02/01/2014 BBC Newsline

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In Good evening. The headlines on BBC Newsline: An appeal for help in

finding the killer of this North Belfast man. As the Haass talks end

without agreement, what next for the parties? Horror at the behaviour of

car thieves on one of Belfast's main roads. Good news for homeowners and

house-hunters - an interest rate rise may be pushed into 2015. Is

there more major success ahead for Rory McIlroy? We hear from our

golfing star. And yet more warnings in place for heavy rain, gales and

high tides so coastal flooding is a risk as we head into Friday. Good

evening. The police have released CCTV images of a man which were

recorded just a short time before he was murdered. Basil McAfee's body

was found in his North Belfast home on the Friday before Christmas. It

has emerged that he was stuck on the head, possibly with an axe, and then

stabbed. Eunan McConville reports. This is Basil McAfee in a local off

licence in North Belfast at about 4pm on Thursday the 19th of

December. In a matter of hours, he would be murdered. He was 50 years

of age. A neighbour has told police that they saw Mr McAfee at about 8pm

that evening. The last time she was seen alive. -- he was. The body of

the father of two was discovered by his mother in his house at Henderson

Avenue in North Belfast the next afternoon. Basil was sitting on his

sofa when he was attacked and somebody hit him on the head with a

sharp incident -- and lament and police believe that could have been

an axe but he was also stabbed and his house was ransacked with a

number of items, including money being taken. The motive for Mr

McAfee's murder is still unclear. This was a brutal attack and we are

unclear at the minute and remain open-minded as to the motive but we

know he was struck several times on the head with a heavy bladed emblem

and consistent with an axe and stabbed repeatedly with an axe. This

evening, police returned to Henderson Avenue to hand out fliers,

appealing for information. Police say that, according to his family,

Mr McAfee was a bit of a loner and police want to hear from anyone who

might have known as McAfee, even as a friend or acquaintance, but

particularly from anyone with any information about the movements of

Mr McAfee in the hours leading to his death. Nationalist leaders are

tonight pressing the case for Haass proposals dealing with flags,

parading and the past. The SDLP is expected to formally endorse the

deal this evening. Unionists are still making up their minds.

Alliance says all parties should implement what's already been

agreed. Martina Purdy has the latest. Up all night trying to come

up with New Year's resolutions. But on the last morning of 2013, there

was no firm agreement. And no New Year cheers. But a rather sober end

to months of talks and some advice from the diplomats, who say their 39

page report is a good start to solving old problems in the New

Year. If you are asking, do we have a foundation and a serious

possibility for meaningful political progress? The answer is yes. Is

there any guarantee? No. The document deals with three key areas

- flags parading and the past. The flags issue proved the most

difficult - there was no agreement. Instead, what emerged was a proposal

for a commission on identities, culture and traditions. On parading

there were a number of proposals, including the creation of two new

bodies to deal with applications for parades, protests and commemorations

and another to make decisions if there's no agreement. There's a

proposal for a new code of conduct for those taking part in events and

those opposing them. When it came to the past, there was no overall

consensus, although the talks perhaps went further towards

agreement than many expected. The main proposal involves a new

historical investigations unit which could lead to prosecutions. A second

strand would offer victims an information commission which, in

turn, could provide some limited immunity from prosecutions. A

proposal that could trip up some, but not, it seems, the sure-footed

Sinn Fein leader, who says he is recommending the Haass paper to his

party executive. This is the time to call it and Sinn Fein is calling it

and we think that is what the people want. We think there is significant

progress possible if these proposals are acted upon in good faith. This

is not a matter of getting agreement, that is essential, but

also implementing the agreement so I appeal to all of the parties,

particularly the leaders, to be very clear about their position and not

to fudge this opportunity. It was the row here at City Hall over the

Union flag which led to the Haass talks process. A year on, there's

still no agreement. Just a contribution to progress. How big is

that contribution? That's for our politicians to decide. This evening,

the SDLP Executive and Assembly team is gathering to formally endorse the

package. A 27-year-old man who was stabbed in the neck is in a serious

but stable condition in hospital. He was attacked by another man at

Euston Parade in the Ballymacarret area of East Belfast just after 10pm

last night. A police officer who was wounded in a knife attack has been

released from hospital. He was cut in the face by what is thought to

have been a Stanley knife when a patrol responded to a report of an

assault at the loyalist protest camp on Twaddell Avenue. There had been a

fight involving a teenager who had tried to damage a banner. The boy

then ran off towards a nearby pub. A 16-year-old was arrested for

wounding with intent and having an offensive weapon. Sinn Fein have

condemned the latest street racing by car thieves in West Belfast as an

orgy of destruction and intimidation of the community. On New Year's Eve

a large group of young people gathered to watch stolen cars being

driven at high speeds with handbrake turns on the Falls Road. Mervyn Jess

reports. This is what the Lower Falls road

looks like normally. This is what it was like late on New Year's Eve.

