They do not think terrorism was to blame. Russia has been holding a day of mourning. Youll go to moscow for more. Christopher good to have you with us. The world of music is in mourning over another huge loss. British pop idol George Michael, who died on sunday at the age of 53. His manager says the cause was heart failure. Tributes have been flooding in all day. Fans have been laying flowers outside of his home for a man who wrote and sang some of the most enduring hits of the 1980s and 1990s. First as part of the pop duo wham then as a solo artist. Everything must change reporter the world bids farewell to a pop icon. Early in the mourning, people began to leave tributes outside of George Michaels home. One note read, rest in peace with the angels. Fellow stars from the world of music expressed grief at the loss. Elton john posted on instagram, i have lost a beloved friend. The kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. George michaels part is in wham said he was heartbroken. Partner in wham said he was heartbroken. Wham shot to fame in the 1980s with infectious hits like wake me up before you gogo. International megastardom came when George Michael went solo in the late 1980s. Songs like faith and i want your sex took him to a new level. Early in his career, George Michael hid his homosexuality. Something he later said made him feel fraudulent. A series of unhappy events and scandals followed his career peak in the 1990s. His mother died, as did his partner. And he was dogged by Health Problems and brushes with the law. But the singer always found a way to come back. After the hits faded, he expanded his repertoire. The new material had reinvigorated his voice. I can feel myself singing every night. Reporter you will always be known for classic hits like last christmas. The loss of such a huge star, aged just 53, left fans outside his London Residence in shock. I cannot believe we are standing here. I cant believe were standing here and george has passed away. Euros songs for the good times and bad times. We came here today just to say thank you, george. Reporter George Michael is gone, but his music remains. I think im through christopher were good we are going to get a personal perspective on this from this man, richard blade. You can see him standing in the 1980s next to George Michael and andrew. This was whams first tour. Richard, thank you very much for joining us. You tweeted that photo earlier today. You have known George Michael since the 1980s, since that first wham tour. What went through your head when you heard the news . Richard complete shock. I think the audience in southern california, where i am broadcasting from right now, is also in shock. I have a radio show that goes across the u. S. And canada and people cannot believe it. It is like a huge part of their youth has just disappeared because george was such an incredible songwriter, and incredible performer. Just an incredible person. Christopher richard, you saw him from that very early phase of his career. Hes on develop from a teenage sensation, as it were, to a global megastar. Defame change him . Did fame change him . Richard i think george always wanted to be a pop star but he was not one of these people who surrounded himself with bodyguards and push you away. He was always open to his fans. I knew george from the very beginning. I did the very first tv interview with him in america. He came with me to two of my club gigs. They came to my gigs and performed to the songs i was playing. They had so much fun. Knowing him years later, he still had that sense of excitement about him when he would go on stage and perform a song that perhaps he had been working on for a while. Afterwards he would be like, did i do good . He knew he did good because the audience went crazy, when he was that kind of person. It did not go to his head. He could not have been a nicer guy, despite the fact he was a multimillionaire and worldfamous. Christopher what should we remember them for . His music on his activism, his sense of humor . Richard all three. First and foremost, as well as a friend, i am a huge fan. I remember his music. Wake me up before you gogo, that was the pop side of George Michael. Then he became serious. Faith, father figure just amazing that he was able to perform them. And write and produce them as well. He had the depth of talents. He is one of those people will come along very rarely, and it is ironic that we started the year my losing an artist like George Michael in the form of david bowie. Halfway through the year we lose another are missed, another artist, prince. Now george himself. It has been a terrible year for great performers and good people. Christopher richard, many thanks for that. Richard blade talking to us from the u. S. Richard thank you. Christopher there has been a day of National Mourning in russia. A military plane crash into the black sea on sunday killing all 92 on board. Some fragments have been retrieved. The flight recorders have yet to be found. Authorities have widened the search. Investigators currently believe that human error or a technical fault are most likely to have caused the crash. Reporter a country in mourning. At the port of saatchi so sheet or site of the crash, people gathered near socchi, people have gathered to remember the victims. Most of the victims, singers and dancers of russias prized lexandrov ensemble. These were the scenes outside their headquarters in moscow. My grandfather sang in this ensemble 1940s and 1950s. This group is close to my heart. It is impossible to believe what has happened. Reporter the performers were on their way to syria. They were going to give a new years concert to Russian Troops there. Claim they were on the plane stopped in sasi socchi to refuel. If human is later it plunged into the black sea. A massive search for bodies is underway. More than 3000 people have been deployed to the operation. Divers have found fragments of the plane in the search