we take a look back at his life's work. the president of kazakhstan has ordered his security forces to use lethal force on protestors after days of unrest following a sudden rise in fuel prices. russian troops have arrived to support his government. the us consulate in almaty has auhtorised non—emergency personnel to leave the country. our correspondent abdujalil abdurasulov is in kazakhstan�*s largest city, almaty, with the latest. the army of kazakhstan is standing guard here on the streets of almaty. after days of violence and many protesters killed, the state's security forces seem to be back in control, and when we came close to them, the warning not to approach is very clear. gunshot today the president was clear too — any more unrest will be met with lethal force. translation: terrorists| continue to damage state and private property and use weapons against civilians. i have given the order to shoot to kill without warning. president tokayev portrays the protesters as terrorists who are sowing chaos. they say that their movement is peaceful and blame the authorities for provoking the violence. the unrest was triggered by a sharp rise in fuel prices, but this country's corrupt authoritarian regime is unpopular. some of the biggest clashes took place here at the former presidential residence and the mayor's office. the buildings were burnt out, and you can see here all these cars were also set on fire. you can hear again the shots, but maybe it's the military and police officers are firing into the air to warn people not to approach the square because they closed the square in order to prevent people from gathering. many people fear that the violence will drag on. along with protests, many shops were looted. this 22—year—old man says that, while he supports the demands of the protesters, he wants looters to be stopped. "it's really scary, and we feel we have no protection," this woman says. this is one of the electronics shops that was looted in almaty, and i think the looters tried to burn this place as well, because it still smells of smoke. this mass unrest is a huge blow for almaty, which is the financial capital of kazakhstan. it's not clear yet if the violence is over or how much damage has been done to the authority of kazakhstan�*s hardline leader. abdujalil abdurasulov, bbc news, almaty. us secretary of state anthony blinken has been talking about the deployment of russian troops to kazakhstan as part of the the post—soviet collective security treaty organization. he had this warning for the kazakh regime over its reliance on moscow. there are very particular drivers of what's happening in kazakhstan right now, as i said, that go to economic and political matters, and what's happening in there is different from what's happening on ukraine's borders. having said that, i think one lesson of recent history is that once russians are in your house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave. one place closely watching events in kazakhstan is belarus. both countries are members of the russian—led collective security treaty organization, or csto, which has sent peacekeeping forces to kazakhstan. speaking on state tv, belarusian president alexander lukashenko said his forces were not there to kill. translation: we are not fighting for anyone. - there is only one company of our troops — peacekeepers. we've informed the un that we would like to help kazakhstan to restore peace. we came to kazakhstan not to kill or not to fight. we are peaceful people. our servicemen are peaceful people. we need to stop the fratricidal war, and we are doing exactly that. i've been speaking to franak viacorka, who is a senior advisor to sviatlana tsikhanouskaya, the exiled belarusian opposition leader. i asked him what reaction there had been in belarus to csto troops being sent to kazakhstan. it's shameful. belarusians should not fight abroad and should not participate in such operations — should not help other dictators to stay in power by all means. and what are your thoughts on the csto in general? because obviously this is the first time they've been mobilised in its history. what do you personally think of that? csto is perceived as the artificial organisation that was never used before. it was created as an anti—nato block, and this is the very first time when it's used by one of its member states. csto is used by russia primarily in order to keep post—soviet countries under control, and belarus's participation in csto, in my personal opinion, must be stopped. this situation with kazakhstan shows that it's not in the interest of belarus, and we will be working closely with belarusian civil society groups and we will be calling belarusian soldiers to not to participate in operations under csto brand. it's a fairly serious situation in kazakhstan, though, isn't it? you don't think this justifies mobilisation of allies to try and calm the situation? the situation in kazakhstan is a deja vu for belarusians because we passed through this in 2020, when belarusian people uprised against dictatorships. same in kazakhstan — people ask for freedom, they ask for democracy and they were brutally cracked down by dictatorships. foreign countries such as russia and others should not interfere and should not help tokayev to stay in power. we believe all that the crisis can be solved with dialogue, with conversation, with negotiation between all the parties in kazakhstan, the regime and between protesters, and we are calling for the peaceful resolution. same as in belarus — we are continuing calling for a peaceful resolution to the crisis, and we don't want russian troops to come to belarus to help us in solving our own crisis. and you obviously work very closely with sviatlana, the main opposition leader in belarus. what are her thoughts about all this? we are very concerned it can be used towards belarus, and at one point, when lukashenko will feel weak and when a new wave of protests will start, he will put in the same weight to help him, and russian troops will appear, so we are asking the international community to prevent it, to now allow this to happen to belarus. we sincerely believe that belarusians can solve their own crisis by themselves, without help of