watching "france 24." time for 60 minutes around the world. these are the headlines. the syrian army inches closer to retaking full control of aleppo from the rebels. but with that army focused now on recapturing the second-biggest city in syria, another has once again fallen to the islamic state group. beijing has serious concerns about donald trump's latest comments that could put four decades of u.s. policy into

question after the president-elect suggested he currentthink american policy that recognizes taiwan as part of china. france's most influential women goes on trial. international monetary fund chief christine lagarde is facing a possible one year jail term over a payout to a businessman that she oversaw during her time is prime minister. also coming up, in business, we will take a closer look at how the world's oldest bank is trying to save itself from a government bailout in italy. , andhristmas is coming while santa claus is normally flying around the sky with his reindeer, he is now underwater in mexico. more on why on the way. first, our top story live from paris.

we will start in syria, where the army is drawing ever closer to taking the entire city of aleppo back from the rebels, who have had much of the east for the us five years. the latest reports now say rebels have lost 95% of territory they held just three weeks ago. one human rights group says more than 10,000 residents have fled aleppo in the past day alone. more on the situation there, let's bring in regional correspondent adam pletts in beirut. what is the latest you have been hearing? adam: the syrian government advanceade another overnight, taking territory that they now control, up to well over 90% of the city. that is according to the russian military, law also says in the 24 hours leading up to monday that over 700 rebel fighters have lay down their weapons and

surrendered. at the same time, they say over 13,500 civilians have left the rebel controlled areas of the town. the neighborhood that fell to theht -- according syrian observatory of civil rights, there are only two neighborhoods still in rebel control, prompting them to say that the city could fall at any time and that the battle is entering its final stages. meanwhile, civilians who are still in that very last rebel held enclave who number into the preparingousands, are for this final assault, many of it following about social media. it gives you an option of how scared they are in the final stages of the battle, with the heavy bombardment. as we were saying, the

syrian army is making major advances in aleppo, over 90% of the territory taken already. all of that seems to have left the ancient sites of palmyra wide open to the islamic state group. tell us more about that. adam: this is just to over 200 kilometers away from aleppo, the islamic- where state mountain of assault to retake palmyra. that is a week ahead of contradicting reports that at times it seems like the islamic state offensive has been repelled. russian airstrikes were used. they deployed more than 60 airstrikes in a span of a few errors -- in a few hours, killing 300 fighters. since then, the governor of said thatnce has the city hasas fallen to i islac statee group, but the army are preparing for an assault regrouping outside.

we do not know how long that is going to take to take. the russian military also said there were some 4000 islamic state group fighters involved in the offensive, so a very large and organized offensive that they have been preparing for for some days. worth noting, islamic state group has not played any part in the battle in aleppo. so even while the syrian army is finalizing and finishing the battle there, it seems that the end will be imminent. that in no way will the broader area of the -- bully broader war with syria -- in no way will the broader war in syria come to an end. they are still able to mount these types of attacks elsewhere in the country. you, adam pletts, reporting from beirut. adam was talking about the situation in syria. the islamic state group also

still holds the city of mosul in iraq, but a major international operation to take mosul back has been going on for two months. iraqi forces and their allies have killed more than 2000 islamic state group fighters involved in that battle for mosul, which has been around for a third of their total number. correspondents were with iraqi special forces, fighting the i.s. group in eastern mosul. you can hear their report. fire] e gun >> an assault on the in the east of the iraqi city. minutes,e first three someone gets hit. a staff officer leads the operation.

>> it's nothing. i'm fine. put pressure on to stop the bleeding. get another bandage on there. >> the night before, fighters from islamic state group pushed the iraq he army out of territory it had previously captured. now iraqi special forces have come to try to undo the damage. >> send the armored vehicles. i repeat, said the armored vehicles. -- i repeat, send the armored vehicles. >> the roadway is wide, 100 meters -- under jihadi fire. to return fire, they must get to the rooftops. >> opened this dam door.

>> come here, come here, look. >> from up high, this officer is air forces. in the powerful airstrike silent stance against, and after the airstrike, this is all that is left of the positions held by the islamic state group fighters. now soldiers from special forces will search in the rubble for any information or documents. intelligence is one of the keys to the battle for mosul.

and the civilians trapped in their homes could prevent important source. the fighting is already starting again on the round -- starting again around the corner. the battle for mosul is just beginning. genie: to turkey, where an offshoot of a kurdish militant group claimed responsibility for twin bombings saturday that left 38 dead in istanbul. turkish police say they have arrested 235 people in raids across the country. many of them have been linked to the kurdish opposition party. jasper mortimer told us more from antara. death from ankara. -- from ankara. >> i am speaking to an official of the pro-kurdish party.

