19/12/2013 BBC Newsline


19/12/2013

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Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline.

:00:00.:00:18.

Richard Haass gives the Stormont parties his latest blueprint on

:00:19.:00:21.

flags parades and the past - but Unionists say some of his ideas are

:00:22.:00:29.

silly. A man appears in court charged with

:00:30.:00:35.

a double murder in East Belfast. A tribunal is told an Ulster Bank

:00:36.:00:38.

official may have stolen half a million pounds from its vaults.

:00:39.:00:46.

The Casement stadium redevelopment gets go ahead, but some residents

:00:47.:00:51.

aren't happy. The self-styled bishop Pat Buckley

:00:52.:00:54.

gets a suspended sentence for conducting sham marriages.

:00:55.:01:00.

We'll reveal our BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the

:01:01.:01:03.

Year. After a bitterly cold day today, a

:01:04.:01:07.

warning of ice tonight, as the temperatures drop again. Another

:01:08.:01:17.

windy night of wintry showers ahead. Unionists have registered serious

:01:18.:01:19.

concerns about the latest draft document from the Haass Talks on

:01:20.:01:24.

flags, parades and the past. The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson said the

:01:25.:01:27.

document contained some "silly things". The Ulster Unionist leader

:01:28.:01:31.

Mike Nesbitt demanded to know who was inserting some of the proposals

:01:32.:01:39.

in the document. Mark, the DDP were not happy with

:01:40.:01:43.

the first draft. Any happier with this? Not at all. Peter Robinson,

:01:44.:01:50.

talking about the first raft, said that if that was the final draft

:01:51.:01:55.

coming he would have steam coming out of his ears. Jeffrey Donaldson

:01:56.:01:58.

did not use that kind of language, he said there had been some kind of

:01:59.:02:04.

progress. He used stronger language. The Alliance came back --

:02:05.:02:12.

the Alliance came back with Naomi Long challenging them to be

:02:13.:02:17.

positive. There are still a few silly things in there which need to

:02:18.:02:23.

be taken out. There are still areas on which progress is required. We

:02:24.:02:28.

are prepared to work for as long as it takes to resolve these is used

:02:29.:02:31.

because we recognise how important they are. The do you people

:02:32.:02:37.

themselves has said silly and unhelpful things. -- the dear P.

:02:38.:02:49.

They should engage with the process. Our understanding of the General

:02:50.:02:53.

unionist concerns are that they believe in relation to the flag

:02:54.:02:56.

chapter that there are no acceptable proposal there. They say the Union

:02:57.:03:01.

flag status has not been resolved. There's a recommendation issued fly

:03:02.:03:05.

on designated days on government buildings, but that is unresolved as

:03:06.:03:09.

far as council buildings go. But there should be details proposals in

:03:10.:03:16.

terms of permits in terms of flying flags on lamp posts, people would

:03:17.:03:24.

have to apply for a permit. That has raised concerns from both unionist

:03:25.:03:27.

parties. This is what Mike Nesbitt had to say. A lot of people have

:03:28.:03:35.

taken credit for having items removed from the document's first

:03:36.:03:39.

raft so it is surprising to see some of the things in this draft of the

:03:40.:03:44.

document. We need to so that we need to see who put them in. And the

:03:45.:03:55.

reaction of the nationalist parties? We understand that there are

:03:56.:03:58.

references to a Bill of Rights which the STL P and Sinn Fein have been

:03:59.:04:05.

calling for and a call for parity of esteem and public buildings. This is

:04:06.:04:11.

the response. This is the best thinking of Richard Haass and Meghan

:04:12.:04:15.

O'Sullivan. They continue to hear the voices of the parties but I

:04:16.:04:22.

think in their mind, this is now their best possible advice to the

:04:23.:04:31.

parties. We will now have two decide quickly where we go next and if we

:04:32.:04:39.

can go anywhere next. We are prepared to work up to Christmas Eve

:04:40.:04:42.

if need be. Certainly, if people are willing, a deal can be done. All the

:04:43.:04:53.

parties are seeing Dr Haass tomorrow and there will be a round table

:04:54.:04:57.

session. But as things stand, it is hard to see this processor wrapping

:04:58.:05:01.

up tomorrow. It is likely to move much further into the weekend.

:05:02.:05:12.

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering two people in a flat

:05:13.:05:15.

in east Belfast last week. The bodies of the accused's former

:05:16.:05:18.

girlfriend Caron Smyth and her friend Finbarr McGrillen were found

:05:19.:05:21.

by the police when they responded to a call from member of the public as

:05:22.:05:28.

