to an a >> digging their heals in - demonstrators in ukraine reject the president's concessions and wow to keep on going. the beginning of the end - syrian talks in indonesia as talks top the agenda. >> three years after the topple of a regime an anniversary turns deadly. dozens killed and injured. >>

[ singing ] >> breaking with tradition for the first time. girls are performing at englands canterbury cathedral. >> good morning to you. welcome to al jazeera america. live from new york city. i'm morgan radford. the message in ukraine is clear - no deal. protesters pushed back hard after rejecting the president's offer to join the government. the unrest step pd up as protesters attacked a government building with police officers inside. al jazeera's jennifer glasse joins me live from kiev. are protesters feeling emboldened after rejecting the president's offers? >> morgan, they are. they were feeling emboldened before legementing the president's offer. the protesters left on

independence square, frustrated that therein no movement, tried to march on parliament. they clashed with police and we have seen picture of the clashes and burning barricades. we have seen demonstrations spread around the country. in kiev, not far from here, they spread again. >> in the heart of the capital ukrainians besieged the lenin mousse eement. afraid police in side were waiting to ambush celebrations. this is the latest unrest. with demonstrations spreading across the nation, president viktor yanukovych meets with opposition leaders and is offering to share power and reform oppressive laws that were passed a week ago. for the three opposition leaders, there was no deal. >> translation: our clear

position is to rescind the laws. our demands are to hold presidential elections this i can't remember -- elections this year. and we are not stepping back. >> they also want the release of dozens of demonstrators detained by the government. while the barricade defiant protesters faced police lines. there's little time to worry about politics. this is the public face of their battle against the government. >> concessions by viktor yanukovych. too little, too late. many say they'll take their country back. this is their fight and they want to show the people that they are here to stay. >> they are ready for a fight, even if it's just with stones. >> as protesters try to take over the museum, they broke windows and used fireworks as

missiles. the leaders urged peaceful movement. it's not cheer who is in charge. >> now the battle for who ends up in charge is what starts. tuesday is judgment day. that is when an emergency sayings of parliament meets here. they are expected to look at the repressive laws and reform the government. can the opposition keep the people in check until tuesday. they have called on them to spread demonstrations further, but they have called on them to be peaceful. it's sunday here, we are expecting tens of thousands to come to independent square to rally. it ended up in violence. the opposition leaders are trying to keep the people orderly and disciplined. >> thank you jennifer glasse, live from kiev. >> it's the third day of syrian peace talks and the stakes are high. more than 100,000 people have died since the bloody civil war

began. yesterday it was the first face to face meeting between the syrian government and opposition. they never spoke directly to each other. they focused on how to get aid to areas blocked off by the war in homs. the united nations was prepared to send food as early as monday if both sides can agree. the focus on the talks will be on the prisoners of war. >> nick schifrin joins me live from geneva. both sides are discussing bringing aid to homs. what is stopping this being a quick agreement? >> this is the most important thing of this conference. what you see here is the coalition, the opposition talking about alleviating pain of millions of people.

homs is the epicentre of that, this is the city of a million people before the war. there's only about a few thousand families. the stories that people tell are horrific, people eating grass, cats and dogs. they don't have food or water or the basic necessities. we have been hearing the coalition, the opposition and yesterday morning putting the pressure on the government to alleviate the pain of people inside homs. let's take a listening. >> is the government willing to help create a corridor in holmes? >> we don't want them to put language in our mouth. we are willing to help our people. they should stop taking citizens as a human shield. everyone knows corridors lead to something else. we want to relieve our people, but in a way that helps them, not brings a worse disaster to them in a different form.

>> i apologise, that's one of the government speaks women talking about how they are not willing to bet any aid into homes. coalition wants the government to agree on medicine, food, water, and the u.n. is trying to do that. as you heard from the government side, they are not willing to talk about homs, they want to talk about the country, terrorism. we are nowhere near the agreement to get that food and aid needed. >> moving past that, when do you think the talks will transition from aid corridors and prisoners to a ceasefire? >> yes, it's a good question. that is the point of that conference. everyone who came has agreed to talk about a transitional government on mutual consent. they are the words in the letter sent to everyone, that everyone agreed on. the syrian government is saying "we never agreed to that."

assad is not stepping down. he gave an interview where he said he wanted to run for president. the two sides are far apart. the coalition says "we must talk about transitional government" much the government says we didn't agree to discuss that. the two sides ever having a hard time finding similarities or common ground. yes, the two sides are far apart, but at least they are talking. no one is walking away. let's take it as a positive sign after three years of war that has been so horrific for so many people. given the two sides are far apart, does it look like the coalition is being supported, is the opposition still fragmented. >> it is very much fragmented and gives a life line to president bashar al-assad. the coalition and opposition is what the u.s. consider moderate

rebels. there's a lot of radical rebels, who are not allied with the moderates. it's confusing inside of syria. as long as the bickering is in the opposition, the assad regime says there are terrorists among you, members of al qaeda who are not represented here, nor do they say the talks are legitimate. as long as the pois is fragmented it's give for the u.s. or u.n. to get the opposition into a place where they can provide a pressure point on bashar al-assad. they have to reason to stop the violence, and it means it will probably continue. >> nick schifrin live from geneva. thank you for being with us. >> three years after the

uprising, egape shans gathered in caro to celebrate. thousands took to trafalgar square to rally for general abdul fatah al-sisi. the man responsible for oustings first democratically elected president. >> patty culhane has more. >> once again there are scenes of chaos and blood shed, but leaders are projecting on image of unity. three years ago they demanded the removal of a military leader turned president. three years late, they are back demanding a leader take the job. >> this is a military sanction

where only their supporters were allowed in. >> i came council to celebrate. the great 25th revolution able to overpower terrorism. that was not the case for those opposed to the military backed government. labelled a terrorist org faceation. protesters in the crowds. >> they were throwing stones and bottles. >> have you treated women or children. few of the protesters were

women. a 10-year-old child died. putting people who came to a hospital for treatment dead. seven died in the nearby hospital. dozens are dead as egyptians turned on each other. the military cracked down, three years after they united, to demand democracy. the country is divided. >> the brotherhood issued a statement vowing not to leave the street until the killers are put on trial. three of our al jazeera colleagues have been imprisoned there for more than a month. peter greste, baher mohamed, and mohamed fadel fahmy are held without charges. police are searching for clues as to what may have motivated a man to open fire at a maryland mall on saturday. the suspect shot two workers

before killing himself. he was around with a shotgun and explosive device. police believe they have identified the gunman. lisa stark reports with more from colombia maryland. police are here at the colombia mall as they processed crime scene. they have cordoned off the crime seen. they don't want anyone here or trying to get into the mall as they work the crime scene to figure out what happened this morning. >> a busy shopping morning turned into chaos. police, swat teams, ambulances rushed to the mall ark after 911 calls poured in. inside there was panic. >> i seen people running and i heard people screaming. it was boom, boom, boom. people started screaming and running. it was complete madness. >> police say the first officers were on the scene within

two minutes and they found three people dead of gun shot wound, one of them the shooter, who was armed with a shotgun and killed himself. the two victims worked on the floor and have been identified as 21-year-old brianna benlolo and 25-year-old tyler johnson. five were injured, one with a gunshot wound to the foot. the others hurt in a rush to get out. authorities had to comb the mall to make certain there were no other shooters and escort to safety shoppers and employees who scrambled into hiding. the tactical teams went through every inch of the mall and has has been cleared. >> it took hours to clean the mall. anton and his son left in the afternoon after being interviewed by police much ixed i think i initially thought that it can't be shots. >> these scenes are all too

common. >> our hearts and the police department's hearts go out to the families. this shouldn't happen in colombia mall or confirm. that's kind of where we are in society. >> the star with the two victims worked, zumiez, sold skate boorth and snow boards. the company issued a statement saying its heart goes out to the victims and their families and are arranging coups are for the employees in this area, and who want it. >> the two-storey mall is about 40 minutes outside of washington d.c. >> good sunday morning to you, i'm meteorologist eboni deon. a cold plast impacting. of the nation as we head to the beginning of the work week. we have a strong cold front

slipping into the mid west, pushing further south and east. that will draw temperatures down as far south as southern texas where we may deal with froze ep precipitation. for tonight temperatures will be driven all he way down to single digits and below. with the blustery wind wind chill values will drop as much as minus 50. we'll definitely need to bundle up and stay worm. today in chicago temperatures in the 20s. the dangerous wind chill will see it dropping. >> national security isn't the n.s.a.'s only purpose. the oo spy agency collects data to help u.s. corporation gain a competitive advantage. in an interview o be broadcast on sunday the former security

contractors talks about the u.s. spying for economic purposes. >> does the n.s.a. spy on seemens and other successful german companies to prevail, to have the advantage of knowing what is going on in the scientific and economic world. >> i don't want to pre-empt the editorial decisions of journalists, what i will say is there's no question that the u.s. is engage the in economic spying. if there is information at see means that is beneficial to the national interests, not the security of the united states, they'll go after that information and take it. >> the interview was conducted at an undisclosed location. a russian law-maker told panel makers that moscow plans to extend its offer of asylum to edward snowden beyond august. >> we are getting a preview of

what we an expect from the state of the union address on tuesday. the president will lay out a set of proposals to strengthen the middle class. president obama is expected to push the issue of immigration reform. a top aid says three words sum up - opposition, activism. after the state of union speech the president is expected to go on a 4-state tour. he'll visit prince george's county in maryland. milwaukee, and nashville tens. >> senator john mccain is under fire from members of his party. they say he's not conservative enough and voted to censure the senator. it criticised mccain for spores immigration reform and funding for the president's health care law. >> overseas french president francis hollande says his private life can be a challenge. on saturday he announced that he was splitting from his long-time

companion. many called trewair the first lady. she has moved out of his home. following allegations that he was having an air with a young actress. >> another major retailer hacked. things got crafty at a craft store. >> protesters defy a ban on public demonstrations. >> saving the is it slaves. the slave theater is in a battle of its own.

