>> ♪ if i could touch your body everybody ♪ days ofhe less you 2016, we lose yet another music legend. george michael, the 53-year-old british artist, dying of suspected heart failure. russian authorities are saying either pilot error or a technical problem was likely to be the cause of sunday's plane crash over the black sea. 92 people on board were killed, with the fuselage just being

retrieved in the last hour by rescue workers. and shattering the world record for sailing around the world, having finished the voyage in just 49 days. hello and welcome to "france 24." iamb annette young. tribute are pouring in after the announcement that george michael, the artist who sold tens of millions of albums, died heads home -- died at his home atengland on christmas day 53 years old of suspected heart failure per george michael becoming an icon of 1980's pop with wham! wascareer as a solo artist often tinged with controversy that make him one of the top-selling singers of all time and cemented his legendary state. .> the world in shock

american singer madonna was among the first to react. on twitter, she wrote, "farewell, my friend. another great artist leaves us." elton john's duet with michael, " don't let the sun go down on me." he wrote -- i am in deep shock, i have lost a most beloved friend. my heart goes out to his friends and family. a costar, andrew ridgely, also said he was heartbroken. robbie williams, leroux also shed their -- also said condolences. >> i admire him as an artist. of all thed because

artists that have gone this year. they seem to be forgotten. heartfelt most tribute came from lgbt activists around the world, including in taiwan, where he is celebrated as a gay icon and a strong supporter of gay rights. was a very brave person who stayed true to himself. it was beautiful. the fact that he passed away makes me sad. he counts as a very special icon in the gay community and he lived through amazing times. i think he left this world happy. waseorge michael particularly famous in asia. the firstham! became western pop band to play and china's beijing was slowly opening up to the outside world. annette: we spoke with music

journalist matt thompson. the ability to make these really fun pop songs that everybody could engage with and understand within one lesson. go-go"e up for for you is just fun. all that is about. a songhristmas" alone is i have heard a dozen times in the last week before this happened. it is just a real shame that we will forever associate him with this christmas now, 2016. createdom this man who fun, bubbly songs, he also was a great there is a spirit when he was 17, he wrote "careless whisper." when you analyze the lyrics, you wonder how he was capable of

doing that. it is very simple. to dance againng these guilty feet have got no rhythm." experiencedmore music writer would be proud to write in their 30's or 40's in the prime of their career. he wrote it as a teenager as he was making his way. he did had a lot of problems that he did have a lot of palms as he went on. he -- he did have a lot of problems as he went on. he never felt comfortable in the limelight, yet the limelight was permanently thrust upon him. he had problems with the police come with drugs, with himself for most. fun and heas always was always a real showman. annette: mark thompson on the death of george michael. moving on -- russian authorities are saying either pilot error or

a technical fault is likely to be the cause of sunday's plane crash over the black sea. all 92 people on board the military aircraft died when it crashed two minutes after taking off from sochi airport. in the last hour or so, rescue workers have retrieved parts of the fuselage and the bodies of passengers, including dozens of members of the famed red army choir. our correspondent reports. >> over 30,000 rescue workers continue to calm the waters of the black sea, where the plane crashed sunday minutes after takeoff. all 92 people on board are believed to have died. divers have recovered around a dozen bodies as well as fragments of the aircraft. but there is still no sign of the plane's black boxes, which could help confirm the cause of the crash. a state commission is carrying out an investigation, and

russia's transport minister has ruled out terrorism. >> the reason for the crash could be a technical fault or a pilot error. >> exchanges between the crew and traffic control did not include reports of malfunction, t-154 is known for technical issues. it went out of fashion in 1994 and has a history of accidents. in 2010, 1 crashed in russia, killing all 96 passengers, including the polish president. commercial airlines stopped using it, but the military continues to operate the plane. the passengers on sunday press flight included journalists, russian servicemen, and 60 -- ers of the alexandra -- russia has been carrying out airstrikes from the base in

support of moscow's ally, bashar al-assad. moscow: all correspondent, thomas lowe, has more on how russians are reacting to the crash. moscow,across russia, in sochi, people are leaving candles and flowers on the waterfront near where the plane crashed. outside of the headquarters of the red army choir, 64 those members died on the way to syria. also a famous russian humanitarian. on the tv.famous people are leaving flowers .utside of her office as well some people, notably the head of the human rights council in russia, suggest she should be an officer of the church.

