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 for its gritty storylines and very catchy theme tune. it first aired in 1978, running for 30 years, and now it is going to be turned into film with some of the original characters expected to return as grandparents. jayne mccubbin has been chatting to some of the original cast members. grange hill theme music plays. there was the theme tune. bom bom bom bom, ba—na ba—na nah nah, bam ba—na ba—na—na, bow bow bow... there was the gritty realism. move your arm, fat man. it was just like a real british show, wasn't it? showing, like, kids in their natural habitats, so to speak. yeah, cheeky and naughty. what's he talking about? it's not true. controversial storylines. did you just say no in school? idid. good girl. just say no! now, like an unheard—of decent school dinner, there is going to be

a second helping. my name is neil mattocks. i am a higher level teaching assistant. i run a podcast about grange hill called sausage on a fork. the very first episode i remember watching, i was about six years old and there was lads fighting on the telly, and ijust thought, "this is amazing. "this is like nothing i've ever seen." i'm alison valentine and i played faye in grange hill — faye lucas. the biggest thing which caused the biggest stir was my thing — i'm not sure what it was — with my teacher, mr king. my name is lee macdonald i and i played zammo in grange hill. so, the transformation _ from this happy—go—lucky zammo character to stealing off- of roland, licking the drugs off the floor in one - of the scenes at the end, you know, was horrific. zammo! drown, you scum.

the bbc expelled grange hill after a 30—year run in 2008, but open auditions for the next gen grange hill silver screen stars start soon. my name is celynjones. i'm the co—writer of grange hill the movie and in a previous life, i also played mr green in grange hill — the english teacher. sir phil redmond suggested that it was time to bring back grange hill. i think bringing back grange hill was sort of like the bat signal, and — that he couldn't ignore from wayne manor any longer! by taking the best of the old and mixing with the new, they hope it pulls in the parents for nostalgia and their teens for a new edgy outing. jayne mccubbin, bbc news. now on bbc news it's the travel show, with lucy

hedges. this week on the travel show. now, if you spent any part of lockdown dancing alone in the kitchen, this show is for you. now, for many of us, dancing offers a shortcut to happiness and escape. over the years on the travel show, we've picked up some pretty nifty dance moves all over the world — and have failed miserably at others. so here, for your entertainment and our eternal embarrassment, are our attempts to remain

co—ordinated under pressure and in front of a camera. let's kick off with my trip to south africa back in 2018, when i tried to keep up with a truly talented group of performers who have made news all over the world thanks to an energetic form of dancing known as pantsula. they set the bar a little high for me, though. fast-paced singing. this is pa ntsula. this style of dancing is absolutely incredible. it's fast paced, it's energetic, and it's technical. but for young south africans, it's so much more than this. it's a movement that encapsulates storytelling, fashion and social expression. and just look at those dance moves. my mind is just blown!

for via vyndal, everything in their act holds a special significance — from their moves to their costumes. and their clothes are the colours of the national flag. pantsula, it's a local culture. you would never get it anywhere in the suburbs. whatever we do, we're telling our stories, background stories, through dance. from growing up in this poor neighbourhood, the group has gone on to international acclaim. in 2017, director danny boyle hand—picked them to perform at one of new york's most prestigious venues — carnegie hall. we really killed the stage. it was a peak experience, especially because, to be honest, it was our first time on the plane. and being in new york, it was something different. you could tell that we were far away from home. the background of the dance is closely tied to the history

of the nation. we're on our way to the biggest township in south africa — soweto. here, the pantsula has a deeply political message. soweto has a reputation for activism. it was home to nelson mandela during apartheid in the years prior to his arrest. pantsula has its roots in the same era. it matched contemporary forms with traditional african dance — an act of cultural defiance against the oppressive white government. talk to me about the kind of social and political messages that you express when you dance. the first political message is to be seen as black people. we are powerful, you know. and the second is we're trying to tell the world that we're still free, but we're still bearing a lot of problems. we still have to push ourselves. and we have to push ourselves,

like, 10 times harder than any other individual. and now, the moment of truth. do i have what it takes to become an honorary member of the troupe? ok, stand here. 0k. it's going to be, one, two, one, two. one, two, one, two. oh, no. yeah. so it's going to be, one, two, one, two. one, two, one, one, two, one, one, two, one. easy! 0k. slow. one, two, one, two. one, two, one, one, two, one, one, two, one. i'm not getting the last bit. come on, focus up here. focus on my feet. i'm not quite there. one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one. yes! i'm not good enough

tojoin the group. but thank you for teaching me some moves. it's funny, but i get tired watching that again. what amazing performers. in the same year, half a world away in norway, christa discovered a similar level of skill and dedication when she went to learn about a traditional form of dance that is still going strong. watch out for the high kicks in this one. dance company frikar perform around norway and beyond. they are inspired by nature and traditional norwegian folk roots. they have even agreed to show me traditional moves in norway's halling dance.

