[ ♪ music ] >> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york. >> crimea is part of the ukraine today, it will be part of ukraine tomorrow. it will be part of ukraine next week. >> pushing to keep ukraine together powerful words from the united nations on the eve of a controversial vote. >> mal-asia's prime minister calls flight 370 disappearance a deliberate act. three years today the war in syria began. we look back at how much has

changed and what could still come. >> with so much of america suffering from a drought, we look way back on lesson from ancient civilizations. >> the standoff between moscow and washington is reaching a new level. in hours voters in crimea will decide whether to leave ukraine for russia. ukrainian forces on the crimean border are on high alert. russian soldiers control the peninsula. russia is weighing requests on intervening in eastern ukraine. three have died in clashes there. at the u.n. russia flexed its muscle on a revolution that would have declared the crimean vote illegal. we go to our troops on the ground. jennifer glasse is in

sevastopol. which start in simferepol, with nick schifrin. what is the mood there today? >> we are seeing the russian stranglehold getting tighter militarily across the penninesual la. you can't go to a ukrainian military base without it being occupied or surrounded by russian troops. you can't go to a government building across the peninsula without it, also, being surrounded or occupied by government troops - sorry, russian troops. on the political side a lot of people believe the vote is preor daned. there's a lot of intimidation who is pro-ukrainian, leading to a lot of boycotts of the referendum by anyone who opposes joining russia. there are pro-russians out in force, getting the out to vote efforts. they are the only ones pushing

for a referendum. it seems the vote will overwhelmingly go russia. >> you talk about intimidation. what have you seen in the cities and the hotels that the journalists use? >> in a word, the hotel, moscow, which is fall of journalists was occupied by pro-russian militia and activists, it's hard to describe who these people are. they don't answer to anyone, they are not controlled by the police. they came into the hotel for about an hour, a dozen armed men with ak 47s, someone claiming to be the crimean interior minister was saying that there was a drill, but they padded down journalists, padded down everyone, they went door to door, clearly looking for somebody, perhaps there were a few armed western guards who showed up in the hotel yesterday. perhaps they were looking for them. they left without saying many

words, other than roughing journalists up who were trying to film then. it's just another example of anyone trying to expose them or anyone that criticises them. >> with that in mind, what do we expect to happen after the vote tomorrow? >> the notion is in part because of the boycott from pro-ukrainians and the demographics the vote is expected to be to join - to have the peninsula join russia, and at that point we'll see what the pro-russian government does. it will declare some kind of independence, the government in kiev will say it's not allowed, and in new york, london, across the west will say it's not allowed. frankly, it's already a done deal, the russian troop presents embolding the activists. many are on the streets saying we can't wait to spend russian

rubles, indeed of the ukrainian currency, and they can't wait to get russian passports. perhaps the minority of the people that do not support russia are fearful about their futures tonight. >> nick schifrin live in crimea, thank you. >> let's turn to jennifer glasse, and the russian troop build-up in crimea. a lot of developments. fill us in on what happened. >> well, as the security council was meeting in new york to discuss the situation here in crimea, russian forces were moving out of crimea, were trying to move into ukraine proper. we know a couple of helicopters filled with as many as 50, 60, 70 russian troops moved in. that's a land spit. it's a long spit of land, sandbar, if you will, in the north-west of the crimea, there's a border between crimea.

the russians crossed the border, moved into the village and took over a gas installation, a pumping station for a gas company based in crimea, the russians saying they want to protect it from terrorist. ukrainian forces sending their forces in, but the russians continue to hold the positions and are dug in. the ukrainian foreign ministry objected against the incursion, a dangerous escalation. there are russian forces across the crimean peninsula, they are blockading sailors and their ships and ukrainian forces in their bases and are outside of many key buildings across the peninsula, but now russian forces moving outside into ukraine proper, a dangerous do. . >> how significant is the move, the fact that russian forces are seizing property outside the crimean border, when you consider the interpretation and

conflict in the east of ukraine. >> very worrying for the government in kiev and international governments. we heard inflammatory rocks from moscow, saying they had requests to protect russians. and clashes, pro-russian demonstrators went into the intelligence building. they broke in, put down the ukrainian flag. they are the acts we saw here a few weeks ago before this became a pro-russian area, and i think people are very, very worried that russia has its eyes on eastern ukraine, saying it has the right to protect ethnic russians. it massed troops on the border, and says that this kind of unrest at donetsk shows that