is it

>> good morning and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. another major retailer is hacked. first let's look at the temperatures across the nation with meteorologist eboni deon. >> we have below average

temperatures, we can't get a break from the cold weather. temperatures will tumble. we are seeing the core of cold air. today in miles per hour or now we are at 73, eight degrees in schick. 36 in atlanta. it's a little nicer than what it was yesterday. we'll keep the chill in the air for much of the morning. into the north-east. 26 around d.c. and nine in pittsburg. we had single digits making it feel coder. it's 52, 40 degrees in tulsa and miami we are sitting in the low '60s. >> thank you so much >> a possible data breach at michael's, the arts and craft giants telling thousand that their accounts may have been hacked in a statement they said:

>> retailer nooem jan marcus announced more than a million customer cards and target said the accounts of 100 million customers were breached. >> stolen laptops are blamed for a breach at a soft drink manufacturure. information of 74,000 people and employees have been compromised. they have sent letters to 18,000 individuals and plan to send 56,000 letters. >> the stolen laptop contained information that has since been recovered. >> the leader of an anti-government group in thailand was shot and killed. other were injured. protesters are trying to stop the government of yingluck shinawatra holing elections.

18 out of 50 stations have been forced to postpone voting. >> hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with riot police in cambodia's capital. protesters hurled rocks, shoes and the barricade. security forces struck back with force and the protesters demanded the government release 23 spectators, they were arrested during a crackdown on striking garment workers. margaret brings a story on the plight of the workers. >> coming from uponipei wrong p the industry is booming, brigging in there 5 billion u.s. carr meants account for 70% of the total exports. >> 25-year-old says things have not turned out as well as you

hoped. she gets paid $90 a month. part of that is sent home to her family. >> i'm not happy i earn here and right away. nothing is left. >> she shares a room in the city with three relatives. it's a cramped space and life here, she says, is hard. >> hundreds of others are not happy and take to the streets in defines of a ban. the ban was put in place after a similar workers' demonstration turned violent. the government's use of force shocked many. troops are making it clear they'll continue to do what they can to enforce that band. officials are in a bind. a cabinet minister said he feared raising workers salaries would drive investors or buyers

away. not doing so could lead to instability, which may have the same results. >> already 33 global brand and unions called on the government to resolve the situation. local groups are petitions governments to get involved as well. >> there needs to be dialogue and legal underpinnings in terms of, you know, behaviours of trade unions and employers. and there needs to be a more methodologically sound wave-setting process. >> for now the work continues on factory floors. >> translation: if the salary is raised i'll stay. if not i'll have to go back home. >> at the end of the day it is the thought of home and their families that keeps these workers going. with little other choice, they'll be bang in the morning with a hope that things will

improve. >> nearly 300 passengers aboard a caribbean cruise ship have fallen sick with a stomach virus. they are not sure what is causing the illness, but officials are expected to board the ship when it arrives. officials are collecting speaksmans to be tested. 3,000 passengers and crews are aboard the "explorer." dozens last week were sick with a similar illness. >> the west virginia company responsible for the chemical spill have to move their tanks. freedom industries was ordered to move their attacks by march. more than 300,000 were without water. the company has already removed a million gallons of chemicals from the charleston plant. >> coming up fighting polio in

pakistan. why effort to eradicate the disease are met with vonls. >> i'm rory challands at canterbury cathedral. >> i'm mark morgan, a stunning development at the australian open. all the details later in

>> welcome back, i'm morgan radford, and these are the top stories. protesters in kiev reject an offer to join the government. demonstrations heat up after protesters attack a government building with police officers inside. >> day three of peace talks in geneva. the focus is alleviate the pain

of the people. united nations says it could send said to the city of homs on monday if the two sides can agree. >> three years after the uprising that toppled hosni mubarak igip shans gather to celebrate. they took to the square in tahrir square. a suicide bomb attack in afghanistan has killed four people and injured as many as 22 people, including children. the explosion was set off next to an army bus in kabul. the taliban claimed responsibility and al jazeera's jane ferguson reports from kabul. >> afghan national air force staff were on the bus that was attacked at 7am in eastern kabul. it was common at that time of the morning to see government employees being bussed from their homes to their place of working whether they are security staff or working as part of the bureaucracy in the capital. in this case a suicide bomber on foot wearing a vest attempted to

board the bus while it stopped to pick up staff members. he was unsuccessful but detonated his explosives outside the bus. the government, years ago, stopped using marked buses for security forces. afghan national army was written on the side. instead they use civilian looking bus, subtle vehicles to take the staff to work, to avoid this kind of attack which is not uncommon in the capital. it has not worked entirely in these sorts of -- and these sorts of attacks happen from time to time. the attack comes a day after comment from the afghan president hamid karzai pushing for the peace process vog the u.s. and the taliban to be moved forward. it's clear this morning that afghanistan is far from peace. >> security officials say kabul was hit by at least two other attacks in the past 24 hours.

meanwhile polio is making a huge comeback in pakistan where several cases emerged in the country. efforts by the government to vak signate is undermined by violence. polio teams say they can't help the next generation when paralyzed by fear. to this man something as simple as getting up to answer the door is a struggle. he was not born like this, but missing the vital polio vaccine means he cannot use lis legs. i didn't get the drops, my parents tell me i had hayfever. i didn't give up and begin concentrating on my work. >> more than 100 new cases of the polio virus have been detected in pakistan. the disease has not only disabled him, but quashed his

ambitions. >> i have been deprived of many things i wanted to do. i wanted to learn. every school i went to rejected me. i don't get out. my life reinvolvings around my shop and my home. >> teams are attacked. there's a mistrust among the community after it was revealed the c.i.a. used a vaccination draif. >> traces of the polio virus from peshawar to syria. the government is taking serious note of it and is deploying thousands of political workers to administer vaccines. in the next few months we are doing an emergency, a health emergency. we'll have 12,500 volunteers who will go door to door and tackle

the diseases. polio is one of them. then the police will be providing security. >> health workers are demanding more concrete actions than mere assurances of security. >> they don't pay us on time of the the government should provide us insurance. we risk our lives for children and don't know if we will return home. >> while the government struggles to provide security and identify those attacking health workers. the plea to parents is such - don't be enemies of your own children, and vaccinate them to they can have a better future. >> pakistan is one of only three countries in the entire world where polio is endemic, along with afghanistan and mainlying earia. >> japan's prime minister is on a 3-day drip to india where they pledged to fast-track a deal.

some coastal communities in india are on edge. the fukushima disaster is fresh this their mind and fear the same can happen to them. >> nuclear power plants are the centre piece of the energy policy. for more than 40 years consecutive governments invested in them in the hope of providing millions of people with electricity. production has begun at the newest edition to india's power network. activists are convinced they have a cause to fight for. they claim that they started it. it doesn't mean that they shut it down. it's the people's will, a democracy. >> earning a living is a daily struggle. he has fished in the waters for five years, a power plant in the neighbour hood ruined his

liveliho livelihood. >> i used to earn $8 a day. i struggle to make $0.50. because of the plants i can't fish where i used to. if i tried to go near it the nuclear authorities stop me. >> india's first nuclear power plant was built in the 1960s. they have turned to france and russia for help. >> the director of the observer research foundation says india's unwillingness to sign treaties governing nuclear weapons hindered the chances of receiving help from japan. >> concerns heightened since the disaster. japan has been supported. despite fukushima japan has a constraint. it wants india to sign some treaties. the non-preliveration trity as

well before it condition proceed. that's where we have problems. >> from negotiation table to small seaside villages, there's little denying the impact that the nuclear energy plans, if rds, could have. >> the building and operation of this nuclear power plant highlighted a change the government struggled to deal with. nuclear energy is a hard sell since the incident in fukushima in japan that would give viable al-tern tifs much the government insists it's an option when it comes to powering the future. >> japan is giving india a $2 billion loan for energy conservation projects and construction ever subway lines. >> security forces in brazil are trying to restore order following clashes over the

upcoming world cup. >> police in sayer paulo used tear gas to disperse protesters. 1,000 people laughed in the street. some attacked a police car. police detained more than 100 people and small demonstrations are popping up in rio de janeiro. mark morgan has intriguing news from down under. >> this went from intriguing to stun k, not playing out as expect. rafael nadal was the heavy favourite in the australian open men's single file against stanislas wawrinka. nadal looked to tie pete sampras with 14 grand lamb is titlement stanislas wawrinka played well. he upset jobing earlier. he -- jobing jobing novak djokovic. rafael nadal left for injury, and he was gone seven minutes, there was speculation it was a

knee problem. a trainer worked on his back. rafael nadal had issues moving around the court. he won the third set to stretch it to four sets. then stanislas wawrinka closed the deal in the fourth and final set. he was impressive regardless of how rafael nadal looked. he wins in four sets. 6-3. we'll have more on the match in the eight hour again. his first grand slam title. more than this later, as i said. another season for mike sherseski. reaching 899 win, looking fon an even 900 againts florida state. he had help from a freshman. there is coach k. give parker the ball. he had a double, double, the yawning man, 14 points and repounds. he won it 78-56.

