will have all the details later.

The wife of a man viciously attacked in Coleraine has said

those responsible are cowards. A gang beat her husband outside their

home in Long Commons. The family are originally from China and

police are treating the attack as racially motivated. Shaken and so

were. This is how a gang of four men and a woman left John macro

yesterday evening. Around 7:30pm he was feeding his daughter when he

heard a window being smashed. The fortified old when to confront

those responsible and was dragged into the street and assaulted. His

wife said she could not believe that. He was asking someone. Why

did you do this? Been next thing I heard was he met screening. I was

scared. He was holding his eyes and blood was running down his head. I

was so scared. Neighbours tried to camera as medical help was sought.

The family have lived here for two years. It is close to the town

centre where he runs a Chinese medicine shop. His wife says those

responsible should own up. You have parents and other siblings. How

could you imagine someone else doing this to you? How could you do

this? It is unacceptable. It is cowardly and disgusting.

husband suffered concussion and a cut close to his ally but he is

expected to be discharged from hospital this evening. I have

spoken to several of the neighbours here in this area which is right in

the centre of Coleraine. They say they are shocked that this could

happen on their doorsteps to a family be described as kind and

quiet. Those who represent this area say such attacks are an

acceptable and thankfully rare. Appalled, disgusted that any

individuals should attack a young man, a young family man in front of

his family, broad daylight... It does not bear thinking about.

family are still coming to terms with what has happened, but in the

days ahead they will be deciding whether or not they can continue to

call this place home. An update on a story we brought you

yesterday. The Justice Minister has intervened in the case of the

Londonderry man who has been refused compensation despite

suffering a horrendous injury in a Republican attack. Paul Ward was

repeatedly shot in what he says was a case of mistaken identity. You

might find some of the pictures in this report upsetting. Paul Ward

says the compensation Agency told him in a letter that he did not

qualify for financial help but because he had not co-operated with

the police investigation into the attack. In April 2009 he was shot

by the Republican vigilante group RAAD. He says it was mistaken

identity. His case featured in a BBC Spotlight programme on the

activities of RAAD. He says his injuries were horrendous after he

was shot twice in the stomach and once in the by and 1 each leg. The

bullet lodged near his spine and fragments are still in his shin. He

is blind in one eye due to the trauma. He says he has had a

meeting with police who assured him that he co-operated fully with them.

He says it has been a very traumatic period in his life.

Stress, anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, I am not able to sleep

that night and then the fact that the compensation Agency has added

to that by saying that I will not get anything because I had not co-

operated. There seems to be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel

now. The police are backing me up. It is understood that police have

actively supported his claim for compensation. The Justice Minister

David Ford, who has responsibility for the compensation Agency, has

asked for more details on the case. Paul Ward says he is glad he has

spoken out to underline the fact that he is an innocent man. He now

hopes there will be a review of his case and that he will be granted

compensation so that he and his partner can get on with their lives.

Still to come on the programme. The verdict from our reporter Conor

Macauley as he test drives and e- car on his daily commute.