kiev is not in control. very belacous words from moscow and aggressive action by the russian military on the eve of the referendum. >> jennifer glasse, thanking for reporting from kiev. >> russia's foreign minister fired back. . >> translation: if we were to speak of blood, it's not on our hands, but the hands of your friend. the national radicals, the blood of ukrainians shot by snipers in february, on the february days of this year. and who - who actually helped certain ideals recently and said ukrainians had not fought with the nazis, and gal there was a -- and actually there was a problem with the soviet union, violence, threatening to spread to other reasons of ukraine,

violence that didn't happen to crimea because of measures taken. madam powell spoke of dreams and aspirations, but why are a abrogating the right of people in crimea to express their opinion tomorrow. we appeal to all to stop the confrontation and begin long-term settlement for the people in ukraine, for all the people, including eastern and south-eastern regions. >> u.s. ambassador power says the referendum will be considered illegitimate under international law. >> tomorrow's vote is rattling crimea. people in the renalingion are rushing to the banks to withdraw as -- region are rushing to the banks to withdraw as much as they can. jacky rowland has more >> the timing couldn't be better. the pro-russians bring gas days before the referendum.

they are nothingsalizing the crime -- nationalizing the crimean branch of the crimean oil company. trnchts this company will be under the control of crimea authorities, the people that run it will come from crimea, not ukraine or russia. all the money will go into the crimean about budget. >> the question of money is on everyone's mind as they make a last trip to the market as citizens of ukraine. >> the outcome may seem a foregone conclusion. there's a lot of uncertainty about what it will mean for people. what will happen to their salari salaries. will pensions be paid on time. >> people are anxious to get their hands on their savings. atms are running dry. the director of this bank says

he can work with any national authority. all he needs is stability. >> as soon as we know which kurn si we'll be using, then we will have a clearer idea of which actions to take. >> putting your money into bricks and more tar or concrete and steel has been a safe investment. uncertainty about the future of crimea is affecting the construction industry. trnchts it's not the best time for the construction business. there has been a lot of corruption and only certain companies will get contracts. many years ago i had more than 100 employees, now i have only 30. >> night falls and they continue to queue patiently outside the bank. for the most part people are keeping their opinions about the referendum to themselves. only cash gets everyone's vote.

>> and coming up tonight at eight eastern, reaction to the election from a former observer of ukrainian elections. >> week two in the search for flight 370 is a cal investigation. malaysia's prime minister says it appears someone demrshtly cut -- deliberately cut communication, diverted the plane and flew on for another seven hours. investigators do not know who, why or where that plane went. lisa stark has more >> it is a chilling picture, a jumbo jet, 239 on board flown for some seven hours, thousands of miles off course, possibly until the plane ran out of fuel. with the criminal investigation under way, investigators are scrooutannizing the backgrounds ever everyone on board. in malaysia police searched the home vt pilot.

it is unclear whether the home of the copilot was searched as well as. investigators know someone in the cockpit turned off two systems, one that sends out aircraft performance, and the transponder, which let's air traffic controllers know the plane's altitude and commission. there was a final voice communication, but then the jet turned off course, heading west. officials confirmed that blips seep on malaysian military radar were the missing jumbo jet, and someone was at the controls. >> up until the point at which it left military radar coverage, this movement are consistent with deliberate actions by someone on the plane. >> even with its communications

systems disabled, the aircraft was sending out electronic signals picked up by satellite, that's how investigators know it was in the air, and determined two possible flight paths - one heading north over india and pakistan to khazakhstan. the other to the south, over the indian ocean. sources say that is the more likely path if those in the cockpit wanted to avoid detection. officially this is a wide open investigation. >> despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, i wish to be very clear. we are still investigating all possibilities. >> the latest news is another blow to the families of those on board. understandably desperate to know what happened to their loved ones. malaysia airlines has no answers. >> because the situation now has started to look at a criminal investigation under international law, we are not permitted to respond to