he joins coach bayon of syracuse posting 900. >> that sets up a huge game with coach bayhan next week. the orange are unbeat when a win over miami. the hurricanes led by one. scoring one field goal. the orange tightened the d. cj won a four starter. syracuse holds on to win it by 12. the orange unbeaten. after advancing to the final four, the shock erts improved to 21 and 0, beating drake 78-61. baker shooting 56 on the field. cruising to the 17-point win. it's no fluke, keep an eye on them. the state looking to move up in

the rankings because of an upset in michigan. look at the nifty step back. leading all scores with 27. the wolverines racing away. derek long junior with the bucket and the foul, tossing in 19. nick dialled in. he knocked in 5-3. michigan state putting up a 50 spot in the second half winning it 80-75. >> outdoor hockey in southern california. i said it. dr stadium was the site for the n.h.l.'s first warm weather game between the anaheim ducks and the koiption. how about a pool and a beach volleyball as well. special reframe ration was used. the temperatures 63 degrees. 55,000 on hand. the ducks played as they have

wul season. well. two goals for anaheim. the ducks shutting out the koiption. anahim winning 21 of its last 24 copies. fire works around and the league's head honcho says mission accomplished. >> the winner tonight was hockey in california, the fans here, the players had a great time. i want to thank the kings, the ducks and the dodgers. we couldn't be more pleased with how the evening wept. it's as much it was scripped in hollywood, which is appropriate based on where we are. >> on the links tiger woods scattered out of the gait. he stumbled at tory pines, where he's won eight times in his career. a nightmarish day in round 3. tiger courted seven bogeys and two double shooting a 7-over 79.

woods missed the third-round cut. tiger left without speaking to the media. 79 tied for his second-worst score. he shut on 81. gary woodland is the leader entering the final round. that's sports for this hour. >> look forward to seeing you. ahead of the enforcement administration. the bass michelle lienhardt said when the president compared smoking marijuana to drinking alcohol he was being irresponsible and said the comments are a slap in the face to officers who lost their lives trying to keep drugs off the streets. >> two sheriffs said she received a standing ovation. >> the slave theater was a prominent platform for still rights leaders. it's caught and the mittedle of a tug of war.

for more than a decade this small theatre was a place for big ideas. including those of the late civil right leader stokely carmichael. >> the press have you believe most who struggle, after they get tired, they stit down. it's a testimony to the lie of the statement. most people have decades of struggle behind him. >> that is what is important about the slave theatre. >> the theatre was the brain child of judge john phil inns. 79-year-old clarence hardy has been the caretaker for 19 years. >> basically the black people as a whole or people, we don't know each other. first of all, we have to start out with ourselves, and that's what the slave theater was designed for. >> we have heroes then. most of the movies we see on the big screen are heroes.

you come here, and they show you the black heroes. phillips opened the theatre in 1984, calling it the slave so no one would forget their struggle. hosting the last performance in 1998. following the death they were lock the in a bitter ownership battle. the opener brought the property for $2.1 million. clarns and his sop say the sale was illegal, vowing to fight. they came to the community radio station to help. >> welcome to the mission, our mission. >> it's time to work with the developers. the property changed hands in 2013. i don't think the banks would have made the deal if there had been liens or any kind of things like that. our interests is in restoring theatre to the site. . >> it's about restoring theatre.

it's a place where community organizers meet, civil rights act visits have spoken, a place where several playrite, historical black playrights have been a part of. omar says his community needs the slave theater more than ever. >> as far as being a young black man, you are under attack. we are sleeping, knowledge, i'm talking about. you know. we don't - we don't know. knowledge the hardies hope will find a home at the slave theater. >> the changing face of the canterbury choir. why after decades the church is breaking a long-held tradition. [ singing ] >> there's more snow across the great lakes. i'm tracking a pattern bringing a return of wet weather to the pacific north-west.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. the changing face of the canned brie cathedral. first a look at where the snow and the rain falls across the country. >> we are seeing more snow coming in across the great lakes into chicago. light snow coming down now. a clipper system yesterday and the second one is now fast on its heels, bringing the snow in around parts of minnesota and michigan. it's quite a snowy winter season and today we'll add anywhere from two upwards of five inches. most of the snow has been light this morning. once the winds are blowing it will pick up the snow making it difficult to see. blizzard mornings to the midwest and north-east. we are quietening down but it will be cold. >> imagine a future without

books. or at least the hard cover ones. it's happening at a san antonio library where a printed page is a thing of the mast. heidi zhou-castro explains. >> it's a library without books. instead of hushes from the librarian the walls talk. this is a favourite place to go afterschool. >> they don't have books books. they really just have the digital ipad books, i guess. >> his family is among 13,000 people who signed up for library cards at bibliotech since opening in san antonio last september. the area is 88% economically disadvantaged. 17% of the population lacks basic reading circles. >> there's a lot of families that don't have access to wi-fis

or computers. the libraries has 20,000 e-book titles. patrons can download their own device. >> they are good for those adults that have difficulty with reading or a lower reading level because the devices will read to you. >> this is a nursing assistant and a mother of three. more than a third of adults in the area, she never graduated from high school. now that my daughter is in middle school, i couldn't pronounce or read along. >> she said since discovering bibliotech her reading has jumped from sixth grade to ninth. >> therefore a puppy be... >> without storing paper books bibliotech can perform the functions of a library at a third of the cost.

they haven't lost an e-reader yet. what is to keep the e-readers from walking out the door and never going back. fix, there's no internet access. all the e-book content disappears after the 2-week loan term making them useless until they are checked back in. >> in fact, this is the book i'm reading now. >> bibliocheck is the brain child of county judge nelson wood. >> the more people read the better off we are in this country. we want to expand that as much as possible. this nook in the county courthouse is a satellite unit for a captive audience. 93 people signed up on the first day as bibliotech scrolls to the next factor of good old-fashioned reading in the new age. >> the library cost 2.2 million,

but a traditional library in austin texas will have an operating budget. >> a group of artists is taking advantage of snowy weather. 16 teams are in colorado competing the a the 24th annual snow competition. they have spend days cutting and carving decorations by hand. it will not loft forever. >> one of the britain's oldest cathedrals puts an end to a tradition [ singing ] >> the ancient stones of canterbury cathedral are no stranger to the human voice. it's been an integral part. but in a small english room under the roof of the building the face of that tradition is changing. this is the cathedral's all-people lal choir.

>> it would have been deemed inappropriate to sing in church. boys were taken. obviously they have moved on a good deal since thenment we are delighted to have the opportunity to give girls from local schools a chance to sing in the building. >> 16 of them selected from the 40 or so who applied. on saturday they'll perform in the cathedrals purple cassocks. >> i didn't know we'd wear cassocks. we were excited when we found out. >> is that important to them. >> yes, we finally got here and we are equal. >> some of the stat use at canterbury have been gazing at congregations coming and going for the best part of is,000 years of the there was a church before the cathedral. never in all that time has been

been an all-female choir. it's some tradition to mess around with. >> the dean, robert willis denies there was a specific reason to bringing male domination to an end at canterbury. >> why now? >> why not, really. the tradition lasted a long time. it fell to us that we must do this. there are girls that want to sing and we have the resources to do it. the girls' role will grow, unlike a young boy, a girl's voice doesn't break, meaning they can sing the same parts for longer. an all female choir makes sense,

it's just tape this institution 1,000 years to rld it. >> at the end of the first hour, here is what we are following. demonstrators in the ukraine reject the president's offer and strou keep going. syria peace stalks continue in geneva topping the agenda is prison exchanges and getting humanitarian aid into home. >> a deadly anniversary. threes years after the uprising that toppled the hosni mubarak age ee regime dozens killed. >> i'll be back in 2.5 minutes. in the meantime follow us online at aljazeera.com or twitter. i'd morgan radford. stay tuned after this short break.

>> no end in sight. the ukrainian opposition rejects an offer by the president and vows to keep on going. >> perhaps the beginning of the end in syria where feuding sides work to get humanitarian aid to homes. >> details in the maryland mall shooting. the violence appears to have been sparked by a jealous rage.

>> unfortunately the super bowl is played in new jersey. >> the battle line has been drawn. that's the hudson river. new jersey wants the world to know the super bowl and being played there. >> good morning to you. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. protesters in kiev are pushing back hard after rejecting the president's offer to join the government. the unrest stepped up. demonstrate jars attacked a government building with police officers inside. al jazeera's jennifer glasse joins me. what exactly did the president offer? >> well, it was a big turn around for president viktor yanukovych after two months of ignoring the opposition. he offered them the jobs of

prime minister and deputy prime minister and he also considered a number of things that they were demanding, including reconsidering draconian laws passed last week limiting freedom of speech and expression. the answer from the opposition clear. one of the opposition leaders vitaly klitschko made clear what the demand are. >> translation: our clear position is to rescind the laws. our demands are to hold presidential elections this i can't remember. we are not stepping back. >> the deal the president offered would keep the president in power, and that is a bit too far. many say they cannot trust him. on the stage behind me last night the opposition leaders say it's a deal breaker.

