:00:00. > :00:22.BBC One we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.
:00:23. > :00:26.Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline:
:00:27. > :00:30.The mother of a woman murdered by her former partner says her daughter
:00:31. > :00:37.Celebrations as the families of two care homes
:00:38. > :00:41.threatened with closure receive good news.
:00:42. > :00:50.challenge taken by two gay couples to the ban on same sex marriage.
:00:51. > :01:00.Wrangling ahead of the launch of a new taxi service here which has
:01:01. > :01:07.swept the globe, and the Antrim
:01:08. > :01:13.schoolboy with a shot at playing for Real Madrid.
:01:14. > :01:15.And the weekends weather will be dominated by Storm Desmond.
:01:16. > :01:19.The mother of Jean Quigley, who was killed by her former
:01:20. > :01:22.partner, has been describing the moment when she found her daughter's
:01:23. > :01:25.Yesterday in Dublin, Stephen Cahoon, who is originally from Magherafelt,
:01:26. > :01:29.was convicted of murdering the pregnant mother of four children.
:01:30. > :01:32.Our reporter in the North-West, Keiron Tourish, has been speaking
:01:33. > :01:37.The family of Jean Quigley say they're relieved
:01:38. > :01:43.Yesterday her former partner Stephen Cahoon was found guilty for a second
:01:44. > :01:50.The victim's body was found by her mother, naked and bruised,
:01:51. > :02:05.That's just the way I phoned her. There was blood here, blood there.
:02:06. > :02:14.She was just called and I just wanted to lift but I couldn't. I had
:02:15. > :02:19.to find a girl, at 30 years of age, no matter who her mother was, with
:02:20. > :02:24.four children, it could never be and I couldn't let go of her. It was
:02:25. > :02:28.like somebody had cut a piece of my heart out. You don't expect to find
:02:29. > :02:30.what I found and it was horrendous. This CCTV footage shows
:02:31. > :02:33.the last images of Jean Quigley She was 30 years old and ten
:02:34. > :02:37.weeks pregnant with his child. Cahoon has a history
:02:38. > :02:40.of violence against women. He beat her beyond recognition
:02:41. > :02:49.in 1997 when she was 18. At the trial Stephen Cahoon told
:02:50. > :02:52.the jury that he "saw red" when she told him the baby
:02:53. > :02:56.she was expecting wasn't his. So he said he
:02:57. > :02:58."grabbed and pushed" her He admitted strangling her
:02:59. > :03:03.but denied her murder. However, the prosecution told
:03:04. > :03:06.the jury that that there was evidence of "violence from beginning
:03:07. > :03:10.to end" at the scene. Arrested in the Republic,
:03:11. > :03:14.Cahoon opted for a trial in Dublin. The first jury failed to reach
:03:15. > :03:17.a verdict. A subsequent conviction was quashed
:03:18. > :03:21.at appeal because of a technicality. Yesterday another jury, the third,
:03:22. > :03:25.found him guilty. He's been sentenced to life
:03:26. > :03:39.imprisonment, He should just rot in hell. He
:03:40. > :03:45.should stay in that prison and never get out, but he will, it's the law,
:03:46. > :03:52.when he has done his time he is free to leave. And what do you think of
:03:53. > :03:56.that? It's a joke. A life should mean a life. He should stay in there
:03:57. > :04:03.forever. He will come out and do it to somebody else. He has the form
:04:04. > :04:10.four. He should never be left out because he is a danger to women. And
:04:11. > :04:19.I don't care who the wee girl is, no mother wants her daughter for a
:04:20. > :04:25.punch bag. You real not for somebody else to abuse. The family say they
:04:26. > :04:29.remain steadfast in their determination to preserve the memory
:04:30. > :04:31.of a wonderful woman who was loved by many.
:04:32. > :04:34.A second man has appeared in court accused of attempting to murder
:04:35. > :04:37.David Jordan from Pomeroy is accused of being involved
:04:38. > :04:40.in a booby trap bombing which left the officer seriously injured.
:04:41. > :04:43.Another man, Gavin Coyle from Omagh, faced a similar charge yesterday.
:04:44. > :04:49.Reporting from today's hearing, Gordon Adair.
