of cobbling together false claims that he has strong ties to russia. mr trump says the allegations are "fake news" and described those behind them as "sleazebags." meanwhile, the us congress has taken the first step towards dismantling the controversial obamaca re health—ca re law. however, lawmakers remain concerned about a lack of replacement for the controversial system that was championed by the outgoing president. the united nations and aid agencies are calling on european governments to do more to help thousands of migrants and refugees at risk of freezing to death. several people have already died in the sudden cold snap that has hit parts of the continent, including serbia and greece. it was intended as a light—hearted comedy about a rumoured road trip which michaeljackson, marlon brando and elizabeth taylor are supposed to have made together. but the choice of a white actor, joseph fiennes, to playjackson, has proved controversial.

the programme prompted criticism from the late pop star's daughter, an on line petition and, today, sky decided to drop the show, as our arts correspondent, colin paterson reports. i sensed danger... this is all that audiences are going to see ofjoseph fiennes playing michaeljackson — two clips from a trailer for a new sky show, urban myths. today, sky announced they will no longer be broadcasting the episode. the reason: concerns expressed by michaeljackson‘s immediate family, adding that they never intended to cause any offence, and thatjoseph fiennes fully supports the decision. michael jackson's daughter paris was asked on twitter what she made of a white actor taking on the role of her black father. she said she was incredibly offended, and it made her want to vomit. the scottish actor brian cox plays marlon brando in the show,

and thinks the decision for it to be dropped is ridiculous, especially when this year's hottest ticket is hamilton. it is ridiculous. it is this pc nonsense which has gotten out of hand. this is completely wrong and sky has lacked courage to do something quite mild. it's almost eight years since michaeljackson died, but he still has legions of devoted fans, many of whom come to the national football museum to see this statue, which used to be outside fulham's ground. stories about him make headlines around the world, but this is far from the first time a white performer has played him in a comedy. leigh francis‘ take on michaeljackson was a huge part of channel 4 show bo‘ selecta. while one of the biggest names in us comedy, amy poehler, regularly impersonated him on saturday night live. it's just the flu, liz taylor.

i'll be back on my feet soon. moonwalking, climbing trees... when probably the most famous black performer certainly ever is being cast, they still cast a middle—class white guy. i can understand why people would be annoyed by that. it's believed that the decision for sky to drop the episode was made at the top of the organisation. they insist it's a matter of taste, and not censorship. now it's time for our world. this is the story of the extraordinary women who suffered

great horrors in the red house and in countless places like it across the philippines. they want to make sure their ordeal isn't forgotten. they want justice. mileng is 85. her sister lita is 83. the sisters have lived their whole lives in mapanique, in the philippines.

the second world war changed their lives completely. this woman lives with her sons and grandsons in manila. she's 88 years old and earns a living through sewing. she is still haunted by what happened many decades ago. she was 1a when japanese soldiers bombed her village

and kidnapped her. she was held captive and repeatedly raped for ten days. she had become part of what historians believe is one of the biggest operations of sexual violence in modern history, the deliberate enslavement of up to 200,000 women across asia for the pleasure of japanese soldiers, the so—called "comfort women" many were in south korea but far less is known about the victims in the philippines.

but as the war went on, the operation unravelled. japanese soldiers started using rape to subdue towns and villages. what they did in mapanique, where sisters lita and mileng live, was particularly violent. over 100 women and girls were raped in the red house that night. and over the course of the war, many more were raped orforced into sexual slavery across the country. the passage of more than 70 years

has not given the women closure. over the years, the japanese government has expressed sincere remorse and apologies, but the women are demanding a full public apology, which accepts responsibility for what happened. this group is preparing a petition for the japanese embassy in manila. these women are all in their 80s and 90s. the oldest member is 99. this is about easing the last few

years of wounded lives. but time is running out. of the estimated 1,000 filipina victims, only about 70 are still alive. across town there's a different campaign. 86—year—old great—grandmother estellita is part of a group that stages public rallies to demand

