british actor and comedian russell brand is accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse. the details are contained in a joint report by the sunday times, the times and the channel a programme dispatches. he denies the claims. anger grows among survivors in libya's flood—ravaged city of derna — as authorities in the east of the country blame nature for the disaster. the united nations says the number of people known to have died has reached around 11,300. now on bbc news — the travel show. my name is lucy edwards, and this is my first time injapan. yay! ooh, it's a latte! i'm experiencing it through sound, taste, smell and touch. all the colours taste different! different, yes!

i'm a content maker, activist and broadcaster. hi, guys. this is my first blind vlog. ten years ago, i lost my eyesight and since then, i've been on a mission to prove that having a disability doesn't have to hold me back. i've come a long way learning to live with sight loss... hello, sweetheart. good girl. ..but i've never been this far away from home. it's just hit me like a ton of bricks that it's actually really hard being in a new place when you can't see it. in this first episode... the ferry�*s about to depart! ..i'm travelling from the mainland to one of the remotest parts of japan. oh, what are these for? but will i be able to make sense of a country so famous for its visual beauty? this is japan — the way i see it.

i'm injapan�*s capital city, tokyo. it's my first time injapan. it's going to be very exciting but very overwhelming. where's the line? i've lost the line. 0h, here. here's the line. i left my guide dog at home and i'm travelling with my long white cane... ok, i think i'm on the crossing right now. ooh, there's someone with a megaphone. ..and at the moment, i am feeling apprehensive. loud street noises. ah, there's so much noise! i'm going to go for it. i love the fact that the streets are quite wide. ifelt very confident walking up and down. day one in tokyo, i am going to meet rikarin,

who is an influencer and a fashion designer, and we're going up harajuku. so, i want to know all about harajuku fashion. then, i'm going to have a feel with all of my other senses, so i can understand where she's coming from and what fashion she likes to wear. 0k. hey, hello! it's so lovely to meet you! can i hug you? yeah, course you can. it's lovely to meet you. can i get a quick audio description of you? sure, sure. i have a yellow, puffy dress, like this. can i feel? sure! it's like an organza dress. oh, wow! with a — like a border knit top with the jeans. it's a little bit casual style. 0h, you've put jeans underneath. yeah, yeah. can i be guided by yourarm? sure. so can i hold on to your...? here. that's it — perfect. fashion, it's a massive passion of mine, just actively touching everything and feeling

all the fabric. there's this street, it's called takeshita street. 0k. it's like the main street of harajuku. so, all the kids who have heard of harajuku first come here. it looks like so many different, like, tastes is mixed together. some shops, like on the left here, is really gothic. ah! wow! maybe on the right you'll see kebab shop! laughter. on the right again, i think you'll be surprised. and actually, i'm going to take you to the sweet place. 0h, 0k. here's the first step. yep. yes. 0k. the step is quite narrow. wow. it really smells sugary. yeah. 0k. you got one? oh, my god, amazing! oh, my gosh, it's so big! all the colours taste different! different, yes. wow. i think i like the pink one the best. yeah? the blue one's nice but it tastes like more like fake sweets.

so, this is what harajuku tastes like? yeah. i'll stay here. laughs. it feels exciting, it feels energetic, and very individual. and here is a shop sign. oh, my god. he only has one eye. oh, representation! he knows how it feels! he's visually impaired, too! and the last one. 0k. stop here... 0k. ..and turn to the right. this is a really very famous and important place for the culture called kawaii culture. have you ever heard of it? no. yeah, kawaii means like something cute. we say "kawaii" to every single thing that we love. wow, that's so unusual. yeah. it feels like there's loads of clothes around me, so the audio is very dampened. mm—hm. yeah. the clothes there feel like nothing i've everfelt before that i would wear. it was a culture shock.

