no you that. "the story of the jews" simon scharma, great to talk to you. >> you, too. >> >> i'm jonathan betz in new york. tonight on al jazeera america, we take a deeper look at these stories. >> in ukraine russian soldiers use force to take over the last crimean military base. >> childhood illnesses making a come back >> a lead in the missing plane turns up empty and the search may take a treacherous turn. >> an afghan teen says playing

basketball, not soccer, is the key to his future. >> before we get to the discussion of ukraine, here are some of the other stories making news. >> federal court in michigan is halting weddings, not before 300 couples got married. michigan appealed a supreme court judge ruling. >> guards searching gunmen before allowing them to enter a hotel. they later opened fire, killing nine, including three children. the gunmen hid the weapons in their shoes. the restaurant was considered one of the safest places in kabul. >> three palestinians are dead after a shoot-out with soldiers. a hamas fighter was cornered in a west bank home and killed him.

residents attacked the soldiers, killing two. it sparked protests in other towns. >> in spain tens of thousands of protesters descended on madrid. spain's unemployment rate is 26%. >> a pilot that landed at the wrong airport didn't realise his mistake until after touching the ground. the south-west airlines flight was supposed to land in branston missouri, but the pilot touched down nearby. >> i assume i'm not at your airport. >> 4013, have you landed? >> yes. >> say that again? : >> not what you want to hear there. no one was hurt.

passengers reported the plane came close to going off the runway. the pilot is on paid leave. >> first lady michelle obama is on a week-long trip to china. the trip is to promote educational exchanges with the u.s. she will shy away from controversial topics but stressed free speech to students. >> russia seized a military base in crimea. soldiers stormed the base and there were shots of - reports of shots fired during the take over. russian troops began to unload the artillery from a ukrainian warship. in eastern ukraine, demonstrators rallied in support of the ousted president viktor yanukovych. let's turn to our jennifer glasse live from sevastopol with more on this. what are we seeing so far today? >> we've seen russia strengthen

its grip. the take over of the bell back base happened this afternoon. it's on the outskirts. the russians issued an ultimatum. there was a stand off for several hours, and finally they sent in tanks and aggressive ground troops. they fired shots into the air. the ukrainian soldiers stood their ground and lined up and rang the ukrainian national anthem. this is the kind of defiance we see as they tried to hold out against a powerful force. they had their weapons locked up in many cases. >> one of the naval ships we saw, we saw yesterday morning putting the russian flag up on the ship. this morning they were taking off the weaponry, missiles, weapon replacement from the ship, stripping it of weaponry.

consolidating the grip. the ukrainian command ship that had been defiantly flying the flag may have fallen into russian hands. we hear that from family members of crew members that were on the ship. >> where does this leave the ukrainian soldiers. does russia have control over the peninsula? >> pretty much so. it's taken all the bases. there may be small bases that it hasn't taken, and the ukrainian forces are in limbo. kiev told them to stand their ground, and they did. i had forces saying, "we did our best, i'm proud we stood to the end, but there was nothing we could do. the question now is what do they do, where do they go. many will have to stay in the ukrainian military. will ukraine retain bases at all in crimea.

it's hard to tell with kiev not speaking to moscow without diplomatic relations, hard to re-establish military relation, and what will happen to the ukrainian ships. now, they are in russian hands. >> what about the demonstrations in eastern ukraine, how concerned in the ukrainian government that russia may try to seize more of that country. >> any demonstrations like that do concern kiev. moscow has sent more troops to the eastern border, as much as 20,000 to the border with ukraine, and the foreign ministry says it retains the right to defend ethnic russians. russia will not innovate movement or unrest. so quickly, you have to remember that this time last week we were on the eve of the referendum, and in russia's eyes, this is russian territory, the

