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 gareth jones, 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. happy 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 an editor and not just a correspondent — an 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 a bbc singularfailing. i think you have seen a cultural change. some listeners and viewers might be really worried about the fact that religious groups are demanding more coverage and the bbc is giving it. i think what you have to keep in mind is that we are a diverse country with different religious commitments and all of those people pay the licence fee. they all expect to have some kind of return. some of them will say they have a desire for worship programmes, documentaries, observational programmes like muslims like us, so i think that the bbc‘s output is responding to that. now, of course, there are plenty of other 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. to emphasise, the majority don't believe in god, and humanists, like sue 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, then i would say yes, that would be wrong and unfair, but that isn't what we are doing. what we are doing is 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. 0k, will we hear more from religious leaders expressing what they believe? even though this stuff is usually contested ? i don't think we are allowing people to simply proselytise. the question there is, are we going to have people

on effectively like american tv evangelists, preventing their view and trying to persuade viewers? no. that isn't what the bbc does. britain is nominally a christian country we have an established religion in the church of england. should that dominate religious coverage? some would think so. 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 remember, we are trying to reflect the 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 they 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 said 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 if someone said you can't cover a racial discrimination story because of your ethnicity? you give me your answer. my answer would be the same as yours, and that is that we have professional training and we have professional 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, controversial programmes, such as the interview with diana, princess of wales, about the state of her marriage. some viewers might be surprised you are the religion editor. yeah, they probably will be!

i did a first degree in english literature and history, and then went to kings college in london and studied theology and history. i am actually doing some academic work at the moment in the whole area of religion. so it's something that's been with me life—long. i haven't expressed it through my professional life previously, but it's very much a part of who i am. i don't think that 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 than this one. martin bashir, thank you for coming in. 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 and somerset, the promenade was out of bounds and emergency services were on stand—by as the winds whipped up waves. and wales also suffered. anglesey was pounded by fierce gusts and ferocious tides. several eagle—eyed viewers spotted a spelling mistake there, 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 even appear on the programme,

you can call us on this number. you can find us on twitter and to have a look at our website. that's all from us. we'll be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. hello there. following what has been a pretty stormy start to 2018, the weekend holds something a little quieter for most of us, but colder, and it will feel cold as well as the wind, north—easterly wind, strengthens. and of course it's getting colder, so what we've seen through the day on friday is a smattering of snow on the hills. those weather fronts have continued southwards through the night so a further smattering of snow and clearly an ice risk across many northern areas. but even further south, as temperatures fall close to freezing as well for dawn this morning, and some showers around, that poses a risk of fog as well, some dense fog potentially, through southern areas

but particularly across parts of wales, the midlands, east anglia, lincolnshire and the vale of york but not to be excluded further south either where we will keep a lot of showers through the day ahead and quite cloudy skies. as the wind starts to strengthen, it will be quite bitter. the wind is quite a feature further north, but at least with the sunshine here it will be a sparkling start of the day. it will still be cold. wintry showers are still there across parts of north—east england, in scotland, but for western scotland, northern ireland, the lion's share of the sunshine through the day ahead but it does brighten and across much of northern england, north wales, perhaps the north midlands later and of course the fog will lift. the wind strengthens and so with the cloud covering the south and the showers, quite sharp at times, it will feel cold, for example if you are heading off to fleetwood against leicester in london for the fa cup third round, it is going to be quite a bracing wind, particularly by the end of play. for most of us here, 6—8 celsius, but feeling colder as the wind strengthens. the wind starts to ease in the sunshine further north

but again 3—5 degrees, it is cold air. that cold air continues its progress southwards during tonight. still, though, we have the cloud generally, showers close to the south coast, touch and go for frost but most areas will have a much colder night. —io, —12 perhaps in the glens of scotland, particularly with the snow cover, but colder further south and obviously the risk that of some slippery where we have had the showers. but it does look like a sunnier day on sunday but look at the north—easterly wind. it is biting. always the risk of a bit more cloud for the south, but lovely sunshine further north, just cold, temperatures, struggling to get above freezing in a few areas because of the high pressure, light winds in the north, the strong north—easterlies in the south and these weather fronts sitting out in the atlantic which will slowly start to come in next week but another day of largely dry weather, just picking up some cloud and freezing drizzle by monday. it looks more grey by that stage. to keep up to date, there is more of course on our website. bye— bye.

welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: the united states is criticised by fellow un security council members for calling an emergency meeting over protests in iran. the author of a damning book on donald trump says he stands by everything he wrote in his depiction of a chaotic white house. i will tell you the one description that everyone gave, everyone has in common. they all say he is like a child. the east coast of america in the grip of an arctic blast. at least 19 people have died and temperatures could fall to minus a0 celsius in some places this weekend.