:00:00. > :00:17.Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline.
:00:18. > :00:20.The NI21 leader Basil McCrea confirms he's fighting allegations
:00:21. > :00:24.of sexual impropriety - we hear from the woman at the centre of the
:00:25. > :00:43.The clinic a political breakthrough in this week's elections. Instead it
:00:44. > :00:45.seems the party is breaking apart. I live that Belfast City Hall with
:00:46. > :00:51.the latest on the election counts. The family of County Armagh woman
:00:52. > :00:54.Natasha McShane welcome a 90-year jail sentence for the man
:00:55. > :00:57.who attacked her in Chicago. to deny he's leaving Celtic to join
:00:58. > :01:06.another club. The debacle involving NI21 in a
:01:07. > :01:09.moment. But first the election and as you can see the BBC Newsline
:01:10. > :01:13.studio has been dressed for this evening's results programme. Some of
:01:14. > :01:16.those results have already come in. Let's check the state of play in the
:01:17. > :01:24.local district election. Here are the seats won by the
:01:25. > :01:49.different parties so far. 462 seats are up for grabs in 11
:01:50. > :01:51.super councils. We will talk to reporters in some of the centres in
:01:52. > :01:59.a few minutes. The leader of NI21, Basil McCrea,
:02:00. > :02:02.has revealed that he is facing claims of inappropriate sexual
:02:03. > :02:05.activity. He denies he has done anything wrong. Last night the
:02:06. > :02:07.party's Deputy Leader, John McCallister, spoke of the bitter
:02:08. > :02:16.split between him and the party BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson
:02:17. > :02:34.has been following today's events. When the new political party NI21
:02:35. > :02:37.was launched, as McRae promised a new era in politics. Less than a
:02:38. > :02:44.year later, the party is in turmoil. Basil McCrea faces allegations of
:02:45. > :02:47.inappropriate sexual behaviour. On BBC Radio Ulster this morning he
:02:48. > :02:53.made it clear he rejected the claims. The allegations were only
:02:54. > :02:59.brought to my attention last night and at first reading of them I can
:03:00. > :03:06.say that I deny them. On that basis, I will not go any further on the
:03:07. > :03:12.description, if you like. It is obviously an issue I will have to
:03:13. > :03:18.deal with and one of the things I am looking at is how best to deal with
:03:19. > :03:22.the issues and this issue needs to be dealt with. It has led to a
:03:23. > :03:27.public fallout with deputy leader John McCallister. Last night John
:03:28. > :03:31.McCallister claimed that the party's sudden decision this week to
:03:32. > :03:38.scrap its Unionist designation was an attempt to force him out of the
:03:39. > :03:48.party. He says he is going nowhere. Not a chance. With and morale, there
:03:49. > :03:53.is no way I am leaving at a point in time until these issues are
:03:54. > :03:59.resolved. It has been an extraordinary couple of days. It is
:04:00. > :04:03.difficult to imagine a worse set of circumstances for a new political
:04:04. > :04:10.party. It is hard to see how they now survive. I can't describe how
:04:11. > :04:19.disappointed I feel. I feel we have let down a lot of voters by having
:04:20. > :04:24.this right now. I am very hurt and shocked and devastated and I think
:04:25. > :04:30.Basil McCrea needs to have a fair process. It is important that people
:04:31. > :04:37.do not judge people until the opportunity comes to have all of the
:04:38. > :04:44.facts. All the work by everybody has just been ruined. The woman who made
:04:45. > :04:48.the allegations has spoken out. Ashley Murray is a former party
:04:49. > :04:54.worker. She says the allegations go back to next year but says she
:04:55. > :04:58.hasn't gone to the police. He is respected politician with a lot of
:04:59. > :05:06.power behind them. Who's come to believe me? That is the way I saw
:05:07. > :05:12.it. Who will believe me? Why did you to going back to work? I needed the
:05:13. > :05:17.work. I left school with no qualifications and found it hard
:05:18. > :05:22.through employment. Basil McCrea was not available for a television
:05:23. > :05:29.interview but has repeatedly said he has done nothing wrong.
