apologises that some of the victims weren't told first. jon venables, one of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger, is charged in relation to indecent images of children. copies of a controversial book about president trump hit copies of a controversial book about president trump hit the shelves. its author says he stands by every word. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. the new year stock rally has continued. now it's time for newswatch. this week martin bashir discusses coverage of religion on bbc news with samira ahmed. a happy new year, and welcome to the first newswatch of 2018 with me, samira ahmed. this week, after the bbc announces it's increasing its religious affairs coverage, we'll be asking why and what the impact will be? the bbc‘s religion editor, martin bashir, tells us how he'll be

tackling the competing demands of religious groups, and the non—believing majority. first, the new year brought with it some distressing news, including the deaths of six people, including british businessman richard cousins, in a seaplane accident in australia. the crash was reported extensively on bbc news, too much so for several viewers, including alan winn. he wrote to us on tuesday. you've been sending us your comments on bbc news output over the christmas and new year period, and one concern that's been voiced was the contrast some perceived

in the coverage of two fires that took place on december 29th — one in an apartment building in the bronx, new york, which killed 12 people, and one in a restaurant in mumbai, where at least 15 people died. imtiyaz ansari rang that day identifying a discrepancy in the news reporting of the two incidents. it obviously showed a great deal of the fire that took place in the bronx. where 12 people had died. but the same incident of fire has taken place in mumbai where 15 people have died. not a single mention of this incident. and even your website, this incident is hidden well inside the asia region. while the new york fire is right on the front page. why so biased? just before christmas, the bbc published its plans to increase the ambition of its coverage of religion and ethics. the review covered all areas

of programming, from songs of praise to thought for the day, but in news it proposed increased investment and output, and a new post of religion editor. the scope and nature of reporting on religion is a subject that's bound to divide audiences, with some feeling it's given insufficient attention. for instance, david parry wrote to us recently to ask about the bbc news website. and when sarah mullally was appointed the first female bishop of london last month, the news was mentioned only briefly on that night's evening bulletins, to the disgruntlement of garethjones — as he explains here. this was an important story for the established church, and for women's equality. even if you had run this story earlier, surely it warranted a regular slot throughout the day.

particularly at a time when the role of women in society is at the forefront of our thinking. others, though, regret the proposal for more religious coverage, with some suspicious that the bbc is proselytising. sue nelson tweeted this week. a tough task, then, to satisfy conflicting demands, and the main person responsible is martin bashir, who's just become the bbc‘s first religion editor. he became a household name when his interview with diana, princess of wales for panorama in 1995 made international headlines. after other high—profile programmes on the likes of louise woodward, and on michaeljackson, for itv, he went to work in the united states, but returned a year or so ago to the bbc, where he'd worked at the start of his career. in december, he followed pope francis on his tour of asia,

and reported on the archbishop of canterbury's christmas day message, and from bethlehem on the preparations for christmas there. it is in this place, where borders and walls fortify a sense of identity and religious separation, that the christian church is seeking to spread its message of peace and goodwill at christmas. merry christmas! at canterbury cathedral, archbishop justin welby said that although christ was born without any political leverage, he provides more freedom to individuals than the world's most powerful leaders. pope francis praised the united nations, but he did not refer to the un's accusation that myanmar had been involved in ethnic cleansing. and while he said the future of this nation must include all races and religions, he did not use the word rohingya. well, martin bashir is with me now. welcome to the programme. the status

of religion in news coverage has clearly gone up, as you are now editor and not just a clearly gone up, as you are now editor and notjust a correspondent. in admission perhaps that the bbc hasn't been doing enough on it? we have seen a decline in religious affiliation, a decline in attendance at church and places of worship, so i think that the bbc is responding in part in the way that religious groups have responded, by demanding more coverage, and the bbc is responding to that. but i don't think it is the bbc railing. i think you have seen a cultural change. some listeners and viewers might be worried about the fact that religious groups are demanding more coverage and reduce derry the bbc is giving it. we are a diverse country with different religious commitments and all of those people pay the licence fee and deserve to lee

