:00:00. > :00:00.News at Six, so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC One we now join the
:00:00. > :00:21.BBC's Good evening. The headlines on BBC
:00:22. > :00:25.Newsline: MLAs ask if the child sex abuse inquiries will get to the
:00:26. > :00:34.truth. Police seize a number of birds as part of an investigation
:00:35. > :00:37.into cockfighting. I have been visiting schools in the border area
:00:38. > :00:41.to find out where hundreds of pupils from the Republic are being taught
:00:42. > :00:51.in Northern Ireland. A new report lifts the lid on just where we spend
:00:52. > :00:54.our money. Also on the programme: I have got a packet of Christmas
:00:55. > :01:01.crackers but what will get the lands? The new jokes or the ones in
:01:02. > :01:04.here? -- laughs. Oisin McConville is one of the most successful club
:01:05. > :01:07.Gaelic footballers of all time. Now he's taking on a new challenge. And
:01:08. > :01:12.after days of settled, mild weather, a change is on the way. Rain arrives
:01:13. > :01:18.tonight and there's an early warning for strong winds on Saturday. MLAs
:01:19. > :01:21.have questioned how effective the inquiries into child sexual
:01:22. > :01:31.exploitation can be considering they don't have any real powers. The
:01:32. > :01:38.issue was discussed during evidence given to the Health Committee at
:01:39. > :01:41.Stormont this afternoon. Two inquiries are underway into the
:01:42. > :01:44.abuse of 22 teenagers. All were in care at the time. Some members were
:01:45. > :01:47.alarmed that no-one could be compelled to give evidence to either
:01:48. > :01:51.inquiry. Tara Mills reports. Parties, drink and drugs. Just some
:01:52. > :01:54.of the enticements used to lure young people into a world that can
:01:55. > :01:58.lead to sexual abuse and exploitation. And while teenagers in
:01:59. > :02:01.care are often involved, children living in family homes throughout
:02:02. > :02:05.the community are also victims of this type of abuse. The Assembly's
:02:06. > :02:14.Health Committee heard evidence today from those involved in two
:02:15. > :02:18.separate inquiries. They were set up in September to look at the abuse of
:02:19. > :02:22.at least 22 young people aged between 13 and 18. Many people face
:02:23. > :02:26.considerable wisdom when faced with the issue but we have a
:02:27. > :02:33.responsibility to raise awareness of the issue and help extricate
:02:34. > :02:39.themselves from difficult sigil we must take rigorous action to
:02:40. > :02:42.identify and pursue arbitrators. Committee members questioned the
:02:43. > :02:45.lack of powers in both inquiries but the head of social work here
:02:46. > :02:51.defended their remits. Would you accept you don't have those powers?
:02:52. > :02:57.The enquiry on its own does not. Is that a failing? If you wanted a
:02:58. > :03:03.separate enquiry with statutory powers, that is another route.
:03:04. > :03:09.Others insisted they would get to the truth. We have considerable
:03:10. > :03:14.powers, if we need to use them, to give us right of access to allow us
:03:15. > :03:19.to require information. We cannot, in the context of if old public
:03:20. > :03:23.enquiry, compel witnesses to give evidence. But if we felt we needed
:03:24. > :03:28.to exercise those powers, we would want to make sure we were exercising
:03:29. > :03:34.them reasonably. During the hearing, alarming evidence about the profile
:03:35. > :03:39.of the victims was also revealed. If we go back three years, it was
:03:40. > :03:45.predominantly young women that people talked about. But I know
:03:46. > :03:49.through the work I do throughout the UK that there is a significant
:03:50. > :03:52.number of young men sexually exploited that never made that
:03:53. > :03:55.radar. Today was also about asking for the public's help in tracking
:03:56. > :03:58.those behind the abuse. Parents are being asked to watch for signs their
:03:59. > :04:02.children could be in danger. Are their teenagers going missing or
:04:03. > :04:04.returning home late? Does it appear they've been drinking or taking
:04:05. > :04:13.drugs? And are they becoming more secretive or appearing to have new
:04:14. > :04:18.phones, money or clothes? 22 initial victims have been identified. But
:04:19. > :04:21.the figure is likely to be much higher. This raises serious
:04:22. > :04:28.questions for the agencies who were supposed to be looking after them.