they have not spoken out on that, but this is an outpouring of grief, on this day of mourning, a native closure. annette: at least 35 people are said to have been killed in a massacre in the democratic republic of congo. officials say it happened in a northern province over the weekend. in two separate attacks. a militia killed at least 13 two civilians on sunday. u civilians. the government has been blaming the deaths on a group dominated by muslims from muslims from uganda. a typhoon that spoiled christmas day for many across the philippines is now weakening as it hits -- as it heads toward manila.

power, displacing thousands of villages. has sustained wind of 140 kilometers now. alexander hearst reports. alexander: christmas was cut short for hundreds of thousands in the largely christian philippines. the typhoon hit the eastern island province on sunday evening, forcing 100,000 people to evacuate from coastal areas. >> we have no choice but to evacuate. it is better for us to stay here then be washed away by the waves. >> after making landfall with the wind is strong as 185 kilometers per hour, the storm weakened to 130 kilometers per hour before passing over manila. disaster authorities said they had prepared by pre-positioning supplies and road clearing

equipment. power and communications are slowly being restored to some areas, and transportation is restarting for the thousands left stranded by the storm. it will continue toward southern vietnam, where it is expected to arrive by the end of the week. season average of 20 typhoons a year. this is the largest to hit the nation since it's deadliest left ever, in 2013, which 7000 people that are missing. annette: in sporting news, christmas 2016 is a day to mark that is significant, the day the world record for solo sailing was shattered. the french skipper finishing the .oyage just 49 days he arrived in western france earlier. let's listen to what he had to say. being leader makes this the most beautiful day of my career. i have gotten a lot of joy for

working on projects for other leaders, but today i was leader, and it is definitely the most satisfying of anything. and mentally it is the third chapter. emotionally, i/o it to my amazing crew. it to my amazing crew. >> brian quinn has more on his record voyage. end of anrs from the epic journey, overcome by waves of emotion. >> you are now approaching french waters. we want to wish you a warm welcome back. >> thank you. thank you so much. by nightfall, his tremendous feat was official. alone on a 31 meter trimaran, the frenchman had saved around the world in just 49 days, demolishing previous world record. we are in the southern

hemisphere, making great time. >> starting out on november 6, he never eased off a breakneck pace. he shared the full day off the record as he rounded africa. by cape horn, he was four days ahead. by the finish line, he slashed eight days off the record, sent by a fellow freshman. >> it took an enormous amount of work, preparation, and courage. if you capsize, you are dead. it is not like a regular boat. -- it isy rough >> very rough. >> 50 days, all alone, going around the world. throughout the voyage, he he slept only 30 minutes at a stretch. on sunday, one final night at sea, joined by his technical team. seven exhausting weeks finally over, the celebration just getting started. annette: in many countries it is

sales after the christmas period, and already the resulting chaos has begun. australian shoppers try to take advantage of the doors opening for one of the busiest days of the year in australian shops. their doorss opened at 5:00 in the morning. to launch the post-christmas sales. the attempt to grab customers first is extremely fierce. that is it for this edition print stay with us on "france 24."

> a city on the silk road. it is here in the former capital that our journey begins. founder lies in this mausoleum. today, pilgrims are gathering around a different tune, a the tune -- the tune of karim bo bo, as he is known here. >> we cried for three days. my son cried, too. he said let's go see him. that is why i brought him along.

haso other country developed as much in 25 years no one has been such a president, such a king in 25 years. our first president, our first father. uzbekistan plus leader died this august. he rolled his country with an iron fist. police guardr of his tomb. filming is strickland prohibited. we have a camera with us and keep another camera rolling. -- filming is strictly prohibited. we have a camera with us and keep another camera rolling. once a short prayer is finished, a policeman urges the weeping programs to leave the area. we tried to stay, but an agent

become suspicious. camera and tries to delete the images. foreign journalists are not welcome in his back a stand. in uzbekse pakistan -- us thkistan. it is one of the main distractions for the 2 million tourists to visit every year. >> i really, really wonder about the image that we have of this

