need to work sunday. >> this brings us to thi the enf this edition of insid "inside s" >> good afternoon, and welcome to al jazeera america. here are the stories we're following for you. russia's veto of the resolution that would declare the referendum in crimea as invalid. and more on the disappearance of malaysia flight 370. >> this movement is consistent with deliberate action by

someone on the plane. >> and three years of fighting in a devastated syria we look back on a very grim anniversary. >> russia has vetoed a resolution by the al jazeera america security council that would have declared sunday's referendum in cry m crimea inva. they voted, but what was the result. >> reporter: they voted quickly. ththe ambassadors decided not to hang around. it went exactly as western diplomats were hoping for. they were seeking to isolate the russians by getting the chinese to abstain, and in the end that's exactly what happened. we have 13 members of the security council voting in favor of the resolution.

china abstaining, and that's what they were looking to have happen just as it did in 2008 during the georgia crisis, and russia one of the five national security council veto wielding powers doing what you would expect it to do, so the resolution dies here. but it's a powerful one. samantha power is the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, and she says the use of russia's veto at this time was the wrong use of the veto. >> russia has used its veto as an accomplice to unlawful military incursion. given 70 years ago to countries that had led an epic fight against aggression. but russia cannot change the fact that moving forward in play can't defiance of the international rules of the road will have consequences.

>> consequences she's talking about are sanctions. your piano union sanctions, and united states sanctions and any sanctions that apply to russia will have consequences for tho those. powerful message embodied there by samantha power. >> the big question becomes will this have any effect on tomorrow's vote on the referendum? >> reporter: this is the international community up against russia. russia completely isolated in the chamber. noting that ukraine did not authorize this referendum in crimea, and noting there is international global concern for the fact that it is even taking place at all, and stating that it is invalid and therefore should form no basis for any status change for the crimea within the ukraine. now i know that the resolution

failed, but those are powerful worlwords and it's the rest of e world piled up against russia. the feel something that crimea is probably gone. the polls tell us this. that the vote will go moscow's way tomorrow, if it happens at all, of course, and they're trying to send a wider message to moscow which is don't try anything in eastern ukraine which also looks forward to moscow as crimea does. the west saying mr. putin, don't go there. >> john terrett joining us live from the united nations. thank you very much. the countdown in ukraine has begun. tomorrow crimeans will cast their votes on whether they want to rejoin russia. there have been clashes in the east where the ukrainian president now saying the russian kremlin is to blame. this is tens of thousands of protesters rallying for and

against what is happening in crimea. jennifer, what is the feeling there so close to the referend referendum? >> reporter: well, morgan as you can hear from the music behind me, life has gone on and it's been a normal saturday for many people. we have officials preparing for the referendum, and people are excited to go to the polls. especially here. this is a very pro-russia city. it's home of russia's black sea fleets, and so many of the sailors and their families live here, and many believe that it was a mistake to give crimea away in the first place. they became part of ukraine in 1958. that's not the case. you have crimea minority tatars and ukrainian nationals who are

very upset here. many say it would be better for them to leave, and that this will not be a place for them in the new russian crimea. there was one thing going on while this u.n. vote was going on in new york. earlier this afternoon russian forces tried to run into ukrai ukraine, northeast of here into the region, and they were rebelled, so we understand from the ukrainian foreign ministry that there were 50 russians with a few armored vehicles. they tried to move into the ukrainian territory, and russians moved back. the russians say they were moving in to protect a pumping station that belongs to black sea oil and gas. that's an ukrainian company that the crimeans now say is a crimean company because it's

officers are here in crimea. these are the kinds of provocations and flash points that make everyone nervous. we have russian forces face to face. in the last half hour there a was a statement that russian forces came in to ukrainian territory and asked russian forces to leave all of ukrainian territory. there is a tense situation here not just politically but militarily as well. go. >> we have an expert of ukraine and observer of the ukrainian election. michael, thank you for being with us now. we understand that you are there on the ground. are things becoming more tense in kiev, especially since the ukrainian government just said it won't recognize this referendum vote tomorrow.

>> reporter: things are very on edge here. there is a lot of diplomatic activity going on all over the place right now. but when you talk to ordinary ukrainians, that includes professionals, former colleagues of mine. you get the sense that they feel, number one, crimea is already gone. and number two, president putin will not stop in crimea, and as jennifer indicated there are credible reports that there was an incursion. when you talk to people and you ask them what are you going to do if eastern ukraine is invaded by russia, and they say they are going to fight. and they underlined they are going for the land, not any political party. i've never heard that kind of talk before in all the times i've been in ukraine and all the times i've lived here. as for the ukrainian government their diplomatic speak is right on message with what russia has