Helen Jones reports. The police were called to

:05:29.:05:32.

investigate a suspected burglary after a member of the public

:05:33.:05:36.

reported damage to the front of this property. When the police arrived

:05:37.:05:41.

and went into the living room, they found two bodies. They were the

:05:42.:05:47.

accused's ex-girlfriend, 40-year-old Caron Smyth and her 42-year-old

:05:48.:05:51.

friend, Finbarr McGrillen. It is understood that he was originally

:05:52.:05:56.

from another town. Detectives say they were treating the motives as

:05:57.:06:04.

domestic. Accused of murdering them is Sean Patrick Joseph hedge Jack --

:06:05.:06:11.

Sean Patrick Joseph Hegarty. He was arrested last Saturday and police

:06:12.:06:14.

were granted extra time to question him. In what turned out to be a

:06:15.:06:23.

brief appearance, the accused was led to the dock flanked by security.

:06:24.:06:29.

He ignored the charges and did not apply for bail. He was remanded in

:06:30.:06:34.

custody to appear next month. It's been revealed that an Ulster

:06:35.:06:37.

Bank employee who was known for his gambling and extravagant lifestyle

:06:38.:06:41.

may have stolen up to half a million pounds out of the bank's vault. The

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details have emerged at an employment tribunal in a successful

:06:46.:06:48.

case brought by a whistle-blower in the bank who had tried to warn the

:06:49.:06:53.

bank but was instead victimised. Our economics and business editor John

:06:54.:07:00.

Campbell is here. What emerged at this employment

:07:01.:07:04.

tribunal? When I first read the judgement last night, I could barely

:07:05.:07:09.

believe my eyes. A bank Fortis supposed to be the most secure

:07:10.:07:13.

place. It clearly wasn't in this case. There is a sense that Ulster

:07:14.:07:19.

bank did its own investigation and found that one of its employees was

:07:20.:07:24.

taking money from a fault, probably over a period of years. The bank was

:07:25.:07:28.

warned and the first of all ignored the warnings and then came after the

:07:29.:07:32.

person who was doing the warning. So what happened. -- what happened to

:07:33.:07:45.

the whistle-blower? It happened -- started in 2007. The whistle-blower

:07:46.:07:49.

became concerned about one of the people who was going to get -- going

:07:50.:07:54.

to Las Vegas to gamble. He went to his bosses and said there was

:07:55.:07:58.

something wrong. There was a competent of the investigation the

:07:59.:08:03.

second time and the bank was found to be ?1 million -- half ?1 million

:08:04.:08:07.

short. You would have thought they would have gone to the

:08:08.:08:11.

whistle-blower and said thank you. They did not do that. They came

:08:12.:08:15.

after the whistle-blower and suspended him from work. He was off

:08:16.:08:20.

for six months and has mental health suffered. The employment tribunal

:08:21.:08:25.

said that this was completely unreasonable and there was a attempt

:08:26.:08:34.

to set a goatee on narrow point. What happened to the money and the

:08:35.:08:38.

person who took it? I have been trying to get to the bottom of this.

:08:39.:08:43.

I have asked the bank three times. They say that the man was charged.

:08:44.:08:46.

It is not clear to me whether that means that was a criminal charge or

:08:47.:08:52.

an internal disciplinary charge. I have asked whether it was an

:08:53.:08:57.

internal charge and whether -- and what happened to the half ?1

:08:58.:09:01.

million. So far I have no answers. All the bank says that they have

:09:02.:09:07.

tightened up their processes in the cash handling centre and they will

:09:08.:09:10.

tighten up how they work with whistle-blowers.

:09:11.:09:14.

Two Assembly ministers were harangued by protestors today as

:09:15.:09:17.

they turned up to announce planning approval for a major sports stadium.

:09:18.:09:21.

Some people living close to Casement Park in west Belfast oppose the

:09:22.:09:24.

scale of a redevelopment of the GAA ground. They claim it will

:09:25.:09:29.

overshadow their homes. Conor Macauley reports.

:09:30.:09:38.

Two government ministers and senior figures in Ulster GAA had come to

:09:39.:09:43.

