this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm. tributes to the singer george michael, one of the biggest names in british music, who's died at the age of 53. i have never met a star who didn't come from the same kind of insecurity. you know, it's the things that are missing that makes you a star, not the things that you have. fans travel to the singer's homes in london and oxfordshire to pay their last respects as others around the world remember him. 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. we look back at the incredible

british successes at the rio 2016 olympic and paralympic games. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the music world has been paying tribute to george michael, who died yesterday, 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 rose 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 band—mate andrew ridgeley said he was "heartbroken at the loss

of a beloved friend". 0ur arts editor will gompertz looks back at his life. # wham bam, i am a man #. wearing a bikerjacket and a white tee, george michael takes his first steps into the limelight as one half of wham. back then, he had big hair and a perma—tan — it was his idea of early ‘80s glamour. the reality was a little different. they stuck us in this hotel that must‘ve been about 80p a night. i was sleeping the night before my first top of the pops in polystyrene sheets and it was a child's bed! i was sat with my feet over the end, thinking, this is not how it's supposed to be. no matter. he continued to live the dream

with feel—good chart hits. # but don't worry, you can suntan #. then came a change of tone and direction. # i'm never gonna 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. it was, oh my god. i'm a massive star. and i think i may be a poof, what am i going to do?! this is not going to end well!

i would just like to say... that was the 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 years, the idea that he had been this tragic, old—fashioned stereotypical cottager, they loved it! the whole experience led to this

song, and its ironic, seedy video, too. there were other problems with drugs, addiction and a spell in prison after crashing his car into a shop 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 are a joke, george! comic relief is about helping people like you! he collaborated with many other singers, including elton john, who today wrote, i have lost the kindest, most generous soul and 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 and the continual presence of his music on our radios and the sold—out arena tours stands out as testaments to his talent. he made life—affirming music that continues to touch millions of fans the world over. 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...

and all my ambitions, even 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, or live in a big house and have a flashy car. they are all very pleasant things, but it really hadn't occurred to me. i did not want to be rich, i just wanted to be filthily famous. did you think it would make you more attractive? a better human being? like most singers, it was feeling not listened to. it was lots of feelings of low self—worth, all kinds of things, all the kind of screwed up things that go together to make somebody who becomes well known. what was 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 of what i am now. i don't know if it was really about that. i probably felt better about the way i looked when i was 17 or 18 than i do now. it was more this desire to be recognised, and like i said, all the same things. people talk about them, but i have never met a star who did not come from the same kind of insecurity. it is the things that are 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 think my first performances consisted of... i had to say this every night, just before, because basically it was a dinner

dance restaurant, very, very hip(!) i was allowed to play the occasional vaguely discoey 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've enjoyed your meal, welcome to the bel—air 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... where's that coming from?

that was every night, the same thing. i was hopeless at it. i have no idea how i am able, or was almost 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! 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 and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:20 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — my guests are political commentator, jo phillips, and the political editor of the sunday mirror and sunday people, nigel nelson russia is holding a day of national mourning for the 92 people

who were killed when a military plane crashed in the black sea. pilot error or a technical fault are being blamed for the plane coming down just moments after it left sochi airport after refuelling. from moscow, 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. this may be the last picture ever taken of the tupolev154. a few hours later it crashed into the black sea. the search operation continued today

to recover bodies and the wreckage of the plane. 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. "you won't be returning, we couldn't save you". natalia'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. a typhoon has hit the philippines,

forcing tens of thousands to seek refuge in emergency shelters. typhoon nock—ten, with gusts of more than one hundred 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 the world vision charity in the philippines it has caused significant damage. as of today, the national disasters management council has reported that about 25,000 families have been affected by the typhoon, and a lot of houses made of light materials have been reduced to the ground. as

early as two days before the landfall, a lot of people have already been evacuated. provincial governments have declared a state of imminent danger, so that's why there have been mandatory evacuations. so it's good that people have learned a lot, especially during the typhoon in 2013. so we can say that even the national government has been prepared, and has been more proactive in providing alerts to the communities. as of now, the department of social welfare and development is giving out relief items to the affected communities. if you hours from now, our assessment team will be going to the region to check on the extent of damage is caused by the typhoon, and if needed we are ready to assist initially 4000 families with

emergency relief items. 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 british man is in a critical condition in hospital in antigua after being shot in the head. 37—year—old christopher tester from torquay 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. now the latest headlines. tributes continue to come in for 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 is thought many have stayed home after already splurging on pre—christmas discounts. sport now. a full round—up. ds, it has been a busy day of boxing day football as chelsea and the day seven points clear at the top of the premier league after a club record 12th straight win. they beat bournemouth 3—0 at stamford bridge, the tenth clean sheet of that winning run. two goals from pedro and a penalty from eden hazard leaves chelsea closing in on arsenal's 14 game winning record. leaves chelsea closing in on arsenal's14 game winning recordm is important now to continue this run. between four days we will have

another tough game against stoke city. and we have to prepare very well, because now, when you face the other teams, yes, every team wants to beat you. manchester city are the second the table after their 3—0 victory away at hull. you don't always get what you want over the festive season but manchester city i very well connected clubs these days. pep guardiola confident of the three points required to keep their title challenge going. but the first half at hull didn't go to plan. orjohn stones's return to first—team action, limited by injury to 80 minutes. given time, though, this tale of two cities opened up, both ends. first kevin de bruyne of manchester, and then hull began to

