>> this is al jazeera. >> hello from me david foster, it is 9:00 p.m. in london, 2100 gmt. wherever you're watching, it's the al jazeera newshour, help rolls into madaya and other syrian towns where people are starving. at least nine are killed in a shopping mall in iraq's capital. and video is released on the

drug kingpin's hideout. >> and he really made the grade. musical tributes to the pioneer david bowie, who died at the age of 69. >> i'm rahul pathak, your sports in doha. lionel messe, we'll hear from the argentinian later in the program. >> much needed food and medical supplies are being unloaded from trucks in syrian towns that have for months been cut off from aid. supplies have also been delivered to pro-government

villages of alfoua and kefraya. in eastern boutta, about 176,000 people are said to be cut off and united nations says i.s.i.l. tighters have cut off cities of dar azur. caroline malone reports. >> aid has finally arrived. carrying desperately needed aid to madaya in western syria but much more has don to be done. >> not good enough. the united nations have done this exactly three months ago and look add where we are at now. >> reporter: to the north, supply trucks from the red crescent aid organization trundle through idlib, heading for foua and kefraya.

part of the deal negotiated by the syrian government a few days ago. progovernment forces have been preventing these communities from getting aid. >> i swear to god we are arabs, what children what wrong have they done? this child, what wrong did he commit? >> the world food program says the aid carried to madaya will help 40,000 but only for one month. various people are trapped on sieges across syria. it is vital they are lifted. the united nations has more programs for aid to be delivered across syria but it's

questionable whether the aid will arrive. >> there the norwegian refugee council, i don't know if you have been able to talk to anybody you know inside madaya or other of the syrian villages but if you have, what about the conditions there? >> the reports we are getting from our partners and aid workers in these areas, are really desperate. we're hearing from doctors on the kind of patients that they are seeing. the level of malnutrition unbearable starvation that you have just shown right now not the typical siege very that's

why it becomes so cute in a relative short period of time. >> how long do you think the supplies will be good for? >> well, according to the united nations thaitions these should last for a month. our point as aid agencies, is that this can't be a one-off. a one-offs while we welcome it obviously with relief, it is thought enough. the sieges need to be lifted in madaya and in all the other areas at least 15 other besieged areas. 400,000, more than 400,000 are in such besieged areas but up to 4.5 million are actually in besieged areas and hard to reach areas because of the fighting. and what we're asking for is, for the armed groups, armed parties to this conflict to respect the rules of war. the humanitarian imperative.

these people are civilians. they need to be reached, they need humanitarian aid, they need not just a one-off, it's not enough. >> cold and dangerous, all very well aware that food and medical supplies have got in, a lot of these people need to be taken off particularly the very sick. how far are you getting in asking for that? >> well, i mean, these are all agreements that need to be negotiated over time and that's another part of the problem. the most vulnerable need free movement, they need free access to health care. we know that beside food which is the most visible problem as we've seen ton media on the last few days, the medical supplies have completely run out. doctors are just doing what they can, just to coop people alive. but even there, over the last month, 50 cases documented of

people dying either of starvation or because of totally unavailable medical services. >> we've concentrated because we've got pictures of some of the people in places such as madaya foua and other small enclaves. is there anywhere in juniors thasyria thatyou would particulo draw attention to? >> well, i wouldn't pit one place against another. madaya is right now in the limelight and should be because of all the lardships that are going on there. the whole of syria really where all sorts of groups are actually in violations of the human rights conventions, of the rights of the displaced, and that's why we are asking bigger picture, it is ultimately one lasting, one long-lasting political negotiation, political solution to this conflict that

can bring an end to this conflict. there is no other way. not us as hoourmts humanitariann stay alive and bring them some kind of hope and not only the military interventions that are going on, diplomatic political rules, it's been recognized by everyone by the parties to the conflict and, we need to add up to what we have been saying all along. >> karl many your thoughts, i'm sitting here in london where the royal air force, it's been suggested that it should air lift air drop food and medical supplies to enclaves in syria and the same suggestion has been put out for other international air forces. do you think that is workable? >> well, again, this you know right now in the immediate whatever it takes to save lives. but longer term, it will only be