These images of stolen cars roaring up and down the carriageway near the

Falls swimming pool were captured by one of the dozens of onlookers who

had gathered there for the spectacle. At least two vehicles are

seen speeding up and down the road, doing handbrake turns and their

engines screaming as smoke pours from them. People on the footpaths

and standing on the road seem oblivious to the dangers of the cars

spinning out of control. What happened with the other night was

orchestrated by people who live in this area and who used social media

to organise this and you have these people who care nothing about the

residents who live here. And they put their lives at risk. This is

another appalling example of that but the community, as families

breathed through car crime demonstrates, they stand resolutely

against those involved in this order threat local people. At one point a

police vehicle drives through the scene. Some missiles are thrown and

it drives on. However, more police arrive later and one of the stolen

cars is abandoned before being hemmed in by the PSNI. The police

say no arrests were made during the incident. In a statement, the PSNI

says over the past year an operation targeting crime and anti-social

behaviour in the Lower Falls has led to 400 people being arrested or

reported to the Public Prosecution Service. The police also say levels

of car crime have reduced in West Belfast as a result of their

operations. This sort of thing went on throughout the years of the

Troubles. However, it does show that despite the best efforts of people

to steer young people away from this type of behavior, it's been passed

on to a new generation of so called joyriders. Plenty still to come,

including: Rory McIlroy on his plans for the year ahead. Good news if

you're expecting a rise in interest rates this year. Any increase could

be delayed, according to one of our main hikes. Rates are being kept

rock button for four years as part of the response to the economic

crisis. Here's Julian O'Neill. This man, Mark Carney, is important to

anyone paying a mortgage. As governor of the Bank of England, he

has a big say in what happens to interest rates. The bank will

consider raising them from their historic low when UK unemployment

falls to 7% - a target which is approaching on the horizon. Is a 40

present chance we could see on implement falling by the end of 2014

but he is only going to look at it then and will only consider that

then. He will look at is this investment and confidence, so our

prediction would be the middle of 2015. Holding off an interest hike

would be welcome news in households with squeezed spending. Let's say

you have a tracker mortgage with a lender charging interest at 2% above

the Bank of England base rate. If your mortgage is for ?90,000 and

there's 20 years left on the term, at the moment you'll pay around ?480

a month. But when it eventually comes, a rise of 1% will increase

that payment to around ?500. This mortgage expert is worried that some

people have a shock in store. He says too many home buyers have not

thought ahead. You do not care what it will cost in the future, you just

wanted. I would be the same in that situation so I find that a lot of

people, even with the best tuition, will not pay much attention to what

future rates will be. Rates will eventually rise, even if the general

consensus at the moment is that that will not be anytime soon. First, the

Bank of England wants to see a sustained period of strong economic

growth. In theory, household budgets should be in better shape to cope

with a higher rate, but that is unlikely to ease many people's

anxiety. We're stepping back in time. The

Glasnevin Cemetery Museum in Dublin has opened an exhibition to mark the

founding of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army. It is part

of a series of commemorations marking the centenaries of events

that shaped Ireland, North and South. Here's Shane Harrison.

Glasnevin Cemetery from afar. It's here that many of those who gave

their lives for the cause of Irish freedom are buried. And the museum

is currently showing an exhibition to mark the founding of the Irish

Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army. The loaned items on show were

gathered after the museum asked people to bring in for evaluation

things that they were told were of historic importance. They included

uniforms, Irish Volunteer membership cards and a sawn-off shot gun that

would have been carried around Dublin hidden under skirts by

members of the women's organisation, Cumann na mBan. There's also a lot

of interest in something Roger Casement, who grew up in County

Antrim and who's buried here, once owned. The British diplomat turned

Irish rebel was executed for treason after landing off Kerry from a

German U-boat in 1916. He had been in Germany trying to get guns. His

bible, which few knew of and was only recently confirmed as his, is

also on display. He had this Bible in Germany and how it got back to

Ireland is a mystery. It was either on his body when he landed in 1916

or he left it in Germany and somebody sent it over afterwards. It

would have in after the war by the time they sent it so it is a mystery

of how it got acted Ireland. This exhibition will run until Easter

2014. Still to come this evening, we will hear an updated weather

forecast and we will also remember whether moments like this from 2013.

