:00:00. > :00:18.Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline.
:00:19. > :00:21.Richard Haass gives the Stormont parties his latest blueprint on
:00:22. > :00:29.flags parades and the past - but Unionists say some of his ideas are
:00:30. > :00:35.silly. A man appears in court charged with
:00:36. > :00:38.a double murder in East Belfast. A tribunal is told an Ulster Bank
:00:39. > :00:46.official may have stolen half a million pounds from its vaults.
:00:47. > :00:51.The Casement stadium redevelopment gets go ahead, but some residents
:00:52. > :00:54.aren't happy. The self-styled bishop Pat Buckley
:00:55. > :01:00.gets a suspended sentence for conducting sham marriages.
:01:01. > :01:03.We'll reveal our BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the
:01:04. > :01:07.Year. After a bitterly cold day today, a
:01:08. > :01:17.warning of ice tonight, as the temperatures drop again. Another
:01:18. > :01:19.windy night of wintry showers ahead. Unionists have registered serious
:01:20. > :01:24.concerns about the latest draft document from the Haass Talks on
:01:25. > :01:27.flags, parades and the past. The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson said the
:01:28. > :01:31.document contained some "silly things". The Ulster Unionist leader
:01:32. > :01:39.Mike Nesbitt demanded to know who was inserting some of the proposals
:01:40. > :01:43.in the document. Mark, the DDP were not happy with
:01:44. > :01:50.the first draft. Any happier with this? Not at all. Peter Robinson,
:01:51. > :01:55.talking about the first raft, said that if that was the final draft
:01:56. > :01:58.coming he would have steam coming out of his ears. Jeffrey Donaldson
:01:59. > :02:04.did not use that kind of language, he said there had been some kind of
:02:05. > :02:12.progress. He used stronger language. The Alliance came back --
:02:13. > :02:17.the Alliance came back with Naomi Long challenging them to be
:02:18. > :02:23.positive. There are still a few silly things in there which need to
:02:24. > :02:28.be taken out. There are still areas on which progress is required. We
:02:29. > :02:31.are prepared to work for as long as it takes to resolve these is used
:02:32. > :02:37.because we recognise how important they are. The do you people
:02:38. > :02:49.themselves has said silly and unhelpful things. -- the dear P.
:02:50. > :02:53.They should engage with the process. Our understanding of the General
:02:54. > :02:56.unionist concerns are that they believe in relation to the flag
:02:57. > :03:01.chapter that there are no acceptable proposal there. They say the Union
:03:02. > :03:05.flag status has not been resolved. There's a recommendation issued fly
:03:06. > :03:09.on designated days on government buildings, but that is unresolved as
:03:10. > :03:16.far as council buildings go. But there should be details proposals in
:03:17. > :03:24.terms of permits in terms of flying flags on lamp posts, people would
:03:25. > :03:27.have to apply for a permit. That has raised concerns from both unionist
:03:28. > :03:35.parties. This is what Mike Nesbitt had to say. A lot of people have
:03:36. > :03:39.taken credit for having items removed from the document's first
:03:40. > :03:44.raft so it is surprising to see some of the things in this draft of the
:03:45. > :03:55.document. We need to so that we need to see who put them in. And the
:03:56. > :03:58.reaction of the nationalist parties? We understand that there are
:03:59. > :04:05.references to a Bill of Rights which the STL P and Sinn Fein have been
:04:06. > :04:11.calling for and a call for parity of esteem and public buildings. This is
:04:12. > :04:15.the response. This is the best thinking of Richard Haass and Meghan
:04:16. > :04:22.O'Sullivan. They continue to hear the voices of the parties but I
:04:23. > :04:31.think in their mind, this is now their best possible advice to the
:04:32. > :04:39.parties. We will now have two decide quickly where we go next and if we
:04:40. > :04:42.can go anywhere next. We are prepared to work up to Christmas Eve
:04:43. > :04:53.if need be. Certainly, if people are willing, a deal can be done. All the
:04:54. > :04:57.parties are seeing Dr Haass tomorrow and there will be a round table
:04:58. > :05:01.session. But as things stand, it is hard to see this processor wrapping
:05:02. > :05:12.up tomorrow. It is likely to move much further into the weekend.
