this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. tennis star novak djokovic had a vaccine exemption to enter australia because he had covid in december, according to court documents. days after violent and deadly protests erupted in kazakhstan, the former domestic intelligence agency chief is detained on suspicion of high treason. it comes as the us questions kazakhstan�*s decision to bring in russian troops to quell the violent unrest: one lesson of recent history is that once russians are in your house it is sometimes very difficult to get them to move.

flat owners in the uk won't have to pay to remove dangerous cladding from lower—height buildings under new government plans, the bbc understands. three white men who murdered ahmaud arbery in the us state of georgia are given life sentences — his family say they never lost faith in justice. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. lawyers acting for tennis star novak djokovic have released documents that say he had a vaccine exemption to enter australia due to a recent covid infection. in the early hours of thursday morning djokovic was denied entry to australia after landing in melbourne this week to play

in the australian open. he is currently in an immigration detention with a court challenge due on monday. but documents released by his legal team today claim that his first positive pcr test was recorded on 16 december. djokovic, who has said he is opposed to vaccination, had been granted a medical exemption to play in the tournament in a decision that infuriated many australians. let's speak to our correspondent shaimaa khalil. this is the latest in a series of twists and turns. many might question, if this is a valid exception, why the need to detain him? this goes to the heart of that controversy, that entire novak djokovic saga hinges on why he was given that exemption, and if it was

a bad exemption, why he was totally calm all be over here to australia only to then be told he is not welcome and he has to be deported. this is essentially what his legal team are challenging. this is what thejudge has to team are challenging. this is what the judge has to look at. from those legal documents we understand that novak djokovic has tested positive for covid—19 on december 16, less than one month ago. and a recent covid—19 infection, within the last six months, is a valid exemption, is a valid reason for an exemption according to australia's technical advisory on immunisation. these are the rules that tennis australia and the rules that tennis australia and the victorian government have abided by and have followed. remember, the exemption was given via two independent medical panels, who said that this was a valid reason. but when he showed up on wednesday he was told by the border authorities that he did not provide appropriate evidence and that a recent infection

in fact is not a valid reason. there is a clear contradiction in the information here. this again is what the court has to look at. why have the court has to look at. why have the players been told something, and why other border authorities then going by different rules? which rules apply to who and when? this is really where the complications and the controversy have taken place. caught in the middle are those tennis players and officials. and the world number one, who are still in that hotel, despite asking to be moved to a different facility with a tennis area where he can practice, because essentially this is why he is here, he is here to defend his title at the australian open. and this is what is going to happen on monday, essentially what the judge is going to look at. whatever the outcome is, this has been quite controversial. it has provoked a great deal of anger and essentially

has been embarrassing for australia. absolutely. some have said that the australian authorities response has been driven by the public outcry. that is right. this is again one thing that we have seen in those documents, that novak djokovic had been granted that exemption by tennis australia, by the victorian state government, only for the federal government to revoke that because of the public outcry, referring there to the political handling of this entire situation. remember, scott morrison's government has been under a lot of political pressure because of way that they handled covid—19, especially the omicron way. many australians have been quite angry at the chaos at testing clinics, skyrocketing numbers. it is an election year. observers have said that the government is using this essentially to appear tough on borders and to say that rules apply

equally to everyone. but the key question here is, what rules? if the players have been told to follow a set of rules, and they have, by tennis australia, and the federal governments have contradicted that, who should have given them that information and when? as you touched on earlier this has provoked quite strong feelings from the public. how do you think this latest development is going to be seen by the public there? to his supporters, who are out here tonight, this is exactly what they have been saying. i have his pick and then four days, they are saying, why bring him all the way over here, tell that he has an exemption, not just him, other players as well, to then say this is not valid. it is not the responsibility of the players, they say, to know exactly what visa forms to fill, or when. this should have been made clear.