For many people this is a time to start afresh - out with the old and

in with the new. But perhaps like me you rarely stick to your New Year

resolution. Helen Jones asks if the pledges we make now are a waste of

time. Hitting the treadmill, giving up smoking and taking up something

you'd like and gliding are among the top ten resolutions. What about you

site? Mine is to keep going at slimming and stay there. Giving up

cheese. Clear at the attic. That is always nice to do with the beginning

of the year but I never get around to it. This is me at my happiest but

it is the New Year so I'm thinking about cleansing and removing

temptations. How difficult is it to stick to the resolutions? I am

always saying I will go to the gym but I never do it. I got my

membership but I never went. Giving up alcohol even for the month of

January is also on the list. There are some people who have all the

best intentions in the world after Christmas. They go off it for a few

weeks and then by the middle of January they are ready to go out

again! If that is something that is really important to you and you feel

you have failed and you will never achieve it, it can leave you feeling

hopeless and helpless and you should avoid that. You can do it, it just

takes planning and some help. Get that Adam cleaned! You will be fine!

Well I might have to now. As women, this what I'm giving up. Chocolate!

I know uses to buy another new tie! Sought my golf swing out and stop a

lifelong ambition, I think. It seems England's cricket team are

about to call on a former Irish international to try to to avoid an

Ashes series whitewash. Stephen Watson is here.

Boyd Rankin from Bready in County Tyrone is on the cusp of making his

Test debut for England. He's a six foot eight fast bowler who has

formerly played World Cup cricket for Ireland. Rankin agonised over

quitting his home country in 2012 but it seems the decision is about

to pay off. England captain Alastair Cook has confirmed Rankin is very

much in the running to start tonight's final test in Sydney.

Martin McCague born in Larne is the last Irishman to play for England in

the Ashes. Big day for Boyd Rankin down under where's there's also been

a big occasion for the golfer Rory McIlroy? He revealed he is to marry

Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. Rory proposed to her in

Sydney where she is preparing for the Australian Open. They sent this

tweet on social media on New Years Eve. But Rory is also planning a big

year on the golf course? So he told us when we caught up with him on a

flying visit home. That of course was just before news of his

engagement broke. Rory says he's planning a major winning 2014. Never

mind popping the question over the festive period. Rory McIlroy had

lots of questions to answer himself. He was visiting children and their

families at a local charity Lodge in Newcastle, a new facility for cancer

care. It would be quite a while before he is back on again as he is

about to start another global golfing season. It starts with hard

practice in Dubai. This year I have no equipment changes so it would be

a stable start to the year. I will concentrate on getting ready to

play. I would not say the start of this year was a distraction but

there were more things to think about whereas this year it would be

more settled and I am really looking forward to. And the 24-year-old is

determined to add to his successes so far. I won a major championship

for two years running but I think another championship would be nice

and I will try and make up for what they didn't achieve. I will put

myself in contention and that is the main thing. I am so much better

under pressure than I once was. I know that I will have a great

chance. I am confident with my game, confident of where it is at and

where it is going. I did not have the greatest of seasons and 2013 but

I feel like I will make up at this year. It is going to be busy as

there now a wedding to plan. Good luck to them.

Ulster and Munster have recalled some of their big name players for

tomorrow nights Pro 12 clash at Ravenhill. Returning to the Ulster

side is Jared Payne, who will have happy memories playing against

Munster in the past. Also back for for Ulster are Iain Henderson and

Chris Henry. Last years Pro 12 player of the year Nick Williams

makes his long awaited injury comeback as he's named on the bench.

And it's good news for the visitors. Irish captain Paul O'Connell is

declared fit and will start. We have live coverage of the game on BBC

Two. The young Gaelic footballers of Glen

in Maghera created a little bit of history yesterday. The minors became

the first side ever to win three successive Ulster club

championships. Captain Stephen O'Hara is one of eight players who's

won all three. Despite the weather conditions, over a thousand

spectators attended the St Paul's Club in Belfast, where the defending

champions defeated Silverbridge of Armagh by five points. There are bad

weather yesterday, as we conceive. ?NEWLINE Not all of yesterday's New

Year's Day fixtures in local football took place. Linfield's game

against Glenavon was called off because of a waterlogged Windsor

Park pitch. That meant it was a chance for some to cut Linfield's

lead at the top of the table and for others to move away from the bottom.