:05:30. > :05:35.In the election, counting has gone on all day. Our political reporter
:05:36. > :05:39.has more. Candidates, family members and
:05:40. > :05:43.supporters have spent the day in count centres across Northern
:05:44. > :05:48.Ireland. 900 hopefuls are chasing 460 seats in elephant district
:05:49. > :05:55.councils. Counters for Antrim and Newtownabbey were the fastest and
:05:56. > :06:08.the elected the first counsellor, with low Byrne not far behind. --
:06:09. > :06:12.Lisburn. We have stood the largest number of councillors. They are
:06:13. > :06:19.doing well and working for the communities. The Sinn Fein MP and
:06:20. > :06:25.executive ministers were interested observers here. The witness the
:06:26. > :06:30.first independent candidate elected. Sinn Fein have high hopes for the
:06:31. > :06:35.new mid Ulster Council. It is quite clear that we will overwhelmingly be
:06:36. > :06:40.the largest party in the new mid Ulster Council. Reports from
:06:41. > :06:48.elsewhere suggest we are doing well but as always it will come down to
:06:49. > :06:52.the final count. In Belfast, one vote separated Sinn Fein and the
:06:53. > :06:58.SDLP's candidates, who will both return to the council chamber. I'm
:06:59. > :07:04.really pleased. I've worked as hard as I can in the last few years.
:07:05. > :07:08.There were obviously changes, losing quite a strong ward for us but I am
:07:09. > :07:20.pleased that the vote has held up. There were good moments for the
:07:21. > :07:32.alliance party. It is a fantastic result for us and for me and my
:07:33. > :07:35.whole team. There was much media attention on NI21's Tina McKenzie,
:07:36. > :07:41.who had hoped to win a seat in Belfast. But her difficult week
:07:42. > :07:48.continued. She received just 256 first preference votes. In
:07:49. > :07:57.Londonderry, security was tight and scanners were used. The Ulster
:07:58. > :08:13.unionists were hopeful they were vote would be strong in firm --
:08:14. > :08:19.other places. So far the TUV have won two seats. It will be tomorrow
:08:20. > :08:29.afternoon before we get all the results.
:08:30. > :08:34.Our political editor is at Belfast City Hall. 60 seats they are. Any
:08:35. > :08:41.surprises? So far we have heard the stories you
:08:42. > :08:53.have just heard. Michael Long being elected in east Belfast, but one
:08:54. > :08:59.interesting development in the last short while was that the People
:09:00. > :09:14.Before Profit candidate who heckled Nigel Farage recently, he looks like
:09:15. > :09:18.he might be on course for City Hall. There are a living new councils. Any
:09:19. > :09:24.thoughts on how the NI21 events have impacted their votes?
:09:25. > :09:27.It is hard to know how it would've if those stories haven't unfolded
:09:28. > :09:33.during the course of the week. What is clear from the relatively poor
:09:34. > :09:39.performance of Tina McKenzie in her own electoral area is that generally
:09:40. > :09:44.speaking I think they are falling far short of their expectations. It
:09:45. > :09:51.has been a case of them taking part as best they could in the air war.
:09:52. > :09:56.Party election broadcast some such. But they didn't have the kind of
:09:57. > :10:04.resources of the established parties for the ground war.
:10:05. > :10:09.Let's get a flavour of what is happening at some of the other count
:10:10. > :10:23.centres. We have reporters in Lisburn, Londonderry, Coleraine and
:10:24. > :10:33.Omagh. Results did come early. They are at it again and things have been
:10:34. > :10:47.moving slickly. So far, seven DUP councillors are elected. Two Ulster
:10:48. > :10:58.units. -- Unionists. One Alliance. Mary Kate Quinn was not elected.
:10:59. > :11:03.They are on target to get to the 20 seat marked. We are being told that
:11:04. > :11:17.despite the problems with leadership, NI21 are polling well
:11:18. > :11:23.against the Alliance party. Kieran. The account is well underway here
:11:24. > :11:31.in. We have had some results in the past hour. The SDLP in candidate has
:11:32. > :11:39.been elected. So has the Sinn Fein candidate. It appears it is turning
:11:40. > :11:50.into Independence Day here because their independents are doing well.
:11:51. > :11:57.The STL peel look like the big losers and Sinn Fein will emerge
:11:58. > :12:05.with 16 seats, the top party. What has been happening in Coleraine?
:12:06. > :12:08.This new super council will cover a swathe of land across the top of
:12:09. > :12:17.Northern Ireland. Four councils have become one. Carles Way Coast and
:12:18. > :12:22.claims. It is likely to have a unionist majority when the votes are
:12:23. > :12:33.counted. The councillors from the DUP. Russell Watson, a former UVF
:12:34. > :12:43.prisoner has topped the poll. He is not elected but you has topped the
:12:44. > :12:47.poll from a standing start. Julian. Traditionally, there is a large
:12:48. > :12:58.turnout here in the West but even the fewer people have gone to the
:12:59. > :13:01.polls. 70% and below 50%. Sinn Fein should be the biggest party here.