:04:29. > :04:35.It will be at least one year before we get any answers. Birds have been
:04:36. > :04:37.seized by the police in County Fermanagh. An investigation into
:04:38. > :04:44.illegal cockfighting prompted searches in three locations. Julian
:04:45. > :04:50.Fowler was at one of those searches. Police believe these birds may be
:04:51. > :04:55.bred to take part in cockfights. A practice that has been illegal for
:04:56. > :05:00.almost 200 years. Although healthy and uninjured, the comb on their
:05:01. > :05:04.head has been removed, believed to be common practice in fighting birds
:05:05. > :05:08.to reduce the risk of injury. Police have been carrying out searches here
:05:09. > :05:12.and that two other, similar locations where roosters have been
:05:13. > :05:18.found tied up to blue plastic barrels. Earlier this year, Newsline
:05:19. > :05:22.revealed that cockfighting is regular taking place that
:05:23. > :05:29.clandestine venues on both sides of the border. Bloody contests that can
:05:30. > :05:32.end in the death of the animal. The US PCA, which carried out a two-year
:05:33. > :05:37.investigation into this practice, said it was shocked when the number
:05:38. > :05:43.of people, including children, taking part in organised cockfights.
:05:44. > :05:46.Police seized a number of birds from the three properties in for a number
:05:47. > :05:49.of birds from the three properties in from another. And items linked to
:05:50. > :05:53.alleged cockfighting were taken away for further examination. They have
:05:54. > :05:57.appealed for anyone who knows of similar locations where birds are
:05:58. > :06:01.being kept to contact them. There was severe rush-hour congestion in
:06:02. > :06:04.Belfast this evening after a collision involving a car and a
:06:05. > :06:12.female pedestrian. It happened on an off-slip of the Sydenham bypass near
:06:13. > :06:15.Middlepath Street. Traffic was diverted away from the area towards
:06:16. > :06:24.the Newtownards Road. The pedestrian has been taken to hospital. Her
:06:25. > :06:28.condition is not known. The family of a man who was crushed between two
:06:29. > :06:32.cars when thieves tried to steal his lorry say he is lucky to be alive.
:06:33. > :06:35.53-year-old Adrian McLaughlin from Drum near Dungiven was at a family
:06:36. > :06:39.wake near Burnfoot in County Donegal when it happened. He was carried on
:06:40. > :06:45.the side of a car that crashed into another. Gardai say he suffered
:06:46. > :06:49.serious injuries to his legs, pelvis and chest. A year-old survey into
:06:50. > :06:53.schooling in border areas has still not been published and a DUP MLA
:06:54. > :07:00.says he suspects that's because the results did not suit the Sinn Fein
:07:01. > :07:03.Education Minister. More than 400 children from the Republic of
:07:04. > :07:07.Ireland attend schools in Northern Ireland and they don't pay for
:07:08. > :07:13.tuition or books. Maggie Taggart reports from the border counties.
:07:14. > :07:17.Children from the Republic of Ireland are choosing Northern
:07:18. > :07:20.Ireland schools more than ever. Four times as many of them are crossing
:07:21. > :07:25.the border than Northern Ireland pupils going in the other direction.
:07:26. > :07:30.In 2009 the number of post-primary students heading north across the
:07:31. > :07:35.border stood at 193. By this year, that figure had jumped to 275. The
:07:36. > :07:39.number of southern primary school pupils attending schools here rose
:07:40. > :07:46.from 115 in 2009 to 132 in the last academic year. The latest available
:07:47. > :07:48.figures show that the number of secondary pupils from Northern
:07:49. > :07:56.Ireland heading south for lessons dropped from 75 in 2008 to 63 last
:07:57. > :07:59.year. Northern Ireland pupils take priority in school admissions here,
:08:00. > :08:03.but other than that, pupils from either side of the border get the
:08:04. > :08:07.same treatment. 11-year-old Courtney and her sister travel from Dundalk
:08:08. > :08:13.to St Joseph's High School in Crossmaglen. It's close to home but
:08:14. > :08:19.there's also a financial benefit. In the South, you pay for all of the
:08:20. > :08:26.books and it could cost between 500 euros to 700 euros per child, per
:08:27. > :08:34.year. In the North, that does not count, you do not hate. -- pay. Ryan
:08:35. > :08:37.is head boy in St Joseph's and he has been helped by better support
:08:38. > :08:45.for his dyslexia. We find this was the best school for e-learning
:08:46. > :08:49.support unit and with exams as well. This is a controlled school in
:08:50. > :08:52.Northern Ireland and it is attractive to Protestants living
:08:53. > :08:56.just across-the-board. They preferred the system of education
:08:57. > :09:02.here. Like Rachel Harrison's parents, everyone I spoke to
:09:03. > :09:06.preferred the GCSE and A-level system rather than the Junior Cert
:09:07. > :09:12.and Leaving Cert in the Republic. They only have one day to do that
:09:13. > :09:16.and any child can have it bad day. Here, they have two years.