a diplomatic political solution that can bring a long lasting durable solution to this crisis. we've seen all sorts of talks, all sorts of interventions, but it is ultimately only a diplomatic solution that can bring stability, peace, for people even to return to their homes. because whenever i meet with refugees on -- very regularly, from jordan, lebanon, wherever they are, their biggest hope, their biggest wish is to return back home. those who are fleeing europe are, you know they have the means, and they realize they are right now stuck in iraq. they have no way of surviving even in the middle east, where these countries have been hosting them. but the general, the overall, overwhelming wish of these people is to be able to return. and the only way for that to happen is for there to be negotiated diplomatic political solution.

>> we thank you, from the norwegian refugee council. right now from the united nations in new york we understand that members of the security council are being briefed on the humanitarian situation inside syria by stephen o'brien who is the united nations senior advisor. members will be coming out to the stakeout position to give their thoughts and we'll give you information as soon as we get any. united nations has allegedly killed 12 children in the rebel held town of anjar a, five adults, also a teacher have been reportedly killed. turkey offers syrian refugees work permits to encourage fewer of them to migrate. after the european union said it was in its words far from satisfied with turkey's efforts

to prevent people from capturing the aegean sea. ownership 2.2 million syrians have sought refuge but only 6,000 so far have been given official work permits. more than 40 people died in shootings and bombings across iraq. i.s.i.l. said it was behind this attack on a shopping mall in the capital baghdad, at least 19 died, 48 others were injured. seven people died that separate car bomb in baghdad and in the city of diyalla, twin suicide attacks killed 18 people. the commander of baghdad operations says the situation at the mall is under control now. >> translator: there was a terrorist attack at the entrance of the mall in baghdad suburb, and security force he killed two of the terrorists at the location and another terrorist detonated his suicide versus at

another location. security forces managed to control the area in 15 minutes. we were immediately on the spot and the situation is now under control. can situation is back to normal and we'll open the roads again. >> al jazeera is on the spot. >> four armed people, some of them wearing suicide vest $, they succeeded in storming the mall and taking the people inside the mall as hostages. the security force he are saying that they send many security forces to the area, they surround stead whole area and they rg controlled the area after clashes happened with the suiciders and with the armed people ended by killing four of them. what happened in this area that is located in baghdad neighborhood is not the only attack happened in baghdad. there was another attack happened just away from this attack and almost at the same

time in the area called eastern side of baghdad. according to the security source a car bomb blew up close to a cafe causing and killing seven people and injuring 21. and in diyalla province this was another bloody ra tack that sources there talking about double attack, double explosions, the first one was made or caused by a suicider was wearing a vest and the second one occurred minutes from the first one when a car bomb blew.close to a cafe. >> u.s. command in iraq is asking people from the town of ramadi to leave within the next 48 hours. coalition and forces are getting ready to target certain neighborhoods with air strikes and artillery. fighting has resumed between government forces and i.s.i.l,

dozens of government forces have been killed in several i.s.i.l. attacks. >> the government of canada has announce they'd one of its citizens hemmed in afghanistan by the taliban has been released. appeared in this video release bid the taliban in the following year. canada has thanked qatar for helping to secure his freedom. it is hoached that the hopee negotiations in islamabad will pave the way for talks to be resumed direct lid with the taliban. al jazeera's omar al saleh has more. >> the meeting was described as significant. delegates from afghanistan, pakistan, united states and china but none from the taliban. they'll be invited later if a framework deal is eventually agreed. the aim of monday's talks was to agree on a road map to achieve

peace with the taliban. pakistani leaders say the main objective is to get the most powerful group in the country to negotiate by given centers to abandon violence. >> it is therefore important that preconditions are not attached to the start of the negotiation process. this in our view will be counterproductive. secondly, proper sequencing of the actions in the process should be significant in paving the way with direct talks with the taliban group. >> the meeting is different and important. >> areas for peace is going to be opened to all those groups that are willing to come to the negotiation table. but with those who do not come to the negotiation table, both countries have already agreed to work out some very practical and significant steps in fighting.

