>> this is "dw news." live from berlin. with victory on the ground a short, russia agrees to international action on aleppo. the united nation security council agrees to deploy observers to win is the evacuation of their -- witness the evacuation there. also on the program, the french court finds the head of the international monetary fund guilty of negligence. christine lagarde dodges jail, but can she hang on to her job? and "i've never hated a man enough to give diamonds back." zsa zsa gabor has died at age 99.

i am phil gayle. welcome to the program. the un security council hs voted unanimously to send observers to the besieged city of aleppo. the resolution is test with monitoring evacuation of civilians from aleppo. it is the first show of unity and months among world powers grappling with the crisis. troops backed by russian and iranian forces caprethe ty la week. ong acuees was a seven-year-old girlhose tweets caught the world's attention. reporter: they overcome the first major hurdle. seven-year-old bana and her mother have reached the checkpoint. she came to worldwide attention thanks to the tweets her mother posted under her name. they included images and video from east aleppo showing the devastation and suffering caused by the war.

>> we stayed like a prisoner. we are here and we thank god and we thank all our friends. reporter: now the family is in relative safety. bana and others have left the city in convoy. the cease-fire between government fighters and rebels is still fragile. there is no guarantee it will hold. many here are now nourished -- are malnourished and sick. they have reached the end of what people can bear. providing them with the essentials is a mammoth task. and eight organization is on hand to provide bread, water, and warm clothing. buses of displaced people are also making their way through idlib province. part of the aleppo evacuation deal allows for people into pro-government villages the

siege by rebels to leave. the passage isn't easy, with buses subject to attack. aleppo's old city reduced to dust and rubble. those who remain can only guess at what is supposed to happen now. phil: let's join richard walker in washington for more on this. welcome, richard. what is the security council hoping to achieve with this resotion? richard: well, the main point of this resolution is to get you on observers introduced evacuation process so they can monitor the situation on the ground to make sure that this evacuation is safe. and also, explicitly in a text to the resolution, assuring the safety of those people who decide they don't want to evacuate, those people who want to stay in their homes. the question of whether this will work, of course, is another

one. there have been a great number of attempts in the un security council to bring about progress in syria that have failed in the past. the bloodshed is simply continued. samantha power, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, though, was sounding cautiously positive. she had this to say. >> today's resolution, i think, is significant in the sense that at least we now at the council finally agree that people who want to leave eastern aleppo should be able to be monitored by the united nations, icrc, syrian red crescent, and others. that with that presence there may be some deterrence of what happens along the journey out of eastern aleppo. phil: richard walker in washington, this resolution can about between france and russia.

where was the united states in all of this? richard: well, the united states was involved in final negotiations on sunday stretching out several hours from getting the tail -- detail of this resolution together. it is true that it was the french very much in the driving seat. the reality of the situation is that we have an administration in the u.s., the obama administration, that is on its way out. just about one month to go, barack obama himself is on holiday now ahead of christmas in hawaii. and donald trump is putting his administration together. this really effectively is something of a vacuum in washington until the administration does come in on the 20th of january. perhaps bringing about big changes in american foreign policy and its orientation towards situations like what is going on in syria. perhaps it is natural to expect there will be others currently driving this process. phil: richard walker in

washington, thank you. business news now, looking at the verdict in the christine lagarde trial. >> very interesting one. the head of the international monetary fund has been found guilty of negligence for approving a massive state payout to a businessman during her time as the french finance minister. the over 400 million-euro payment was compensation for a tycoon awarded the cash during arbitration over a botched the business deal with the government owned bank. lagarde argued she acted in good faith actually save taxpayer money by bringing the lengthy case to an end. the court has not handed down a penalty for the verdict. let's go to barbara wessel, standing by in our brussels studio to talk more about this ruling. barbara, i guess it is a bit of a shock for ms. lagarde, but according to her lawyers, she is on a plane to washington.

barbara: she wasn't even here to hear the verdict. she has gone back to washington and the court sort of declared its findings in front of her and the bench. what really happened is that the court went against the public prosecutor. the prosecution has said beforehand, we think she acted in a way that was a political mistake but that was not a criminal offense. now, the tribunal found it differently. the tribunal is a special thing because it is made up of three professional judges and 6 politicians -- 6 senators and parliamentarians, 12 in all. they found that her defense was weak, because what christine lagarde finally and really said was "i acted in good faith because i didn't know about the advice of seior public servants who said do not pay 400 million to bernard tapie."

