03/02/2014 BBC Newsline

Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline.

The trial of the three men accused of abusing and two children reaches

its final stages. The controversial online drinking game which has led

to the death of a teenager. A report gets to the bottom of who

hit an MLA's wife during trouble in Belfast.

Also on the programme this evening: We'll be hearing from the two local

singers hitting all the right notes. Answering Ireland's call. We hear

from the Uslter Rugby player who's celebrating a dream Six Nations

debut. And although the weather will turn

calmer tonight more stormy weather is expected later this week.

I'll be back with a full forecast. The trial of three men accused of

seriously sexually abusing two children during the 1990s has begun

hearing closing arguments from lawyers. The alleged victims are a

brother and sister. The men on trial are their father, uncle and a family

friend who face a total of 56 charges including rate, gross

indecency and cruelty. This trial is now in its third

week, and today, the jury were told they would not be presented with any

more evidence. A Order for the execution reminded -- a loner for

the prosecution reminded the jury about the abuse they had heard

about, including drunken parties with David decide to would abuse a

child first, and forcing a child to watch -- drunken parties, in and

parties to decide who would abuse a child first, and forcing a child to

watch themselves being abused. The prosecution also told the jury

that the fact that two of the men had admitted offences against their

own sister in the 70s and 80s shows a propensity to commit the crimes

they are charged with. A defence barrister for the man described as a

family friend summed it up, and was accused of offences connected to the

female victim. One victim said that the jury must

consider the absence of evidence in this case. -- case. There is no

evidence of serious sexual assaults, and the alleged victim cannot abide

descriptions of the other men involved. She said that in the

sandbox but -- explanation is that people do not exist, the parties did

not happen. The jury will be considering a verdict on Wednesday.

The father of a young man who died after taking part in a drinking game

in the Republic has pleaded with others not to take the dare. The new

social media phenomenon involves people drinking a concoction of

alcohol and then nominating a friend to go one better. The death at the

weekend has prompted a similar internet site based here to change

its content. We are trying the challenge. I will

go first. One of the first challenges and the local

Neknomination site. This concoction only contained several types of

drink, but even most Royal are some of the things added to either

drinks. When news came through of the death of a young man, the

websites came under pressure. The father of this eating your break

said he fell into the water after carrying out a stand connected to

the Neknomination site to read out -- based in the Republic. I am

meeting for youngsters to think of the things they are reading. It cost

my son his life. The whole family is devastated and our lives will never

be the same again. I hope this message is heated, because for us,

life is virtually over. And the tragedy has prompted those running

and similar sites north of the border to have everything. It was

set up last Tuesday, and by the weekend, it had 11,000 followers.

Over the weekend, those running the sites debated whether or not to keep

it going, and this morning, they decided to shut them down. In a

statement, one of the people running it said, and videos would be

removed. The fact that people are often

tricking alone and the potential of the mixtures that they are consuming

has been ringing alarm else. We have seen a full bottle of tequila being

drink -- drink with a pint of milk. We have seen major oil being added

to the nominations. People need to be very well or -- very aware that

this is not for consumptions by humans. Social media experts have

also expressed concerns stop maybe this is being seen as a challenge to

do something more dramatic to get the most likes or views, and that

can be part of the challenge, and that can add to the threat. We have

got to be more extreme in what we do. The game even made it seem to

this bar at the weekend. -- the game even made it into this bar at the

weekend. The bar said they have removed this video from the Facebook

page. Facebook said that they want to provide a platform for people to

share content freely, but they do not want to promote anything that is

harmful. The police are investigating reports

that shots were fired at a house in north Belfast last night. It

happened in the Oldpark area just before seven o'clock. No-one was

injured. Police have appealed for information.