traditional violin music. the dance is mostly a show—off dance. many hundred years ago, women also did the dance, but it's mostly boys or men doing the dance, because we want to impress the other men or other women. put the right foot in front of the left, sidewards. believe me, this is harder than it looks. if you jump a bit on each step, one, two, yes, nice? i think i'm getting the hang of it.

one, two. nice! back in the old days, they use the ceilings to kick down a coin orjust kick their heels. kick the ceiling? you know, they were smaller houses back in those days. in the 1800s, the military started with competitions, kicking a hat from a stick, and it was about kicking the highest. and then it became incorporated in the halling, the folk dance. i think if i say halling, people say kicking the hat. it's like the main goal in the halling. but it's more like the dance is the main goal. kicking the hat is sort of topping it.

that was good kicking! you've got to admit those high kicks were pretty impressive. christa in norway back in 2018. now, here is something else to not try at home, especially if you value yourjoints. now, peruvian scissor dancing dates back over 500 years, and some people claim it is the inspiration behind modern breakdancing. now, with a heritage like that, we just had to send carmen to investigate in 2017.

the origin of the peruvian scissor dance is shrouded in mystery, but many believe the tradition began up in the highlands of the andes as an act of worship to the mountain gods. in the 1500s, the dance was performed to show resistance to spanish rule. the movements displayed the performers' dexterity. and the scissors represented their resistance to pain. but the conquistadors thought it was inspired by the devil and it was banned. despite the ban, the tradition survived, and the twisting, turning dance moves were passed down from generation to generation. now, its importance in peru's history has been recognised by unesco. and its backbreaking moves would put many breakdancers to

shame. although the scissors are not sharpened, learning to control them while dancing and leaping can take years. hola! and i'm going to get a lesson to see how it's done. so the top ones stay still and the bottom one... 0h. it's all in the thumb, the thumb and the wrist. scissors chime. first, i've got to get to grips with the scissors. the aim is to hit the handles together in time to the music. the blunt blades are not connected, so holding them in position is really tricky. there is no way i'm going to be able to do this and coordinate my feet. and it's notjust mastering the scissors.

argh! this is the one that makes your knees bleed. does it hurt to do the jumps and land on your back? does it hurt your head, your knees? do you have injuries? is that blood on your trousers? wow, that's dedication. oh, and i'm getting a hat. gosh — as if it's not hard enough! after a few minutes, i'm exhausted. i can't even imagine how hard it would be to do these moves up in the andes, where the thin air makes everything so much harder. these guys are true athletes.

oh, that was hard work! some of those moves looked truly, truly backbreaking. just amazing — carmen and the scissor dancers of peru back in 2017. well, we've got plenty more for you, so stay with us because, coming up — henry learns it's all in the eyes in india and christa leaves the folk music of norway behind to attend a grand ball in vienna. i onlyjust i only just learned to i onlyjust learned to do this today! in the same way dance can lift your spirits it can also tell a story and perhaps nowhere as intricately as india, which is where henry headed to meet the kathakali dancers of kerala, who not only use their bodies but their faces to tell a story. to learn more about kathakali,

i've come here to meet a man whose family have been performing the dance for the past hundred years here in cochin. mr devan! how are you? good to see you! thank you very much. this is your theatre! amazing. central to kathakali is the complex ritual make—up, which turns the performers into supernatural beings, gods and demons. the process of applying the make—up can take many hours and here in cochin, it's applied directly in front of the audience and forms part of the performance. there's a singer who sings the stories... the river flowing! ..and a drummer, who supports. drumbeat. the dancer translates the songs through the movement

of eyebrows, eyes, eye muscles, lips, fingers, footwork. and all these stories come from the hindu books, religious books. originally developed as a way of teaching religious scripture to rural audiences, kathakali is now also a big draw for tourists coming here to kerala. applause. i am very curious to know how do you tell a story with your eyebrows, your cheeks, your lips and yourfingers — can you teach me? to start with there, are 2a alphabets in the language, katha kali language. these alphabets are the position of the hand. and so how — show me a little segment of how you would use the alphabets to tell the story. please, come.

