welcome back to al jazerra america i am morgan regard ford live from new york city here are the stories we are following for you right now. ukraine in crisis, russia now telling the u.s. that ukrainian opposition is breaking the term of the peace deal and taking control by force. plus a polluted river in north carolina raising questions about the relationship between the governor and the come pa is responsible. and going strong at 90. zimbabwe throws a birthday wash in honor of its president. and as the 2014 went he games come to a close we'll look at

how they'll best be remembered. ♪ ♪ protesters still standing strong in kiev a midst very rapid political shifts. the parliament named its speaker as interim president after ukrainian president victor yanukovych fled on saturday. russia's foreign minister is charging the ukraine opponents are no longer abiding by the rules of the negotiated peace deal, barnaby phillips has the story. >> reporter: victory came at a cost. there is no euphoria in independence square, instead, we found grief. they have lost too much to celebrate. and anyway, they are too exhausted. ukrainian politics is upside down. former opposition leaders now hold power. they deny they staged a coup

against president yanukovych. >> translator: the government didn't want to listen to the people. it did everything possible to hold onto power and it crossed the line when it killed people. now we need a functioning state as soon as possible. and apartments will work on this nonstop. >> reporter: and parliament has been busy, dismissing the minute officers onministers one by onee speaker as the interim president, consolidating the change in power, but what of yanukovych? these security camera pictures appear to show his entourage fleeing his residence in the early morning hours of saturday morning, where they are now, we don't know. a familiar face looms over the new landscape. yulia tymoshenko, from prison to power politics in just a day. i mit a protester who won't shw

her face but she wants a new politician and is not convictioned tymoshenko is the enter. >> i am not sure that she is the person with her own ideas we need sph*u someone new. >> reporter: the protesters are in charge they accuse this frightened man of being a paid thug hired by yanukovych cause trouble, they drag him way, we don't know what happened to him next. these people have chased a president from power. they have torn down a state. but at some point, they'll have to step aside if a new political order is to emerge in ukraine. they are not prepared to do that yet. ukraine's protest movement has seen many twists and turns and much is still unresolved. it's become the life and death struggle to shape the future of this country. barnaby phillips, al jazerra, kiev. >> right here at home the white

house says they want to see a deescalation in vee license will you above all the country must to hicome together. >> it's not in the interest of ukraine or russia or europe or the united states to see the country split. it's in nobody's interest to see violence return and the situation escalate. there is not an inherent contribution between a ukraine that has longstanding historic and cultural ties to russia, and a modern ukraine that wants to integrate more closely with you are up. it needs for the be mutually exclusive. >> jennifer glasse joins us now from key. how real is the concern in moscow that ukraine could split apart with the pro eve eu west d pro russia and creating two separate sovereigns. >> reporter: it is a real concern here tonight, we have seen problems in the south, there was a clash today one of the protesters showed a clear separatist tendencies there.

>> translator: we should raise the question of the succession from ukraine. my friends, i propose to raise this flag over the city hall. >> reporter: but even as they try to ice this as an opportunities that area has always tried to be separate from ukraine the mayor tried to bring things back together. >> translator: ukraine is one and undivided country. the a upon plus republic part of ukraine the city is functioning in total calm. >> reporter: and right now, that is the concern. it is in the south, the south and east feel separate from the central part and whit western important the ukraine, there is a lot of talk, worrying sign president yanukovych's party of

regents met yesterday and said because of what's happening here in kiev is unconstitutional they want to bring their power back aircraft sign that they are looking to dissolve powe dissoly true try to keep to together. this trade to hold a ceremony and it was broken up by government demonstrators and 10 people were injured and they are concerned about that. >> jennifer, what about yulia tymoshenko we were here when she came out in her wheelchair and it was a powerful moment for everyone in the square. do these people on the ground feel like she is in fact the right person to bridge the divide? >> reporter: you know, morgan, there is a lot of debate about that. some people think they were happy to see her leased, she has very much been the poster child

here in independence square of this protest movement. there are huge pictures of her in the square and calling for her release ever since these protests began. but whether she will make a good leader, the people are divided. she has a history of corruption herself. she has been prime minister, but some people believe that she should be an elder statesman rather than being a leader her herself. we saw a demonstration equating her with victor yanukovych. they want a new generation of politicians tonigh. they don't want the old ukraine, they are trying to rebuild it. so yulia tymoshenko may not be the woman for the post. today she said that she was being considered today in parliament as a potential mime pinster and doesn't want to be prime minister and could signal that she wants to run for the presidency in elections scheduled to be held at the end of may. >> jennifer glasse reporting live from kiev. jennifer, thanks so much for being with us this afternoon.

