:00:00. > :00:10.A teenager has been describing the moment she thought an armed gang
:00:11. > :00:15.of men were going to kill her after they broke into her home.
:00:16. > :00:17.17-year-old Chloe Hawthorne from Markethill in County
:00:18. > :00:20.Armagh said one of them threatened to shoot her.
:00:21. > :00:33.She has been talking to our south-east reporter Gordon Adair.
:00:34. > :00:41.I kept backing of and one of the boys smashed its breakthrough.
:00:42. > :00:44.Chloe has been describing the moment she was confronted by a masked gang,
:00:45. > :00:59.The glass was smashing. They were only interested in the car, where
:01:00. > :01:07.with the keys to the car? The ketchup can give me the keys or I
:01:08. > :01:13.will shoot. All I could hear in my head is just them shouting that. The
:01:14. > :01:18.police believe this chain of events may have begun here. A house was
:01:19. > :01:21.broken into and ransacked. Among the items taken was an illegally held
:01:22. > :01:25.gun. It is not immediately clear what time this happened at but the
:01:26. > :01:32.police are investigating a possible link between this break-in and the
:01:33. > :01:37.crash just two miles away. This car was being driven by a local woman.
:01:38. > :01:45.The Vauxhall had been stolen in Dublin, where a number of people
:01:46. > :01:51.fled the scene. The Hawthorne home is just a few hundred yards away.
:01:52. > :01:55.Chloe was there alone. I heard these noises and voices and they knew
:01:56. > :01:59.someone was at the house. I grabbed my phone out of my room and I went
:02:00. > :02:06.to the kitchen to see who was there. Originally I thought it was my uncle
:02:07. > :02:12.grandad checking the sheep but I saw this gang coming over the back of
:02:13. > :02:16.the hill and down the bank with a gun in their hands and putting it
:02:17. > :02:20.straight at me and shouting at me to open the door.
:02:21. > :02:22.Chloe accepts that putting this event behind her
:02:23. > :02:31.You always imagine it is a nightmare.
:02:32. > :02:39.I milk at a local farm. Even being there at work I am going to be
:02:40. > :02:42.nervous. Anywhere on my own I will be scared encase that happens.
:02:43. > :02:52.Hopefully it won't again but it will always be at the back of my mind.
:02:53. > :02:53.Chloe's car was later recovered in Dublin and two arrests had been
:02:54. > :02:59.made. And the Gardai say a juvenile has
:03:00. > :03:02.been charged in relation to the incident, while another
:03:03. > :03:04.teenager has been released The police are investigating
:03:05. > :03:07.a security alert in Newtownabbey. A suspicious object has been found
:03:08. > :03:10.at Devenish Drive in Homes have been evacuated
:03:11. > :03:13.and roads closed. The Secretary of State has pulled
:03:14. > :03:16.out of an event run by the DUP after it was revealed to be
:03:17. > :03:19.a fundraiser for the party. The SDLP leader says
:03:20. > :03:23.James Brokenshire needs to show he's not favouring the party over
:03:24. > :03:25.any other in Northern Ireland. Here's our political correspondent
:03:26. > :03:39.Gareth Gordon. This is the Lisbon cafe where the
:03:40. > :03:43.secretary of state will not now be attending a DUP fundraiser later
:03:44. > :03:47.this month. -- Lisburn. Billed as a business breakfast he was billed as
:03:48. > :03:53.a guest speaker alongside the party leader and First Minister Arlene
:03:54. > :03:58.Foster. All for ?30 a plate or a cable for ten at ?300. The
:03:59. > :04:04.invitation called it an excellent opportunity to work with businesses
:04:05. > :04:07.and elective representatives. But James Ragan -- James Brokenshire
:04:08. > :04:11.withdrew from the event. This will have caused some embarrassment for
:04:12. > :04:22.the Secretary of State and DUP and neither working to talk about it to
:04:23. > :04:26.date. And NIO spokesman said only... The DUP refused to comment. Last
:04:27. > :04:29.week the party held a champagne reception at the Conservative
:04:30. > :04:33.Conference amid claims that the two parties have done a deal in the wake
:04:34. > :04:38.of the Brexit vote. Critics were quick to jump on the breakfast story
:04:39. > :04:42.of more evidence of growing ties. It is quite clear given the Tory party
:04:43. > :04:45.Conference and champagne receptions and James Robbins are agreeing to
:04:46. > :04:50.attend a fundraiser for that party that they seem to be working very
:04:51. > :04:53.closely together. That is buying on one level but the British Secretary
:04:54. > :04:58.of State and British Government should not be in the pockets of any
:04:59. > :05:01.one party. The Secretary of State detainee the DUP MPs in what was
:05:02. > :05:06.described as a distraught -- constructive and useful engage in.
:05:07. > :05:09.The NIU said it was a constructive series of meetings with all the
:05:10. > :05:11.parties represented at Westminster. A Belfast City Council committee has
:05:12. > :05:14.voted to scrap free car parking in the city centre in the run
:05:15. > :05:16.up to Christmas. It follows an intervention
:05:17. > :05:18.by Translink, who said Instead, Translink has
:05:19. > :05:34.offered to reduce fares Christmas shoppers in Belfast last
:05:35. > :05:40.year and enjoyed an early Christmas present from the council. 1500 free
:05:41. > :05:43.car parking spaces at night tanks and weekends. Part of efforts to
:05:44. > :05:51.encourage people to spend their money. In the city centre. But some
:05:52. > :05:55.said they initiative was counter-productive and lead to
:05:56. > :05:59.increased congestion as they waited for the free spaces. This year
:06:00. > :06:02.Translink and the Department of infrastructure of offering
:06:03. > :06:07.alternative ideas including reduced fares and buses and trains. And
:06:08. > :06:11.extended opening times of park-and-ride facilities. Translink
:06:12. > :06:15.as the Belfast City Council to review the initiative and to make a
:06:16. > :06:19.council committee voted in favour of ending the free parking. People came
:06:20. > :06:23.in and found that they couldn't get a free parking space and even those
:06:24. > :06:28.parking spaces were often taken up all day baby Bean became an early.