international community not recognising it, russia moving quickly, and the speed has kiev concerned, especially if they see unrest or pro-russian sentiment in ukraine's east. >> jennifer glasse live from crimea. >> ukraine's capital - leaders are nervous. there's word that ukrainian basses are in russia's hands. >> russian troops rolled in, smashing through the gates in armoured vehicles. the confrontation at the airbase, where gunshots were fired is the kind of incident that has not only ukraine, but the international community concerned about the potential for escalation in this crisis. word that the ukrainian base commander is in russian hands is another challenge. ukrainians are furious at the treatment of their men in uniform. alex knows what it's like to be

detained by russian forces. a member of the cadet force, he was held for a week in what he calls terrible conditions. >> i was kept in a mask all the time. my arms were bound. >> how many people were in the room? >> 150. i was alone in the room. i could hear all the time people in other rooms being tortured. that created an atmosphere. >> the imprisonment, along with others, so incensed the kiev's government, it threatened the crimean authorities with consequences if the sailors were not released. they were, narrowly avoiding a confrontation. on the diplomatic front, u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon recognised the longer the crisis conditioned, the greater the chance something could happen, resulting in a war.

ukraine's acting defence minister's troops were disciplined. nevertheless he has given the order to return fire, but only if his men feel their lives are at risk. >> ukrainian soldiers showed provocation is failing. now is the time when the proper measures by political authorities must be taken in crimea. >> the government in kiev has another problem, in the tense east of the country, pro-russian and pro-western groups are at odds, a flare-up there could give moscow an excuse to move beyond crimea, to protect against armed militias. >> the government in kiev wants the groups to give up their weapons and join a national guard under their control, in case the unthinkable happens, and a provocation that no one can predict or control causes

this crisis to escalate further. >> one of the potential hotspots in eastern ukraine is the city of donetsk. protesters calling for viktor yanukovych's reinstatement stood nose to nose with riot police. 5,000 marched to the administration building, waving flags and carrying signs reading "viktor yanukovych is our president." . >> translation: everything should be done in a peaceful way. viktor yanukovych is the legitimate president. we call for help from vladimir putin and russia, but ask for help from viktor yanukovych. we hope and rely on him. >> viktor yanukovych's call for removal on pour was a coup and they want a referendum on whether to split from ukraine and join russia. >> earlier we were joined by

richard white from the hudson institute to discuss the which ford. >> ukrainian forces are in the process of relocating, from crimea. that should occupy the russian forces for a while. there's no evidence that they plan to move into eastern ukraine. >> why do you think they'll stop with crimea, people tried to judge what putin would do in the past, and no one predicted he'd take crimea. >> we are about to have a security summit in a couple of days, and it would secure an anti-russian coalition. it will take a while for the russians to absorb crimea.

they have a bunch of things they need to do, and it's just useful for russia to have this dangling over the head of the ukrainian government. if they cause problems, the russians will occupy more of their country. in a way what russia can do is exercise control, avoid the rest of ukraine without having to occupy it. >> what happens if russia gets more aggressive and tries to make more of a grab for eastern ukraine. what are the options for ukraine's government? the options are they can apiece russia, become more differential, respect russia's interests, or move closer to the west, try to make a rapid entry into n.a.t.o. we don't know what would work for effectively. there's so many variables. i suspect how china responds will have a bike impact, more

than what n.a.t.o. and the ukraine does, since that's a big achievement of russian diplomacy, neutralizing china, and they wouldn't want to alarm the chinese. same with other players who are watching us. >> and tomorrow barack obama heads to europe for an emergency meeting of the g7. taking place on the sidelines of an armed summit in the netherlands. randall pinkston has more on that. >> the primary purpose initially to attend the meeting was to go to a nuclear summit. when russia took over crimea, president obama called for a meeting of the g7. he'll attend two meetings, the nuclear summit and he'll meet with leaders of the world's industrial nations, except for one. the barack obama administration is keeping a close watch on the latest move as take over of the

