welcome to bbc news world news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: bugle sounds japan's prime minister pays his respects at an american military ceremony in hawaii, 75 years after the japanese attack on pearl harbor. dozens of ships are still searching for the remains of the russian military plane that crashed into the black sea with 92 people on board. vera rubin, the pioneering astronomer whose work led to the discovery of dark matter, has died aged 88. and time's running out for the cheetah. scientists say urgent action is needed to save the world's fastest land animal from extinction. japan's prime minister 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. first, shinzo abe paid tribute to the american dead at the national memorial cemetery of the pacific. before he left tokyo, he'd 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 sons. 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 eternal 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. well, a little earlier, i spoke to patricia steinhoff, who is professor and chair of sociology and former director of the centre forjapanese studies at the university of hawaii. i began by asking her what she made of japanese prime minister shinzo abe's visit to hawaii. well, i think it is a very nice opening for prime minister abe to be here in honolulu. and i'm hoping that all of these things will be widely covered injapan and will have an impact there. you will be meeting shinzo abe, i think, a little later, won't you, as part

of the formalities? do you suspect there's some politics being played here? well, there is always politics being played. but i think that this is a return visit. president 0bama went to hiroshima, and this is the return, bringing prime minister abe to pearl harbor. that symbolism of the two places in the united states‘ imagination, pearl harbor and hiroshima, are inextricably linked. they were the beginning and the answer to the war. in japanese society, there is a very strong memory of hiroshima and their victimisation, but they do not link it to pearl harbor at all. that is not part of their imagination of how the war began and how the united states got into it. so i think this visit by abe

will help to make that linkage for people in japan, and will help them see a more balanced view of the way, in the post—war period, the two countries have become so close as allies. a major search operation is continuing over the vaccine. ii bodies and part of the plan's fuselage have now been found. day and night, search and rescue teams have not stopped trying to find the wreckage which disappeared on christmas morning. planes, helicopters, submersibles, around a0 ships and around 2000 people,

including divers are involved in the search. the plane disappeared two minutes after taking off on sunday. the search area is a approximately this area here. 0fficials the search area is a approximately this area here. officials believe most bodies trapped inside the remains of the aircraft. translation: the team is currently carrying out a search which allows us carrying out a search which allows us to see the ocean floor. we also have rescue workers scanning the surface of the water. several fragments of the plan including tail parts and fuselage have been found however the black box is yet to be retrieved. translation: all found parts have been brought assured and been handed over to the

investigators. the search has been going for more than 2a hours without racks. 0ne going for more than 2a hours without racks. one more body was found and recovered. on monday, a national day of mourning was declared. church services have been held and in moscow a shrine has been set up which grows bigger by the other. the russian government said terrorism is not thought to be the likely cause of the crash and the focus is on pilot error or technical fault. but for the family of the 92 bit terms, which include journalists a for the family of the 92 bit terms, which includejournalists a doctor and dozens of musicians from the musical ensemble, nothing will bring their loved ones home. in other news: 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 the plane crash last month, which killed 71 people, have concluded the aircraft ran out of fuel. the plane, carrying brazil's chapecoense football club, crashed near the city of medellin. there were only six survivors. on a leaked tape, the pilot is heard warning of a "total electric failure" and "lack of fuel". he never made a formal distress call, and did not survive. turkey has appealed for air support from the us—led coalition in syria to help drive fighters of the extremist group, the so—called islamic state, out of al—bab, a key town in the north—east. caroline davies reports. one of islamic state's strongholds, targeted from above. this video from is's newsagency says it shows the buildings and cars destroyed by turkish airstrikes, while on the ground turkish—backed rebels fill their cartridge belts ready for another assault. this is the siege on the

syrian town of al—bab. since launching a major incursion into syria almost four months ago, turkish forces have cleared a wide area on the border of both is and kurdish miltants. since then they have been focused on al—bab, about 20 kilometres from the turkish border. turkey says it has killed more than 220 fighters so far, but it has come at a cost. last week, it suffered substantial losses around al—bab. wounded soldiers were rushed here, to a turkish hospitaljust over the border. ia were killed, mourned on the street by their families. now turkey has asked for support from the us—led coalition. translation: we would like to emphasise that the international coalition must carry out its duties regarding aerial support. it is unacceptable that certain circles who always criticise turkey in its fight against daesh are not giving necessary support to the operations.

there is no sign as yet that the coalition, who are bombing is nearby, has directly joined the turkish operation. syrian activists say that the turkish airstrikes have also killed more than 80 civilians in al—bab. the turkish government have said that they are sensitive to preventing the casualties. despite losing a lot of ground, is is still able to put up a fight. this new appeal for help could be a sign of how tough the battle for al—bab has become. caroline davies, bbc news. a typhoon has hit the philippines, forcing tens of thousands to seek refuge in emergency shelters. typhoon nock—ten, with gusts of more than 160 kilometres — at least 100 miles an hour — has killed several people and damaged homes. it's also caused flooding in coastal communities and disrupted air and sea travel.

