check check >> i have decided to issue an invitation to rain to participate. >> the upcoming syrian peace talks are thrown into uncertainty after the united nations unexpectedly invites iran to participate, despite u.s. objections. >> the president of ukraine calls for talks with opposition leaders after clashes across kiev between protesters and police. after more than two years of sleep in pace, europe's rosetta probe is waking up for an outside of this world position - it will attempt to trace down and land on a comet.

>> it's a free play. into the end zone... >> and the super bowl is set. the n.f.l.'s top two teams, the dongo, and the seattle seahawks punched their games into the big apple. >> hi there everyone, and welcome to al jazeera. i'm thomas drayton. we begin with the upcoming syrian peace talks, in danger of ending before they start. on sunday the united nations invited iran to participate in the conference set to take place this week in switzerland. that invitation affects syrian opposition groups, threatening to pull out of the talks. they want iran's invitation to be rescrinded unless the current

president steps down. >> the last few days have seen intense diplomacy over syria. this was moscow, a meeting the friends and allies. russia hosting the iranian and syrian frern ministers. the man from tehran making clear that his country was ready and willing to go to switzerland if invited. on sunday evening, after a round of last-minute telephone calls the u.n. secretary-general made this announcement. >> 40 ministers policemeninged that iran -- pledged that iran would play a positive and subcontractive role. therefore as convener and host of the conference, i decided to issue an invitation to iran to participate. >> no sooner had that statement been made, than it was greeted with this from the syrian national coalition - a sweet from spokesman louis confirming

the s.n.c. decision to withdraw from the conference, unless iran's invitation was resigned. on saturday in istanbul, the same spokesman announced that the opposition would talk to representatives of the syrian government under u.n. auspices. >> a majority. for going to the negotiating table. and, of course, we are all aware that the regime is trying to find, you know, a loophole to try to get out of its commitment >> and in syria itself all the while, the killing on the ground goes on. the activist video was filmed in aleppo on saturday. it purports to show the aftermath of barrel bombs, used by the government against rebel positions.

just 24 hours could believe the two warring sides would meet to talk piece. the invitation to iran raised serious doubts with just days to go. >> u.n. secretary-general bank ki moon says iran needs to be part of the negotiations. >> monday marks day one of iran's historic agreement. u.n. inspectors will begin work n iran's enrichment. the current deal will expire in six months. in commoning the united states in europe will ease sanctions and release $4 billion in frozen assets. some iranians are expressions optimism about the new deal. >> they put us under such

pressure that by a little thing such as this, they become hopeful. we are hopeful for the future. if the agreement is not implemented simultaneously by both sides, it will be suspended. if the other side does not fulfil its commitments iran is ready to resume enriching uranium to 20%. >> sanctions will be lifted on oil, gold and automotive imports, airplane parts and medicine. the u.s. is threatening sanctions against the ukraine if they don't stop the violence. the backlash comes as new riots erupted after ukraine passed laws panning protests. as jennifer class reports, dozens were hurt in clashes with police in the capital kiev. >> it's the worst violence in kiev in two months. thousands of ukrainian

protesters clashed with police, blocking the trod parliament. protesters set buses on fire, and the police fired tear gas. demonstrators kidnapped a policeman. >> opposition leader and former boxer tried to calm the people with no success. tensions heightened when a court declared demonstrations in the center of kiev illegal. the president signed into law measures that limited free speech and assembly. earlier sunday, tens of thousands gathered on independence square to defy the regulations. >> translation: i appeal to law enforcement bodies and servicemen. join the people, protect the people because you gave an oath to ukrainian people, first of all, and you have to protect them. >> the government says they are

public order laws. it's not a new law, it's a coup. and when a coup happens in the country, especially when there's a social explosion in the country, the situation is unpredictable. >> i think with my presence here, i trying to show to people, show to parliament and the government that i'm not agree with them, and i'm against the choices, the rules. >> as night fell, more than a dozen police had been injured. they continue to use flash grenades to disperse the protesters. explosions can be heard across the city. >> demonstrators threw fire bombs and destroyed vehicles. not all advocate aggression as a way to get what they want from the government after two months of demonstrations. >> you crane's president viktor yanukovych agreed to meet with

opposition leaders. >> there are new security concerns as russia prepares to host the sochi winter olympics. a new video emerged from two men claiming to be responsible for the deadly attacks in volgograd. tourists will be targeted during the game, said the two men. the men in the video are linked to an al qaeda-based group in russia. it is a credible threat. >> even if they don't have the capability to launch the attack, if their purpose is destruction and destroy people's faith in the olympics and safety at the olympics, it would be worth their while to produce a video, even if they can't follow through with the threat. it's hard at this judge tur to know whether this -- juncture to know whether this is all smoke or there's a fire behind it. >> vladimir putin said everyone

would be safe. and russia's antigay law - vladimir putin defended it comparing gays to paedophiles. putin says russia needs to cleanse itself of homeo sexuality but that they are welcome to the games. >> some say that edward snowden may have had help from russia when he leaked n.s.a. documents. edward snowden may get credit for revealing privacy concerns, but most of the revelation concern how the n.s.a. conducted overseas revelations. >> this was a feast who we believe had help, who stole information, the vast majority had nothing to do with privacy. army, navy, air force marines have been harmed by the data he has taken with them. there's a reason he ended up in the loving arms of the f.s.b. agent in moscow. rogers was not alone.