:09:17. > :09:20.Coursework for two years and an exam at the end. For small schools like
:09:21. > :09:27.this, pupils from across the border help it survive. There will be years
:09:28. > :09:33.when we are fractionally under the quota so we can boost numbers using
:09:34. > :09:36.pupils from the state and we appreciate them when they come. The
:09:37. > :09:42.DUP's education spokesman doesn't object to the cross-border traffic
:09:43. > :09:47.but wants to know who is paying. My question to the Minister, and has
:09:48. > :09:49.been, how much is that costing the Northern Ireland taxpayer and how is
:09:50. > :09:55.that funded ID system in the Republic? -- by the system. Because
:09:56. > :09:57.of European Union laws, there is no requirement for the Republic's
:09:58. > :10:03.government to pay for pupils being taught in Northern Ireland. Still to
:10:04. > :10:14.come: Why are we spending more on fuel than the rest of the UK? The
:10:15. > :10:16.campaign to save 300 jobs at the Driver and Vehicle Agency in
:10:17. > :10:21.Coleraine went to Downing Street today. The UK Government wants to
:10:22. > :10:24.centralise services at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in
:10:25. > :10:34.Swansea but it would mean big job losses in Coleraine. David Maxwell
:10:35. > :10:40.reports from Westminster. This group is on a mission. A mission to save
:10:41. > :10:45.jobs. We have come here to bring a 40,000 signature petition to Downing
:10:46. > :10:48.Street from Coleraine. We have exhausted the local governor at
:10:49. > :10:54.levels, we have been through Stormont and have approached our own
:10:55. > :10:57.MPs and MLAs and we thought it was time we brought it to the home of
:10:58. > :11:01.government. And this is where the final decision on 300 DVA jobs will
:11:02. > :11:06.be made. The UK Government wants to centralise services in Wales. It
:11:07. > :11:12.says that would save money and allow drivers in Northern Ireland to tax
:11:13. > :11:16.vehicles online and over the phone. We have heard what the government
:11:17. > :11:24.has said on this issue, we have seen their proposals. But only a 0.5 per
:11:25. > :11:27.cent increase in tax evasion will wipe out all of those savings the
:11:28. > :11:30.government is talking about. And that will leave us with a worse
:11:31. > :11:34.service than the one we have, one which has a 98% customer
:11:35. > :11:37.satisfaction rate. Those who provide that service were also represented
:11:38. > :11:40.today. For them, this decision could be life-changing. I live in a small
:11:41. > :11:47.town and transport is not the best to get from Bushmills so to say, you
:11:48. > :11:51.must work in Belfast, I will spend half of my day travelling. And I
:11:52. > :11:54.have a young family. This campaign has been gaining momentum in recent
:11:55. > :11:57.months. It is supported by all the local parties. Today, MPs joined
:11:58. > :12:03.council, business and union representatives to hand over the
:12:04. > :12:07.petition. The Northern Ireland Assembly has unanimously backed this
:12:08. > :12:11.and I have raised it in Parliament and we have been to the Minister and
:12:12. > :12:16.there is only one Other Place to go to, Downing Street. We have done
:12:17. > :12:22.everything possible to take this campaign to the ultimate conclusion
:12:23. > :12:25.and we await a response. The uncertainty is unlikely to continue
:12:26. > :12:30.over Christmas, with no final decision expected until the New
:12:31. > :12:33.Year. But the campaign to save them has been a vocal one. Those behind
:12:34. > :12:35.it at the decision-makers are listening.