:04:50. > :04:58.It was an almost miracle escape. The constable targeted in this attack is
:04:59. > :05:01.now back on front line duties. He dragged himself out of his burning
:05:02. > :05:08.car and was then helped to safety by passing motorists. The police say
:05:09. > :05:13.this man, David Jordan from Pomeroy, was involved in planting the bomb.
:05:14. > :05:19.He denies it and through his lawyer said his arrest was what he called
:05:20. > :05:25.internment remand. A detective Sergeant said she believed she could
:05:26. > :05:29.connect him with the charges. David Jordan neither stood nor spoke
:05:30. > :05:34.during the hearing. He did wave and smile to a large group of supporters
:05:35. > :05:37.in the public an array, among them several prominent dissident
:05:38. > :05:44.republicans including Belfast man the fennel and to others of the
:05:45. > :05:50.gunman Colin Duffy. Another man, Gavin Coyle from Homer, was in court
:05:51. > :05:54.yesterday on the same charge. The police say the attack was a joint
:05:55. > :05:59.enterprise between them. David Jordan's lawyer refused to accept
:06:00. > :06:03.detectives had done enough to connect his client to the attack and
:06:04. > :06:08.questioned the evidence in some detail. Several times the district
:06:09. > :06:15.judge step down to remind him this was not a trial. The judge ruled
:06:16. > :06:18.there was a case to answer. Bail was abused with the detective citing
:06:19. > :06:22.what she called the heightened threat posed by dissident
:06:23. > :06:25.republicans is one reason behind the objection. David Jordan was then
:06:26. > :06:36.remanded in custody. There have been jubilant scenes
:06:37. > :06:41.outside a care home in Ballynahinch following the news it has been saved
:06:42. > :06:46.from closure. Another home in the same group has also been sold as a
:06:47. > :06:47.growing concern. There are still plans to close five other homes by
:06:48. > :06:49.the end of February. You could hear the relief today,
:06:50. > :06:52.in the clink of glasses It was all
:06:53. > :06:55.in stark contrast to last week, when Four Seasons announced Oakridge care
:06:56. > :06:58.home and Antrim Care Home were among But the revelation that both would
:06:59. > :07:05.be sold as a going concern and remain open left Norma Shiels,
:07:06. > :07:19.whose parents are residents here, It's so difficult, first double to
:07:20. > :07:26.find a place for nursing, which is impossible to get, and to find two
:07:27. > :07:30.places was proving really difficult, so it has been a huge
:07:31. > :07:34.roller-coaster. I don't really know how I feel at the moment but
:07:35. > :07:40.certainly relieved. I'm just so glad she is somewhere she feels safe and
:07:41. > :07:43.where the staff know her, that is such an important thing with
:07:44. > :07:47.Alzheimer's, they know when she is having a good day, when she is
:07:48. > :07:53.having a bad day, how to settle her. To go somewhere else they would
:07:54. > :07:59.have to learn that over again. A lot of us were scared if we had to move
:08:00. > :08:03.our relatives at this stage. Everybody in this home has dementia
:08:04. > :08:05.so they were going to go through a huge upheaval and it could have
:08:06. > :08:11.killed them. clouds were
:08:12. > :08:17.gathering over its business when it revealed
:08:18. > :08:19.a ?500 million debt. It's the largest operator
:08:20. > :08:21.of care homes in the UK. Hutchinson Care Homes has agreed to
:08:22. > :08:24.buy Antrim Care Home, which has 33 residents and 60 staff,
:08:25. > :08:26.while Oakridge, which has 59 residents and 80 staff, is being
:08:27. > :08:32.sold to The Spa Nursing Home Group. It's clear that they are in the
:08:33. > :08:38.market for sale. I don't know what that means. We have two homes being
:08:39. > :08:41.sold as a going concern and that is good for bulletins and staff but we
:08:42. > :08:47.do not know if that is Kate the case with the other homes. Celebrations
:08:48. > :08:52.were tempered by the act that five other homes are still earmarked for
:08:53. > :08:56.closure. Relatives of residence here said they would do all they could to
:08:57. > :08:58.help those families who are still affected.
:08:59. > :09:00.Still ahead on the programme this evening:
:09:01. > :09:08.The special arrangements for the refugees coming here from Syria.
:09:09. > :09:11.Judgment has been reserved in a legal challenge to Northern
:09:12. > :09:18.The action has been taken by two gay couples, who were the first to enter
:09:19. > :09:24.They claim the current legislation is in breach of their human rights.