she said, "i never saw those notes." as everyone in france knew about the case, it was very public, how could she have not known about how dangerous and difficult this could be for her? her case was weak and the court charged against her, and she is now in a very difficult position. >> that difficult position is because she is head of the international monetary fund. what does this really mean for her job? barbara: everybody agreed beforehand she would have to step down if the verdict would run against her. now we don't know yet it the problem is there's no court of appeal for this special tribunal . this is just once and forever. she stands convicted. there is no punishment. she could probably construe this as a minor case of negligence, this is not fraud, this is not

something she did in bad faith. but still, she is convicted, and whether she can hold a position in washington, she will now need the council to think about that and also, of course, talk to her colleagues in washington and hear what they have to say. >> barbara wesel there on the guilty ruling against christine lagarde. thank you for filling us in. i will have more business for you in a few minutes, including help from the competition in the fiercely competitive airlines in germany. phil: thank you so much. let's see what is going on outside your window. we will start in poland, where journalists are not being allowed access to the lower house of parliament despite widespread protests over the government plans to limit the number of journalists allowed into parliament and banned them from taking photos. reporter: a small but defined group of protesters hold their ground outside the polish parliament. tensions have been rising across the country, like here in the

city of kraków on sunday night. people are angry over the ruling party's plans to restrict access to parliament. critics fear that with fewer reporters in the gallery, lawmakers may not be held fully accountable. poland's foreign minister played down the protests, saying they were the work of a frustrated opposition. >> we're not going to block any access to media, we're not going to stop media -- block axis of media to parliament. we are not going to limit the manifestations. we just want the manifestation be organized in a peaceful way without the violence. without breaching the law. reporter: been moved to -- the move to place limits on the press sparked a daylong sit-in.

while the ruling party remains popular in:, some fear that the latest changes could be another step from democracy . phil: the south korean presidential crisis continue to today. her accusers say she pressurized businesses into donating money to the foundations she controlled the scandal has resulted in president park geun-hye's suspension from duty amid ongoing impeachment proceedings. amnesty international has accused myanmar's military of what it says is a campaign of violence against the muslim morning that -- muslim royhinga minority. it has accounts of the violence it says may amount to crimes against humanity. the military says many of the reports are fabricated.

aung san suu kyi met with other asian leaders in the capital on monday to discuss the situation. she says the country is considering an independent investigation into the allegations. to congo now, where police in any sense of the arrested dozens of demonstrators calling for president joseph to step down. -- joseph kabila to step down. his term should end it today. military units have been deployed across kinshasa as anger at the president grows. reporter: red cards for their president. these students in kinshasa st. joseph kabila must leave office at the stroke of midnight when his term ends. "he has been president for two long. now we will chase him away and be here all day if need be."

"he must go. he has made us suffer a lot. we study for we have nothing to do." anger at kabila is stoking fears of unrest. the government has banned protests and only scheduled an election for april 2018. talks about his future in office, which are being mediated by the catholic church, have so far proved fruitless. "today the most depressing thing for us is to find a common message that can deliver peace of mind so that nothing bad happens and no congolese either in the provinces or any of kinshasa's communes be killed or died because of political differences. that is extremely important to ." the president is accused of corruption and that this is a. congo's opposition members are demanding he step down. "the biggest impasse is over the status of the institution of the

president of the republic. we say we apply the constitution, that on december 19 he is no longer head of state." as the end of kabila's mandate looms, mediation talks are set to resume on wednesday, but tensions are simmering in a country that has not seen a peaceful handover of power since gaining independence in 1960. phil: this is "dw news," live from berlin. air berlin has had to give some of its planes to its main rival, lufthansa. does air berlin have a future? and i look back at the life of hollywood icon zsa zsa gabor, who has died at age 99. and could munich rise to the top of the bundesliga? they found the game far from easy. we will have more of the day's and business in just a moment.

phil: this is "dw news," live from berlin. i am phil gayle. the u.n. has agreed to send observers to aleppo to monitor the evacuation of civilians and rebel fighters. it looks like a leadership change at one of germany's biggest airlines. ben fajzullin has more. ben: at a time that the air is getting thinner for air berlin, it has a new chief executive and he is from the competition. a string of ceos has failed to reverse company fortunes, but analysts are amused from the interest coming from rival lufthansa. reporter: a new captain is taking over.

thomas winkelmann, an interesting choice, because he used to belong to the top brass at lufthansa. for more than a decade, air berlin battled lufthansa trying to become a viable competitor. not that there wasn't room for air berlin in the skies over germany. for years, passenger numbers and revenue group, then health study. but that did not translate to the bottom line. air berlin burned hundreds of millions and made a tiny profit in only one of the past eight years. it took steady cash infusions to keep air berlin flight. the airline has an important strategic partner in your berlin and -- air berlin and help take winkelmann as the new boss. in september, the carrier announced that 38 planes were to be leased out to the sons of -- how to lufthansa. now another 75 are to be sold to the country's flagship carrier.