:05:13. > :05:15.A man has appeared in court charged with murdering two people in a flat
:05:16. > :05:18.in east Belfast last week. The bodies of the accused's former
:05:19. > :05:21.girlfriend Caron Smyth and her friend Finbarr McGrillen were found
:05:22. > :05:28.by the police when they responded to a call from member of the public as
:05:29. > :05:32.Helen Jones reports. The police were called to
:05:33. > :05:36.investigate a suspected burglary after a member of the public
:05:37. > :05:41.reported damage to the front of this property. When the police arrived
:05:42. > :05:47.and went into the living room, they found two bodies. They were the
:05:48. > :05:51.accused's ex-girlfriend, 40-year-old Caron Smyth and her 42-year-old
:05:52. > :05:56.friend, Finbarr McGrillen. It is understood that he was originally
:05:57. > :06:04.from another town. Detectives say they were treating the motives as
:06:05. > :06:11.domestic. Accused of murdering them is Sean Patrick Joseph hedge Jack --
:06:12. > :06:14.Sean Patrick Joseph Hegarty. He was arrested last Saturday and police
:06:15. > :06:23.were granted extra time to question him. In what turned out to be a
:06:24. > :06:29.brief appearance, the accused was led to the dock flanked by security.
:06:30. > :06:34.He ignored the charges and did not apply for bail. He was remanded in
:06:35. > :06:37.custody to appear next month. It's been revealed that an Ulster
:06:38. > :06:41.Bank employee who was known for his gambling and extravagant lifestyle
:06:42. > :06:45.may have stolen up to half a million pounds out of the bank's vault. The
:06:46. > :06:48.details have emerged at an employment tribunal in a successful
:06:49. > :06:53.case brought by a whistle-blower in the bank who had tried to warn the
:06:54. > :07:00.bank but was instead victimised. Our economics and business editor John
:07:01. > :07:04.Campbell is here. What emerged at this employment
:07:05. > :07:09.tribunal? When I first read the judgement last night, I could barely
:07:10. > :07:13.believe my eyes. A bank Fortis supposed to be the most secure
:07:14. > :07:19.place. It clearly wasn't in this case. There is a sense that Ulster
:07:20. > :07:24.bank did its own investigation and found that one of its employees was
:07:25. > :07:28.taking money from a fault, probably over a period of years. The bank was
:07:29. > :07:32.warned and the first of all ignored the warnings and then came after the
:07:33. > :07:45.person who was doing the warning. So what happened. -- what happened to
:07:46. > :07:49.the whistle-blower? It happened -- started in 2007. The whistle-blower
:07:50. > :07:54.became concerned about one of the people who was going to get -- going
:07:55. > :07:58.to Las Vegas to gamble. He went to his bosses and said there was
:07:59. > :08:03.something wrong. There was a competent of the investigation the
:08:04. > :08:07.second time and the bank was found to be ?1 million -- half ?1 million
:08:08. > :08:11.short. You would have thought they would have gone to the
:08:12. > :08:15.whistle-blower and said thank you. They did not do that. They came
:08:16. > :08:20.after the whistle-blower and suspended him from work. He was off
:08:21. > :08:25.for six months and has mental health suffered. The employment tribunal
:08:26. > :08:34.said that this was completely unreasonable and there was a attempt
:08:35. > :08:38.to set a goatee on narrow point. What happened to the money and the
:08:39. > :08:43.person who took it? I have been trying to get to the bottom of this.
:08:44. > :08:46.I have asked the bank three times. They say that the man was charged.
:08:47. > :08:52.It is not clear to me whether that means that was a criminal charge or
:08:53. > :08:57.an internal disciplinary charge. I have asked whether it was an
:08:58. > :09:01.internal charge and whether -- and what happened to the half ?1
:09:02. > :09:07.million. So far I have no answers. All the bank says that they have
:09:08. > :09:10.tightened up their processes in the cash handling centre and they will
:09:11. > :09:14.tighten up how they work with whistle-blowers.
:09:15. > :09:17.Two Assembly ministers were harangued by protestors today as
:09:18. > :09:21.they turned up to announce planning approval for a major sports stadium.
:09:22. > :09:24.Some people living close to Casement Park in west Belfast oppose the
:09:25. > :09:29.scale of a redevelopment of the GAA ground. They claim it will
:09:30. > :09:38.overshadow their homes. Conor Macauley reports.