joining me now live from london is a former kremlin adviser. -- i am sorry we are going to move on and come back to that later in the program. stay tuned we are covering the venezuelan president lick nas maduro who visits his supporters today any rally in crack us, the country has seen two days of peaceful government protests from both the opposition and supporters. it's a relief from the previous two weeks of violent fighting that killed eight people. the opposition led by former presidential candidate enrique is blaming the president for inflation, food shortages and the high crime rate. former other yippings president mohammad morsi was back in court today. prosecutors accuse him of leaking state secrets to iran. the trial has been adjourned itl february 27. he's facing cross fusion for insightsing protesters and insulting the judiciary.

federal prosecutors in north carolina have launched a criminal probe. at issue is the governor and duke en just a minute following a second coal ash spill that don tam nateed the dan river, state environmentals are also looking there. when toxic coal ash started to pouring in to the water environmental groups turned their eye to his north carolina's govern he pat mccrory, they indicated for days for a response. it came in a tweet from mccrory saying that he would visit the site to be briefed on the spill he is a former duke energy executive. a company he spent 28 years with. one group took issue with that during his campaign. >> pat m mccrory's questionable ethics case two, duke energy. >> reporter: john frank say political reporter for the raleigh news observer he says mccrory's ties to duke energy have raised eyebrows and the

questions go well beyond that state utilities commission regulates duke energy and mccrory filled his administration where wajahat a number of former duke energy executives. >> reporter: a cause for concern among environment the groups after 30,000 tons of coal ash still in to the dan river. leading two cashings about swimming in the river or eating the fish. we wanted to get a closer look. and found signs of the dark ash sticking to foam placed in the riff to collect the contaminants. though the coal ash is not at the bottle of all places of the dan river you can find it on many banks and also 70 miles downstream from eden here, but if we dip it down about a foot or two feet and pull up the muck and get through some of the leafs and the sticks and the empty water you can see the black sediment in here, that is some of the coal ash that is made its way in to the dan river. >> we have had serious harm to a major river of the state, we

have been saying that we have 14 disasters waiting to happen. >> reporter: frank holliman made those claims. in three lawsuits the southern environmental law center filed against duke energy seeking the clean up of its coal ash pits at its 14 north carolina sites, environmental groups say the state used the provision of the clean water act to block the lawsuits by filing its own suits, a consent order reached in the cases did not require cleanup. holliman and others accused the mccrory administration of giving duke energy a pass on pollution. a spokesman for mccrory told us, duke energy is not receiving any special treatment. this administration took more action on coal ash during its first 75 days than any previous administration in north carolina history. mccrory has now called for a committee to look at what to do with coal ash in north carolina. and while his administration and duke energy both pledge a full

cleanup of the spill environmentalists like general i edwards are frustrated. >> i saw ducks swimming in coal ash pleadly after the spill. i saw a bald eagle flying over a riverral coal arc, so that baldiris eagle is relying on fish in the river and the fish are relying on the macro invertebrates that are know suffocating and dieing or certainly bathe in a toxic bath. a criminal investigation is also underway. state environment the officials and leaders of duke energy have already been subpoenaed to appear before a grants jury next month, robert pray, al jazerra, eden, north carolina. >> coming up next on al jazerra america as the sochi winter games come to a close we'll take a look at how just they'll be wrecked. plus our top story the crisis in ukraine, live in chicago with a look at just how the local ukrainian community is respond to go the violence.

>> reporter: morgan a big shift in how ukrainian americans are protesting and demonstrating the events in the ukraine from 24 hours ago, we'll have a live report from chicago coming up.