ball beck airbase in crimea, and the mobilization of 20,000 russian troops along the border. at a briefing this past friday, in preparation for the president's trip to europe, national security advisor susan rice was asked what is the meaning of russia's mobilization of those troops? >> it's not clear what that signals. the russians have stated that they are intending military exercises. given their past practice and the gap between what they have said and done, we are watching it with skepticism. >> president obama will be meeting with leaders of the european union, and n.a.t.o. he a trying to get the european allies in america to agree to more stringent economic sanctions against russia. that will be no task because europe has closer ties, and

sanctions against russia likely will hurt europe more than the u.s. >> germany's foreign minister is pledging support for ukraine. the ukraine prime minister pled for more energy from europe. >> we spoke about the possibility. we spoke about the question of self government. financial support will be expected from neighbouring countries, as well as in the area of modernization. >> ukraine relies on russia for more than half its oil and gas. earlier i spoke to tim fry, a professor at columbia university about whether russia would try to grab more of ukraine. >> it's important to bear in mind, i think vladimir putin would prefer a friendly government in ukraine, than an opposition and control over crimea.

>> i think what he wanted was a friendly government in kiev and have viktor yanukovych in power, not be overthrown, not face the sanctions and reputational costs going along with annex territory. this is only the second time in post war europe that we have seen transfer from one country to another much so this is a big deal. what would be ideal for vladimir putin at this point would be to continue to ex-cert leverage over the government in kiev by introducing irregular forces, or stirring up trouble that would keep the government in kiev weak and divided so that in the future when a new government comes to power, he may be in a better position to net. i think the sanctions on a specific group of individuals will make life difficult and upcomfortable. a lot of political science research shows sanctions are not

effective in getting countries to do things they don't want to do. they are designed to prevent escalation and the next step, and if there is, there'll be cause for this. there is room for the u.s. government and europe to ratchet the actions up. we are not talking anything like iranian style sanctions where you cut off finances. that would be something with a bigger impact on the russian economy. we are not there yet. there's a lot of game to be played. >> sanctions against russia were necessary, in that there's still room to put pressure on moscow. >> on this week's "talk to al jazeera", claimed historian was asked why americans should care about crimea? >> it turns out, unexpectedly that the great issue of our time is how do people of different beliefs and cultures share the same common stays. and if the answer to that,

problems about sharing common space is you invade part of a country in order to sort out problems with minorities, you are in an unbelievably violently dangerous world. we have, after all, along with russia, in this case, we are signatories to a treaty they gave up nuclear weapons, in order to be guaranteed the territorial integrity of ukraine. if the paper is worthless, we are in the 1930s situation, in which none of the countries who feel close to a potentially expansionist russia will feel safe. the baltic countries will want their nuclear weapons. all the countries that used to be part of the long reach of the soviet union will say they cannot possibly rely on american

power. the answer is to say if you believe that america is not just simply about our parochial shared interest in the western hemisphere, but whether we like it or not, we have been satled with a global role, which the world has benefitted by an american preps, unimaginably so, since the world war ii, then this is a moment to, you know, stand up for what we believe. >> be sure to watch the rest of that interview tonight: >> our indepth discussions continue. after the break diseases once thought eradicated in the united states are making a big comeback. we talk to two experts. >> searchers from miss ing flight mh370 are about to hit a hurdle. details

>> welcome back. tonight we look at the return of diseases thought eradicated,

such as meselfle tsks -- meselfles, they were -- maiseles, it was thought wiped out. same as whooping cough. >> since the beginning of this year there has been 82 cases of measles report nationwide, with the highest number in california. new york had a big outbreak last year, 58 cases tied to a jewish community that refused or delayed vaccinations. the new york city health department confirmed 20 more cases. there has been 42 reports of the mumps nationwide since january, and more than 3,000 reports of whooping cough. in both cases the highest numbers are in ohio. new york, georgia and texas had the largest outbrokes. >> health officials say they are linked to a movement of parents who object to immune icing their children. some point to a study published

in 1998, linking vaccines to autism. it turned out to be fraudulent. childhood vaccine studies show they do not cause autism. 2% refuse to vac sinuate due to personnelar religious reasons. 90% of children had shots on time. not everyone who had shots is safe. the whooping cough vaccine wears off and the mumps vaccine is considered 88% effective. most of the outbreaks happened in communities not vaccinated. a texas mega-church that preached against vaccinations until it had its own outbreak. >> we may have had 21 cases. we had 70 additional people we

