this is bbc news, the headlines: the polls have opened in kazakhstan in the country's presidential election. it follows the resignation of nursultan nazarbayev — who's ruled the country for almost 30 years. there have been a wave of protests by young kazakhs since mr nazarbayev stood down — as he still retains key powers. the sudanese opposition has called for a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience starting on sunday and continuing until a civilian government is installed. the announcement follows a tumultuous week in sudan — in which more than a hundred people are believed to have been killed by the security forces. president trump says he believes mexico will try very hard to implement the deal it's reached with the us to curb illegal immigration. the threat to impose tariffs on all imports from mexico has been dropped. but they could be introduced if mexico fails to live up to the deal.

her art on canvas, and her pictoral quilts, have for almost 50 years been powerful statements on racism in the united states. now at the age of 88, the acclaimed african american artist faith ringgold, is getting her first exhibition here in the uk, with a retrospective, of her unflinching work. our arts editor, will gompertz, has been to meet her. going all the way back to the ‘60s, a young, black, female artist living in harlem. how difficult was it? it was really difficult. riots in the street, all kinds of stuff was happening. oh, i mean overt racism. faith ringgold emerged as an artist at the

height of america's civil rights movement. she was making politically—charged paintings in response to what was going on around her. a group portrait of sorts, of a country divided by race. american people, that's the story i started with. i am going to tell it like i see it. i'm going to do images of the important aspects of american life that affect me. you make these paintings which are politically—charged and dealing with major issues, racism at the centre, and yet you say you can find beauty in that. truth. there is beauty in truth. inspired by african culture and western fashion, she started to make what she calls story quilts, paintings on fabrics with statements — written because publishers and big art institutions wouldn't present her work.

they were not interested in my story, that there was racism everywhere and people killing each other in the street and all this going on did not interest them because it wasn't happening to them. how would you paint america in 2019? how would i paid america in 20— oh, my... i would paint it in multi, multi, multi colours. which i've done before but i would make it more obvious. now on bbc news, our world. for centuries, a significant sikh minority has grown in relative safety in afg ha nista n. but in the last decade, persecution has seen the population drop.

music. sikhs have lived in afghanistan for centuries. but they are an embattled minority living in ghettos and trapped in poverty. in a muslim country that is unstable and insecure, sikhs are targeted and discriminated against for their religion. and the violence is getting worse. i'm kawoon khamoosh, and i have returned to my homeland afghanistan to meet one of the nation's oldest communities. once 250,000 strong, now reduced to just 100 families. this is a community facing a dilemma over its very existence. this is the shor bazaar district in the capital, kabul.

this is the shor bazaar district in the capital, kabul. it is home to one of afghanistan's last remaining sikh communities. today is the biggest day in the sikh calendar. the festival of vaisakhi. it celebrates the birth of the religion and commemorates the fight against persecution. i am with arinder singh, a teacher who has prepared the kids for the big day.

the sikh community has never taken sides in the four decades of war and violence that have plagued afghanistan. but in the ongoing troubles here, this ethnic and religious minority has been feeling ever more vulnerable. music and singing.

we have arrived at the main temple in kabul, which is also called a gurdwara. sikhs have converged here from across the city and beyond. five children have the honour of representing the warriors baptised by the guru gobind singh, who led the sikhs' fight against religious persecution in india 300 years ago. singing. sikhs have lived here for centuries and have gathered and celebrated vaisakhi every year — through the soviet invasion, civil war and taliban rule.

but this year the big day is overshadowed by a deep sense of loss. in the 1990s, the sikh community in afghanistan numbered around 250,000. much of the country's trade and commerce was run by sikhs, and the community flourished. thousands would gather in the streets for religious events and whole districts were populated by sikhs.

but today's community is estimated to be as few as 100 families. properties are empty and it is a risk to step outside. narinder singh is the sikh community's only member of the afghan parliament. he is under armed guard around the clock. inside the gurdwara or temple compound is a shrine to those sikhs who were killed in a devastating suicide attack last year. it was a tragedy that rocked the entire community.

suicide bombers had targeted an entire delegation of sikhs in the city of jalalabad as they prepared to meet the afghan president. the so—called islamic state claimed responsibility. narinder was among the lucky ones who reached hospital. 19 people were killed, the entire community leadership effectively wiped out. among the dead was awtar singh. he was the sikhs' representative through decades of war, and champion of sikh rights. he was narinder‘s father.

but despite what happened to his father, narinder is in no doubt about his future.

but not all of the community share narinder‘s outlook. most sikhs who have remained live in compounds, barely venturing out. families of ten sharing two rooms. for many, staying means living in fear and poverty. but leaving may spell the end of their centuries—old community in afghanistan.

charan singh is desperate to leave, but his family has been plunged into crisis that can only be resolved if he stays. he runs a store in a busy neighbourhood that used to be considered a safe part of kabul. it is a short drive from his brother ajit‘s business.