>> the taliban has recently increased attacks and served more territory. most foreign troops ended combat operation and left in 2014, leaving behind a force of about 14,000 mostly average troops and the afghan army which is not ready to battle the taliban on its own. there is also pessimism and mistrust. >> we rely on god because only god can bring peace. we hope at this time it brings more outcome. >> we are not even hopeful because they have been talking over the last 15 years without result. >> reaching peace depends on a number of factors. the sincerity of the many regional and international

stakeholders. the challenges facing peace are big. the taliban is not unified and it is not clear if they will attend future peace talks. the group has previously said it will not negotiable while foreign troops remain in afghanistan. the government on the other hand, demands the taliban to denounce violence recognize it and accept the constitution. omar al saleh, al jazeera, kabul. you're watching the al jazeera newshour. stay with us, we have this coming up poop spanish royal scandal, where this princess may find herself in jail. and the final closure of a prison camp in goodman bay. and we have action from the tournament of champions. stay with you, if you can. surf's up!

mexico's government has released footage from moments before the capture of el chapo. joaquin guzman was finally arrested on friday after escaping from a maximum security prison six months ago. he faces possible extradition for trial to the united states. in a moment we're going to go and talk to our correspondent adam rainey about that. first united nations as we said. and here is the syrian ambassador. bashar jafari. >> talking points about the humanitarian situation in besieged areas. here of course i'm referring to my country, syria.the syrian government reiterates its

intention to cooperate fully with the office of icrc to deliver the humanitarian assistance to all the civilians affected in all the syrian territories without any discrimination. including the restive areas which is described 50 united nations as hard to reach areas or besieged areas. the syrian government reemphasizes that the issue of safety and security of the humanitarian workers is a priority. in addition to guaranteeing the dlifeguaranteeing thedelivery oo the affected groups. concerning the delivery of

humanitarian assistance to restive areas. adopted by the united nations itself since it reconsiders the delivery of certain humanitarian convoice due to safety and security concerns. certain security council members are ignoring the root causes of the humanitarianin humanitariann syria which are the terrorist acts conducted by i.s.i.l, al fattah army and the islamic front. and other affiliateterrorist groups. it is worth noting here that whenever the syrian army retakes an area from terrorist groups, the humanitarian -- sorry, or the syrian side reaches a reconciliation agreement the humanitarian situation in such

areas improves immediately. the syrian government has already requested through the ministry of foreign affairs from the office of resident coordinator of the united nations, in syria by its note 3746, dated 27 december, 27 december, 2015, to urgently deliver humanitarian assistance including medical assistance and fuel toal fo ufga and kefraya and madaya in the government of damascus country side. we would like to highlight that the humanitarian assistance seventh to madaya in mid october 2015 was sufficient for more than two months and this testimony was corroborated b the representative of the icrc in yshe syria a few days ago.

so there is no shortage of humanitarian assistance in madaya. the syrian government approved the requests of the resident coordinator unicef, wfp and icrc to deliver humanitarian assistance including million assistance to madaya and al fo youa and kefraya, the syrian government previous approved the request of the united nations and icrc to deliver humanitarian assistance to madaya and kefraya andal foua. and some humanitarian assistance has been looted by armed terrorist groups on several occasions and that's exactly what happened in madaya and

zebadani. furthermore the turkish authorities hindered the delivery ever humanitarian aid, the information concerning the humanitarian situation in madaya is based on false information. and totally ignores the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in other areas besieged by armed terrorist groups. the reality of the so-called besieged hard to reach areas is that some of those areas are controlled by terrorist groups groups.who are using civilians as human shields and other areas are besieged from the terrorist groups who are preventing the delivery of humanitarian assistance. meaning that the terrorist armed groups are two categories. one category is exerting besieging on the civilians from inside from within inside and

the other category is exerting besieging from outside. in kefraya and al foua, surrounding the two towns in idlib, i'm referring to idlib. but in madaya and zebadani the terrorists are inside, using the civilians as human shields from inside. whenever there's a step forward towards a political solution in syria certain incidents are fabricated to defame syrian government and to negatively impact the political process. i will get back to this point because it is very important. the examples of such incidents are many and happen before certain united nations council meetings. as well as before geneva 2 meeting and moscow 1 and moscow 2.