justice from japan and call for peace in the region. rising tensions with china over the south china sea have brought the philippines closer to japan. they have signed several defence deals and there is one on the cards now which could see japanese troops back on philippine soil. we are already victims of war, so we don't want wars in our country. we don't want wars in our town. we know that war only breeds new generations of war victims. the call to arms is well worn. they've been campaigning for nearly 25 years. in december, 2015, the japanese government did apologise to south korean survivors. but there's no sign of a similar offerfor the philippines. the women suspect their government hasn't been pressing japan hard enough out of fear it

will damage the alliance. but even so, estellita's daughter says taking part in rallies has been a comfort. when her mum first started in the 1990s, it was a huge surprise. many of the women kept silent for decades out of shame. estellita said nothing for 50 years. in mapanique, it's

mileng's birthday party. she has invited the other survivors of the red house tojoin in celebrations. but her sister lita seems to have lost count of how old she is. # happy birthday to you...#. cheering these two women have spent their whole lives together, but they almost lost each other. after they were released from the red house, it took them nearly three days to find one another. music plays history books in the philippines

make little mention of the suffering of their women during the second world war. fidencia has made it her mission to educate young people about what really happened. one of her most painful memories is of what took place on the final night after suffering days of repeated rape and abuse. this is notjust about making sure her story is remembered. she wants it to be a lesson.

in this very conservative country, only around a third of victims of rape and sexual abuse come forward. hearing fidencia's story has emboldened one young victim to speak publicly for the first time. ok, so right now, i'm feeling shaky because i'm being taken back to that space where i had to go back to my own sexual abuse. it happened to me seven years ago. moments like this give some solace to a lifetime of suffering. singing

estellita and her daughter have come to join the labour day march. the baking heat takes its toll. in the past, two women died after a rally. but she is resolute. hello there. the cold weather is set to stay with us through the weekend. but of immediate concern, of course, the severe flood warnings from the environment agency still standing for eastern coastal areas. the floodline number there for you. the tides combine with strong winds, which are starting to ease away. but a blustery end the night, and it is not going to prevent frost. it will make quite a severe frost, and of course with the wintry weather it will be very icy as well. there will be a few further wintry

showers, which could wash off some of the salt. these are the towns and cities. in the countryside, much lower, and quite a severe frost when you add on that wind. there will still be some wintry showers on saturday. perhaps more in western areas, but still a risk to the east coast of england and scotland. perhaps a few more coming in the west and northern scotland, northern and western parts of england and wales, and still a little wintry over the hills. but the wind won't be as strong. hopefully it won't feel quite as bitter. we may see seven celsius, so it is not warm, and you can see there is quite a bit of cloud, with showers across western areas. perhaps a few in the east, but they do come on shore. there could be big ones, hail and thunder, and wintry as well over the hills. you can see there will be some sunshine in between all the showers, but it is still bitterly cold across some parts of scotland. temperatures below freezing in some of the northern isle areas. as we go through the evening and overnight, the frost returns very quickly in the evening, and then it starts to change. we are starting to see the weather get slightly less cold in the west, but they are still at risk of snow.

but the weather system comes in, so potentially a very wintry night, saturday to sunday, and very icy as well, as that rain could fall on the frozen surfaces. so we could have some freezing rain, and very icy conditions. and the change is happening because we have something milder trying to come in off the atlantic, but also the cold air will always be hanging around eastern areas, so this could still be a wintry mix on sunday. some freezing rain as well. slightly less cold further west, but it will feel pretty raw and quite grey for many. so it is a day of change, and because of that uncertainty, at the stage into the forecast, because it could stay pretty wintry across eastern areas. early next week it looks as if it will try to remain milder in the north—west of the uk. but on that split, that cold air is never going to be too far away from the south—east, where it will stay quite chilly. the warnings there on the website. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting at home and around the globe. i'm ben bland. our top stories: donald trump lashes out on twitter

against allegations he has stronger ties to russia than previously thought. the us congress takes the first step towards getting rid of 0bamacare. but there's mounting concern about what could replace the controversial healthcare program. the un is calling on european governments to do more as the cold snap sweeping the continent claims the lives of migrants and refugees. and a baby girl who was taken from a hospital in the us has been found alive and well by police after more than 18 years.