:13:02. > :13:12.Four councillors so far on first preferences. Unionists also doing
:13:13. > :13:17.well. One independent elected. The Ulster Unionists could lose out in
:13:18. > :13:23.the towns and an anti-fracking candidate has been polling well but
:13:24. > :13:30.he will depend on transfers. If any big result happens we will bring it
:13:31. > :13:37.to you. The main election programme will be on BBC Two at 9pm. Still
:13:38. > :13:39.ahead on the programme, Neil Lennon denies he is leaving Celtic to go to
:13:40. > :13:50.another club. The mother of a woman who was left
:13:51. > :13:53.brain damaged after an assault in Chicago has welcomed the 90 year
:13:54. > :13:59.jail sentence given to her daughter's attacker. Natasha McShane
:14:00. > :14:03.was with her American friend when they were beaten up by Heriberto
:14:04. > :14:10.Viramontes. They were on a night out.
:14:11. > :14:17.The four Natasha McShane travelled to Chicago, her life was bright and
:14:18. > :14:22.full of promise. Her mother now faces -- her mother says she now
:14:23. > :14:28.faces a lifetime of pain and misery. She and her friends were attacked
:14:29. > :14:33.after a night out. Natasha suffered severe brain damage and remains
:14:34. > :14:37.unable to walk or properly taught. The man used a baseball bat to beat
:14:38. > :14:42.them and store their wallets. He has seen using their card 20 minutes
:14:43. > :14:47.later at a petrol pump. He told the judge he felt remorse at prosecutors
:14:48. > :15:15.played tapes from jail which painted a different picture. We wish to
:15:16. > :15:19.played tapes from jail which painted thank the state's attorney office
:15:20. > :15:25.and Julie who have done an amazing job. Her friend still suffers health
:15:26. > :15:33.problems but acts as a key witness. Was left in tears during the trial.
:15:34. > :15:37.Thank you to the city of Chicago, it is a beautiful place to live. I am
:15:38. > :15:46.very excited about the outcome today. Natasha's family are now
:15:47. > :15:50.under way home. It is understood she has undergone some signs of
:15:51. > :15:54.improvement after undergoing therapy but the family says it is a great
:15:55. > :16:04.struggle which has brought sadness to them all.
:16:05. > :16:07.The former American diplomat Richard Haass says he won't be involved
:16:08. > :16:11.in next week's party leader talks on the past, parades and flags.
:16:12. > :16:14.But he said it was now an ideal moment to return to address
:16:15. > :16:17.Our Dublin Correspondent Shane Harrison has more on this.
:16:18. > :16:21.Dr Haass is having talks with the Dublin and London governments -
:16:22. > :16:37.He added that he does not foresee a future role. He is of the view that
:16:38. > :16:45.mediator's rolls can be exaggerated and it is up to the political
:16:46. > :16:49.parties to reach decisions. What is decisive in our negotiation is the
:16:50. > :16:53.willingness of the parties themselves to make difficult
:16:54. > :16:57.decisions and then defend those decisions to their supporters.
:16:58. > :17:03.Mediators can help. I will get thrown out of the union for making
:17:04. > :17:07.this point, but the real work in our negotiation needs to be done by the
:17:08. > :17:13.protagonists and leaders of the parties. If they are willing to do
:17:14. > :17:19.that. If they are prepared to make difficult decisions, there will be
:17:20. > :17:23.progress. Does that mean a more prominent role for governments in
:17:24. > :17:28.the talks next week? The political parties are meeting on Tuesday while
:17:29. > :17:37.the Secretary of State Villiers, will be in Dublin for a meeting. At
:17:38. > :17:44.the meeting today Eamon Gilmore said the two governments should view that
:17:45. > :17:50.urgency was now required. -- sheared the view. He also said Dublin fully
:17:51. > :17:55.supported the proposals. That is not the case with London at the moment.
