he stands by everything he wrote. michael wolff says the president behaves ‘like a child', who neither reads nor listens. mr trump has dismissed the book as ‘phony‘. brutally cold weather in the united states has killed at least 18 people. record—breaking low temperatures are expected this weekend across the east of the country. the storm has caused travel chaos. north and south korea are to hold high level talks next week, the first such meeting for two years. it was confirmed just hours after the us and south korea postponed joint military exercises. the us government's decision to freeze aid to pakistan could cost the country almost $2 billion, according to a senior pakistani official. the decision has sparked protests in pakistan. good morning on bbc news now, a special progress. celebrating life at 117.

welcome to my great—grandmother ‘s 170th birthday, right now she is taking because people who have come to see her and celebrate this big day with her. there is more than 90 yea rs day with her. there is more than 90 years difference between me and her. she is 117 and i am just 23. i am priscilla ng'ethe. iam returning she is 117 and i am just 23. i am priscilla ng'ethe. i am returning to my ancestral home in kenya to celebrate remarkable birthday of one of the oldest people in the world. my of the oldest people in the world. my great—grandmother, elisabeth. i am here to discover the secrets of her long life. as she throws a party and reunites five generations of my family. this is where i was born. it's about

ten miles from nairobi, the capital of can you. is fertile land has been home to my family for at least six generations. —— this. today, there are hundreds like me spread around the world. i am returning from a home in london to visit a woman very close to my heart. who has never left kenya, but has cultivated a globalfamily. we left kenya, but has cultivated a global family. we are just heading up global family. we are just heading up the road, it is quite bumpy as it isa up the road, it is quite bumpy as it is a makeshift rope. this is a

shrine where most of my family are buried, my great grandad, my grandad, this children and his five wives. i great—grandmother is the fifth wife. we are heading up to my great—grandmother ‘s home, she lives right by the side of where my great grandad used to live and i am really excited to see her. he/she is. —— here she is. hi! hello! hello! how are you? how are you? it is good to see you. to see you. —— good to see you. are you? it is good to see you. to see you. -- good to see you. she is fine. long-time. long time, many yea rs. fine. long-time. long time, many years. this is my great-grandmother,

elisabeth. she is going to be 117. this is my great aunt irene and she is here to help with the translations because i can understand everything my great—grandmother tells me but to speak here is really difficult to. great grandma elizabeth has lived on this land for 90 years. she grew up tending cattle on herfather ‘s farm, then moved here as a young bride and raised seven children. she built this house with profits from the farm. my great—grandmother is proud of her government identity card. it doesn't show the exact month or day that she was born, but does have her year of birth as 1900. the tribal tradition of age groups

is the same name to all children born in the seniors party my great—grandmother belongs to this age group, meaning we know she was born sometime between 1899 and 1900. do you remember when you got married? and how do you remember your wedding day? is it force? force. she was brought

by force, she was married by force because she was too young and at that time she didn't want to get married to an old person because she was the fifth wife. great—grandmother elisabeth was the fifth of six wives of the senior chief. he worked with the british during colonial rule and is well—known in can you for playing a pa rt well—known in can you for playing a part in the country ‘s independence. -- in can part in the country ‘s independence. —— in can you. —— can you. —— kenya. is it difficult for you to be the fifth wife? leonard is elisabeth's sixth child

and he is my great uncle. he lives next door to my great—grandmother and was a child during the 1950s, when his father, the senior chief, was detained during the mau mau uprising. the mau mau uprising was a revolt against european ownership of land. suspects were checked prior to interrogation. a state of emergency was declared in kenya and although it eventually led to the end of british rule, it was a tough time for my great grandparents and for my uncle leonard. in 1952, my father was taken into detention. kenya had been declared emergency and he was detained for the next seven years he

was in detention. we used to be children of a cheat, we became beggars. we were being helped by those people we would have called for. during now the mau mau, it was not only affecting our family, it affected other families. 0ne not only affecting our family, it affected otherfamilies. one of not only affecting our family, it affected other families. one of my auntie ‘s, who had, i think there we re auntie ‘s, who had, i think there were nine children, my mother took them and already she had taken two other children who had belonged to oui’ other children who had belonged to our sister who had died. so, my mother was raising about 20 children. so we had a lot of, it was not, you know? like we are fighting to food. —— fall food. —— forfood.