followed. they were suspects, exposures, people in clinics, a medical clinic where a case went and resulted in a medical worker at the clinic becoming ill. the people there had to be checked and called. it's trying to get in front of the wave and stopping it before it goes further. it's difficult. >> within days, church leaders changed their views about vaccines, encouraged the congregation to pray and hosted its own immunization clinic. >> let's bring in dr sydney spooesel, a paediatrician at yale. and dr wilbur at pittsburg university. how concerned are you by the numbers and outbreaks across the country? >> i'm very concerned. i suppose the thing i'm most concerned about is it's an indicator of the number of people who are choosing not to

immunize their kids. >> do you fear that we'll see more cases like whooping cough and measles, diseases we got rid of years ago. >> what happened is people are frightened, and they realise it may not be a bad idea to give the kids the vaccines. >> are you seeing it with your practice. >> there's a selective bias. people know that i believe in vaccines and am i strong believer. the people that don't want it, usually but not always avoid my practice. >> is it fair to blame the spike in the diseases on people, parents who are not getting their children vaccinated? >> well there's a couple of causes, and each disease has their own story. the refusal to vaccinate is a cause. as we heard before some of the vaccines lose their long-term poetensy and may need booster

doses. both refusal and vaccine failure can cause the outbrachts. >> let's talk about that, the fact that some of the vaccines lose their potency. that's shocking news to me. i met someone that got whooping cough even though she was vaccinated against it. if it's not 100%, how do you get parents who are reluctant to give children their shots. >> not everything is 100%. protection is substantial. some potency decreases with time, we can give kids boosters. in fact, there has been a bunch of vaccines, which, until now, we didn't realise were going to need boosters, we are giving it now. >> do you think people understand that the boosters are needed? >> i think so. most people believe in vaccines, and they don't have a problem with, you know, if a

paediatrician recommends something, they are happy with it. >> dr van panhouse, what do you see with your research. the numbers are low, correct, when you look at the cases of whooping cough, measles, stuff like that. >> exactly, a project we completed at the university of pittsburg was to look at disease reports going back to 1888, many years before vaccines were introduced. the project, project tiko, we saw that before vaccination, they were up to 5,000 cases more than now. we could demonstrate that the introduction of vak eens prevented over 103 million cases, but despite the big decrease, we see the reluctance of vaccination leading to comebacks in certain

communities, even though the nationwide coverage is high, local exemptions can get outbreaks going. >> when you look at the numbers, especially when it comes to whooping cough, in 2012, whooping cough shot up to 50,000 cases, dropping last year to 24,000. the number is still 10 times higher than in the 1980s. when you see that. close to 24,000 infected with whooping cough, how much sense does that make to you? >> we have changed immunizations strategies. what is interesting is a complicated calculus because on one hand the old vaccine, the original vaccine, was probably more effective than the current one, but it also had a lot of

side effects. we have traded, and with good cause, with very good cause, a newer vaccine which has fewer side effects, so much fewer that we can immunize a broader range of people. >> so many parents are against the idea of vaccine. i want to bring you in on the topic. on this part of it. so many parents have a religious problem, they don't trust the vaccines, worried that they may cause unintended consequences. how do you convince parents that this is still the right thing to do for the kids? >> well, i totally agree, and it's true that there is a lot of concern about the side effects, and actually for my view we are in a luxury situation, where there is not large-scale endemics of the diseases out there so we can be concerned about the risk of vaccine, verses the threat of disease that is happening around us.