i spoke just now to the chairman of the philippines red cross, richard gordon, for an update from the control centre in manila. we have managed to free a lot of people stranded on the piers. we have given hot meals. we managed to help people evacuate into the evacuation centres. we have about 87,000 people in evacuation centres. now it's going down as the typhoon moves further and further away. we are now getting the data. the data is beginning to come in. how many houses in one town right on the pacific ocean, we don't know. nine out of ten homes have been destroyed. we are verifying all of that. we have people on the ground doing rapid assessment. by this afternoon, we should have a good figure on how many more people we need to help in this area. it has affected 30 provinces. it hit a swathe of a00 miles, or a00 kilometres, so we have our hands full.

mercifully, we have volunteers in practically every village in the country, and we are trying to get that information because they are wanting to get out of being hunkered down because of the typhoon. typhoons have hit the philippines many times. were people able to be warned in time and get out as far as you know? the number of casualties show we were able to warn them in time. right now we have three confirmed dead, two who refused to leave, and they left too late, so they drowned. already at a difficult time. 0ne got hit by a fallen tree. so far they are the deaths we have recorded. we have 800,000 in evacuation centres, so that should give you a good idea. in the area on the coastal side, we have standing room only in the evacuation centres. stay with us on bbc news.

still to come: the tributes from fans and fellow artists alike for george michael following his death at the age of 53. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got underway with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow 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 world news.

i'm mike embley. the latest headlines: japan's prime minister is on an historic visit to hawaii where's he's paid his respect at a us military cemetery. it's 75 years since the bombing of pearl harbor which drew america into the second world war. dozens of ships are continuing the search for remains of a russian military plane that crashed into the black sea on sunday with 92 people on board. the astronomer vera rubin, one of the pioneering scientists who discovered compelling evidence of dark matter, has died. she was 88. she did ground breaking work, much of it part—time, while she raised four children. she won numerous awards and honours, although never a nobel prize.

she found that stars at the edges of galaxies moved faster than expected and that another force, something like dark matter, might be the reason. that was the evidence needed that some extra gravity is needed which we now call "dark matter". some kind of matter, some kind of gravity, new particle not yet discovered, that produces this gravitational force that makes the stars go faster than they would otherwise go. i know she looked at more than 200 galaxies, i think, in some detail. apart from being a pioneer, she was a champion of women in science and in a very practical way, waan‘t she? in science and in a very practical way, wasn't she? she was very practical, very upfront about it. she never shied away from saying what she thought. for example, when she applied to graduate school, she applied to princeton — my own university

here — that was in the late a0s. and she got a reply back from the dean of admission saying "well, we don't accept women so there's no point in sending you an application for graduate school." she replied back to them saying it was not appropriate, not fair to women but, of course she applied elsewhere. it is interesting to note, a few years ago, she received an honorary degree from princeton university and itjust shows how long we have all come since then. and she... forgive me, she would ring up conferences and complain if there were no women on the bill? yes. was she inspiring to women, would you say, directly? she was enormously inspiring to women. she kept pushing women, encouraging them, inspiring them, telling them they can do whatever they desire to do and not let any

obstacles stand in their way. many women have responded enormously warmly to her. she had many, many friends among women, and men, and many have responded today by e—mails and phone calls and letters. the world's fastest land animal, the cheetah, looks to be heading, rapidly, for extinction. there are only around 7,000 now in the wild across africa and in a small area of iran. here's matt mcgrath. all across its traditional habitat, the sleek spotted cheetah is speeding towards extinction. in zimbabwe, the population has fallen from about 1,200 to just 170 animals in 16 years. asiatic cheetahs have been almost wiped out, with around 50 left in iran. the common problem for the surviving animals who are mainly in southern africa is they range far outside

the boundaries of protected parks in search of prey. as a result, they coming more and more into conflict with farmers, who see them as an enemy. cheetah numbers have also suffered from the illegal trade in live cubs, which are in demand as fashion accessories, mainly in the gulf states. matt mcgrath, bbc news the music world has been paying tribute to the singer, songwriter and activist, george michael, who died on christmas day of heart failure. he was 53. he sold more than 100 million albums in a career spanning nearly four decades. 0ur arts editor will gompertz looks back at his 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 laugh and i was sleeping the night before my first top of the pops i had polystyrene sheets and it was a childsize bed! audience laugh so i was like this... i was sat with my feet over the end, thinking, "this isn't 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, faith, 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 gonna do?!" cheering and applause this is not going to end well, you know! i'd 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 wasn't going to destroy me, you know? on stage, that wasn't a problem. his talents were widely admired. but his private life was a different matter. 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, with its ironic, cheeky video. there were other problems with drugs, addiction and a spell injail 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're a joke, george! it's embarrassing. i can't walk into comic relief with you. comic relief's 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 wrote: madonna also bade him farewell. his old wham! partner, andrew ridgely, wrote: tonight his former partner, kenny goss, gave a statement saying: # 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 100 million—plus albums he sold, the continual presence of his music on our radios, and the sold—out arena tours stand as a testament 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. much emerging now about how generous george was, sometimes publicly but often very much in private. while millions of people have fled their war—torn homes in syria, a handful of demonstrators in germany are walking towards it. hundreds of activists have embarked on a march from berlin to aleppo, to raise awareness of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

