>> they are ringing in the new years in shanghai. [ counting ] >> this is the scene live in shanghai china as that country celebrates the new year. australia and auckland bringing in the new years earlier today. let's take a look just for a second at the celebration underway, welcoming 2014. ♪

>> once again the celebration in shanghai as 2014 has now officially rained in in that country. plus a firey train accident leads to airty concerns here in the us. and fighting continues in the south sudan in a key city. ♪ >> rebels in south sudan have now captured the key city of bor. until now that city had been controlled by government forces. mohammed how important is this particular city?

>> reporter: well, the town of bor is very important. it's the capitol of the state, which is the largest region in south sudan. it's also an oil rich, and the taking of bor by the rebels give them a lot to be able to negotiate with once they come to the negotiating table with the go side lead by the president. now the fighting began early in this the morning when the rebels allied to former vice president attacked the town, and they managed to take it after hours of bitter fighting. >> does it appear to you that both sides are trying to seize as much ground as possible ahead of any ceasefire? >> there is no ceasefire at the moment, and if they agree to

talk about the ceasefire itself after the talks, this was not the position of the president's government in the beginning, but because of the insistence on talks before any ceasefire by the former vice president, the go has given in following some diplomatic persuasion that -- that was going on most of this afternoon, and now both sides are sending delegations to the peace talks, and the government is trying to piece together who would be within this delegation. they are now writing the names as we speak. we don't know where the delegation from the vice president's side is going to come from, but what the former vice president wants is that -- not only talks about the ceasefire itself, but also mechanisms for monitoring the ceasefire before they go on to the rest of the things that they

are -- that are in contention. >> mohammed thank you very much. the detainee population at guantanamo bay continues to drop. the pentagon saying the last three ethnic chinese have been transferred. few countries would accept them. 155 detainees still being held at guantanamo bay. the sectarian violence between sunni and shiite muslims issest indicate laying in osama has more. >> reporter: ten frames and a few topplings are all that are left by the sunni protest camp.

the camp had been here for the past 12 months. it was set up by protesters who say they are being marginalized by the country's shiite government. as a result dozens of members of parliament resigned. >> translator: i received the resignations, and i'll do my best to prevent the situation from further escalating. we are asking the government to answer the demands of the protesters and to pull back their troops. >> reporter: armed men attacked police and tried to block roads as they approached the camp. the it is-in has been a problem for the prime minister. his long promise to break it up, saying al-qaeda-linked fighters were being sheltered there. the vice president also resigned in protest and called on the government of saudi arabia for help. >> translator: enough is enough. everyone has a cause, but we

face two main problems. we lack a unifying project and a count country that supports our case. we need a gulf country to support our cause, and let this country be saudi arabia. i say this in front of you all. saudi arabia should play a role in the conflict. >> reporter: in 2006 and 2007 tens of thousands of sunnis were killed, and the government is now struggling to provide the security needed. blocking yet a third rescue attempt to reach the crew members in the antarctic.

the previous attempt was called off because of winds and snow showers dozens have been stuck on that for more than a week. >> reporter: leaving by helicopter may be the only way to rescue these people. now authorities say a chinese helicopter will bring the 74 passengers and crew to safety. on board all they can do is wait. >> it sounds a lot worse than it is. everyone else is safe and sound and very comfortable down below. >> reporter: this is a ship full of scientists looking to create a century old exploration of the pole. >> we absolutely have enough food and water.

we have plenty of fuel on board. we have just about two weeks worth of fresh food. >> reporter: for now they are sending out messages that they are doing well. jonathan betz, al jazeera. >> that ship had been on a month-long voyage to study the environment. putin has promised to continue fighting the quote terrorists until they are annihilated. the death toll from the attacks is rising. the first victim, a policeman killed at the station has now been laid to rest. meanwhile the hospital there has been overwhelmed treating those who were injured in the attacks. peter sharp is there with that story. >> reporter: there wasn't much left of the trolly car on line

