21/03/2014 BBC Newsline

That's all from us. Don't forget a first look at the papers over on the

BBC A former IRA leader has been charged

in connection with the abduction and murder of Jean McConville in 1972.

She was one of the so-called Disappeared, a group of 16 people

who were shot and secretly buried by the IRA.

In the 70s, Ivory Bell was a senior leader in the provisional IRA, who

along with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, was part of a delegation

that had secret talks with the British government. He was arrested

at his home on Tuesday in connection with the disappearance of Jean

McConville. She was kidnapped in front of her ten children, accused

of having been an informer. That Kim was later dismissed following an

official investigation. Despite numerous digs on a desolate beaches

in the Irish Republic, her body was not found until 2003 when a man

walking his dog stumbled upon her remains. I've Bell is expected to

appear in court in the morning. The man who died after the boat he

was in sank in Lough Ree in County Westmeath has been named locally as

David Warnock from Armagh. Mr Warnock who was in his 20s was on a

fishing trip with two friends when the accident happened. One of them

is still missing and the other is critically ill in hospital.

The men had planned a camping and fishing expedition on Lough Ree,

their boat full of equipment. When weather conditions did, a local man

was quick to the alarm. You could see that the lads had a passion for

what they were doing, that was very thing, their sport and they loved

it. The last thing I said to the lads was, be safe and enjoy

yourselves. The lifeboat found two men in the water and brought them

ashore. Searchers have been continuing for the third man and the

boat. Where the search is going on, it is about three miles from side to

side. It was a big area of water and it is quite deep. Strong winds can

make choppy waves very quickly. I think that is maybe what could them

by surprise. Searchers have been taking place along the shore and on

the surface of the water and divers have been looking beneath the water.

Local fishermen have also joined in the search. The group of lads that

were fishing where from a club and like ourselves, but liked the water.

Now it is an anxious wait for news. I have spoken briefly to some people

here and it is very raw and emotional. There was not a lot said

but we will see how we go later on. Two parents have pleaded guilty to a

litany of sexual abuse and other offences against their children over

three decades. Two of the children's uncles and two other men pleaded

guilty to similar charges. There are some details in this report which

you may find upsetting. A court has heard today how for

children suffered horrific sexual abuse, neglect and cruelty by their

parents and two uncles as well as two other men. Belfast Crown Court

also heard that the abuse took place between the late 70s and early 1990s

in the children's home before they were taken into care. The

prosecution barrister said the children's mother had sex with

various men on different occasions, sometimes even with her two

brothers. He said the mother described an early hearing as a

prostitute was often drunk and made the four young children watch her

having sex. He added one girl was left so badly neglected that she was

still in a cot at the age of two and could barely walk or talk. One child

was a bed-wetter and he was made to sleep in a soiled mattress. A social

worker postbag report described the house as squalid. It said the

children were often left starving. All six of the accused who have all

pleaded guilty to the charges eventually appeared in the dock

today. One of the uncles had to be arrested and brought to court. The

father and mother, both have pleaded guilty to 17 charges of cruelty and

neglect. The mother, to six counts of gross indecency and the father to

a charge of assault. Sentencing will take place later this month.

The outgoing Deputy Chief Constable Judith Gillespie told the Alliance

Party conference tonight that Democrats should hold true to a

strategic vision for the future of Northern Ireland. She leaves her

post next week. We have the continuing challenges

around policing public disorder, parades and our troubled past. These

could also to throw us of the vision and throw us off course for the

longer term. We must not let them. As I reflect on my 32 years policing

Northern Ireland, I have learned that we are all in this for the

longer game. There was a fond farewell today to

Jimmy Ellis, the veteran actor remembered for his many roles on

stage and screen. His family and fellow actors gathered in Belfast

for the 82-year-old's funeral service.

Born and bred in the shadow of the shipyard, Jimmy Ellis never forgot

where he came from. Nor have the public that he touched through

stage, screen and drama. None more so than as the cop in Z Cars. More

than a future years were brushed away but mostly it was easy,

laughter and applause which ran out from the Church in East Belfast as

family, friends and fellow actors celebrated the life and work of

Jimmy Ellis. He was a great friend and amend or, not just for me, but

for many people. Most of us will remember him and his fun. There have

been many tributes. Kenneth Branagh said he was a highly intelligent and

funny man and a tremendous actor. Just overwhelming to see the people

here. He would be overwhelmed that this many people came today. That

was the experience of so many of us today of Jimmy Ellis, a man, fully

alive. This afternoon, a final episode as a Jimmy Ellis's cortege

revisited some of the special places in his life. The former family home

on Park Avenue and the school he attended as a boy. An opportunity to

four Belfast to say farewell and thank you to one of its favourite

sons. Rugby, three penalties from Paddy

Jackson earned Ulster a 9-3 victory over Edinburgh in tonight's Pro12

league game at Murrayfield. The win sees Ulster stay in touch with

league leaders Leinster as they move up to second in the table, five

points behind their rivals. The weather is next.

Has been some snow in places today and there will be more of a

suggestion of winter this coming weekend. Still some wintry showers

around tonight. A cold night to come with Frost in the countryside and

ice on many untreated roads and pavements. The Met office had issued

a warning for icy surfaces. A cold weekend, particularly in the wind.

Some sunshine around on Sunday but also some wintry showers tomorrow. A

cold start tomorrow with ice in places but also quite sunny for a

time but showers will move him from the West and they will fall as a mix

of rain, hail, sleet and snow. The snow should not settle anywhere but

there will be a cold wind blowing through the temperatures you see

here of around eight degrees, that is where the sun is shining. When

the snow comes, it will of course feel much much colder. In the middle

of the afternoon tomorrow, there will be some sunshine around. Some

of the showers will feel wintry. In the sunshine, we could see

temperatures of eight or nine degrees. Sunday is the better of the

two days this weekend. Still that cold wind, especially in the north

and east. Sunday night, we are expecting a sharp frost. Less cold

for the beginning of next week. That's it for now. You can keep

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and Twitter. From BBC Newsline, good night and have a great weekend.