Ziad Khawla, 25, is accused of attacking the youth following a chance encounter close to the city centre. The Palestinian-born defendant appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court for a preliminary enquiry into the strength of the prosecution case. He is charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault over the incident on March 2 last year. It was previously disclosed that the teenager phoned police to claim he had just been attacked by a stranger who approached him near the Waterfront Hall. The man was reported to have offered him a cigarette before they then walked a short distance to...