>> the first and initial batch of chemical weapons has been removed from syria. the most dangerous material was shipped out on a danger -- danish special -- a danish vessel. torequires the government hand off chemical weapons to world powers. meanwhile, the fighting continues inside syria, not only between government and opposition forces, but also the rebels themselves.

powerful alhe most qaeda-linked groups has been calling for a cease-fire. they blamed the recent violence on another al qaeda splinter group. we go to our regional correspondent, lucy. she's in beirut. let's start with the chemical weapons shipment. do we know how much of syria's chemical arsenal has been removed? prohibition of chemical weapons and those who are in charge of trying to put into control these chemical weapons, they have said it is a small number of containers that contain the most toxic of the waste being shipped back here. they did not say what sort of percentage the total arsenal this is. this operation is the most toxic of syria's chemicals.

these are those that are being shipped out. these will arrive in italy. they will be taken by u.s. navy basil -- navy vessel. they will be treated and neutralized in international waters. important part is expected to be finished by the middle of this year. there has been a delay because of the very bad winter over the -- the very bad weather over the winter. >> you mentioned the fighting in the situation on the ground is ever more complicated inside syria. now the rebels are calling for a cease-fire among themselves. >> this is the latest push by three rebel alliances who have gotten together in the past four days for what they call a second

revolution. they are taking on the group called isis, the islamic state of iraq and sham on. it is a very hard line al qaeda splinter group. but the leader that caused -- called for a cease-fire today is also an al qaeda splinter group. it is a strange picture and they seem to have started in a tussle over supply routes through turkey. they could e-zine as a's -- a could be seen as a struggle over the supply routes. atrocities that have been committed, this could be an attempt to clean up the ranks. there are atrocities on both sides. we heard today that 34 isis lasters have been killed night.

a car bomb was planted by one of the rebel checkpoints. there is brutality on both sides. 234 people killed so far in this battle. lucy field reporting from beirut. iraqi security forces are to delay an assault on the city of falluja. the government wants to avoid civilian casualties. this province has been under the control of al qaeda. ramadi,by romani -- fighting is still raging. >> a military hawks -- a y helicopter was flying over the state of vermont is. romanis held parts of since friday. they reported the regained control ofamadi earlier this

week. off attacking falluja. increase high tensions between the shiite majority and the sunni government. -- prime minister malik king them to expel those forces. they are continuing to meet and imposed security measures and expel armed rebels from the city. continue to assume responsibly after the artillery shelling stops. >> families fleeing the fighting are taking refuge in karbala. getting to those who remain there is made difficult by snipers. >> we have asked them for a short cease-fire.

so that we can evacuate those left in falluja, or let us enter the city to help the civilians with aid. has given the greatest challenge to the government since american troops left two years ago. they have suffered huge losses in the surrounding province. talks between south sudan government and rebels continues. there is still no sign to an end in the weeks of fighting. the government blamed rebels for wrecking the whole process after they refused to release jailed fighters after a cease-fire. in ae latest twist corruption scandal rocking turkey now. 350 police officers have been removed from their posts in the capital, ankara. this follows an investigation into high-level brass. the prime minister referred to

it as a dirty plot. >> ankara, police headquarters, reshuffled. in a decree published at midnight, the turkish government dismissed hundreds of police officers, including chiefs of the financial and organized crime unit. according to local media, they were reassigned to traffic departments or police stations outside the capital. this is the latest episode of the political scandal that is unfolding in turkey. worst, targeting the willing a cape artie -- the ruling party. there are math protest across the country. last month, around 50 people were detained, including businessmen and the sons of three ministers, reportedly accused of money laundering and writing. this led to the resignation of the interior, economy, and environment ministers, and to the sacking of the police chief of istanbul. everyone said his government -- erdogon -- prime minister

-- the said it was a leader of the opposition is accused of digging up dirt on government officials to bring them down. or the prime minister, this scandal as part of a plot to damage his image ahead of local elections in march, and more importantly, the presidential election expected a few months later. cut the youngest daughter of the king of spain has been summoned to appear in court. she is a suspect in a case of alleged tax fraud and money- laundering. she is to answer questions about his dealings of her husband. if found guilty, she could face jail time. >> in the courtroom, princess christina of spain has been suspended to answer allegations -- subpoenaed to answer

allegations of tax fraud and money-laundering. she is the first of the relatives accused of wrongdoing. her lawyer says they will appeal the summons. >> if we appeal in the provincial courts and despite everything she has to go, then she will go and testify as a suspect. has beenina's husband under judicial scrutiny for three years. his former business partner has been found guilty of embezzling public funds through an ngo to the tune of some 6 million euros. investigations into christina's financial and professional butirs open in 2011, earlier accusations were rejected last may when a high court concluded there was not enough evidence. nevertheless, some have long doubted that she really was unaware of her husband dealings. the news comes at a bad time for the royal family. a poll last week said two thirds of the subject believe king juan carlos should step down.

