this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 7pm. # i don't want your freedom # i don't want to play around #. tributes to the singer george michael — one of the biggest stars in british music — who has died at the age of 53. i grew up with him, loved him, loved everything. he was so talented and he meant the world to a lot of people. russia recovers of the fragments of a military plane which crashed into the black sea, with 92 people on board. at least for micro people are killed ina manila at least for micro people are killed in a manila as a powerful typhoon crosses the capital of the philippines. also this hour — bagging a bargain in the boxing day sales. bargain hunters turn out for boxing day sales, but it's thought many have stayed home after already splurging

on pre—christmas discounts. and in half an hour i will be looking back at the past 12 months for the royalfamily, looking back at the past 12 months for the royal family, dominated looking back at the past 12 months for the royalfamily, dominated by the celebrations to mark the queen's 90th birthday. that is review 2016 the royal year. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the music world has been paying tribute to george michael, who died last night from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. the singer sold more than 100 million albums in a career spanning nearly four decades. he leapt to fame with the pop duo wham, enjoying global success in the ‘80s, before leaving to forge a successful solo career.

but he struggled with the pressures of fame and press attention. his bandmate andrew ridgeley said he was "heartbroken at the loss of a beloved friend". # wham, bam #iamaman wearing a bikerjacket and a white teacher, george michael takes his first steps into the limelight as one half of wham. back then, you had big hairand a one half of wham. back then, you had big hair and a fake tan, it was his idea of early 80s glamour. the reality was a little different. they put us in this hotel that must‘ve been about 80p a night. i was sleeping the night before my first top of the pops guitar polystyrene sheets and it was a child's but! i was sat with my feet over the end thinking, this is not how it is

supposed to be. no matter. it continued to live the dream with feel—good chart hits. # but don't worry, you can sometime #. then became a change of tone and direction. # i'm never going to dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm. # leading to a career as a soulful, solo artist. his first album faith sold over 25 million copies, garnered awards galore and sealed his reputation as a major international artist. 0h, sealed his reputation as a major international artist. oh, my god. i ama international artist. oh, my god. i am a massive star. and i think i may

bea am a massive star. and i think i may be a puff, what am i going to do!? this is not going to end well! i would just like to say... that was a turning point for me. that was the point at which i had to negotiate some new relationship with celebrity that was not going to destroy me, you know? on stage, that was no problem. his talents were widely admired. but his private life was a different matter. the homophobia was just flying! they were loving it. to be able to say that this man who had hidden from them for the best part of six years by then, or seven yea rs, of six years by then, or seven years, the idea that he had been this tragic, old—fashioned stereotypical closet —— cottage,

they love this! one of the whole experience led to this song, it's ironic sheedy video, too. there were other problems with jokes, addiction and a spell in prison after crashing his car into a sharp in london. his sense of humour remained, however. whatever you get up to in your spare time is up to you. then why can't i come to comic relief? because you areajoke, come to comic relief? because you are a joke, george! come to comic relief? because you are ajoke, george! comic come to comic relief? because you are a joke, george! comic relief is about helping people like you! he collaborated with many singers, including eltonjohn who today wrote, i have lost the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. madonna also bade him farewell. his old wham partner, andrew ridgely said he was heartbroken at the loss of his beloved friend. that george michael was one of

britain's biggest pop stars is without question. the hundred million—plus albums he sold on a continual presence of his music on oui’ continual presence of his music on our radios and a sold—out arena tours standards testaments to his talent. he made a life affirming music that her stumble continues to touch millions of fans the world over. “— touch millions of fans the world over. —— that will continue to touch. well, we heard george michael speaking in will gompertz‘s report to michael parkinson about life on the road. the interview was filmed in 1998 and in it, the musician spoke at length about his relationship with his parents, his desire for fame and one of his firstjobs as a dj in hertfordshire. my connection with my mother, i spent a lot of time around her, so from that point of view, my mother being english and in a strange way, very kind of classless, because she came from a working—class background, but she had been sent

to a convent school, because her mother was afraid she was going to be a tomboy. so she was sent there, which firstly put her off religion and she spoke very well. she spoke almost with a middle—class accent. so we had this really weird thing that i spoke like somebody relatively middle—class, yet my father was first generation immigrant, so the mentality of the two things. and my mother was also very british in that she had very... i get my attitude to money from her, which is that it was something to be afraid of and that took a long time for me to get over. yet, my father's attitude to money was to grab it and move up. was it to be rich and famous, your ambition? i realised about six months ago that somebody asked me a question and i realised that at no point during my early