:12:36. > :12:50.new figures show the average household spends much more on petrol
:12:51. > :12:58.by Britain. It also shows we have the lowest
:12:59. > :13:00.housing costs. What is the survey? This is research from the Office for
:13:01. > :13:07.National Statistics and it looks across the UK at household budgets.
:13:08. > :13:11.Attract 500 households in Northern Ireland between 2010 and 2012.
:13:12. > :13:17.Detailed stuff, spending on cigarette, fresh fruit, holidays and
:13:18. > :13:23.heating costs. The average household here has average weekly outgoings of
:13:24. > :13:29.?489. But there are significant variations with the rest of the UK.
:13:30. > :13:35.The big bugbear is you will? -- petrol? The average household here
:13:36. > :13:41.spends about ?34 a week on petrol. The rest of the UK, it is ?24 a
:13:42. > :13:46.week. Why is that? Are we being ripped off? Researchers say, not
:13:47. > :13:51.necessarily. It could be matter of geography. We have lots of rural
:13:52. > :13:54.areas and people are more dependent on cars rather than public transport
:13:55. > :14:00.and they have to buy more petrol to live. What other things do the
:14:01. > :14:09.figures show? It shows we spent a large part of our budgets on food,
:14:10. > :14:13.?54 a week, ?31 a week on clothes, and we spent more on cigarettes,
:14:14. > :14:21.fizzy drink and potatoes than any other part of the UK. We come in
:14:22. > :14:37.second on restaurant spending. We like our grub! What do you call a
:14:38. > :14:44.man with a spade on his head? We will find out if the old cracker
:14:45. > :14:47.jokes are still the best. First to a new Gaelic football
:14:48. > :14:50.manager. He's the most successful club player of all time. Now Oisin
:14:51. > :14:55.McConville is taking charge of Ulster's most successful club.
:14:56. > :15:00.Here's Gavin... Last year he was coaching the
:15:01. > :15:03.under-sixes at Crossmaglen. Now he's taking the big step to take charge
:15:04. > :15:07.of the senior side. John McEntee, who played with McConville for club
:15:08. > :15:14.and county, is his joint manager. Thomas Kane caught up with Oisin
:15:15. > :15:20.this afternoon in South Armagh. You only have to look at the photos
:15:21. > :15:24.to have an idea of the achievements of the Armagh side through the
:15:25. > :15:34.years. Central to that success has been the accommodation of McEntree
:15:35. > :15:41.and McConnell. I think it was something I was always interested
:15:42. > :15:47.in. It is a natural progression. Joe did a good team do my job with the
:15:48. > :15:52.team last year and we are going to try and facilitate them were ever we
:15:53. > :15:59.go. And it is something Crossmaglen are famous for? It is important that
:16:00. > :16:07.we keep it going, but past players take up the reins. -- that past
:16:08. > :16:12.players. We have had a lot of success in the club and people are
:16:13. > :16:16.willing to do it. How do you manage the expectation? Crossmaglen are
:16:17. > :16:20.synonymous with success. It is not about managing expectation, it is
:16:21. > :16:25.about getting to where we want to be. 20 years ago, there was no
:16:26. > :16:33.expectation and that did not work that well. Those expectations, we
:16:34. > :16:36.are expected to be challenging for the all Ireland and that is where we
:16:37. > :16:45.intend to be. Whether it works out is another thing. Thank you.
:16:46. > :16:50.been a busy schedule. They will take a holiday after the New Year and
:16:51. > :16:52.after that, the new area of management will begin.
:16:53. > :16:56.Ireland's cricketers have fought back on day two of the ICC
:16:57. > :16:59.Intercontinental Cup Final in Dubai. This morning they bowled out
:17:00. > :17:02.Afghanistan for 182, for a first innings lead of five runs. And
:17:03. > :17:05.although they lost two early wickets in their second innings, Ireland
:17:06. > :17:11.rallied to 159 for two at the close of play today. Ed Joyce is 74 not
:17:12. > :17:13.out, with Niall O'Brien on 40. Ireland have already won the ICC
:17:14. > :17:17.World Cricket League Championship and World Twenty20 titles this year
:17:18. > :17:24.and if they can win this final, it will complete a unique treble.