texas republican michael mccall, chairman of the committee said he believes edward snowden was cultivated by a foreign power. >> a mayor, joe hockhobbin hobo zimmer said chris christie's aids tried to pressure her to support a governor project to receive aid for hurricane sandy victims. >> we are starting out with more fog and low clouds and large portions of the pacific north-west, but a cold outbreak is on the way for much much of the east coast. we had cool air that moved through as we got through sunday and a bit of light snow going on. overnight we'll get a couple

more inches coming off the great lakes, stretching through parts of maine and north canada. it's not a lot, but we'll get more snowfall as more arctic air breaks in. the por text -- polar vortex is moving south. a piece of that air will move in, and we are expecting temperatures for fargo, on your monday. we'll be two below zero for minneapolis and chicago in the single dij et cetera. the very cold air will bring in a light area of snow, bringing one to three inches in some spots. we'll be not as warm to the midwest. think of your sunday as a ball-meter day. it will be colder for all of us. low temperatures to start the day. below zero from minnesota, parts of the dakotas, even into

indiana, and parts of ohio. we'll get some of the cold arctic air working in through the rest of the day. high temperatures will not get that high. in fact, we'll drop about 15 degrees below normal and we'll hit 10 for minnesota. the warm spot will stay around los angeles to houston. we'll have a band of snow, 1-2mm. it's cold air. the wind - you'll have windchills. we'll have details on how cold you'll be for the day. >> returning back to winter. presidential pot. the commander-in-chief says something no other chief executive has said from the oval office. the bold comparison that could change the way america looks at marijuana. >> some are still afraid to

drink the water >> water worries - the local utility says it's safe to drink after a toxic chemical spill. residents in west virginia say their down still smells like a giant cough drop.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. president obama says smoking pot isn't any more dangerous than drinking alcohol. speaking to the new yorker magazine, the president is troubled that poor kids are more likely to get locked up for smoking marijuana. president obama was quoted as saying "i view it as a bad habit and a vice not different to the cigarettes i spoked as a young person. i don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol." president obama said he told his daughters that smoking pot is a bad idea and a waste of time. >> officials in west virginia are trying to reassure people that tap water is safe.

it's been two weeks since a chemical spill left hundreds of thousands without drinkable water. more than 200 people have been sickened. many residents are still nervous. >> in west virginia roadside water distribution sites dot the highways and roads. >> well, some are still afraid to drink the water. >> over the past 11 is days earlier 300,000 people lived through the unprecedented do not use order from west virginia water. but the problems are not over yet. >> so we are still getting complaints from various residents in and out of the area they come through, that they are smelling the chemical in the water stream. >> as communities get the all clear, there's little faith among the population. >> it's something you don't want to drink unless you have to. >> pregnant women have been

warned to drink only bottled houses. houses spell of liquorice, even after the plumbing has been flushed. people are showing up at emergency rooms. >> my throat burned. it was congested in my chest. i had a splitting headache. >> this is the daughter of a coal miner and an advocate for people concerned about chemical safety. >> we are working with state and federal legislators to come up with laws to protect us. the problem is they haven't protected us for a number of years. i'm not exactly sure what the best lal form of change will be here. >> al jazeera america has been efforting a statement or an interview with west virginia water company. here is what they send us:

>> state political leaders, when asked about environmental issues have been saying it's their desire to find a balance between clean water and jobs. but overwhelmed west virginians say they've heard that rhetoric before. >> how long do you think this will go on before we get answers? >> years. that's the way it happens. freedom industries, the company blamed for the spill fired chapter 11 bankruptcy, protecting them for now, from class action lawsuits and debt collectors. >> there's some encouraging thus out west. the wildfire that destroyed five homes near los angeles and burnt hundreds of acres is nearly under control. officials say the blaze is about 80% contained and should be fully controlled by wednesday. the fire started wednesday with a campfire in the national

forest. it's scorched 1900 acres. >> california ski slopes are nearly empty because of a drought. it's the worst dry spell the state has experienced in 150 years. desperately needed rain is on the way. >> the view from space reveals a dramatic image on the problem. on the west the snow pack. on the right, with all the brown, january 13th, 2014. at ma'am oath mountain 10 of 28 ski lifts are closed. the mountains showed bare rocks on the peaks that would be covered. ma'am oath gets an average 400 inches of snow. so far this season, only 48. >> their internet videos show in a snowy place in north america, they are making snow.