You're watching BBC Newsline and still to come: The row over a

Londonderry school closure that some parents say could impact on the

whole city. An investigation into allegations by an MLA that a police

officer assaulted his wife has concluded that the Ulster Unionist

politician accidentally hit her himself. Michael Copeland had

accused a police officer of hitting his wife with a baton during a

loyalist protest last August. 26 officers were hurt when loyalists

attacked police last August. They gathered to demonstrate against a

Republican parade that had been due to march along Royal Avenue. Police

came under sustained attack. One MLA leader claimed his wife, daughter

and himself had been attacked by a police officer. I was kicked

underneath a police shield him I was pushed with a police shield, and my

daughter was struck with a baton. My wife was struck as well. I went

straight to strengthen and they told me I had to talk to the police and

that's men and I said I wanted to make a complaint. -- ombudsman.

Investigators asked the PSNI for video footage that was taken of the

protest. My understanding is that the footage shows Michael Copeland

standing with his back towards the police officers and he appears to be

urging members of the crowd to stop attacking the police, but a

protester lunges forward. An officer is seen to strike out with his

baton, and Michael Copeland appears to take evasive action, ducking and

swinging his bow, and as he does so, accidentally hitting his wife on the

back of the head. Either appears to realise what has happened.

-- neither. Michael Copeland told the BBD -- BBC today that he did not

want to comment until the report was published. The PSNI also declined to

comment. A call at the weekend for

protestants to shun the Irish language have met with opposition

from those involved in promoting and speaking it along with the SDLP and

Sinn Fein. Belfast's leading Orangeman, George Chittick claimed

the Irish language is being used for political purposes by republicans.

Today the Grand Lodge issued a statement stressing it had no

official policy on the language. This class is taking place in a

dairy centre. It is recently expanding into a Presbyterian church

next door, and Protestants are among those attending the Irish language

classes. There are quite a few people in the community who are

learning Irish at this minute in time. All of this flies in the face

of the Orange County of Belfast, after remarks made in North Belfast

during protests at the weekend. I believe it is part of the public

agenda. Eventually, they will try to make it the same as English, and you

will not be able to get a job. As far as I am concerned, there are a

lot of people wanting money and they will do anything for it.

This classroom is used for teaching the Irish language to people of all

traditions and all ages. But this classroom is different in that it is

in the heart of Loyalist East Belfast. The people who run the

eight Irish classes a week at this centre believe the remarks were

directed at them. You know, the sort of ironic thing is we have had a lot

more interest. We are all over the newspapers and people can see quite

plainly how the Irish thing which is linked to the Orange Order, and

people have been contacting me. -- Irish language. There are people who

are interested and they don't want people telling them what language

they can learn. In a statement, the grounds that the grand Orange Lodge

said that such a decision was a matter of individual conscience. The

party has denied that Republicans were using the language for

political gain. The learning Irish is pro-choice -- is their choice.

People received the education through the medium of Irish. Are you

saying those are people making political statements? In the wake of

the latest dispute, the learning process goes on.

The Education Minister has praised pupils at a school in North Belfast

for supporting a teacher who faced abuse on social media sites. The

teacher at the Boys Model School was too fearful to take her class.

School governors and Education Board officials have been meeting to

discuss the case of Catherine Seeley, who is also a Sinn Fein

councillor. 25-year-old Catherine on the became a counsellor last month

for Sinn Fein, but then it became known that she was teaching at the

Boys Model School in North Belfast am a she had a political baptism of

fire. Below littlest victims campaign spokesperson said that

anyone who thought the it was justified had no business teaching

Protestant peoples. Catherine was too scared to go back to school. Any

information or any threat to this teacher, if you look ahead to what

we really mean by a shared future, which we feel passionately about, it

means there will be no normals, so a teacher from one traditional

community working in a school in another traditional community will

not be unusual, will not be noteworthy. I think the majority,

the leadership shown by many of the people in the Boys Model School is

not affected by the small minority of those people who have read a hate

campaign against the teacher. Catherine is perfectly entitled to

teach in whichever school she is appointed to. She has been a very

good teacher by all accounts and has dedicated her career to improving

the lives of young people and she should be allowed to continue to do

so. The DUP said no-one in public life should be subjected to threats,

but a party spokesman added that parents had expressed concerns about

their teacher -- the students being taught by someone who participated

in the commemoration of IRA terrorists. Members and school

governors were meeting with education officials this afternoon

to discuss the case. Parents of children at a secondary school

earmarked for closure say Londonderry is in danger of becoming

polarised if the move goes ahead. The catholic school is in the

Waterside. Parents claim its demise would result in Protestants being

taught mainly on the Waterside and Catholics largely on the cityside.

