14/01/2016 BBC Newsline

The police are trying to trace a 33-year-old man in connection

with an attack which has left a young mother critically

The 26-year-old woman was attacked in her home in Carnmoney

on the outskirts of north Belfast last night.

There was a significant police presence at this home

Forensic teams investigate following the attack which has left

a 26-year-old woman in a critical condition.

The attack happened at this address where neighbours say the woman lives

It is understood to have happened at around 8pm last night,

leaving this small, close-knit community in shock.

It's not known if her children were at home during the attack.

The police say they want to speak to this man.

Police advise not to approach him directly.

They'd also like information on the movements of a white Audi A6

The residents told me that a young mum was attacked in her own home.

A very vicious attack and obviously there is great concern

We have heard that the young woman is critical in hospital.

So all of us hope that she will make a very speedy recovery,

It has just shocked the whole community.

We're reeling from what has happened.

Relatives and friends of James Mc-Donna who died

after he was assaulted in Toome at the weekend have held a vigil

Hundreds of people gathered outside the bar where he was attacked

in the early hours of Sunday morning.

It's understood the 28-year-old victim's partner and children

Earlier today a man appeared in court in Londonderry accused

Our North-West reporter Keiron Tourish was there.

There was a heavy police presence in and around

Londonderry Magistrates' Court for this hearing.

Before the court was Finbar McCoy, who is 24, and from Loughbeg Road in

He is accused of the murder of 28-year-old James McDonagh,

the father of two young children from Castledawson.

He died after being assaulted outside a bar and nightclub,

the Elk Inn on the Hillhead Road near Toomebridge in the early hours

A detective told the court that the victim, James McDonagh,

was punched one in the head and fell backwards and that,

he said, brought on the tragedy of his death.

Finbar McCoy stood quietly in the dock wearing

He confirmed his name and he understood the charge.

A detective giving evidence confirmed for a defence lawyer

what the accused had told police during interview.

When cautioned and charged with murder, Finbar McCoy told

police, "I can't bring words together to say how sorry I am.

I feel so sad for the family, but I did not murder James

The detective confirmed the accused had co-operated with police.

He also said that tensions were currently high

in the Toomebridge area and the PSNI had other outstanding

Finbar McCoy was remanded in custody until next month.

The first big snowfall of the winter is on its way.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow and ice right

Barra Best reports from the Glenshane Pass.

It is areas like this high up in the Sperrins that we are likely to see

the biggest impact of any snow fall. Hills and mountains could see five

to ten centimetres of snow. Low lying areas could see between one

and five September meters of snow. That may not sound like a lot, but

it is enough to cause travel disruption 689 that said, not

everywhere is going to be affected. On top of that, we have a weather

warning for ice and that will apply across Northern Ireland, right

through until noon tomorrow. The message is if you're travelling

tonight or tomorrow morning, you may want to give yourself extra time for

your travel. The First Minister says she will be

using the St Patrick's Day visit to the United States

to sell Northern Ireland. Arlene Foster will be accompanied

by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for the now traditional

engagement at the White House. She told The View programme

the visit in March is an opportunity It's traditional now for the First

and Deputy First Minister to go out to the White House for the St

Patrick's Day celebrationsment I believe there is a need to do more

than that traditional celebration. We should use it to talk about the

economy of Northern Ireland and the fact that we are going to lower

corporation tax in April 2018 because that gives us a great

opportunity to talk about a fresh start.

And you can see more of that interview on The View,

The number of GCSE courses in schools here is being cut.

The two biggest English exam boards have decided they'll no longer offer

Our Education Correspondent Robbie Meredith reports.

These pupils at Our Lady and St Patrick's College in Belfast

But they will be at the last at the school able to study

the course set by the English OCR exam board.

We have been teaching the course very successfully over

We've developed quite a lot of materials and resources

All of that effort seems to have gone for nothing.

When we find out that the course has been pulled from Northern Ireland.

The Education Minister John O'Dowd has decided to keep A star to G

But in England from next year, pupils will be get grades

Nine is the highest and one is the lowest.

The fact we're not following the English change has led the AQA

and OCR exam boards who set and mark a quarter of all GCSEs taken

by pupils here, to pull out of Northern Ireland and that's given

We have almost a quarter of our GCSEs with English

So we're going to have to find an alternative provider,

examination board and then that means for staff that

new specifications will have to be assimilated, resourced

This isn't like the transfer procedure where some schools

could just ignore the Department of Education and run

Schools like this will have to change GCSE courses to the local

exam board, CCEA, which now has a virtual monopoly.