:06:29. > :06:34.Turnover in the parking spaces was less than it previously had been. It
:06:35. > :06:39.led to a congestion, confusion, stress. Not everyone was in
:06:40. > :06:43.agreement. I think it doesn't encourage people to come in
:06:44. > :06:47.particularly from far-away areas and people carrying bulky items, and a
:06:48. > :06:50.car is much more convenient than a bus. Tonight next decision is a
:06:51. > :06:52.recommendation. It will now have to go before the full council at a
:06:53. > :06:55.meeting next month. Scientists have confirmed that
:06:56. > :06:58.Mid Ulster is a hot spot for a gene that causes people to grow much
:06:59. > :07:01.taller and larger than is usual. Stories of giants such
:07:02. > :07:04.as Finn McCool are a feature of Irish myths and legends,
:07:05. > :07:08.but geneticists in Belfast believe there is a genetic link
:07:09. > :07:11.to those stories. People who carry the gene can suffer
:07:12. > :07:14.from serious health problems, The story of the Irish giant gene
:07:15. > :07:29.begins with the DNA of somebody Since then it has been passed down
:07:30. > :07:33.through generations. Today it has been found
:07:34. > :07:35.in more than 400 people, Spikes -- he was diagnosed with
:07:36. > :07:50.gigantism. He is related to the 18th-century
:07:51. > :07:52.giant Charles Burn. It can cause a brain tremor that
:07:53. > :07:57.makes glands produce too The condition, if left untreated,
:07:58. > :08:07.when we look at examples of the past, most of these
:08:08. > :08:11.guys died in 20s, 30s. Just as a result of having
:08:12. > :08:24.the condition. If it is left untreated. Happen.
:08:25. > :08:28.Three years ago scientists screened almost 1000 people at Cookstown and
:08:29. > :08:34.Dungannon. They discovered the area was a giant hotspot. One in 50
:08:35. > :08:40.living here carry the gene compared to higher in the rest of the UK.
:08:41. > :08:46.Many people carry the gene and never have a problem. For those who do it
:08:47. > :08:48.can present with tall stature and people going excessively toll at a
:08:49. > :08:55.young age. It can also cause problems with growth in the hands
:08:56. > :08:58.and feet. It is associated to problems related to headaches
:08:59. > :09:02.because of the growing tumour in the brain. The scientists hope that the
:09:03. > :09:07.work will help to identify those at risk of passing the gene onto
:09:08. > :09:12.children. The benefit of doing this is not just to reassure people have
:09:13. > :09:15.the gene who are normal. It is to stop their children suddenly going
:09:16. > :09:19.through a massive growth spurt, because if they see an increase in
:09:20. > :09:23.the fight someone over a short period of one or two years, you can
:09:24. > :09:28.put in treatments with drugs, tablets to stop it happening. As a
:09:29. > :09:35.result of the research, the gene may be consigned to history, along with
:09:36. > :09:39.the legends of Irish giants. It may not please the romantic in some
:09:40. > :09:45.people, but those who are afflicted with this condition probably won't
:09:46. > :09:50.object to the end of this condition. By raising awareness of the giant
:09:51. > :09:54.gene, it is hoped that fewer people will suffer the consequences.
:09:55. > :09:56.A County Antrim anaesthetist has pleaded guilty to 27
:09:57. > :09:58.charges of making indecent photographs of children.
:09:59. > :10:01.Piotr Dziurdzik of Meetinghouse Street in Ballymoney,
:10:02. > :10:04.worked at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine.
:10:05. > :10:06.The Northern Health Trust says an interim suspension order has been
:10:07. > :10:13.placed on the doctor's registration by the General Medical Council.
:10:14. > :10:18.Teaching unions here have rejected a pay offer
:10:19. > :10:24.The employers offered no cost of living rise for last year
:10:25. > :10:28.The unions say teachers' pay in Northern Ireland is falling
:10:29. > :10:30.behind their counterparts in England and Wales.
:10:31. > :10:32.The largest union NASUWT says it will now consider strike action,
:10:33. > :10:35.and from next week its members will refuse to attend meetings
:10:36. > :10:48.This dispute has been going on for so long because of the failure of
:10:49. > :10:53.the Department for Education to properly address the pay of teachers
:10:54. > :10:57.in Northern Ireland. Since 2010 teachers pay in real terms as Poland
:10:58. > :11:01.by at least 15%. This morning they really insulted the teaching
:11:02. > :11:05.profession in Northern Ireland. They are saying this is a joke and it is
:11:06. > :11:10.time for teachers to get together and stand up and put up a marker
:11:11. > :11:11.with the Department for Education and minister of that teachers need
:11:12. > :11:14.to be paid a decent wage. Looking ahead to tomorrow
:11:15. > :11:16.night's BBC Newsline, we have the second of our reports
:11:17. > :11:19.on mental illness in prison. Donna Traynor talks to the Governor
:11:20. > :11:21.of Magheraberry Jail, and our Home Affairs Correspondent
:11:22. > :11:23.Vincent Kearney hears from prisoners One tells how speaking to other
:11:24. > :11:37.inmates helped him They see the light at the end of the
:11:38. > :11:41.tunnel and making plans for the future. At that time I had no plans.
:11:42. > :11:42.I more or less had no hope. That's on BBC Newsline
:11:43. > :11:45.tomorrow at 6:30pm. The weather outlook now
:11:46. > :11:48.with Geoff Maskell.