this shrine is resting place of my great—grandfather. he lies alongside his five wives and there is a space reserved for my great—grandmother elisabeth. as theirs was a polygamous marriage, visiting this shrine puts into perspective how large the chiefs family really was. my my great—grandfather is resting here. but his legacy is living on in hundreds of descendants. what do you think about polygyny today? would you advise me to go down that route? —— polgygamy.

you wouldn't like me to? you were the last one to practise polygyny. you were the last one to practise polygyny, does that mean that our family will now be smaller and smaller and how do you feel about that? —— polygamy. so you wouldn't want me to just have one 01’ so you wouldn't want me to just have one or two kids, you would want me to have five, six regardless of how many children i may have in the future, there is no doubt that the family is growing. my great—grandmother gave birth to seven children and there are tens of grandchildren. my father was one of them and i am his second child of three and making me one of many, many great grandchildren to elisabeth. who is in those pictures, that one

day? —— that one there? that picture there, the one, i think it is you and those kids around you. ican i can see that photographs play a big part of my great—grandmother's life. to celebrate her birthday, she is throwing a party. and we are going to attempt something very special. a family photograph, a living family tree, with five generations of my family and my great—grandmother at the centre. but with so many people involved, it

could take a while. with so many people involved, it could take a thi reunite! with so many people involved, it could take a thi reunite with my chance on me to reunite with my kenyan family. so your family, your children, children's children, they are all spread out across the world like me in london. do you like but we are all over the world? so he view always celebrated on the first of january, since you view always celebrated on the first ofjanuary, since you can remember? —— so ofjanuary, since you can remember? —— so have you always celebrated? right now, everyone is preparing the

food. there is going to be loads of meat, loads of vegetables. so now it's time to get changes all the guests are it's time to get changes all the guests a re slowly it's time to get changes all the guests are slowly arriving sly will wear something that is a bit more co mforta ble. wear something that is a bit more comfortable. —— so i will. by by throwing this party, my great—grandmother is continuing the traditions started by her late husband, of gathering friends and family together on the first day of the year. so right now, the party is

in full swing. most people are beaten. there are still some people getting served over here. we still have some late arrivals coming in, as you'd expect. we have my great uncle right now giving a speech and sagging, once everyone has eaten, the whole family, everyone gets together and takes a group picture of the family tree. next, it's time for the guest of honour to the microphone. time for cake, and one of elizabeth's granddaughters does the honours. happy birthday. happy birthday! great—grandmother puts longevity down to a diet of yams and milky tea

but for today, she is happy to indulge. she's been given some cake in the first people to be given some ca ke in the first people to be given some cake was everyone named after my great grandad. so what might party said was, all the koinanges, come and get your grandmother, york great—grandmother, your great—great—grandmother some cake andi great—great—grandmother some cake and i think she is happy, she has had a lot of cake. hopefully when i'm old and 100 years old, i will be fed cake by all —— by all. all the people who come after me. it's a beautiful thing and i'm quite jealous, to be honest. so we are just going to wait... i'm going to choke. this cake is good. so we are just going to wait for my great—grandmother to where they are all taking a family picture. —— to go. 0nce

all taking a family picture. —— to go. once we are all sat down, we will start will move into that area. 0rganising so many people is a tough task. everybody is keen to catch up. and while great—grandmother patiently waits, it is a chance to meet relatives i didn't know i had. do you know how we are related? meet relatives i didn't know i had. do you know how we are related ?|j belong do you know how we are related?” belong to the grandmother. he is my cousin. so his son is your dad? hello. high, high, high. thank you very much. i am your aunt. i am your aunt. people are so excited to see each other that they are socialising and they are slowly, slowly, slowly moving towards this way. so hopefully we get the picture by the end of the day. first to join our living family tree, great—grandmother elizabeth. surrounded by her six surviving children, who have a combined age of