president viktor yanukovych we cannot trust him. he has promised things before. he encouraged the protesters to stay on the streets and expand it around the country. >> they call it a deal-breaker. are protest jers feeling emboldened after rejecting the president's offers. >> they are. they have felt emboldened for the last couple of days. the protesters here have been determined, coming out in their thousands. they've been here through two cold winter months, living here on the square. they have expanded the protest on the road leading to perimeter and they have spread to more than 12 regions around the country and are supported by demonstrations. demonstrations in support of the protesters here in england and germany. we have seen a lot of the

european countries criticising the ukrainian government. i think that the protesters have momentum. they push for what they want. >> jennifer, what happens next. where do we go from here? >> well, right now all eyes are on tuesday, an emergency session of parliament, when it convenience. until then, the passion has said it will negotiate with the government. tuesday is a long way off in this place where things moved quickly and the opposition's challenge will be to keep everyone in check. they will remain disciplined, to not let this descend into violence. protesters took over a former lenin museum. it was violent when they went in. they used fireworks as missiles. they went in. they went in because they were concerned that police were

inside, ambushing demonstrations. they have taken over the building, they'll demonstrate until demands are met. >> thank you jennifer glasse. as jennifer said the prot tests informant ukraine has gone behind kiev. we go to the west of the country. >> this is the renaling janal administration -- regional administration building in the west of the government. they got the regional governor who was appointed by viktor yanukovych to resign. he said later he did so under duress and took it back. the protesters are in control. they are maintaining a virtual 24 hour presence, singing secondings and keeping spirits up, saying they will not move like people in independent square. they have directed large

barricades made up of fires and bag filled with snow to stop security forces getting near here. it's one of many sites in the city tape over by anti-government forces. it's a movement spread across the rest of the country. they've been heartened by what is happening in kiev. many from this city has gone to independent square to further the protests. there's a lot of solidarity between these people and the capital. >> ukraine's defense minister told russian media that the military will not intervene. >> three years after the uprising that toppled hosni mubarak thousands took to tahrir square to rally for general abdul fatah al-sisi. he is the map responsible for ousting egypt's first democratically elected president. the celebrations are in contrast to the violence that erupted

during the anniversary preparations. 50 have been killed over the weekend as the military cracks down. >> we are on the third day of syrian peace talks. more than 100,000 died since the bloody civil war. yesterday was the first face to face meeting between the syrian government and opposition. they never spoke directly. the meet inks focussed on humanitarian i had. >> nick report. >> this is what the conference is about, alleviating the pain of civilians cut off from food and aid because as you said in the city of homs, we have been talking to people inside of homs. some of the stories are hor if k. people say they are eating

grass, cats and dogs. basic necessities that they need. what we hear from the collision, the opposition is a pressure on the government to focus on homs and allow humanitarian quarters into homs. >> we need to open the corridors so that people can survive. our main purpose of negotiating is to enter into transition from the rule of - from dictatorship into democracy. both sides are willing to talk about food, water and medicine. it's happening inside syria. when we asked the government, the members of the regime to negotiate, they are hesitant to agree at all. i challenge an advisor about whether she would allow humanitarian corridor into homes, she did not give an

indication that that would happen. is the government willing to help create a core tore into homs. >> not corridor. we don't want them to put words into our mouths. they should stop taking citizens as a human shields. en knows the corridors lead to something else. we want to relieve our people in a way that serves them, not brings worst disaster to them. >> the language you heard, using the ward terrorist, that's what the regime is accusing the spoigs of being, terrorists. the opposition says no, it has invited some of the most bers that support -- members that support al qaeda. the fundamental notion of that is to try to get food, water, necessities into cities like homs. both sides are not on the same

bag. the u.n. is meeting on them. in a few hours they'll have another meeting. it's a sense of trying to get the two sides to agree on the smallest things to alleviate the pressure and pain. >> that's nick schifrin from geneva switzerland. the taliban is taking responsibility for the suicide bombing or a military bus. the bomber tried to board the bus but was stopped. that's when he set off his vest. >> meanwhile police are still searching for clues as to what motivated a man to open fire at a marlin mall. the suspect shot two workers much police believe they have identified the gunman, but they are not releasing this name.

lisa stark reports with more from colombia. >> police are still here at the colombia mall as they process the crime scene. they cordoned off the parking lots and had police cruisers around the perimeter of the mall. they don't want anyone trying to get into the mall as they work the crime scene. >> a busy shopping morning turned into chaos. police, swat team, ambulances, after 911 calls started flooding in. inside there was panic. >> i heard people again. and it was boom, boom, boom. and people started screaming and running. >> it was madness. >> police say the first officers were on scene within two minutes. three were dead, one of them the shooter, armed with a shotgun and killed himselfment the two

victims worked in the store called zumiez. they have been identified as 21-year-old brianna benlolo and taylor johnson. >> 21 were injured, others hurt in a rush to get out. authorities had to comb the mall to make certain there was no other shooters and to escort to safety. shoppers and employees, who scrambled into hiding. tactical teams went through the mall and it has been clear. it took hours to clear the mall. anton and his son left in the afternoon. >> i think i thought that can't be shots. >> these scenes are too common. >> our hearts go out to the families of the people that lost their lives today. this shouldn't happen in colombia mall.

that's where we are in society. >> the store where the two victims worked sold skate boards and snow boards. they issued a statement saying the heart goes out to the victims and families. they are arranging counselling for employees that work in the area. >> the two-storey mall is about 40 minutes outside of the nation's capital. >> an american father stuck for months, he's trying to bring home his sons from democratic republic of congo, saying they are pawns in a political battle >> and edward snowden - what he says the government is doing to help big companies. >> they should know that the game is buying held in new jersey. >> there you have it. the seahawks for the broncos is not the biggest match, it's no,

or jersey. we'll explain, coming up next.

>> good morning welcome back to al jazeera america. up next - so where exactly is next sunday's super bowl played. most of the nation is stuck in a deep freeze. meteorologist eboni deon is here to give us a look. we'll have a hard time getting out of that. it will stay cold. another arctic blast on the way. it will slip further south and east. driving the cold air mass where southern areas of texas could see rain. we'll watch it closely, as early as tonight temperatures take a dive. then you factor in the winds, gusting in the order of 40 to 50 miles at a time. it will make you feel like minus

50. it's going to take five to 10 minutes. you have to cover up if you have to head out of the wind are not that strong, but they are gusting up to 36 miles per hour, with a freshly fallen snow, blizzard warnings posted. all the areas shaded in red. blowing snow, reduced visibilities. let's take a look. we'll see some of the warmest. we drop our low all the way down to minus 20. we stay below zeros, and with a southerly wind flow on wednesday temperatures moderating with highs of 15 degrees. >> nearly 300 passengers aboard a ship are sick with a stomach bug. health officials from the c.b.c. are expected to board the ship

when it docks. officials are testing blood samples and 3,000 passengers and workers are on board. dozens of passengers on ner royal caribbeanship had a similar illness. a tennessee couple is among dozens straight to bring home children. 800,000 orphan children are in the democratic republic of congo where the government suspended adoptions, leaving the parents with little to do. >> jonathan martin reports from nashville. >> alaina has everything ready for her adopted boys, the room filled with shirts and shoes and a cute stool for them to sit on. >> it breaks my heart. i want to adopt as many as i can. they don't have anyone to love or take care of them. >> justin carr owl left for the democratic republic of congo in november, thinking he'd come

home with his sons. months later they are 7,000 miles from home. elaina asked us to hide the boys' faces. justin has missed a lot. the biggest change is their daughter. >> she's two months old. she's change and growing. it's getting hard. >> here is the problem. last year the democratic republic of congo suspended exit permits for families with adoptive congo lease children, even those that met the criteria. >> it has nothing to do with adoption, but international politics. >> this is a nashville lawyer specialising in adoption. using adoption as a fail, as a tactic, suspending adoptions as

a tactic to superintendent a diplomat uk win. it does not work. >> the motive is not clear. the state department says applications for exit permits are held up because of concerns for falsified documents. drc authorities said it was over abused or abandoned children. or some were sold to homosexuals. elaina and her husband have no choice but to communicate through skype. it's the only ways she can see the boys. even though it's a violent situation, they feel safe. >> something can always happen. there's a chance that, you know, you could wake up one day and it would be unsafe. elaina will keep the christmas decorations up until justin and her boys come home.

>> and a dad can see his daughter for the first time. >> the international adoption process takes six months to make sure the children are not part of trafficking or baby selling scheme. >> french president francis hollande said his private life could be a challenge. he announced he was splitting from his companion. the two were not married. she's moving out into an apartment that francis hollande owns, this coming after it was discovered that francis hollande was having an affair with a french actress. >> the snow weather is bringing out a rare group of artists in colorado. 16 teams are at the 24th annual snow sculpture competition. jim huli shows us some of the

coolest works of art. >> they spent the last five days scraping and sanding, cutting their creations into the snow. >> team lith is unveiling an environmental message. >> this is called the northern star. it represents the different faces of the sun >> the russians have an olympic theme. team wisconsin's sculpture will be a butterfly. >> the butterfly travels further than any migratory insect or animal. >> they begin like that, a huge block of snow. one of the competitors is tom day. >> this is not my first rodia.

19 years of them. >> tom's team breckenridge call their creation winter fun. >> i have a dog running down the hill with his father and son on the intertube. what i have here is taking out little by little. here is the challenge, the rules dictate this has to be done by hand. >> to stay within the guidelines, they have come up with ans arsenal of contraptions. this is a trowel that we put a nailer plate for a truss on it, using it as a snow scraper. >> the teams work through the night under the glare of spotlight, racing the clock. >> it's a blast, a matter of pacing yourself physically and not getting too exhausted. >> i'm supposed to be snow

boarding. i'm going to look at this stuff. this is more impressive. look at it. it's an improvisation. >> this art will not last forever. the sculptures remain this place for a week. >> it's free to visit. it will stay in place until february the 2nd. >> the super bowl is a week away. the fans get ready to watch the seahawks and broncos, there's confusion over where they'll play. >> the official logo says mymj, new york, new jersey. >> ask people across the country where the games are played. they'll tell you... >> new york. >> new york. >> unfortunately the super bowl is playing in new jersey,

unfortunately. >> that's the problem, there is the city. the city that never sleeps, it's a hell of a town. the game will be played here, a state line and a couple of rivers away in east rutherford new jersey. new jertiony items in a center bowl can be forgiven if they are a little miffed. >> the game will be held in new jersey. if you look it shows jersey in a little circle. >> look at how the n.f.l. is promoting the game. all over morningstar mann you find reminders, including 12 blogs the broadway through times square. not to be sidelined on the issue, colombus drive is known for a glorious week as super

bowl drive and both teams are staying in the city, and the surface that is media day will be held in newark. hundreds of out of town dollars will be spent ear. >> we appreciate the ako lates and advertisement and the attention, but the game is being held in new jersey. >> for jersey the whole thing is a cold shoulder. from the first super bowl. al jazeera. >> the record for the coldest super bowl was back in 1972. the high was 43, the low 24. next sunday's game will break the record. president obama is ready to face the nation. a look at what he's up against. >> and a look at the bitcoin

craze. that's what some prefer it. >> the people are starting to clash...

