>> welcome to al jazeera america america. i'm stephanie sy. here are the stories we're following for you. united nations say in north korea there are crimes against humanity. being in venezuela, the president has expelled three u.s. diplomats. and hurting tourism.

>> the united nations believes it has enough proof to hold the north korean regime responsible for unspeakable crimes against its own people. hundreds of people are responsible for abuse he including torture and starvation. james bays has more. >> a north korean defector weeps after she recalls the repression her family faced before she escaped. public hearings were held in four cities on three continents. many other witnesses asked for their identities to be withheld. there have been investigations into human rights in north korea but never one as comprehensive as this. getting a clear picture of what goes on in the secretive state where people cope with extreme dep vacation and starvation -- deprivation and starvation.

systematic rape and abduction of foreigners, many of these count as crimes against humanity. all part of a planned system of political control. north korea's leader, kim jong-un recently executed his uncle, once the second most powerful than in the country and several others. he took over after his father just two years ago. the chairman has written a letter to him, in it it says it will refer this to the international criminal court to render all those, including possibly yourself may be responsible for crimes against humanity. >> no one will be able to say in the future, if only we'd known about north korea. as they said after the second world war. if only we'd known. well now everyone will know. and it will be available in our

report. and it is a wakeup signal to the world and hopefully to the leaders in north korea. >> the commission of inquiry may want to see senior figures in north crea, face international -- korea face international justice but does not have the power to make that happen. this hard-hitting report will be presented to the u.n. human rights council in about a month's time and they will then pass it to the u.n. general assembly. but neither of those parties have the power to refer to the international criminal court. only the security council will do that and that's where north korea's long term ally china has a psychiatr veto. perhaps the weight of the u.n. brings the a little bit closer. james bays, al jazeera in geneva. developing story in south korea, nine college students

have died after a roof collapsed. south korea's new agency say students were at a welcome home ceremony for freshman students when a roof caved in. dozens are reportedly attacked. secretary of state john kerry accused bashar al-assad of stalling peace talks. at a news conference, he said assad's team has refused to talk about a transitional government that would replace the regime. >> it is very clear that bashar al-assad is continuing to try to win this in the battle field rather than to come to the negotiating table. >> kerry continues his trip through asia. he'll fly next to the united arab 'e emirates.

ayatollah khomeini, says, the u.s. and other countries some iran.seeking to develop nucialtion weapons. iran says it's strictly for civilian purposes. an ethiopian co-pilot hijacked his plane to geneva, flight carrying 202 people was headed to rome with a co-pilot diverting the plane. al jazeera's tim friend reports. >> the drama started over italy and two fighters jets were scrambled to accompany the plain plane. the fear was it was a full scale hijacking. the plane eventually touched down in geneva at 6:00 in the morning local time.

the co-pilot said he'd sought asylum for fear of% accuse in ethiopia. he waited for the pilot to go to the toilet before locking himself in the cockpit. he gave himself up. >> at 6:10 the co-pilot came out with a rope, he then announced that he was the hijacker. >> all 202 passengers and crew on board were unharmed. the co-pilot could be charged with hostage-taking which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years according to prosecutors. tim friend, al jazeera. >> trapped south african miners are refusing to leave a pet now that they find they might be arrested. rescue operations have stopped

at the site. so far 21 miners have been rescued from the shaft. there are reportedly 15 miners still trapped in the pit. ukrainian opposition leaders are in berlin. they are looking for more support in their fight for closer ties from europe, opposition leaders say they want more money from the eu. europe is calling for sanctions from the ukrainian government, more than 4,000 protesters have been demonstrating for over two months. 39-year-old mateo renzi is looking to build consensus government. renzi is replacing enrico letta. venezuelan president is

expelling three united states diplomats. venezuelan foreign minister gave a press conference and here's what he had to say. >> translator: in light of these acts of aggression, of these fascist like groups who are supported and financed when i will give evidence and proof of this. but from u.s. government institutions, we have received broad support, and so many dater from the international community. more than 20 countries have taken a position in favor of democracy, stability and peace for the venezuelan people. >> the venezuelan government has issued an arrest warrant for those rallying against the maturo administration. >> time and patience are in short supply for most of these

venezuelans who said they are fed up with nicholas maturo and his revolution. >> we are tired of crime, censorship and people getting killed every day. >> reporter: but even as they stood together, some questioned how eurched they really are -- united they really are. >> there is a lot of division right now, we have to be strong and not give in to chaos or fight against each other. >> challenge to the government and policies they're also a challenges for the opposition movement and they could determine who may lead it. the widespread antigovernment protest this week thrusted leopoldo lopez into the spotlight, taking a hard line stance against government the former mayor helped organize the