Thomas Niblock reports. Element plenty of superb goals and New

Year's Day. Ballinmillard had two goals

disallowed on New Year's Day. They scored two, but ended up losing to

Warrenpoint Town thanks largely to this superb effort from Daniel

Hughes. We are delighted. The boys are on great form. Coming here is

never easy. We had conceded a number of goals in the first half.

Thankfully only two have them mattered. But we are delighted with

the win. About superb strike came from Martin Donnelly. The manager

believes his players are capable of more. I thought we were sloppy with

our passes. We could have controlled the game a little better. It is a

win and a clean sheet and I am grateful for that. Elsewhere mentor

and held on for a precious win over Dungannon that lifts them to fourth

spot. Ballymena and Ards played out a goalless draw. Portadown scored a

run-1 draw with Crusaders. I wonder if many of the waterlogged pitches

will be any better by the weekend. They seem pretty soggy. We will have

a weather update shortly which includes a warning. But first we

look back at some of the big whether moments from 20 13.

Because of where we live, in the north Atlantic, we normally have a

temperate climate and not the extreme weather that others

experience at a similar latitude. But 2013 brought some of those

intense weather elements to our doorstep. Barra Best has been

looking back. It's been a remarkable year for

weather. We endured the coldest spring for more than three decades,

we finally enjoyed a bbq summer, and winter storms battered the coast.

Winter hit hard in mid-January when snow led to power cuts for

thousands, it delayed and cancelled flights and provided the first big

test of winter for gritters. We have been gritting throughout this

morning and we expect to be doing so this evening and tonight.

The bigger snow event hit two months later in March. It provided postcard

scenery and lots of fun, but also devastation for sheep farmers in

particular who lost thousands of animals to the elements. Army

helicopters delivered food to livestock, while emergency services

delivered supplies to people stranded. We have had people who

have not been able to get dedications so we have arranged to

deliver that and we have also used the helicopters and inaccessible

areas to try and get supplies to those hands. It was in July that the

weather went from one extreme to the next. The summer heatwave sent

temperatures soaring to 30 degrees. We come from the sap of Italy so it

is usually very warm. The warm spell lasted for more than two weeks

putting many European hotspots in the shade. But, the heat sparked

thunderstorms which caused flooding for some. It got deeper and deeper.

It was incredible. In the space of a few minutes, there was flooding all

over the house. Several months passed before the winter storms

struck in December. Winds with gusts more than 80 miles an hour battered

the coast. They brought down power lines and trees. They even caused

part of this shop to collapse. It sounded like a car going into the

world. I am still in shock. I have not stop shaking. I can't believe

it. Questions now surround the weather of 2014 and what it'll

bring. Unfortunately it is quite simple impossible to predict. It

might be impossible to predict the weather in the long term but we can

in the short term. And it's not looking good in the

next few days. These pictures show some of the sandbags put in place in

the Sydenham area of East Belfast in advance of a tidal surge tomorrow

and over the weekend. The police say they will be issuing further advice

in the coming hours and we will keep you up to date. Angie, the immediate

outlook isn't good? Al lot of whether coming up in the

next few days. I hope you made the most of today because there is more

on the way. This is the reason. This is the area of low pressure sitting

in the Atlantic and it will deepen rapidly as it moves towards the

North West. The winds will strengthen considerably. It will

bring heavy rain. Rain is heading in this evening and it is likely to be

quite heavy. The rooms are picking up from the south. The rain will

clear away overnight but there is more to come tomorrow. There is

another weather warning in place. That warns of localised flooding but

that is only part of the problem. The is also a warning for strong

winds. They will pick up tonight. It turns try tonight and it will be

chilly in place, low enough for some ground frost. Tomorrow there is no

rain to come, some heavy and blustery showers. -- more rain. The

winds will pick up late morning. The rainbow move eastwards and some of

that will be quite heavy. As it crosses the hills, do not surprised

that turns wintry. Winds will be in excess of 60 miles an hour. That

combines with high spring tides giving cause for concern. The rain

starts to move eastwards by afternoon. The winds will still cost

around Gail Force and they will bring heavy and blustery showers. It

will feel cold during the day. We get some respite for Saturday and it

looks as if it will be a fine day. But there is another weather system

moving in. We have an early warning for heavy rain and again there is a

risk of localised flooding. That's the situation for the next few days.

By Mac -- That's all from the BBC Newsline team. Keep up to date with

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