questions at this time. >> dozens of planes and boats that have been searching the south china sea is being pulled out, moved west into the vast indian ocean to find a sign, any sign of the missing jetliner. >> it's a small circle of possible suspects. 227 passengers, 12 crew members are under the microsecond. 53-year-old seasoned pilot is under the microphone, and his 27-year-old copilot. he's under scrutiny for letting two women in the cockpit. these men boarded the plane with stolen passports. investigators say they had no links to terrorism organizations. they appeared to be trying to reach europe. others came from china,

malaysia, ukraine, india and australia. three americans were on board. >> malaysian officials stopped short of calling the plane's disappearance a hijacking. al jazeera contributor todd curtis has more. >> i think some action had to be taken by the pilot. the question is why? the answer will determine whether or not this was a hijacking by a third party, someone outside the cockpit. a command earring of the aircraft. >> in all your years flying time, can you think of a limb mate reason why a pilot would do what he did. >> i can think of reasons why they did things off script. that is, if there were a series of system issues in the aircraft, systems failing, systems putting out bad data,

other unusual activities, the pilots could be using emergency checklist, or non-normal czech check list to isolate a problem and cut off machinery that is not behave. perhaps things from failing and perhaps the pilots had to do something creative, outside of procedures to save the airplane. getting back to the prime minister's words, a deliberate action, yes, but for millishous reasons, it remains to be seen. >> thank you to todd curtis there. still ahead - the water in syria. three years later, thousands dead, millions displaced as calls continue for bashar al-assad to step down and look back at the crim anniversary. >> honda is recalling a million mini vans that could catch fire. those stories and more.

>> three years ago today the

uprising in syria began. since then more than 140,000 people have died. nearly half of them are civilians. millions more have been displaced. we have this report from lebanon on what refugees from there face. >> a syrian refugee from ib lib never thought she would give birth to her youngest child in lebanon. in is one of syria's newest syrian refugees. her parents and siblings became refugees here, she was brought into the world as one. >> translation: i feel sorry for her, whatever she had will be less. she'll be deprived when it comes to clothes, heat, food and health care >> the refugees in exile the longest are the most pessimistic. this man and his family have been living in a tented community in the beckar valley for a year and a half

>> translation: the war n prevented us having dreams or plans. we survive the day. all hopes, ambitions and plans have been shattered because of the war. we have no hope for the future. >> his son tells him he wants to return to syria, because he is unhappy here. they can't return, because syria is too dangerous. >> over 2.5 million syrians have been registered as refugees. three years after the start of the conflict and no political solution, the future is more uncertain. the u.n. refugee agencies says syrians could make up the largest refugee population in the world. >> the war devastated children the most. those living under siege, those displaced, and those living in exile, 5.5 million syrian children are affected.

syrians are still fleeing, choosing a life of hardship over death. this woman and her family fled from idlib and have been here for 10 days. all they feel is fear and uncertainty. . >> translation: we are afraid we'll never be able to go back, and our house will be destroyed and things will be worse than they are. we'll never be able to go back. >> the war is causing a human darian catastrophe, one that is growing, and if the world fails to act. refugees feel abandoned and deprived of a future >> and just a few hours ago the united nations tweeted the latest statistics on syrian refugees. numbers are staggering. two years ago there was 23,000, today that number stands at more than 2.5 million people. joining us to discuss this is former u.s. ambassador syria, richard murray. as a former ambassador to syria,

when you look at the past three years, what thought comes to your mind? >> everybody misunderstood the situation, starting with the syrian government. they kept assuming that the arab spring that overturned the leadership in tunisia, europe, wouldn't happen in syria. it did. the syrian people were going through the same problems. the pressures were such that something had to give. and the government applied tried and true technique which was crush any dissidents, instead of trying to work out the problems. we underestimated the strength of support that the president had in syria. and that led president obama to say that it was time for him to step aside. he was not about to step aside. a lot of syrians did not want him to step aside. one thing we got right was

saying if this continues, it will radicalize the whole country. that's what happened. it's a tragedy. >> do you worry for the region? >> the figures you cited, refugees, it's a crushing burden on jord jp, lebanon, and heavy on turkey. turkey is better able to support it than the others. sting, it's a pressure on them. and, you know, experience with refugees is when they are out of it, they are out of a country for as much as two years, they tend to not want to go back. what is going to happen is not going to be 2.5 million don't want to go back, but a substantial number. >> we talk about pressure on the neighbouring countries, what does that look like. there's concerns that there'll be divisions within the refugees and locals, and hostilities as well. correct. >> yes. >> especially lebanon. >> they are competing, if they

