15/09/2016 BBC Newsline

Police searching for the missing Castlederg teenager Arlene Arkinson

are bringing in specialist teams from England to examine a new site

They sealed off an area in a field near Castlederg

yesterday which is about a mile from the house where Arlene Arkinson

The family of the 15-year-old have been informed of the development.

From the scene Enda McClafferty reports.

This is a spot where the police have spent the past three days. They have

cordoned off an area just below us here. Behind what appears to be a

derelict house. They were alerted to this site by a local farmer who

became suspicious after he discovered a mound of clay with

stones in the corner of one of its fields. The police decided to bring

in specialist teams. They were due to arrive earlier today, but have

been held up and will be on the site tomorrow morning. The police have

not said much about what they have disk governorate. They say they want

to have a closer look at the moment of clay. This is about one mile from

the house where Arlene Arkinson was last seen alive. It is close to the

road where she travelled with the man suspected of killing her. The

police have been in touch with her family as April, Schneider measure,

they say they do not want to raise expectations. Her family say they

are encouraged by the police and their actions. They are also

encouraged by the specialists have been brought in from England. They

are cautious and say they do not want to get carried away and are

waiting to see what the outcome of this search is.

A short time ago Arlene Arkinson's sister Kathleen gave her reaction

This came out of the blue. We are never going to give up fighting for

Arlene, because we are not going to get justice. We will get closure.

That is all we want, to find Arlene and try to move on with our lives.

An MLA has called into question the Attorney General's position

over his interventions on abortion laws surrounding fatal

Eamonn McCann says John Larkin should resign.

It follows the decision by paediatric pathologist Dr

When John Larkin first stepped into the job of Attorney General six

years ago, he was determined to do things his way.

I think it's very important and I am committed to try

to explain law and explain the process of justice.

As often as I can and I look forward to working

That promise to help the public understand the better has landed him

Not least this week when a paediatric pathologist resigned

over his interventions around fatal fatal abnormality.

The eternal general, his rulings have made my

professional life your untenable and I do not consider that I can

work under those guidelines and those

In 2012, he offered to assist an investigation

Three years later, he appealed a High Court judgment that Northern

Ireland's abortion ban breaches human rights law.

And earlier this year, in a response to a letter from

the TUV Jim Allister, he questioned whether the move to allow abortion

in the cases of fatal fatal abnormality was compatible with

Today, this MLA said it was trying for John Larkin to consider his

This is a questionable use of the office of Attorney General.

I think that Mr Larkin ought to resign and if Mr Larkin

does not resign, I think the people who appointed him, the first and

Deputy First Ministers, should say publicly

whether they approve of his

interventions which have resulted, for example, the resignation of

I'm sure he will hear those calls and react in the way he

It is a matter for the Attorney General.

He should make his complaint to the Attorney General.

So was John Larkin right to speak out when he did?

Even if he was pro-abortion, he would have to

The reason being that the case was a complex

You needed certainty and the judges' initial

judgment did not grant that

certainty, so it was right and proper for this case to go through

The lark in cases of fatal abnormalities in foetuses is

currently being considered by the Court of Appeal.

As yet there is no indication as to when that ruling

A man has been jailed for at least six years for what's been described

as the barbaric killing of one of his friends.

Ahmed Noor, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia,

claimed he was Allah's assassin, after he killed a man from Pakistan

This man was originally from Pakistan.

He lived in a flat off this busy street and died on the street.

Today, relatives from Pakistan came to court to listen to graphic

Ahmed Noor broke into his friend's home

and chased his victim down this street.

He was armed with two knives and he stabbed

in the chest, on the back, in the neck and in the abdomen.

It was 5am and the victim managed to dial 999,

He was screaming down the phone but it was

The Ahmed Noor, originally from Somalia, later told police that

He described himself as Alaa's assassin.

The court heard today he

has paranoid schizophrenia and used drugs.

Ahmed Noor has a long history of cannabis abuse including on the

day before and the morning of the killing.

In court today, a judge described the killing as a truly

horrific, unprovoked and brutal attack on a vulnerable man.