but crucially, it should have been made clear before he travelled, before he had come all the way over here. but remember there are two sides to the anger. this is why it is also quite controversial. there are those who are initially angry and still angry at him being given and still angry at him being given an exemption, at him being allowed to come in, when many australians have been under weeks and weeks of lockdown and urged to get their vaccinations and their boosters. there are also his supporters who say he has come here with the right paperwork, with the right exemption, been told it was ok for him to take part, that makes them really angry, the prospect if it deported after coming all the way out here. thank you for bringing as the latest on that. the independent panel of experts that advises the government on vaccines says that a second covid booster — or fourth shot — is not needed for the time being. new data from the uk health security agency

shows that three months after a boosterjab protection against severe illness remains high in older adults. simonjones reports. the booster campaign is delivering results. do you have any allergies to anything that you're aware of? and you are fit and well today? that's according to thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation, which says there is no immediate need for a second booster dose for care home residents and the over—80s. the first dose is very, very important and gives so much protection that at this point in time, so right now, at the start of the new year, we don't need to rush into giving anybody a second booster dose right now. we might need to do so later on in the year, but not at this point in time. more than 35 million boosters and third doses have now been administered across the uk. data from the uk health security agency shows that three months after receiving a third jab, protection

against hospitalisation remains at about 90% for people aged 65 and over. protection against mild symptomatic infection is more short—lived. that drops to around 30% by about three months. some countries, such as israel, have already started offering fourth jabs, but in the uk, the priority remains getting first, second and third doses to those who have not yet had them. that will be kept under review. one thing that's changing is travel. fully vaccinated people arriving in the uk from abroad no longer need to take pre—departure tests. from tomorrow, post—arrival pcr test are being replaced by lateral flow tests. that's why today is being dubbed sunshine saturday, with travel agents predicting a big uptick in bookings from people who want to get away from it all. simon jones, bbc news. up to half—a—million flat owners across the uk will no longer be liable for the cost of replacing dangerous cladding on their properties,

under new government proposals. the plans, set to be announced by the housing secretary michael gove, would instead see developers forced to pay up to an additional four billion pounds — to help resolve the crisis, which has left many unable to sell their homes. newsnight�*s lewis goodall has more. it's estimated that more than half a million people are caught up in britain's fire safety crisis. and we can exclusively reveal the government's latest plans to deal with it. up until now, the government's approach breaks down as follows. dangerous cladding removal would be paid for by the building safety fund only for buildings over 18.5 metres in height. everything else would be covered either by developers paying or by a loan scheme for leaseholders. but we understand that michael gove, the levelling up secretary, will make the commitment on monday that up to £4 billion of extra funding will be available to remove dangerous cladding in buildings between 11 and 18.5 metres, and that leaseholders won't have to pay anything towards that cost — a significant shift.

but gove will also make clear that money will come from developers, not from the taxpayer, and if developers won't pay voluntarily, he will threaten the force of law to make sure that they comply. but this change will cover cladding only, not the host of other building safety issues found in thousands of buildings since grenfell and experts wonder how mr gove will be able to extract the money. well, they won't choose to pay. they'll have to be dragged to the table to offer something up. and i suspect it relies on showing, whether it's by sampling the buildings and showing that these buildings weren't built to spec, because fire breaks and compartmentation have always been required by regulations — if they're not there, that's a product of conscious choice, or it's a product of negligence, for which the developer is responsible. so michael gove needs a big stick to beat them with, along those sorts of lines, that no, this is quite clearly evidence that this is your choices and your

responsibility to pay. and if the levelling up secretary is unsuccessful, leaked documents from the treasury seen by newsnight show that if the government can't raise the money from developers, then it'll have to come from existing housing budgets. hardly ideal at a time of a wider housing shortage. the authorities in kazakhstan say they've arrested the former head of the domestic intelligence agency on suspicion of high treason. karim massimov was sacked from the national security committee by president tokayev on wednesday as violent anti—government demonstrations escalated across the country. dozens of people have been killed in the protests. meanwhile, the us has questioned kazakhstan�*s decision to seek russian military aid to deal with an ongoing wave of violent unrest. the first of about 2,500 russian—led troops have arrived there, though moscow says the deployment is temporary. russell trott has the latest.