said. they're saying all the right things. but there is a sense that sanctions just won't do it. it's not a big enough bat to stop putin with what he's intending to do. >> you talk about fighting for the land. if russia is not recognizing the current ukrainian government as legitimate, and ukraine is not we canning ukraine's parliament, are we then at a standstill? >> well, you know, you can tell how kind of worked up people are by the fact that something like 40,000 have already signed up with this new force that is being planned. in terms of legitimacy, look, i was an election observer, and by all the international standard rules the way the vote has been conducted in crimea is against most rules. for example, the way the counting is going to be done no one knows who is going to be doing it, how it's going to be done. the wording on the ballot itself

is very provocative. it also does not allowed people, for example, to choose the middle road. asking for more autonomy within ukraine. and then again this is all being done under the very watchful eye of warmed service men, who aren't wearing russianing i significant knee i can'russian . it's making people very nervous. >> you mentioned the counting, the wording, the armed guards, would you call this an as inva. >> definitely would. and this happening in the elections here in ukraine of which i was an observer, for example, there is no free media any more reporting on what's going on on the ground to help people be better informed. for example, ukraineen language

radio stations are now cut off. people are only getting official russian information, and also there is a real fear as well, and i don't know if the ukrainian government has caught onto this, that the thousands and thousands of ukrainians actually living in crimea may want to become refugees in what was their own land and cross over into mainland ukraine, and very little preparation has been done for that. >> michael, very briefly what happens tomorrow? what happens next? >> that's something that every is asking. the anxiety as i indicated earlier is so high. people are stocking up on things. they're not going out as much. they're preparing for the worst. no one is leaving the country. but you know, they are preparing for when things get bad. they may have to serve in the army. they may have to help the

government. i also have been hearing from ex-patriot friends further east, especially after the violence last night that they're moving to safer ground here. >> joining us from kiev is michael-- >> the one thing that they're not trying not to under estimate. >> michael is joining us live from kiev. he's an ukrainian expert and former election observer. thank you for being with us this afternoon. one of the ethnic groups caught in the middle of the struggle between russian and ukraine are the i tatars. this sunday morning at 10:00 eastern al jazeera america will go on to explore their story in "return to exile" that's sunday 10:00 a.m. eastern. the flight for 370 is subject of a criminal investigation. a week after the plane went missing with 239 people on

board, malaysia's prime minister said it appears that the plane was intentionally diverted. we're live from washington. lisa, does this development mean they're any closer to actually finding this plane? >> not really. they know where the plane is not. that's the area they were originally searching, they don't know where it is. it still remains a mystery. it's a chilling account given by the prime minister of malaysia. someone deliberately at the controls of this plane. flying off course, thousands of miles away as the search was launched for this plane. here's what we know so far. the plane took off bound for beijing shortly after someone in the cockpit turned off the system that sends the engine information and maintenance information, sends it out automatically. and then after that someone turned off the transponder. that tells air traffic control

the altitude and location of the plane. there was a routine communication with air traffic control, what appeared to be routine. after that the plane made the sharp turn west, and went in a direction totally against what the original flight plan was. it was picked up by military radar, and the prime minister said this morning that's how they know someone was at the controls. >> up until the point at which it left military radar coverage this movement are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane. >> now this plane continued in the air apparently for hours. we know that because satellites picked up pinging, electronic pinging signals from the plane. remember i told you they had turned off the system. the system was turn odd but it kept sending out a signal like a

cell phone searching for a tower. the satellites picked up these signals, and they're not able to tell where the plenty went but they do know it continued in the air and they developed two possible courses that this plane could have taken after it disappeared after the military radar. the first one, a northern route through thailand over india, pakistan and up to kazakhstan. and then a southern route that would take it over the indian ocean. sources tell me that the southern route is much more likely because if the plane took the northern route it's unlikely that it was picked up by radar and india and pakistan and all those countries it was passing over. it has a huge area that they have to figure out where the plane might have gone. and right now the prime minister said they're not ruling anything out. >> lisa, i think we have another comment from the prime minister first, morgan, do we have that?

>> despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, i wish to be very clear we are still investigating all possibilities. >> now the search now has been called off in the gulf of thailand and the south china sea where the plane would have flown over if it had stayed on the flight path. everything is moving to the west. what is really happening now they're zeroing in on everybody who was on board that plane and the cockpit crew trying to figure out who may have done this. there are reports out of malaysia this morning that they have gone on into the home of the pilot, a veteran pilot with the airline to see anything turns up there to explain what may have happened to this aircraft. >> lisa, thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. >> thank you. >> when we return on al jazeera america, three years of war in syria, the human toll of the continuing conflict. and the battle to bring the blue

back to mongolian skyline clouded with smog.