>> welcome back, i'm morgan radford live from new york ci. these are the top stories >> protesters refuse a request to join the government and attack a building inside. >> day three of syrian peace talks. the focus is to release the prisoners of war. the united nations says it can send aid to the city of homs as early as monday if the two sides agree to an aid corridor. police are trialling to figure out why a gunman opened fire on a mall in maryland. the shooter is raising concerns.

apparently national security is not the only purpose. edward snowden says the spy agency collects data to help u.s. corporations gain a competitive advantage. in an interview to be broadcast he talks about the u.s. spies for economic purposes. >> reporter: does the n.s.a. spy on see means, on other successful german companies to prevail to have the advantage of knowing what is going on in the scientific and economic world. >> i don't want to pre-empt the editorial did i says of journalists, but there's no question that the u.s. is engaged in economic spying. if there's information at seemans that is beneficial to the national interests, not the national security of the united states, they'll go after that information and take it. >> the interview was conducted at an undisclosed location.

a russian law maker told members at the forum. russia plans to extend offers of asylum. >> people gathered in the streets of brazil to let the world yes they don't want the world cup. we have this story from sao paulo. >> this is a busy and most important avenue in all of sao paulo. this is the first anti-world cup protest held in the city in 2014. the numbers are not nearly as big as what we saw last june. this is still trech a youth-led movement. well over 1,000 people here. they are saying that brazil is spending too much money on the world cup and they point to things such as this - that the country is spending $24 billion

for the world cup. and $4 billion on the saidiums. >> huge amounts of money is spent on the world cup, but housing, health, transport is being taken away. >> we see signs saying, "five yes go hem", no to corruption and capitalism." "people power", and, "don't come to the rup in 2014." >> a huge police presence. this is nothing compared to what it will be like when the world cup is here. the brazilian government said they'll have tens of thousands of police officers available, including a special riot force deno idea to all 12 host cities and they say they will not tolerate non-peaceful protests. leading the march are several dozen members in brazil.

the government considered them trouble makers or vandals. they say they are here to retaliate against participation police violence, against a peaceful protestor. things are starting to get out of control with some of the protesters. you can see some of the grenades going off. this is how many protesters turned into situations such as this - utter confusion and shows how a few protesters can throe the city into chaos. >> that was a report from sao paulo. >> the world cup is scheduled to begin in the second week of june. we are getting a preview of what we can aspect from president obama's state of the union address. the white house released an email to supporters saying the president will lay out a set of proposals to strengthen the middle class and will push the issue of immigration.

three words sum up the president's message - opportunity, action and optimism. >> joining me to discuss the story of the week is a political and business consultant and a former aide. what can we expect the president to focus on in the state of the union address? >> the concept of economic opportunity. a study came out saying that corporate profits rose five times greater than wages in this country. while wealth continues to be concentrated at the top. it's not trickling down. we here about trickle down economi economics. that's not trickling down to the right person. people are concerned. we see protests for high minimum wage, for example for workers, and you cannot have a

functioning strong democracy where you a concentrate at the top and people at the bottom not making money or access to claim the ladder. >> how important is the state of the union for the press. some call it a lost year. he had the embarrassing health care roll out, the lowest approval rating and a gridlock with congress. what went wrong in 2013, and what does he need to do to make 2014 go his way. >> he's not going to make a huge impact. but what i do think it gives him is an opportunity to get his message out unfiltered. what the president contended with sips he took office is a well-funded campaign against major policy proposals. the rollout was messy, and the

website did not move and it was big problems. what created problems that people don't talk about. that took a bigger hit on because core supporters were concerned about the scope and level of spying that went on on men citizens. >> you think thee took a biggest hit. >> no, i would say the n.s.a. scandal was up there. the health care rollout - it's big. i think people discount the role that the n.s.a. scandal has. it wasn't republicans that would be mad at him. when it came to the n.s.a. scandal that's where you saw a lot of core supporters riled by that. what he needs to do is remind people because 2013 was not that

bad of a year. he has an historic agreement. we never saw an agreement. not the perfect agreement. >> it was a lot of problems, but the progress compared to where we were, you can't discount the stride made by the president. getting a law passed because he faced unprecedented law group. the states were suing, it was a well-funded campaign against the law. i call it a fear and smear campaign. >> why? >> because people were told at one point there was a crazy wild conspiracy that your grandmother would be health care righting. there was all these wild theories going on. >> that's by the party and businesses threatened by the

law. it's an amazing piece of legs lace. one of the things that the president did not do a good job on is addressing what the true purpose of the law is. it is to transport the medical system from a fee per service to a system showing outcomes and improvements. now you don't here anything about that. it's rare you hear that discussion and conversation. you hear who the winners and the losers or, but not how it helps the average person. the president needs to do a better job. going into 2014, he needs to go on and stay on the offense around every single one of his policy proposals. >> let's talk about the other side. the republicans. you said they launched a smear

and fear campaign. governor mike hubbinga bee had -- hubbinga bee had controversial marks. >> the republicans don't have a war on wim, but a war for women for them to be empoured to be something other than victims of their agenda. women i know are outraged that they are thought of as helpless crete tours. >> that was at the republican nags at committee meeting over the wanted. what do you make of that. do you think this will help the republican party rebrand. >> those statements rally the base. it gets the base of the republican party exited. when you look at moderate republicans, they don't care about the issue, running right-hand wishing that the

contraception man dit goes away. as it relates to women, it unted fines the republican brand. a lot of people tinge the party ni is part of the 1950s. a lot of independentened, moderates do view the party that way and that will be problematic when you make statements like that. >> do you think have cathy morris deliver the g.o.p. response is a response. >> absolutely. and i think it's smart politics on the part of the republican party to put a woman out front, someone that is credible and will deliver a message. this is the first time that that happened in a long time. i do think that the republicans are torn. they have a base that wants to

hear comments like those made by mike hubbinga by, but men you need to be behind the base. that's where they'll have whereabouts where they don't have to just rally the base, they are the people that will be turned off by comments like that. and people that will turp out in 2016 elections. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> the northern american bitcoin conference is taking place where bitcoin users are promoting things like the bitcoin atm, slated to open in miami, home to the first restaurant to accept the digital currency. it's better for business says the owner. >> we save 3-5% on credit card fees. we have doubled the profit margin as a restaurant.

>> this is the infancy of something that will change the world. >> critics of the digital turn vi have doubts about its stability. the value of one bitcoin jumped from 13,000. we take a closer look at the bitcoin craze. >> customers can pay here with bit join. the owner says his restaurant is the first in the south-eastern united states to accept it. >> this is the infancy of something that is going to change the world of how we think of finance. >> if other businesses follow the money they'll see how using bitcoin instead of credit cards can increase profits. >> bitcoin is like cash. there's no profit fees or charge backs. a customer can't run up a tab and call the credit card company

to complain about the food. >> we save 3-5% every month. we doubleded the profit margin. >> house does using bitcoin benefit a user. >> clients are sack ramento kings and wordpress. >> you don't have to provide your identity to make a purchase. >> despite what the critics say, there's a global wave of acceptance. there are 12 million bitcoins. the flies fluctuates. there's 10 billion bitcoins. charles evans is a finance instructor at florida atlantic university. and one of the organizers of

this bit join. >> those calling it an upon xie scheme, he says, "remember what they said about the internet in 1996. >> it's a piece of software running on millions of people's computers. if you are wondering why miami is an epicentre for bitcoin. fewer people have objection to bank accountment it can open up another kav knew for people to send and receive money. >> the countdown in the superbomb is under way with the biggest game a week away. >> mark morgan, is it in new jersey or new york. >> it's in new jersey. i can understand why people would thing that. we are counting down. >> a defense now, the see hawks

more than made up for an offense that is less than stellar. >> ross shimabuku with the tale of the tape. >> touchdown. >> it's the highest scoring offense in the league. denver broncos versus the number one defence. led by richard sherman in their legion of boom. >> when you use manning and brady you tack about a couple much greatest pashers great systems recognising how to utilize the talent. the best thing to do is throw it all over the yard and win championships. peyton manning will be looking to add to the legacy. he'll have a chance to be the

first quarterback. >> there's a game to play. we'll enjoy it. you have to take time to save our the moment. >> the broncos will make an importance. the first for chuck bailey who will finally play on the biggest stage. he did a great stob. i think, you know, coming back. they found away to win and that goes to credit him. >> for the second time in franchise history, they are preparing for first trophy. >> there has been a lot of ball games and, you know, it seems similar. bell be there for a week and our

guys that have been through this in the past, years past, we feel like we have been there before. not the super bowl, but an event leading up to a big game. >> seattle has to find a way to pressure peyton manning, who is yet to be sagged. weather could be a factor. weathery conditions could play into the hand. buckle up or bundle up. it should be a good one either way. >> all right, ross, the two teems arriving in new york later this afternoon begoning a week-long preparation for the game. >> buckle up or bundle up. are you going? >> no, but i will be there prior. we'll have live reports, and be all over it.