consult taiconsultative meeting. end of this month certain visional and supportive meetings in syria are not satisfied, that the syrian government is engaging positively in the political process. and thus, are trying to demonize it. and by the same vein torpedoing the meeting in geneva. and this is what we have here today. emanating from paris, after a meeting between the french president of the republic and a representative of one faction of the opposition. the syrian government upon a request from the undersecretary stephen o'brien, undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, approved on september 21st, 2015 the delivery of

humanitarian assistance to bludan, an adjacent town to madaya, and zebadani and to al salomia, el sabora and the government of hamma, syrian government identically letters containing applies about the secretary-general monthly report about the implementation of security council resolutions 2139, 2165 and 2191, contain details about the cooperation and facilitations offered by the syrian government to deliver humanitarian assistance to all areas without discrimination. i would strongly advise you to go back to these letters, official letters. all of them have been circulated as official documents emanating from the security council. i would like to refer to a

very important issue related to the targeting and destruction of oil and services infrastructure. in syria which the international coalition led by the united states. those attacks aim at destroying the capacities of the syrian people. and preventing development and reconstruction. they are also a continuation of the attacks that have been committed against many vital economic installations and have caused great economic and material losses. on january 3rd, 2016, the coalition targeted a water plant in the plains of raqqa government, which led to the destruction of the plant that used to provide about 650 cubic meters of clean drinking water for the neighboring towns and villages, before that and on october 10th, 2015, aircraft belonging to the -- to that same

coalition bombed the radwanea area east of the city targeting two power plants. the bombardment caused severe damage to the stations and took them out of service cutting off electricity to the area, the whole western area of aleppo, the losses amounted to $1.2 billion euros, in addition to such attacks on services fracture, thinfrastructure, thes infrastructures in the country were also targeted as you know and stolen by daesh and its tilted entities and shipped through turkish border to inside turkey to refineries owned by the son of erdogan, the turkish

president and from there to the port of jihan in escanderona area, the syrian part by turkey and to israel. it's very cheap and the turkish yeads. intermediaries. >> we are listening to the syrian envoy, backed up by the authorities that people are suffering from severe malnutrition. children may be starving.

i think we have my colleague james bays asking a question. >> others fabrications? >> yes indeed. and the main responsible for this fabrications is your own channel al jazeera and el arabea. it is not personal against you i have great esteem for you as a professional journalist but your channel is mainly responsible for fabricating these, hold on hold on i haven't finished yet for these fabrications and lies. today, 65 trucks entered madaya, el zabadani is kefraya and al fo uska, including medical supplies, two kefraya al foua and idlib, as well as zebadaya

in the syrian country side. >> how long -- why did it take so long for those trucks? >> hold on. first of all, we sent together, syrian government with the icrc and ocha on october 18th, humanitarian assistance capable of responding to the needs for more than two months the representative of the icrc in syrian and damascus appeared on the syrian tv, he would not appear on al jazeera, would you not call him on al jazeera. he appeared on -- no i'm at the united nations. >> you are free. >> you can cut the emission if you want. hold on hold on. on october the 18th, we sent humanitarian assistance enough

humanitarian assistance for more than two months. and the representative of the icrc corroborated this two days ago on the syrian tv saying there is no starvation problem in madaya this is where i want to arrive. hold on hold on hold on. this is october 18th. december 27th, we asked the resident coordinate to send immediately convoice of humanitarian assistance, again, to madaya and kefraya and al foua. the dunn not send. when we asked them why you didn't they say we are facing logistical problems. today, 65 trucks. why it took so long as you said? actually it will there were no starvation in madaya. the problem was that huge humanitarian assistance and medical assistance was distributed ininside madaya as i said, october, december, and

now. the main problem is that the armed terrorist groups steal the convoys and the trucks, and they deviate them to their own warehouses and storage. and then they resell it to the civilians with ur with, you kno, prohibittant prices and the civilians cannot afford it. the problem is this, the terrorists are stealing from syrian red crescent as well as from the united nations and they are keeping these assistance in their warehouses and then they use it as a leverage of political and financial gain for them to survive. >> mr. ambassador do you say mr. ambassador that your government is not using starvation as means of war and do you say that the u.n. all these officials are lying?