much of the bad feeling is due to his handling of this corruption scandal. verye accusations are serious, and related crimes have generated strong reaction from the public, like tax fraud and money-laundering. furthermore, the princess has been subpoenaed by a judge, who was without question professional and well regarded, and has acted after me -- after deep and detailed research. under palace has come criticism in recent years for extravagant spending on trips like an elephant hunting safari in africa in 2012. while the spanish people, meanwhile, are forced to tighten their belts. >> it is now exactly a month until the winter olympic games kicks off in the wretched resort of sochi. russian resort of sochi. thousands of police and workers are there for the event. they are not taking any chances.

>> putting the final touches on the olympic village before the athletes arrive on january 30. russia has spent 535 million euros building three villages for the 2014 winter games. final flurry of construction comes as russia launches one of the biggest security operations in olympic history. security fears have been heightened after two suicide bomber tax last week that killed 34 people in the southern city of [. volgograd. it prompted president putin to tighten security. the residents there said they understand the increased need for vigilance. but after what happened in volgograd, increase security is necessary. >> maybe security is too much in some places, but i don't think they can host the olympics without it. andore than 30,000 police interior ministry troops are being deployed to the area.

officials are establishing two security zones to protect the games, won a control zone near olympic venues that will limit access to people with tickets and provide tenant he, while another -- proof of identity, while another forbidden zone will be in the areas around sochi. vehicles that are not locally registered and do not have special accreditation will be banned. the major concern is a threat of attack by islamist militants in the north caucasus regions. one rebel leader has urged his fighters to fight -- to target the winter olympics. in half of the united states, the coldest day in decades. georgiahern state of reported its coldest day in 44 years. but the monitor went even below zero in florida. homeless shelters across the u.s. have been overwhelmed, and

experts are warning people to stay indoors. skin exposed to these temperatures can freeze in just 10 minutes. major travel disruptions and thousands of flights have been canceled. bannednch cities have performances by a comedian with links to the far right. he is famous for making anti- semitic remarks and has been fined several times. he has also been credited with stock -- sparking a craze amongst his followers by giving an upside down knotty salute, carried out in location such as the anne frank museum and sites -- such as auschwitz auschwitz. the president says it is incompatible with french society. >> against all violations of this country's principles, against racism, against anti- semitism, against disruption of public order by outrageous provocation against the

humiliation it comes from his rumination, i asked state representatives, especially regional ones, to be vigilant and unyielding. >> onto the national headlines this hour. a danish ship removes the first batch of chemical weapons from syria. as the fighting rebels -- rages on, with rebels: for a cease- fire amongst themselves. turkish police have been removed from their posts. it is the latest twist in an ongoing corruption scandal. and the king of spain's youngest daughter is summoned to court as a suspect in a case of alleged tax fraud and money laundering. those are the headlines. now an update on today's top business news. marcus carson is here. >> the most recent ball snapping

here has come to an end. two managers at a tire factory in the north of the country have been freed. they were detained i workers of highernt, demanding redundancy packages as the factory looks set to close. the workers released the managers only minutes after police entered the site. police continue to camp out inside the front three -- inside the factory to put pressure on management to negotiate. headlinester of the and the center of a long-running story, as we now explain. thehe management called site outdated and unable to make the tires the market demanded. since 2007, goodyear has said it needed restructuring at one of its sites. but it included laos,

may have ultimately left it in business. goodyear workers resisted. led by their union, they will looked to the courts -- they looked to the courts at every possible junction to try to save their jobs and the plant. in the meantime, goodyear began shopping it to morry taylor. he criticized the workers as being lazy, while earning high wages. he eventually cited union mismanagement and pulled out. jet, a got to private yacht, sumptuous houses in the u.s., and these kinds are completely unscrupulous. buyer, ando find a your management in 2013 announce the site would be shut down permanently. in march, protesters challenged at company headquarters. >> we came here to fight and stop them from closing our factory because there is no reason for it. the factory is extremely profitable.