>> i'll be here in the studio. >> greece has been hit hard by the economic crisis, home owners are worried they'll lose everything. coming up, big things come in small packages. tiny treasure inspiring big dreams in south america.

>> good morning to you and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. it's been years sips the world came out to help greece. first let's get a look at the cold across the country. with meteorologist. >> we have cold air in place over much of our nation. we are dealing with a little snow and that is coming in around the great lakes. this is round 2. the first clipper now dealing with that.

it looks like blowing snow will be the big issue. we start to get another disturbance moving in, bringing snow in. it's quiet but the tailened - there's a few showers and a lot of fog. here around southern georgia and florida. we could use the moisture in the west. it looks like it will be a quiet day cross the pacific morth west and the south-west. there's a little cloud cover. that will be it. good news we have a pattern shift by toose that will bring rain into washington. >> thank you so much. >> it's been nearly four years since grace got a bailout. the economy hangs in the balance. men greek families are struggling. for some things are about to get

worse. >> when gloria was 13, her father gathered all that he could save and moved to greece. they invested everything in real estate hoping to build a better life in their native land. in the crisis, she and her husband lost their jobs, they cannot pay their mortgage and are facing a permanent property tam. if they can't pay, the government could take their ohms. >> this is a seizure of my property and my parent's property, which they earned working hard overseas. >> after taking our savings, they found a way to take whatever else we have. >> they have sought help from a sent rift party championing the cause of home owners. the leader says the taxes are unfair, because they know not everyone could pay. >> it started with a hypothesis

that 25% of the population won't pay it. it cuts the population into two parts, those that will pay the tax, and the others who were going to lose their property because they cannot pay the tax. you are creating a rupture. getting rid of property is hard, the market is flat. greece's creditors demand is earns $4 million. >> it has begun to use new powers. >> the government is not taxing earnings. this is the fate of the economy, and many believe the last refuge of the middle class. pressure tactics have worked. we see the measures are effective in lowering the number

of people that have overdue debts it's correct that we have 200,000 people fewer owing to the tax office. this is beginning to make a difference. it seems the greeks will do what it takes to preserve the property. >> they may go back to south africa, repatriating income to support the greek economy. >> history is being made at englands canterbury cathedral. >> for the very first time a girl's choir is performing after the averp bishop decided it was time to break the mail-only tradition. imagine buying a tiny version of what you want and finding out

you can get the right thing. that's what is ta tracting every year. we have this report. >> the city of lap az is steeped in tradition. they have adapted a move with the times. the festival of min tours being a good examples. now selling plastic food items, bank notes, flat screen tvs and computers. >> we live in a world in which many things are ever smaller. >> here in bolivia they take a mip turisation to a new level. here small, very small is beautiful. >> the annual festival begins. it will provide all you want for

the year. if you buy a miniature version of what you desire. a great deal of time and effort goes into getting the details right. >> look, you can see the detail. the secret is not how to make the mould. i invest a great deal of time in making the mould. if you put in the work it's excellent. >> don louise has spent weeks on some mode. he makes saints litting saints. believing if treated right it will deliver what the openers want. >> over time it's traditional. we now get visitors from other countries. with the streets and mountain setting, it is alie with tradition and culture, indigenous and european.

the focus is very much on the intricate detail. >> bolivia is one of the purest countries with half of the population living below the poverty line. demonstrators rejected the president's offer. syrian peace talks continue. topping the agenda is prisoner commages. a deadly anniversary in egypt. dozens of protesters are dead and more injured. >> we'll show you the dramatic finish on the men's side of the australian open. >> we have another cold week ahead and show you a drop in temperatures. >> as always, it's a pleasure to

have you. al jazeera morning news continues.

>> digging in their heels - demonstrators in ukraine reject the president's offer and vow to keep on going. >> is it the beginning of the end - syria talks continue in geneva as prisoner exchanges top the agenda. >> turmoil in egypt where three years after the uprising that toppled the regime an anniversary turned deadly. dozens of protesters are dead.

[ singing ] >> and breaking with tradition. for the first time girls are performing at englands canterbury cathedral. >> good morning to you and welcome back to al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm morgan radford. protesters in kiev are pushing back hard after rejecting the president's offer to join the government. the unrest stepped up with demonstrators attacking a building with police officers inside. jennifer glasse joins me. what did the president offer. >> it was a big turn around for president viktor yanukovych. a week ago he didn't want to talk to the opposition.

now he's offering them the positions of prime minister and deputy prime minister and so farring concessions on demands, including considering changing laws limiting freedom of expression and tro pest. the answer from the opposition no deal. and opposition vitaly klitschko says the opposition knows what it wants. >> translation: our clear position is to rescind these laws. our demands are to hold presidential elections this year. and we are not stepping back. >> now, that deal would mean that president viktor yanukovych would stay in power. the opposition says it's a deal breaker. they have a lot of power and president viktor yanukovych has

shown no indication that he would step down. they hope he forces early elections. >> they said no, we don't want your deal or offer. do they feel like they have the strength and leverage to get what they want? >> they are. there's new life in the demonstrations, i covered them for weeks, and they had been dwindling in numbers. it is a sunday. despite the fact that the opposition leaders aren't speaking there are demonstrations and protests spread across the country in cities in theiest. but also in places in the east which are government strongholds. we see that the demonstrations are proceeding. they have taken over government buildings and that is very unsettling to president viktor

yanukovych when an advisor felt he could ignore the demonstration, but can't ignore what it going on now. >> jennifer glasse, thank you for being with us this morning. >> meanwhile it's the third day of syrian peace talks and the stakes are high. more than 100,000 people died since the bloody civil war began three years ago. yesterday was the first face to face meeting with the syrian government and opposition. although they never spoke to each other directly. they focus on how to provide humanitarian aid. the center of attention will be on the prisoners of war. nick schifrin reports from geneva. where they are now meeting. >> this is what the conference is about, alleviating the pain of syrians cut off from food and aid in the city of homs. we have been talking to people

in homs. some of the stories are horrific, eating cats and dogs, they don't have the food and medicine that they need. what we are hearing from the coalition or the opposition is a pressure on the government to focus on homs to allow the humanitarian. >> we need to open the humanitarian corridors so people can survive. the main purpose of negotiating is to enter into transition. >> the u.n. mediator says both seeds are willing to talk about food, water and medicine and it's happening inside of syria. when we asked the government, the members of the age reem here to negotiate, they are hesitant to agree to anything at all. i challenged an advisor to the

syrian president about whether she would allow humanitarian corrido corridors. >> reporter: is the government willing to create a corridor? >> not corridor. we don't want them to put language into our house, rer willing to help. they should stop taking citizens as a human shield. they lead to somethingless. we want to relieve our people, in a way that serves them. not braining a wars disaster to them. >> the regime is accusing the opposition of being a terror it. it's the brutality that is supporting some into syria. on the most basic aspect. the fundamental notion of that

conference which is to get food, water, basic necessities into cities luke homs. clearly both sides are on the same page. the u.n. is meeting with them. they'll have another meeting and a sense of trying to get the two sides to grape, to alleviate the pressure and pain. >> nick schifrin from geneva. >> we are joined by a professor from washington dc. professor, thank you for joining us this morning. diplomats said they want to focus on some of the smaller agreements first before trying to end the entire conflict as a whole. what exactly are some of the smaller issues. >> there are two issues that seem to be ripe for negotiation at the momentment one is prisoner exchanges and the other is humanitarian relief to

specific places. i have to say that from the opposition perspective it's extremely important that they keep formation of the transitional government as the primary agenda site for the talks. >> why do you say that. >> they have been successful so far in making it the primary agenda item. and frankly you heard from the syrian government spokesman, there aren't going to be humanitarian corridors. that will not end the pain of millions of syrians, what willnd the pain is an end to the war. for that you need some sort of transition away from the current regime. >> you mentioned a syrian opposition. syria's opposition is fragmented. the syrian national coalition doesn't have the backing of all the opposition groups.

how can we be certain that the other groups will fall in line. >> we can't be. it's clear that some of them will not fall in line. it is possible to conduct a transition if you have pt bulk of syrians behind that transition. the poights people negotiating in geneva do not have good control over the fighting forces that are opposing the regime. they had control over some of them, influence over others, and there are others over which they had no control whatsoever. this will be a messy lengthy process. it will not end form. i do not have much hope that the humanitarian relief will be on a scale that actually helps the bulk of syrians.

prisoner exchanges, however, are serious possibility. because prisoners are a burden when you hold them, and you want your own guys released by the other side. i think there is some real possibility of moving ahead with some major prisoner exchanges. >> you mentioned priper exchanges and humanitarian aid. when we discuss a ceasefire. i don't know. ceasefire is an extraordinary difficult subject because the regime has consistently interfered with ceasefires when they negotiated locally. the regime uses its facility and to re-iing nate the fighting. i think the main thing here is to get a political agreement. once ins some kind of political

solution, people will move quickly to a cease fire if they want to implement the political solution. >> who has the upper hand? >> the regime has the upper hand militarily. the geneva talks have gop better for the opposition. they made unforced errors, being too aggressive, too raisy in its presentation and threatening to walk out. frankly, whoever walks out gets the blame in this situation. so i think the opposition's doing well at the negotiating table even though its military position is not good at the moment. >> professor at the john hop kilometres per hour university school of advance university studies and the middle eastern stoout. >> three years after the uprising that toppled president

hosni mubarak, egyptians gathered in care have to celebrate. >> thousands took to tahrir square on saturday to rally for general abdul fatah al-sisi, the man responsible for ousting egypt's first department ukly-collected president. the brother hooted issued a statement -- brotherhood issued a statement vowing not to leave the streets until the killers are put on trial. peter greste, mohammed badr, and mohamed fadel fahmy are held without charges. >> prison was scraib as overanyone that challenges the government. >> police are searching for clues as to what may have caused a man to open fire. two workers were shot before killing himself.