:09:39. > :09:43.Two government ministers and senior figures in Ulster GAA had come to
:09:44. > :09:47.Casement Park for the news that the redevelopment plan had been given
:09:48. > :09:53.the go-ahead. As they pose for pictures, a group of residents, who
:09:54. > :09:58.opposed the 38,000 seater stadium, arrived and vented their anger at
:09:59. > :10:05.the dignitaries. We have not been told what is happening! We herded
:10:06. > :10:15.the radio. Every single one of you would not stand for this if this was
:10:16. > :10:24.your home. You don't live here. This is our home! After several minutes
:10:25. > :10:37.and in spite of attempts at mediation, the event was moved
:10:38. > :10:44.inside. Don't come round our area! We are not giving up! First of all,
:10:45. > :10:47.can I say that we don't object to Casement Park getting a certain
:10:48. > :10:53.amount of area and upgrading the stadium. What we are objecting to is
:10:54. > :10:57.the height of it. This terrace and the ground is already very close to
:10:58. > :11:02.the houses which have been built nearby. The concerns of the
:11:03. > :11:06.residents here are that when this developed into a 38,000 all-seater
:11:07. > :11:11.capacity, all the side will be built up and their homes will be
:11:12. > :11:15.completely overshadowed. I am well aware of their concerns and I have
:11:16. > :11:19.sympathy with them around the potential impact of the stadium. But
:11:20. > :11:25.I have to weigh that against the benefits, the undoubted benefits
:11:26. > :11:29.that the stadium will bring. The GAA says it has consulted widely on the
:11:30. > :11:38.stadium plan and has tried to take account of residents concerns. We
:11:39. > :11:42.would hope that the vast majority of people would accept that we are in
:11:43. > :11:50.good faith in bringing this fantastic death -- development to
:11:51. > :11:59.Belfast. If it doesn't end up down in the course, -- bogged down in the
:12:00. > :12:07.courts, the first game could be at Easter.
:12:08. > :12:12.Still to come, paying respects to the Irish who died in World War I.
:12:13. > :12:19.We have a report from Belgium. The self-styled Bishop, Pat Buckley
:12:20. > :12:23.has been given a suspended jail sentence of three and a half years
:12:24. > :12:26.for assisting in multiple sham marriages. He was charged as part of
:12:27. > :12:32.an international investigation which has seen more than 20 people
:12:33. > :12:42.convicted. The court heard he had been paid about ?300 per wedding.
:12:43. > :12:46.Our reporter was in court today. This is self-styled Bishop Pat
:12:47. > :12:52.Buckley presiding over a wedding. All is not as it seemed. He was
:12:53. > :12:57.sentenced today for his part in 14 sham marriages usually between
:12:58. > :13:02.Portuguese women and Bangladeshi men from May 2008 to September 2009. The
:13:03. > :13:06.court was packed -- was told that Pat Buckley was paid a fee of ?300
:13:07. > :13:12.plus travel expenses for each wedding. Fake bride were provided to
:13:13. > :13:20.illegal immigrants who needed citizenship for around ?18,000.
:13:21. > :13:25.Summing up, the judge said that Pat Buckley was an important cog in the
:13:26. > :13:29.wheel of conspiracy. He said, what you did was wrong. You committed a
:13:30. > :13:35.series of serious crimes for financial reward. And you are now a
:13:36. > :13:41.convicted criminal. Buckley was convicted as part of what the police
:13:42. > :13:47.said was a big investigation. It has been a complex investigation,
:13:48. > :13:53.spanning three continents. We have seen 23 people convicted and to --
:13:54. > :13:59.and ten people reported for immigration offences. This marks a
:14:00. > :14:08.momentous occasion for us. These are significant event -- offences that
:14:09. > :14:13.we have got prosecution for. One suspects still remains at large. He
:14:14. > :14:19.is thought to be in Bangladesh. Outside the court, Pat Buckley
:14:20. > :14:24.expressed remorse. I am sorry for allowing my compassion to bring me
:14:25. > :14:31.to the point of breaking the law. The laws that our society agreed
:14:32. > :14:36.upon. I did not intend to offend my fellow citizens but I accept that I
:14:37. > :14:42.have. And again, for that, I want to say that I am sorry. Mr Justice
:14:43. > :14:48.Morland said that he was handed down its ups -- a suspended sentence
:14:49. > :14:59.because of a range of medical issues. The police on both sides of
:15:00. > :15:03.the border are continuing to question three people who were
:15:04. > :15:07.contained during an operation against an alleged dissident
:15:08. > :15:13.republican. A 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were arrested at a
:15:14. > :15:18.house just outside Forkhill. Items were taken away to be examined. A
:15:19. > :15:24.43-year-old man was arrested by Gardai in Dundalk. Repairs are still
:15:25. > :15:28.being carried out to restore electricity to all of the thousands
:15:29. > :15:33.of homes and businesses that were cut off during last night's stormy
:15:34. > :15:38.weather. Crews worked through the night in atrocious conditions and
:15:39. > :15:41.most power has now been restored. A man who became impaled on offence in
:15:42. > :15:54.south Belfast is critically ill in hospital.