are trying to get some work, to get some money. they'll be competing with lebanese workers. sure, with the best of intentions, the host country is going to start feeling resentment towards the refugee population. >> how do you see it playing out. do you think the war will continue nor another three years, is the tide turning in another direction. >> i wish i could say i see the end. i could not see the end. the ukraine situation has been a relief to the assad leadership. the attention is diverted. we are serious in terms of supporting the opposition, doing something more than just training. there'll be supplies of arms going in. there's no military solution there. the government can't liquidate the opposition. >> you don't think the government can win this outright. >> not militarily, no. >> the question is are there

principle supporters, namely the russians and you iranians ready to work for a political solution. we have been trying, the u.n. has been trying for these - more than 2.5 years, to try to discuss what a transitional government will look like. well, that's of no appeal to the regime at all. they say we'll stay around. >> with the world so distracted by ukraine and crimea, how big a concern does that present, do you think, to people within syria, to people that would like the see the conflict end? is the syrian people's best hope having the west or the united nations intervene and somehow come to a deal with president bashar al-assad's backers? >> well, the backers are not going to walk away from president bashar al-assad. they have a stake in his leadership and his control of the country. the russians think we are naive about the dangers of extreme

muslim sentiment in the country. >> do you think the united states might be? >> i think we have been ignorant of the nature of the opposition. it's very fragmented and includes people we can deal with, but a number that we would never want to the deal with, who are working with al qaeda. so it's a mess. we have - all talked ourselves into certain positions which is going to take time to talk ourselves out of now. >> that conflicts enters its fourth year today. thank you for your time today as always. >> tonight at eight eastern, a former u.s. weapons inspector talks on the progress made to remove chemical weapons. >> tensions running high in ukraine ahead of a referendum in crimea. >> honda recalling a million mini vans. we tell you which models are at

risk of catching >> tensions running high in risk of catchinrisk of catching

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories - the search for flight 370 is a criminal investigation. malaysia's prime minister says it appears the plane was deliberately diverted by someone on board, and flew for another seven hours. the airliner has not been found. today is the third anniversary of a syrian uprising. it comes as russia claims a strategic city north of damascus. 3 million fled that country. >> russia vetoed a security council vote that would have declared the vote in crimea

illegal. >> united states and its allies have been trying to get moscow to change your force. john terrett is at the united nations with more for us. the resolution didn't have much of a chance. >> absolutely not. good evening from the united nations. the ambassadors of the security council came for a saturday morning election. the intention to show that the vote in crimea was illegal. they knew it was a mission impossible. the idea of calling the vote had the cache of sending a serious message to moscow. >> one day before the referendum in crimea, and the global body responsible for peace and security send a powerful message, "your referendum in crimea is ipp valid." . >> the result of voting is it as follows, 13 in favour, one against, one abstention.

>> western ambassadors want to show the how isolated russia is, by drafting a resolution showing no legal basis for the poll. the u.s. ambassador for the un, sam antha power said this was the wrong time to use the veto. russia used its veto as an accomplice to unlawful military incursion. the veto given 70 years ago to countries who had led an epic fight against aggression. in so doing, russia cannot change your the fact moving forward in blaitant definings of the rules of the road will have consequences. >> moscow's line never waive oured. violence could spread, and it's only trying to protect russians that lived there. >> violence had to be noted.

violence, which threatened and threatens to spread to other regions of ukraine. violence which didn't just happen in crimea, thanks to measures taken. >> ukraine's ambassador to the u.n. says actions are not those of a modern nation. >> we are upset with the difficulty proposed by russian delegation again. nothing serious, just words. at the same time their par troopers and other forces entered the mainland of ukraine. this is sinizism of what is going on. they are coming from the crimea to the southern part of the mainland. now we have a different situation than before the security council. the aggression is expanding. >> saturday's failed resolution in the scourn may have come too

late to halt the poll in crimea. ambassadors are keen to send a broader measure, "don't try anything like this in other parts of ukraine", particularly the east, we leans heavily moscow's way. >> the vote too late the stop the referendum. the world will watch closely what vladimir putin does next. because this ash iter deals with peace in the world, you can expect more action here. >> john terrett live at the u.n. let's talk to timothy schneider, a professor of history and the author of several books on russia and the former soviet union. thank you for being with us. i want to get your thoughts on the news today that russia moved behind crimea's borders and grabbed a natural gas facility there in eastern ukraine.