there were explosive charges inside a bag. police believe they have identified him but have not released a name. >> police still here at the colombia mall as they process a crime scene. they have police cruisers all around the perimeter of the mall. they don't want anyone to work the crime scene. >> a busy shopping morning turned into chaos. ambulances rushed to the mall. they poured in reporting a gunman. >> inside there was pan ig. >> i see people running and i heard screaming again. it was boom, boom. and people started screaming and running and it was just complete madness. >> the first officers are onscreen. two were dead of gunshot wounds,

one the shooter. >> the two victims worked in a store on the second floor. they have been identified as 21-year-old brianna benlolo, and 25-year-old taylor johnson. five people were injured, one with a gunshot wound to the foot, the others hurt in a rush to get out. >> authorities had to comb the mall to make certain there were no other shooters, to take to safety shoppers and employees. tactical teams went through every much of the mall. >> they left in the afternoon after being interviewed by police, it was thought that that can't be shot. these teams are too common. >> our hearts go out to the

families. this shouldn't happen in columbia mall. unfortunately that's where we are in society. >> the store with the two victims worked. zooumys, the company issued a statement saying its heart goes out to the victims and their families, and it's arranging coupsing. >> the two-storey mall is about 40 minutes outside of the nation's capital of washington d c. >> it's been a snowy january. this will be a month for the record books. we have seen up to three feet of snow in toll eedo. in detroit 32 inches of snow and there's more to come.

as we speak we are dealing with snow flakes. around michigan, southward and indiana, we are seeing a lot of snow. we'll watch out for the snow as well as the cold temperatures that will be dropping across much of the nowhere plains, thanks to a strong cold front that will continue to dip south and east. as early as tonight the temperatures will fall to the single digits. once you factor in the winds it will feel like we are sitting at minus 50, along the morn border of minnesota. around minnesota the wind chill will dip below minus 40. a dangerous might and the cold air in place for the next few days. this is one of the warmest days, 25. down to minus eight it will feel colder. we be below zero for highs on monday and tuesday.

>> national security is not the n sa's only purpose. >> in an interview to be broadcast sunday on german television, they talk about how the u.s. spies for economic purposes. >> does the n.s.a. spy on seemans, other successful german companies, for example, to prevail and have the advantage of knowing what is going on in the skin tisk world. >> i don't want to pre-empt the decisions of journalists, but there's no question that the u.s. is engaged in economic spying. if there is information at seemans, that they thing would be beneficial to the national interests, not the national security, the united states, they'll go after that information and take it. >> that interview was conducted at an undisclosed location.

a russian law make are told panel members in davos that moscow plans to extend its offer of asylum seekers to edward snowden. now we have a preview of what to expect from the state of the union address. the white house released an email saying the president will late out a string of propose apps. they'll push the issue of immigration reform. opportunity, action and optimism wraps up the ms age. >> he'll visit maryland, pittsburg pennsylvania, milwaukee, wisconsin, and nashville tennessee don't miss the coverage: >> meanwhile senator john mccain

is under fire from members of his own party home in arizona. the state republican party says he's not conservative enough. the revolution criticises mccain as well as funding for the health care law. over in france the french president francis hollande has his private life and it can be a challenge. francis hollande announced that he was splitting from his companion that many called the first lady. she has moved out of the presidential palace to a paris apartment. this is following the revelation that frederic hollande was having an affair. the french president told time magazine that his private life should be suspected. >> things get crafty.

riot police movement in as protesters defy a ban on demonstrations.

>> good morning to you and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. another major retailer is hacked. fus a look at what temperatures will see across the country. >> we are waking up to chilly numbers all across the country, especially up to the upper mid west. it will be nine in chicago. look at memphis, above the freezing point. this is a live view into chicago. we have been dealing with the snow in the last day or so. another system is moving in. the wind will pick up, making it difficult for those of you getting out on the roadway. take it easy and wait for the rods to clear. in the deep south we are feeling the chill. 57 in orlando.

not too bad. take a look at south florida. a look an the cole side. we'll climb to a high of 77. even filling a nice moderation. houston, 70. the chill is going to return as we get into the highs in the upper 30, by the time we get into monday and tuesday. >> freezing temperatures. >> a possible data breach at mikals, the arts and craft giant telling customers that their accounts may have been hacked. in a statement they said: >> neiman marcus announced that more than a million customer cards were compromise: target said one million cost mers data

was breached. coca-cola says information belonging to 74,000 people, including thousands of its foreign former and current employees have been compromised. the atlanta based company sent letters to 18,000 individuals and plans to send another 56,000. they are sending information like social security numbers. a leader of a group was shot and killed as demonstrators blocked a group. protesters are trying to stop the government, claiming the government is core up. early voting has been disrupted. 18 out of 50 stations have been forced to postpone voting. >> hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with riot

police. police tried to block them. protesters hurled rocks and shoes. the security forces struck back. the protesters are demanding the government release 23 demonstrators arrested earlier. the protesters were arrested during a crackdown. we have the story on the plight of the workers. >> coming to pei wrong penn was supposed to be the start of a better life. the industry is booming employing more than half a billion people. bringing in 5 million a year. the 25-year-old female says things have not turned out as well as she hoped. part of that is sent back home. the rest barely covers

necessities. >> i'm not happy the money ierb is spent right away. they share the room with three other relatives. life is hard. hundreds of others are not happy either. they are taking to the capital streets in defines of a ban. it was put in place this month after a workers demonstration turns violent. still, troops are making it clear that they will continue to do what they can to enforce the ban. oterms are in a bind. one cabinet minister says he feared raising workers salaries would make the country less competitive and buy investors and buyers away. not doing so could lead to stability. it might have the same results.

>> the unions called on the government to resolve the situation. they are partitions foreign government as well. >> there needs to be dialogue and more legal underpinnings in terms of, you know, behaviours of trade unions and employers. and there needs to be a method logically sound waive process. >> for now the work conditions. >> if the salary is raised, i will not. if not i'll go home. >> it's the thought of home and families that keeps the work evers going. we'll be back with the hope that things improve. >> fighting polo.

why efforts to eradicate the disease is having problems. >> i'm here at canterbury cathedral. >> i'm mark morgan, a stunning upset down under and there's a new grand slam champion and i'll show you how it happens. >> every day someone leaves their home searching for a better life. in a breakthrough event al jazeera america takes you beyond the debate. experience the tragic jouny of these might grants. a lot of people don't have a clue. >> i don't believe in borders. the government is a louing an invasion up close and personal.

it's overwhelming to see this many people. a lot of families that don't know where their families went.

clsz >> welcome back. om-morgan radford. these are the top stories. protesters in kiev rejects the president's offer to join the government. demonstrations heat up after protesters attack a government building with police officers inside. day three of syrian peace talks. the united nations says it can send aid to the city of whom.

three years after the uprising that toppled president hosni mubarak. the celebrations were in contrast to the violence that killed 49 people on the third anniversary of the revolution. a suicide bomb attack in afghanistan killed four and injured 22, including 22. the explosion happened next to an army bus. the taliban claimed responsibility. >> james ferguson has more. >> afghan security staff were on a bus that was attacked. it's common to see employees busked from their home to a place of work. >> in this says an accused bomber on footwearing a suicide vest totalled to board the bus while it stopped to pick up

staff members. he was unsuccessful but attempted to debtonate his explosives. the afghan army written on the side as soon asking vehicles to take their staff to work, trying to avoid this kind of attack which is not uncommon mere, it's not worked and these attacks happen from time to time. the attack comes a day after comments from the afghan president hamid karzai pushing for the peace process involving the u.s. and the taliban to move forward for peace to be brought to afghanistan. it's clear that afghanistan is far from peace. security officials say kabul was hit by two other attacks in the last 24 hours.

>> several new cases have emerged. efforts by the government to vak sin it. polio teams can't help the next generation when they are paralysed by fear. >> something as simple as getting up to answer the door is a struggle the. he wasn't born like this, but missing the vital polio vaccine means he cannot use his legs. >> i was 1.5 years old. i didn't get the drops. ip had high fever. i didn't get up. i concentrated on my work. more than 100 new cases of the polio virus have been found. i have been deprived of many things i wanted to do. every school i went to.

i don't get out. my life rewolves around the shop and home. getting rid of it is hard. there's a mistrust. they used a fake drive to locate osama bin laden. >> they found traces of the polio virus. as far away as syria. it's putting thousands of lives at risk in pakistan. they are deploying thousands of workers to administer vaccines. we are doing an emergency, like a health emergency. we have 12,500 volunteers who will be going door to door and will be tackling the diseases. polio is one of them. then the whole, the police will

provide security. health workers are demanding concrete actions. >> they don't pay us on time. the government should provide us insurance. they risk our lives for children and don't know when to return home. >> while the government struggles to provide security and identifying workers. their flee to parents is six. don't be enmiss of your own children. >> pakistan, afghanistan and nigeria are the only three countries in the world with polio is endemic. >> 300 passengers aboard a royal caribbean cruise ship have fallen sick with a stomach virus. officials are expected to board the ship when it arrives in the

virgin islands on sunday. >> more than 3,000 passengers and crew members were on board. dozens of passengers on another ship became sick with a similar illness. the west virginia company responsible for the toxic chemical spill will have to remove the above ground storm tanks. they will rehave to remove the tanks by march. 3-00,000 were without tap water. the company has moved almost a million gallons of chemicals. >> security forces in brazil are trying to restore order over the cost of the upcoming world cup. >> police in sao paulo use tear gas and bullets to disperse protesters. 1,000 people march in the

streets. some attack a car and try to overturp it. police detape more than 100 people. small demonstrations were held in rio de janeiro. >> al jazeera's mark morgan is here with details of a dramatic finish down under. what happened. >> seems like we had a lot of surprises in the women's and the men's draw. it was capped off. >> prior to today's australian open men's signals. rafael nadal beat stanislas wawrinka all 12 times they met. stanislas wawrinka never won a set. rafael nadal looked for his 14th grand slam title, tying him with pete sampras for second all time. stanislas wawrinka came out crisp and attacked. he steam rolled rafael nadal in the first set. he had beaten nov jack djokovic. he was gone seven minutes. returned to the court. he tweaked his back.