two months ago charan‘s brother was closing his shop at the end of the workday, but he never made it home. all that was found was his parked car, empty. so the shop is now closed and behind these little stalls, we can see the sign, it is named "rajinder, the lover of the country". but the shop is closed now, it is a very crowded area. charan didn't want us to get out of the car, worried we would draw unwanted attention. the family have reported the disappearance to the police, but there has been little progress in the investigation.

the family have reported the disappearance to the police, but there has been little progress in the investigation. back at the shor bazaar compound, charan‘s grieving mother waits. nobody knows if he was abducted for his religion or his money. he wasn't a rich man but had a life ahead of him.

afghans who have fought for human rights here see the intolerance and abuse aimed at sikhs as part of a wider, deeply worrying development.

but tomorrow's generation of sikhs have lives to build. and today is another school day.

the sikh community has one state school in all afghanistan. as non—muslims, the parents don't want their children attending the schools where islam is the only religion that's taught. arinder singh is the school's deputy head. over the past two years, arinder has seen the number of students drop by half to just 30. the result of the worsening security situation.

despite dwindling numbers, afg hanistan‘s education ministry still provides teachers. this school is tiny, but the government has promised that even if there's just one sikh or hindu student left they will still keep the school and the teachers.

the school principal, who is muslim, used to teach afghan war refugees in iran. now he teaches afghan sikhs in their own country. but in a country that is officially islamic, many sikhs say they are treated like second—class citizens. i have come to the powerful ministry of religious affairs. part of its remit is to help ensure

that all of the country's minorities can practice their religions in safety. but officials here don't blame the problems sikhs face on religious intolerance.

sikhs are not the only community to leave afghanistan after hundreds of years of shared experience. i have come to herat, in the far west of the country. there was once prosperous sikh and hindu communities here. but they are now almost entirely abandoned. this city was also the centre of a largejewish community in afghanistan that had once flourished in the country for 1500 years. the last jew left here during the unrest of the 1980s, in search of a better life in israel. the yu aw synagogue has been preserved as a monument to the generations who worshipped here.

a young man, 60 years ago. back in kabul, for now there's a reason to celebrate. a family is coming in from jalalabad for a wedding party. and the bride is the niece of mp narender singh. i am very, very lucky and excited

to be in such a party, seeing afghan boys and girls, men and women dancing under the same roof here in kabul. the teacher, arinder singh, is conducting the ceremony. for today's guests, the wedding is about the joining together of two families. it is a sign of hope for the future of this community here in afghanistan. but arender singh is not so upbeat.

days later, there is bad news. the body charan singh‘s missing brother has been found. he has been murdered and badly tortured. two people have been detained by police.

but that's little consolation. the sikh community yearns for peace and stability. but in the face of tragedy it becomes harder to stay and easier to decide to leave afghanistan forever. hello again. it's not been the best of a start to the weekend, really, with a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain and blustery winds for much of the day across good parts of the uk. skies look rather grey

and leaden like these. at and leaden like these. least it was a, and the dayv the at least it was a, and the day with the cloud breaking up. this bill is becoming established. that is what we have got at the moment. many of us we have got at the moment. many of us will continue to see the skies clear over the next few hours. showers across the far north was. 0therwise showers across the far north was. otherwise it is right if you are heading outside. not especially cold. temperatures 7— nine celsius. looking at sunday in more detail, by and large it should be a finance study start to the day. the scotland where it will be rather cloudy. sunday will be a day of sunshine and showers. those are shallow clouds start to develop around the middle pa rt start to develop around the middle part of the day and on into the afternoon. that is when we see the main risk of showers. they will form in these lines where the winds back together and converge. potentially heavy slow—moving thundery showers. maybe across central wales. another line into parts of northern ireland and another line of converge and

showers in northern scotland. that is where you are most likely to see downpours stop away from those zones, the weather should be largely dry with showers few and far between. a bit more gin sunshine then we saw on saturday. feeling warmer. don't get used to that. —— junior sunshine. hot air blows up from africa into central europe. that collides with cooler air from the pulse. this huge contrast in air mass has a powerful weatherfront. the met office has already issued a weather warning. some places could be getting on for one month's weather warning. some places could be getting on for one months with the rain for monday tuesday. not just heavy but persistent. you can see the rain notjust ticking across the eastern areas, it will be pretty extensive the eastern areas, it will be pretty exte ns ive a cross the eastern areas, it will be pretty extensive across much of england and wales. the further north and west you go, the drier the weather gets. there will be sunshine and passing showers. the weather not too bad. in the south we will continue to see both rate affecting england and wales are bringing the risk of localised flooding. 0ver wales are bringing the risk of localised flooding. over time, towards the end of the week, that

wet weather will slowly turning authors. it will turn wet in scotla nd authors. it will turn wet in scotland later on in the week. that is your latest weather. goodbye for now.

you're watching bbc news — i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: polls open in kazakhstan — as the country holds a snap presidential election — following the shock resignation of its soviet—era leader. mexico's president hails the tariff deal with the us, saying a finanical crisis will now, not happen. despite arrests and a crackdown — leaders of the pro—democracy movement in sudan call for a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience. and it's a barty party. ashleigh barty wins the french open — the first australian to claim