01/03/2014 BBC Newsline

stories on the BBC News Channel. That's all from

Good afternoon. A man has appeared That's all from me, stay with us

Good afternoon. A man has appeared in court in Omagh charged with the

murder of his partner. Mairead McCallion, 36, was found with head

injuries at a house in Castleview Court last Sunday and died the next

day. The accused is Noel Knox, 50, of Knockshee park in Omagh, who

appeared at the town's Magistrates' Court speaking only to confirm that

he understood the charge against him. Bail was refused and the

defendant, who denies the charge, will appear in court again later

this month. Two people have been arrested as

police investigate the sudden death of a man who was found with head

injuries in Coleraine. The 46-year-old was discovered outside a

house in Strand Road just before 4am. He died later in hospital.

A planned homecoming event in County Donegal tonight for John Downey, who

was charged with murdering four soldiers in the Hyde park bombing,

has been cancelled. A judge stopped the case against Mr Downey last week

because the accused had been sent a government letter telling him,

mistakenly, that he was not wanted by police. Supporters had organised

what was billed as a "welcome home dance" for him. But in a statement

issued by Sinn Fein, Mr Downey has said he has decided to cancel

tonight's event. He has said it was planned as a simple get-together and

he did not want it to be turned into a media circus.

Two men have been attacked and injured by a masked gang armed with

baseball bats and a hammer in Larne. Three men went into the house in

Greenland Parade shortly after midnight. Some damage was also

caused to a window and the front door. The victims' injuries aren't

thought to be serious. As two teachers' unions criticise

the way pupils with special needs are taught, a charity says too many

children are losing out. "Positive Futures" deals with learning

disabilities and autism and says the stress of trying to get a good

education is putting a lot of pressure on families.

Kirsty, 16, has been relying on home tuition for two years. Her family

realised she could not cope in mainstream or special schools. She

has a mixture of conditions including autism and believes there

is a lack of training for teachers working with pupils like her. Some

teachers were very good with my autism and anxiety. Some teachers

did not get me. They would have stood too close to me or shouted

right behind me or put their hands on me. The family are under huge

stress and one school specifically geared to order them. I have had to

leave work to be at home with her so that has been a big thing to come to

terms with. Everything has had such a huge effect on us as a family.

Kirsty Sage with lots to be in school and is far from being the

only one who cannot find a suitable replacement. Not an isolated

situation. I have had parents begin to me about the circumstances in

which their children find themselves were schools simply do not seem to

be able to go with or understand the issues their children present. The

family said his too wait for Kirsty, but they might want their experience

to help others. In Rugby, Tommy Bowe marked his

return to the Ulster team last night by crossing the line twice in a

five-try bonus point victory over the Dragons. The Pro 12 league clash

finished 38-8 at Ravenhill. Ruan Pienaar and Sean Doyle also touched

down. Paddy Jackson added the conversions while Pienaar also

kicked a penalty adding to the home side's total.

The Irish Football Association say they expect Northern Ireland's

friendly match in Cyprus to go ahead next week, after a referee's car was

damaged in a bomb attack near Nicosia yesterday. All first

division matches in Cyprus this weekend have been postponed. The IFA

chief executive Patrick Nelson says they are monitoring developments

ahead of the match on Wednesday. The latest information as the incident

would have nothing to do with international football and would not

put the game in jeopardy, however we are monitoring developments. We are

going to be in contact with the Cypriots if they later today and we

are waiting for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to comment on it

and we are keeping an eye on it. It has been quite nice for the first

day of spring. Clothes are moving in from the Atlantic and that will

bring some rain. A lot of dry weather around. Quite chilly as the

breeze picks up. This weather front will come in across western areas

during the course of the day but probably not reaching the east coast

and the south-east until this evening. A few showers over Wales

and north-west England otherwise many parts will be drivers up. A

couple of hours of heavy rain, strong winds, but it does not last

and a good part of the night will be dry and clear. Some frost, fog and

ice on Sunday morning. More rain will be moving in from the west on

Sunday especially through the second half of the morning. An increasingly

wet and windy day to come on Sunday. Mid-afternoon on words it starts to

dry up and brighten up and maybe some sunshine before the end of the

day. A few wintry showers, and on Monday the showers could be wintry

over the hills, otherwise reasonably dry and braid. Not much changing as

we head into Tuesday and Wednesday. The second half of the new week will

be more unsettled and milder. That's it for now. Our next

television news is at 6:05pm. Nowadays we take the issue of

fairness in employment for granted. I have never felt it important

to ask anybody's religion when I'm going to employ them

as a sheet metal worker. This is the story of fair

employment in Northern Ireland. it masked a much greater problem

in terms of educational disadvantage.