arrun soma reports. an early start at berlin's historic airfield, with backpacks in tow. but these travellers aren't jetting airfield, with backpacks in tow. but these travellers aren'tjetting off for the holidays. the peace activists gathered to begin a march across ten countries to aleppo and syria. 0rganisers say around 3000 people have declared so far to walk at least part of the three—month journey. translation: it's christmas and it's nice to spend time with family, but we also have to raise awareness that in other parts of the world people are struggling and we can do something to make their lives better. i'm seriously and this event affects me personally. the march and the people are here to express their humanity and i want to contribute to it. other people in the world need to know that the situation in syria

is horrible. there expected to cover around a000 kilometres, that's 20 kilometres a day, and from berlin they will cross through the czech republic, austria, slovenia, croatia, serbia, macedonia, greece and turkey, finishing in aleppo. it's the reverse migration route that many syrians have made, fleeing this bloody and relentless civil war, one that is claimed the lives of of people. it doesn't have much chance to work, i know, i'm not naive that i will stop the war, but i think naive that i will stop the war, but ithinki naive that i will stop the war, but i think i want to do everything i can to do something. the organisers have warned participants that they should be prepared to sleep rough and to rely on public donations for food. but for these demonstrators, the walk to aleppo pales in comparison to the hardships so many at theirfinal comparison to the hardships so many at their final destination have comparison to the hardships so many at theirfinal destination have been forced to endure. arrun soma, bbc news. that's it for now. thanks very much

for watching. the weather next. after a mild and windy day for many on christmas day, boxing day has been turning much quieter and colder. we much quieter and colder. had some much quieter and colder. hill snow, this was taken one some hill snow, this was taken by one of our weather watchers. some sunshine as we saw out boxing day across the isle of wight. moving through this week, things are staying quiet, down to a big area of high pressure that will dominate our weather. the isobars fairly widely spaced, that means lighter winds and a cold start to tuesday morning, some frost around in england and wales and some mist and fog to watch out for. further north, less mist and fog. this is 9am, across the bulk of england and wales we have dry conditions with sunshine but there will be the odd mist and fog patch around first thing, a chilly start with some frost here and there. northern england and northern ireland will have more cloud, again a chilly start with the odd isolated

shower in the north—west of scotland and the northern isles, but that should clear and across the border we are looking at a dry day on tuesday. light winds for the most part, a bit breezy to the north—west of scotland. any mist and fog will gradually clear so there should be a good deal of sunshine on offer during the afternoon but temperatures colder than recent days, 6—8, but at least we have the sunshine to compensate for the low temperatures. 0n sunshine to compensate for the low temperatures. on tuesday evening, dry and quiet with light winds but the main problem once again will be mist and fog forming quickly. with high—pressure sticking around to the middle part of the week, that will be the main focus of the weather, causing a few problems, seems like the one behind me especially from wednesday morning onwards. watch out for the potential for travel disruption in the middle part of the week down to locally dense fog particularly in england and wales. you can see wednesday, a murky morning in england and wales, less in the way of fog for scotland and

northern ireland, more cloud and breeze and a few showers around here. where the fog clears there will be plenty of sunshine but temperatures only around three—8 but where the fog patches linger for the prone spots in england and wales it will remain close to freezing all day, so mixed fortunes in terms of the fog but towards the end of the week, no great change, lots of dry weather with high—pressure sticking around. bye for now. this is bbc world news. the headlines: japan's prime minister has paid his respects at an american military ceremony as his historic visit to hawaii gets underway. it's 75 years since japan's bombing of pearl harbor, which killed 2,a00 soldiers and marines. and brought the united states into the second world war. dozens of ships are still searching for what remains of the russian military plane that crashed into the black sea on sunday with 92 people on board. there are unconfirmed reports that fragments of the tail section suggest the pilot tried to land on water.

the american astronomer, vera rubin, whose practical research provided evidence to support the theory of dark matter, has died aged 88. vera rubin was never awarded a nobel prize but won numerous other prizes for her work. the world's fastest land animal, the cheetah, is said to be heading, rapidly, for extinction.