Three Omagh residents living near a gold mine have been awarded �10,000

each by the Department of the Environment because planners failed

to enforce regulations at the mine. The owners have now asked the

residents to donate their compensation to a local school a

destroyed by fire. This gold mine in 2008 and hundreds of thousands

of tonnes of rock was been removed. At the time, the BBC reported on

the frustration and annoyance of local residents. My driveway is now

a lay-by for the local public and for lorries. I do not care about

the roads, they are not my main concern, it is the death of one of

my children. At one stage, 145 truck loads of rock was been

removed on a daily basis. There were complaints about the

Department's handling of issues at the mine including the removal of

the rocks. The ombudsman found in their favour and recommended they

should receive a �10,000 from the department. The money has now been

paid over. The total payment is not really what we set out to get in

the first place. We wanted basically to get control of the

planning service and get control of the damage that has been done by

the gold mine to our environment. It is one of the largest awards of

its kind and could potentially open the door to other claims. This is a

landmark case for the Department of the Environment and pain out such a

large sum of money after failing to take prompt enforcement action. It

will be of interest to others who may also feel of that planners have

not taken their complaints seriously. As well as the �10,000

each, but three residents also received an apology from the

Department for the considerable anxiety, inconvenience, distress,

and frustration caused. The this was a failure of planning and

enforcement. Given the severity and scale of what those citizens

experience, it is quite right to say to government you will pay the

costs of failure to account and failure to act properly. In spite

of the award, the gold mine says it rejects any allegation it breached

its planning permission. This afternoon it offered to donate

�30,000 to the rebuilding of the are the least special skill of the

residents agreed to donate the �30,000 they have been awarded in

compensation. The deputy manager of the gold mine

has said that as the competition money is to come from the taxpayer

it is only fair that it be donated to a local resource. This money is

public money and it came from the tax payers. The local individuals

have always maintained that they did not do this for financial

recognition that the only interest they had in this was receiving an

apology from the Department of the Environment. They have achieved

that objective. I think it is fair and equitable that the money they

have received is put back into the community for the benefit of the

school and resource centre. It is a despicable stunt to suggest that I

donate �10,000 which is offered. If they want to give money to the

school it is their business, but what I want to do with my money is

my business. A last night we heard from parents

at the special school about how their children's lives have been

turned upside down after fire destroyed the building. This

evening, Tara Mills is live at a school at to see the extent of the

damage. We have been given access to the school today to get a sense

of the extent of the damage and as you can see, it is extensive. There

is hardly a single thing left to show that this was once a classroom.

That hold wing of the building has been completely wiped out. Pupils

from three to 19 attended the school and all those years of hard

work has been wiped out in just a few hours. This is the main

entrance and if you follow me through here, you can see what is

left of the Assembly hall. The water is still dripping through the

ceiling and there are warnings the roof could collapse at any time. It

is the same picture here. The intensity of the flames ripped

through the ceiling, destroying what was the kitchen, the place

were the children came for the cookery classes. Let us hear from

the principal and one of the parents here. You or the principal,

what is it like for you walking around at the shell of this

building? It is devastating. This was meant to educate children and

those children are deprived of it. I look in the classrooms and they

should be full of the children. It is devastating for me and for my

staff and especially devastating for the children. I feel for the

parents and for them but we will get them back to school. Some are

back at other sites but not all of them. We have 31 children back and

it is great to see them. Staff are delighted to see them. They're

happy smiling faces, because the children are wonderful. The rest of

the children we are working tirelessly to get them back to

school as soon as possible and the builders are in as we speak to make

the classrooms ready for them. you been surprised and impressed by

the speed at which things have got up and running? I am really happy

at the speed at. As I commented to the parents on Saturday morning, I

was thinking about Monday morning, how to get children back to school,

but we have done well. It still should not have happened, there

still is a timeline at which children should have been in school

and it should have been learning. We will get their and I am

impressed we got there at this stage. Your daughter is 17 and

attends the school. Describe what affect it has had on her. She finds

it difficult to comprehend why she cannot just come here and turn up

at school as normal. Now that we are getting into a scenario of

having another site, she is now getting ready to go. Whitaker there

on Sunday to see the building and thankfully she is settling into

that. I know quite a lot of other parents have similar problems and

the children do not understand why they cannot be at school, but

thankfully the process is beginning and they will be back at school is

sooner. Obviously a special school has a great sense of community.

Have you all rallied around and helped one another? Very much so.

My daughter has been here for 12 years and we know the other parents

and staff and when this event happened, people were very

supportive and caring and helped everyone. It is that sense of

community spirit that helps you in these times. Just briefly, what

does the future hold for the school? By 20th January 13, we will

be back on site here and we have commitment from the Minister at the

Department of Education at a new- build programme will be commenced.

Things are positive. The main thing is to get children back to school,

happy faces there, children learning and we get them back.

Thank you. From Omagh, it is back The jobless rate is up to 8.2 %,

higher than the UK average. Solicitor John Irwin has been

charged in connection with a sham marriage involving Chinese foreign

nationals at Belfast City Hall. The 46-year-old from Lisburn I can

court along with at trainee lawyer. -- les bons High Court. Two other

men were charged with assisting in the ceremony by posing as the groom

and a witness. Ahead of British Airways, Willie

Walsh, has described Theresa Villiers as being anti- aviation.

He said air passenger duty was having a damaging impact on the

economy. In a few minutes we are out on

patrol with the fisheries inspectors.

We have been hearing from our reporter who has taken an electric

car for a week long trial. He has had a vehicle for a couple days.

Here is what he makes it so far. I am not sure who was more nervous -

me or the man from the dealership lending us a �30,000 electric car.

After a quick check, we were off. Silently running along the city

streets. Absolutely no engine noise. Should we took the long to let this

run-up know we're coming? No, are you sure? I wanted to find out that

this could be a practical alternative to petrol or diesel.

The price and the range are what put people off. The cars are appear

to buy. This one has a list price of �30,000. -- expensive to buy.

The running costs are where the savings are. There claimed to be

75% cheaper to operate. I got the equivalent of 90 miles for �2. They

are also exempt from road tax. No significant saving one assumes, and

then what is called Rage anxiety - the fear that you will run out

before you reach your destination. -- range. You can stop that charge.