:15:55. > :15:54.south Belfast is critically ill in Cameron and the Taoiseach Enda Kenny
:15:55. > :16:03.carried out a symbolic visit today to World War I graves to war
:16:04. > :16:07.memorials in Belgium. Their first joint engagement is being seen as
:16:08. > :16:15.another milestone in the development of British-Irish relations. A lament
:16:16. > :16:20.played by a member of the Republic's defence forces in memory
:16:21. > :16:27.of all those from Ireland North and South who died wearing a uniform in
:16:28. > :16:31.World War I. Ladies and gentlemen, the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister
:16:32. > :16:35.will now lay wreaths in memory of all soldiers who died in the First
:16:36. > :16:42.World War. This is the first joint visit by the country's two prime
:16:43. > :16:46.ministers and is being seen as another reconciliation between the
:16:47. > :16:50.two prime ministers. The leaders were following in the footsteps of
:16:51. > :16:57.the Queen and the Irish president who jointly unveiled a memorial 15
:16:58. > :17:02.years ago. It is dedicated to all those from Ireland who fought and
:17:03. > :17:07.died in the First World War. It is thought around 200,000 Irish served
:17:08. > :17:11.but one in four did not make it home. The Taoiseach led the tributes
:17:12. > :17:20.today, but rather than make a speech he opted to recite a poem written by
:17:21. > :17:27.an Enniskillen Fusiliers. It is too late now to achieve a foreign
:17:28. > :17:39.dream, but not too late to thank the lord dashboards for what is great.
:17:40. > :17:44.They also visited the men in gate. In a few minutes a Christmas Carol
:17:45. > :17:49.and the photo keeping our online colleagues very busy today, first
:17:50. > :17:53.sports news. The police are continuing to investigate an attack
:17:54. > :17:57.on a bus containing Cliftonville fans after the League Cup semifinal
:17:58. > :18:03.against Ards on Tuesday night. A window in the vehicle was damaged.
:18:04. > :18:08.The police say they are also aware of a number of allegations of
:18:09. > :18:13.sectarian chanting at the match. Not for the first time this season there
:18:14. > :18:16.have been calls to tackle this issue in the game. The Northern Ireland
:18:17. > :18:21.football league has expressed its disappointment and frustration with
:18:22. > :18:25.the incidence around the game at the Clandeboye Park at a time when the
:18:26. > :18:29.game is undergoing a major rebranding process. The sports
:18:30. > :18:35.minister said it was time to put Bob took a long, hard look at itself. I
:18:36. > :18:39.feel soccer and all the sports, despite the efforts of the clubs,
:18:40. > :18:47.the whole issue of sectarianism in soccer needs to be challenged. We
:18:48. > :18:52.are all serious in condemning racism in sport. We need to have to look at
:18:53. > :18:58.how we can do that. The issue raised its head earlier this season during
:18:59. > :19:04.a game in October when the referee had to ask both sets of fans to stop
:19:05. > :19:11.on a PA announcement. Fever issued a stronger warning. They have
:19:12. > :19:18.threatened closure of sections of the grounds where this behaviour
:19:19. > :19:24.occurs. If it then occurs they can order four games to be played behind
:19:25. > :19:31.closed doors. If it continues, points would be deducted from clubs.
:19:32. > :19:36.Last month, the IFA launched a strategic plan which included a
:19:37. > :19:40.programme to maintain acceptable levels of behaviour at grounds by a
:19:41. > :20:43.consultation process with fans. We cannot solve all the problems of
:20:44. > :20:48.After battling back from a nasty injury, he struck gold once more at
:20:49. > :20:59.the track cycling World Cup. Quite a 12 months, as he has been telling
:21:00. > :21:07.us. A roller-coaster. Some of it was self-inflicted. I wouldn't take it
:21:08. > :21:11.all back. But I got the medal, I got the silver and the gold, you
:21:12. > :21:21.couldn't dream about that. It's definitely changed my year. It
:21:22. > :21:25.started off a good season. How confident are you about delivering
:21:26. > :21:28.more cycling success for Northern Ireland, especially at the
:21:29. > :21:37.Commonwealth Games? I am Mr negative generally, but I'm good at not
:21:38. > :21:42.putting pressure on myself. I will do the same as I have been doing and
:21:43. > :21:47.we will see what happens. One of the biggest sporting event coming to the
:21:48. > :21:53.world with a home-grown rider in it, how big a deal is that going to
:21:54. > :22:01.be? Identical we will have a clue what is coming to town. For me, it
:22:02. > :22:13.is awesome. The zero coming to Northern Ireland.
