Kazakhstan protests: troops told to fire without warning

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says he has ordered the country's security forces to "fire without warning". The order comes amid a violent crackdown on anti-government protests. President Tokayev says "20,000 bandits" had attacked the main city of Almaty, which is the epicentre of protests that were sparked by an increase in fuel prices. We hear the latest from our reporter in Almaty.

Also in the programme: we pay tribute to Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win a best actor Oscar, who has died at the age of 94. And the Ethiopian government says it is freeing several prominent political opposition figures, as the country marks Orthodox Christmas.

(Photo: A burnt car following the protests triggered by fuel price increase outside the city administration headquarters in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Credit: Reuters)