is this the beginning of a larger push into eastern ukraine by russia? >> it certainly looks that way. although i wouldn't say it's the beginning. for the last couple of weeks there has been regular examples of bus loads, mersan airies penetrating into the city, provoking violence in places like donetsk. the overall strategy is to create the appearance of ipp stability using russian forces and use more russian forces as, so to speak, the solution to the prop. where this will go is hard to say. i have the impression that vladimir putin is still improvising. >> do you think vladimir putin might, indeed, try to grab more of ukraine and try to split the country in half? >> the problem with trying to

predict russia is that decisions are made by one person, and consultation with two or three or four other people. they can move quickly, they have an advantage over the test tactically, operationally. the problem with moving quickly is you can get yourself in places where you don't want to be. it's very possible that from the beginning crimea has been a test to see what the reaction would be, and if the reaction was not sufficiently strong, they would move forward. vladimir putin has gotten authorisition from the russian parliament to occupy the entirety of the country. we should take that seriously. >> a serious concern for a lot of people. >> what do you expect to happen monday morning after the referendum that will pass and vote in favour. what do you think will happen internationally and come monday in russia. >> well, by now both brussels and washington have their sanctions lined up.

certainly members of the russian population and leadership will begin, i think, for the first time to think about this occupation of crimea, not in symbolic, but pocket book. russians will think about the impossibility of travel, and will take seriously the money they'll lose. vladimir putin will have to think about what citizens think. that will be a long-time coming. >> meanwhile we do have tens of thousands of russians in the street. protesting the war for more at motivations. i think it's possible when people add practical and financial motivations, we may see political unrest in russia. i think what will happen will have implications in russia as well. >> timothy schneider with yale university, talking to us via austria. thank you for your time. >> tens of thousands in russia took to the streets in support

of and against the intervention of crimea. peter sharp has more. >> tens of thousands of antiwar demonstrators that took to the streets to show the opposition to vladimir putin's move, from students to the elderly, sharing one human emotion. fear. fear of what lies ahead. they don't know where the president is leading their country, and russia's involvement in crimea and ukraine frightens them. >> i don't want war. i'm afraid for the children and the future. >> the banners and slogans sent a high message, "our enemy is not in the ukraine, it's in the kremlin", protesters chanting, "vladimir putin is a thief." diplomacy appears to have run its course. this is the last chance for antiwar protesters to get their message across. what they are saying is adventures in crimea, carried out by vladimir putin and the

kremlin would leave russia isolated. they are in a minority. >> for than 60%, higher than that, of people in russia support vladimir putin's moves on crimea. >> among the marches. liberal politician boris. >> translation: people do not want russia isolated, they want at prosperous county, not a poverty-stricken country with nuclear weapons. >> a few block away a rally held by supporters of vladimir putin. there was a substantial police presence. despite the turn out this is the majority voice in russia. an overwhelming endorsement for vladimir putin's involvement in the crimea, and support for russian people living on the

black sea peninsula. >> we want to say a firm no to the fascist junta that came to power and support our comrades in ukraine. >> voting gets under way in the referendum on sunday morning. the outcome will delight these people, convinced that the move is justified, ready to bring crimea back to mother russia. >> protests against venezuela president nicolas maduro have been going on for a month. protesters fought with police, who responded with water canons. we have the latest from the capital. >> for weeks the venezuela jp government is accusing united states of being involved, call secretary of state john kerry an assassin of the people, a reference to the people that

have died in at least five cities. the u.s. state department expressed concern about what it considers to be violation of human rights, and excessive use of the force by venezuelan police and the national guard. the secretary of state john kerry suggested the u.s. may be ready to impose sanctions. president obama was warned that he would isolate himself from latin america and the caribbean. what raised a red flag amongst the opposition was an announcement - i'll quote him exactly - he said, "we have special plans in the middle and upper middle class neighbourhoods to liberate them from the delinquent hell racers", a reference to those putting up barricades. he gave no details of how he would liberate the neighbourhoods, but it implies an increased use of force.

