♪ . >> delegates from the syrian government, the opposition of dozens of other countries are gathering for a long awaited peace conference to end syria's war. tomorrow's talks are the first that says the conflict began nearly three years ago. since then more than 300,000 people somewhere died and millions have been displaced. al jazeera around the world are covering them, we begin with diplomatic with a look at what we can expect, from the talks. >> arriving in geneva, his invitation to iran later withdrawn nearly caused the collapse of these talks. his team insisting things are now back on track. the long awaited meeting will finally start here, in the swiss resort. it took almost eight months to get both sides to switzerland, but one of those closely involved

in the process says the difficult part comes now. alster burt was until recently the u.k.'s minister for the middle east. >> once people are sitting down where do we with go. where's the incentive. the regime. i am not so sure. they believe they are winning. >> two decades ago, the u.n. bug struggling to stop bloodshed. peace talks finally halted the violence there, but one key figure from the time the former foreign minister says he fears the syrian only six will now face a dilemma. >> the syrian people are going to face an unfavorable set of options. just like we did in

bosnia. they sent away right now. >> an international gathering more than 40 countries but not iran expressing their support for this process, around the table talks then start here at the united nations in geneva on friday. but the reality is this, the syrian regime just like iran has made it clear it will not support any plan that doesn't involve a government led by president asaad. >> in this building both sides are supposed by mutual consent to come up with a new transitional government. the challenges ahead are massive. james base, al jazeera, geneva. >> so as the world focusing on the geneva talks we are looking at the power players and what they want to accomplish, jonathan best is here with more on that for us, jonathan? >> yeah, a lot of talk about this for us, let's break it down for you and talk about what is happening this week. first who is going to these talks for 40

countries in total. saudi arabia, all the big power players in syria's corner is russia, and briefly iran. but the u.n. quickly disinvited it after serious of six complained. so what is the point of all this? well, it is all about president bashar al-asaad. how to get rid of him, and who should replace him. also forming a new government, constitutional elections, the problem is asaad has been clear he doesn't want to go. so what does the u.s. want? well, the u.s. wants the war to end, and him out, but it doesn't know quite how to do it or who should take over. many fear the war could further disstabilized the middle east, and some argue it may be best if asaad stays. so why does russia care about this? well, russia and syria are old friends and syria buy as lot of russian weapons. leading many to ask why even try. well, do you have a better idea? there's no plan b to all

this, even if the talks don't end the war, it may be possibly tony might ease some of the suffering. >> well, you at least have to get some cease fires so you can get something going on the humanitarian front, the idea that these are going to lead to a real transition government? >> better than nothing. appreciate it, thank you. a report commission accused them of systematically killing and to which are uring thousands of people. two u.s. says the allegations are horrific. al jazeera has more on what the report says. adam warning the images may be distressing to many. >> the photographs are graphic, and alarming. most of the victims are young men, many of them emmaceuated blood stained and showing signs of tor sure. some have no eyes, and others may have been strangled or electrocuted. experts say this evidence

is more detailed and on a far larger scale than anything else that's emerged during the 34 month conflict. one of the leading lawyers who examined the evidence said it amounted to industrial scale killing. >> it's the harrowing pictures of starving bodies. they were reminiscence of one saw coming out of auschwitz after the second world war. and these have been tortured as well. to add to that. in some cases eyed have been gouged out. strangulation was regularly found, around the neck. >> the source is a photographer with the syrian military police. identified only as caesar. he deeffected and smuggled the images out on memory sticks to the syrian national movement. at 1 point, he was photographing 50 body as day.

the 31 page report was commissioned by a leading london law firm acting for catar which has demanded syrian leader president asaad's prosecution. the report offered to have led prosecutions of international courts in the hague say they are confident of their source. the inquiry team says there was clear evidence capable of being believed by a tribune i will of fact there a court of law of systematic torture and killing of detained persons by the agents of the syrian government. it would support findings of crimes against humanity, is could also support war crimes against the current syrian regime. but any action at the international criminal court would face many hurdles. tim friend, al jazeera. >> joining me now is peggy hicks, she is the global advocacy director for human rights act. >> good to see you. >> this reporting is disturbing.

