>> welcome to the journal live from berlin. , reunitedon the show with his family in berlin and they are thrilled to be together again. hints heident obama might rein in the nsa spying program in a bid to restore public trust before leaving for his vacation on hawaii. and an uncertain christmas after

yet again dropping points at home. man has former richest been reunited with members of his family here in berlin. it is the first time he has seen them outside prison in a decade. the reunion follows blood may or putin's surprised pardon of the kremlin critic last friday. aroundographers crowded the front door of one of berlin's most exclusive hotels, hoping to get a photograph of a prominent guest. only two days ago, he was behind bars in a siberian prison. so far, there are few images of russia's most famous orange -- famous former prisoner. experienceribed the is unbelievable. he spent most of his first day as a free man with his family.

he met his ailing mother and father. his oldest son arrived from new york for the reunion. >> my family is finally reunited and we are very, very happy. we are together after 10 years of separation. as you can imagine, my father is going through a lot right now. he cannot possibly be with all of you today, but he really appreciates all of the support through thesed years. >> the release of the former oil tycoon came as a complete surprise. germany's foreign minister has been working behind the scenes for years to get him out of jail. he received vital support from the men at the center of this photograph. a press conference will be held in berlin on sunday. it is expected that he will outline his plans for the future. >> earlier, our correspondent

spoke to alexander. as you just heard, he is aware that he is an expert on russia who worked closely with the to getforeign minister the prisoner released. he described the moment when the two men met in berlin on friday. >> i told him how happy i was to see him alive, free, and in good shape. he worked on the .elease he said he wants to thank him andonally for his release he later on made a couple of other statements.

we saw that he was in good shape. speakediately started to about himself. .e had so many calls it was very moving to see how happy he was. asked why he believes president putin chose this moment to release them. is too early to say him becauseeleased he does not want to have trouble during the olympic games. that has played a role, but not a major role. the major role was that putin also understood that the new german government wanted a kind .f reset

[indiscernible] respond with a gesture or a clear signal that is open on the russian side. our political correspondent joins us in the studio. how is this impacting russian relations? >> this could be a win-win for german-russian relations of president putin is looking to soften his line and improve his eyes -- his ties internationally. that could open the way for a new dialogue on human rights and other issues, and that is something that the foreign minister has said he sees as a possibility coming out of the back of this. depends, ily

suppose, on what line he takes. he is giving a press conference on sunday. onhe chooses to focus criticism of vladimir putin and of the russian justice system, , that could, of course, strain the ties between germany and moscow. been koski has already talking about other prisoners held in russia and in particular his former partner. concerns there, i suppose. don't forget, he is not a human rights campaigner. he is a former oligarch. his business interests may be as what het in deciding does next as any political motivations he's got. >> what options does he have now? >> the signs are that he is going to remain in germany for a while. as we mentioned, his mother is

receiving medical treatment here. there have been some suggestions he might go to switzerland. one thing i think you certainly won't do was go to russia, although the russian authorities have said he is perfectly welcome to come back at any time. i think there is a threat of a potential third trial against them if you should decide to go there. we will have to wait and see what he says in his press conference tomorrow and then we will know a lot more. >> simon young, thanks for joining us. let's have a look at today's other top stories. the pentagon says for u.s. troops were wounded in south sudan when gunmen fired on their aircraft in a mission to evacuate u.s. citizens. violence follows disputes between two rival groups. the incident took place in a state where earlier thousands of armed youths stormed a u.n. base.

two u.n. peacekeepers were killed. their bodies have been flown back to india. the government has resulted solve the crisis peacefully. says itsition party plans to boycott thailand's general election. it boycotted an election in 2006 that help to stabilize the government and paved the way for a military coup. protesters have flocked into bangkok for another mass rally. their aim is to increase pressure on the prime minister to step down. they are politically allied with the protest movement that crunched the country into the current political crisis. typhoons since a devastated the philippines, many survivors still do not have access to food and water. you and secretary general traveled to the country and they u.n.ut --

secretary-general, ban ki-moon, traveled to the country and talked about the situation. millions were left homeless when the typhoon hit the philippines last month. u.s. president barack obama says he will consider a possible overhaul of national security agency's controversial surveillance practices in an attempt to restore people's trust. he made the comments during a white house press conference, which came shortly after a panel that looked into how the nsa collects data and recommended that spying on foreign leaders be stopped. >> it was barack obama's last media conference of 2013 in the u.s. president faced more questions from journalists over the nsa scandal. once again, obama has defended u.s. surveillance, but he has also promised to rein in the nsa.

the intelligence report told him to stop collections of phone call information. obama has said he may change how data is collected, but he will not stop surveillance. >> we need this intelligence. we cannot unilaterally disarm. there are potentially ways we can do it that give people greater assurances that there are checks and balances with sufficient oversight and sufficient transparency. >> obama admitted he had screwed of the health care system, and he also tackled iran. >> it is my goal to prevent a ran from getting a nuclear weapon, but i would prefer to do that diplomatically. >> for the u.s. president, a difficult year is all but over. >> people gathered to remember

the victims of the lockerbie bombing 25 years ago. families of the victims gathered to leigh reeves of the local cemetery. the bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack ever in the united kingdom. flight from london to new york exploded over scotland. in sports now, two sides chasing munich put their feet up for christmas 90 minutes too early. undone by offensive errors and lost 2-1 to berlin. players to thank for their goals. -- dormant, it was two losses at home and no row. he secured his side's first league win since september. the other results in the boing