Casement Park for the news that the redevelopment plan had been given

:09:44.:09:47.

the go-ahead. As they pose for pictures, a group of residents, who

:09:48.:09:53.

opposed the 38,000 seater stadium, arrived and vented their anger at

:09:54.:09:58.

the dignitaries. We have not been told what is happening! We herded

:09:59.:10:05.

the radio. Every single one of you would not stand for this if this was

:10:06.:10:15.

your home. You don't live here. This is our home! After several minutes

:10:16.:10:24.

and in spite of attempts at mediation, the event was moved

:10:25.:10:37.

inside. Don't come round our area! We are not giving up! First of all,

:10:38.:10:44.

can I say that we don't object to Casement Park getting a certain

:10:45.:10:47.

amount of area and upgrading the stadium. What we are objecting to is

:10:48.:10:53.

the height of it. This terrace and the ground is already very close to

:10:54.:10:57.

the houses which have been built nearby. The concerns of the

:10:58.:11:02.

residents here are that when this developed into a 38,000 all-seater

:11:03.:11:06.

capacity, all the side will be built up and their homes will be

:11:07.:11:11.

completely overshadowed. I am well aware of their concerns and I have

:11:12.:11:15.

sympathy with them around the potential impact of the stadium. But

:11:16.:11:19.

I have to weigh that against the benefits, the undoubted benefits

:11:20.:11:25.

that the stadium will bring. The GAA says it has consulted widely on the

:11:26.:11:29.

stadium plan and has tried to take account of residents concerns. We

:11:30.:11:38.

would hope that the vast majority of people would accept that we are in

:11:39.:11:42.

good faith in bringing this fantastic death -- development to

:11:43.:11:50.

Belfast. If it doesn't end up down in the course, -- bogged down in the

:11:51.:11:59.

courts, the first game could be at Easter.

:12:00.:12:07.

Still to come, paying respects to the Irish who died in World War I.

:12:08.:12:12.

We have a report from Belgium. The self-styled Bishop, Pat Buckley

:12:13.:12:19.

has been given a suspended jail sentence of three and a half years

:12:20.:12:23.

for assisting in multiple sham marriages. He was charged as part of

:12:24.:12:26.

an international investigation which has seen more than 20 people

:12:27.:12:32.

convicted. The court heard he had been paid about ?300 per wedding.

:12:33.:12:42.

Our reporter was in court today. This is self-styled Bishop Pat

:12:43.:12:46.

Buckley presiding over a wedding. All is not as it seemed. He was

:12:47.:12:52.

sentenced today for his part in 14 sham marriages usually between

:12:53.:12:57.

Portuguese women and Bangladeshi men from May 2008 to September 2009. The

:12:58.:13:02.

court was packed -- was told that Pat Buckley was paid a fee of ?300

:13:03.:13:06.

plus travel expenses for each wedding. Fake bride were provided to

:13:07.:13:12.

illegal immigrants who needed citizenship for around ?18,000.

:13:13.:13:20.

Summing up, the judge said that Pat Buckley was an important cog in the

:13:21.:13:25.

wheel of conspiracy. He said, what you did was wrong. You committed a

:13:26.:13:29.

series of serious crimes for financial reward. And you are now a

:13:30.:13:35.

convicted criminal. Buckley was convicted as part of what the police

:13:36.:13:41.

said was a big investigation. It has been a complex investigation,

:13:42.:13:47.

spanning three continents. We have seen 23 people convicted and to --

:13:48.:13:53.

and ten people reported for immigration offences. This marks a

:13:54.:13:59.

momentous occasion for us. These are significant event -- offences that

:14:00.:14:08.

we have got prosecution for. One suspects still remains at large. He

:14:09.:14:13.

is thought to be in Bangladesh. Outside the court, Pat Buckley

:14:14.:14:19.

expressed remorse. I am sorry for allowing my compassion to bring me

:14:20.:14:24.

to the point of breaking the law. The laws that our society agreed

:14:25.:14:31.

upon. I did not intend to offend my fellow citizens but I accept that I

:14:32.:14:36.

have. And again, for that, I want to say that I am sorry. Mr Justice

:14:37.:14:42.

Morland said that he was handed down its ups -- a suspended sentence

:14:43.:14:48.

because of a range of medical issues. The police on both sides of

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the border are continuing to question three people who were

:15:00.:15:03.

contained during an operation against an alleged dissident

:15:04.:15:07.

republican. A 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were arrested at a

:15:08.:15:13.

house just outside Forkhill. Items were taken away to be examined. A

:15:14.:15:18.