he just told me about 150 members of the party have been detained. he says that is where mayors and party officials in eight cities and towns across turkey. now, hours after saturday night's bombing outside the --jing stadium in istanbul outside the stadium in istanbul, itshdp p party expressed condolences to the families of those who had been slain. the people taken into custody have nothing to do with the attack on an stumble. this is quite probably true. why would a mayor in a little town in modern province southeastern turkey, who is concerned with getting called before his reticence and wind get involved in the basic football stadium. is trying tot

demonize the htp. to some extent this works because a lot of people in turkey do think the kurds are y arehe same and that the just the political cousins of the pkk. but that is a very dangerous policy, because if you arrest the mayor of a town, the people are going to shove his wife into the street, and the children will not play with his children on a playground. where willie end? this is dividing society. genie: jasper mortimer reporting from ankara. let's come back now to france, where one of the most influential women here goes on trial today. that is christine lagarde, the head of the international monetary fund. she is facing a possible one-year jail term over a multimillion dollar -- over a multimillion euro state to a businessman during a time she oversaw as the finance minister. let's go to the courthouse where the trial is taking place. that is where we have catherine norris-trent. this is a very complicated

story. with talk is with you christine lagarde is accused of. lagarde ischristine accused of negligence over the misuse of public funds. this is a very complex case, indeed. but it all dictates that it all decade -- it all dictates back to a decade. pout to the french businessmen. christine lagarde is accused of favoring him. he has been embroiled for years in the long and bitter case of had beenof the -- he through appeals that have been rejected. christine lagarde made a decision to parse this case through an arbitration panel quitead come up with

quickly the huge sum of 404 million euros in compensation. that current out try at the time is a very large sum of money. and also an ally of nicolas sarkozy said it was an investigation and that he himself would have to pay back that money. christine lagarde stands accused over two aspects of this case, over her unusual decision to refer to an arbitration panel out of the court's hands, and the fact that she did not challenge huge payout of 404 million euros when it was handed down. genie: christine lagarde is the head of the international monetary fund, the imf. kind of effect could the trial have on her job there? catherine: it is embarrassing indeed for christine lagarde, the managing director of the imf three she is supposed to appear in court, in front of all of these cameras, in new york, for people to see her in the dark, basically.

the board of the imf still have confidence in christine lagarde to fulfill her role. we are told that we should be working with a team from the imf. is actually found guilty, it would be difficult to see her losing her job over this. they imf were aware of this when she was appointed back in 2011, and they are also aware that she has been on a second term as managing director of the imf, starting the second term in july. she says she is confident she will be cleared, but it will be family embarrassing for her. and for the institution. the former head of the imf, another french person, dominic -- that would be very damaging for the reputation of the imf. genie: catherine norris-trent reporting there from that trial in paris. another trial for you now. two whistleblowers and an

investigative reporter in the loosely scandal are back in court today after a week of thousands of documents exposed luxembourg's huge tax breaks from major international companies. -- in themen are original ruling, the judge recognized the defendant's undeniable contribution to greater transparency on tax matters, but they were found guilty, angering activists who are out again today. has "seriousit concerns" about new comments from donald trump on china. speaking in a tv interview sunday, the u.s. president-elect said he does not feel bound by one-china policy that considers taiwan to be part of china. doug: the day -- russia talkeder

about improved relations, china has spoken out. >> we urge the new u.s. government and later to fully recognize the sensitivity of the taiwan issue. continuing to uphold the one china policy to avoid the broader picture of china uslife being interfered with or damaged. >> since jimmy carter, u.s. presidents have not had any official contact with taiwan's leaders although unofficially, america is their biggest ally. trump has already changed that approach. some say that his support for the one china policy should be renegotiated. we trump: i do not see why need to be bound by the one-china policy unless we make a deal with china.

they are taxing us heavy at the borders when we do not text them. -- we are mess of building massive fortress in the middle of the south china sea. >> trump already angered china when he took a congratulatory call from taiwan's president. he is the first u.s. leader to officially talk to at taiwanese leader in four decades. genie: the champions league is coming up in february. we have found out who will be playing whom in the final 16. the big games to watch our monaco versus massachusetts city. and for the other fans out there, pfg versus arsenal on a. it is december. christmas is coming to while santa claus may be almost sameness -- most famous for flying through the skies with addedindeer, he has diving to his skill set. underwater santa is a biologist at the guadalajara zoo in mexico.