>> this is an old joke what you have heard from you. i want you to be responsible when you address this issue. i explain to you, i was explaining to the gentleman, and i'm explaining to you once again, the syrian government did not stop any convoice of humanitarian assistance. on the contrary. we sent plenty of convoice and we asked the u.n. to send more. but more you send to these terrorists, they are terrorists. do you think they are angels? of course they will confiscate this humanitarian assistance and use it as a matter of gaining on the detriment of the civilian popping. population. so the syrian government is not and will not exert any policy of starvation against its own people. here we are talking about syrian people. while these terrorists i am referring to from harad al sham, daesh, 90% are foreigners, they

are from turkistan,ing china, of course i'm not referring to the chinese government, of course i'm referring to the gulf states regimes who are bringing these terrorists from the four corners of the globe and sending them to syria with our border with turkey. tunisian, saudis, you name it. you name it. >> ambassador, ocha, according to ocha, there are around 400,000 people in besieged areas. and they say that 181,000 are under -- in areas besieged by the government. do you deny this here on the camera and also, did you -- >> deny what? deny what? >> deny the ocha reports. >> okay. >> that there are 181,000 people in besieged areas in syria? and also, did you receive the

list of the opposition figures who are going to attend peace talks in geneva? >> to be accurate, just for accuracy, to appear in this conversation, i'm denying that 180,000, you said 400,000, you didn't say 180,000. >> 181,000, besieged by the government. that's what ocha say, 400,000 by daesh and 1500 in kefraya from the opposition. >> somebody was on the ground and he calculated 181,000? >> that's what ocha say. >> okay, the answer, the answer is that not only 181,000 and maybe 15, 181,015, led me add 15

to the individuals, we are talking about syria being besieged by enemies by criminals by murderers by hostile governments targeting the whole syrian people. a reality. it is not about 180,000. it's about 23 million syrians besieged by economic sanctions by terrorists crossing from turkey from jordan from lebanon from iraq. this is a reality. the whole syrian people is under besiege and those that are crying on the syrian people when they sink in the mediterranean are the ones who are responsible for this. because they are imposing economic sanctions on the syrian people. which means, which results in cutting jobs, and employment, dismantlement, dismantling of factories from idlib to turkey,

1131 factories were dismantled from syrian and moved to turkey. when you do that and add economic sanctions and send terrorists there all over to syrian there is of course a humanitarian situation in syria. we are not denying it. but we should hold accountable those that are the real perpetrators of the situation. >> secretary-general of the united nations has said that as many as 250,000 people have died since the beginning of the conflict in syria. hillary clinton and senator graham, they talked about the syrian government as being responsible for 250,000 deaths alone. can you give us the indication of what you think the death toll is and why syria doesn't systematically provide that information to the united nations? >> we are providing that information almost on a daily basis to all the reporters. would i like you to be referred

to the reports that we provided almost every week, military operation taking place on the syrian soil. this is number one. number 2 when you refer to figures, nobody could double check these figures or triple check them. we are not sure about these figures. sometimes there is an exaggeration on everything as you know. so it may be higher than 250,000. this is what i'm saying. i'm not saying that it is less than 250. it might be higher than 250,000 and this is what i was trying to explain to our gentleman here. that we have a problem, yes we have a problem here because we are a victim of too many examines exercises, so evidently, people are suffering. evidently people are leaving the country. evidently there are refugees here and there. evidently there are people displaced from here and there.