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want to see what's going to happen. >> i want to know what works what do you know works? >> conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> talk to al jazeera. >> only on al jazeera america. >> oh my! good afternoon and welcome back to al jazerra america i am morgan radford live if there new york city we return now to our top story the crisis in ukraine and concerns all cross the ukrainian-american community, andy rosen joins us from just outside the yo ukrainian console in chicago. how is the crowd respond to go o the event of the last 24 hours. >> reporter: a big shift in the last 24 hours, protesters here had been demanding that's consul general be booted out of the you want country he was handpicked by the ukrainian president now it has changed in last 24 hours, you can see protest, now wearing black, they are being more

conciliatory, focusing more on the victims of the violence and now the consul general is being more conciliatory he is offering demonstrators a chance to come in for three days next week to sign guest books and books of cocondolences and groining joinw is you one of the leaders know with the shift comes the hard part. >> you are right. revolution is one thing and we have to be grateful no those that sacrificed their life and health and stood there for three months, and were able to success civil i force regime change. quickly, though, what can the u.s. and you people here in the uu.s. to affect things now with the fluid situation there? >> we american and citizens throughout the country and around the world will call upon our governments, the united states, canada, european countries to help put forth a

marshall plan, need help rebuild a deck contract i can ukraine, an aggressive plan like what was introduceed in world war two to rebuild germany is important it and w we need to have forgivenes or suspension of foreign debt pavements. >> reporter: much more to be ogd that we'll talk tsaid on that. we'll talk to you late or. good news the of of the changes but much more work to be done. >> can we just and him a question before he leaves you, i am wondering are the people still standing outside there do they want a more pro european union ukrainian government to fill its place. >> reporter: a good question from morgan do the protesters juan a more pro union less government centered situation in ukraine. >> what the people want is rule of law and a government that respects its citizens, they want to live like in the us, thanks

to associates media and so forth they know how people live in united states and canada. and how the neighbors in russia live they don't want that life they want our live. >> reporter: good point. the effort continues to get that change effected in ukraine here, but as the day goes on, more demonstrators expected to be showing up asbly as many as 100, morgan. >> thank you, andy and pablo outside in chicago. zimbabwe's president and strong man robert is celebrating his 90th birthday. it will be a million dollars party at an outdoor stadium for a man who has ruled since 1980. this is in a country where opponents say his election was rigged and unemployment is rampant and not all will be singing happy birthday. al jazerra explains. >> reporter: he remembers using zimbabwe's now di defunct haded tpho*edz notes the united states

dollar is legal and the british pound. using multiple currencies has made goods available but some say they can't afford them. >> life is hard, life is hard. unemployment. so therefore one goes shopping only by charity. [inaudible] >> reporter: zimbabwe has had no curb sieve its own since 2009. the central bank recently allowed the use of the australian dollar, chinese, indian, and japanese. the government officials say that using more currencies is a good thing, importing goods would be ease your, but some economists warn that that will not solve the country's economic problems. the president has just turned 90 years old and he's africa's older leader and doesn't appear to be a plan for suc succession. in fighting in the party is

making invest ores nervous the black condominium empowerment policies are a concern for some thin the international communit. >> the economy is in a comatose state. for it to shift it's a measure for the growth and development of this economy. since gone hand in hand. nowhere in the world will you see economies without a significant chance of [inaudible] >> reporter: the liquidity crisis has seen businesses close, the industrial sector keeps laying off workers and banks aren't letting money, the unemployment rate is more than 80%, corruption in state-run company is hi is at an all-time government the government blame waste and sanctions for the problem. some worry the economy is in an

irreparable state. one day they were on a path to higher education, the next their hopes and dreams were completely shattered. >> translator: it makes me sad my fellow class nights will get university degrees, but i won't. >> next up, why a clash over religion is causing an education is crisis in southeast asia. that story and much more when al jazerra america returns. ♪

