16/12/2015 BBC Newsline

Our abortion laws remain unchanged tonight, even though

a High Court judge has declared the legislation is incompatible

Last month the judge said he would consider if exemptions

could be included in the present law for victims of sexual crime

and cases of fatal foetal abnormality, but today he said

It's now up to the Assembly to consider changing the law.

The experience of this woman is a big part of the reason

Sarah Ewart travelled to England to have an abortion

Today a judge told Stormont it needs to act

The judge said allowing abortion for victims of sexual crime

and fatal foetal abnormality under the present law would be a step too

far but he issued a declaration of incompatibility, telling Stormont

After the ruling, Sarah Ewart had this message for politicians.

I want to thank the judge for making his judgment.

I don't want to go through the experience I went through,

nor do I want any other woman to go through it

and I urge our politicians to help women carry on having the families

they want and give us the medical procedures we need in our hospitals.

But there are different views on the likelihood of the Assembly

Politicians will look at the judgment and I expect

That is what Westminster have done when judges ruled about legislation

being incompatible and the Scottish Parliament has done it in similar

circumstances and I see no reason why the Assembly

It is up to politicians to legislate for this.

We have been waiting 13 years for guidance for health care

professionals and if we have any hope of legislation

We have said from the beginning that Stormont should make decisions

to change laws on behalf of people here and for the last decades

the people of Northern Ireland have been opposed to

The Assembly is unlikely to take the legislation forward

while there is still the prospect of appeal.

From today there is six weeks in which to lodge one.

Judgment has been reserved in the trial of Pastor James McConnell,

the evangelical preacher accused of making "grossly offensive"

remarks about Islam in a sermon last year.

Pastor McConnell has defended the comments,

on the final day of his three-day trial.

BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson was in court.

Inside court there were questions - a long list of questions

about the sermon in which Pastor McConnell attacked Islam.

He called it Satanic and heathen, and talked about

Today he tried to clarify those remarks.

Pastor McConnell was answering questions for an hour and a half.

The 78-year-old preacher has suffered ill health in recent years.

He was told if at any stage he wanted to take a break,

he could, but he said no, he wanted it over.

Among those supporting him was a Catholic priest.

Father Patrick McCafferty said the pastor had never hated anyone

and he had a deeply held faith but that was not the key issue

in the case, according to the prosecutor.

The trial ended late this afternoon but there was no verdict.

The judgment will not be delivered until early in the New Year.

I want to thank the Whitewell people for their wonderful support.

The verdict is expected to be delivered on Tuesday January 5th.

An appeal against a conviction for voyeurism by a former political

advisor to a DUP MP has been rejected.

The judge sitting at Craigavon Crown Court

expressed his revulsion at the behaviour of 50-year-old

David McConaghie of Cottage Hill in Dollingstown.

The case centred on the placing of a camera by Mr McConaghie

in the toilets of David Simpson's Upper Bann office.

Our hospitals have again failed to meet waiting time targets

Figures released by the Department of Health show that 288 people

waited more than 12 hours for treatment, compared

At Antrim Area Hospital, the figure jumped from 13 patients

in November 2014 to 173 for November this year.

At the Ulster's Emergency Department, the number of cases

exceeding 12 hours went from three people to 93 for the same period.

In comparison, however, waiting times in the Belfast Trust's

hospitals showed a significant improvement.

Big things we have seen are a reduction of admissions

into our hospital, so we've moved from an admission rate

in the high 20s, around 27-28%, to 18-20%.

That means fewer patients are coming in each day and instead of

having to sit on a ward and wait for things, they can see

a specialist in a day or two and get the scans they need but remain

Local Star Wars fans will get a chance to see the seventh film

in the series in just over an hour and a half's time.

The Force Awakens is being screened at many cinemas

across Northern Ireland just after midnight.

Let's go live to one of the cinemas here in Belfast

Not long to go, the appointed hour, five past midnight and already fans

are waiting here in Belfast and across Northern Ireland. Among the

many waiting, Paul Black, what are you expecting most? Just do have

Star Wars back, I'm expecting a lot of action and fun. Gerry, it's been

a long wait. Seven years I think since the last one was released.

What is the big moment you were looking for two? To see Han and

chewy back after these years and what's happening with Lukes Guy

Walker. Lots of expect Haitian in Belfast, Coleraine, Enniskillen, in

the North West and in Newry, a lot of expectation, bands like he's

waiting for the action to begin. Some colourful characters there.

The boxer Michael Conlan has been named as BBC

Northern Ireland's Sports Personality of the year 2015.

The Belfast fighter recently became the only person

from Northern Ireland to ever win gold at the World

On tomorrow's Good Morning Ulster we'll be hearing from

a former schoolteacher of the leader-in-waiting of the DUP,

That's on BBC Radio Ulster starting at 6:30am.

Let's get the weather forecast for the next few days

We have an exceptionally mild night coming up. You may get to turn the

heating down a little. There will be some rain and brisk winds in the

early hours, some rain quite heavy, no rainfall warnings out at every

work is in double figures. First thing tomorrow it is pretty wet

especially in the East but it will brighten up and there will be dry

weather for a time. Mid-morning morning onwards the rain will clear,

bright and bright weather, still mild with temperatures that could

hit 15 degrees in some spots and decent weather across the Republic.

The rain slowly moves to Scotland, Northern England and western

counties but it should stay dry in the south-east and temperatures here

could reach 17. Later we will look to the West because a clump of

showers will move in but the driest part of the day will be the middle

before the showers moved in from the west in the late afternoon. It will

cool off tomorrow night, still not cold for the time of year and a mild

is back on Friday, lively wind and rain most persistent in the West. We

will have to keep an eye on the rain in Fermanagh. Some further rain on

Saturday, still mild and breezy but drier weather on Sunday. By that

time the air will be cooling down a little bit. Not too bad.

Our next BBC Newsline is at 6:25am during Breakfast here on BBC One.

You can also keep updated with News Online.