welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: finally finished — the special counsel's report into alleged collusion between president trump's election campaign and russia has been submitted to the department of justice. graham page agreed. there are reportedly no new indictments but the content is under wraps — how much will be but, some bbcjournalists made public in the coming days? two cyclones threaten australia's indigenous communities — thousands of families are forced from their homes in remote parts of the northern territory. another twist on the road to brexit. voiced their approval theresa may tells mps the planned third vote on her withdrawal deal may not happen. the first glimpse of sperm whales hunting in the darkest depths of the ocean. with norman smith applauding a model of consistent for all aspiring journalists. now, last friday we woke up and use of an atrocity in christchurch new zealand. at least 29 people had been killed and thousands more injured after a gunman opened fire on two

mosques in new zealand. men, women, and children were at friday prayers in christchurch when a man walked in and began firing, filming and broadcasting it all live on social media. in the coverage that followed, what was notable by its absence from many viewers was the terms terrorism or terrorist. in relation to the attack. i'm aware that there are bbc guidelines that attempt to refrain from using the term terrorism unless attributing it to someone however in this case when it so obviously an act of terror, it makes the bbc seem very out of touch and this was devastating you know, live streaming of 50 people being murdered, to not refer to it as an act of terrorism is actually very disrespectful to the victims and i think the bbc should update this and show more compassion. other objections followed in interviews on fridays newsnight

with benjamin jones uk leader of the far right generation identity. as far as the typical muslim is concerned, their way of life is completely incompatible to the lifestyle we have in this country, i see instances such as this as inevitable if we continue to put different people from different perspectives and different point of views as how to conduct our lives as human beings together and that will cause extremists across the spectrum which is why it's important we continue to advocate the advantages of a homogenous society. there were hundreds of objections with one reviewer called casper tweeting: a third issue crept up on tuesday after a new zealand's prime minister vowed never utter the name of the government responsible for the attack but bbc news

continued to do so even in reports about that decision on ms adern online and television and radio. each time you immediately tell us what the name was, the first time was annoying, the second time irritating and they began to get worse and worse and i thought why on earth was the bbc doing this. here is a sensible woman trying to deny a terrible man the oxygen and you just immediately undermined it. well, to discuss all those issues i'm joined by the editorial director of bbc news. first, what is the bbc‘s policy on the use of the word terrorism? we have editorial guidelines about this issue, the first thing to consider is what helps audiences understand what has happened.

and when we are thinking about that words like gunman, shooter, are much more important to tell the audience what has happened. so the key thing is that 50 people have been murdered by a gunman in mosques in new zealand. that's the first thing we need to get across. the second thing is that terror and terrorism are complicated issues and there is no agreed definition. we want to attribute it to other people. so in this case we made it very clear in our coverage that the prime minister of new zealand described this as a terrorist attack that was a very prominent in our coverage on the six and ten o'clock news that night on the friday. on friday, newsnight ran that interview at the representative of generation identity who said the attacks were inevitable if immigration continued

that the way of life of the typical muslim was completely incompatible with the lifestyle of the average person in this country. and he advocated the advantages of a homogenous society. was that appropriate? newsnight is a leading current affairs daily programme. that was one part of an item on the programme on the night of the attack which dealt in detail with many different aspects of the attack. part of that is an absolutely right investigation of far right extremism and revealing what far right extremism means and what it is that they are saying. that is a service to our audiences. now, you are right, we did have a lot of the audience felt it was inappropriate, we put out a huge amount of output every day, some of that you have to think about tonally,

i had long discussions at the newsnight team since the programme and there are misteps that are made and the point of view that was given by the guest from generation identity was tested and contested by the report to richard watson in the right way, was it often enough? that's an area we discussed and where we realised the tone for some of the audience was not in the right place. tone and timing are everything and what some viewers have contrasted as they see a coverage of the manchester arena bombing when they set the focus is on the victims, not the ideology of the attacker. we did a huge amount on victims across the output of the day. newsnight was looking at a specific area, it made it very clear

in the opening to the programme the horror of what had happened, the program then made it clear it wanted specifically to look at one aspect which was the white extremism. perfectly legitimate, of course for many of the audience they are still as you suggest focussed on the victims and i said all the things he can learn some lessons about how that issue was covered about thinking and about how we think it's such a specific effort to try and untangle some of the reasons possibly behind what had happened in new zealand. some say he was not challenged enough and was essentially given a platform by newsnight. i think it was testate a lot

as i say there was a long piece following richard watson's package rally we interviewed a representative from fairbanks who directly attacked what had been heard. there was lots of testing within the package but also audiences it's absolutely legitimate for audiences to hear what it is some people believe. as you say, correctly contested but to hear what some people believe. that was an important part of what newsnight was trying to achieve. on tuesday then nz prime minister said uttering the name gave him the notoriety he sought. do you think she she had a point? i think she has a huge moral authority and what she said, it's different from how news organisation would cover an event, of course she's a politician and she's the country at an incredibly difficult time but for us that judgements are different. we need to ensure that the audience

understands what has happened and of course we have to be sensitive about this idea although we recognise the moral force of what the needs —— new zealand prime minister was saying. the cyclone which has devastated parts of africa hit the headlines to the untrained eye this is a disaster of major proportions. however, that appointing and by the task invented disaster is nothing to that's getting to brexit and or if such a disaster was to happen in america.

i would suggest that whoever does this editorial content or makes a decision on who gets top billing, it really has lost their moral and editorial compass. thank you for all your comments this week, we do want you to get in touch with your opinions on bbc news and current affairs. maybe even appear on the programme. that's all from us. i will be back after easter. goodbye. hello, welcome to a weekend which is going to deliver some dry weather though there will be blustery showers, particularly in scotland and it is going to feel cooler than it has done recently.

we've seen this weather front move on southwards, coolerfresh air moving on behind, but it's clearer too, and more of us will see sunshine over the weekend. this is how we start saturday, a touch of frost possible in parts of northern england, scotland and northern ireland, still cloud through parts of southern england and towards the south coast in particular, it may hold on through the day and where you have that, don't be surprised if there is a little light rain and drizzle. elsewhere across england and wales, high cloud. any sun is going to be quite hazy. sunny skies in northern ireland and scotland though cloud producing a few showers here and there, and they are very blustery showers in scotland. these are average speeds — gusts are higher, the northern isles could be gusting between 60 and 70 miles per hour initially before the wind eases later, and showers moving into scotland are going to be wintry on the hills. temperatures mostly at around 9— 12 degrees. saturday evening and night, further showers coming into scotland. that means a bit more snow to the higher ground.

that may be the far north of england. still some cloud into parts of england and wales. maybe a little drizzle but where you are clear, hints of a touch of blue on the chart, you just get a bit of frost, particularly on the ground as sunday begins. early on sunday, there could be a longer spell of wet weather moving into the far north—west of scotland and that will move on southwards with more showers following on behind to northern ireland and maybe northern england later. blustery showers. elsewhere across england and wales, sunny spells. temperatures are fairly similar for part two of the weekend. highs of around 9—12 degrees. so that is how the weekend is shaping up. let's just take a look into next week and high pressure is back with us, look slike it will be moving right across the uk. just a few weak weather fronts into the far north—west of scotland. most places with high pressure are going to be dry. variable cloud, some sunny spells, the risk of a touch of frost overnight but other days we go deeper into the week,

temperatures look like they will be going up a few degrees. that is next week covered. let's just recap the weekend weather. rather cool, chilly nights, some decent sunny spells around. you may catch a shower mostly in scotland, blustery showers at that, and wintry on hills.