0h! what do you think is that? i think you cannot... i don't know. oh, my gosh. it's a big rat. a rat?! a rat, yeah. giggles. this culture was born because of a little bit of rebellion — in a good way. that's why harajuku fashion or harajuku culture is not only about something really cute. like, its not like that. they always have, like, eyeballs or bones. yeah. something a little bit dark side. yeah. you're walking on the red carpet right now. yeah! i work it! work it, work it! laughter. yeah! this shop is for the cosmetics and this room is for the wigs. shall we try some on? i could maybe try this one on. fluffy one. yeah. i've never worn a wig. oh, really? yeah, never. hey! what do you think? you look like a poodle! what made you want to get into this sort of fashion style?

i was like a shy girl but after i found this community, i feel it's totally different from my school or anything, like my family. it's different. so, it's a completely new community, it's new me, so i can be myself however i want. and that really changed my life, i think. i really relate to that because when i got my long white cane out, i felt really self—conscious and nervous. not dressing like other people makes you feel like, "yeah, i'm me! "i'm individual". yeah. i became blind at age 17 due to a really rare genetic condition. you want to just live the sighted life that you had and every day, every thing, every task that you go to do is a reminder that you can't do it any more and that, for me, mentally, was a massive struggle when i went blind. i'm heading to saitama, about an hour away from tokyo. i'm off to see ryusei.

he is a blind skateboarder and he has not let his blindness define him. i'm just really excited to understand why he skateboards and how he does it, because it's really scary in my mind! ryusei holds two world records for performing skateboard tricks without eyesight. how long have you been a blind skaterfor? what's it like to skate as a blind person? it seems scary.

although i can't see ryusei's skills, i remember what skateboarding looks like and it blows my mind that he's got the courage to get back up every time he falls. 0h! yeah. yeah? yeah. is every skateboard as wobbly? how do you say "three, two, one" injapanese? san, ni... ichi. ..ichi. yeah. go! yeah. excited scream. laughs. wa—hey! i can see why this is freeing but i also don't want to go too fast! 0k. i think that's me. it's so scary! like me, ryusei lost his

eyesight due to a rare disease. he's now 95% blind. how did that affect you mentally, you know, suddenly having sight and then not? cos i know, for me, i took it really badly for a couple of years. i had a mental breakdown. i just wondered about you and yourjourney. i know what it's like to be in the darkest place because something's happened to you that

shatters your heart. when you can't do just the little things that make up your life, you don't believe you can, like, truly go on without some massive, massive willpower behind you. i admire ryusei's drive to keep doing what he loves. i think it's really amazing to see other blind people just rock it wherever they are, and that's really special. we've got something there that connects us. it's time to leave the city and i'm heading to a place that's unlike anywhere i've been.

the automated gates for the... my destination is sado island. and then, you can go through the gate. my local producer is ryuso helping me on the ferry. oh, my gosh. this is a line all the way to the ferry? yeah. this is so cool. i wish we had this in our ports in england. it would stop me falling in the sea. laughs. right, now we are about to board the ferry. what is that metal drumming? right, so, they're telling us the ferry is about to depart — that's what the drum is. now, we are on the ferry. yay! oh, that's so cool! yeah. there was no step up or anything. it's so accessible. yeah, it was pretty smooth, wasn't it? yeah. whistle blows. the ferry is about to depart! gong bangs. cackles. that was really fun!

so, the ship is slowly turning directions. 0k. and then, from there, its 2.5 hours to sadogashima. lovely. how far down is the water? oh, far enough that you don't want to fall. laughs. it's about, like, a four—storey building. 0h, 0k. i would say, yeah. wow. these are the kind of experiences as a blind person that are really sensory for me — the wind in my hair and the rain, like, little bits of rain. i can hear a seagull. laughs. gulls cry. i can hear the engine down below. i can hear the water. really cool. i've come to sado island in the sea ofjapan, and i'm here to experience a unique tradition called the onidaiko festival.