more troops and equipment on its way to kazakhstan. the intervention marks the first deployment by the eurasian military alliance of five former soviet republics and russia. after days of violence in which more than 20 protesters and also many security personnel have died, kazakhstan�*s government is seeking to regain control of the covenant. the us has this warning for the regime of its reliance on moscow. one lesson from recent history is that once russians are in your house it is sometimes difficult to get them to leave. in it is sometimes difficult to get them to leave.— them to leave. in a televised broadcast — them to leave. in a televised broadcast to _ them to leave. in a televised broadcast to the _ them to leave. in a televised broadcast to the nation, - broadcast to the nation, kazakhstan�*s president said he had given orders to his security forces to shoot to kill without warning, describing the street the restrictions as coordinated attacks by foreign fled agents. events in

kazakhstan are being closely watched by opposition groups and other former soviet republics, including relatives, and it's excelled opposition leader. should not help other dictators to stay in power. russia says its deployment of troops is temporary. china has expressed support for what it calls strong measures taken to support for what it calls strong measures ta ken to restore support for what it calls strong measures taken to restore stability in kazakhstan, where it has significant investments. the us has advised some of its consular staff to leave, describing the country as in a state of emergency. let's speak now to annette bohr, associate fellow of the russia and eurasia programme at chatham house. how unusual is it for russia to be

invited in to react to protests? that is a good question. there have been several occasions in the past decade where member states of the collective security organisation which is led by russia have requested assistance, and russia has categorically refused. according to its charter there must be some sort of foreign intrusion in order to justify the sending of troops. therefore it has played into russia's hands, the statements by president kassym—jomart tokayev that indeed these protests were the work of a foreign trained terrorists and so russia has sent troops with great alacrity to its southern neighbour. what does this development mean for russia's position? on the one hand, russia was undoubtedly alarmed by this unprecedented violence in such an important ally. it shares a 7500

kilometre border with kazakhstan. it has been a success story in central asia. it simply cannot afford this sort of instability there. moreover, bearing in mind conflicts in belarus and and on ukraine readiness has a mass on its border troops. but having moved into kazakhstan now, russia will most likely seek to turn this situation to its advantage, insofar as that is possible. we see an increase resolved from russia to support their clients who are loyal allies, and it reinforces its position as the main security guarantor in the region. and just gives its general leverage, much more leverage over kazakhstan. very briefly, as this unjustifiable repression of legitimate protest or is this a valid suppression of potentially dangerous rioting? it is

im ortant potentially dangerous rioting? it is important to _ potentially dangerous rioting? it 3 important to bear in mind here that we only have the narrative here. which is the classic authoritarian playbook, really. both the internet and mobile phone services were cut off during the protests. we are still really only getting the facts as they played out on the ground. and what we see is a picture where president kassym—jomart tokayev, his power is very precarious. many of his own troops moved over to the side of the demonstrators. he actually underestimated the deep grievances of the population, their anger and their disillusionment with the state of corruption... i am sor to the state of corruption... i am sorry to out — the state of corruption... i am sorry to out you _ the state of corruption... i am sorry to cut you off, _ the state of corruption... i am sorry to cut you off, we - the state of corruption... i am sorry to cut you off, we have i the state of corruption... i am i sorry to cut you off, we have run out of time. thank you so much. there is a lot more we could discuss on this. sorry to have to keep it brief. thank you.

three white men are beginning life sentences in the us state of georgia for murdering a black jogger who ran through their neighbourhood. 25—year—old ahmaud arbery was chased in pick—up trucks and shot, in a case that became became a focus of protests by the black lives matter movement. david willis reports. 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. they chose to 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. he just wanted to be left alone. what i'm going to do is i'm going to sit silently for one minute. to 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. as we stand here in glynn 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 received the maximum sentence, civil rights campaigners believe it will take more than that to influence attitudes that in many cases go back generations. david willis, bbc news, los angeles.