get a foothold on the game. michael dawson only kept out by bacary sagna. mike phelan‘s side had hopes of lifting themselves off the bottom of lifting themselves off the bottom of the table book that will only get you so far. andy robinson's tackle on raheem sterling allowed yaya toure to do what he usually does. scoring on boxing day for the third yearin scoring on boxing day for the third year ina scoring on boxing day for the third year in a row. with the breakthrough made, gaps appeared in the hull defence. camacho stepped up. 3—0. a final kick of the game, curtis davies's own goal. manchester city got what they wanted, the second in the table. hull city need something to change the direction of their season. to change the direction of their season. the first ten or 15 minutes of the second half, we played good. in the first half, we forgot that the goal was there. in the second half, especially our strikers, they saw a little bit more the goal. and

after the first goal, it was easy. quick round—up of the rest of the day's premier league results. arsenal are fourth after a 1—0 win at west brom. champions leicester lost 2—0 at home to everton. an unhappy return to old trafford for david moyes, as sunderland lost 3—1 to manchester united. in horse racing, the highly anticipated first meeting between colin tizzard trained cue card and thistlecrack took place at the king george vi chase at kempton. the younger of the two thistlecrack with jockey tom is good or on board took it ahead of last yea r‘s good or on board took it ahead of last year's winner, cue card. john hunt will take up the commentary now. commentator: tom is good or waving at the crowd. the other horses fight desperately for second place. they were the bit part

players. a truly astonishing win. that is another spot for now, plenty more later on. back to the death of george michael. some of the biggest names in music — and fans from around the world — have been paying tribute to george michael, who's died at the age of 53. his manager says he suffered heart failure at his oxfordshire home. friends and fans have been sharing their memories. sir eltonjohn has led tributes. said from his former long—term partner, kenny goss. after news of the death of george michael, stories have been emerging, detailing his philanthropic and charitable work and we will hear from the actor and activist, emily mondo, who worked with george at a homeless shelter. tell us about it, it was about four

yea rs tell us about it, it was about four years ago? why he wanted to do it and what sort of work he was doing. it was quite some time ago and the work we were involved in was really mundane complaining and packing boxes. who did not talk in great detail about why he wanted to do it, but there was a great mutual respect of understanding that he didn't want to speak about it or take pictures. i really respected that because i saw a sensitivity and a genuine care. and this was a shelter to help homeless people. yes, refugees and the homeless. he very much wanted to do the work. we have heard a lot about how he gave royalties from songs for example, he wrote cheques to people, he gave money, but this was a different sort of charitable side to him, that he actually wanted to go and do the work but not be photographed or filmed doing to go and do the work but not be photographed orfilmed doing it. yes, not to be showy or have photo opportunities, a real genuine get stuck in and care about people. all

of the stories coming out reflects this, a real sense of generosity and genuine kindness and they want to give. when he was doing the work, he was just like anyone else doing it, just getting on with it? yes. i noticed him because i had been a big fan. just giving him the respect to get on with it. you have mentioned this after he died from you did not mention it afterwards or at the time, because he asked for confidentiality? i would not have dreamt of saying it before, and if i told my friends there would have loved it, we are all such huge fans. but i think at this point there are so but i think at this point there are so many different stories coming out, more controversial stories, and it is important to remember that as humans we are multifaceted and there are different elements to all of us. we are always more than one thing

but lots of people have it within them to be generous and kind, and these are beautiful qualities that we should share. there are other stories coming out about his trigueros to cover he was watching a woman on tv who said she needed £15,000 for ivf treatment and he wrote a cheque to her. he obviously was a very generous philanthropic kind of man as well as being a great p0p kind of man as well as being a great pop singer. yeah, there is another story of a waitress being tipped, a student nurse, and he tipped a £5,000. so many small acts of kindness, and all of it was done with the idea that no one would ever know. what you do when people are not watching is a reflection of the person. when you heard the news of his death, you were shocked, i guess, notjust at his death, you were shocked, i guess, not just at the death his death, you were shocked, i guess, notjust at the death of his death, you were shocked, i guess, not just at the death of a singer, but of a charity worker, really? yeah, as you know, it has been a really difficult year for losses but he was iconic, and the

work he did for the lgbt community and the work he did as a person for other people is what makes it even sadder. we lose these icons and we love their music and we have grown up love their music and we have grown up with it, but when you know that someone was up with it, but when you know that someone was truly, genuinely cared about others, it is such a great loss for all of us, but i hope we can all be inspired by this. it is a very inspiring story. thank you for sharing it with us. now some of the other stories of the day, it is 26 minutes past eight here on bbc news. 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, 14 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 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 japanese prime minister shinzo abe has arrived in hawaii where he will visit pearl harbor after it was bombed 75 years ago in the 9041 attack. he will be accompanied by president obama, who is in holiday in hawaii with his family. 50,000 people in england are at risk of type two diabetes could be helped by an nhs programme being extended from today. the advice on better nutrition and exercise has already helped 12 —— helped 20,000 people. it forms part of a package of new measures to curb type two diabetes, including funding for more specialist nurses. now the latest weather with john hammond. the temperature is falling, getting

cold up there, the worst of the strong winds is a way across the north of scotland but a few showers left behind across the north west of scotla nd left behind across the north west of scotland primarily, rain showers. most of us will have a dry night, clear skies further south, temperatures falling away very quickly, in fact in the suburbs and more rule areas, quite a widespread frost, a sharp frost across parts of the midlands, but most of us will have a bright, sunny, crisp day with light winds, still a bit of a breeze across northern ireland and the north of scotland, carrying the odd shower. even here there will be some brightness and most places will stay dry. it will be a chilly one, though, there we see a lot of sunshine. temperatures six and seven before those temperatures fall away quite quickly through the evening. fork will become more of an issue as we head towards the middle of the week. particularly for england and wales, we are expecting some disruption over the next few days. hello.

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