:22:14. > :22:18.Have you ever heard of a selfie? Taking a photograph of yourself.
:22:19. > :22:25.Politicians have got into trouble for doing a selfie recently. We got
:22:26. > :22:31.together with the most unsuspecting group of selfie subjects. These
:22:32. > :22:37.pictures were taken by farmers in a competition to find Best Selfie on
:22:38. > :22:43.the Farm. Cows and the abuse. This is a selection of ten finalists. The
:22:44. > :22:47.winner was PJ Ryan from Co Tipperary. He can smoke a pipe, feed
:22:48. > :22:52.his cattle and take a photograph at the same time! You can read the full
:22:53. > :22:57.story on the Northern Ireland News website.
:22:58. > :23:05.Here is Jeff to tell us all about the weather. Very stormy last night?
:23:06. > :23:15.A bitterly cold day where the wind would go by through you. The Met
:23:16. > :23:21.office has issued a weather -- a yellow warning for eyes. We have
:23:22. > :23:26.considerable winter showers tonight. Temperatures will be down to around
:23:27. > :23:32.one Celsius overnight. The chance of a little bit of ice. We will break
:23:33. > :23:37.-- we would get a break before the next weather front. But do not be
:23:38. > :23:42.fooled if tomorrow starts mainly dry and clear because a change is on the
:23:43. > :23:46.way. As we go through the day, the rain moves in and spread to all
:23:47. > :23:55.parts. There are wet days and extra wet days. We are in a warm air mass.
:23:56. > :24:00.But as the wind stop to pick up, when the front comes through it will
:24:01. > :24:08.not fear like that. Not the nicest day. -- it will not feel like that.
:24:09. > :24:18.Showers continue through the evening and into the night. It will be a
:24:19. > :24:23.little more miles on Saturday. As we head into the weekend and next week,
:24:24. > :24:27.there is generally an unsettled quality to our weather. We will see
:24:28. > :24:37.plenty of showers, some of them could be quite wintry. Even more so
:24:38. > :24:42.on Sunday than on Saturday. But for a weatherman, there is only one
:24:43. > :24:48.question, will it snow for Christmas? My colleague is keeping a
:24:49. > :24:51.close eye on that and he will be updating the BBC weather website
:24:52. > :24:58.every day with the latest prospects. It is not looking good!
:24:59. > :25:04.Finally, we have a series of Christmas musical treats. We start
:25:05. > :25:06.at an estate where Newtownstewart Model Primary School children are
:25:07. > :25:29.singing a magical trip that A Magical Christmas.
:25:30. > :25:33.# it's a magical time of the year # is it time to enjoy the
:25:34. > :25:46.celebrations, there is a wonderful sound in the air, a message of
:25:47. > :25:57.Christmas # the saviour, born in a manger, wise men and shepherds,
:25:58. > :26:04.angels, these are the things we all remember # it's a magical time of
:26:05. > :26:09.the year # it's a time to enjoy the celebrations # there's a wonderful
:26:10. > :26:27.song in the air # a message of Christmas and for the world to hear
:26:28. > :26:31.carols and quires, holly and ivy, these are the things we all
:26:32. > :26:38.remember. # it's a magical time of the year,
:26:39. > :26:44.time to enjoy the celebrations, there is a wonderful song in the
:26:45. > :26:54.air, a message of Christmas for the world to hear. # last-minute
:26:55. > :27:10.shopping, presence in stockings, pictures of Mary, these are the
:27:11. > :27:15.things we all remember. # it's a magical time of the year, it's a
:27:16. > :27:19.time to enjoy the celebrations, there is a wonderful song in the
:27:20. > :27:30.air, a message of Christmas for the world to hear. # it's a magical time
:27:31. > :27:33.of the year, a time to enjoy the celebrations, there is a wonderful
:27:34. > :27:41.song in the air, a message of Christmas for the world to hear. A
:27:42. > :27:43.message of Christmas for the world to year, # a message of Christmas
:27:44. > :27:45.for the world to