welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: bugle sounds japan's prime minister pays his respects at an american military ceremony as his historic visit to hawaii gets under way, 75 years afterjapan‘s bombing of pearl harbor drew the us into world war ii. dozens of ships are still searching for remains of a russian military plane that crashed into the black sea on sunday with 92 people on board. time's running out fast for the cheetah. urgent action is needed to save the world's fastest land animal from the brink of extinction. and tributes continue to pour in from fans and fellow artists alike for george michael following his death at the age of 53. the singer's partner says he will never stop missing him. hello.

the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, is making a historic visit to hawaii, 75 years after the japanese attack on pearl harbor that brought the united states into the second world war. the visit began with mr abe paying tribute to american military personnel buried at the national memorial cemetery of the pacific. before he left tokyo, mr abe said he wanted to send a message that japan would never repeat the atrocities of past wars. laura bicker reports. archive: december 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy. the japanese attacks came in waves during a deadly two hours. bombs ripped through us battleships, crippling the pacific fleet and killing over 2000 americans. survivors recalled that the once bustling port burned for hours. i had a fire hose in one hand, trying to put out the fires, and with the other i went around memorising

these nametags so i could write to their parents and tell them what happened to their son. after 75 years, a sitting japanese prime minister will attend a service to pray for those lives lost. shinzo abe arrived in hawaii to reaffirm a solemn promise never to repeat the horrors of that war. he will also hold a final meeting with the outgoing us president. the two leaders have developed strong ties over the last eight years. barack 0bama was the first sitting president to visit hiroshima, a powerful symbol of reconciliation. we force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. we listen to a silent cry. shinzo abe spoke of an alliance of hope, as the first japanese prime minister to address the us congress. i offer my internal condolences. this bond of friendship is hugely important to japan.

tokyo feels under threat from a strengthening china and a north korea which is developing nuclear weapons. cheers. kanpai. some fear for the future of the relationship under a new president. archive: those who lost their lives at pearl harbor would never be forgotten. but these few days will be about remembrance and laying to rest the final ghosts of a world war which brought out the worst in humanity. laura bicker, bbc news, washington. russia has observed a day of mourning after a military plane crashed on sunday, killing all 92 people on board. at the crash site in the black sea, a0 ships and more than 3000 people are involved in the search operation. one of the main targets is the aircraft's black box flight recorder, which is likely to contain information about the cause. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. 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. in some of respect, flags were flown at half—mast. —— sign of respect. 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, not for survivors, there were none, but for bodies. and for the black box flight recorders. we have determined that the parts we found belonged to the missing plane. russia's transport minister said

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, which grows bigger by the hour. as well as bringing flowers and icons and candles here, people have been leaving messages. this one 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.

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. 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 the world vision charity in the philippines. typhoon nock—ten has caused significant damage in luzon, especially in the bicol region. as of today, the national disaster risk reduction and 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 typhoon haiyan 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. for world vision, a few hours from now, our assessment team will be heading to bicol region to check on the extent of damage caused by the typhoon, and if needed world vision is ready to assist initially 4,000 families with emergency relief items. in other news:

turkey has appealed for air support from the us—led coalition in syria to help in the battle to drive so—called islamic state fighters out of the key town of al—bab, in the north—east of the country. a spokesman for the turkish president said it was not acceptable for the coalition to withhold such backing. turkey suffered substantial losses around al—bab last week. the us president—elect, donald trump, has described the united nations as "sad". on twitter, mr trump said the organisation had great potential, but suggested it was a place for nothing but talk. last week he was involved in an effort to postpone a security council vote condemning israeli settlements in the west bank. colombian authorities investigating a 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. there were only six survivors. 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. he did not survive.

the world's fastest land animal, the cheetah, is said to be rapidly heading for extinction. a study by the national academy of sciences in the us says cheetahs are coming increasingly into conflict with human beings as they roam far beyond protected areas. 0nly around 7000 cheetahs now remain in the wild across africa and in a small area of iran. dr laurie marker, founder of the cheetah conservation fund, explains why the numbers are falling. it is certainly bringing the numbers together from all of the years of research, a collective group of us have been involved in, showing that the numbers are primarily outside of protected areas, which puts them at a very critical point. most of the cheaters are not in protected areas, which makes them more vulnerable to land changes, conflict, and that is

why we are quite concerned —— cheetahs. there why we are quite concerned —— cheeta hs. there is why we are quite concerned —— cheetahs. there is quite an illegal wildlife trafficking situation in carbs, actually, that has gone on from the northern parts of africa into the horn of africa and into the gulf of africa —— cubs. we have been concerned about that as well. the other issues revolve around the larger populations that are, again, outside protected areas, where we have lost about over 85% of the range where the cheetahs are found. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: joy for the french seafarer who's set a new record for sailing around the world single—handed without stopping. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. in holland, we're going to use money

we picked up in belgium today, and then france and again the same money, it's got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his 0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. this is bbc news. 0ne main headline for you this is