expect some return. of them will say they have a desire for worship programmes, documentaries, observational programmes, so i think that the bbc‘s output is responding to that. of course, there plenty of other for people who have no religious interest whatsoever, but i think it would be wrong to say that we shouldn't provide material that for many people is important and central. the majority don't believe in god, and humanists like the person in the comments are worried that the bbc is being seen to bow to pressure from organised religious groups at a time when a great number of people say they don't believe in god. if you are saying that the only thing we are doing in our religious coverage relates to christianity or islam or sikhism, i would say that would be wrong and unfair, but that isn't what we are doing. we are reflecting the broad expression of interest among the british population. people do have a desire

to express themselves beyond the purely physical and material world. spiritually in the broadest sense? yes. will we hear more from religious leaders expressing what they believe? i don't think we are allowing people to simply proselytise. the question is, are we going to have people on like american tv evangelists preventing their view and trying to persuade viewers? that isn't what the bbc does britain is nominally a christian country but should that dominate religious coverage? christianity has the largest stakeholding in britain and globally, and we have an established church, bishops in the house of lords, the monarch is the supreme governor of the church of england, but we are trying to reflect a whole gamut of britain's religious and

faith expressions, and so in the last year i've done stories on anti—semitism and the rise of it, i've covered the issue of sharia councils and how the impact on muslim marriages. i've tried to step beyond simply issues within the life of the church of england but, having said that, i am very aware that there are many christian people that have been critical of the bbc and have been critical of the bbc and have set in the past that the bbc hasn't fairly or reasonably covered the church, and i am seeking to address that criticism. does being a christian yourself mean that some people might say you can't report fairly on religion and be impartial, because you believe everyone else is wrong? what would you say to someone said, you can't cover a racial discrimination story because of your ethnicity? you give me your answer. my ethnicity? you give me your answer. my answer would be the same as yours, and that is that we have professional training and standards, andi professional training and standards, and i would expect to be held to

those standards as much as anybody. our professional training means that we cover the stories as fairly and impartially as we possibly can. you are famous partly because, for a time, you wait controversial programmes, such as the interview with diana, princess of wales, about the state of her marriage. some people might be surprised you what the religion editor. some people probably will be. i did a first degree in english literature and history and then went to kings couegein history and then went to kings college in london and studied theology and history. i am doing some academic work at the moment in the whole area of religion. so it's something that's been with me lifelong. i haven't expressed it through my professional life previously, but it's very much a pa rt previously, but it's very much a part of who i am. i don't think that this portfolio is restrictive. in fa ct, this portfolio is restrictive. in fact, i think it's an opportunity to explore all kinds of issues affecting humans, expression,

ethics, decisions, everything from how you parent your children to how you die, and i don't think there's another portfolio that i would be more interested in this one. timber ship, thank you for coming in. —— martin bashir. finally, we have seen reports about weather conditions across the uk. on wednesday, chris page rounded up some of the effects of storm eleanor around the country. in clevedon, the promenade was out of bounds and emergency services we re of bounds and emergency services were on stand—by as the winds whipped up waves. wales also suffered. anglesey had fierce gusts and ferocious tides. several viewers spotted a spelling mistake, and they we re spotted a spelling mistake, and they were not impressed. this viewer e—mailed: thank you for all your comments. if

you want to share your opinions on bbc news or current affairs or appear on the programme, you can call us on this number. that's all from us. we'll be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. goodbye. good evening. it's been a day of sunny spells and scattered showers. things turn gradually brighter and

colder through the weekend, and quite a cold night ahead tonight with a cold north—easterly wind across scotland and northern england, bringing wintry showers. further south, rain showers on cold surfaces, with the odd icy threat. the morning —— for saturday morning. through the day on saturday, we have a north—south split, the northern half of the country mainly dry with a view wintry showers in the north—east but lots of sunshine, and further south a cloudier zone with a few rain showers, and temperatures between three to seven during saturday. in the second half of the weekend, we see the colder, clearer air across all the country, so a frosty start with icy stretches, but light winds, lots of sunshine and a fine day if you have outdoor plans. feeling colder than it has done, with some places in the north struggling to get above freezing. five or seven in the south. this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 8:00. an apology from the head

of the parole board to the victims not told of the release of serial sex attackerjohn worboys. we believed all the victims had been told of that decision but we're checking today because clearly something went wrong. jon venables, one of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger, is charged in relation to indecent images of children. "full of lies" that's the words from president trump as copies of that book hit the shelves. a proposed 25p on each take a wake encourage recycling. also this hour — as snow and ice continues to hit