russia or any other countries. three white men convicted of the murder of a black man in the us state of georgia have been sentenced to life in prison. ahmaud arbery was outjogging in 2020 when the men chased him in pickup trucks and shot him dead. the three were only arrested and charged after video footage of the murder went viral. our north america correspondent david willis has this report. ahmaud arbery�*s death has been likened by his family to a latter—day lynching. three white men hunted down the unarmed jogger and killed him in cold blood. footage of the incident led to nationwide protests after it emerged that, despite being interviewed at the scene, none of the men involved had been arrested after local officials accepted their plea of self—defence and deemed the killing justified. former police officer gregory mcmichael, his 33—year—old son, travis, and the man who filmed ahmaud arbery�*s death, william �*roddie' bryan, were eventually arrested and brought to trial, and found guilty of murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment.— aggravated assault and false imprisonment. they chose to tar: et imprisonment. they chose to target my — imprisonment. they chose to target my son _ imprisonment. they chose to target my son because - imprisonment. they chose to target my son because they i target my son because they didn't want him in their community. these men deserve the maximum sentence for their crimes. ahmaud never said a word to them. he never threatened them. hejust word to them. he never threatened them. he just wanted to be left alone. threatened them. he 'ust wanted to be left alone._ threatened them. he 'ust wanted to be left aloneh to be left alone. what i'm auoin to be left alone. what i'm going to _ to be left alone. what i'm going to do _ to be left alone. what i'm going to do as _ to be left alone. what i'm going to do as i _ to be left alone. what i'm going to do as i am - to be left alone. what i'm going to do as i am going | to be left alone. what i'm l going to do as i am going to sit silently for one minute. to set in sit silently for one minute. trr set in context the terror that he said ahmaud arbery must have suffered as he was chased through a residential neighbourhood for more than five minutes, thejudge ordered a moment's silence. before sentencing all three men to life in prison. only william �*roddie' bryan will be eligible for parole, but not until he is 82 years of age. figs for parole, but not until he is 82 years of age-— 82 years of age. as we stand here in glen _ 82 years of age. as we stand here in glen county, - 82 years of age. as we stand here in glen county, in - 82 years of age. as we stand here in glen county, in front| here in glen county, in front of this courthouse, think about all the black people who have been lynched in the history of america. in georgia, who never, ever got their day in court. ahmaud arbery�*s death paved the way to a period of national reckoning over the state of racial injustice in this country, one which culminated in nationwide protests over the death of george floyd. though these men receive the maximum sentence, civil rights campaigners believe it will take more than that to influence attitudes that in many cases go back generations. yasmin cader, director of the trone center forjustice and equality at the american civil liberties union, gave us her reaction to the trial. my reaction is that this verdict is significant for many reasons. one of the first ones is that we have to remember this conviction almost never happened, and so it wasn't until mr arbery�*s family and his community organised, mobilised and demanded a full investigation that these individuals were even arrested. so the significance of this verdict in my mind is very much the fact that it almost never came to be. i mean, you've got to be relieved, obviously, at the verdict after all of that. because as you say, initial reluctance to arrest and charge these men, of course, until this footage emerged. that's right, but i think that when you say relief, what that brings to mind to me is just how much more work we have to do. i mean, this verdict, these sentences — they don't fully reflect in any way what the type of systemic change is that we need to make sure happens in this country. yeah, and do you think the sentence therefore sends out a wider message that's obviously needed for a long time — is that maybe a couple of years ago this sentence may not have come about, this verdict may not have come about, and now there is change, albeit too late and too slow, but change is happening? i think that the change that this community is seeking is much broader than these sentences. the change that this community is seeking is one in which somebody like mr arbery would be alive today. he never would have been seen as a threat simply byjogging in this neighbourhood, where he lived ten minutes away. he would be part of an integrated community, even though we are 70 years past the brown versus board of education decision, which said that we shouldn't be segregated anymore in education or in other systems. he would've been recognised in life, notjust in his death through this really retributive mechanism. i guess your hope, therefore, is that there is real fast and significant change now, of course, alongside verdicts in the george floyd case and other cases of this nature. yes, and that that change is much broader than these individual cases or these individual verdicts, but instead, that that change is one that's systemic in nature, that really reimagines all of these systems and really seeks equity for all. this is bbc news, a reminder of the headlines this hour: the us questions kazakhstan's decision to invite in russian troops to quell unrest, saying it might be difficult to get them to leave. a court in the us state of georgia has given life sentences to three white men who murdered the young black man ahmaud arbery while he was outjogging. as coronavirus cases continue to rise across india, new movement restrictions have come into effect for people in the capital, delhi, over the weekend. restaurants, markets and most shops will be closed until monday morning. russell trott reports. bharat�*s shop sells