oui’i 0ne main headline for you this is our: japan's prime minister is on a historic visit to hawaii to pay his respect to the military cemetery. it is 75 years since the bombing of pearl harbor drew america into the second world war. well, let's get more on our top story now. japan's prime minister, shinzo abe, is making an historic visit to hawaii, 75 years after the japanese attack on pearl harbor. here's a reminder of what happened in hawaii in i9ai. let's speak to a professor from john hopkins. i suspect you have mixed feelings about this visit. yes, i do. my father's uncle was the commander of the west virginia. prime minister shinzo abe will be visiting the ship that was right behind the ship that my uncle commanded, and he sadly was killed

that day by a bomb fragment. that was on the west virginia. you say she was killed. he was of course mortally wounded, but decorated posthumously and given an honour for devotion to duty and extraordinary courage. “— devotion to duty and extraordinary courage. —— he was killed. tell us what happened. the west virginia, as you may know, was one of the first ships here that day by very aerial torpedoes. —— three. he was alerted torpedoes. —— three. he was alerted to the planes coming in and went immediately to the bridge. he was just about to leave for church. it was early sunday morning. he rushed to the bridge. the planes came in and he commanded the response. the west virginia shot down over 20 japanese planes. a bomb came into

the tennessee, which was immediately next to the west virginia. bomb fragment spiralled out and hit him in the stomach. he was there and continue to command his ship. a call men patched up, but he died on the deck of his ship 2.5 hours later.|j guess in the wake of all of this, we should all welcome reconciliation, that the japanese and americans have struck a strong alliance. president 0bama visited hiroshima for a ceremony there. is your concern that this current episode is being used in some way for political gain? well, i think the events should be respected in their own right, even if 75 years have passed. 0f respected in their own right, even if 75 years have passed. of course well over 2000 people were killed.

the original attack was unprovoked. there may have been embargo ‘s earlier and ahistorical spiralling towards war, but it was an unprovoked attack, and well over 2000 people died —— embargo a snag. that's sad reality and the fact that we of course went on to four years of war there after, just as later we had hiroshima and so many other events, but the pearl harbor itself should be recognised, and some reconciliation based on an understanding of what happened that day. i did move —— i do believe very much reconciliation. united states andjapan much reconciliation. united states and japan have developed a

remarkably strong relationship in the post—war years, but i don't think this event should be used for political purposes tactically. is it possible that relations could be different with the next american president? it is a fortunate thing that shinzo abe has first a meeting a couple of weeks ago with donald trump and now this meeting with president 0bama and then another one probably next month. certainly out of the campaign and out of the economic troubles that many people in the united states have had in recent yea rs, in the united states have had in recent years, there has been a fair degree of distrust and suspicion that has arisen. neither

president—elect trump nor hillary clinton supported the trans— atlantic... tra ns—pacific partnership concept. so this comes ata partnership concept. so this comes at a critical moment is, trying to construct something that holds the two countries together in the face ofa two countries together in the face of a bidder with equal campaign. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you very much for talking to us. a french seafarer has set a new record for sailing around the world single—handed without stopping. in his fifth attempt, it just took 49 days also set by a frenchman, francis joyon. daniela relph has the story. he looked as though he couldn't quite believe he had done it. the arrival in the port of brest in north—west france, the moment thomas coville truly knew the weeks of long, lonely, gruelling days were over. 0n the quayside, hundreds out to welcome him back. 49 days after he left on his round the world trip.

family, friends and others who'd made this journey possible. addressing the crowd, he said he had felt an intense and deepjoy. he told them he had tried, he had dared, he had never given up and today it had worked out. it was thomas coville's fifth attempt at breaking the record. alone in his boat, he had rarely slept for more than three hours at a time. his solo route around the world had taken him from brest, past the cape of good hope and cape horn. he travelled around 52,000 kilometres and had been lucky with unusually good weather. thomas coville had devoted the past ten years of his life to breaking this record. but he didn'tjust break it, he smashed it, taking eight days off the previous one set in 2008. he said he now had just one desire, to sleep and to let his mind rest. daniela relph, bbc news.

the music world has been paying tribute to the british singer, george michael, who died on christmas day of heart failure. he was 53. the singer sold more than 100 million albums in a career spanning nearly four decades. his partner, fadi fawaz, says he will never stop missing him. 0ur arts editor will gompertz looks back at george michael's life. # wham bam, iam a man # wearing a bikerjacket and a white tee, george michael takes his first steps into the limelight as one half of the pop duo, wham!. # if notjust stop, don't stay there and rot # back then, he had big hair and a perma—tan — it was his idea of early ‘80s glam. the reality was a little different. so they stuck us in this hotel that couldn't have been more than 80p to a quid a night. audience laughter. and i was sleeping the night before my first top of the pops i had polystyrene sheets and it was a childsize bed!