:17:56. > :18:01.The SDLP and Sinn Fein also support Richard Haass but the main problem
:18:02. > :18:02.is the DUP, the Ulster in as Andy Amy Adams and not singing of the
:18:03. > :18:10.same things sheet as the others. Sports next - Mark Sidebottom's here
:18:11. > :18:13.- yesterday Neil Lennon left Celtic Yes - he wasn't giving much
:18:14. > :18:19.away today but was clear that he has not quit as Celic manager to
:18:20. > :18:22.walk straight into another job. he was speaking just before
:18:23. > :18:37.leaving for Lisbon to watch this It will not sink in for a little
:18:38. > :18:43.while. It will take some time to buy jest it. I am content with the
:18:44. > :18:56.decision. The time was right. -- two digests it. It has been a brilliant
:18:57. > :18:59.decision. The time was right. -- two two years. Success on the field and
:19:00. > :19:00.topsy-turvy off the field. It was exciting period in my life. Time is
:19:01. > :19:02.for something else. Do you expect your future to lie in the English
:19:03. > :19:09.premiership? I have given it now thought. We will see what the future
:19:10. > :19:16.brings. I am looking forward to it. I am very content with what we have
:19:17. > :19:26.achieved in the last few years. I would like to thank everyone
:19:27. > :19:29.associated with the club. BBC Scotland were given short shrift
:19:30. > :19:35.beer. Onto golf. Rory McIlroy remains well
:19:36. > :19:37.in contention at the An early starter
:19:38. > :19:52.in today's second round, he's An early starter
:19:53. > :19:57.roller-coaster. This error led to a double
:19:58. > :20:02.roller-coaster. This error led to a hole. That has gone long. Where has
:20:03. > :20:19.that finished? It has gone all over the road. Dangerously close to the
:20:20. > :20:30.cut, this superb iron shot on the 12th kick-started a turnaround. He
:20:31. > :20:47.is very good, he can play this boy! Hedwall that Pat and went on to
:20:48. > :20:56.birdie three of the last polls to be from well-placed ahead of the
:20:57. > :20:59.weekend. But he is still behind Shane Long on the leaderboards,
:21:00. > :21:00.following another steady round. There's a bumper weekend of
:21:01. > :21:01.Ulster Championship football ahead, tomorrow Down and Tyrone replay
:21:02. > :21:01.in Newry. under the new broadcast deal we can
:21:02. > :21:01.only show the match on televison if RTE does and they've opetd not
:21:02. > :21:01.to but it is live on The replay comes compliments
:21:02. > :21:02.of this injury time Sean Cavanagh But Down will take heart from their
:21:03. > :21:29.strong second half performance and Donegal loved him and such was Brian
:21:30. > :21:36.McIver's bond with the men from Tir Conaill that he said he'd never
:21:37. > :21:37.manage another team against his adopted county- but never is a long
:21:38. > :21:38.time, On Sunday, he's at the helm as Derry attempt to dump Jim McGuinness
:21:39. > :21:39.and Donegal out of the Ulster Championship.
:21:40. > :21:46.Here is Thomas Niblock. Here is Thomas Niblock.
:21:47. > :21:56.I just thought at the time it would be very difficult to manage against
:21:57. > :22:03.them. I enjoy football and enjoy being involved in it. I have enjoyed
:22:04. > :22:13.working with the Derry lives. Donegal and Derry have always. In
:22:14. > :22:22.2011, Donegal won their first title. In the 1993 final it was the
:22:23. > :22:26.opposite result. But now, it is 2014 and the standout game is most
:22:27. > :22:34.definitely Derry against Danny golf. Yes, it is a big test. 2012 was
:22:35. > :22:40.disappointing. We are obviously hoping to put the records through
:22:41. > :22:50.this year. We have a lot to prove on the 21st. The game is live on
:22:51. > :22:52.Sunday. That's it thank you very much for inviting me to the big
:22:53. > :22:59.table. Here is Thomas Niblock.
:23:00. > :23:01.It's the final day of the Queen's Baton Relay in Northern IReland.