15 when the ambulances arrived. a ruptured tin can surrounded by bodies. but survivors were hanging on. and the hospital was less than ten minutes away. this was one of more than 20 badly injured brought here. >> reporter: it felt like a huge electric shock. i didn't see anyone with a bomb. i was looking out the window, and i can't remember anything after that. >> reporter: for the second time in less than 24 hours, the wards were filled with the victims of another bombing. this doctor said his team were carrying out ten operations at the same time. but thankfully he said the patrolly bomb wasn't as powerful as the one at the train station on sunday. the relatives of the injured scarcely able to believe this is happening all over again.

trauma specialists have been flown in from moscow to help family and friends cope. those too badly injured to be treated here were loaded aboard special flights to moscow, for many quite simply it was the difference between life and death. taken to special burn units in the capitol two hours away. these shattered buildings are a reminder of a pivotal battle in this the second word war. today the people here have a different fight on their hands with a far more elusive enemy. and at the scene of the bombing, a sense of fear, frustration and anger by the people in this city. dennis is a local businessman. >> people are afraid. people are afraid to use public

transport. i'm frightened. and i prayed for my family, for my friends. >> reporter: they are stepping up security not just here but across southern russia. over the next five weeks more than 30,000 troops will be deployed across the region in the build up to the winter olympics. a firey freight train crash, forcing the evacuation of a small town in north dakota. one train derailed and then was hit by another loaded with fuel. >> it was the third explosion that rattled the house and the windows and doors were all shaking, and scott and i came out the garage door, and the flames were so high, and it was like it was happening right behind us. >> the sheriff telling residents

to vevacuate because of the thik smoke. doctors in france say michael schumaker is showing signs of improve. he suffered a serious head injury while skiing in the french alps on sunday. a california judge ordering a 13 year old girl be kept on life support for one more week while the family tries to find another place that will take here. and why some foreign leaders say this statute should be taken down. and this is the scene live in time square right now, where they are beginning the countdown

to new year's eve ringing in 2014. some are walking, but a lot of standing, getting ready for tonight. at fukushima daiich >> three years after the nucular disaster, the hidden truth about the ongoing cleanup efforts and how the fallout could effect the safety of americans >> are dangerous amounts of radioactive water, leaking into the pacific eververyday? >> join america tonight's michael okwu for an exclusive four part series, as we return to fukushima only on al jazeera america

well we still have several hours to go before we enter 2014, but in much of asia it is already the new year. 2014 beginning with a bang in shanghai. ♪ shanghai marking the beginning of the new year with this laser light show and fireworks display. there were similar events in cities across china, including a big one in hong kong. some people in colorado are going to ring in the new year by waiting in line to buy marijuana. the state expects nearly

$600 million in sales this year, and $67 million in tax revenue. residents 21 and older can buy an ounce of marijuana, out of state residents can only purchase a quarter of an ounce. ♪ and investors apparently looking for one last hurrah before this very big year for wall street comes to an end. stocks are up now. and the blue chips are on pace for their best gain since 1995. housing prices continue to score, but may not last for long. home prices are almost up 14% from last year. but that monthly gain is just .2 of a percent. s&p says it shows the boom in housing prices is beginning to fade. target may have another

problem this time with those gift cards. a minnesota tv station reporting that thousands of gift cards weren't properly activated. 40 million customers were effected in that problem. 40,000 gift cards could be problematic. target is saying customers can call the number of the back of the gift card if they need help. now some japanese leaders say a statue should be removed. >> reporter: it's a simple statue of a teenage girl sitting in a chair, and next to her is an ty chair, although the chair is always covered with flowers. >> translator: i learned about it in the history class when i

was back in school, yeah, and recently i became more aware about it because of the installation of the statue. >> reporter: during world war ii, they pressed as many as 200,000 young women into service as sex slaves. some just girls, and most korean. they were called the come ford women. >> a lot of them died, a lot of them were left at the front line when the japanese withdraw. >> the statue represents the girls. the statue is here because los angeles and some surrounding towns have the largest population of koreans around the world. >> what happened has happened.