allegations of another party at downing street are set to be included in the official investigation into events held at number ten during the pandemic. it comes after borisjohnson�*s former chief adviser, dominic cummings claimed a senior official invited people to socially distanced drinks in the garden, while restrictions were in place in may 2020. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, is with us. dominic cummings has made one of his semi regular contributions, publishing his blog, with a couple of key points about this ongoing investigation into social events that may or may not have happened, that may or may not have happened, that may or may not have happened, that may or may not have breached lockdown rules in place during 2020. specifically around an event which he claims invitations were sent out for on may 20, 2020, described as a socially distanced drinks, as you see from a senior number ten official. he claims that he won at the time that should not happen because they would be against the rules. but was subsequently told that it did go ahead. he has invited

the official in charge of investigating these events to dig up the e—mail that he sent at the time. he also referred to the picture which is now widely available online, published by the guardian newspaper last month, showing people including himself at the prime minister on a terrace at 10 downing street having cheese and wine, on may 15, he has added his voice to the defence of what was happening there, it was a work setting, a work context, a meeting of the aftermath of a meeting that happened outside. a couple of interesting interventions there. we do not have a timeframe for this enquiry to wrap up a timeframe for this enquiry to wrap up but i would expect that quite soon. "shocking", "disgusting" and "a horror show". just some of the words being used to describe conditions in some of the flats in a privately owned

block in portsmouth — where residents are suffering severe issues with damp and mould. people living in windsor house say communal areas have also been used by drug addicts and rough sleepers. the city council is now investigating what it can do to get action taken by the private owners. steve humphrey reports. it is pretty bad. it has been steadily growing this bad over the years. because it is leaking from here, behind the wall, it sucks right through. that's why there is water damage all over this place. the mould in his flat has been getting worse and worse since he moved in 13 years ago. it is disgusting. _ moved in 13 years ago. it is disgusting, you _ moved in 13 years ago. it is disgusting, you cannot - moved in 13 years ago. it 3 disgusting, you cannot stay in there for more than ten minutes at a time. i try to be in and out as quick as possible. the tenant, who says he is disabled, says he has not been able to get any help to sort out the mould. nobody knows how to get hold of them. he nobody knows how to get hold of them. , ., . .,

them. he is not alone. other residents _ them. he is not alone. other residents are _ them. he is not alone. other residents are also _ them. he is not alone. other residents are also having - them. he is not alone. other- residents are also having problems with mould and damp. the ceiling has had issues with leaking for the last nine or ten months. even though the ceiling has been replaced, it still continues to drip. been replaced, it still continues to dri -. ., been replaced, it still continues to dri. . , ., , , ., drip. there are people wiping down walls, within _ drip. there are people wiping down walls. within a _ drip. there are people wiping down walls, within a day _ drip. there are people wiping down walls, within a day the _ drip. there are people wiping down walls, within a day the mould - drip. there are people wiping downl walls, within a day the mould comes back. ., , , , ., walls, within a day the mould comes back. , , , ., , walls, within a day the mould comes back. ., , , , ., , ., back. nobody seems to be doing an hina. back. nobody seems to be doing anything- we _ back. nobody seems to be doing anything. we have _ back. nobody seems to be doing anything. we have got _ back. nobody seems to be doing anything. we have got togetherl back. nobody seems to be doing i anything. we have got together as back. nobody seems to be doing - anything. we have got together as a collective. _ anything. we have got together as a collective, we need help to get this sorted _ collective, we need help to get this sorted. ., collective, we need help to get this sorted. . . . , . sorted. there are also angry at the conditions of _ sorted. there are also angry at the conditions of the _ sorted. there are also angry at the conditions of the communal- sorted. there are also angry at the conditions of the communal areas. j sorted. there are also angry at the i conditions of the communal areas. a broken front door lock means the corridors are being used by drug addicts and rough sleepers. there is needles, there _ addicts and rough sleepers. there is needles, there is _ addicts and rough sleepers. there is needles, there is rubbish, _ addicts and rough sleepers. there is needles, there is rubbish, there - addicts and rough sleepers. there is needles, there is rubbish, there is l needles, there is rubbish, there is a fly—tipping. it is quite bad. this person says the owner of her flat has tried to help. because of a freehold issue they are not able to access the bits that they need to get to to fix the underlying issues.— they need to get to to fix the underlying issues. this is horrible. it is horrific. _ underlying issues. this is horrible. it is horrific. it _ underlying issues. this is horrible. it is horrific. it is _