because those economic sanctions exerted on the syrian people, resulted in the unemployment high unemployment rate, no jobs, as i said, the factories are stolen and shipped to turkey. and then terrorists are coming from all over the world. could you believe that we have 3,000 terrorists from turkistan that are chinese, they came to a village near aleppo with their own families and they are established there after slaughtering the syrian citizens who lived there. they took their homes their land their houses and they killed many of their children and wives. and now they are declaring themselves an islamic 'e 'em ra. emirate. >> this is syrian's ambassador to the united nations giving an

impassioned briefing to recorders outside the security council, members of the security council have just been given a briefing from stephen o'brien, and jafari flatly refuting any suggestions that the syrian government is starving people within certain areas in madaya, he says those who are doing the starving are the terrorists who are controlling these towns. using these civilians as human shields, that aid has been delivered enough aid he says, athe peoplathe people in controd stolen that aid and had moved it on for their own end. consumexcuse me. the subject of one of the

attacks, one floor above that position now, diplomatic editor james bays. jafari, the ambassador for united nations, such stations as al jazeera and el jafaria are responsible for showing pictures of children gaunt and terrified, he says this has nothing whatsoever to do with his people. the terrorists steal the food and the syrian government will not starve its own people. what did you make of that? >> reporter: well, it's interesting because there seem to be two different arguments coming from the ambassador for president assad who still holds the syrian seethe at the united nations. one it was a complete fabrication, wasn't true at all. and then the second argument was it wasn't his government's fault

and it was actually opposition forces who had been holding these people as human shields but he seemed to completely crick what mancontradict what il aid agencies have said, of the scale of madaya. almost 42,000 people remaining in madaya are at risk of hunger and starvation. the u.n. was saying there. he's saying it is nothing to do with his government that there was plenty of food brought in in october, but the u.n. will tell you they have been trying get permission to get into madaya for weeks to get in there to bring more aid there. he says adequate aid was brought in, in october and it was stolen by opposition forces. it's are worth reminding you that the u.n. even over the weekend had do t 0 do had to doc negotiation.

had not agreed on much on are syria but humanitarian access even the russians and the chinese voted for that access. the opposition force he must give access to humanitarian agencies to get their supplies in and clearly, supplies have not got into madaya. it's interesting that i think we're going to hear the end of the security council meeting, they've been discussing mali they're also going to be discussing yemen and the situation in syria. they were in open session on the discussion on mali, the rest of i.t.'s iit's on closed session. the countries taking the humanitarian lead are new zealand and spain and certainly we expect to hear from the new zealand ambassador to the united nations. i think you'll hear a very different story from from him. >> james what do you think, you talked about the contradictory arguments put together by

ambassador jafari, he was quoting the international committee of the red cross and red crest ents as going on syrian television, we being al jazeera wouldn't carry such, but enough aid had been going on for two months and enough coming in later on and yet it was probably only amatter of four or five days ago i was talking from somebody from the international committee of the red cross that said exactly the opposite. how can he say this basically? >> well, yes. one of the international agencies that is being the most outspoken on the situation in madaya is the international committee of the red cross and red crescent making these comments from their negotiation

with the syrian government they finally got these convoys through. i don't think they would put so much effort into it if they didn't think it was a real humanitarian effort. obviously any wawr and th any ws of any war, it seems on this particular occasion, he's still there talking to reporters on the floor below me, the syrian ambassador seems to have a much different interpretation than everyone else in the humanitarian community. >> his main point it's not 400,000 people being besieged but 23 million people all the population of syria who are being besieged by foreign governments. james bays our dploi diplomatic editors from the united nations.

okay, let's use the last 15 minutes or so here to bring you other world headlines. in germany four foreigners have been hurt in gang attacks in cologne. accusations that arab and north african men sexually abused women on new year's eve. chancellor says she wants to reduce the number of refugees coming inta the country. dominic kane has the story. >> political storm raised by the attacks shows no sign of ending. more than 500 people have now come forward to complain of being attacked on the night. police say 40% of the allegation relate to sexual assaults. and where at first officials seemed hesitant to identify those who carried out the crimes now state interior minister says foreigners were to blame and this was not acknowledged soon enough. >> translator: i support an

error culture which means that if mistakes were made the mistakes are named. and if this happens openly honestly and transportly, the ts happens rather hopsly where the reasons for that night lie. >> reporter: the question of how to deal with the issues raised by the numbers of refugees who have come to germany in recent years is growing ever louder. on saturday rival demonstrations were held in cologne city center one of around 300 supporters of the antiislamic group pegida, one of around 1300 opponents of the far right group. then on monday night, another pegida rally was held this time in the eastern city of liep lei, there are increasing number of