Like this. -- you can stop at charge. Like this. It is

straightforward to use. You press your card, I'll wait to be prompted,

then take it to be the vehicle. -- to the vehicle. For now, this is

three. But eventually you will have to pay. But this hasn't stopped

some people. Ken bought one of the first electronic cars in Northern

Ireland some months ago and his solar panels provide a power supply.

On a sunny day I just plug it into the car and it is charging for

nothing. The first time I drove the car I

treated it like my own diesel. Motorway driving at a steady 70 mph.

But that eats the battery - begging the question, are these cars really

made for long-haul driving? We are putting that to the test by driving

one of the cars around Northern Ireland. We will show you the

results on Friday. Are Our World Cup qualification

hopes for four before they had even started? Tell us it is not so.

Some Northern Ireland supporters would answer, yes. This group was

tough enough already with Portugal and Russia. So our home game

against Luxembourg was seen as a match to win. But this was a draw

it felt like a defeat. The visiting team were largely made up of part-

time footballers. Stunned silence around the stadium.

It said it all. After more than the year without a victory the wait for

Northern Ireland supporters continues. The players left

dejected having failed to beat a Luxembourg squat but only included

a handful of professional players. There the boys at disappointed. I

feel sorry for the supporters who paid money to watch the game. It is

very hard, I do not know what else to say.

It is one point from six. One point from two games. That is the

situation we are in. We always knew the group would be difficult, park

actually be opening three fixtures. Disappointing not to get the points

tonight. -- particularly the opening three fixtures.

Earlier in the night things looked so much better for the team. But

frustration grew, and countless times players were called off side.

There was an inability to convert goalscoring chances which came back

to haunt the side. The World Cup seems further away than ever.

Confirmation today that England will play the Republic of Ireland

into friendly internationals. One at Wembley, the other in Dublin.

The Wembley game will be the first meeting between the teams since

1995 when they came in the republic was abandoned because of crowd

trouble. As it happens, the Republic of Ireland were in action

last night and enjoy it a four - one victory over Oman. Jill van a

trapper Tony had been heavily criticised for the manner of his

performance in Kazakhstan last week. But you could argue that the

second-string side put on a display that put more senior team mates to

shame. The quality of the opposition must be taken into

account. The opposition goalkeeper was the busiest of the whole team.

But there was an eye-catching performance from the young

Manchester United player, Robert Brady. He has yet to play the first

team at Old Trafford but it is international prospects no harm

whatsoever. The other calls were supplied by Kevin Doyle, just

before half-time, and another new recruit, Alexander Pearce, in the

closing moments. The team were not always that convincing at the back

but the result should restore confidence ahead of the next World

Cup qualifier against Germany in Dublin next month. Derry man the

James Maclean also played last night - back in favour with the

manager. Elsewhere Wales were defeated 6 - 1

by Serbia. And Scotland drew it. So whilst that looks under result was

a big disappointment, mathematics well what can still happen. But

certainly it is a disappointing start. -- mathematically.

How can we be sure that there should men do not exceed limits?

Will the Department of Agriculture are actually police the IDC and can

board boats at will to inspect a catch. -- the Irish Sea. This is

like a police car on the water. On- board, crew from the Department of

Agriculture. They are heading towards a trawler.

I have him on the radar. We will be alongside in about 40 minutes.

It will just be a routine inspection. We do about 10 every

day. We go aboard a boat, take a look, see what it is fishing for.

David stays behind it is always in radio contact with his colleagues.

He it depends on the species. might just have herring or mackerel

are bought. Or a mixture of court, had it, that can take longer. --

cod, haddock. Her it all depends what we find.

Fish of men do get very frustrated with the restrictions on their

activity. We can such any vessel any premises.

-- search. We can ask the skipper of were ever going it done to

facilitate an investigation. -- whatever we need done.

Tropical air, or what was at least tropical a art is probably the

correct thing to say here. Nothing to worry about, nor warnings. And

that is not unusual at this time of year to get the remnants of former

hurricanes or four tropical storms influencing our weather. In the

meantime, fairly quiet and could be chilly and a few spots tonight. The

cloud will increase in the morning. You can see what is coming from,

the Atlantic. The rain they include will go to the north of Scotland

and stay well away from us. -- the rain fading cloud. Some early and

missing parts of the north-west. Other ways largely dry. Lunchtime

tomorrow, largely dry and cloudy and the north-west. Temperatures up

to 17 degrees. The average at this time of year is 16. We are looking

at 19 in Belfast. A warm and windy afternoon. Then we see the rain

come down from the north-west. Probably not a great deal of rain.

Most of it will have cleared by their end of the night. Large lake

dry on Friday. Temperatures dropping back to 16 or 17. As we

moved towards the weekend, pleasant sunshine to begin. Temperatures

around 17 Celsius. A little bit of rain on Saturday night, Sunday is