can i tell you something, your organization have been reporting on these for the last 2 1/2 almost three years. >> absolutely. >> what is your reaction to this latest report? funded by the government, but by -- carried out by respected u.k. organization. >> well, we haven't ourself been able to authenticate the photograph. >> and that's a key point. tell me why the authentication is so important? welt, the reality is there's been a lot of video evidence of this conflict, most of it authentic, but obviously all sides have an interest, and there's also a chance that somebody could try to put something into the mix that's not real. but everything, of course, points to the fact that these photos could be authentic, and there's certainly consistent with human rights watching finding for many many years. we issue add report a year and a half ago called torture which looks at the full system of torture within syria's security prisons. so it is consistent with what we have been seeing

the r a long time. >> have you also found in the course of 2 1/2 almost three years of this conflict, there have been atrocities committed on both sides in. >> absolutely. the scale of the violations is massive. they have the ability to inflict much more damage. they can use air attacks and we have seen indiscriminate bombing, so they have the weaponry, to be able to inflict thousands and thousands of casualties. there have been horrendous abuses as well, we reported on executions and other abuses by elements of the opposition forces. >> documented to the point where we with could potentially see the criminal court? >> i think we have to always keep bushing for that, the i.c.c. was created for a situation like this. it is where all sides can have put their evidence forward, asaad and the russian regime point to the fact that the other

side is committing abuses, well, let's get in some investigators and put that to the test by having real investigations. do you expect this report to have any real impact on the leaders and the conference as it moves forward? as i'm asking this, you have reported for years and that doesn't seem to have made much of a difference, do you want -- do you think this report at this particular time will? >> people being starved to death, i have to believe that each piece of evidence like this does make a difference, and ultimately they push all sides at the table to behave differently, and to engage more seriously.

and we are heaping that russia in particular, will be called. >> that's key, isn't it? >> and to look at the fact that their ally of syria really needs to grapple with this evidence and with the abuses that are going on. >> what's the best that can come out of this. >> well, i am hoping there will be at least some movement along the humanitarian front, and in other places. human rights watch has pointed to 5 different areas are we can see real progress. we want access to. we want the humanitarian. we could have people released from prison, there's a huge number of political prisoners and we would like to see some real movement on that front, and then, of course, finally the use of these tactics. the use of weapons that have been outlawed by the regime, should stop. >> peggy, appreciate your time. the global advocacy director for human rights watch. >> thank you very much. >> we should term you that the hunt is on today in russia for three women

known as black weed with does, suicide bombers who may try to attack next month's winter olympics in sochi. the press reports police are distributing these leaflets that sochi hotels they warn the people in the area, and say that one of those black widows may already be in the olympic city. al jazeera is in london for us, what is the latest on the search for the suspected suicide bombers? >> well, tony, they are looking for these three women in the region, but in particular the one woman who they think russian authorities think is actually inside sochi already and that's particularly troubling because russians the russian authorities have put what they call a ring of steel around sochi, in particular. now keep in mind, sochi is a -- predominately a safe area in a very value till region. they have put a ring of steel around sochi, where they don't even allow

cars to drive unless you have special licenses. so the fact that this one woman could penetrate into the actual site of the olympic city is particularly troubling to many. that is something that the russians are adamant that they are trying to pursue and hunt down these women who they say are a real threat. >> we know the united states has offered to help, but i'm cure use as to what the u.s. is doing to keep americans safe. >> tony, there are a number of fbi agents that are in russia. we are told dozens of them are there, we are also told there's a congressional delegation on the ground in sochi. headed up by the chairman house homeland security committee. there are there with the russian counter parts. we are also told that two

u.s. navy ships. there they are there for kind of intraction we are hearing reports that hotels are yet to sell out, and still plenty of tickets available. i am wondering if that's because of these security concerns? kit be any number of reason. sochi is not a particularly easy place to get there. but certainly the security concerns are not playing well in what is considered one of vladimir's putin flag ship efforts. he is really connected to these games, specially, and for that reason, it's thought that this -- if something happens or if the olympics are a failure, that it could be a direct wound to the russian president, and a very -- at a time when there is growing dissent within the federation. >> phil, appreciate it,

