welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. the people of south sudan hoping for peace as word comes for talks against the go and rebels. federal investigators are trying to determine what just caused this. ringing in the new year-round the world. new zealanders celebrating just a few hours ago. rebels in south sudan now capturing the city of bor, the center of fierce fighting in the

oil rich area. the violence coming as both sides have agreed to discuss a ceasefire. >> reporter: both sides of the conflict have agreed to send delegations to talk about how to bring the current conflict to an end. it took a bit of pleading with the president by un officials and diplomats for him to agree to send delegation from his end because this is not what he had wanted. he wanted a ceasefire before he held talks with his opponent and former vice president. so far it has been the former vice president who has been insisting that there should be no talk of a ceasefire until proper negotiations have been done. the government also confirmed

that it is ready to receive these delegations who will begin talks immediately. now this happens on a day that the rebels allied to the former vice president took the strategic and key town of bor. they carried out a key attack on bor which had been taken control of by government forces just last week. and un officials confirmed that there has been displacement of some of the population. >> the detainee population at guantanamo bay prison continues to drop. the last three chinese weegers have been transferred to sl

slovakia. in iraq u.s. troops have been gone now for close to two years. dozens of sunni lawmakers have resigned and nearly a dozen people have been killed in the last few years. >> reporter: tent frames and a few topplings are all that is left by the sunni protest camp dismantled by police. it was set up by sunni protesters who say they are being marginalized by the country's shiite-lead parliament. >> i have received the regulation of members of parliament and i'll do my best with the government institution and the international community

to prevent the matter from escalating. >> reporter: armed men attacked police and tried to block roads as they approached the camp. the sit-in has been a problem for the prime minister. he said al-qaeda fighters are being sheltered there. >> translator: enough is enough, every has a cause but we face two main problems, we lack a unifying project and a country that supports our cause. in all honesty those than other side have a country that is backing them. i say this in front of all. saudi arabia should play a role in the iraqi crisis. >> reporter: sectarian conflict is increasing in much of iraq,

raising fears of a repeat of what happened in 2006 and 2007 when tens of thousands were killed. national elections are due many april, but the government is struggling to provide the security needed for them to take place. thick ice is blocking yet a third effort to rescue the stra stranded visitors in antarctica. dozens of passenger and crew have been stuck on the ship for more than a week. >> reporter: they arrived by sea but will likely leave as air passengers. that may be the only way to rescue these people. several attempts to reach them

by ice failed due to extreme weather. now authorities say a chinese helicopter will bring the mass passengers and crew to safety. >> it sounds a lot worse than it is. everybody else is very comfortable down below. >> reporter: this cruise ship is full of scientists who were hoping to recreate a centuries exploration of the south pole. >> we have plenty of fuel on board. we have just shy of two weeks worth of fresh food. >> reporter: they keep loved unupdated on their plight sends out messages that they are doing well. that ship had been on a month-long voyage to study the

environment. russian president vladimir putin making his first public comments about the attacks. he said he will continue to fight terrorists until, quote, they are annihilated. the hospital there has been overwhelmed treating those injured in those attacks. peter sharp has that story. >> reporter: there wasn't much left of the trolly car when the ambulances arrived. 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. >> translator: 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, some with terrible burns. this doctor said his team were carrying out ten operations at the same time, but thankfully he said the trolly bomb doesn't as powerful as the train station bombing. outside they posted lists of names of victims and where they were being treated. trauma specialist, part of a disaster emergency team had been flown in from moscow to help family and friends cope with the shock and loss. those two badly injured to be treated here were boarded on flights to be taken to special burn units in the capitol two hour's away. this city used to be known as

stalingrad, and the shattered buildings a reminder of the defeat of the german army that changed the whole course of the world war ii conflict. today the people here have a much more elusive enemy. there is a feeling they have been let down by those who should have protected them. dennis is a local businessman. >> people are afraid -- people are afraid to use public transport. i'm frightened, and i'm afraid for my family and friends. >> reporter: they are stepping up security across southern russia, more than 30,000 troops will be deployed in the buildup to the winter olympics. health experts are testing the air quality in north dakota after residents were forced to

evacuate following a firey train cash. the accident happening about 25 miles west of fargo, north dakota. that collision, as you can see, setting off a series of explosions that burned a total of 21 rail cars. >> it was the third explosion that rattled the house and the windows and doors were all shaking. and we came out the garage door, and the flames were so high it was like it was right behind us. >> fighting the fire was also challenging, searchtures there hitting minus 20 degrees. coming up on al jazeera america, a controversial statue, why some foreign leaders want this statue taken down.

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scene in time square where they are beginning to gather ahead of new year's eve, 2014. just a few hours away now amid frigid temperatures. new zealand holding one of the first celebrations of the new year. take a look. in auckland crowds cheering and horns blared as fireworks erupted from the sky tower. ♪ >> this was the scene in sydney, australia. ♪ [ cheers ] and in folk you, priests began ringing 2014 in by ringing a bell 108 times. they did so to wipe away the 108 sins of the previous year. ♪

>> and as you can see, the new year began with a bang in shanghai, china. the city has a fireworks and las laser show. there are similar celebrations taking place across china. here in the u.s. congress didn't do much in 2013, but the states were busy. here is a look at what you can expect coming up. >> if you are 21 you can buy and smoke marijuana in colorado as the state becomes the first in the nation to legalize recreational pot. oregon has a law about cigarettes and bans for lighting up if children are in your car. gun owners lined up to register assault rifles and ammunition magazines that can hold more

than ten rounds in connecticut. cigarettes are getting a lot of attention in the new year, near in new york city there is a new ban on smoking e-cigarettes in in public and workplaces. the big apple joins four other states on imposing this type of law. if you got or gave a pet for the holidays the new pet lemon law in illinois may interest you. and school districts can install bus cameras. and drinking laws have not been forgotten for the new year, in wisconsin you can now drink

while riding in a pedal tavern. it's clear 2014 will bring more changes than just the calendar year itself. >> taking a look at business news, wall street looking to end the year with another one for the record books. the dow right now up almost 50 points. closing at an all time, that would make number 52 in 2013. and the dow also on the way to one of the best performances it has had since 1995. the s&p case schiller index finding prices of homes up almost 20% across cities in america. but the one-month gain is just