life when i was... in all my ambitions and when i started to realise them, at no point did it ever occur to me that one of the by—products of this would be i could buy whatever i wanted, live in a big house and have flashy car. they are all very pleasant things, but it hadn't occurred to me. i did not want to be rich, i wanted to be filled filthily famous. did you think it would make you more attractive? like most singers, it was feeling not listened to. it was lots of feelings of low self—worth, all kinds of things, lots of screwed up things that go together to make somebody who becomes well known. what with the low self—worth based on? was it your looks? it was everything. my looks didn't help. you look ok now!

i suppose i looked like a curly haired, fatter version than what i am now. i don't know if it was about looks. i probably felt better about the way i looked and i was 17 or 18 than i do now. it was this desire to be recognised and like i said, all the same things. i have never met a star who did not come from the same kind of insecurity. it is the thing is missing that make you a star, not the things you will have. you did work for a time in various odd jobs. you were a dj in bushey. yes, i fear my first performances consisted of... i had to say this every night just beforehand, because it was a dinner dance restaurant, very, very hip(!) i was allowed

to play the occasional disco record between 70 requests for the birdie song. when people had finished and it was winding down, if you had never been there, you didn't know there was a dj, because i was stuck behind a big pillar, you weren't supposed to see me. that didn't do much from my confidence. every night i would have to say, good evening, ladies and gentlemen, i hope you enjoyed your meal, welcome to the restaurant and we hope you will partake in a little dancing... it was so awful! so awful. my hands used to get clammy and sweaty every night before i had to do it, because i knew the moment i stopped talking, all the restaurant noises, all the clinking glasses and cutlery would just go... and everybody would be like... that was every night,

the same thing. i was hopeless at it. i have no idea how i am able or was immediately able to sing to thousands and thousands of people when i literally just used to shudder at the thought of talking to these few dinner dance people! michael be speaking to michael parkinson. and there's more online. you can look back at george michael's life in pictures, music that defined his career, and celebrity tributes — that's at bbc.co.uk/news. we will be finding out how this story are many others are being covered in tomorrow's front pages at 1020 this evening in the papers. russia has recovered some fragments of a military plane,

which crashed in the black sea with 92 people on board. a huge search operation has been taking place near sochi where the aircraft had taken off from. the first of the bodies have this morning been airlifted to the russian capital. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg reports. across russia, they prayed for the dead — for the 92 victims of yesterday's plane crash. there was a special service today in every orthodox church in russia. this is a day of national mourning. as a sign of respect, russian flags were flown at half—mast. this is thought to be the last picture ever taken of the tupolev154. a few hours later it crashed into the black sea. the search operation continued today, not for survivors — there were none — but for the bodies and also for the plane's black box flight recorders. russia's transport minister said that technical failure or pilot error may have caused the crash.

terrorism is thought less likely. killed in the crash, more than 60 members of the russian army's song and dance troupe. they'd been on their way to syria for a new year's concert. outside the musicians' headquarters in moscow, there is now a shrine that grows bigger by the hour. as well as bringing flowers, icons and candles, people have been leaving messages. this says, you were killed on take—off, farewell, friends. this says, you won't be returning, we couldn't save you. this woman's son used to work in the ensemble but left. we mourn with everybody else, she says, there is pain deep in my soul. officially, there is one day of national mourning but for many russians the sense of loss from this disaster will last much longer. the columbian authorities

investigating the plane crash last month in which 71 people died have concluded the aircraft ran out of fuel. the plane, which was carrying brazil's chapecoense football club, crashed near the city of medellin. six people survived. on a leaked tape, the pilot who died was heard warning of a total electric failure and lack of fuel. but he never made a formal distress call. a man from torquay is in a critical condition in hospital in antigua after being shot in the head. 37—year—old christopher tester was injured during an attempted robbery at his parent's restaurant on christmas day. he is being kept in an induced coma and friends have launched an appeal to fly him back to the uk for treatment. bargain hunters were up early this morning for the boxing day sales — despite analysts suggesting cheaper prices in the run up to christmas would mean the shops being a little less busy than last year. the fall in the value of the pound