phil, thank you. we have to tell you this winter storm is dumping snow in the northeast today, and causing a real nightmare for folks. take a look at this, this is a scene in new york city, which could see as much of a foot of snow. the snow will be followed by another round of freezing cold temperatures, which could last for several days, john joins us live now from new york's station, he is bundled up as he should be. john, this weather is already having a big effect on people's travel plans. >> you better not be laughing by the way. today now you are back, and i am standing here in the freezing gold outside penn station, this storm is huge. it is called the, i 95 storm. it starts from miami and goes all the way to the north. places from virginia up through washington, d.c. and even into -- are effected by this huge storm. i flow that my own

daughters college for example has no classes today in virginia as far south as virginia, and here just a bit north of washington, d.c., where we with are in new york we are learning that the whole of the government in the capitol has been closed down, no one is working there today. they have all been set home, and as you come up the country, the governors are deciding whether to send state workers home, and the governor of new jersey, who is only inaugurated to his second term today in office, at 11:00 down at the state house the first thing he did was to issue a state of emergency in the state of new jersey. so that's whether we are, a huge storm that's what i want to get to with you here. as much as perhaps a foot of snow, we know that has all kinds of ripple effect flu the travel system, how are the airports and the trainization behind you handling this weather? >> well, a man just came

up through here and said have they closed that yet. we don't think they have yet. i am listening to the announcer on the p.a., they have a speaker outside, and all the trains seem to be leaving, but there has to be a possibility i think the train services will be effected as this storm really comes in. as for the airports the airports in the northeast are effected. and the reason is that the airline are keeping the flights away from this snow there are 5,000 delays going on, and around about 3,000 delays in and out of the country, in fact, 2,000 cancellations in and out of the country. so flights will be wrecked by this again. >> we haveout owe there in these conditions because you do such a good job, there he is.

over at penn station, not far from our headquarters here in new york, at first there was a polar vortex, and now we are calling this snow maged objectionn. >> yes. first the polar vortex, it was so cold here, and well -- >> it was ridiculous is what it was. >> it is going to be ridiculous tomorrow. very cold air behind the storm. right from boston, into washington, d.c., as you see on the live shot, it is snowing in new york city. all across the east coast, as i said from boston down to washington, d.c. the storm will be

intensifies here tonight. flippishing visibility, and look at the temperature change just from yesterday, a 35-degree temperature difference between yesterday and today are you kidding me? >> no, i'm not. >> it is what it is. a deadly shooting only the university campus in it happened at purdue university in indiana in the school's electrical engineering building. one person was killed. he did not attack anyone else, the campus was locked down for a couple of hours there is no word on what may have led to the shooting. coming up, more than 6,000 pages of documents released shows how the arch diocese tried to hide scandals over sex abuse. and new numbers showing

the earth had one of the warmest years on records, details next. blatche

stood in the way ofusly fiscal insanity for our state, and excellence for our children. together, we have pushed those interests back, and put our children's future first. worst natural disaster, and we have worked together, resteer, renew, and rebuild the state that we love. and new information out today shows last year is one of the hottest on record, nasa and the national oceanic and

atmospheric administration announced the global temperatures for 2013 earlier, lisa zack is in washington, d.c. for us, tell us more about the findings and what they mean for weather patterns in the future? >> well, teeny, despite what you see today, it was a very warm year at least in 2013. another one for the record books, scientists look all the way back to 1880, and they said depending on how you crunch the numbers it was either the fourth warmest or the 7th on record. let's fake a look at how warm it was, the average temperature, 58.3 degrees. that's 1.1-degree warmer than it was in the mid century last century, that's their benchmark. in the u.s. it was the 42nd warmest year, australia, much different. may had the hottest year on record there. and we with have a map which lays this out for you. if you look at the map, the pink to red areas they are the ones that were above average, you can see that's most of