:17:25. > :17:27.Wallace High School have won hockey's McCullough Cup final in a
:17:28. > :17:33.thriller against Friends this afternoon at Lisnagarvey. Andrew
:17:34. > :17:42.O'Hare got the winner in extra time to make it 3-2. It's the first time
:17:43. > :17:46.the Lisburn school has lifted the trophy in 24 years.
:17:47. > :17:49.Olympic handball is a big sport globally, but has traditionally had
:17:50. > :17:52.a much lower profile here. But that's changing. At the weekend,
:17:53. > :17:56.Belfast Handball Club, established only a year ago, won in the
:17:57. > :18:01.All-Ireland League for the first time, beating University College
:18:02. > :18:12.Cork. And the club is leading the sport's growth locally. Nikki Gregg
:18:13. > :18:19.reports. It is a huge drop across the globe with 15 million
:18:20. > :18:22.participants. Small but steady steps are being taken to establish Olympic
:18:23. > :18:26.handball in Northern Ireland. The game is in its infancy here. Teams
:18:27. > :18:32.feature men and women. That has taken a little bit of getting used
:18:33. > :18:37.to for one old hand. I started in Slovakia 15 years ago and I was
:18:38. > :18:45.nine. It is not easy to play with men. They are stronger than the
:18:46. > :18:49.women. But it is quite fun. A key part of the sport's success is
:18:50. > :18:53.making it available to children at a young age. We want the kids who do
:18:54. > :18:59.not like the traditional sports and have never been interested in
:19:00. > :19:02.sports, and we want healthy young people to play sport for a lifelong
:19:03. > :19:09.experience. It is getting those kids into Olympic handball. It is a very
:19:10. > :19:17.physical sport. There are seven people on the team, six outfield and
:19:18. > :19:20.a goalie. It is constantly not leading the opposition not get
:19:21. > :19:25.anywhere near the goal. There are senior teams across Ulster which can
:19:26. > :19:28.be in the all Ireland league. It is hoped that they will be a
:19:29. > :19:31.springboard for the sport. One of Londonderry's most famous
:19:32. > :19:35.boxing families say they're thrilled that a trophy they thought was lost
:19:36. > :19:38.forever has now turned up six decades later. The Lonsdale trophy,
:19:39. > :19:45.which was won by the original Spider Kelly in 1938, is now on public
:19:46. > :19:48.display. Here's our North-West reporter, Keiron Tourish. # Billy
:19:49. > :19:56.Kelly and his father Jimmy, who were both known as Spider, captured in an
:19:57. > :20:00.old BBC news report. Billy Kelly started in boxing at the age of 14.
:20:01. > :20:03.They made history by becoming the first father-son combination to win
:20:04. > :20:15.the British and Empire featherweight titles in 1938 and 1954. Tomorrow
:20:16. > :20:18.night, Kelley fight Sammy McCarthy. -- Kelly fights. But while this
:20:19. > :20:22.report focused on the exploits of Billy Kelly, it was his father, who
:20:23. > :20:25.joined him on training runs on his bicycle over Craigavon Bridge, whose
:20:26. > :20:29.long-lost trophy has now turned up 60 years later. The Lonsdale Cup is
:20:30. > :20:32.now proudly displayed in a special exhibition in the Guildhall after
:20:33. > :20:40.being spotted by a big boxing fan, who just happens to be a local
:20:41. > :20:44.councillor. I noticed it on the auctioneer's website at the time and
:20:45. > :20:49.I thought it might be a good idea to bring it forward to Derry City
:20:50. > :20:52.Council's development committee for consideration and obviously, to put
:20:53. > :20:55.in a bid to try and bring it back home to its rightful place. The son
:20:56. > :20:59.of Billy "Spider" Kelly - who's a mere toddler in this old news report
:21:00. > :21:07.- says he's delighted the Lonsdale trophy is back where it belongs. I
:21:08. > :21:12.am very proud of it. It gives me great bragging rights when I go out
:21:13. > :21:16.for a pint. I know the history of the family. I do not know as much
:21:17. > :21:25.about boxing as some of the family, as I wasn't a boxer myself, but
:21:26. > :21:29.occasionally I get recognised. The exhibition runs until 20th December
:21:30. > :21:33.and in the New Year, there are plans to reveal a special memorial in the
:21:34. > :21:35.Bogside. Finally, the British Olympic
:21:36. > :21:38.Association confirmed today that Coleraine's Jenna McCorkell, the
:21:39. > :21:40.eleven-time British champion figure-skater, will represent GB and
:21:41. > :21:50.Northern Ireland at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.