area. Using acoustic imaging, we have established a radius of about 500 meters over which the wreckage has been spread. Reporter authorities are also still trying to locate the planes black box which is expected to give more answers. Christopher lets go to our moscow correspondent. The authorities have not yet found flight recorders. What more can you tell us about the possible cause of the crash . Nick the investigators are still focusing their inquiries mainly on human error and technical fault is the most likely cause. This was an old plane built in 1983. Lots of questions are being asked as to how this plane could have disappeared from the radar screen quite so quickly without making a mayday call. Today the Russian Media have been dancing new theories. Potentially the quality of the fuel used, baby problems with the distribution of a load within the plane. At the moment it is all speculation. I think it will be difficult to get conclusive answers until the black box recorders are found. We have her from investigators but they are confident they will be found soon. Christopher terrorism as a cause of this crash hasnt put very, very low down the investigators list. They have not ruled it out what they believe it is unlikely. Nick that is right. Intelligence agencies came out today saying that they were not assuming a terrorist link in this case. They did not rule it out fully. I think you have to remember that the russian authorities to have a track record of being very cautious about admitting to links to terrorism in this kind of crash, particularly sensitive cases to do with plane downing spirit i think it is a little early to totally discount the option of foul play in the situation. Christopher it is been a day of mourning in russia. How have russians been marking the day . Nick we have seen flags and has half mast. Even the tv schedules comedies being pulled as a mark of respect. It is a catastrophe that is resonating with a lot of people, given the variety of people who fell victim to the crash. It is something you did notice in moscow when you are talking to people today. Christopher reporting from moscow. Were getting reports of the prime suspect in last mondays terror attack in berlin was caught on film by surveillance cameras. It seems to indicate that the Tunisian National may have passed through on his way to milan where he was shot dead by a policeman on friday. Meanwhile, the funeral has taken place of for the time woman who died in the attack. Reporter a town in mourning as it bids farewell to one of its own. She was one of the 12 victims in berlin. A painful time for this attire in town this italian town, as it was for countless others. The entire town is mourning because a fellow citizen passed away after the tragic incident in berlin. I know her votto i know her father and her family. Theyre very good people. They work hard for the children. Another daughter has died in these tragic circumstances. It was very touching, but there is also a lot of dignity. There was a lot of dignity from the relatives and the parents, and the grandmother. Reporter it has been a week since the terrible tragedy struck the german capital. The site of a truck ramming into wooden stalls, causing death and destruction, is still fresh. Berlin, a citys guard by war and clinical division, must once again grapple with its with those who want to attack us freedom. Christopher authorities in colombia is a human error rather than mechanical filler it was to blame for a plane crash last month. Colombian aviation authorities to the plane had run out of fuel for a good land. Investigators say they base their findings on the planes black boxes and other evidence. 71 died on the crash. Six survives, one of whom later succumbed to his injuries. Youre watching dw news spirit so to come, a typical this one is in gaza, where good news is thin. Google is hoping to change that. We will find out more after this very short break. Stay with us. Christopher welcome back. When of our top stories at the moment, search teams find fragments of a russian plana crashed yesterday into the black sea. Authorities say they do not think terrorism was to blame. Russia has been holding a day of mourning for the 92 people on board, all of whom died. Time to look at the stories this year that really shook up the german business community. Reporter indeed, we want to take a look back and review some of those events that sent shockwaves across the business world, starting with deutsche bank. Germanys biggest lender has been in hot water for quite some time. A string of scandals damaged the reputation and led to huge fines, including the last 7 billion settlement with the u. S. Last week. They are cutting costs through layoffs. Some 9000 jobs will be lost, almost half of those in germany alone. Another german industry giant, bayer, created headlines when it announced it will take over u. S. Giatn monsanto for 59 billion euros, making it the biggest takeover in german history. And then of course, volkswagen. The carmaker is still reeling from the admissions scandal that broke more than one year ago. The w had to pay the price for cheating customers. It will cost the company at least 50 billion. It is the employees who will feel the pinch. It is having a huge impact on factories and their staff. Here is our report from one of their major production locations in germany. Reporter shift change at volkswagens plant in germany. 