it is the truth. and we want to remember the victim's sufferings to prevent the same thing from happening again. >> reporter: these are japanese american activists who say the statute is important. >> they said it was like a slap in the face that this monument was bringing shame upon the country. >> reporter: the position of the government is that it is sorry about the installation of the statue. >> we are not happy about the installation of the monument. we are very sorry for the installation of the statue. >> reporter: but a fourth generation american who was in turned in a camp for japanese americans during world war ii said these events should be remembered. >> we need to have memorials for things that happened like in

hiroshima as in aush it with that give the world an opportunity to realize these things happen and we don't want them to happen again. >> reporter: now even glen dale's major says he regrets allowing the statue to be installed. but the more the controversy, the more supporters say the comfort woman should say where she is, looking everyone in the eye. >> the local newspaper in glen dale, reporting the mayor expressing his regrets over that statute to their sister city in japan. our producer has been moved to a prison outside of cairo,

the camera man has been released without charge. the other men are expected to appear before a magistrate on tuesday. al jazeera is demanding that all four be released. 2013 has been a very busy year. we'll look back at the year that was. ♪

welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm del walters. here are today's headlines. the united nations now saying that rebels are in full control of the city of bor in south sudan. heavy fighting erupting in the contested region just a short while ago, a signal that both sides are far from reaching that's fire deal that leaders were hoping to sign today. the pentagon say the last

three ethic chinese weegers have been transferred to slovakia. in 2008 a federal judge ordered them to be released, but few countries would accept them. a freight train crashing, forcing the evacuation of a small town in north dakota. a train detailed and then another train loaded be fuel ran into it. 2013 has been dominated with news of war, loss, and survival. and for us here at al jazeera, it all began when we signed as al jazeera america. here are some of the stories we have covered for you around the world. and what a year it has been. ♪ [ gunfire ] >> the war machine is

relentless. >> this people are the victims of attacks using chemical weapons. >> as we were interviewing the leader we could hear migs flying overhead. everybody scrambled. >> 11-year-old mohammed is the survivor of an air strike. these children are traumatized and scared to go back home. >> the screams demanding that president mohammed morsi leave office are getting louder. >> this election more than any other represents a turning point for kenya. >> it's a transition almost unheard of in the modern arab world. >> i barack hussein obama do solumly swear --

>> people very pleased that sharif declaring himself the winner. >> with a farewell bow from the outgoing president, the power transfer in china is complete. >> ukraine's government has lurched into his biggest crisis in almost a decade. >> let me stop now, peter because we are seeing smoke coming out of the chimney. white smoke. they have chosen a pope. white smoke. [ cheers ] >> the attack on the boston marathon shocked all of america. >> we are at the airport and we

just got in a plane crash. >> my daughter is in there. she has been working in the garment factory for three years. >> rescuers have called off their search for survivors. >> lampedusa was a sleepy place but now it is the island which people risk everything to reach. >> typhoon haiyan swept through the central philippines early friday morning. >> the water started going up, and before we knew it we were by the ceiling clinging for our lives. >> it's a journey into the personal tragedy of millions of filipinos. ♪

♪ i'm meteorologist dave warren, we're about to start the new year, and it could come with a big storm that will be developing just off of the coast. this is just some light snow moving through the northern plains now. this cold air follows it, though. another shot of arctic air, and this will be in chicago and eventually across the northeast. the area of snow right along this line here. and will eventually move through new york and new england, just a little snow is expected. you can see a few snow showers in western pennsylvania and western new york. very light accumulation compared to what we will see starting on thursday and friday for the new

year. this is a big storm developing. but this time, a large storm develops off of the coast. and when you get a storm developing off of the coast in the middle it is problems all of the moisture that could keep it out to sea. once you get up to new england that's where the storm really intensifies, brings in a lot of moisture to this very cold air, and very heavy snowfall is expected. this shows rain to no snow to a lot of snow, 12 to 14 inches at least. it really tapers off as it gets towards long island, but we'll certainly watch how this storm develops in the next few days. >> dave warren thank you very much. and thank each and every one of you for watching al jazeera

america. check us out 24 hours a day by going to aljazeera.com. off. civil war deepens in syria. the 113th congress was sworn in and then didn't get that much done. 2013 is about to enter the history books the first draft looking back at the year that was is the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. we didn't look ahead to 2013 on this program a year ago. because this network wasn't on the air and i was working somewhere else.