since brexit is also providing an incentive for tourists looking for a bargain. the former governor of the bank of england lord king suggested today that britain would be better off leaving the single market completely, if it wants to strike trade deals outside the eu. here's our economics correspondent, andy verity. after one day's respite, 1a million of us are expected to hit the shops today, drawn in by the theory that goods are significantly cheaper than they were two days ago. from birmingham to belfast, £3 billion is expected to be spent in shopping centres in the high street, with up to another billion online. i always do it every boxing day morning. why? ijust love sale shopping. i'm normallyjust looking for a really good deal, like half price. we were here last february and the exchange rate was 1.5 and it is much less now.

we get a lot more for our money this year than last. the international visitors joining the crowds in london's west end aren'tjust coming for the boxing day sales. the brexit vote has weakened the pound and that means that their money buys about a fifth more here than it did year ago. it's effects like that that create the hope that the brexit vote could lift exports and provide, at least in the short term, a positive economic effect. one legacy of the credit boom of the last decade and the bust that followed it was consumers borrowing unprecedented amounts to buy imported goods, while exports trailed behind. today, the man who presided over that boom and bust was hoping that brexit might throw that into reverse. there are many opportunities and we should look at it in a much more self—confident way than either side is approaching it at the moment. i think that being out of what has been an unsuccessful european union, particularly in the economic sense, brings us opportunities as well as obviously great political difficulties. to the incoming us commerce

secretary though, brexit is an opportunity not for us but for other countries to benefit from the confusion. billionaire businessman wilbur ross has called it a god—given opportunity for cities from dublin to frankfurt to take business away from the london. and that's the man chosen by donald trump to lead trade negotiations with theresa may's government. andy verity, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... tributes continue to the singer george michael, one of the biggest names in british music, who has died at the age of 53. russia recovers fragments of a military plane which crashed into the black sea with 92 people on board. bargain hunters turn out for boxing day sales ,but it's thought many have stayed home after already splurging on pre—christmas discounts. a typhoon has hit the philippines, forcing tens of thousands to seek

refuge in emergency shelters. typhoon nock—ten — with gusts of more than 100 miles per hour — has killed several people and damaged homes. it's also caused flooding in coastal communities and disrupted air and sea travel. joy maluyo is from world vision philippines and shejoins me live via webcam from manila. thank you forjoining us. what is the latest? from the philippines, the latest? from the philippines, the storm has caused significant damage. as of today, the national disaster management council as reported about 25,000 families have been affected by the typhoon and a lot of houses have been reduced to

the ground. how prepared were people for the typhoon? as early as two days before it, of people had been evacuated. provincial have declared a state of imminent danger, that is why there have been mandatory evacuations, so it is good that people have learned a lot, especially during the typhoon in 2013, so we can say that even though the national government has been prepared and has been more proactive in providing alerts to the communities. has the typhoon our past? yes, it is now about to leave the philippine area and a lot of storm warnings and signals have already been downgraded. what next in terms of the recovery? as of now,

the department of social welfare and development is giving out relief items to affected communities. eight a few hours from now, our assessment tea m a few hours from now, our assessment team will be heading to regions to check on the extent of damage caused by the typhoon and if needed, ready to assist 4000 families initially with emergency relief items. are there any isolated communities? they are always the worst hit and left last in terms of getting provisions. are there any isolated communities of particular concern for you? so far, for world vision, most communities are accounted for, but in terms of the national scope, there are coastal communities the

local government and national government are taking charge of the four were rescuing operations for them. aamodt of the immediate requirements of people returning to their communities? most of the people are actually clamouring for shelter materials, especially those living close to the coastal areas, since their houses have been damaged and they're worried about how to welcome 2017 without their homes, so they are asking for shelter materials and also kitchen sets, because most of their things have been badly damaged. also, we are worried about the safety of the children in those communities for children in those communities for child protection purposes, especially since electricity is still out and even cellphone signals and internet connections are down. most of the stuff on the ground are