>> here in the united states. 900,000 mini van are being recalled by honda. the national safety transport administration says honda odysseys built in alabama. 186,000 are at risk the the family sued vehicles are sold between 2005 and 2010. the fire risk comes from faulty fuel pumps that may crack and leak. the parts will not be available until summer, but a temporary fix is offered. >> it is the time of year, march madness. ross shimabuku is here with more. >> you have to love it. let the madness begin. 68 teams will be announced tomorrow. some are looking to punch automatic tickets to the dance by winning the tournament. mcdermott sparkles. the blue jays playing their

first big game against providence. there are moving conferences, a couple of omedies playing for the american tournament title. the defending champions are taking on yukon. kansas knocked off. iowa will face another surprise team. the top two teams to collide when arizona takes on u.c.l.a. , the wildcats looking to capture the first title since 2002. now, march madness means casual fans to hard core basketball junkies filling a lot of time filling out the brackets, cheering for the underdogs, and hoping to see the upsets that makes the game special. it is also big business for the service industry. >> it's finally here, tournament time in college basketball. that means the post holiday

drought is over, and the crowds will be filling streets to enjoy the excitement of the big dance. >> we pretty much double, triple our step, based on one time the games are and what we are accepting before and after the game. >> it's no better personified than in crowded sports bars, tip-offs as erlly as 7am. >> business wise it's good. constantly busy. need extra staff. orders are big, the kitchen and bar is busy. all snowballs as the month goes on. 67 games will have to be played to determine the champions. each is a welcomed opportunity to pack into crowds. as one bar owner told us, there's no days off in march. >> i think march is - after january and february, everyone has cabin fever, it's an excuse. everyone looks forward to it. not just business openers,

but -- owner, but families and people were everywhere. it's a chance to let it go. >> the n.c.a.a. tournament is a cash cow, but the big dance is a big distraction for most companies. tonight i had a chance to speak with daniel from the sports business journal about the topic. >> businesses should be concerned. people are on the internet. there's sporting events, tennis, golf, soccer. so many events are streamed. i wonder if this should be what we talk about. >> how much productivity do we lose on wimbledon and the u.s. open and golf. it is all stream. >> we'll have the entire interview with daniel. if you pick the perfect bracket. you will get a there is billion pay out. we'll they will you how. >> $1 billion. there is somebody doing that somewhere. >> yes.

>> we have to wait until eight. >> yes. >> see you then. >> still ahead - with so much of america suffering from a drought, we look way back to lessons from ancient civilizations. that story and more when al jazeera returns.

>> well, you don't have to be an online shopper for companies to track your spending. brick and more tar shops have borrowed a trick from the world of e-commerce. >> toronto canada. population three million people, and at least as many cell phones. >> this is toronto's trendy queen west neighbourhood. it's arguably the hippest and closely monitored shopping center in all of canada. how? by something everyone

carries - smartphone. >> over a dozen businesses on the mile-long ship are monitoring phones and most people don't know about it. one of those businesses is here. happy child bar and restaurant. from the moment you walk in, a tiny sensor sniffs out your phones wi-fi signal, recording your arriving. why did you name is happy child? >> because i have heard a happy child. >> making him happy is data from phones. what data do you need? how many people come to the door, how long they stay. happy child's dalta analysis is collected by a toronto start up turnstile solutions, the brainchild of three college buddies, who wanted more fans for their band. >> everyone carries cell phones, if we could detect them. >> turnstile was about who was

coming to your concerts. >> exactly, figure out a way to reward them. then you realise every retailer and physical venue has the same questions. >> how many phones are you tracking? >> we have detected over 13 million unique devices. >> has anyone complained about the tracking? >> at the end of the day if you walk around with your wi-fi enabled, there's more that someone can do than registering a hit on our transmitter. >> fascinating technology. >> phil torres joins us live from los angeles. this is interesting stuff for businesses. it seems like a cool idea, right. >> it sure is. they are really excited about it. they are able to collect data about their customers that otherwise they didn't have, and can analyse it in interesting ways. if done right. it could be good for the businesses and consumers. privacy experts have to say wait