:09:25. > :09:30.Rick Faragher was at the High Court in Belfast.
:09:31. > :09:33.Ten years ago, Northern Ireland was seen by many as leading the way
:09:34. > :09:45.Belfast City Hall was the venue for the UK's first civil partnership.
:09:46. > :09:56.This was soon followed by two other couples. Yesterday a lawyer
:09:57. > :10:01.representing like a couple said the lack of same sex marriage was having
:10:02. > :10:04.a serious mental, and emotional impact on some gay couples.
:10:05. > :10:07.He said the current legislation made Northern Ireland a blot on the map,
:10:08. > :10:08.a backward-looking, divisive and divided society.
:10:09. > :10:11.David McMillen QC also highlighted the Assembly's recent majority vote
:10:12. > :10:14.in favour of same-sex marriage, and said he thought it was clear
:10:15. > :10:18.that the majority of society supports this.
:10:19. > :10:21.Mr Justice O'Hara heard the case in tandem with another who want
:10:22. > :10:28.their marriage in England to be recognised here.
:10:29. > :10:34.It is a breach of the right to be treated equally but ordered the law
:10:35. > :10:40.and not to face discrimination in the right to phoned a family.
:10:41. > :10:42.Amnesty International is clear this is a breach of human rights
:10:43. > :10:44.standards and we hope the judge sees it similarly.
:10:45. > :10:47.Today, a lawyer representing the Department of Finance and Personnel
:10:48. > :10:48.said Northern Ireland already recognised homosexual couples via
:10:49. > :10:51.civil partnerships, that this satisfies the European Convention on
:10:52. > :10:53.Human Rights, and there was no legal obligation to
:10:54. > :10:59.Tony McGleenan QC also claimed a court intervention
:11:00. > :11:15.Our love is equal. It is not any less. We're not here today to look
:11:16. > :11:17.for a religious ceremony, we are here for civil marriage and for our
:11:18. > :11:20.love to be represented as equal. Mr Justice O'Hara said there was
:11:21. > :11:23.a lot to be considered in both cases and will deliver
:11:24. > :11:37.his judgement in the New Year. A woman has died in a road crash in
:11:38. > :11:40.Portland known this morning. A man who arrived at the scene fell ill
:11:41. > :11:45.and also died. The police said they knew each other but were not
:11:46. > :11:50.related. A 21-year-old man was arrested. -- Portland known.
:11:51. > :11:52.Two men have appeared in court over the discovery
:11:53. > :11:55.of a bomb at the Waterfoot Hotel in Londonderry in October.
:11:56. > :11:57.41-year-old Darren Poleon from Kells in County Antrim
:11:58. > :11:59.and 34-year-old Brian Walsh from Dunshaughlin in County Meath
:12:00. > :12:02.Newtownards Magistrates' Court has been told that police officers have
:12:03. > :12:04.over a million indecent images to sift through
:12:05. > :12:08.from a manual that was discovered at the home of a part-time cleaner
:12:09. > :12:14.Gary Carruthers from Victoria Street in Belfast was
:12:15. > :12:22.A special police team will be monitoring the safety
:12:23. > :12:26.of refugees from Syria to arrive in Northern Ireland.
:12:27. > :12:30.The first of them will be here in ten days.
:12:31. > :12:32.In all, 100 people fleeing the conflict in the Middle East
:12:33. > :12:39.Those coming this month are of mixed religions and they will eventually
:12:40. > :12:42.be housed in areas of North, West and South Belfast - areas described
:12:43. > :12:54.Imagine leaving these war-torn streets for some like these -
:12:55. > :12:58.The first ten families fleeing the Syrian conflict arrive
:12:59. > :13:02.on the 15th, on a chartered flight from the Lebanon,
:13:03. > :13:07.51 people including five children under five, one of them a baby.
:13:08. > :13:10.Some will be Christian, some Muslim - all will have passed
:13:11. > :13:16.a two-stage security process before entering the UK.
:13:17. > :13:18.The PSNI has accepted that their arrival could attract the
:13:19. > :13:30.It's recently formed a special team which will help them settle.