more than 400. next to join, my aunts and uncles. so now that another generation has been called, it is people descended from my great—grandmother, so i knowjoin. my great—grandmother, so i knowjoin. my mother has been holding this party for about 20 years. she enjoys it. she would like to do it every quarter of the year. she is happy to see herfamily quarter of the year. she is happy to see her family coming together. quarter of the year. she is happy to see herfamily coming together. she has created a great family unit. many of us enjoyed tracing our family tree but the most families, gathering so many generations like

this together is impossible. it's no surprise that people have travelled from far and wide because great—grandmother elizabeth's enthusiasm for life is infectious. i finally got myself e. —— selfie. hers is a life well lived, a light focused on providing her descendants advantages that she didn't get to enjoy. faith, love and food are the fundamentals of my great—grandmother's life. and although she rarely leaves a small house, the world comes to her to her children, grandchildren and great—grandchildren like me. children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren like me. one of the things which i like about her andi the things which i like about her and i think this is god—given is her memory because she doesn't get old. if you come here, you say hello to

her and talk to her, next time you come, she will remember you very well. she can't forget. bye! improvements in medicine mean we can all expect a longer life but it's how you live it that really matters. amphibious, my great—grandmother elizabeth is my inspiration. —— and for this. hello there. following what has been a pretty stormy start to 2018, the weekend holds something a little quieter for the most of us,

but colder, and it will feel cold as well as the wind, northeasterly wind, strengthens. and of course it is getting colder, so what we have seen through the day on friday is a smattering of snow on the hills. those weather fronts have continued southwards through the night so a further smattering of snow and clearly an ice risk across many northern areas. but even further south, as temrperatures fall close to freezing as well for dawn this morning, and some showers around, that poses a risk of fog as well, some dense fog, potentially through parts of southern areas but particularly across parts of wales, the midlands, east anglia, literature and have love york but not to be excluded further south either where we will keep a lot of showers through the day ahead and quite cloudy skies. as the wind starts to strengthen, it will be quite bitter. the wind is a feature further north but the list with the sunshine here it will be a sparkling start of the day. it will still be cold.

wintry showers are still there across parts of north—east england, in scotland but the western scotland, northern ireland, the lion's share of the sunshine through the day ahead but a bright and across much of northern england, north wales, perhaps the north midlands later and before that, the wind strengthens and with the cloud covering the south and the showers, quite sharp at times, it will feel cold, for example if you are heading off to fleetwood against leicester in london for the fa cup third round, it will be quite a bracing wind, particularly by the end of play. for most of us here 6—8 celsius but feeling colder as the wind strengthens. the wind starts to ease and the sunshine further north but again 3—5 degrees, it is cold air! cold air continues its progress southwards during tonight, still though we have the cloud generally, showers close to the south coast, touch and go for frost but most areas will have a much colder night. —10, —12 in the glens of scotland, particularly with the snow cover, but colder further south and a risk that of some slippery whether we have had the showers.

it looks like a sunny day on sunday but look at the north—easterly wind. it is biting. always the risk of a bit more cloud for the south but lovely sunshine further north, just cold, temperatures, was struggling to get above freezing in a few areas because of the high pressure, light winds in the north, the strong north—easterly is in the south and these were the front sitting out in the atlantic which will slowly start to come in next week but another day of largely dry weather, just picking up some cloud and freezing drizzle by monday. it looks more grey by that stage. to get up—to—date, there is more of course on our website. bye— bye. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm ben bland. our top stories: the author of a damning book on donald trump says he stands by everything he wrote in his depiction of a chaotic white house. i will tell you the one description that everyone gave, everyone has in common, they all say he is like a child. the united states is criticised by fellow un security council members for calling an emergency meeting over protests in iran.

the east coast of america in the grip of an arctic blast, at least 19 people have died and temperatures could fall to minus 40 in some places this weekend.