.2 of a percent, s&p saying that shows the boom is now beginning to fade. a memorial in a california park paying tribute to victims of world war ii, but it is also bringing to life a decade's old controversy, and now japanese leaders say it should be removed. >> reporter: it's a simple statue of a teenage girl sitting in a chair, next to herr is an empty chair, although the chair is always covered with flowers, a testament to the continuing emotion this memorial evokes. >> translator: i learned about it in the history class when i was back in in korea, and recently i became more aware of it because of the installation of the statue. >> reporter: during world war ii, japanese pressed as many as

200,000 women into sex slaves they were called comfort women, many of them teenagers. the bird on her shoulder a symbolic connection between the living and dead. the statute is here because los angeles and some of the surrounding towns have the largest korean population in the world outside of korea itself. >> what happened has happened. it is the truth, and we want to remember the victims suffering in order to prevent the same thing happens again. >> reporter: these are japanese american activists who say the statue is important. they want the -- members of the

japanese parliament was the statue removed. >> they said it is like a slap in the face. >> we are not happy about the installation of the -- monument. >> reporter: but this fourth generation japanese american said these events should be remembered. >> we need to have memorials for things that happen like in hiroshima as in auschwitz, the concentration camps in germany that give the world an opportunity to -- to realize that these things happened; that we don't want them to happen again. >> among many angry messages

again dale has received its sister city in japan has threatened to sever their relationship. but the more controversy, the more supporters say the comfort woman should stay where she is, looking everyone in the eye. glendale's local newspapers now reporting the mayor expressing his regrets of the statute to the mayor of their sister city in japan. next on al jazeera america, 2013 has been a very busy year, we'll take a look back at the year that was. and this is the scene that is right now in time square in new york city. more than a million people expected to gather for tonight's ball drop. we'll be right back.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this

hour. despite talks of a ceasefire, the fighting is getting worse in south sudan. the un are now saying rebels are fully controlling the see key city of bor. thousands of troops being sent to recapture the city. the last of guantanamo bay's chinese weegers have been releas released. federal investigators now testing the quality of the air in north dakota following this firey train crash. one train derailed and then was hit by another loaded with krooud oil. no one was hurt. 2013 has been dominated with the news of war, loss, and survival. here are some of the stories from this year. [♪ dramatic music ]

>> the war machine is relentless in us ferocity. >> these people are the victim of attacks using chemical weapons. >> as we were interviewing the leader, we could hear migs flying overhead, everybody scrambled. >> this 11 year old is the survivor of an air strike. these children are traumatized and scared to go back home. >> the screams demanding the 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 -- >> an opportunity for them to remember a day on which a dictator was defied. >> with a farewell bow, the power transfer in china is complete. >> ukraine's government has lurched into its biggest crisis in almost a decade. >> let me stop now, peter, because we are seeing smoke coming out of the chimney. white smoke, the conclave announcing that they have chosen a pope. white smoke. [ cheers ] [♪ dramatic music ]

>> the attack on the boston marathon shocked all of america. >> we are at the [ inaudible ] airport and we just saw a plane crash. >> spanish 3450edia reports the train was travelling at more than twice the speed limit. >> my daughter is in there, she has been working this the garments industry for three years. >> 17 days beneath thousands of tons of wreckage. >> lampedusa is now 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 been the ceiling clings for our lives. >> it's a journey into the personal tragedy of millions of

filipinos. [♪ somber music ] >> and just to show you how dangerous it can be bringing you the news, we have an update on our colleagues still being detained in egypt. one producer has been moved to a prison outside of cairo, and will be questioned by the prosecutor on wednesday. another of our producers will be brought before the prosecutor on january 4th. and our correspondent will be questioned on wednesday. he is still at the police station. cameraman has been released without being charged. al jazeera continues to demand that its staff be released right away. ♪

i'm meteorologist dave warren, we are k looking at these areas of slight snow moving through the northern planes and then through iowa, one right after another bitter cold arctic air, 40 in billings, and below zero in chicago, minneapolis is at 10. there is the storm track south of the great lakes and this area of low-pressure is moving along and pushing through western new york and western pennsylvania. there is some light snow there. the next storm is approaching across the northern plains. eventually we'll see a big storm develop to our south. just some light snow over the next 24 hours, but not until after the new year, thursday and friday a large storm develops. a large storm develops off of the coast of north carolina in between here, there is some dry

air. by the time this really intensifies and starts to pull in a lot of moisture into the cold air, we could see some significant snowfall. timing this and showing where that line of heavy snow is is going to be difficult, but no question some areas across the northeast will see significant snowfall over a foot at least between thursday and friday. you can see how this dark blue area coming in from the coast, even a little farther south there in new jersey could see a bit more snow, but this could be closer to 20 inches of snow as this moisture comes into the very cold air. we'll see how this storm develops. >> dave thank you very much.

"earth rise" is next, and we leave you can a scene from time square where they continue to gather. ♪ >> i'm russsell beard, in southern kenya, where the latest development in human elephant conflict resolution is creating a real buzz. >> and i'm amanda burrell in indonesia, to see a wasteland restored. >> and i'm sergio quitana in arcata california learning how to flush with pride.