and go behind the scenes to aljazeera.com/"techknow." follow our contributors on google, facebook, twitter and more. >> round 2 of talks aimed at finding peace in war-torn syria. a closer look at some of the biggest hurdles ending three years of civil war. >> you don't know what to do. we have had such mixed messages. >> getting to the bottom of a toxic spill in west virginia. >> plus, he's expected to be a top pick in the n.f.l. draft. why an announced michael sam

made could make him a role model on and off the field. >> 9 million pounds of bad beef - what to look for in your freezer >> hi, therefore. welcome to al jazeera. good to have you with us. i'm thomas drayton. we'll get to the top stories. a second round of peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in syria are set to kick off. at the heart of the talks, a traditional government that does not include the current president. as james bays report the meeting comes as humanitarian aid reaches the city of homs. >> when the first round of these talks got underway two weeks ago the issue of humanitarian access was at the top of the agenda. that's when the deal to get aide

to homs was discussed. lakhdar brahimi said he had a deal for homs. it has taken longer and what has happened on the ground is now itself controversial. the issue was supposed to be a confidence-building measure, it's one of the issues dividing twot sides as they meet around the table. the key issue that divides them is the future role of president bashar al-assad, his family and chose around him. that is something on which there is no agreement between the sides. >> that was james bays reporting. more than 600 people have been evacuated from the city of homs. rescue teams took advantage of a 3-day ceasefire. as stefanie dekker reports, there is is more hope that people will be able to leave the war-torn city. >> captured on video, the help they didn't believe would come,

had come. this was the moment when the first u.n. cars arrived in the old city of homs. these people have been living under siege for a year and a half. this, finally, their way out. a rare moment of happiness in a war that brought nothing but suffering to those caught in the middle. among those - a priest, part of a few christians left inside the city. >> they are hardly smiling. they are exhausted and starved. they are crying, and we are crying in their support. we want to see all our people happy. every citizens has a right to live and lead a dignified life. >> this is a glimpse into how it unfold the. discussions about who has left and those remaining waiting for a way out. >> this has been an operation with great challenge. on sunday casualties amongst civilians. this day is hailed a success,

through all the difficulties. >> translation: most of those who left are women, children and older people. they are receiving medical attention. we manage to overcome the challenges in the morning and the hume an tarian operation will continue. >> this was supposed to be the last day of a u.n. brokered ceasefire. it has been extended by three days. sunday's evacuation could be called a breakthrough. it is a small victory leaving millions of syrians exhausted, thomas drayton for an end. >> rescue workers say less than 3,000 remain in the city of homs. the conflict killed 136,000 and displaced millions. effort to release american kenneth bae in north korea hit a

road block. talks have been cancelled over his detention. it's unclear why they cancelled a u.s. official's visit to talk. some believe it could be in protest to the u.s. having army exercises with south korea. >> congress wants answers in the west virginia chemical spill. members of the house will hold a field hearing at a courthouse in charleston. as robert ray reports, residents don't trust the water. [ chants ] >> it's been a dizzying stressful month in west virginia. >> this is a place worth fighting for. >> frustrated citizens took to the streets, protesting the 10,000 gallons of m.c.h.m. that spilled into the water supply on january 9th, affecting 300,000

people. >> many people in neighbourhoods like these are not drinking the water, even though the centers for disease control and prevention says it's clear to do so. most are smelling the chemical and some of the schools closed because teachers and students smelled the odours and became noushous. >> in their hillside home above charleston, this family is boiling the tap water, using bottled water to drink and brush teeth. they wonder when the chemical smell will go away. >> it's highly stressful and emotional and mentally exhausting. you don't know what to do. we have had mixed messages. >> she has spent $1,000 on water supplies. she experienced nausea and itchy eyes. >> i have gotten sick.

been op antibiotics for a few weeks. >> she blames the chemical. >> we are smelling it in our system. it took three or four times to blush it to get rid of it. you don't trust it. >> feeling pressure from the government, state agencies will be testing pipes making sure nothing is left or coated on inside surfaces. she is wondering why it didn't happen sooner. >> they are more concerned about the industry and businesses than people that live here. i don't think that will change. >> with an uncertain future and cost of water supplies mounting. this resident decided to take her children and leave the state. >> we don't know if it will cause cancer in us or them and in 20 years we find out we are really sick. >> a long hard winter in west virginia, but perhaps a warmer

more certain life ahead for this family. >> many of the citizens are demanding lawmakers pass tougher bills to regulate storage tanks. >> closing arguments are set for monday in the trial of ray nagin. he is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands in bribes from contractors in exchange for lucrative city contracts and filing false tax returns. the former mayor took the stand last week. he faces more than 20 years in prison, if convicted. >> the pressure is mounting for ukraine president viktor yanukovych to step aside. tens of thousands flooded the streets for anti-government protests. demonstrators call for viktor yanukovych's resignation as the country spirals into an economic crisis. russia will continue to withhold