the high pressure system acting as a barrier. the jet stream is to the north, over the ridge. that's why we are not getting the rain and snow we need in california. >> some enterprising students in bishop california suspended a camera from a balloon to show the snowless landscape from 100,000 feet. it provide a third of the state's water. this year it's only 20% of normal. usually you should see snow capped peaks from here in downtown los angeles. >> the governor declared an emergency in the state warning californians to cut water use. california has had periodic dry spells going as far back as 1500 years. this could be a natural cycle or something else. >> we don't know is the answer, whether what we are experiencing now is a result of global climate change. it might be. but we don't really have the

data to connect the dotsment we tend to look at one individual weather event and say jane arraf, is that a cause or a result of climate change. >> the game isn't over. what should be the rainiest months are yet to come. >> it's possible that we could pull out of the dry conditions that we are in now, and get something that is closers to normal. >> the last good rain is more than a month ago. now the weather looks like this. >> couldn't come soon enough. >> state officials are giving more rain to farmers impacted by the drought. they are hiring more firefighters ahead of a dangerous wildfire season. from bone dry to underwater, flooding in northern italy is getting worse. the flooding spread through towns and villages. 100 peel had to evacuate.

the flooding engulfed parked cars, submerging them. others were trapped in their homes unable to get out. more rain is expected in the coming days. >> did you watch the games on sunday. we are locked and loaded for a sturp sunday. >> it was a wild day of play-off football. the upset that has n.f.l. fans pumped up for the big games in new york. >> for its main mission, which is to orbit, map and land on a comet for the first time in human history. >> it's a 2014 space odyssey. a robot preparing for a renda view in outer space.

>> well, the super bowl match-up

is set after sunday's conference games, both appear to be marking match-ups on paper. only one lived up to the hype, the nsc championship game featuring san francisco and seattle. russell wilson and the seahawks came in. the 49ers came in battle tested, having made it to a third-straight game. kaver nick ran, but it was his third quarter, 26 touchdown pass. after the field goal seahawks coach going for it on 4th and 7th. wilson with the curse for 45 yards giving the seahawks their first lead. kaver nick with a chance to win. richard sherman knocks it into team-mate. seattle going to the ball game, beating the 49ers 23-17. >> it's the best quarter of the game. when you try me, that's the result you get.

don't you ever talk about me >> reporter: who was talking about me? >> i lover the fact that we have an opportunity to play in the super bowl to represent the north-west and all the fans everywhere, because they deserve it. they deserve it. they are the best. and, you know, to hear guys say that at this time, we are. so it's pretty cool. >> let's talk about the afc. in august a lot of people predicted the operatory ots and the broncos would be the battlers. a lot of people were right. seminal quarterback match up is peyton manning making it to his third, taking on tom brady, making it to a record sixth. one of them was close to perfection, peyton manning. he threw for 400 yards, no interceptions. as for tom brady - too little too late. for the fifth time a manning brother is going to the super bowl as peyton's broncos beat

the patriots 23-16. >> it's an exciting feeling. i can remember both times we wan the afc championship. i'm biassed to the conference, it's a hard one to win. you feel like you have done something to win the championship. you realise that you still want to win one more game. >> i want to come out and play the game. that's what we did. we can play and keep going and keep going. how does that sound? >> amazing. it's a dream come true. now we are here. we'll make the most of it. >> so the stage is set for super bowl 48. the seattle seahawks take on the denver broncos at 6:25 eastern time. >> that is sport at this hour. >> countdown is on. thank you. it is considered one of the most daring space missions undertaken.

a european probe was launched several nears ago, where a goal is to chase down and land on a comet. it's been in hiber nation trying to score power. >> the alarm clock to wake up close off monday. >> for 10 years rosetta has been travelling through space, using the planets of the solar systems to kata fault it to speeds of more than 100km an hour. now that it wakes, it's hoped that its systems are intact. >> it's flown past two other asteroids. it's a veteran of space flight. space flight takes its toll on robotic probes. they hope everything will be working and functioning for the main mission, which is to orbit, map or land on a comet. rosetta is due to catch up to the comet in may.

after circling, it will send down ulanda. it will bolt itself to the comet and analyse the surface. the jury is out as to whether to go to high risk or an area where the comet will erupt from, it's heading to the sun. it will get warmer over the next couple of years, producing a big sale. yolanda is where the tail may flare out of, or do you land in a safer place where you hold on to the whole ride. >> scientists are trrd in the rocks -- interested in the rocks making up the comment. they were created 4.5 billion years ago. they happy the spacecraft takes images, saying the findings will have answer whether the comment brought water and life to earth. >> rosetta's alarm clock close off in 2.5 hours. that'll do it for this edition of al jazeera.

we'll have the latest news at the top of every hour. thanks for watching. >> hello, you're at the "listening post." this week, south sudan, what they're fighting over as opposed to what the media is reporting there. russia is doing something that it hasn't done since it was the soviet union. and we're in israel and the free newspaper that has been a game changer. and what would happen if israel extended beyond the west bank and into the westend of london. >> this is our land as given to