:21:51. > :21:57.Christmas cracker jokes. Hilariously funny or eye-rollingly awful? We all
:21:58. > :22:01.know the old favourites, but for many, they've lost their charm. So,
:22:02. > :22:04.a group of comedians has come up with a new set of festive jokes,
:22:05. > :22:07.aimed at a more contemporary audience. Andy West took the fresh
:22:08. > :22:11.gags to Belfast Christmas market, along with a pack of traditional
:22:12. > :22:20.crackers with the old jokes inside, to see which are funnier.
:22:21. > :22:23.I have got a pack of family Christmas crackers and the question
:22:24. > :22:28.is, what will get more laughs? The new jokes, or the ones in here? I
:22:29. > :22:33.have a Christmas cracker here, a traditional one with a traditional
:22:34. > :22:45.joke. Who wants to pull it? One, two, 3... It did not snap! We need
:22:46. > :23:01.the joke. What do you call a man with a speed on his head? I don't
:23:02. > :23:19.know. Doug. ! DougIt is obviously funny. What does Miley Cyrus eight
:23:20. > :23:28.for Christmas? Twerky, she guessed it! What is funny? The old jokes.
:23:29. > :23:34.What does an angry kangaroo do? Gets hopping mad. I thought that was
:23:35. > :23:46.funny. How did Mary and Joseph know that Jesus weighed seven lbs. Six
:23:47. > :23:54.oz. When he was born? They had a weigh in a manger. This is a
:23:55. > :24:12.traditional joke. See how funny this is. What do you call a crate of
:24:13. > :24:32.docs? Our box of! Quackerswhy did no one bid for Rudolph and Blitzen on
:24:33. > :24:36.eBay? Because they were two deer. Why are Advent Callender is so hard
:24:37. > :24:39.to buy? Because there are days are numbered. Maybe the days for old
:24:40. > :24:59.jokes are numbered, too. After a very settled few days when
:25:00. > :25:05.we had good weather, there is a change on the way. It is going to be
:25:06. > :25:08.wet and there is rain heading in our direction. A cold front is moving
:25:09. > :25:17.through and it will bring rain to all parts. It will be a wet night.
:25:18. > :25:21.It will be reasonably warm. Lows of nine degrees, so only a couple of
:25:22. > :25:25.degrees below the daytime temperature. What is driving that is
:25:26. > :25:32.this frontal system, the first of a number of weather fronts heading in
:25:33. > :25:35.our direction. We have to watch out for the low pressure developing in
:25:36. > :25:38.the Atlantic. It will be with us on Saturday and it will bring some
:25:39. > :25:41.really strong winds with it. For that reason the Met Office has
:25:42. > :25:47.issued a yellow warning of strong winds. More on that in a moment.
:25:48. > :25:50.First of all, we have to get through Thursday and Friday. Thursday starts
:25:51. > :25:54.wet and some showers around breakfast time could be quite sharp.
:25:55. > :26:00.That is before things gradually dry up and brighten up as we go through
:26:01. > :26:04.the day. It is quite mild. Top temperatures of 13 or 14, not bad
:26:05. > :26:09.for the middle of December. We have got the wind from the south,
:26:10. > :26:12.bringing warm air. It is moist air and it means there is the chance of
:26:13. > :26:20.showers throughout the day on Thursday. NIO night on Thursday
:26:21. > :26:23.night going into Friday. Friday, a similar day with cloud and drizzle.
:26:24. > :26:32.Temperatures staying on the reasonable side. Quite a mild day on
:26:33. > :26:37.Friday. It is Saturday where things start to change. That is why we have
:26:38. > :26:42.this early yellow warning for strong winds. That is in place from nine
:26:43. > :26:45.o'clock on Saturday morning. The time could change a little bit, so
:26:46. > :26:50.keep an eye on the forecast over the next few days. Make the most of the
:26:51. > :26:53.next couple of calm days before things get a bit more wild at the
:26:54. > :27:01.weekend. Our late summary is at 10.25. You
:27:02. > :27:04.can keep in contact via Facebook and Twitter. Good night.