so what is the onidaiko festival? we try to keep the community together and, at the same time, we wish a good harvest and health. the onidaiko is danced to represent the gods. everything's connected to each other. i want to find ways to engage with the festival that don't rely on eyesight. konnichiwa. terue has brought me to the taiko drumming centre. this building is named tatakokan. tatako. yes. tatako means "let's play taiko" injapanese. oh, tatako! yes! tatako, yes! taiko drumming is an ancient art that's central to the onidaiko festival. so this is taiko. ..not so strong. 0k. relax. yes. ok, good, good.

laughter. ok, you lift your arm up higher. and down. beats drum. yes. 0k. more. oh, it's good. it's good. i give you to "se, no". se, no is like one, two. 0k, 0k. se, no! next. yes. cheering. i feel like it's a sense of self that you find when you're drumming. i can't see visual pieces of art, but to be able to experience it with wood all around me, i felt the sound just through my whole body.

how was it? amazing! laughter. it was a massive sensory experience. when masami started to drum... ..i didn't expect to feel overcome with passion for what she does. i didn't know how moved i would be by hearing the sounds ricochet from the drum all the way around the room. it was so moving. wow! well done.

oh, my gosh, that was incredible. ijust, ifeel this sense of calm after that because it was so... you just felt it through your whole body, don't you? right. it's like your body's echoing with the... yeah. ..drum. yeah. i didn't have a need to, like, be able to see then, which is like one of the first times in my life. being blind in that moment didn't matter. yeah. you can feel that. you don't need to see it. just feel it. yeah. that's what music does. it's just amazing. sniffs. 0h. laughs. thank you. speaks japanese. thank you. thank you so much. i am so super proud of myself and i'm not afraid to say it. to think, "oh, being blind is so crummy, i'll "never go away" and now, i'm over the other side of the world and i'm so excited to

experience all of my other senses. as well as drumming, costumes are a key part of the onidaiko tradition. konnichiwa. i've come to meet watanabe aritsune, who carves traditional oni, or demon masks, worn by the festival's dancers. translation: there's some chair. _ 0k. one more, one more. 0k. one more, one more chair. here? no, next to. next to it. laughs. we got there in the end. what's in front of me? so, five oni masks in front of you. the masks are a tactile symbol of what once was and what is now.

and i think that's beautiful to still have that within the small communities of the island. so, here is his mask. so that usually male only closing their mouths. 0h. 0h! that's scary. how does it feel when you see your masks in the festival? are you proud? i loves the lion's mechanicaljaw. i think that was one of my favourite parts. yeah, i like that. the tactile experience is now going to make the festival come alive to me in my mind. i now have a picture of what they may be wearing. i can have an audio description

of how they dance, and then i'm hearing the music. i can fully immerse myself in the festival, so i'm really excited. drum beats. there are over 100 onidaiko dance groups on the island and they dedicate their performances to a shrine. the lions came out. now, she's trying to scare them. wow. they're so close. yeah. the lions are moving around as well. yeah. applause. yay! woo! thank you. 0h! he's got, he's got hair. i felt that day shifted my mind—set. i always thought that my blind experience was less than... oh, what are these for? ..that when i felt something tactile, i didn't see that as valid as actually looking at that thing in real life.

this is the god of snake. the god of snake. that day proved to me that my tactile experience was as valid as a visual one. yes! yeah. thank you. up the road, a children's dance group is performing door to door to the families in the village. i love that it's all really immersive. the kids are so, so cute as well. what are they saying? kids chant. it doesn't mean anything, but it's cheering the people up. so, you mean like "yay"? yes, that's. .. yay! chuckles. chanting in japanese.

this trip has made me more confident. i truly believe that the way i interact with the world in a tactile way when i go back home is enough. chanting continues. i am enough. chanting. oh, my god. the energy is so electric right now. i'm so excited. it's just the chanting. it's like, makes you feel like you're in a bit of a trance. chants. yay! the kids are shouting. it's just such a sense of community.