43-year-old man was arrested by Gardai in Dundalk. Repairs are still

:15:19.:15:24.

being carried out to restore electricity to all of the thousands

:15:25.:15:28.

of homes and businesses that were cut off during last night's stormy

:15:29.:15:33.

weather. Crews worked through the night in atrocious conditions and

:15:34.:15:38.

most power has now been restored. A man who became impaled on offence in

:15:39.:15:41.

south Belfast is critically ill in hospital.

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south Belfast is critically ill in Cameron and the Taoiseach Enda Kenny

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carried out a symbolic visit today to World War I graves to war

:15:55.:16:03.

memorials in Belgium. Their first joint engagement is being seen as

:16:04.:16:07.

another milestone in the development of British-Irish relations. A lament

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played by a member of the Republic's defence forces in memory

:16:16.:16:20.

of all those from Ireland North and South who died wearing a uniform in

:16:21.:16:27.

World War I. Ladies and gentlemen, the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister

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will now lay wreaths in memory of all soldiers who died in the First

:16:32.:16:35.

World War. This is the first joint visit by the country's two prime

:16:36.:16:42.

ministers and is being seen as another reconciliation between the

:16:43.:16:46.

two prime ministers. The leaders were following in the footsteps of

:16:47.:16:50.

the Queen and the Irish president who jointly unveiled a memorial 15

:16:51.:16:57.

years ago. It is dedicated to all those from Ireland who fought and

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died in the First World War. It is thought around 200,000 Irish served

:17:03.:17:07.

but one in four did not make it home. The Taoiseach led the tributes

:17:08.:17:11.

today, but rather than make a speech he opted to recite a poem written by

:17:12.:17:20.

an Enniskillen Fusiliers. It is too late now to achieve a foreign

:17:21.:17:27.

dream, but not too late to thank the lord dashboards for what is great.

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They also visited the men in gate. In a few minutes a Christmas Carol

:17:40.:17:44.

and the photo keeping our online colleagues very busy today, first

:17:45.:17:49.

sports news. The police are continuing to investigate an attack

:17:50.:17:53.

on a bus containing Cliftonville fans after the League Cup semifinal

:17:54.:17:57.

against Ards on Tuesday night. A window in the vehicle was damaged.

:17:58.:18:03.

The police say they are also aware of a number of allegations of

:18:04.:18:08.

sectarian chanting at the match. Not for the first time this season there

:18:09.:18:13.

have been calls to tackle this issue in the game. The Northern Ireland

:18:14.:18:16.

football league has expressed its disappointment and frustration with

:18:17.:18:21.

the incidence around the game at the Clandeboye Park at a time when the

:18:22.:18:25.

game is undergoing a major rebranding process. The sports

:18:26.:18:29.

minister said it was time to put Bob took a long, hard look at itself. I

:18:30.:18:35.

feel soccer and all the sports, despite the efforts of the clubs,

:18:36.:18:39.

the whole issue of sectarianism in soccer needs to be challenged. We

:18:40.:18:47.

are all serious in condemning racism in sport. We need to have to look at

:18:48.:18:52.

how we can do that. The issue raised its head earlier this season during

:18:53.:18:58.

a game in October when the referee had to ask both sets of fans to stop

:18:59.:19:04.

on a PA announcement. Fever issued a stronger warning. They have

:19:05.:19:11.

threatened closure of sections of the grounds where this behaviour

:19:12.:19:18.

occurs. If it then occurs they can order four games to be played behind

:19:19.:19:24.

closed doors. If it continues, points would be deducted from clubs.

:19:25.:19:31.

Last month, the IFA launched a strategic plan which included a

:19:32.:19:36.

programme to maintain acceptable levels of behaviour at grounds by a

:19:37.:19:40.

consultation process with fans. We cannot solve all the problems of

:19:41.:20:43.

After battling back from a nasty injury, he struck gold once more at

:20:44.:20:48.

the track cycling World Cup. Quite a 12 months, as he has been telling

:20:49.:20:59.

us. A roller-coaster. Some of it was self-inflicted. I wouldn't take it

:21:00.:21:07.

all back. But I got the medal, I got the silver and the gold, you

:21:08.:21:11.

couldn't dream about that. It's definitely changed my year. It

:21:12.:21:21.

started off a good season. How confident are you about delivering

:21:22.:21:25.

more cycling success for Northern Ireland, especially at the

:21:26.:21:28.