:23:02. > :23:04.Ahead of the Commonwealth Games it is
:23:05. > :23:05.visiting more than 60 countries. Chris Page has been
:23:06. > :23:15.following its tour here. It was the endgame for the baton
:23:16. > :23:23.relay in Northern Ireland today. Judo was on display. The flag bearer
:23:24. > :23:27.lifetime is looking forward to his third aims. It is the only chance
:23:28. > :23:32.Northern Ireland gets to compete for Northern Ireland in the multi-games
:23:33. > :23:36.so it is very special. Sportspeople welcomed the battle on, including
:23:37. > :23:45.the badminton team which features two sets of siblings. How does it
:23:46. > :23:52.feel for you? It is amazing having it in northern Ireland. It has been
:23:53. > :23:58.all round the world. It will be very special for me to compete. There is
:23:59. > :24:03.a real sense of build up now? We have said before, this is when the
:24:04. > :24:06.hard work starts. The next stop was then maybe Peters track where
:24:07. > :24:16.children joined in the celebrations. This is it, this is the Queen's
:24:17. > :24:22.Baton Relay. It is made of titanium. This reflects the industrial
:24:23. > :24:25.heritage of Glasgow which chimes with Belfast. You can see the school
:24:26. > :24:28.which contains the message from the Queen which will be read out at the
:24:29. > :24:36.opening of the games in July. On the top this granite gemstone from Ailsa
:24:37. > :24:41.Craig will stay in Northern Ireland. It will be given to the team here in
:24:42. > :24:44.Belfast as a souvenir. Then the baton relay the Titanic Belfast. It
:24:45. > :24:50.has been to some of our best-known sites as part of its remarkable
:24:51. > :24:54.journey during -- throughout the Commonwealth.
:24:55. > :24:57.This weekend Belfast plays host to some magnificent ships that
:24:58. > :25:01.Our weather presenter Geoff Maskell tells us about the forecast
:25:02. > :25:06.and the Maritime festival at Titanic Belfast.
:25:07. > :25:14.Ahoy there and welcome on board the training ship. She is here to sell
:25:15. > :25:20.the idea of sailing ships. What is the magic of field training? It is
:25:21. > :25:25.all about teamwork and working towards a common goal, learning to
:25:26. > :25:30.get on with each other on a closely confined environments. Come down and
:25:31. > :25:37.see the ship, we are giving exciting tours. Wok the decks and see what it
:25:38. > :25:44.is like to sail aboard a traditional tall ship. You have organised the
:25:45. > :25:49.festival, what else is here? Everyone is coming to see the tall
:25:50. > :25:55.ships but we have other naval vessels and there are lots of family
:25:56. > :26:00.friendly things, lots of fun. There is loads going on here this weekend.
:26:01. > :26:04.The key question is what will the weather be doing as we go through
:26:05. > :26:09.the season. We have some rain working as we end from the eastern
:26:10. > :26:15.half of Northern Ireland. It could be quite heavy tonight. The good
:26:16. > :26:20.news is that as we go into Saturday morning, things start with rain but
:26:21. > :26:26.that least us quickly and behind it it is a drier and warmer day with
:26:27. > :26:32.decent spells of brighter weather. We could see temperatures up to 13
:26:33. > :26:39.or 14 degrees. Things are cooler on the north coast. We will still have
:26:40. > :26:45.that northerly breeze. Not a bad day and for spectators
:26:46. > :26:49.that northerly breeze. Not a bad day dry. As we go into Saturday evening,
:26:50. > :26:57.we will have more cloud and the chance of a few showers overnight
:26:58. > :27:02.into Sunday. Sunday will be more of a disappointing day. We start off
:27:03. > :27:06.with some drizzly rain and overnights it will be mild because
:27:07. > :27:14.of the cloud cover. Lows of nine or 10 degrees. Sunday itself is not as
:27:15. > :27:17.good as Saturday. Plenty of cloud cover around and some drizzly
:27:18. > :27:25.ranging the day. Temperatures remain respectable. We will see highs of 14
:27:26. > :27:29.or 15 degrees on Sunday. Towards the Bank Holiday Monday, there is a
:27:30. > :27:32.chance for a bit of cautious optimism, some brightness amidst the
:27:33. > :27:39.odd shower. Temperatures definitely on the week up. Whatever you're
:27:40. > :27:42.doing on the weekend, have great one. It'll be a busy weekend on the
:27:43. > :27:51.election. It's going to be a weekend
:27:52. > :27:53.for those involved in the counting of votes in the local council
:27:54. > :27:56.election and then the european election count on the bank holiday.
:27:57. > :28:00.Before we go - this is how it looks so far with
:28:01. > :28:02.the state of the parties. There's a long way to go but
:28:03. > :28:12.at the moment. Let's look at the history
:28:13. > :28:16.of BBC TWO with me, Simon Schama. 'Harry And Paul's
:28:17. > :28:22.Story Of The 2s - part of 'the Big Bumper Bank Holiday
:28:23. > :28:26.Comedy 50th Birthday Weekend.'