a $15,000 aid package. anti-government protestor picking up steam. people are upset over high unemployment and poor living conditions. the protest began in tusla after a factory was shut down. the demonstrations have spread to three other cities. angrily bosnians set fire to government buildings. hundreds have been injured, including dozens of police. protests continued all weekend. authorities say the crowds were smaller and peaceful. >> tens of thousands have been displaced by violence in south sudan. many fled the city of bor and are surviving in makeshift settlements. we take a closer look. >> this family arriving, exhaust the, alone and wanting food. >> translation: i am hungry. i walked through the bush day

and night without food and water. the sun is burning my head. i'm hold. six of my children have been killed. >> like many complain, their stomach rumbles with hunker. they are dinkas. those loyal to riek machar attacked their towns and villages. they left everything and settled down where they found shade. every tree has a family living under it. for humanitarian workers it's a change to find how many now live here. >> 150,000, but we don't know. we are counting them. we are trying to estimate. still it's not really easy to get the estimation, the time estimation, but there are a lot. >> the majority are women and children. the men stayed behind. some to protect their homes. others are fighting.

many died. >> all the displayed come from the county across the river. more arriving every day. some are making the return journey, but temporarily. >> they decided to check on his home now that gast forces recaptured bor. >> we are all killed. my uncles. children are killed. their foods and others are killed. >> they are hoping to be back before sunset. like many here, he does not trust the ceasefire agreement. >> the u.n. says more than 80,000 people are currently living in michaman.

>> french president francis hollande arrives in america for a visit. president obama will be on hand to meet him. they'll make a trip to the virginia home of thomas jefferson. and francis hollande will be a guest at the white house tuesday night. his trip ipp cloouds a stop in san francisco. a stunning announcement from a top n.f.l. prospect. he could become the league's first openly gay player. >> why aol's c.e.o. is offering apologies. >> a massive meat recall. why the tainted beef could be in your freezer.

>> welcome back? a. looking live at the olympic stadiums in sochi, russia. it's morning. gay rights have been a major

story line of the winter games. >> attorney-general eric holder plans to give same-sex couples wider rights. this follows last year's ruling saying the federal government cannot refuse to recognise same-sex marriages carried out in states that allow them. >> on monday i will issue a new policy memorandum that will, for the first time in history instruct all justice department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition to the greatest extent possible under the law. >> among the changes same-sex spouses will not have to testify against each other. his move will affect the bankruptcy proceedings and visitation policies.

>> n.f.l. season - when it kicks off it could have its fires openly gay player. more on a college football star that came out over the weekend, months ahead of the draft. >> it's a landmark moment. michael sam came out to espn and the "new york times" saying that he's gay. he was an all-american linesman and the scc's player of the year. the 6 foot 2 man was rejected as a linebacker in the draft in may. if drafted he will be the first openly gay player in the league. in a team building exercise at missouri the coaches asked the players to say something no one knew. that's when michael came out. >> i'm not afraid of who i am. i'm afraid to tell the world who i am. i'm michael sam, a college graduate, african american and i'm gay. >> the cofounder of

all-spots.com is part of michael sam's inner circle. i asked if the n.f.l. locker room is ready for a gay team-mate. >> it is ready. guys that think they'll be uncomfortable will not be. michael was openly game for the team the entire season. they con the cotton ball. it did not affect the team. if the universitiedy of the missouri players do it, so can the seattle sea hawk and hooust job texas and everyone else. >> marcus smart was suspended for three games after shoving a fan. smart tries to block the shot from behind by jay crawford, and smart lost his composure. he was suspended for three games and addressed the accident, apologising to the fan, the team-mates and coaches. >> this is not how i condone

myself, this is not how the program runs or how i was raised. i let my emotions get the best of me, you know. it came - i can't let that happen. it's something i have to learn from. the consequences coming. i'll take full responsibility ci. >> thank you. aol, c.e.o. is reversing changes to the 401 k policy after a week of bad publicity. tim armstrong apologised for comments made. he said the company was changing his plan because two women with distressed babies were putting up the price. he addressed his mistake: >> armstrong called the two

women and apologised personally. one of those women has a child that was born three months premature, her medical bills were in the thousands. >> it was sort of impossible to process that she was talking about my daughter who was home with me at that time. to hear her labelled is a distressed baby and to me there did sound like the implication that somehow we were greedy consumers of health care benefits, that we had gobbled up more than our share of the pie and he had spoken for how bad he feels for causing us this hurt. i accept that. >> after the media outrage the c.e.o. announced aol will keep its 401 plan in place. >> a northern californian company is recalling nearly 9 million pound of meat