>> a country once trying is no more. historic marketplaces once bustling with activity has now been reduced to rubble and entire neighborhoods lay in ruin. more than 2 million syrians have been forced out of the country and lebanon is home to the largest number of refugees which is close to a million. turkey with a little over 600,000 and jordan is cloudy skies behind. iraq and egypt host 100,000 each, and those are just the official numbers. we have visit a camp in lebanon. >> reporter: a syrian refugee never thought they would give birth to her youngest child in lebanon. only a week old one of lebanon's newest syrian refugees. her parents and sip lings became

refugees here but she was brought into this world as one. >> i feel sorry for her because whatever she'll have, it will be less than what her siblings have. she'll be deprived of basic healthcare warmth, clothes. >> reporter: those who have been in exile the longest have become the most pessimistic. they have been living in a tented community for over a year and a half. >> the war has prevented us from having any dreams or plans for our lives. we just survived a day not knowing what will happen to us tomorrow. all of our hopes and ambitions have been shattered because of this war. we have no hope for the future. >> his son tells him he wants to return to syria because he's unhappy here. but he said they can't return because syria is too dangerous. over two and a half million syrians have been registered as refugees in neighboring

countries. the majority are here in lebanon. three years after the start of the conflict and with in political solution the future looks even more uncertain for these people. the u.n. refugee agency said syrians could make up the largest refugee population in the world. the war has devastated children the most. between those living under siege in syria, those displaced internally and those living in exile five and a half million syrian children are affected. despite the conditions they face in exile syrians are still fleeing, choosing a life of hardship over death. the family recently fled, and have been here for only ten days. all they feel is fear and uncertainty. >> we're afraid we won't be able to go back. we're afraid that our house will be destroyed, and things will get worse than they already are. we'll never be able to go back. >> reporter: the war is causing

a humanitarian catastrophe. it's one that continues to grow. if the world fails to act, they say they'll feel not only abandoned, but deprived of a future. >> to egypt where u gunmen killd six. muslim brotherhood denies all involvement. mongolia is known as a country of vast lands and great plains, but many are suffocating because of smog coming from a source would might not expect. >> reporter: mongolia is known as a land of eternal blue skies. but it's heavy with smog.

unlike industrial places it's not caused by factories or power plants. no longer using a traditional stove to heat the home. the government subsidizes a new one. >> it its more efficient and takes less coal and generates less smoke. >> one of 700 people who live in the district these areas are unplanned settlements populated by migrants from the province. they could afford little else. there is no running water, no sewage system and no central heating. half of the city's population live in these districts and the coal and wood they use in their homes is responsible for 60% to 70% of the city's pollution. on a cold day the smell of burning coal is so strong its difficult to breathe and the

smoke stings the eyes. the government is concerned about long-term effects of pollution and is working to decrease it. >> reporter: it's expected to cut down pollution by 30% but this is not a permanent soluti solution. >> we're doing affordable housing study, we're doing greening projects. >> reporter: it's a battle between progress and tradition where with the economy on the rise more migrants are expected to come to the is it. with no one else to live, it means more smokestacks to heat up their homes. >> when we return on al jazeera america we'll take a look at what is killing the monarch butterflies. ♪

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tv and internet together like never before. >> good afternoon, and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. here are today's headlines.

russian forces heading north from crimea. the flight malaysia 370 has turned into a criminal investigation. it appears the plane was deliberately diverted by someone on board. and today marks the anniversary of three years of war in syria. there are more than 5.5 million registered refugees. every year monarch butterf butterflies fly from mexic north america.

>> hundreds of monarch butterflies taking refugee. it's an annual journey but each year fewer make it. >> in general terms the situation for monarch butterfl butterflies is critical. this is the lowest number of butterflies we've seen here in 20 years. >> reporter: that's because many who start the flight do not complete it. their choice of food is depleting. wide scale farming has wiped out large parts of it, drought is also to blame. until recent they also face habitat loss in mexico. large parts of this forest were under threat from loggers. now public and private programs are looking to replant whatever trees are cut. >> people used to come and chop down trees. now there is a law against t and you can't do it any more.

visitors come every year and that brings in monday. >> reporter: tourists want to see this unique phenomenon before it's too late. >> there is concern about them disappearing so i thought i needed to see them now. in the corridor where they go is canada, united states, and mexico. so all of north america. >> in this corner of north america they're committed to keep the fight up. >> in mexico we're taking important steps in conservation but we need the u.s. to do the same. >> a plea for corporation from a powerful neighbor who now says it realizes what is at stake. >> a man who made history by marking the end of the world war ii with a kiss has died. glen mcduffy was a sailor snapped in this passionate

embrace with a nurse back in 1945. he died at his home in texas and he was 86 years old. i'm morgan radford. the stream is coming up next, and you can always follow us online and on twitter. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you're in "the stream." man bossy or b bossy? it's time to hear what girls think, we talked to teens to find out how they define leadership and empowerment. my cohost, rajahad ali, is here, and he's bringing in the feedback. we have heard the saying, sticks and stones may break your bones...and is now can words