a trainer worked on his back. he had issues moving on the court. stanislas wawrinka won the second 6-2. rafael nadal had the third. he closes the deal, stanislas wawrinka, in the fourth. this is match point, beating jocka vich and rafael nadal. stanislas wawrinka wins his first grand slam title. >> right now i don't know if i'm dreaming or not. we'll see tomorrow morning. (clapping) >> rafael nadal, i'm sorry for you. i hope your back will be fine. you are a great guy, a good friend and amazing champion. you did an amazing comeback last year. it's a pleasure to play against and with you. >> thanks stanislas wawrinka, you deserved it and all your team, very happy for you. we have a great relationship, you really deserve it.

congratulations and all the best. >> turning to college basketball. a college for mike shajeski. in his 34th evens coach k hit 899 wins, looking for 9-00. parker helped his coach along the way. parker with a double double 14 points and rebound. duke led by 18 and cruz in the second half. the coach is one of the only copes to coach 900. >> that sets up a huge game for the blue devils against jim bayhim's orange, unbeaten with a win over miami. the hurricanes led by one, scoring one field goal. the orange tight nipping the deed. four starters in double figures.

sarah cues holds on to win. 19 and o. after advancing to the final four, they key on rolling. shockers 21 and 0. ron baker with three. the shockers shot 53% from the field. and won by 17. >> this team is no fluke. keep an eye on them. the state is looking to move up now. there was an upset in east lansing. watch the spartans. he led on the scores. michigan state led by six. derek walton junior tossing in 19. they were dialled in from lopping raping as they are. knocked down 5-3. 19 on the day. they put up a 50 spot in the

second half. >> outdoor hockey in southern california. a pause for dramatic effect. >> director stadium was a site for the nrl first warm weather. as if outdoor hockey in l.a. wasn't enough. it will be a pool and beech volley ball. the temperature was 63 degrees at the opening face off. a crowd of $55,000. the dcks played as they have. the ducks shut out the kings 3-0. anaheim won three out of four. >> on the links tiger woods staggered out of the gate in 2014. he stumbled at tory pines, a course he won eight times, a nightmarish day.

tiger carted seven bogeys. he shot a 7-over 79. woods messed the girs round cut. tiger left the course. he once shot an 81 at the 2002 british open. >> that's sports at this hour. >> thousands of american and athletes are expected to attend the olympics in sochi russia next month. security concerns are high. killing 34 people. on friday defense secretly chuck hayingel said they meat the arrangements. american athletes told family members to stay home. joining us is a parents who will attend. john her maup. his daughter is competing in an

olympics. he's in minneapolis. congratulations, and thanks for joining us. >> i'm happy to be here. >> tell us about kerry and her journey. >> kerry gets something in her mind, she wants to do and goes out and does it. she went to college and decided that she wanted to try the life of a skier. went to her first event on a limb, won it and the rest is history. >> did you and your wife have concerns following the russian suicide bombing. do you have reservations now about going? >> no, there's no way i'd miss my daughter in the olympics. it's a once in a lifetime event. the olympics has been on our bucket list too. we are concerned about what's been happening, but we got to believe that russia is going to take care of the security and

everything will be fine. what about kerry, ha he expressed concerns. >> she's focussed on what she needs to do and preparing for a competition. she hasn't expressed concerns. do you know any personality that would struggle with a decision. >> a couple of parents we are good friends with the periz ijs es and they decided not to go. zack has been to the olympics and so has john and jp. russia is a long way away and there's other reasons, but they probably aren't doing to go. that's all i'm aware of. john, have you heard from the american government or government officials ahead of the journey. >> no, we saw the warnings that have come out. we registered with the state

don't. really isn't have been contacted by anybody. >> when are you leaving? >> we are leaving february 5th and will get there on the 6th. >> is there anything you plan to do differently. if this hadn't happened, if the suicide bombings hadn't happened would you do anything differently? >> no, we'll be cautious and careful and not do anything dumb or stupid, just be careful and enjoy the opportunity to go to the olympics. best of luck for you and kerry. thank you to the free skier. have a great weekend. >> the changing face of the canterbury choir. why the church is breaking a decades-long tradition. n sink sink

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. oum morgan radford live from new york city. coming up a big night for the music industry with this year's grammies, first a look at the snow and the rain with our meteorologist eboni deon. and it's not hard to guess. it's around the great lakes where we continue to see the snow flakes, most have been on the lighter side. we have clipper won move through yesterday. take a look. there was another batch of snow with a second system bringing the snow in across michigan. plenty of snow into chicago, now we see the next disturbance.

and that will allow for snow to set up shop we'll watch it closely. here is a closer view of what we are finding. it hasn't made it into fargo. it has reduced abilities. in ohio, down towards cincinnati. speaking of that, it's been fog that has been our problem across the deep south, into southern areas. the tail end of the frontal boundary. that has brought a few light rain showers. more rain coming in across the west this week. thank you so much. >> the 56th annual grammy award honours the top musicians of 2013. there were 82 dismiss from a record of the year to a lesser

known category. here to talk about it and the top contenders is bill wi man. for years the grammies were about the only game in town. there's shows like the mtv music awards and the american music awards. have the grammies lost some of their cache. it's true. all the different award shows are getting in on the money. everything has changed a long time ago. they used to have a cache. the grammies are the most embarrassing of all the organizations some sleazy making it pop oriented. >> they overruled the

memberships nomination. if this happened in the oscars. there were people in pitch forks. in the grammy world a secret committee come in, throws out some and puts in pop stars. it's about the tv shows, the ratings and the money. >> let's talk about the top consenteders, starting with mcilmoore and ryan louis. why are they the acts to beat? >> they are a novelty band. the thrift store song was a super catchy song. this year they are nominated for song of the year for an amazing song called "same love", apassionate appeal for tolerance when it comes to gay marriage, it's a song that a generation of kids will remember. >> and the video is spectacular, well produced and oving.

>> it honestly was. you can see the guys sneaking in. the grammy has a weird elegibility period. that's why it's up. >> what about kanye west. he's nominated for two grammies and feels snubbed and is very vocal about it. why? >> kanye gets upset about everything, and he is only got himself to blame. he was nominated for record of year, and made a big - he embarrassed himself two or three years ago when he came up and interrupted taylor swift. it's not really noticed outside of being rude he was wrong. he was mad because taylor swift was winning an award that he thought beyonce should have won. it was a minor award and beyonce

won the bigger award for "single lady", he was wrong. i think the the grammies wash the their hands at him. "jesus" was theal bum of the year. it shows you the disconnect between movie critics and the grammy awards. "deaf punk", is the only one nominated. >> thank you so much bill for being with us this morning. >> thank you. >> one of britain's oldest cathedrals puts on into a thousands year tradition. they gave a debut performance on saturday. rory challands attended their rehearsal before the big performance. >> the ancient stones of canterbury cathedral are no stranger to the human voice in song. it's been a part of centuries of tradition. in a small music room under the

roof of this building the face of that tradition is changing. this is the cathedral's first all people mail choir. >> it would have been deemed that boys sang in church. things have moved on and we are delighted to have the opportunity to give girls from local schools a chance to sipping in this building. >> 16 of them selected from the 40 or so that applied in november. on saturday they'll perform in the cathedral's purple cassocks. >> we were excited when we found out. it's the same as boys and men. >> is that important to you, being the same as the boys. >> yes, we finally got here. now we are equal. >> some of the statues here at canterbury have been gaze ag at

congregations, coming and going for the best part of 1,000 years and there's a church way before the cathedral. never before that time has been been an all female choir. that's some tradition to mess around with. >> the dean robert willis denies there was a reason to bring male coral comnation to an end. >> why now? >> i think that - why not, really. because the tradition lasted a long time. it felt to us, the chapter here now, that we must do this. girls want to sipping, and we have the resources to do this. >> to begin with they'll dpp utize for when the boys are on holiday. the girls role will grow. unlike a young boy, a girl's voice doesn't break with adolescents meaning they can

sing the same parts for longer. >> an all-people mail choir makes sense. it's taken this institution 1,000 years to realise it. that'll do it for this edition of al jazeera. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. don't miss the special coverage. state of the union address: >> another news update after this short break.

>> good morning this is al jazeera america. live from new york city. i'm morgan radford with a look at the top stories. the standoff continues between the protesters and police in

ukraine. demonstrations have been spreading. yesterday president viktor yanukovych offered to make the opposition leader his prime minister. the offer was rented. >> the two sides to syria's civil war met. they never addressed each other, but they did open a corridor. attempts to get aid into the region have been blocked by president bashar al-assad. the white house issued an agenda on the state of union address. it will focus on economy, middle class and immigration. three words will sum up the message - opportunity, action and optimism. >> nearly 300 passengers aboard a caribbean cruise ship has found sick with a stomach virus.

officials are expected to board the ship when it arrives. there are more than 3,000 passengers and crew on board and last week dozens were sick on another crews. i'm morgan radford, stay tuned. >> this is puerto galera in the philippines. i've been coming here for over a decade. for me, it's like a second home.