Our North-West reporter, Keiron Tourish has the story. It just

doesn't work. Today, a former STL a member... Within the next year we

are going to have young students and young pupils from a Protestant

community being taught in Waterside. I do not think that is what we want

to do going forward. Some parents agree it will potentially polarise

secondary education in the city. Our school is going to close. We are the

only secondary with education. If that happens it will divide our

city. We are not talking about a shared city any more. The statutory

consultation period will allow people the chance to submit their

views. The minister will then decide on its future. The department says

it is not appropriate for him to comment on the proposal now. Parents

of pupils at this college say that although the signs look ominous

their campaign to keep the school open will continue. There's plenty

to come on the programme including Cecilia Daly with the weather which

has been causing some problems, especially in parts of County Down.

Believe it or not, this is a road. For a second year running local

singers have been making their mark on BBC One's talent contest The

Voice UK. Last year you may remember Andrea Begley from Pomeroy was the

overall winner with Leah McFall a finallist. Andy West reports on

Saturday's show. It is all about the boys on The Voice. This young mother

was the first to impress. A unique voice that had all four coaches

battling to get her in the team but it was Kylie who struck lucky. She

was really nice, I have never met anyone so laid back but so energetic

at the same time. She is constantly moving about but is very chilled

out. And this young women had more talent in store. In the form of

16-year-old Rachel from Limavady. Tom Jones, Kylie and Ricky Wilson

wanted her. As young as you are, you have already found yourself. Joint

my team and you will have the lot of fun. I'm going to go with Kylie. I

could not ask for anything better, getting to sing in front of icons

and getting to work with an icon, Kylie Minogue. It is surreal. That

put the two girls in the same team meaning the have to go head-to-head

in the finals. Good luck to both. Sporting stars next and Stephen

Watson who know a connection between The Voice and Ulster Rugby. Don't

tell me one of the team is auditioning? Paddy Jackson's a

pretty good singer. Rachel O'Connor, now being mentored by Kylie Minogue,

is the sister of Niall O'Connor who used to play for the Ulster rugby

team. Niall now plays for Jersey. He was known to belt out a tune or two

as well. The Irish rugby guys put on a great performance at the weekend.

It did take them a while to get going but they turned in a good

performance. Andrew Trimble scored a try in the 28-6 win and for Dan

Tuohy, a late replacement for captain Paul O'Connell, it was rain

debut. Gavin Andrews was in Dublin. This man woke up on the morning of

his six Nations debut to some interesting news. I thought he was

joking but then the laughing stopped. I did my preparation all

week. I've finally got my first cap. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was an

amazing experience. It is just great to get the win to a great weekend.

