groups across the globe. populist groups across the globe. here's nicholas whittle. a coptic orthodox church blown up in cairo. christians in iraq and syria kidnapped or driven from their homes. attacks on yazidis and jewish people and others. tolerance between the faiths and freedom of worship are important to the prince of wales. he recently attended the consecration of the new orthodox catheral in west london. he is troubled by the growing evidence of religious intolerance. normally at christmas we think of the birth... his starkest warning yet in a pre—recorded broadcast for thought for the day on bbc radio ahe likened the persecution of christians in iraq to what happened to thejews in nazi germany. we have seen the rise of populist groups across the world who are increasingly aggressive towards those who adhere to a minority faith.

all of this has deeply disturbing echoes of the dark days of the 1930s. i was born in 1948, just after the end of world war ii, in which my parents's generation had fought and died in a battle against intolerance, monstrous extremism and an inhuman attempt to exterminate thejewish population of europe. that, nearly 70 years later, we should still see such evil persecution is, to me, beyond all belief. the world was witnessing what the prince called insidious forms of extremism, seeking to eliminate really adversity. he ended his broadcast with a plea for tolerance. —— religious diversity. he ended his broadcast with a plea for tolerance. whichever religious path we follow, the destination is the same. to value and respect the other person,

accepting their right to live out their peaceful response to the love of god. in due course, when he is king and supreme governor of the church of england, charles knows that his freedom to speak out will be constrained but for now, and on subjects like this, he feels he has a duty to try to make his voice heard. nicholas witchel, bbc news, at clarence house. it's coming up to 7:50pm. the headlines. the fingerprints of anis amri happened found on the door of the lorry used in the christmas market attack in berlin. two men have big bang of the of manslaughter after a tipper truck crashed in bath last year killing the four people including a young girl. 60 inmates have taken charge of the prison on the island sheppey in kent. the prison officers' association confirmed there is an ongoing disturbance. —— two men have been

convicted. and the markets ended the day like this... and the markets ended the day like this... now on bbc news, it's time for meet the author. petinah gappah writes about a country that some may think one of the most miserable on earth — zimbabwe. where political disintegration and total economic collapse in recent years have consigned so many people to a life of hopelessness. yet, in her collection of short stories, rotten row, as in her previous books, she finds a reservoir of resistance, humanity, cheerfulness in adversity. the people in these pages have the same hopes and fears as they would have in a world of plenty. and although they live in a collapsed state, they are, extraordinarily, as recognisable as the people next door. welcome. in a way, these stories

are miraculous, because they are a tapestry of survival, really, in a country... which has collapsed. that's so lovely of you to say, because i see myself as writing about resilience, because resilience is the quality that strikes me as being the most extraordinary about zimbabwe and zimbabweans today. it's a really difficult environment, economically, politically, socially, and yet, somehow, people manage to find ways to love, ways to be, that are really... i love that word, miraculous. and the fundamentals of human behaviour and human interaction come through, because there's nothing else left. yes, that's right. it's really about, ultimately, human relationships.

i wanted to write a book that looks at human relationships through a particular prism, and that's the prism of the criminaljustice system. and so i thought that this world is an interesting commentary about the political situation in zimbabwe without necessarily making it purely about politics. well, that's right. you're talking about a society in which violence and death are ever present, even in slightly odd ways. we have the story of zaka the zulu who ends up killing his best friend at school. and the people who were at school can't really believe 15 years later that it's happened. this is all something that's very close to the surface. i love that story in particular because it's very much inspired by one of my favourite authors, pdjames, for whom the character of the person is partly what leads to what happens to them. it's really a character driven story. zaka the zulu is a little bit unusual in this book in that it doesn't have anything to do with the circumstances in the country, because a lot of the crimes that i discuss

in the book are opportunistic crimes. crimes that come out of rage and stress and anger. but that one is a particularly interesting one, because it's a crime that is rooted in the past. you talk about the politics without giving a running commentary on it. there's a wonderful story called the president always dies injanuary. laughter. people are waiting! but, just take us back to the moment when a difficult situation suddenly became one of utter desolation, economically. people fleeing, people with no money. it was as if all the normal functions of a state just stopped. i always say that in many other countries — in normal countries — government is supposed to be a facilitator. in zimbabwe, government is an inhibitor. government is a thing that stops you from achieving your dream. and in many ways these stories reflect that aspect of government. i love that you mentioned

the president always dies injanuary because, in my defence, that's actually a statement from the presidential spokesman. yes. laughter. because there are always these rumours injanuary that the president has collapsed and died. but yes, the economic situation does play a very important role in that a lot of people have left the country to make better lives for themselves and their children. but the people in my book tend to be the ones who have stayed. and they have stayed in these really difficult circumstances. i really admire people who have stayed. i don't like the phrase "brain drain", because it suggests that people who have left the country are better than those who have remained. i think it's actually a very offensive term, the brain drain, because i think the people that have remained in zimbabwe are actually a very special kind of hero. we shouldn't give people the idea that this is a book that is going to be depressing from beginning to end, because it's full of fun. clearly, there's a depressing political background, whatever your political views are.