he wanted to give them and their visitors a different take on yuletide fun. he will do that throughout the rest of december. time now for a business news. we want to show you who has been in the fish tank with a santa suit. charles: how did you know? genie: let's start with looking at the world's oldest bank. italy's montague pesky, founded in 1472, has been struggling with a large load of bad debt. it recommitted to a recovery plan to raise 5 billion euros in cash by the end of the year. this came after the request of a three-week deadline extension by the central bank. we have more. >> the clock is running out as the world's oldest bank struggled to keep its head above water. italy's montague pesky day siena is expected to -- after the request for an extension was rejected, the lender said it

would reopen in debt for equity slots paris tell investors say 2.4 billion euros of bonds were shared. avoiding a state bailout that could have far-reaching repercussions over a shaky landscape. >> it is easier to say -- you have to take it now. money ifts can put they wish to put money. or in some way it is a solution that has been defined in some way. >> bankers fear interventions would trigger a phenomenon in the sector. european officials are sure the situation is under control. is not and there will not be an italian banking crisis , and there will not be a european financial crisis set off by italy. this point.ly on

we have every capacity to deal with this situation, and this will be handled in italy and in europe. te pasche could affect unicredit. genie: how are the european markets trading? >> at the moment investors are waiting for another key interest rate decision from the federal reserve in washington. the ftse is on the rise. the banking sector is reassure from years of political instability with the new prime minister. the ftse is there, up 1.10%. you can see in monte de pascshi's shares.

genie: oil prices are on the rise as well. newhis is the result of a deal among leading oil producers. they are going to produce their output as of january. the recent oil glut has seen prices reach record lows. theers and nonmembers of cartel have received nowhere near -- they are nowhere near half what they were in 2014. genie: here were talking about a very special anniversary that happened in china sunday. >> sunday march the 15th anniversary of china's membership in the world trade organization. that meant that beijing was granted the status of a market economy by the organization. members are just putting this, saying china is implementing unfair dumping practices on steel. china's economists believe that binging has done a lot over the years to prove that it has been a market economy. it has become more of a

market economy in the last 15 years. it has liberalized its exchange of regime. a nonstate company is now much more important in terms of the shared economy than it was 15 years ago. much for theyou so look at the business news today. it is now time for our "press review." it should be coming in just a minute. we are waiting for our press review here on "france 24." whate taking a look at papers are saying today. let's start with the battle for the presidency in france. >> let's start with the front page of "french daily." man offered is the

prime minister of france or he has the support of the socialist party, but he is coming face-to-face with young firebrand emmanuel macron. the front page of -- page asks whatnt to expect. dark of this piece is not so sure. macron is proposing to keep the 35-hour workweek as if he wants to widen access to unemployment benefits, and that he has no grave desire to streamline the notoriously -- the notoriously bureaucracy heavy french state. propositions that for this journal is hardly part ways with traditional socialist doctrine. macron, we read, is trying to make the old look new. move on now, where senators across the political divide are urging the president-elect, donald trump,

not to dismiss parent russian meddling in the u.s. election. >> let's take a look at this. trump is dismissing claims that russia manipulated the elections in their favor, have released a statement that says the stakes high.o now that it is not difficult to see the statement as a direct rebuke of president-elect trump and his transition team. genie: what kind of reaction has there been in the russian papers to this story? >> criminal mouthpiece russia -- didid excludes excludes -- in a response to the former u.s. ambassador to russia, he suggests that sputnik news should be labeled foreign agents. now this article called "unnamed data list.

entire concept of free speech. genie: there is another big trump related feature today. this is about donald trump questioning america's decades ,ong of the "one-china" policy claiming that china has a legitimate claim to taiwan. >> the meat of this piece is professorments of a of chinese foreign affairs, who believes that donald trump is in a mature novice on the diplomatic scene and that china has a duty to make them understand the importance of china-u.s. relations and to avoid in being manipulated by "conservative forces. genie: you also found a piece in "china daily. playing asee trouble board game, as an element of the board game.

he is simply rolling the dice. there is no grand plan. if that were not enough to convince you that trump is more or less winning it, diplomatically speaking, you can a littleeft hand has brush. he's making it up as he goes, according to this cartoon. genie: let's go to egypt and the deadly blast that rocked a chapel in a christian cathedral on sunday. >> the majority of those killed were women and children. in theece is the attack context of another set of similar attacks in recent years, 2011 and 2013, when churches were targeted in alexandria and cairo respectively. the guardian goes into the possible political repercussions of the attack. egypt's government has staked its mandate on fighting islamist groups, and protecting

christians is a key part of that. some christians are questioning the government's commitment to their safety. ofie: there has been a lot talkqéa?ó?]

narrator: the following prprogrm is an originalal production of link tv. next up, convenenience undercover. meet the masked shoe shiners of bolivia and some other unusual entrepreneurs. all part of link tv's "viewchange" film contest. announcer: "viewchange" is about peopople making real progrgressn tackling the world's toughest issues. can a story change the world? see for yourself in "viewchange." small business. big impact. narrator: whether r it's carving cobblestones or farming cocoa, a new business can be the best ticket out of poverty, and in the developing world, small businesses have a big impact for entire communities. first, watch some women bring a little color to the w