this league so far look like this. fiber grabs a league -- a win over hanover. action. is in the score is 0-0. on sunday, only one game. munich is about to get underway in the cup final. on friday night, frankfurt had another chance to end their winless streak at home. they were up against osberg, who had their best start to a season in club history. in the end, both had to settle for a single point. they head into winter break without a single home victory. on friday, at least they split the points. the visitor put on pressure early and took the lead after half an hour. frankfurt cost offense was

unable to -- frankfurt's defense was unable to clear the ball. frankfurt took the offensive. soon after came the response. 1-1 in the 42nd minute. the second half saw few chances for either side. squandered the best opportunity just before time. he heads into the break well up in the standings. frankfurt just above the drop zone. actionupshot of all that is a table that munich will like the look of as the league breaks for winter. seven points clear at the top with a game in hand. things look dicey for them. those in sixth and eighth have

much to celebrate this christmas. ofnkfurt can expect a lump coal in their stocking. they have failed to perform. the team that was briefly at the bottom can take a win into the winter. a thrillinglist had half pike performance in having's -- heavy snow. the snowfall was not enough to dampen his mood. he could celebrate a fine victory. despite conditions, he was joined by a raft of other .merican winners that's all from us here on the journal. keep it here for more news and updates and visit our website. thanks for watching.

>> they perform every sunday morning, the vienna boys choir. in a few moments, they will be singing at this mass in the vienna hospital, a cappella. they had their first rehearsal at 8:00 a.m. joe is exhausted. dorian is coping better.

the church is still to the rafters. this event is popular with locals and tourists. ♪ are youngboys children, but they represent the continuation of the centuries- old tradition. ♪ jolyn dorian have put on their winter coats and hats over their the traditional uniform of the vienna boys choir member when they are out and about in the city. for taurus, a perfect photo -- tourists, a perfect photo opportunity. -- vienna isld old, baroque, traditional, just like the choir.

the president of the choir takes us to a nearby café. the vienna boys choir is one of the most successful children's choirs in the world. he says boys choirs are a big attraction in general. one reason is because young children are singing very demanding music at the highest possible level. thatis something fascinates the public as well as other artists, conductors and singers, and also a lot of composers. many of whom have composed and written for this medium. jolyn is from malaysia. he always wanted to be in the boys choir and his parents agreed. dorian is 12. he said it is difficult to say what it is like in other schools because he is only used to this one and he likes it.

we want to get to know the boys better, so we give them our toera and they set off capture the beauty of the vienna. we asked them to show us the city and their lives here. we asked joe about his favorite city. also america, i can't decide. the opportunity to travel the is one of the perks of the choir. >> do you like snow? >> yes, particularly because

there is no snow in malaysia. sado, he is a little bit because there has been no snow so far this christmas season. >> do you have a favorite place in vienna? sure, but he definitely likes the christmas market. dorian is much more certain. this place is home, he says. you can see the city hall there. and up there is the rattus men. from there, the parliament. the viennag housing

boys choir school is no less than disciplined. they live and learn around 100 other choir members aged between 9-14. this is our room, says dorian. they are just ordinary boys. the boys choir is eager to shed its image as an elite group. whole educational concept behind singing in the choir. being part of the community is more important than being a gifted singer. the choir offers the children a lot of support, and a lot to eat. we had vienna sausage today, says dorian, and pancakes. but tomorrow, i don't know. but it will probably be something good. the school used to have a

reputation as a strict educational establishment. the boys choir was founded more than 500 years ago. it had a conservative image until the 1960s. but even in these time-honored halls, times of change. he is giving voice training lessons. ♪ >> that is the phenomenal thing about singing, he says, something we probably often forget, how many positive side effects there are in singing lessons and singing together.

boysyears ago, the vienna choir also began passing on its knowledge to the outside world. the school began giving singing lessons to children in other countries. raphael is one of them. the program is called super are. sociallys to give disadvantaged children a sense of self-confidence and sometimes they also find new talents for the choir. and sometimes these children also get to appear on proper stages. accepting yourself

as you are, says raphael, and realizing you could not do something at first, but afterwards you can. it is not something abstract that you could write into an exercise book. it is something you show. it is about trusting yourself to sing in front of the class, make a mistake, laugh about it, and then everyone keeps singing. is back in class. there should be a math lesson, but today they are making christmas stars. is theirboys, this first experience of a christian culture. we asked joel if christmas is -- also celebrated in malaysia. he says yes, but not like here. it does not have christian meaning for most families because malaysia is not a christian country. dorian is popular for his english lessons. some of the boys are good at school, others not so good, just like everywhere else.

us a tour of the boarding school. the drama turned and a lot more besides. uniform one --e worn by the choir boys. she came here 15 years ago and has been working for the boys choir ever since. if you can stir emotions with what you do, you also move yourself, she says. i get such a feeling of happiness, that i think that one wants to just keep reproducing it. to have thatwant quickly. it is a feeling of success, a feeling of happiness. by nurturing happiness in others, it increases your own.

evening choir practice. john and dorian are in the heart inquire. hide in choir. there are four choirs in all. two are always into her and to two are always on tour school.are at racked is usually ends at 6 p.m. usually ends at 6:00 p.m. the boys have free time and a chance to speak to their parents. joel finds a quiet corner with good wi-fi reception. he has not been in touch with home for six weeks. it is often more difficult for the parents than the boys that they are so far away.

>> we are very happy for him, and that makes it all worthwhile. he is happy. love you. >> love you too. >> most of the boys try to remain cool when they talk about their parents. look into their hearts, but we wonder if it is so good for them to leave home so early. but it is impossible to miss their enthusiasm when they are singing and performing. spare time, they like to play pop music and heavy metal. when their voices pray, their time in the choir is over, but the things they have learned here and on their tours around the world will always stay with them. ♪