the globe, a very tiny bit of real estate, those areas were a little cooler than the average. so what's causing this? well, the scientists from nasa says it is carbon emissions it is global warming and that is what is going on here. and he agreed that this these numbers that we are seeing are very serious problem. here is what he had to say. >> when you pile up these records year after year, you end up with a very clear signal, that the most recent decade, most recent 25 years are much hotter than it was before on a global basis, and we are starting to see greater numbers of extreme weather events. the prediction oz f what will happen are coming true. and tony, i hate to tell

you, but the scientifics will predicting the end of 2014 and 2015, expected to be exceedingly warm. >> wow. >> it just continues. >> yeah, we could use that warm today along the eastern seaboard, in washington, d.c., lisa good to see you, thank you. >> thank you. >> today's nasty weather, causing widespread worries for those that heat their homes with propane. in at least 18 states are taking steps to help get fuels to customers. the company beside the bicycle sharing program in new york and other big cities is declaring bankruptcy. the canadian based firm known as bigsy is said to be millions of dollars in debt.

it builds and designs biked and software for new york, washington, and many many cities. let's bring in buzz feed reporter, matthew good to see you. >> hey, let's start with propane. >> yeah. >> let's see, propane prices are up 17% from this time last year, is this just the weather we have some speculators involved here? >> no, i don't think -- >> the other important fact is that according to the federal data, propane exports of propane have more than doubled in the last year, okay so that means the price is going up, because there's -- instead of beam in the united states buying propane that comes from the natural gas that comes from the united states, people from all other the country are able to buy and it that's been driving the price up. >> so in the list of options for heating your home, you start with what? natural gas? oil and then propane? is it those three. >> yeah, often times geographic, different areas they use different

stuff. >> i guess there are a number in the millions of people who still use propane? >> absolutely. so one of the states that put in losens regulations to transporting propane was ohio. my favorite example is maine. they have used 50,000 pounds of salt. typically they use 34,000. >> let's talk about the company that's behind city bikes in washington, and certainly in new york. >> yeah. >> what's the problem here. >> yeah, so this is a company that was started in the city of montreal to deal with their program, and they have been having financial problems for the last two years, they never -- they were late in releasing their 2012 financial results and there's been rumors for a while, and on monday they finally declared bankruptcy, they were claiming 50 million-dollars in debt. new york and chicago are unhappy with the kind of software and service they

were getting from them. they with held $5 million worth of payments to the company. and that's. >> so that's a dispute, something they will work out. >> yeah, so you know, the only reason city bike isn't working is nobody wants to get out on one in new york, but they are still working it is a different company that licenses these software and the operations in new york, chicago, and d.c., so for now city bike will be working. new documents showing how far the arch chaos sis of chicago went to cover up sex abuse cases, and one say as revolution is underway, street fines and people clashing with police, we will have the latest

>> our government is allowing an invasion. >> ...get to experience illegal immigration, up close and personal. >> its very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished. >> a lot of families that don't know where their babies went. >> i want to make sure that her life, its remembered. >> what happens when lost lives are relived. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> on borderland. only on al jazeera america. >> any of you guys want to come to the united states?

[a winter with storm is dutching snow on much of the mid atlantic today. some areas will see more than a foot. forecasts warn of heavy winds and bitter cold temperatures. security forces are one is believed to be ian sochi. the site of the olympics, warning beam in the area that russia has black weed with does with previous suicide attacks. delegates from the syrian government, and 30 other countries are gathering for a long awaited peace conference to end syria's war, the talks are the first sense the conflict began nearly three years ago. syria's bloody civil war has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions of others. more than half a million threing the conflict are now in neighboring turkey. many of them are living outside refugee camps. he spent some time with several refugees and nick, good to see you, what are those people saying to you? those syrians?