The open market which existed for GCSEs is now effectively closed.

The Education Minister will talking about those changes to GCSEs

Newly qualified drivers face new rules to try

Newly qualified drivers face new rules to try

Among them night-time restrictions on the number of teenage passengers

BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson has more.

If you're learning to drive, you could soon have to learn a whole

They won't come into force immediately, but here's what's

The proposed new rules of the road would mean learners being allowed

on motorways as long as they're with an approved driving instructor

The minimum age for a driving licence is set to go up

to 17-and-a-half, it is currently 17.

But the 45mph limit for L-plate and R-plate drivers is set

There are a number of other changes planned too.

New drivers, if they're aged under 24, and for the first six months

after they pass their test, they'll be restricted to carrying

Exemptions will apply for family members and also exemptions

for emergency services and if you have caring responsibilities.

The move is aimed at stopping large groups of teenagers driving around

late at night in cars with inexperienced drivers.

But how will the authorities stop it happening?

I think that will work from the insurance companies.

They'll police it because when the claim goes in,

they will look at the details and say who was in the car?

How long have you been driving etcetera, etcetera.

These teenagers are hoping to take their driving test soon.

They think the minimum age should stay at 17.

There is loads of people out there that want to learn promptly

and want to get their test and if they are goodenough, why not?

I think some of the proposed ideas are good.

For example the motorway, I think, it is a reasonable thing to say

because it allows people to practise rather than once

they get their tests have to go through this new experience.

There is now a period of consultation, but the new rules

Should the Northern Ireland football team have a new anthem?

The First Minister joined the debate today saying it shouldn't.

Here's our political correspondent Gareth Gordon.

The fortunes of the Northern Ireland team go up and down,

but one thing never changes - each game begins with

Unlike the Scots and the Welsh who use their own anthems,

but like the English, although this MP wants

I recognise that matters of the constitution are particularly

keenly felt in Northern Ireland and this Bill only refers

Nevertheless, the football authorities here would come under

pressure if England dropped the anthem too.

Already a different anthem is used for the Commonwealth Games.

And for the third time in the boxing tournament in Delhi 2010,

we'll hear the Londonderry Air known as Danny Boy.

The football authorities are keen to broaden the team's support base,

but the Irish Football Association say the question of a Northern

Ireland anthem is a matter for our politicians.

But tonight, the office of the First and Deputy First Minister told

the BBC that the playing of a National Anthem or any song

at football matches is a matter for the organisation involved.

I understand the ten minute rule bill is in relation to the English

football team, it is not really relation to the Northern Ireland

I don't want to get into want to get into politicising sport

because it is something that unites everybody.

On its own, it's not going to make a massive amount of difference,

but there are a range of options the IFA could put in place

They have changed enough about here to suit certain people.

Another example of noteveryone singing from the same hymn sheet.

Antrim's Mark Allen has lost his battle to stay

in Snooker's Masters Tournament in London.

Allen who is currently 11th in the world rankings went out

at the quarter-final stage after losing by 6-2

Hello. Good evening. It is a cold and wintry night with some

potentially difficult driving conditions as those wintry showers

continue. They'll bring sleet and snow down to low levels as

temperatures drop away to below freezing. We could get down to minus

four in parts of Fermanagh. So Friday starts off with wintry

showers, but as we go through the day, gradually, those showers will

start to fizzle out and we'll get late afternoon brightness. Now, that

will be quite pleasant for a time, but it will bring its own problems.

What is happening at the moment is we're really starting to draw in the

cold you cans Arctic air and that's having an impact on the temperatures

particularly on the East Coast of England and for Northern Ireland

too. As the high pressure system builds in through Friday, we have

turned off the large scale showers, but the clearing skies mean the

temperatures will drop away marred kedly. As we head into the weekend,

what's in store for us? It will be staying reasonably dry. There will

be some wintry showers, but not as widespread and it is a very cold

day. A still day too. Very little in the way of breeze. So pretty chilly.

Some of those showers will become wintry for a time, but the clear

skies mean that if everything lines up come Saturday night, temperatures

might be down to minus eight Celsius.

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