finding it hard to reach them and contact them. thank you very much. 50,000 people in england at risk of type—2 diabetes could be helped by an nhs programme that's being extended from today. the advice on better nutrition and exercise has already helped 20,000 people. it forms part of a package of new measures to curb type—2 diabetes — including funding for more specialist nurses. parts of northern scotland have been experiencing snow and winds of more than 90 miles per hour, as storm conor made its presence felt. some calmac ferries were disrupted for a time and the boats to the northern isles have been delayed. laura mckeever has the details. there was a lull after storm barbra

before storm conor made itself known across parts of scotland today, with the north and northern isles the brunt. heavy rain and storm force winds of up to 90 miles an hour and snow brought travel challenges. it was the case of steady and slow through the snow on the roads in the highlands are much the same across higher roots in aberdeenshire. drivers further south contended with gale force winds and surface water, high winds meant restrictions on all of the country's major bridges. some of the country's major bridges. some of the country's major bridges. some of the ferry services fell victim to cancellations and delays, and this evening's ferries between aberdeen and shetland will now leave later than scheduled. scholl and's transport minister chaired a meeting of the scottish government's resilience team, receiving updates from the met office, transport scotland, the police as the storm passed through. the weather was not putting off the shoppers in glasgow this morning though, people chasing

boxing day bargains were undeterred. warm and, weather is forecast for tomorrow. let's return now to our top story — the death of george michael at the age of 53. musicians have been paying tribute to the singer throughout the day. a musicjournalist described george michael is a rare talent to describe why his music was so important. he was a great songwriter and a brilliant thinker. he really engaged with him emotionally. what a string of fantastic hit singles. wham was one thing that was a misleading indication of who he was, because that was really a group where his persona was predicated on that of the guy standing next to him. it was kind of fiction, but within that conceit, lots of brilliant pop songs emerged over a five—year period or

so. but then really, i guess for most people, the full indication of his talents came with the solo records he released afterwards. faith was an astonishing album, six worldwide hit singles and notjust the fight they were so successful, but each single released from that album suggested a different way his career could go and he could follow his talent in all sorts of ways. he was that good. and after that, he became someone who made interesting creative decisions as an artist, and listen without prejudice is a conflict, ambivalent record in which he dealt with the insanity of stardom in the 1980s. then one thing we really light about him as well what he constantly real —— re—evaluating himself. what he constantly real —— re-evaluating himself. rego to take you to hawaii now, and that is the

japanese date lane. —— japanese state plane. the reason he is in hawaii is the first japanese prime minister to visit pearl harbor. along with president obama, they will hold a meeting at remembering 75 years ago, december the 7th was the actual attack on pearl harbor by the actual attack on pearl harbor by the japanese. the attack killed some 2000 us soldiers and sailors and around a thousand were wounded and just over 400 civilians were also killed in the attack. the attack itself in the last of 42—macro hours, but it was a devastating attack. he is the first japanese prime minister to visit pearl harbor. just thinking of some of the heads of state that were there to meet him. possibly the mayor of honolulu may have been there to meet him. the governor of hawaii and the

lieutenant governor of hawaii, too. as well as remembering the attack on pearl harbor, we understand that the japanese prime minister will be holding meetings with barack obama to discuss various matters as well. so, 75 years ago on the 7th of december, just before 8am, japan attacked pearl harbor and shortly after that, america joined world war now for the weather. the worst of the wintry showers are easing. a fewer showers left in scotland, rain showers mostly. a dry night for most of those. temperatures falling away very quickly. in the suburbs and rural

areas, quite a sharp frost. one or two freezing fog patches, but for most of‘s a crisp day with light winds. breezy in northern ireland and the north of scotland. it will be chilly though. a lot of sunshine, temperatures of 6—7d. they will fall again quite quickly through the evening. falk will become an issue as we move toward the middle of the week and for england and wales, i'm afraid we are expecting disruption over the next few days. this is bbc news with lukwesa burak. the headlines... fans travel to george michael's homes in london and oxfordshire to pay their respects as the world remembers him. russia says the bodies of 11 victims of the military plane crash in the black sea have been recovered and flown back to moscow. all 92 passengers and crew on board died when it came down shortly

after taking off from sochi. at least four people are killed in the manila area as a powerful typhoon crosses the philippines' capital. bargain hunters turn out for boxing day sales but it's thought many have stayed home after already splurging on pre—christmas discounts. now on bbc news... this year the queen celebrated her 90th birthday. daniela relph looks back on the momentous occasion and other events in the royal calendar in review 2016: the royal year.