It sets us up nicely for the next round. Andrew Trimble also caught

the eye. It was good we took on three phases. It took us have an

hour to get into the game but whenever we did I felt we really got

on top of them. We got the try before half-time which I think was

pretty telling for us. If Ireland Dublin in the first-half, they

opened up in the second. The extended the winning margin to an

impressive 22 points. I said during the week we could not afford to lose

the first game. Once the kick-off happens I do not really control what

happens. I am glad we did not. We just tried to keep focused and will

come out next week and hopefully do something similar. This gives George

Schmidt his first win in the six Nations and the chance to build some

real momentum in this tournament. Bring on the Welsh! Antrim were

eventually crowned the 2013 Ulster hurling champions yesterday, seven

months after the final was supposed to be played. The rearranged

provincial decider took place in front of a crowd of less than 150

spectators at Celtic Park. Antrim were comfortable winners against a

Down side who were playing for the second time in 24 hours. During the

trophy presentation, the governing body apologised to both sets of

players for the delay in fulfulling the fixture. The night before at the

same venue, Tyrone went into an early lead against Derry, Conan

Grugan with this goal, only for the home side to fight back in the

second half from seven points down to earn a draw. Rory McIlroy was

left rueing a poor final round at the Dubai Desert Classic. After

starting Sunday in second place, the Holywood man carded two birdies and

four bogeys in his closing 18 holes. That meant a disappointing final

round of 74, two-over-par, to leave him in a tie for ninth place on 12

under overall. That was four shots behind Scotland's Stephen Gallacher,

who retained the title he won last year. Tonight's Irish Premiership

game between Glenavon and Ards is on following a pitch inspection.

Playing conditions at the weekend were pretty miserable but the title

race is certainly heating up. Champions Cliftonville beat Linfield

to narrow the gap at the top of the table to two points. It means

Cliftonville can go top if they win at Ballymena United tomorrow night.

Nikki Gregg reports. He is not used to being a matchwinner for

Cliftonville but this close range Polly could prove crucial in this

season's title race. The champions now lie two points behind Linfield

who finished the game with ten men after this man was dismissed for his

lunge on the goal-scorer. I thought we were set up for a point

beforehand to be honest. And always gave us an advantage. It was special

because it is three points. Only three pictures survived the

weather. This was the scene at the soggy Oval. This was the opener and

the visitors added to their tally as the Glentoran defence failed to deal

with a free kick. This man was alert for the rebound. It was just one

goal at Shamrock Park but it was a special one. It meant victory over

Ballymena United. Any goals scored in those conditions are pretty good.

I do not think any of the weekend rain will have dried out yet. We

might have escaped the worst of the awful weather hitting elsewhere but

it hasn't stopped the combination of wind, high tides and driving rain

causing problems on some coastal road. -- roads. Dan Stanton braved

the elements. Massive waves smashing onto the promenade in Newcastle,

County Down. This road was closed to motorists and pedestrians due to the

danger. Here the harbour was taken over by the sea and for a time it

was impassable to all vessels. This is not part of the river but part of

the coastal road here. Only 4x4 vehicles could travel along the

route. The sea is coming over the sea wall here in this car park but

so far of the main road between here and port are fed the main road

between here and Porter Ferry remains open. Towards Newton Arms

work men had to abandon plans to reinforce the sea wall due to

conditions. Soon after these pictures were taken, this part of

the coastal road was closed to traffic. The damage is being

assessed. It could be sometime before the repair cost is known.

Isn't that amazing? You would not know where the road or DCN 's.

Fantastic pictures. Not a date to be a reporter out on the roads. How are

things looking now? What happened today was a combination of the high

tide coming at the same time as peak winds. The direction of the win was

right onto the shore hence the big waves coming over the sea wall. Not

quite so bad further north along the Antrim caused but still not a day to

be standing close to the coast at all. The winds have dropped and the

rain has almost stopped so things have quite and down big time. One or

two showers in the West and quite chilly as the wind eases.

Temperatures could get close to freezing. Tomorrow will be a massive

improvement on today, much drier and brighter with light winds. There

could be frost at first, you may have to scrape the car windscreen

first thing. Temperatures on the lower side at eight o'clock in the

morning. One or two mist or fog patches bursting. Overall it is a

quieter start to the day. Most places will get a large part of the

day dry, perhaps just a few showers in eastern areas later. The breeze

is picking up and we have an early weather warning issued by The Met

office. An early were earlier warning is in force. -- whether

warning. The wind will gust to 70 mph, coming straight onto the

costs. There will be some heavy been around so we are likely to have

further flooding problems. The rain comes in tomorrow night with the

wind is picking up to gale force and that will continue into Wednesday.

More heavy rain around and strong winds on Wednesday and some coastal

flooding. That was BBC Newsline, thank you for watching, goodbye.