in the second part of my travels, i'm back in tokyo... go. ..asking whether guide dogs could be replaced. faster, faster, faster. i've never been guided by ai before. this is so cool! and i head to hiroshima to find out about the resilience of its people. hello. well, it's time to have a look at the weather for the week ahead. and i'll tell you straightaway that autumn is knocking on the door. we're starting to see the patterns on the satellite picture. at the moment, weather systems are still coming in from the south. so briefly, quite warm, particularly across southern areas of the uk. but if we look at the north atlantic

and especiallyjust off the eastern seaboard of canada and the us here, one ex—hurricane, another one down there, and sometimes these systems get caught in the jet stream. they get pushed along the jet stream right across the north atlantic and end up around our shores. so this ex—tropical cyclone could be coming our way during the middle part of the week and delivering a spell of wind and rain. so let's summarise all of that. atlantic lows, multiple atlantic lows heading our way. spells of wind and rain with some gaps of decent weather, i think. and yes, it's going to feel a little bit fresher, not cold. i think the winds will just make it fresher. but the temperatures actually could be still pretty decent for the time of the year. let's have a look at sunday now. so actually a spell of thundery weather for the south west of the country early in the morning and the afternoon. that will spread into the midlands eventually and perhaps more northern and eastern parts of the country and still very respectable temperatures, 20 to 22 across england, further north around 17 or so in belfast,

which isn't bad at all. and this is the forecast for sunday night. you can see sort of blobby rain moving across the country, showers and some thunderstorms. and with that air coming in from the south, it's still a really mild start to monday, 16 in london, about 15 in liverpool. now, monday into tuesday will be the transition zone to that more unsettled weather. this is actually a cold front crossing. the country could be quite gusty winds at a spell of heavy rain for a time before the skies brighten out towards the west. and we'll see sunny spells and showers, still holding on to the 20s, particularly across east anglia in the southeast, but more like 15 out towards the west. and then on tuesday, we are well and truly into what we call an atlantic regime. so the regime of winds and weather fronts sweeping off the ocean. so here it is. this is actually now at this stage the beginnings of that ex—tropical cyclone that swept across the northeast of america.

temperatures by this stage, 16 to 18 degrees celsius, increasing amounts of cloud outbreaks of rain. and here it is as it moves across the uk. quite a few isobars here and actually this area of low pressure needs watching. sometimes these low pressure spin up to deliver some very strong winds around western coasts in particular. but at the moment, it looks as though it's going to be a very blustery day with some sunny spells and occasional spells of wind and rain. now, the temperatures, because it's an ex tropical system, will still be pretty high 20 or so in how about 17 in northern ireland? and then let's take a look at the animation for the rest of the week and into the weekend, one low pressure moves away and then this next one behind me. watch this one. this one's pretty big. i mean, we're still a long way off. this is probably another ex—tropical cyclone heading our way. still a long way off, as i say. but i think the weather certainly needs watching in the week ahead. could be some really, really unsettled weather. so pretty much rain icons for the week ahead.

and those temperatures actually not far off the seasonal norm. so, yes, the weather is changing. autumn really is knocking on the door. thanks for watching.

live from london, this is bbc news. a charity receiving support from russell brand's charitable foundation cuts ties with the comedian after allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him. he denies the claims. the president of the european commission visits the italian island of lampedusa, amid a huge surge in migrant arrivals. we will decide who comes to the european union

and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers and traffickers. what is at stake here is the future that europe wants to set for itself. these are live pictures from derna, where anger grows among survivors in libya's flood—ravaged city, as the authorities in the east of the country blame nature for the disaster. you're watching bbc news. hello, i'm gareth barlow. a charity that receives support from russell brand's own charitable foundation has cut ties with the comedian, following allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him in a channel a documentary last night. trevi women's and children's charity said it was "deeply saddened and upset" by the allegations made by four women against brand, who was working for channel 4, the bbc, and acting in hollywood during the period of the claims.