>> now a failed loss-napping may be among the chapters here. freed two ofd and them being held by workers. the site employs more than 1100 people. >> the drama at goodyear is playing out only days after a newsweek article criticized french labor relations. and on tuesday, the french finance minister spoke in paris during a visit by the u.s. treasury secretary jack lew. the article in newsweek or the sized him. ofalso claimed that the rest the climate had worsened under the current government. >> there is one point everyone can agree on, and the it is that france welcomes a lot of investment. france is so repulsive, so

insignificant. it is in such a bad state, the , --or of this article says, if this were so, would there be 20,000 companies here? >> jack lew went to meet the french president here in paris. the u.s. treasury secretary also called for europe to boost the austerity of policies that europe has pursued in the past two years. jack lew wants more investment and for europe to raise demand. >> we will get a look at the markets next. on wall street, breaking a three session losing streak is tuesday. the are boosted by the news of the u.s. trade deficit arrow -- narrowed in december. coming in at a four-year low. higheres are also taking in november, which is boosting shares in hope that the european economies will be boosting stocks on the side of the atlantic. german stocks climbed higher 8/10 of a percent.

germany's jobless numbers came in -- we saw a good jobless numbers this side of the atlantic. look at other business stories. jpmorgan chase has agreed to pay more than $2 million in the made off scandal. that theter charges bank ignored warnings of made off's undoing. in 2009, made off was found guilty of fraud. disasters around the globe now cost 20,000 lines last year. alone cost 160 thousand lives. it was the deadliest storm of 2013. at the same time, the collective financial cost of the natural disasters was 120 $5 billion.

all of these figures come from an annual report issued by a german insurance company. earnings are set to fall for the first time in the past two years, according to the korean company's own estimates. samsung'sy that smartphone business is not as lucrative as it once was. analysts predict the average price of smartphones will fall in the coming year. the same be said at time, though, that with 7.8 billion dollars in quarterly profits, not too shabby. >> nice money if you can make it. thank you very much. time for a short break. it is not just the "newsweek" article that has people sharing in the past 24 hours. much more as we go online.

hello and welcome to web news. coming up on today's show, and add your chimp puppet accused of terrorism. and a new internet trend and spanning display from three-car writing trance -- champs. extremely popular satirical sketches aired online in egypt. it was recently featured in this ad for a telecommunications company, vodafone. she and her daughter try to reactivate her late husband sin card. subject of ae terrorism probe. the british national -- the egyptian national has been accused of using coded messages to coordinate terrorist attacks.

was invited on television to decode the famous ad. he says that it is -- it has a bomb and the four fingers are a symbol of solidarity with the muslim brotherhood. vodafone officials have been summoned for prosecution questioning. others say the ad is peer fiction. countless web users agree. it illustrates the growing climate of fear and paranoia in egypt since the ouster of mohamed morsi. others are making fun of it. there have been satirical photo montages to my depicting the puppet as an enemy of the state, showing her standing alongside the former president on the day of his association in 1991 -- 1981, or as an agent of foreign intelligence.

a new somewhat odd internet trend in south korea, a craze that some might find the starting. food as itrging on is life -- gorging on food as it is live stream. big eatersumber of are filming themselves wolfing down vast quantities of food whilst interacting with viewers. it is proving massively popular. queen is aisputed young lady known online as the diva. she is ever so slim and never full, and appears online more or less on a daily basis. she has thousands of fans online watching her live streams. according to one website, although south korea's favor glennon spends up to $3000 on food every month, her return on investment is something else.

she apparently earns thousands of euros every month. many are happy to pay to see her devour endless parade of food. one newspaper points out on its website, although the financial aspect is clearly key to the popularity, the initial idea behind it was to help combat loneliness. many who were fed up of dining alone might want others to join them, albeit virtually, at their table. >> when james avery, who played uncle phil in the tv series "the fresh prince of bel air" died last week, it caused an outpouring of emotion on official networks. heartbroken fans have been sharing this tweet to my apparently from will smith. it said it would be a special tribute for the late actor. it is another rumor, however. the star of the 1990s sitcom does not even have an account on the microblogging site.

>> on your marks, get set, go. the self he games are underway on the social networks. the name of the game is to create something crazy and impossible. there are some for the acrobatic moves. hundreds are already competing. it is the taking part that counts and not the winning. this competition is going to be very hard to pick out the champion. wars am a jurassic park, home alone -- william maki, his wife lily, and their son, austin reproduce movie scenes using cardboard boxes and then post them to their blog. they began the collection when they had soa7guc

01/07/14 01/07/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! below zero temperatures are expected through tuesday. these are extremely dangerous conditions and we strongly urge people to heed the warnings and take the necessary precautions to stay safe. >> it is called the arctic vortex. as the chilled wind blows across the united states, how could global warming he connected to such record cold? il