in the past few minutes, thames valley police have confirmed the death of the singer george michael. his publicist said he passed away peacefully at home. the singer, who was 53, launched his career with wham in the 1980s and continued his success as a solo performer. south central ambulance service attended his home in goring in south oxfordshire. police say there were no suspicious circumstances. he was 53 and as many people will know he had launched his career with wham along with andrew ridgeley in the 19805 along with andrew ridgeley in the 1980s and went on to even greater success as a solo 1980s and went on to even greater success as a solo performer. he s often spoken quite widely of his relationship, rather difficult relationship, rather difficult relationship, with his father, saying he had to fight his demons. well we can speak now on the phone to the music critic for the daily telegraph, neil mccormick. hello, neil. hello. goodness, what news for christmas day! it
tonight, thousands of loyal supporters, have queued up in the cold to get their free tickets that we re cold to get their free tickets that were given out. they are here tonight, wanting to hearfrom him, a way ahead. for those who did not vote for donald trump, this is an anxious moment. they are seeking reassurance from the man they have seenin reassurance from the man they have seen in the white house for the last eight years. president obama s aides said the speech is notjust for his supporters, but for all americans. barack obama is now taking to the stage in chicago, let s listen in to his message to the american people. (cheering and applause) hello, chicago! it s great to be home! thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. thank you so much, thank you, thank you. thank you. it s good to be home. thank you. thank you. thank you. all right. where are my tv, i ve got to move! we re on live tv. you can tell that i m. you can tell that i m a lame duck because nobody is
agreed at all, my conversations with you, the american people, in living rooms and in schools, in farms, on factory floors, diners, and on distant military outposts, those conversations are what has kept me honest and kept me inspired and kept me going. and every day, i have learned from you. have. you made mea learned from you. have. you made me a better president, and you made me a better president, and you made mea me a better president, and you made me a better president, and you made me a better man. during the address in chicago where his political career began, he started by saying the people had made him a better president. i first ifirst came i first came to chicago when i was in my early 20s, and i was still trying to figure out who i was, still searching for a purpose in my life. and it was a neighbourhood not farfrom here life. and it was a neighbourhood not far from here where life. and it was a neighbourhood not farfrom here where i began working with chur
infrastructure and agriculture. also this morning: natalie portman on playing jackie kennedy in her new film, and preparing for the oscars hype. and carol has the weather. good morning. for some of us it is a cold and forest the start. patchy fog but in the south and south east in particular there will be some sunshine frosty start. for the rest of the uk, fairly cloudy with some light rain or drizzle but some sunshine. i will tell you where in 15 minutes. good morning. first, our main story: the foreign secretary has said countries are queuing up to sign free trade deals with britain when it leaves the european union. borisjohnson also suggests that agreements could be achieved quickly after the article 50 negotiations are concluded, and said the uk would not be hauling up the drawbridge, despite the new migration controls promised by theresa may. our political correspondent tom bateman has more. theresa may s brexit speech brought the most clarity yet on her approach to
also help to secure another of this nation s priorities, to reduce iran s malign influence in the middle east. this is a priority for the uk as well, as we support our allies in the gulf states, to push back against iran s aggressive efforts, to build an ark of influence from tehran through to the mediterranean. the nuclear deal with iran was controversial, but it has neutralised the possibility of iranians gaining nuclear weapons for more than a decade. it has seen iran removed 13,000 centrifuges as well as the associated infrastructure and as the associated infrastructure and a stock of 20% enriched uranium. that was vitally important that the agreement must now be very carefully and rigorously policed and any breaches dealt with firmly. to deal with the threats of the modern world, we need to rebuild confidence in the institutions upon which we all rely. in part, that means multinational institutions, because we know that so many of the threats we know that so many of the