products. the slaughtered animals were sick and not inspected. lisa bernard reports that some of the meat has been in the food supply for months. >> inspectors took a look last month and ordered a smaller recall. then the u.s.c. a says upon further investigation they found that this company, the rancho feeting corporation processed meat from animals that were diseased or unfit. that's when they ordered a larger recall. one of the largest in years. operations are at a stand still. federal regulators recall 8.7 million pounds of meat september to retailers in california and temaze. they processed disease and unsound animals. the processing center was not

fully suspected. what happened was they were not suspected and put animals through the system that were unfit and unsound for human consumption. whether the inspectors were not there at the time or in another part of the plant, the bottom line is that animals that should not be going into the food supply were being ute lived. >> when federal inspectors were there, they took a closer look at the procedures here. >> usually the combination of good practices caught those things. there has been something that was missed here. and they were putting animals through the system that shouldn't be utilised and the government inspectors didn't catch it in time. so tar there's no reports of

anyone becoming ill. >> most of the times when you hear a recall, it's because there has been a positive test for bacteria and people who are sick. it's rare to see a recall because of utilisation because of deceased animals, that is not something that you see happen. given that the bad meet meat has been in the food supply for a year, it's not known how much remained in products or consumers freezers. the usda suggests comparing lot numbers with the numbers on the red site. >> the corporation has not answered our calls, looking for a comment. this is the only slaughter house in the bay area. ranchers that bring cattle here will have to travel 2-3 hours to the central valley to process meat. >> floods leaving parts of the u.k. under water, cutting smaum villages off from the outside world. why the worst may still be to

come. from underwater to buried under snow, regard-breaking snow slams a city. >> ladies and gentlemen, the beatles. [ screaming ] >> and looking back on 50 years sips the legendary "the edsul have been show" performance that lunched beatle mainia. ♪

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only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. >> welcome back to sunday, the 50th anniversary of an historic appearance that introduced the beatles to america. ♪ oh, yeah i ♪ tell you something ♪ i think you'll understand >> it was a british invasion as al jazeera's kilmeny duchardt reports, beatles fans gathered at the ed sullivan theatre. >> patti martucci came to the the ed sullivan theatre to

relive the start of beatle-mania. it was 50 years ago when she saw her first love. >> i was sitting in my home in warwick, rhode island, with my sister. getting excited. watching them come on tv. i fell in love with paul mccartney and still love him today. >> a record 73 million americans watched john, paul, george and ringo perform live on the "the ed sullivan show." their first appearance on u.s. television. >> i remember taking a camera, taking a picture of the tv as they performed, and, you know, it was awesome. of course, you had to wait a week to get them developed. it was awesome. who knew when we were sitting in the living room, that it would be a big deal. >> the half century celebration reig-nated beatle-mania. at strawberry field.

lennon's fans took pictures. this weekend images of the rock band splashed across the capital records tower. >> sunday evening surviving bandmates paul mccartney and ringo star appeared in a pre-taped performance. for some it paled in comparison to that night. >> i never thought i would ever be in this spot. especially on the 50th anniversary. can't believe i'm that omed. >> the beatles would perform on the "the ed sullivan show" three more shows. seven of the songs became number one hits. >> major corporations are getting into the business of collecting personal data. what they are learning may disturb you. >> the major u.s. retailer

office max knew not only that seear's daughter was dead, but how she died. >> it says mike seay daughter killed in car crash or current business. this is my home. why do they have that, why do they need that. what purpose does it serve. how much more information do they have on me or anyone else. how do they use it. and what for. >> these are questions that congress investigates. last month billion were made by the data broking industry. the selling of information about all of us taken from on and off line sources. there's no comprehensive way to find out what the information is, where it came from, how accurate it is, who is buying it and what inferences are made. of concern is vulnerability based. lists of those documents or inferred to be vulnerable.

who would be interested and why. rachel thomas lobbies to preserve self-regulation. >> i think consumers are smarter than you are giving them credit for. i think they understand that we all live data driven lives. our economy is data driven. information is flowing in all sorts of different direction and what we are doing is making sure is flows in responsible directions. >> the federal trade commission's job is to rein in the data brokers and stop information being used against us, and asks how it is possible when there's no requirements for transparency about what is sold and to home. the data can be used for any purpose. it would be used for purposes that violates the law. >> we do not know... >> that report. that'll do it for this edition

of al jazeera. i'm thomas drayton in new york. thanks for watching. don't forget, news updates every hour, and the latest on aljazeera.com. hello. you are at the "listening post." this week, it's a war on terror. you are either with us or against us. those are the marching orders. for the news media in egypt, the olympics go ahead underway in sochi one of the few critical outlets on russian television goes dark. it's just a magazine. the clinic has proven to be the tonic for journalism in chile.