and so with the eye movements, what different types of eye movements do you have? rolling the eyes is getting excited. ah. team those moves with some fancy footwork and you have a performance — in theory, at least. fast drumbeat. laughs. that is very good. very impressive! traditionally, a classic kathakali performance can go on for many hours, sometimes a whole night. but some modern audiences have shorter attention spans, so the art form has had to adapt. you lost me! you know, the original one, it goes throughout a night.

you know, everything is in detail, everything is intricate. you know, and nowadays we are condensing it for a 1.5, 2—hour program. so in a way, we do lose our originality. what is done for hours and throughout a night, that is not being shown now. it represents the fire god! but whether the performance is a marathon length all—nighter or something more contained, the highlight of the show is always the appearance on stage of pacha, wearing his traditional green make—up and using steps originally choreographed hundreds of years ago to captivate audiences of today. well, we're almost at the end of this week's programme, but we have just got time

for one more dance—off. so let's take a trip all the way back to 2015, long before social distancing had ever been heard of, and when the bigger the party, the better it was. let's hope we can all return to those times before too long. in the meantime, here's christa trying to master a classic waltz in the run—up to a spectacular ball in vienna. it's just after dawn, but the town hall is already buzzing. preparations are under way for a grand dance event — part of the ball season that takes over vienna each winter. every year, over a50 grand balls take place, and thousands of people descend on the city to get all dressed up and dance the night away. these preparations are for the blumenball, or flower ball, an event for 3000 guests. a team of 250 people have spent a week getting everything ready and today, they are busy decorating the hall

with 80,000 flowers. translation: 200 years ago, common people were allowedl to dance for the first time. before that, it was a privilege of the nobility alone. the viennese people were enthralled, and that popularity continues to this day. over 300,000 people attend the city's balls each season but no two events are the same. they can be anything from grand affairs in the city's imperial palace with formal dress and classical music, to modern dance parties where anything goes. dance music plays. this season of events also represents big business for the city, boosting the viennese economy by around 200 million euros each year. this is perhaps not surprising when the most sought—after events can cost you up to 250 euros just to get the door.

—— just to get through the door. well, if you are going to attend one of these grand balls, you can'tjust turn up injeans. you have to look the part. blue danube waltz plays. well, i've got a fancy frock and a lovely hairdo. the only thing left is to polish up my dance skills before the ball. matthias urrisk is in charge of directing the formal opening dance at the ball tonight, which will include a grand waltz. and for you, the first step is making a backward step. 0k. the viennese waltz is a very famous, popular dance. you make two steps in place, two, three. two, three. it is our traditional dance, even our unofficial national song, the blue danube is a waltz, so it's — we are proud of it.

one, two, three... left, two, three... laughs. blue danube waltz plays. outside, dusk is falling over the city, and soon after, the guests of the blumenball begin to arrive. the ball opens with a formal performance, then suddenly, the floor is crowded with dancing couples old and young, who seem to seriously know their stuff. it's so nice! it makes you want to take up dance lessons. the other ball guests seem equally taken with the romance of the event. i love to go to balls. i like to dress like

a princess and to dance like a princess. it's a journey into another world for me. eventually, it's time to stop being a wallflower and put my dance training into action. my terrible dancing! no, no! i onlyjust learned how to do it today! blue danube waltz plays. christa doing a pretty convincing waltz there, it has to be said. now i do hope you have enjoyed this look back with me and we have managed to give you some travel inspiration, and maybe even a few moves for when we can all hit the road again. let's hope it's not too long to wait until then. in the meantime, make sure you catch us next week if you can, when... there is another chance to catch up with family from america. they decided to go on

the road for the first time with their two autistic little boys. with their two autistic little bo s. , . . with their two autistic little ha 5. , ., ., ., with their two autistic little bo s. , ., ., ., ., ., boys. they had a lot of fun at the theme — boys. they had a lot of fun at the theme parks _ boys. they had a lot of fun at the theme parks and - boys. they had a lot of fun at the theme parks and the - boys. they had a lot of fun at i the theme parks and the theme parks were built for them. they welcomed them with open arms and let them enjoy themselves. until then, though, from me and everyone else here on the show, thanks for watching and goodbye. 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.

good morning welcome to breakfast with nina warhurst and jon kay. our headlines today: hundreds of thousands of flat owners will not have to pay to replace unsafe cladding under new government plans. a fourth covid jab is not needed yet — uk experts say booster doses keep giving high protection against severe illness from the omicron variant. three white men begin life sentences in the us for murdering ahmaud arbery, a blackjogger who ran through their neighbourhood. it's looking like mission impossible for england in the fourth ashes test. and once again in sydney it's australia's usman khawaja, whose second century of this test is pushing the hosts towards another win.