:13:31. > :13:38.I know where they will be settled temporarily. Those addresses are
:13:39. > :13:44.passed to us for suitability and we will do all we can to enable the
:13:45. > :13:50.effective settlement of those refugees in Northern Ireland. I hope
:13:51. > :13:56.we have a warm welcome but also a sensitive one. A number of us have
:13:57. > :13:59.been out in camps in Jordan and realise people have been through
:14:00. > :14:04.from already and Bob to help people settle here. -- and want to help.
:14:05. > :14:05.The Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme offers
:14:06. > :14:08.The Syrian refugees will be entitled to work.
:14:09. > :14:11.With Home Office funding they'll have access to benefits and housing
:14:12. > :14:14.support, and they'll have health care and places in local schools.
:14:15. > :14:16.They can apply for an integration loan to cover
:14:17. > :14:22.They'll also have the freedom to move around the UK.
:14:23. > :14:25.The families due to move into streets across Belfast will
:14:26. > :14:30.have fled great danger, looking for a new start in safety.
:14:31. > :14:40.Many groups are working together to make sure that happens.
:14:41. > :14:44.The top racer determined to walk up the aisle
:14:45. > :14:56.The taxi firm Uber will be launched in Belfast from next week.
:14:57. > :14:59.The US company already operates in more than 300 cities worldwide,
:15:00. > :15:05.The business, which is based around a smartphone app, has caused
:15:06. > :15:11.Our Economics and Business Editor John Campbell reports.
:15:12. > :15:14.Uber is a smartphone app which connects taxi drivers to their
:15:15. > :15:22.It's shaken up the industry across the world.
:15:23. > :15:25.That's prompted protests from existing operators,
:15:26. > :15:33.who accuse Uber of playing fast and loose with taxi regulations.
:15:34. > :15:36.The firm's now been granted a licence to operate here.
:15:37. > :15:44.In a statement the Department of the Environment said:
:15:45. > :15:47.That means drivers must be properly qualified,
:15:48. > :15:51.as shown on this sign-up form the company was handing out today.
:15:52. > :15:56.But one of Belfast's biggest operators thinks it won't mean
:15:57. > :16:10.There is good to be no new drivers on the road next Saturday night, so
:16:11. > :16:16.this and say that people are talking about the end of the problems at
:16:17. > :16:18.once a.m., nothing will change. A similar number of cars will be on
:16:19. > :16:22.the road in Belfast. -- one a.m.. There could still be a bump
:16:23. > :16:25.in the road for Uber. New rules due to take effect in May
:16:26. > :16:29.next year mean that all taxis must A recent statement
:16:30. > :16:31.from the Environment Minister suggests that smartphones,
:16:32. > :16:33.which are at the centre of Uber's So the company may yet have
:16:34. > :16:38.a fight on its hands. The dream of playing
:16:39. > :16:41.for the world famous football team Real Madrid could become a reality
:16:42. > :16:48.for a young County Antrim boy. Here he is - Mark Norris, who is
:16:49. > :16:51.11 years old and from Whitehead. He has been invited for a trial
:16:52. > :16:55.by the Spanish club next year. Mark is certainly talented but how
:16:56. > :17:01.did he fare against our reporter It's a long way from Carrick
:17:02. > :17:07.Grammar School to the Bernabeu. But Mark Norris has begun
:17:08. > :17:10.a journey which could lead to Mark first caught the eye of Madrid
:17:11. > :17:32.at a coaching camp while My dad has some connections with the
:17:33. > :17:35.Real Madrid people and they saw my videos and said they liked me.
:17:36. > :17:37.It all started for Mark at junior side Whitehead Eagles, and
:17:38. > :17:41.then Greenisland FC before being snapped up by Linfield Academy.
:17:42. > :17:43.Mark knows the competition will be tough but
:17:44. > :17:51.he's out to impress Real Madrid when he goes there on trial next spring.
:17:52. > :17:56.I'm going over in May and trial with them one week and
:17:57. > :18:00.Just like his lookalike hero Ronaldo,
:18:01. > :18:11.It all looks promising but Mark also knows the value of education.
:18:12. > :18:15.He's keen on art, music and learning Spanish.
:18:16. > :18:21.Now that could come in very handy in Madrid.
:18:22. > :18:28.Whether or not that the bulk carrier works out, we would like to thank
:18:29. > :18:32.Mark will look back fondly on his school days here, playing with his
:18:33. > :18:34.other classmates -- the football career.