6500 workers here produce internal combustion engines for a variety of brands, but the transition to electric motors will make a lot of jobs here superfluous. It is a bitter pill to follow swallow. As far as traditional engine production is concerned, there is uncertainty spreading about what will happen with diesel engines. You cannot have 100 certainty, but there is anxiety in the air. Somehow it has got to keep going. You have got to accept it. Somehow or another it will carry on. They need the workers come otherwise nothing will get made. Reporter the engine plant is the regions biggest taxpayer. However, the costs of the scandal has been that vws tax payments has slumped. That has ripped a huge hole in the budget year, most 50 of income. It has had a massive effect on the budget. We have had to become really restricted. Speaking as the chair of the financial committee, he will also have to tighten our belts going forward. We cannot afford any bigticket items now. No big investments. We have lost millions. Reporter the threat of job loss is compounded, though the region has a Strong Industrial base. Five Major Companies are here. Heavy industry provides 40,000 jobs here. But if electric motor production is ramped up here, the entire labor market will have to change genetically. Instead of metal workers, the demand will be for electrical engineers. The big question is whether or not well manage to get enough skilled workers for the electromobility sector. He once working in the engine plants to have the qualifications to make a direct transition to electrotechnology. Reporter the winds of change are blowing here. The workers are open for more time to give them a chance to a daft or prepare for a more uncertain future. Lets get more detail. So much going on. We have been following this fallout for more than a year. What is the plan of vw to get themselves to move back on track . The good news for them is there is a plan. It is a threepronged strategy. The first one is they want to save 3. 7 billion euros a year starting in 2020 through efficiency measures like job cuts. The second is a marked increase their footprint in the u. S. By stern to build ecars in 2021. They also want to become the Global Market leader in selling ecars. They want to produce one million ecars in 2025. The now produce 4. 4 million cars annually. This will represent a huge chunk of their output. There is a plan and a process ongoing, but obviously they might not be out of the was yet. It is a very important figure to take a look at how the w has actually performed this year. What is your take . Looking at this historically, we know the dieselgate scandal has hit the company. It hit in 2015, after that they had their first quarterly loss in 15 years. Today, we have a latest quarterly figures showing that their back to profit. They are back to profit. In november they even increased market share year on year. He further away we get from this incident the less of an impact we see on sales. What conversation is necessary. But conversation is necessary. What are they to do to make up . A u. S. Court approved a settlement. They can expect to get 5000 volkswagen agreed another settlement for bigger cars that brent that belong to other companies. In the u. S. Alone, 17 billion. The omissions gamble scandal affected many. The bill will only get higher. Thank you. The gaza strip is known for many things. Start up Tech Companies do not spring to mind. Google started in incubator in gaza city. Providing support and mentoring young tech entrepreneurs. Reporter hip young people, a creative atmosphere, and witty slogans on the wall. This start of incubator looks like it could be anywhere in the world. But it is in gaza. It offers young Internet Companies a place to meet and work. They can develop and Work Together a huge challenge in gaza. We have a lot of difficulties in gaza but the biggest problem is the siege and the blockade. They have talent what they cannot expand because they cannot take part in competitions or events outside gaza like in the arab world or in america. Reporter but the internet knows no boundaries or wall spewed the gaza strip is old is home to many welleducated young people. Under the 2000 graduates add to the next. But Job Opportunities are scarce. The i. T. Building is a ray of hope. More than 50 young people work your everyday. They experiment with new apps, websites and programs. He is among them. The 21yearold has developed an arab language platform which makes it companies and mentors to connect. The biggest problem entrepreneurs from gaza have is not being able to raise our international profile. The world outside is not know a god is and what is happening here, and they do not know about do not know what gaza is and what is happening here. The biggest problem is no one knows about us. Reporter google has provided 900,000 a start of capital for the project. Many startup incubators across the globe, many women work here. Information technologies offers one of the few opportunities to go beyond gaza and network with others, even if it is only in the virtual world. That is your latest news from the business tax desk. Christopher today is boxing day, that means plenty of action in the english premier league. The day started with this unfamiliar site. Masks of their star striker, jamie. A protest at his threegame ban. He himself even wore a mask. They lost 20 anyway. He missed chelseas clash. You can see him in the stands. They cruised to a 30 win, their 12th victory in a row. Manchester united, th31. Before we go, a reminder of our top story. British superstar George Michael has died at the age of 53. He sold more than 100 million records during his long career as part of the pop duo wham and as a solo artist. Were going to leave you with his unforgettable voice. Do stay with us. Careless whispers of a good friend in the heart and mind reach the sky theres no comfort in the truth pain is the heart you find never gonna dance again [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] gyxqnqrqyqiqiqnq [theme music] [theme music] Ernabel Demillo hi. Welcome to Asian American life. Im Ernabel Demillo. This season were taking a look at whats hot in lifestyle trends plus interviews with some Asian American creators who are changing arts and entertainment. Now lets take a look at whats ahead. Greener commute, paul lin shares how bamboo bikes help the economy and environment. Diversity gap, i learn why museums arent making the grade
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