everything for the kitchen and more. but with fewer customers and takings down, he has been badly hit by the pandemic. yet, despite india's capital delhi locking down over the weekend, he remains upbeat. translation: the way corona cases are on the rise this - lockdown, the weekend curfew is a must. for the past two years, we have faced losses and we will face the same in the future. i will be happy when the amount of cases are lower and there is no lockdown. as the authorities grapple with a fresh surge in cases, partly fuelled by the fast—spreading omicron variant, most businesses here are still recovering from last year's outbreak that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums. but daily case numbers had, since then, stayed reasonably low — until last week. all residents besides essential workers will now be asked to stay home from friday night to monday morning. this is a big concern, big challenge. we have seen that over the last eight days, the figure has gone very high — from 10,000 cases to more than one lakh, injust eight days. so with this period, the number will be much higher in the previous weeks. more than 200,000 people died across india last spring, after a wave of delta variant infections that brought the healthcare systems to its knees. india's a8i,000 known covid deaths is the world's third highest toll behind the us and brazil, but under—reporting is widespread and some studies have estimated its actual toll could be up to ten times higher. the omicron variant is expected to hit hard but with fewer cases expected to need hospital treatment, some experts warn another lockdown and its economic impact is just not worth it. russell trott, bbc news. the us supreme court has begun hearing arguments about the legality of president biden's vaccinate—or—test mandate for large businesses. opponents say he does not have the authority to impose the rule without going through congress. backers say it will save lives. judgement is not expected for several days. us presidentjoe biden and first ladyjill biden have been visiting fire—damaged areas in colorado. they toured a residential neighbourhood in lousiville which had been largely destroyed by flames at the end of last year. the fire was driven by heavy winds on thursday 30 december. nearly 1,000 homes were lost and thousands of acres were scorched in a matter of hours. nearly 10,000 people were forced to leave their homes. mr biden said it should serve as a warning. the situation is a blinking code red for our nation. because the combination of extreme drought, the driest period from june to december ever recorded — ever recorded — unusually high winds, no snow on the ground to start, created a tinderbox. a literal tinderbox. and even though it was not your backyard, you could feel the ripple effects of what happened. the former us president, barack obama, has led tributes 16 people are now known to have died after an explosion destroyed a building in chongqing in china's south—west on friday. chinese media system and other people were rescued, some of whom are being treated in hospital. one is reported to be in critical condition. the building, housed a canteen, was reduced to rubble by the blast, thought to have been caused by a gas leak. the former us president, barack obama, has led tributes to the actor sir sidney poitier who's died at the age of 94. mr obama said the star had "opened doors for a generation of actors". sidney poitier made his name in a series of ground—breaking films which challenged racial stereotypes. he was the first black man to win an oscar for best actor, and his success paved the way for generations of other black artists. our correspondent, lizo mazimba looks back on the life, of a hollywood icon. # in the heat of the night... sidney poitier�*s virgil tibbs, a man of authority... i'm a police officer. ..intelligence and a steely determination never to back down — the kind of qualities that defined poitier on screen and off. he made his cinema debut playing a doctor, a man of status — something almost unheard of for black performers then. and with roles like an escaped convict in the defiant ones and a struggling husband in a raisin in the sun, he tackled prejudice head on. maybe i'll get down on my black knees. all right, mr charlie. all right, mr great white father. you just give us that money! and we won't come out there and dirty up your white folks�* neighbourhood. the era, of course, meant he had a burden his white counterparts rarely had to carry — the weight of being a symbol. but he bore it with dignity. in lilies of the field, playing a travelling handyman, helping build a group of nuns a new chapel. sing it over. the winner is sidney poitier. he won the academy award — the first black performer ever to receive the oscar for a leading role. in the years that followed, he became hollywood's biggest star, redefining how audiences saw black characters with films like to sir, with love. you will call me �*sir�* or �*mr thackeray'. the young ladies will be addressed as �*miss�*, the boys by their surnames. some of what i am was reflected in those movies. it was, in a way, i was saying to an audience, "this is who i am. "look at me." more controversial was his role as a highly gifted, hugely successful doctor engaged to a white woman in guess who's coming to dinner. i love your daughter. there is nothing i wouldn't do to try to keep her as happy as she was the day i met her. some criticised it, saying the impression it gave was of an interracial relationship that was only acceptable because his character was so perfect and accomplished. hello! he also directed �*80s comedy stir crazy — the first movie from an african—american film—maker to pass the blockbuster $100 million mark in the united states. what are you doing? i'm getting bad! in his later years, he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by barack obama, who today said sidney poitier epitomised dignity and grace. oprah winfrey paid tribute, saying: . while denzel washington said: those words two decades after he celebrated him at the academy awards. a0 years, i've been chasing sidney. they finally give it to me. what do they do? they give it to him the same night. i'll always be