:18:35. > :18:36.From here on, the football gets tougher.
:18:37. > :18:38.Let's see how Mark fares against a 16-stone stopper.
:18:39. > :18:41.So watch out for that name, Mark Norris, and grab a selfie
:18:42. > :18:58.Yes, remember that name, Mark Norris.
:18:59. > :19:06.Just a correction for you. Earlier we said a man from Kells had connect
:19:07. > :19:12.-- appeared in court in connection with a Waterford bomb. We should
:19:13. > :19:14.have said Kells in County Meath and are willing to apologise for any
:19:15. > :19:15.confusion. It's an important night for Ulster
:19:16. > :19:18.rugby - they're in action Thomas Niblock is at the Kingspan
:19:19. > :19:33.stadium in Belfast. Good evening. Ulster have lost two
:19:34. > :19:41.games on the bounce to Toulouse at third would be very bad, and it
:19:42. > :19:47.would be a perfect engagement present for one of their supporters.
:19:48. > :19:49.The Holywood golfer Rory McIlroy has got engaged
:19:50. > :19:53.He's been going out with Erica Stoll for more than a year.
:19:54. > :19:55.The couple were recently at Windsor Park supporting the
:19:56. > :20:05.He visited Paris, drop to one knee and asked her to marry him, and she
:20:06. > :20:12.said yes. Congratulations to them both. As I mentioned, there is an
:20:13. > :20:19.important rugby game taking place. Stephen Ferris joins me now. They
:20:20. > :20:26.lost the previous two. All the other sides are above them in the table.
:20:27. > :20:31.Are we talking about a crisis? No, but there would be disappointment.
:20:32. > :20:37.There is a lot of expect patient, if you look at Leinster and Munster,
:20:38. > :20:42.supporters are not getting behind them, this team needs to perform.
:20:43. > :20:48.Why do you feel it has gone so wrong this season? I do not feel it is
:20:49. > :20:54.gone so wrong but there is inconsistency. If you look at the
:20:55. > :20:56.teams who have played the last few years, our way form this season has
:20:57. > :21:00.cost us so far. Bit of a wedding theme tonight
:21:01. > :21:09.on Newsline. Stephen Ferris recently became
:21:10. > :21:14.engaged, we have also mentioned Rory McIlroy.
:21:15. > :21:15.Toomebridge motorcyclist Eugene Laverty is also getting
:21:16. > :21:18.married but the lead-up to Mondays wedding hasn't been much fun
:21:19. > :21:20.following a high speed crash in Spain last weekend.
:21:21. > :21:29.The final wedding alterations for Eugene Laverty, but this was a suit
:21:30. > :21:34.fitting with a difference. It is not often the groom sports a plaster
:21:35. > :21:42.cast on the big day. That will not go through that way. In some ways it
:21:43. > :21:47.couldn't happen at a better time because it is the off-season but
:21:48. > :21:50.there is the small matter of the wedding, you only plan to do with
:21:51. > :21:58.once in your life and unfortunately I will be injured. I have cancelled
:21:59. > :22:05.the honeymoon because I could not enjoy it there in comfort, it is
:22:06. > :22:11.better to be home. Home is now Monaco, but he knows he was lucky
:22:12. > :22:16.after last week's high-speed crash. Fortunate to be able to walk away
:22:17. > :22:20.from the accident. They had to put metalwork in my left wrist but what
:22:21. > :22:27.was annoying me more was the right shoulder, which is fractured and
:22:28. > :22:34.dislocated, concussion and the rest of it takes a few days to settle in.
:22:35. > :22:39.Laverty has competed for different teams in the last few seasons with
:22:40. > :22:46.varying degrees of success. He wants to recapture the form that took to
:22:47. > :22:53.motorcycling's Premier class. He is determined to get back to the top.