student protest on wednesday which turned deadly. hours after police raided his home on sunday looking to arrest him he sent out a video to his supporters telling them to keep up the fight. >> we are on the right side of history, justice. and truth. stay strong and don't lose faith. >> his growing popularity is a challenge to opposition leader enrique caprilez. on sunday the individual called for protesters to remain calm. >> we focused to get this far and to try to have change in venezuela but we're taking a step backwards. >> with the two leaders having differently views the opposition movement could now be taking two paths. >> there's a division between the moderates and radicals. some believe the only way to fight dependence the government

is to build a majority and win elections. while others believe the government is undemocratic and the only way to make change is to take to the streets. >> back at the antigovernment protests opposition members all agree on one thing: that they want to see a change in the government. but with elections five years away, the majority of venezuelans still supporting the president it's unclear just how they will make that happen. rachel levin, al jazeera, caracas, venezuela. >> testimony today about a coal ash spill that happened two weeks ago. heard from environmental groups in duke energy the owners of the mant where the spill occurred. -- plant where the spill occurred. supplies drinking water to the area. an expert in industrial spills theafd this one will have -- testified that this one will have long lasting effects.

>> frankly it is a bad spill. it is a problem. it will have long term major environmental impacts in addition to the short impact where we see ash coming down the river. things like that. but long term it is going to be very hard for duke to ever get all that ash out of the river. >> a representative from duke energy the owner of the plant where the spill occurred apologized and said the company will clean up the river. a west virginia school closed early after a smell in the water and individuals suffering from headaches. a water sample was taken at grandview elementary school and the building closed earl as a precaution. on january 9th, chemicals leaked into the river.

visiting the state, president obama has been offering federal assistance. california is in its third straight year of severe drought. akiko fujita joins us from a ski resort in big bear lake, where the mild weather is causing some issues. certainly people are enjoying the weather out there. >> that's right, we have a pretty good crowd for the three day weekend. all but one ski lift is operating. that's the good news. however, the bad news is, it hant he be been -- hasn't been this way for the entire season. the snow-making machine has helped. and they need cooperation from mother nature and they haven't gotten it this year. you see the bare spot? that gives you a sense of what people have been dealing with all season long.

they haven't gotten the amount of snow they need. in a typical year, 100 inches, but this year, barely a foot. this has prevented operators from making snow in some weeks. having said that, the resort here is considered one of the lucky ones because they have all the facilities in place to keep the mountains covered. take a look at what we found about 50 miles northeast of los angeles at mount baldy. the rocky slope is supposed to be covered in snow. this year, not so much. we found people who went over there for the weekend, tried to get a few runs in, they ended up hiking or biking because there wasn't much snow there. we saw visitors wearing shorts on the ski lifts. that has affected business there, about 50% down from last year. they also have snow making machines, but only enough snow for tubing this year. >> normally, i snowboard.

and since there's no snow up here, i figure biking is the next best thing to come up here and it's really nice weather for biking today. it's excellent. and i have a bunch of buddies here that i came up with and we're all excited to be here today. 80°. when there should be snow. so we're trying to take advantage of whatever (laughing) nature gives us, i guess. >> and i want to bring in chris riddle here from big mountain resorts. it looks like slopes are covered but you haven't gotten enough snow. what adjustments do you make up here? >> we rely on snow-making. we don't expect to get a lot of natural snow the in a lot of years. so we build these huge systems that kind of allow us to take advantage of the snow-making capabilities and still about 80 to 85% of our runs open. >> you have all but one ski lift

operating today. tell me why you had to shut down one of them. >> we have to kind of ration-out our resources and we can only make so much snow at one time and we can't do it every year. over every year we make 100% of our snow over the slopes here but not only is mother nature been warm, but we concentrate on our bread and butter, having 85% of our slopes open. >> the black diamond most advanced slope is not open and you expect not to open it at all. >> we may not. that's where the advanced skiers and snowboarders like to go, along with our halfpipe that isn't operational, i don't think winter is over yet. >> stephanie it's important to note that it's not just the slopes but all the businesses surrounding the slopes that are hurting. we're not getting any moisture out here. >> a lot of problems with the

drought out in the west. akikko fujita, thank you. a way to decrease crime in the area.

area. >> a pennsylvania woman and her husband are accused of murdering a man they met online. they are accused of the craigslist killers. amanda barber has confessed to killing people as part of a satanic cult she was a member of. significant progress against in the battle against crime.