>> yeah, tony, these are stories of absolutely heartbreak, and inside syria they have all fled horrific very violent fighting and just give you one statistic, one out of every three homes inside syria has been destroyed or damaged. and so that's why these people have to leave, they feel like their lives depend on them leaving. they are fleeing to lebanon, fleeing to jordan, as you said thereforing also to turkey where i was over the last four or five days. and they may safer than they are inside syria, but they are certainly not very welcome. >> seven months ago she fled syria for turkey. her house feels like a cinder block kay. the family of five sleeps and eats in run woman room. they can't afford wood, bread to eat, or rent which is due tomorrow. >> how do you feed your

family? >> we have nothing. organizations help other refugees but nobody helps us. >> 700,000 syrian refugees have flooded turkey, in turkish run catches but right now the catches are full. so these families are on their own. we live in very bad conditions. look at this house. in syria we had beautiful homes. >> back in syria the regime jailed her husband for four months. here he tries to find work in construction, but in the last month, he only earned $30 for four days labor. >> what will you do? >> we will survive if i can get work. >> around the corner, neighbor abdul lives in a converted shop, he too paid rent to live like a squatter.

>> they don't have any running water or toilets. >> we will return to syria because here we are jobless. but they can't go back. they are often the country side outside hama, the city has long resided the government, and when the civil war begain, the government crushed resistence, thousands of homes destroyed countless have been killed. and in his living room his neighbor shows the ravages of war, syrian bombs burn four-year-old's legs and face. his mother says the soldiers burned down her house and took over her neighborhood. we are here because of the asaad soldiers they kill whenever they want, and they kill with snipers. >> he needs surgery, and his mother has no money. her husband has been in jail for two years she doesn't even know if he is still alive.

>> asaad separates the children from their fathers, he makes all the children or fans. >> joust side they fill their days with whatever activities they can. they don't trust the sanitation, they are members of a generation far from home, and isolated. back in his room, there are three-year-old son has no toys. one-year-old the one so hungry she tried to eat paper, she has leukemia. they don't know what to do or who to turn to, so they ask help from god. >> because no one else will help you? >> no. nobody will help. >> turkey says it needs financial help in order to expand its capacities until then, or until syria is safe, these refugees fear they will lose what little they have. >> and these stories happen all over the region.

f this problem in jordan, the fourth longest in the country. it's the equivalent of the entire kingdom, moving to the united states. that's how many we are talking about. this is not only about the war, or the politics, we are talking about here, it is the stories of the people who have had to three their homes and are now living as we saw illegally, and basically paying to live like squatters. >> one quick question for you, the gentlemen at the end of your piece, the dad there, no one will help. did you get a sense that there is any optimism about these talks this week? >> absolutely not. there's a lot of people who hope that one day maybe there will be some peace, but the people on the ground, the refugees

and the fighters i have been talking with, all of them dismissed this conference. most of the p osix didn't even want them to attend, from the u. point of view, they feel like they have succeeded. other end kind of actual peace on the ground. this is a war that is still ravaging yesterday. it's a war where there are barrelle bos being released. the violence, is catastrophic right now, and there's no sign of that 1207ing and the people here hope that maybe they can create a corridor, or some localize peace deal, but there's no sign of that yet. >> wow.

you know there was another side that neighboring civil war has spilled over. authorities vapor people were with killed and a car bombing in a strong hold, it is the second car bomb in the area this month, the group saying it was retaliated for support of two asaad regime in syria. showing the links the church went to deal with sex abuse scandals. the documents go back decades and show the arch diocese sometimes relocated to different parishes after abuse was reported and a sign others to watch them around children. the evidence covers only 30 of at least 65 colleger joy, for whom the arch diocese says it has proven claims of child abuse.

these documented were also posted on line today, so everybody can see them, but i am curious how families of victims are reacting? these victims say it opens up old wounds but again they say that this also a day of vindication for them, these victims their parents and the attorneys that represent them say the 6,000 documents confirm the claims that made sometimes that these 30 priests were molesting children, and that the arch diocese knew about it, and was covering up, and basically ignorerred it. one said one abused him, and then went on to abuse others as well.

maybe we didn't know what to do but there was no cover up, when are they going to learn? there was applausessive cover up. now they said it is hard for it to justify what happened several decades ago. it is now asking victims or people who know about abuse that is going on right now to let them know. tony. >> so dianne, the statute of limitations has run out to press charges so is anything going to happen to these implicated priests? well, about half of them have died, the other ones are no longer in the colleger joy, so there has been compensation, there was a court settlement.