underlying issues. this is horrible. it is horrific. it is a _ underlying issues. this is horrible. it is horrific. it is a result - underlying issues. this is horrible. it is horrific. it is a result of- it is horrific. it is a result of footage _ it is horrific. it is a result of footage like that but i asked the councii— footage like that but i asked the council to— footage like that but i asked the council to investigate. there are various — council to investigate. there are various things we can do. one of the powers— various things we can do. one of the powers is_ various things we can do. one of the powers is to — various things we can do. one of the powers is to do some repairs ourselves— powers is to do some repairs ourselves and recover the cost from the landlord. part of the problem of that, as _ the landlord. part of the problem of that, as the — the landlord. part of the problem of that, as the threats of said, is who the landlord is. there is a complex management structure, i understand, that owns— management structure, i understand, that owns this block. we are going to get— that owns this block. we are going to get to _ that owns this block. we are going to get to the bottom of it, because the tenants deserve it. we to get to the bottom of it, because the tenants deserve it.— to get to the bottom of it, because the tenants deserve it. we all want hel. we the tenants deserve it. we all want help- we want _ the tenants deserve it. we all want help. we want it _ the tenants deserve it. we all want help. we want it rectified. - the tenants deserve it. we all want help. we want it rectified. that - the tenants deserve it. we all want help. we want it rectified. that is l help. we want it rectified. that is the main thing. we want it rectified. the main thing. we want it rectified-— the main thing. we want it rectified. . ., . , ., , rectified. we want our flats to be livable. today city council officials have been to windsor house, and ian's flat has been inspected. steve humphrey reporting. attempts have been made to get in touch with the owner of the building, but we've yet to hear back from them. 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. you're watching bbc news. a year ago most school pupils were being told to study from home and the bbc started its "give a laptop" appeal. we asked you to donate old devices, and the response was staggering. well over 100,000 laptops and tablets were handed over to families across the uk. however, the need has not gone away, as fiona lamdin has been finding out. this time last year, edwina and her four children were struggling with home schooling on a phone. this was the moment when their family received a donated laptop. your laptop isjust here if you'd

like to come and grab it. oh, my goodness! a year on, we've been back to see them. having the laptop has made a lot of difference, notjust in my life, it has impacted positively in the life of my kids, because currently, they're able to access schoolwork and all of that, it's been fantastic. it was a similar story for the adam twins, who were relying on paper hand—outs. they're now both at secondary school. it's made a huge difference. we're still using the laptop we got a year ago today. primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across england... as the prime minister closed schools last january, the pandemic shone a light on the 1.7 million students who didn't have access to devices or data. we noticed that children who had been doing the work online came back to school in a much better place than those who hadn't. how reassuring is it for you to know that those laptops are there now? it is reassuring, because we are having to work hard every day to keep the school open,

with staff absences, every day we come in and we have to think about how we're going to cover classes, and there remains the possibility that some children will have to be educated from home, so those laptops will come in handy. in the last year, over 100,000 devices like these have been donated. but as you can see, there's still demand. today, donated laptops are being handed out at the somali community centre in bristol. this is your laptop. thank you so much for that, that'll help me. mara is 23 and is taking maths gcse. use it for your gsce, good luck for you! the waiting list is quite long. 40 individuals and families are on our waiting list, each week. hassan, this is for your children. yes, for my, children, yeah. hassan has four children,

and has been waiting for months. they need more, but maybe they give me the only one. i it's still going very strong. we are receiving donations almost every day, we are collecting, wiping, repurposing those laptops. and after a quick lesson logging in, they're good to go, and so the hope that people will still keep giving while they need is very much there. to donate a laptop or device head to bbc.co.uk/makeadifference, and click "give a laptop". now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. some wet and windy weather. this cold front where we see some of the heaviest rain, behind it cooler rain pushes back in. some brighter weather. the north and west will see brighter weather. weather. the north and west will see brighterweather. in weather. the north and west will see brighter weather. in the east, the rain will be heavier for a time.

heaviest of the rain still pushing through parts of the midlands and southern england through the afternoon. south west wales, northern england should see sunshine develop. the few showers across scotland and northern ireland for the rest of the day, turning increasingly wintry. temperatures drop through the afternoon. is that rain clears this evening temperatures will drop once again. clearer skies across eastern areas in particular. a chance of frost. wintry showers in the west, most frequent across parts of west of scotland, that could lead to icy conditions. eastern areas tomorrow much brighter. east anglia especially. plenty showers across central and southern scotland in the

morning.