bisi onile-ere reports. high definition cameras are always rolling. someone is always watching. >> this is a crime haven. anything you wanted was out there. completely different now. >> reporter: anthony holt is chief of police. recorded break-ins and assaults and has stopped a few of them. also melissa lesprins monitors activity. they says these cameras are welcome to help solve crimes. >> any time we see something happening we are checking the cameras to see if we have any kind of lead. >> in a city that tops the fbi's most dangerous list, the area in and around campus is setting a new trend. he says crime has dropped 45%

since 2008. >> so you would say it is one of the safest places? >> i think there's no doubt about it. >> the wayne state police department's primary beat is campus security. but in a bankrupt city where essential services are strained, work often takes officers outside the 4.8 mile radius they cover. one week nearly 50 off-campus arrests were made. half by wayne state police officers who are sworn in as detroit police officers. >> they will respond usually within 90 seconds, whereas detroit police may not respond at all or may not be able to. >> reporter: rachel lutz owns this nearby boutique and several shops in the area. >> my offices are not officially located on the area of wayne state but they know that safety doesn't stop at a border.

>> reporter: officers have citywide jurisdiction. >> they're always on patrol. they answer very quickly when you call them even for something minor. >> we'll send a message, we will get you no matter where you are. >> bisi onile-ere, al jazeera, detroit. >> no comment from either apple or tesla about a report saying the two companies held a high level meeting together. the san francisco chronicle reports apple's top merger and acquisitions expert met last spring with tesla' tesla's ceo,n musk. that i brings possibility of an acquisition. concerns about bitcoin has

sent the online currency plummeting. business making money from recycling, but for some residents the old computers and cell phones are a toxic nightmare.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. here are today's headlines. in a new report, the united nations says north korea has to be held responsible for its crimes against humanity. an ethiopian co-pilot hijacked an airplane to geneva. 202 were headed to rome. no one was injured. venezuelan president nicholas maduro believes

washington is encouraging the ongoing antigovernment protests in his country. the state department say those allegations are baseless and false. countries in asia and africa are doing big business importing e-waste, trash from discarded electronics. as reported from china the big business comes with risks. >> shipped in from around the world for one of the ports for solid waste, some of the millions of tons of scrap metal that china processes every year. e-waste from the last generation of twices that the -- devices that the world no longer wants. from laptops to mobile phones. evidence everywhere of the hazards caused for recycling toxic components. a government crack down on unregulated processings have

forced contractors to take a pollution nightmare. it is a nuisance too for those people unlucky enough to live next to the port. >> the situation is worse now compared to when we moved in a few years ago. the pollution is more serious and it is very bad for our health. >> while more than two-thirds of the world's scrap devices find their way to china an increasing amount of the e-waste being processed here is home grown, a trend that will continue with rising affluence. at a plant outside beijing, some of the tv and computer monitors on their way to a new recycled existence. able to handle nearly 2.5 million devices per year, this plant is operating at about two-thirds capacity. but it won't be long before china's appetite for newer devices means the plant will be

operating at full strength. >> the amount of e-waste keeps increasing as chinese people see their living standards rise. people are buying a wider range of electronics and dumping more of their existing twices. >> with little over 100 operating in the whole of china it is a sector that is set to expand. a new business making a living out of outdated technology. al jazeera beijing. >> i'm dave warren. we're talking about warmer temperatures in the forecast. we have to deal with one more storm with a little bit of snow, before we can see the temperatures climb from the midwest to the east coast. around chicago it's dumping quite a bit of snow here 4 to 8 inches. little further south pink color is a mix of sleet and freezing

rain. chicago, 26 in indianapolis. more snow continuing here just east of minneapolis, going through chicago now moving through the midwest. here is the nix through illinois, indiana and ohio, warm air staying to the south. now we have to look at the mid atlantic and the northeast, snow and ice into ohio, temperatures below freezing and now we're seeing winter weather advisories. heavier storm with the watch, overnight tonight and tomorrow. big storm moved out a break in between next area of snow moving east. so right now this is where it's picked up. high pressure and control, that's moving out, this area of moisture will be moving in. timing of this looks like it will be coming down tomorrow morning. could be slippery on the roadways by 5:00, 6:00 in the

morning. intensifying off the northeast coast and clear weather behind it but temperatures are warming up. highs on friday, 50s and 60s across the mid atlantic. stephanie. >> thank you dave. "techknow" is next. marita davidson is a biologist specializing inning innings innd evolution. kosta grammatis is an engineer who designed a buy ontic eye. i'm phil torres, i'm an entomologist.

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