so about 40 victims received money ranging anywhere from $100,000 to about foural. >> dollars. >> all right, thank you. two officials have now resigned over the fall out of a bog gus interpreter. there he is. he stood next to world leaderses like president obama, experts say his signs were meaningless. edward snowden may now have a new job. he has been running for the post director, which is the student representative to university management preponderate students say they wanted to support him and send a message opposing practices of state security. arm haing state security, and joining a terrorist

group, today the parents joined more than 30 news organizations calming for their son's release. >> for most, an award winning correspondent. that's secondary, he is their son. >> the need to seek the truth, and to all go whatever can be done to help those in need. >> our goal is to let the world know to get it out there. so that things can change. he has worked internationally, winning awards for his reports across africa, he was raised in brisbane, where hisn't pas still live. on tuesday, lois were with in front of australia's media to raise awareness of the situation, and call passionately for the egyptian authorities to release their son and his

colleagues. it's been a living nightmare, and until he gets out. >> all sections of the media were at the press conference, with further radio and tv interviews afterwards. in australia, his plight is big news. >> 21 in australia, we with live in a democracy, where you have to be charged to be held, he has been held since the 29th of desks without charge, and some of the allegations are unmanageable. >> lois has been able to speak to him just three times since his arrest, they are proud of their son, his balanced report of more than two decades in television news, but mixed with his profound concern. peter and his colleagues

were doing a legitimate job in a legitimate way, they should be released now. >> and two other journalists from our sister channels have been imprisoned for five months. with all the allegations from the egyptian government, andn't cos to demand all five men be released. in new york, the search for a missing child has come to a sad sad end. maria joins us with that and other stories from across the country today. >> yes, tony, human remains found along the east river in new york belong to a missing autistic boy. he walked out of his school more than three months ago, sparking a search. a teenager noticed the remains no word yet on the cause of death. anthony pleaded bel to one count of destruction of evidence, he was also fined to perform 100

hours of community service. prosecutors say he instructed two employees to delete data of the cement job on the well. in nebraska recovery efforts are still underway as the site of the deadly plant explosion, two people were killed and ten are in the hospital with serious injuries. records show that the plant had a history of safety violations. federal investigators have started looking into what caused the accident. the lawsuit claims that the gay ban similar claims have been made in other states. in utah the american civil liberties union is getting involved in the fight for same-sex marriages. the group is suing the state to restore benefits to same sex couple whose

have gotten married there. depriving them of legal protection for themselves and their children. utah stopped granting benefits pending a federal court appeal. and in the nation's capitol, michelle obama proved she can can slam dunk. that's right, it is a public service spot for the first lady's healthy eating initiative. and dunk, on lebron james. >> wow. >> let me just say this. >> the way the heat are playing right now, the first lady needs to suit up. >> there, i said it. >> definitely. >> you are welcome. >> the images that come out of the palestinian territories often depict violence and suffering. but one photographer captures the humorous and absurd side of life in that area. she shows tom ackerman, some of he is latest images.

>> her latest work focuses on the way they cope with their reality. even amusing from a black hero standpoint. beside the separation wall, the first in gaza. taking a walk in a dark tunnel for a wedding. a boy catching the quick swim. they would just be sitting out there, having tea, smoking. there's something there, something there. >> tonya belongs to a collective from iraq, yemen, egypt, iran and

jordan. have been impressed upon the region, wims as well as men. >> like this man, to break the ram dan fast. >> beam in general, are finding ways of releasing the stress through luemore. >> she says her work is never meant to triflize. >> so there is a million text prevalent throughout the pictures. but it is subtle. >> and she is sensitive to the expectation of her various viewers. >> it is a challenge that keeps her and her sister photographers always looking out for the next special moment to record. we with have been telling

you about this powerful storm blanketing the mid atlantic, with snow today by the time it is done, we are told it will -- well, we will check here, as several areas could see -- are we talking feet of snow here? really from new york city into boston, we are talking about blowing drift snow, visibility is diminished to less than half a mile or less here tonight. i have a nephew, he likes to drive, he is not very good at it, i think he needs to stay home tonight. and folks living between these areas need to stay off the roads tonight. diminished visibility will be a major problem. >> appreciate it, thank you. a mass protest in the ukraine, and now rumors of the people involve redirect examination getting threatening text messages for taking part in a mass riot.