with 33 planes going into a charter joint venture that would essentially be the end of an independent air berlin fleet. what exactly is lufthansa looking for? >> it is a rescue, protection move. it is not a clear strategy. personally, i don't see any benefit for lufthansa. air berlin is going out of the market. reporter: takeover to keep other competitors at bay -- that doesn't project strength. lufthansa itself is played by high costs and regular pilot strikes, seeks consolidation to protect its own future. ben: sounds like a mess -- who is really saving whom and why? let's get an answer from our arket man in frankfurt.m our what you know about winkelmann? he is set to come into the role in febary. will he lead her berlin out of

the crisis or into the lufthansa fold? >> if we look at the stock price, it looks like investors are convinced that he will stand for more intervals -- more integration of air berlin into the funds of dust into lufthansa. investors are playing takeover speculation here. the share prices of 18% at the moment. of course, what we are probably not going to see is a simple, quick, and dirty takeover of air berlin by lufthansa. the high amount of debt air berlin has, more than one billion euros, would speak against this, and probably competition law. ben: tell me why the concept, which residents -- why the concert, which has been struggling to bring down costs, would have an interest in another carrier, particularly a rival struggling itself? >> lufthansa, if it doesn't want

the other competitors to step in, no-frills airlines, it has to become active itself. it struck a leasing deal with air berlin, and if lufthansa wants to keep the deal, it has to make sure that competitors don't show up and try to buy or take over air berlin. what has also become clear is that you will not stand ready forever to constantly fuel money into air berlin. it itself announced job cuts yesterday. something else, another way of keeping air berlin alive, had to be found. ben: lufthansa has been complaining about bringing down costs throughout its pilot strike crisis, for example. to compete with the discount carriers, this is always too confusing for me. where do you actually see this all going?

>> well, it looks complicated, but by integrating more of air berlin into lufthansa, the position of the executives against its own pilots, with their old and lucrative contracts, becomes better. it integrates cheaper competition within the lufthansa group and that makes it more likely that pilots of lufthansa will swallow not so good contracts in the future. ben: conrad with all the explanations from frankfurt. apple is appealing the $14 billion tax ruling. senior executives say the tech giant has launched a legal challenge. european regulators ruled the u.s. had given it an illegal tax deal. it reckon apple had only paid a tax rate of .005% in 2014.

the regular rate is around 12%, i should point out. island argues the european commission is overstepping combatants and interfering with national sovereignty. the irish department of finance says apple was not given any special treatment whatsoever. some sports news. hopefully a little less complicated. >> we will find out. germany's bundesliga posted the defending champ inspire munich on sunday. they recently sacked to their coach. did they prove a match for the bavarian giants, looking to reclaim the top spot? >reporter: carlo and his squad absolutely had to win, especially against the team in last place. they came out swinging. taking a chance just seconds after takeoff. -- kickoff.

bayer as usual had more possession but lacked urgency. . bayern continued to disappoint in the second half. darmstardt played with passion but couldn't hit the target. then douglas costa hammering home a real beauty. the brazilian keeper with no chance. 1-0 after 71 minutes. but bayern weren't off the hook just yet. the loose ball straight into his arms. and so, bayern eke out a 1-0 win thanks to one brilliant moment. >> the host hope that the star

striker will help to rediscover victory. they were desperate to prove they have the quality necessary. reporter: the has failed to score in his last 8 games. he was looking for help from above. but the visitor struck first. the defense at sea,, morales took full advantage. they were toothless in the first period, and fans vented their frustrations heading into the break. the disappointment continued. on 49 minutes, second yellow card for this off-the-wall file. -- foul. left to fight with just 10 men, they fought hard.

1-1. the host taking advantage of rogers mistake. the game open again. ingalls thought were not to be denied. he converted to seal a 2-1 victory. the third win in five games under their coach, lifting them out of the automatic relegation spots. phil: actress, socialite, and hollywood icon zsa zsa gabor has died at age 99 after suffering a heart attack at her los angeles home. gabor pioneered the art of being famous for being famous and went through nine husbands in the process. it was a look back at her life. reporter: one lifetime is not enough. the name of gabor's 1993 autobiography. her diamonds and furs, numerous husbands, and occasional acting kept zsa zsa gabor very busy.

" have no idea how many shows i'm doing today. yo work, more than the u.s. president." although details of her early life are disputed, she is believed to have been born in 1917 in budapest, hungary. she performed onstage in vienna before emigrating to the united states. in her heyday, the hunt gary and actress embodied the film industry's platinum blonde ideal. she started big films but achieved cult status through b m ovies. ever in the media spotlight through nine marriages and affairs, she was a fixture in gossip magazines and talk shows. she even made her own fitness videos. >> hello, darlings, i am zsa zsa gabo. welcome to my workout video, called "it's simple, darling."

i find that exercising on a regular basis keeps you young and beautiful forever. it is a wonderful exercise if you have strength in your legs for your lover, lawyer, doctor. reporter: zsa zsa gabor, the hollywood star who live her life to the fullest, passed away surrounded by friends and family on sunday. phil: since you are up-to-date on the top of the hour, in the meantime there is always the website, dw.com. have a good day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ [theme music] ♪ [theme music] ernabel demillo: hi. i'm ernabel demillo. welcome to asian american life. in this special literary edition we are celebrating the works of asian american authors and how they've changed the literary landscape. many of their bestselling titles are sold right here at the kinokuniya bookstore. ernabel demillo: kinokuniya first opened its doors in tokyo in 1927. today they're the largest bookstore chain in japan