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good afternoon, toy and welcome back to al jazerra america. i am morgan radford and here is today's top story. thousands of opposition supporter remain in the square, this is all after ukrainian president victor yanukovych fled the capital on ate. meanwhile, russia's foreign minister says the ukrainian opposition are for longer abiding by the rules of the negotiated peace deal. fireworks helped close the 2014 winter olympics and rory

was there and gives us now a lack at thlook at the legacy ofe sochi games. >> reporter: when the sochi olympics finally burst in to life two weeks ago, the event was already carrying huge burdens. for some, particularly in the west, these were the homophobic games. they were the terrorist game, about to be blown up at any moment. the poffly got games costing a record we followish being 30 within billion dollars, they were even the dog-killing games. pussy riot risked whippings and arrests for a punk protest video and a whip website showing a spotlight on the many allegations of corruption. but president vladimir putin was proud. and in the main russians were proud too. these olympics are theirs after all. >> butte inning actually made no

attempt to hide it. he said that this is the olympics, devoted to the resurgence of the russian nation so for him it was extremely important do in national building effort through sports. >> reporter: armies are charming, smiling volunteers made sure that the visitors who had come felt welcome. and despite the disappointments of rub a's men's hockey team and young yulia, there was still russian golds to celebrate. it's often easy to forget that the olympics are actually about sports, particularly when at the thiago he come with as much political baggage as the sochi games have but the athlete will be ring their successes or failures long after the journalists have wandered off to find other things to report on. that's actually already happened. events in ukraine have overshadowed these games to a certain extent. and once the issues leaves town

it's the people who live in this region who will be best placed to answer the question, was it all worth it. rory, al jazerra, sochi. ♪ ♪ >> meteorologist: mild is the word it's been a mild weekend across the northeast and also across portions of the midwest, folks running evening in shorts and a love the. ♪ melting across the northeast leaving to flooding let's look back at the map year, you can see a lot of the flooding across pennsylvania and massachusetts and a all the way through portions the midwest, we have flood warnings effect across illinois and ohio so if you are traveling on the roadways, use caution because well look at the snow continuing to melt a lot of the area across -- excuse me a lot a lot of the area, it is a lot cold air cross far go and bismark it will be a wild until the snowmelts there the cold air

out of canada will rush south and be chillier across the miss west and north cease, cincinnati currently 40 degrees and may see some showers with the front pushing towards the east, a lot of rain coming down across portions of the southeast where we have some strong thunderstorms firing up producing damaging winds, evening a little bit of hail across portion on his of louisiana back to you, morgan. >> thank so much, jelelah. be education crisis in southeast asia students forced to leave their classrooms because i've burning dispute over religion a report from myanmar in a town deeply divided. >> reporter: it's not what you went to just for. but teaching allows him to at least spend his days constructively. a third year psychology students at just, he hasn't been able to go back too class since violent clashes broke out between bus limbs and buddhists between 2012

so he volunteers at the school. >> translator: it makes me sad think my fellow classmates will get university degrees but i won't. >> reporter: like the students he teaches, he is a minority group that suffers from discrimination, even though many families have been here for generations, the government considered them illegal immigrants. it's not just university education that's been disrupted, at this school, buddhist teachers who made up about a 30 of educators here stopped coming to class since violence flared up in 2012. one and a half years on and the communities are still segregated. muslims confined to camps orville questions, thcamps orvir their protection. >> we told them if they want to go to just in another town we can range for that or hold exams

there. but officials accuse them of doing too little. >> the government is not doing anything to protect us. how can we go back to university, we will be killed or we will be slashed that's what we are very afraid of. buddhist people. >> reporter: he and some 100 other students have pa pinged to be allowed to attends classes to no avail it's a different reality for buddhist students however, who have been allowed to go back to university. >> i am afraid but not so afraid know because there is more security address the university. >> reporter: like her friends, she uses the [inaudible] to describe them another indication of how deep the press does runs. and for as long as the mistrust remains, the two communities will remain divided. the consequences of that effecting one generation after another. florence lee, al jazerra,

myanmar. as always thanks so much for watching al jazerra america i am morgan radford and "real money" is coming up next, you can always follow us for updates throughout the day on aljazerra.com. don't go in anywhere.