Commonwealth Games? I am Mr negative generally, but I'm good at not

:21:29.:21:37.

putting pressure on myself. I will do the same as I have been doing and

:21:38.:21:42.

we will see what happens. One of the biggest sporting event coming to the

:21:43.:21:47.

world with a home-grown rider in it, how big a deal is that going to

:21:48.:21:53.

be? Identical we will have a clue what is coming to town. For me, it

:21:54.:22:01.

is awesome. The zero coming to Northern Ireland.

:22:02.:22:13.

Have you ever heard of a selfie? Taking a photograph of yourself.

:22:14.:22:18.

Politicians have got into trouble for doing a selfie recently. We got

:22:19.:22:25.

together with the most unsuspecting group of selfie subjects. These

:22:26.:22:31.

pictures were taken by farmers in a competition to find Best Selfie on

:22:32.:22:37.

the Farm. Cows and the abuse. This is a selection of ten finalists. The

:22:38.:22:43.

winner was PJ Ryan from Co Tipperary. He can smoke a pipe, feed

:22:44.:22:47.

his cattle and take a photograph at the same time! You can read the full

:22:48.:22:52.

story on the Northern Ireland News website.

:22:53.:22:57.

Here is Jeff to tell us all about the weather. Very stormy last night?

:22:58.:23:05.

A bitterly cold day where the wind would go by through you. The Met

:23:06.:23:15.

office has issued a weather -- a yellow warning for eyes. We have

:23:16.:23:21.

considerable winter showers tonight. Temperatures will be down to around

:23:22.:23:26.

one Celsius overnight. The chance of a little bit of ice. We will break

:23:27.:23:32.

-- we would get a break before the next weather front. But do not be

:23:33.:23:37.

fooled if tomorrow starts mainly dry and clear because a change is on the

:23:38.:23:42.

way. As we go through the day, the rain moves in and spread to all

:23:43.:23:46.

parts. There are wet days and extra wet days. We are in a warm air mass.

:23:47.:23:55.

But as the wind stop to pick up, when the front comes through it will

:23:56.:24:00.

not fear like that. Not the nicest day. -- it will not feel like that.

:24:01.:24:08.

Showers continue through the evening and into the night. It will be a

:24:09.:24:18.

little more miles on Saturday. As we head into the weekend and next week,

:24:19.:24:23.

there is generally an unsettled quality to our weather. We will see

:24:24.:24:27.

plenty of showers, some of them could be quite wintry. Even more so

:24:28.:24:37.

on Sunday than on Saturday. But for a weatherman, there is only one

:24:38.:24:42.

question, will it snow for Christmas? My colleague is keeping a

:24:43.:24:48.

close eye on that and he will be updating the BBC weather website

:24:49.:24:51.

every day with the latest prospects. It is not looking good!

:24:52.:24:58.

Finally, we have a series of Christmas musical treats. We start

:24:59.:25:04.

at an estate where Newtownstewart Model Primary School children are

:25:05.:25:06.

singing a magical trip that A Magical Christmas.

:25:07.:25:29.

# it's a magical time of the year # is it time to enjoy the

:25:30.:25:33.

celebrations, there is a wonderful sound in the air, a message of

:25:34.:25:46.

Christmas # the saviour, born in a manger, wise men and shepherds,

:25:47.:25:57.

angels, these are the things we all remember # it's a magical time of

:25:58.:26:04.

the year # it's a time to enjoy the celebrations # there's a wonderful

:26:05.:26:09.

song in the air # a message of Christmas and for the world to hear

:26:10.:26:27.

carols and quires, holly and ivy, these are the things we all

:26:28.:26:31.

remember. # it's a magical time of the year,

:26:32.:26:38.

time to enjoy the celebrations, there is a wonderful song in the

:26:39.:26:44.

air, a message of Christmas for the world to hear. # last-minute

:26:45.:26:54.

shopping, presence in stockings, pictures of Mary, these are the

:26:55.:27:10.

things we all remember. # it's a magical time of the year, it's a

:27:11.:27:15.

time to enjoy the celebrations, there is a wonderful song in the

:27:16.:27:19.

air, a message of Christmas for the world to hear. # it's a magical time

:27:20.:27:30.

of the year, a time to enjoy the celebrations, there is a wonderful

:27:31.:27:33.

song in the air, a message of Christmas for the world to hear. A

:27:34.:27:41.

message of Christmas for the world to year, # a message of Christmas

:27:42.:27:43.

for the world to

:27:44.:27:45.

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