while you were asleep news was happening.

protests in ukraine are getting out of control. to what describes as being scary. guarding up to the parliament. police violently beat some demonstrators. jennifer glass has the latest. >> the new fight for some old ukrainiansomes. many here are afghan war veterans now at the forefront of a potential battle. this time in their own streets. for weeks they have kept the peace here, now there's a new threat, laws that give police powers to dismantle the

protests on independent square. their commander says they are ready. >> the government and president should be afraid of these new laws. we have already been scared. so we are ready to stand until the very end to have the life we deserve. >> even when protests turn violent on sunday, a few hundred meters from independent square, the veterans did their best to calm the crowd. getting between the police and the demonstrators. back at the main camp, it is not just veterans manning the barriers this architect was afraid to give his name, he juggles his regular guard with standing guard here nearly every day. >> this protest camp is the last piece of free land. the only place where all these stupid laws mathed by the government are not legal. >> this week they started carrying bats and sticks ready for a possible assault by police. the defenders of

independent square say this is a critical time with the new laws coming into effect. they have reinforced the barricades and even using the bitter cold. it's hard to stay under the snow, but this is all slick ice, meant to make it difficult for police to approach. >> they think that will happen at night. and they have beefed up patrols. while the evening briefing emphasize add peaceful approach, they are ready for trouble. i will fight. i will not be silent, if they want to fight let them know i am ready. i will not just stand by. as the men go out for another long cold night, to watch, wait, and possibly defend an area that represents freedom here. saying you are registered as a participant in a mass riot. that does that mean?

maria has that part of the story for us, maria? >> yeah, tony, and these are the texts that protestors said they received. they are all sent around the same time. seven minutes before midnight, 12 minutes after midnight, and just ten minutes before midnight. now, the phrasing is similar to a new law making it illegal to participate in the protest. so some of the reactions we have seen or this facebook page they must have pulled activity records. i wrote back saying thanks. and you have this twitter reaction that says you calm that creepy, unfortunately, the text message that ukraine protestors got from the ukraine. now, the three cell phone companies in the ukraine denied that they had scene the message or provided location data to the government, but that's what the protestors suggests happen.

the former minister for russia things are getting really scary, and clearly if you are getting these messages on your phone, it feels threatening. >> yeah, and that's what these people are saying, it was definitely a threat and a threat they say from the government. >> appreciate it, thank you. we'll take a break, and come back with a look at today's top stories, this is today's al jazeera america. >> all this week, >> the strength of our future relies on education. >> it's a parental right to say this is the way i'm gonna homeschool my child. >> home schooling, or no schooling, part of our weekl long, in depth series. america tonight only on al jazeera america >> to most, peter is an

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renders minutes after the shooting did not attack anyone else. the campus was locked down for a couple of hours. no word yet on a motive, new jersey governor was sworn in for a second term today. kristy's inauguration is overshadowed by several scandals but the governor didn't talk about that today, instead he focused on his speech on bipartisan ship. parts of the country are being hit hard by a snow storm. federal government offices in washington, d.c., were closed for the day, and as many as 2700 flights are reportedly grounded for now, many schools also closed early, some areas will see a couple feet of snow. the long awaited geneva two talks are back on track, u.n. secretary and over officials are many monofroese switzerland for preliminary talks. it will be the first time the syrian government and the syrian opposition have met. and some 2500 leaders of business and finance are arriving today at the

world economic forum. among the key topics being discussed global economic growth, income and equality, and talks over the future of syria and iran. those are the headlines, i'm tony harris, inside story is next on al jazeera mentioner. america. >> post soviet russia has been fighting separatists and religious extremists for decades. now the winter olympic games are just weeks away, and terrorist threats are the "inside story." >> hello, r