:22:54. > :23:00.But for now, his mind will obviously be elsewhere. And the best of luck
:23:01. > :23:03.to Eugene on Monday. Now, as a sport mixed martial arts
:23:04. > :23:06.might divide opinion, but there can be no denying its popularity
:23:07. > :23:09.in one North Belfast club where MMA has encouraged some teenagers
:23:10. > :23:12.off the streets and into the GYM. has encouraged some teenagers
:23:13. > :23:15.off the streets and into the gym. With every passing day, MMA -
:23:16. > :23:18.or mixed martial arts - It's now regarded
:23:19. > :23:21.as the world's fastest growing sport but its effects are much bigger than
:23:22. > :23:24.just keeping fit. This is teenager Mark Bingham,
:23:25. > :23:38.and MMA has changed his life. Before I came to the gym I was
:23:39. > :23:42.hanging around with the wrong crowd, heavily involved with drink and
:23:43. > :23:47.drugs, anti-social behaviour on street corners, bored with nothing
:23:48. > :23:52.to do and then I found the gym and began getting factor. It taught me
:23:53. > :23:56.you didn't have to be on street corners causing havoc to get fun,
:23:57. > :24:01.you didn't have to take drugs to get high, you could get it through the
:24:02. > :24:05.gym and your community and hard work. When you see these young guys
:24:06. > :24:12.getting inspired, and they are enjoying it, we have kids in here
:24:13. > :24:14.from 6pm until 10:30pm, it is better than being on the streets.
:24:15. > :24:17.The sport, of course, has a much wider appeal than just
:24:18. > :24:20.Norman Park and, specifically, World UFC Champion Conor McGregor
:24:21. > :24:24.Very few will make it to the very top, but the sport is providing
:24:25. > :24:39.Martial arts changed everyone's life in here. Everyone sees the public
:24:40. > :24:43.image of MMA and people like Conor McGregor, but that is the very few
:24:44. > :24:47.elite mode of people. What we give them in there is a package where
:24:48. > :24:53.they can get grades, have a social life, it is open every night of the
:24:54. > :24:56.week and they can excel in their own way and in their own time.
:24:57. > :24:59.Whether it's becoming a European Champion, like Leah McCourt, or top
:25:00. > :25:11.or just for fun, MMA, it seems, is here to stay.
:25:12. > :25:17.Ulster against Edinburgh will be live on BBC Two at 7:30pm.
:25:18. > :25:20.And if you are playing sport outdoors this weekend I hope your
:25:21. > :25:35.The field at the Collegeland O'Rahilly
:25:36. > :25:38.club in County Armagh is more like a swimming pool.
:25:39. > :25:53.The first batch of nasty weather has arrived. Here is an aid weather
:25:54. > :25:56.system, so it will be the early hours of Sunday before it moves away
:25:57. > :26:00.from us. Warnings have been issued for strong winds and heavy rain and
:26:01. > :26:07.it is the accumulation of that rain on saturated ground, by the end of
:26:08. > :26:11.the weekend there could be over 60 millimetres, especially across the
:26:12. > :26:15.West, so there could be flooding in many areas and strong winds have
:26:16. > :26:21.already brought trees down, so pretty nasty to the night, the dust
:26:22. > :26:25.at extreme as Barack, rain relentless at times across the West
:26:26. > :26:28.although winds will drop a little towards the end of the night, but
:26:29. > :26:35.they will pick up again tomorrow, and the rain looks as if it will be
:26:36. > :26:45.on the road today on Saturday, heavy and persistent in the West, perhaps
:26:46. > :26:50.one or two dry patches by the Ards Peninsula, but hopefully you don't
:26:51. > :26:52.have anything to do out orders. If you have any Christmas decorations
:26:53. > :26:58.outside it might you worth tying them down tonight because the wind
:26:59. > :27:03.and rain could easily damage things. The air overhead is mild,
:27:04. > :27:08.temperatures in double figures but with the wind and rain, it will feel
:27:09. > :27:14.very unpleasant. Another rotten night tomorrow night, wet and windy,
:27:15. > :27:18.you see the rain building up across the West although by the early hours
:27:19. > :27:24.of Sunday things begin to calm down and write up. So it is not all bad
:27:25. > :27:29.news, there will be 12 showers on Sunday, especially along the north
:27:30. > :27:34.coast, but there will be dry weather and sunshine to, with a drop in
:27:35. > :27:37.temperature as well as a drop in the wind, and another area of wet and
:27:38. > :27:45.windy weather is coming back on Monday. Oh dear. Our late summary is
:27:46. > :27:49.at 10:25pm. Whatever you are doing this weekend, even putting up the
:27:50. > :27:52.Christmas tree, enjoy. Take care.