i know you are a supporter of the opposition in zimbabwe. so that's a depressing scene. and of course there is poverty, of course there is violence, of course there is injustice. but there's this sort of well of cheerfulness that's extraordinary. that's true. it's kind of a mordant humour, isn't it? a kind of gallows humour. if we cannot change the situation, we may as well laugh at it. i sometimes think that zimbabweans are not able to have any kind of african or zimbabwean spring, in part because we are able to laugh at our own misery. how would you describe the character of the country now, the place that you grew up, which went through this terrible political convulsion? i'm very much influenced by something that a friend of mine said. he said, the thing that makes me sad about zimbabwe is that i no longer recognise the places of my childhood. physically recognise? physically recognise, as well as emotionally recognise. and i really felt something in that. but at the same time, i wonder whether i'm not caught up

in nostalgia, you know? because countries do move on. and i don't know whether — having left zimbabwe when i was 23 and only going back for occasional visits — whether i'm really the right person to say, this is what zimbabwe has become. because obviously, zimbabwe to me is a very sad place at the moment, because it's not the zimbabwe i remember. but maybe that zimbabwe is what has to be in order to get us to the next stage. i honestly don't know. how do you explain mugabe's grip on power? it's really complicated. 0ne, he obviously controls the state. that's beyond question. but this is something that western audiences don't really like to hear... yes? ..he‘s also quite popular. he's an incredibly funny man. he's extremely charismatic, especially when he's speaking in shona. so there's a mix of popularity and power there. there are people who genuinely vote for zanu—pf, much as it pains me to admit. there is rigging, and there is, you know, coercion,

but there are also people who genuinely vote for him. as i say, in the book you present these portraits of characters who are very resilient and full of fun and full of... i don't know, a philosophical wisdom about their plight. do you think it's a place where there still is hope? i think so. maybe it's a desperate kind of hope, but i really do believe that there is enough in our past and in our present to give us a really hopeful future. it's interesting, you have written before about life in zimbabwe. and these are vivid, vivid pictures of people who are living through this difficulty. it's almost as if you don't want to let this experience go, because it's so rich it provides a writer with so much material and so much evidence of what human beings have to do. it's a rich seam to mine, isn't it? that's actually a very acute observation.

in many ways, this book is everything i'm thinking about zimbabwe right now, because i want to step away from it for the next two or three books. i'm stepping away from zimbabwe. so this is my goodbye zimbabwe book for the time being. because i will come back to zimbabwe, i hope, two or three books from now, but for now, i think i've said just about all i want to say about the richness of zimbabwe. so there will be a pause and then you will say, "hello zimbabwe", again? once again, yes. petinah gappah, thank you very much. thank you very much. good evening. some very poor weather for travellers in the run—up to christmas especially in the north of the uk. this area of cloud is our second named storm of the season storm barbra and its sprinting across the atlantic. the winter

chill in the air, snow showers in scotland, becoming fewer and showers less wintry. clear skies across much of england and wales, one or two mist and fog patches, the wind picking up later lifting temperatures and this rain in the north—west is the first sign of this storm heading our way. a deep area of low pressure, the centre heading to the north of scotland, windy for all of us and a lot of rain. turning wet and windy quickly in northern ireland and scotland, heading to the afternoon, squally heavy rain and wind pushing into the west of england and wales. towards east anglia and the south—east and will stay dry until later, windy, the wind is strong in the north—west. later in the afternoon towards the evening the wind ramping up a notch oi’ evening the wind ramping up a notch or two evening the wind ramping up a notch ortwo in evening the wind ramping up a notch or two in the north of scotland, gusts of 80 or 90 miles an hour. the strongest of the wind here, this is where we have an amber be prepared

wind warning. there may be some disruption, sun damage as well. the centre of the storm pulls away tomorrow night, still very windy for a while across scotland, the wind not quite as strong as we arrived into christmas eve morning, still some blustery showers across the north and some snow on the health of scotland. further south, bright north and some snow on the health of scotland. furthersouth, brightand breezy, cloud increasing, some rain arriving in the north—west later. and this is another area of low pressure, not as intense, the wind not as strong on christmas day and between these weather fronts, some very mild air, temperatures into the mid—teens. it will be very gusty wind, a spell of rain moving down from the north—west. as this weather front from the north—west. as this weather fro nt ta kes from the north—west. as this weather front takes the rain away, the air gets colder behind it, possibly cold enough for a late white christmas in scotland. but otherwise, very mild and after christmas, the wind drops,

should become dry with some frost. this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 8.00pm: police say anis amri, the chief suspect in the berlin market truck attack, left finger prints on the vehicle. today the christmas market, scene of so much carnage on monday, has reopened. chancellor angela merkel commended the public for their response to the attack. i must say that i have been very proud of the calmness and composure shown by people and also of course by the officers that have been at work here. two men have been found guilty of manslaughter, after a tipper truck crashed in bath last year, killing four people including a young girl. up to 80 inmates have reportedly taken control of a wing at a category b training prison, on the isle of sheppey in kent.