people with more moderate views who are beginning to question the government's policy on refugees. the chancellor angela merkel has been on the forefront of those calling for tolerance and germans and refugees to embrace the challenge of tolerance. but refugees who commit crimes should face the full force of the law. >> translator: we know since the terrible events that night in cologne, we need an openness in society but the refugees need to be able to follow our rules and values as well. >> reporter: if there are to be tougher measures for asylum seekers who commit such offenses they first have to be agreed here at the federal level in the german capital. we understand the interior and justice ministers are already discussing what practical solutions can be found. dominic kane, al jazeera, berlin. >> you're watching the al jazeera newshour.

i'm david foster. we're going to take a short break and when we come back, we'll examine the musical career of david bowie, who died just a couple of days before he was 69. he had cancer.

>> 1947 to 2016, just the begins of 2016, the musician david bowie, died, from cancer, he

only had about 18 months. breaking through with mainstream success in 1969 with space orderrity. bowie defined modern pop music in many ways, versatile, had the ability to transform his sound his image, reinventing himself, more than once, one time as the glam star ziggy stardust. madonna said bowie had changed her life. reporting on a live that transformed music. ♪ >> icon innovate,ivive, one of e most recognized performers in the world. born david jones in 1947, bowie

rose to fame with the 1969 single, space orderrity. oddity. in the area of london where he was born, fans paid tribute. >> 1977 and i walked into adisco i heard heros, i heard of him previously but that just charmed me. >> he would take rule book chuck it out and start all over again. >> in a career spanning six decades he became a global success and a master of reinvention. none more so than as zigy stardust. >> that's the way i do my station. that's part of what bowie supposedly would have done. i'm an actor. >> turn and face the strange ch ch changes ♪

>> profile but flamboyant bowie never stood still. he constantly transformed his image and reinvented himself musically. he also carved out a successful career in film and on the stage. >> what is remarkable as well about this extraordinary trajectory is that it's basically it's an album a yore, an album every 18 months. writing, recording, touring and at the same time, you know, moving on to the next project. i mean it's incredible speed, incredible kind of dedication to himself. and to his conceptual ideas. ♪ put on your red shoes and dance ♪ >> this all david bowie released 25 albums. a stream of new material brought him new generations of fans. which helped him keep one step ahead of his rivals.

david bowie was 69. he'd released what would be his final album black star on friday. ♪ ♪ >> emma hayward, al jazeera in london. >> and we're going to bring in robert bound. the extraordinary thing about that video that's just been released is at the very end he seems to be signing a will standing up and closing himself inside a cupboard assuming the lid would be closing on his life very soon. >> i feel like black star this album came out on friday, we're monday evening talking about it here david in london, that seems to be one of the last most amazing performance art he did, the way in which he passed away. you can't plan these things to

the nth degree but that itself was planned and perfect, pitch-perfect and kind of perfect performance right until the end. >> most of the people we saw today are a fan. i'm a fan, my wife's a much bigger fan than i am. so many people would say come on that's so -- but with this man it's the perfect adieu. >> the the tributes are not an easy way to get critical, to the legend to the man on the street, everyone is shedding tears because it's so shocking. the man was 69, only just -- so it's a deep deep shock especially after wees we' we'd d to him releasing influence material and it was good. >> he's been quiet for a very long time. in fact he never was quiet.

he was prolific. >> 27 albums, something like 11 live albums, that's a lot of material, stuff that straddled everything from drum and base to space odyssey, and his arm around nick rumson. >> i remember space oddity. >> he always refused to do, he would chuck a couple in and i suppose the man that made art into pop and pop into art. and was never too ironic. never too arch to smile on top of the pop and smile at interviews. >> thank you, thank you very much indeed. you've been watching the newshour, we're going to end with david bowie. ♪ living life a king

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>> ing help arrives in the besieged town in madaya, the government denies that people there are starving. you're watching al jazeera live from london with me david foster. also coming up in this program program.at least 19 died in a siege in a shopping mall in the iraqi capital. recapturing el chapo. the mexican government releases pictures of friday's raid on the drug boss's hideout. >> ground control to major tom