--istan -- of whose pakistan i really asked myself that question. seem happy, in any case? here with the story of dictatorship in our minds. but we have not felt it. of theaunched many construction projects that helped improve his country's emmett. for years, the government has been restoring and rebuilding its monuments. , they hire aists guide. this acropolis has been refurbished, almost from the ground up. >> these mausoleums were half destroyed in 2004 at the initiative of our respected president. issuedncil of ministers a decree ordering comprehensive

restoration work be carried out over two years. domes were in ruin. >> the old city is changing. they are day. -- day by day. and in these suburbs, to the north, a new city is appearing. gdp growth is at a blistering 8% per year, one of the fastest developing economies in the world. that development is too hard to miss. in this five kilometer stretch of road, governments pay companies to build whole new suburbs here. in two years' time.

>> the city is being rebuilt. all of it. we are tearing down the wooden huts and buildings from the 1960's. --the council of presidents the council the president says there will be a new >> rail line here. just like -- dark of these workers have nothing but compliments for the former president. >> everything is done for the people. it will be comfortable, spacious. side,h the camera to one the supervisor -- are from arkers colony. you miss not film them. they do different types of work. >> it is impossible to find out more. we are being watched closely by security. , they are nottan

the only ones used as forced labor. students should be back in classes by mid-october. yet the corridors are empty. on the main entrance, there is a poster of the coming presidential election. where are the students? we cannot see anyone. >> in the cotton fields. and maycame from meeting about that. >> the students, the teachers, all the civil servants bring in the cotton. there is a large field not far away. they get everyone together here, and buses arrive to take them. >> uzbekistan is the world's second largest exporter of cotton. last year it exported 350,000 tons. that level of production has been achieved since the soviet seasonalse of a mass

use of workers. he was taken to court because he criticized. >> that is the local branch of the interior ministries. they detained me here for nearly two months while they carried out their investigation. >> he has been out on parole since then. >> if you bring up the subject of cotton in the public sphere, they label you as an enemy of the people straight away. >> it is a sensitive topic for authorities. he contacted in a queens so we could film in a cotton field. -- he contacted an acquaintance so that we could film in a cotton field. .his man supervises he has two right in his notebook

the motive cotton gathered by each worker. >> these are villagers. they make 70 kilos per day. they receive a leader of butter and one kilo of -- do people ever say that's enough, we are not going to pick any more cotton? that never happens. they are here of their own free will. >> we do not argue the point. the supervisor is taking a large risk by letting us be here. the farmer and owner of the field has to fulfill reduction quotas imposed by the state. the workers stick to the same line. target they say let's go and bring whose pakistan --bring uzbekistan cotton. our contribution for our families and our country. this woman brings in 130 kilos a day.

>> we have to leave. he waits until we are in the car to clarify what we just saw. >> they always repeat the same thing, that they are volunteers. some cannot tell the truth openly because the others are listening. we soon realize we have been denounced ourselves. a few kilometers further, we stopped by the police. despite precautions, it quickly became clear this is no room routineap -- this is no traffic check. >> they wanted question us separately. the problems are beginning. >> the police give a pretext to justify the questioning. >> it is an election tell. punto.is an election

they want to see images of the cotton field. >> for the last stage of our journey, we take a brand-new train and head to the east of the country. in 2005, in this town of 400,000 people, anti-regime protests were brutally put down. . massacre carried out at the time the city was in circle by the army. the official version is that all those killed -- hundreds were killed here on the main square and have been used later, even using the hidden camera.

witnesses to the massacre are still scared to speak. >> there was a protest here. -- they fired.my they get the thingngs, children, women, old men and old women -- anderson people were killed. about 3000 died. >> nothing in particular happened here, everything is fine. >> nothing is old. there are rumors. people just say whatever comes into their heads. and nothing happens. and it is not true. no one will believe it, in any case. >> it does not take long to understand why. they are posing as tourists because of the feeling we are being followed.

every time we turn around, men in the streets duck and hide for

singer: ♪ i raise my arms to the sky i'm not afraid anymore i will walk through that door yeah walk, dance, rise walk, d dance, rise ♪ laura: it was in the middle of the raging of world war i that responding to a call by a dutch woman doctor, 1,300 women made ththeir way from araround the w.