The judge considered a victim impact report

from the victim's family and

friends and said his killer had to go to jail.

Madame Justice McBride said she is satisfied that Ahmed

She said he should serve six years in prison and

should only be released then when Burrell Commissioners are satisfied

that he is no longer a risk to the safety of the public.

Kevin Sharkey at the Crown Court in Belfast.

Two Belfast men and another from Ayrshire in Scotland have been

in court on charges linked to the murder of leading loyalist

John Boreland in the north of the city last month.

All three were charged with perverting the

John Boreland was a leading EDA figure in North Belfast.

He survived a previous attempt on his

life two years ago and in recent months had been warned by the police

Last month, as the 46-year-old loyalist was getting out

of a car in his flat he was shot dead.

The victim's plus friend and

prominent loyalist Andre Shipperley was in the public gallery today for

the brief hearing at Belfast Crown Court.

Three men appeared on charges list with the Boreland murder.

Two were from the city and a third was

In the dock, flanked by security officers, were

33-year-old and a 61-year-old in the city.

They were there along with

2023 -year-old from Kilbirnie in Ayrshire.

They were all charged with

perverting the course of justice by destroying a Renault car being

sought by detectives investigating the killing.

They spoke only to confirm their dates of birth before

being remanded in custody to appear in court again via video link

Stormont Ministers have defended going ahead with a multi-million

pound rescue package to save the Belfast flight

to New York, in spite of concerns raised by a senior civil servant.

They say it's good value for money, but a member of the Assembly's

Public Accounts Committee has described the deal as madness.

The flight from Belfast to New York has been

saved, at least for the

But not everyone is happy about how the deal was done.

United have operated that airline correctly for ten years and

all of a sudden, in a matter of weeks,

down unless they received a very handsome subsidy and it was rushed

I believe that the permanent Secretary

to the department was not happy about it.

Between the Minister for

the economy and others, the decision was made to give the money.

It may or may not be a good deal, but

frankly, it does not have a good deal.

Well, to keep the flight going over the next

three years, the Executive will contribute ?6 million and the

International Airport will pay 3 million.

The direct flight to New

It's good for the economic reputation of

But for the Stormont executive, is it a price

A senior civil servant was not convinced, but Stormont

I took on board what was said and we looked

at the recommendation of the economy minister.

I listen to what business people had to say to me and

Officials advise, politicians decide.

And another decision may have made is to give money to the

city of Derry airport which is about to lose flights to London.

The agreement has been reached that a

But not receiving the airport, we believe

that with what we are trying to do and of course,

we have not disclosed for plans for the airport and the

plans are greater than just getting air links to London.

A lot of public money is being invested.

Politicians from all parties will be watching

closely to see whether it is worth it.

It's that criticism of the Attorney General,

from the politi General, cal and medical

we're asking tonight if MLAs can ever agree on new legislation.

Plus, the Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin, on how the Republic

should investigate NAMA's controversial sale of its

Join me straight after this programme here on BBC1.

Now, with the weather forecast - here's Geoff Maskell.

It Has Been A Muggy Day Today. A Bit Of The Changes On The Way Tomorrow.

That Front That Has Blocked The Cloud And Rain will help the

cemeteries dropped down into single figures. A bit of a fresher feel to

our weather for Friday. If you shower is around, driven in on the

westerly breeze. Plenty of brightness in between those showers.

It will feel quite pleasant. The temperatures are markedly down from

the last couple of days. In the sunshine temperatures will feel very

pleasant indeed. A cool night as we go from Friday into Saturday. The

temperatures will go down into single figures. That ridge of high

pressure will build, giving us some very settled weather over Ireland by

the start of the weekend. Across the water we see that front which has

brought all the rain, delivering more rain across the eastern half of

England tomorrow. Behind that we are into some more normal temperatures

but this time of year. Saturday is not looking too bad. Those

temperatures staying in the middle teens. Make the most of it, because

by the time we get to Sunday, the next weather front is coming in,

which will deliver some very heavy rain.

Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25am during Breakfast here on BBC One.

You can also keep updated with News Online.

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They represent the most productive period astronomy has ever had.