a minute, this cannot be okay. i'm curious to know what some customers said about this. >> privacy is a big concern. they can log and track people throughout a city, not just a bar. where you are going, where you are staying. the customers know the business owner. they understood. they weren't thrilled, but were okay. privacy experts are concerned about what else the information could do. >> what else are you guys talking about? >> we have something on synthetic drugs. there are drugs that are made in black market by some determined chemists, and, unfortunately, these things are legal, but just as bad or more dangerous than drugs that are out there and illegal. they are marketing them to teenagers. it's not good stuff. we bring you the science. >> and you join us on saturday nights. welcome. we are glad to see you. >> thank you. we are happy to be here with

you. check out techknow on its new night after this news cast at 7:00pm eastern an al jazeera america. >> al jazeera's exploring the impact on people throughout the world. the american south-west is a history of drought dating back centuries. climate scientists warn that future water shortages may be severe. we have this report from arizona. >> today all that's left of that area is the eroded remains of buildings and temples surrounded by the urban straul of phoenix -- sprawl of phoenix, arizona. this was the center of a sophisticated people. >> this group was unique in all of north american archeology. they built enormous irrigation systems. the canals here were brilliantly engineered to carry water.

they were enormous in size. >> canals, 14 metres wide and five metres deep, irrigated an area of 500,000 hectares, supporting a population of 80,000 people. 600 years ago, the civilisation collapse said. the reason - water - or lack of it. at the university of arizona, the largest collection of tree ring data tells the story. scientists studying ancient wood can tell how weather patterns shifted with disastrous results for people like these. >> it was one of the serious droughts in the last 2,000 years, lasting for 25 years, affecting the people quite badly, i would think. >> there's a drought going on right now. do we have any idea whether we are at the beginning of that, in the middle or towards the end? >> no, not until it's over, and then you know. >> how long could it last?

>> well, the one in the 1500s lasted a century. >> global climate change caused by modern activities will make future droughts worse, says geoscientist. >> the drought in california, in australia, the draught in the middle east now - the drought that is in malaysia now - these are all the face of climate change. this is what we'll see more and more of as the earth warms up and in many parts dries out. >> and that brings us back to here. the people who live here for more than 1,000 years are no different to people today. they probably thought their way of life could go on forever. then nature proved them wrong. >> it gives us a cautionary tail. they outstrip the available water. we are falling down the same path. in the future it will hit us

again, where do we get the water next? a question for which the past provides no easy answer. >> that's the big question for so many people across the south-west - where are we going to get the water? >> yes, we are not getting the water there, we are focussing in on the south and the south-east, where strong thunder storms brought hail into kansas. the storms are tracking to eastern texas. these storms will make their way further eastwards through the day tomorrow. when we look at the storm systems, we have a big wind developing for the east coast, and a blast of cold air bringing snow back to virginia and west virginia, but more rain in the valleys of the west and mountain snow for the cascades. it's a windy night. look at the wind custodies. north to north-easterly winds, or north-westerly winds.

22 to 21 gusts up in the north-east, bringing in the cold air that is starting to mix in here in parts of the midwest, with a storm system that's bringing the strong storms to the south. it's two storms coming together. cold air to the north and powerful to the south. tomorrow thunder storms will be moving across louisville, and it look like the storms not only will bring hail, winds, rain, but we'll have hail that could be a good size in parts of louisiana. good to know there. watch out in the south. that's the show, thank you for joining us. i'm jonathan betz, i'll be back with more news. first a quick look at the headlines after that short

break.

>> you are watching al jazeera america. the search for flight 370 has turned into a criminal investigation. the malaysian prime minister says it appears of the plane was

deliberately diverted. it's been more than a week since the jet and the 239 passengers vanished. russia vetoed a u.n. security council resolution that would have declared the referendum in crimea illegal. russian troops tried to advance north from the peninsula to the mainland. >> today marks three years since the syrian uprising. many have been killed, half children. syrian forces have taken back a strategic rebel held down. >> a car maker has announced a major recall. honda responding to a major problem on the odyssey minivans, a fuel pump cover that can wear out and cause a fire. they have recalled 5,000 vehicles. those are the headlines. techknow starts now with its knew night on saturday.

for updates go to aljazeera.com. have a good night and a good weekend. this is techknow. we will explore hardware and hugh maunty. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out our team of hardcore nerds. dr. crystal dilworth is a molecular neuro scientist. tonight on the trail of synthetic drugs. chemist versus chemist as cops need scientists to track down illegal drugs hitting the streets. kost a. s grammain, tonight, cell phone secrets, how one tech company