audience laughter. so i was like this... i was sat with my feet over the end, thinking, ? this is not how it's supposed to be! # club tropicana drinks are free fun and sunshine ...# he continued to live the dream with feel—good pa rty—pleasing chart hits. # ..all that's missing is the sea # 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 though it's easy to pretend...# ..leading to a career as a soulful solo artist. # ..without devotion # well, it takes a strong man, baby...# his first album, faith, sold over 25 million copies, garnered awards galore, and sealed his reputation as a major international artist. # i gotta have faith...# it was, "oh my god, i'm a massive star," right?

it was like, "oh my god, i'm a massive star. and i think i may be a poof, what am i going to do?!" cheering and applause. this is not going to end well, you know! 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 just loved it! # take me to the places that i love best...# the whole experience led to this song, and its ironic, cheeky video. there were other problems with drugs, addiction and a spell in prison after crashing his car into a shop in london. but his sense of humour remained. what you get up to in your spare time is up to you, alright. then why can't i come to comic relief? because you are a joke, george! it's embarrassing. i can't walk into comic relief with you. comic relief is about helping people like you! he collaborated with many other singers, including elton john. .. # cause' losing everything is like the sun going down on me...# ..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, wrote: "i am heartbroken at the loss of his beloved friend yog" tonight his former partner, kenny goss, gave a statement saying, "he was a major part of my life and i loved him very, very much." # all you do is love and love is all you do # i should know by now the way ifoughtforyou...# that george michael was one of britain's biggest pop stars is without question. the hundred million—plus albums he sold, the continual presence of his music on our radios, and the sold—out arena tours stand as testaments to his talent. # i know you think you're safe mister...# he was a generous man who made several private donations to individuals he didn't know but cared about nevertheless. he made life—affirming music that touched, and will continue to touch, millions of fans the world over. george michael collaborated with

many artists throughout his career. information emerging now about the generous things that george michael did. some publicly, some privately. now, some panda pictures for you. these newborn twins in china have just begun to meet visitors. 0ver the last two months the twins have beenin the last two months the twins have been in care of breeders. and briefly, our main news again, shinzo abe has visited several sites in hawaii just a day before he is due

to visit pearl harbor. much more on all the news any time on the bbc website. thank you for watching. after the fairly windy spell of weather that many saw over the festive period, things are turning colder and much quieter too. here's the scene in highland scotland on monday, some snow over higher ground. some sunshine to see out boxing day too across the isle of wight. high pressure is dominating the weather for everyone as we head through the day on tuesday. the isobars fairly widely spaced for the most part, much less windy than in recent days. frost and fog patches around especially in parts of england and wales, further north, more cloud and breeze around. looking around the country at 9am, across the bulk of england and wales, a fine start to the day. a bit chilly, the coldest night we have seen in a little while, some frost around and a few

mist and fog patches. further north across northern england and northern ireland, more cloud and again a chilly start to the day, some isolated showers in the far north—west of scotland, perhaps some rain for a time towards the northern isles but that should clear then looking dry across—the—board on tuesday. a really decent day for heading out into the countryside for a walk, lots of sunshine on offer, some patchy cloud here and there and in a few places the mist and fog will be slow to clear. so colder than we've seen recently, highs between 6—8. tuesday evening looks a bit chilly but clear and dry. the main problem will be mist and fog building once again. as we head into the middle part of the week, high pressure stays with us across the country and with those light winds and relatively clear skies, i think we will wake up to scenes like this. locally some dense patches of fog around, especially on wednesday onwards, through the rest of the week it will cause some disruption.

if you have travel plans by air or road it could be a foggy picture by the time we get to wednesday, particularly across england and wales. less fog in scotland and northern ireland, more breeze and cloud around here. plenty of sunshine on offer by the afternoon. temperatures between 3—9. where the fog lingers in a few pockets it will be pretty cold and grey for much of the day on wednesday. where the fog clears, some glorious spells of sunshine. into the latter part of the week, a weather front to the far north—west of scotland, a bit breezy here and perhaps rain later on on thursday but it is high pressure dominating really. looking ahead to thursday and friday, things are mainly dry, there will be variable amounts of cloud but watch out for the potential for some mist and dense fog around too. bye for now. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm mike embley. japan's prime minister has paid his respects at an american military ceremony as his historic visit to hawaii gets under way. it comes 75 years afterjapan‘s bombing of pearl harbor.

the attack killed 2&00 soldiers and marines and drew the us into world war two. dozens of ships are continuing the search for what remains of a russian military plane that crashed into the black sea on sunday with 92 people on board. investigators are looking for the black box. unconfirmed reports say fragments of the tail section may indicate the pilot tried to land on water. the world's fastest land animal, the cheetah, is said to be rapidly heading for extinction. the national academy of sciences in the us says cheetahs are coming increasingly into conflict with human beings as they roam far beyond protected areas. they are said to be around 7000 in the wild. now on our world, disabled and displaced — a film about the plight of refugees who've been injured in the syrian conflict. the bbc‘s disability affairs correspondent,