following in your footsteps. there's nothing i would rather do. applause. that same night, poitier also received an honorary oscar. hollywood recognition for a star who blazed a trail for so many... they call me mr tibbs. ..and who entertained millions more. sidney poitier — one of the greats. cheryl boone isaacs is the founding director of the sidney poitier new american film school at arizona state university and former president of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences, best known for organising the oscars. here's how she remembers him. he was a major beacon of light that came on the scene and on the screen many decades ago, and through his life's work, whether in front of the camera behind the camera, he hasn't had a major impact on the created world. and especially for the black community and black storytellers. it is such an honour for me to be able to be part of his legacy that we are going to carry into the future. he was a great man, great philosopher, a philanthropic ideas and avenues, civil rights activist, and like i said, a tremendous force in the creative world. i know we have pictures of you with sidney poitier. give us some of your favourite memories of him? even physically, in person, he was so dynamic, you know, the energyjust wafted off of him. and when he would see me, certainly with others as well, but when he would see me, he would cluster his hands together and grinning from ear to ear. it would always lift you, no matter how good you might be feeling for the day. most people remember him as an actor but he was an activist, a director, he had his own production company. there was a much more to him thanjust acting. absolutely. and it is with that legacy that we are going to move forward and make sure that that legacy stays alive. and that we impart all the greatness of sidney poitier in future storytellers. how do you think his legacy is left? obviously so many actors and actresses stand on his shoulders now? that is exactly right. he paved the way for many, filmmakers, as well as people like myself, this influence was massive, just massive. and not least with denzel washington, who was a huge actor now, but he obviously paid tribute to him all those years ago? absolutely. we always think of the two of them, the night of the oscars, when denzel won his oscar for best actor, and halle berry won the best actress, and sidney poitier received his historic honorary oscar, that was a major, major evening, and it filled my heart and i cried my eyes out. it was special. a volcano perched on top of one of ecuador�*s famous galapagos islands has erupted, producing a spectacular lava flow. the one mile high wolf volcano is located on isabela island, home to a rich variety of flora and fauna of the type that helped inspire charles darwin's theory of evolution following his visit in 1835. fortunately the eruption poses no threat to wildlife populations, or to humans. and you can get details of all of these stories and many more by visiting our website at bbc.com/news. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @sipusey. hello. well, earlier, the skies were clear and we had a touch of frost, even some icy patches in places after the recent wintry weather. but now, a weather front is approaching, and the first half of saturday at least will be very wet and windy. now here's the low pressure that's sweeping into the uk, here's the weather front, and this is rain—bearing cloud, so if the rain hasn't reached you already, it will do very soon. ahead of this weather front, there's some temporary snow falling across the highlands of scotland, but for many of us, it really is rain. and the rain will be heavy, it'll bring also very blustery weather by the end of the night to many western parts of the uk. and look at the temperatures — eight degrees in belfast, double figures in the south—west, just around freezing or above across eastern parts of the country. so here's that low pressure around early saturday. within it, we've got milder air. you can see the milder winds coming in from the south. behind the cold front, yes, there's slightly colder weather, but not as cold compared to what we've been having in the last few days. so, here's that wet and windy weather for the first half of saturday. later, notice that the skies clear. there will be frequent blustery showers, some will again be wintry, particularly across the highlands, but for many of us, it is rain. it will feel chilly in the wind, but notice that rain really dragging its heels around east anglia and the south—east. it may not clear the south—east until after dark, so here, it really will be an unpleasant day. come the evening, i think saturday night into sunday, things will start to dry out. here's the good news — saturday night into sunday, the weather will calm down, which means that on sunday, it will be a much better day. better — there still will be some showers around, particularly across northern areas, and in fact, we are expecting later on sunday some damp weather to move into south—western parts of england and maybe wales. but on the whole, it's a much better day, much drier and brighter for many of us, with temperatures around the average for the time of the year. so, here's the weekend summary again. you can see that wet weather earlier in the day on saturday, much better by sunday, and thereafter, it is turning milder. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: the us have questioned kazakhstan's decision to seek russian military support to deal with a wave of violent unrest. russia says its deployment of troops is temporary. dozens of people have been killed during nationwide protests triggered by a rise in fuel prices. in the us, three white men who were convicted of chasing and then murdering ahmaud arbery, a black man, in the state of georgia have been sentenced to life in prison. the case became a focus of protests by the black lives matter movement. one of the best known black hollywood actors of the past century, sidney poitier, has died. he was 94. mr poitier was the first black man to be awarded best actor at the academy awards in 1964 and paved the way for a new generation of stars. now, many of us remember the tv drama grange hill