so i think what we need to do is communicate the risk that these diseases pose, that can get children in the hospital, as well as deaths that can occur. we need to do a better job at that. we don't understand very well exactly why people are so against this, even though it has worked so well for so many years. more research, i think, is necessary. >> understanding more of what motivates the parents to avoid giving them vaccines. you hit on a topic that raised a lot of eyebrows in an article that you published, with the question of what should doctors do if they are faced with children whose parents don't want to get them vag sinated. you say doctors should do what? >> every doctor should do what they think is the best idea. >> what i do is i say - i want to convey the risk of infection,

even in a doctor's office in any place where kids gather - schools, malls. i won't take you, i won't have you in my practice if you have any - if you refuse to let your kids be immunized against something they cap catch at the office. >> you won't treat the kids. >> yes. >> i can see why people would think it's not an appropriate response. >> well, i'm in a luxry situation, and that is that there are 30% of paediatricians in connecticut, i'm from connecticut. 30% will do pretty much what i do, sometimes fiercer than what i do. that means that 70% will tolerate unimunized kids. it would be more difficult if i were the only doc in town. >> but if parents wanted you to be doctor, is it right for you to say, "i'm not going treat the

kid." apparently i do think it's right, because i do it. >> how do you justify that? >> what is interesting to me, i had that situation. once was almost a disaster of a family that refused immunisation. they came to me in the prenatal and i said you have to do it. they thought about it for a couple of months and said, "no, no, we'll go some place else", which they did. a couple of years later, i never remember stuff like this. i got an emergency call "my kid is having an asthma attack." i said, "i'll meet you in the office, we'll slip you in before the first patient." sure enough i said this sounds like whooping cough, that's impossible everyone in the practice is immunized against whooping cough. turps out that this family came back without saying anything, of course, and and the child - in fact, the problem wasn't that child, the problem was the

exposure of an infant in the family. >> it was a big case of "i told you so", except i never like to say that. >> it's a big lesson. >> do you think that is the kind of pressure and message that should be applied to parents reluctant to get their children vaccinated? >> i think so. i think we need to engage with parents. older stakeholders have to pull together to prevent that we lose a century words of public health progress. it's important to take concerns seriously, and find ways to find common ground, that we all try to do the same thing, what's best for the children and the communities, and protect the society from these diseases, and so the more we can join forces and take each other's concerns seriously, the mar we can achieve. >> that's an interesting point there. do you worry we are at the oint of erasing -- at the point offer

acing a centuries worth of public health programs. >> i think to, i think people are responding to epidemic. as we saw, what i'm hoping is that people will wake up and see what is going on. i'll tell you that there's family - there are families that i sent away who have come back and want their kids immunized. >> after they thought about it. >> yes. >> that's the message from doctors. get your children vak signated. thank you both for your time tonight. >> still to come - the latest on missing flight 370. a promising satellite photo turns into disappointment. we talk to a u.s. navy officer overseeing part of that search, after the

>> it's sunday morning in australia where the search for flight mh370 is in its third

week. a new satellite image from the chinese shows a debris. a tropical cyclone threatens to delay the experts. australian searchers are coming up empty handed. >> another image, this one from a chinese satellite. 120km from where an australian satellite spotted something similar two days earlier. in australia reinforce for the search teams is coming from north asia. two chinese search aircraft flew into pearce air force base, and a japanese plane on sunday. nothing of significance has been spotted yet, but the search is winding up, not down. the media presence too, though it may get bigger. >> there are more chinese here when we find something. >> saturday saw more plane searching than on any day yet,

including two fast jets, which can stay over the search zone for five hours. the military aircraft which take four hours to reach the zone and get back can spend two hours looking. >> the plane behind me will be the last to join the search. combined, the six aircraft will have 18 hours over the zone. >> the ocean, while there is high tech kit on board the plane, the people on board are probably more valuable. we are looking at plain old eyesight, some of the best people at spotting, being at the window, looking out for things that the radar won't find, plastic, seat cushions, teletale signs of an airplane crash. >> the deputy prime minister visited the base and said the search would take as long as it takes. he batted away rumours that

australia had more images suggesting a crash or that they are hiding things back. >> are there things you say privately, not publicly? >> we have discussions with other governments, but i don't think there's anything of substance that is said between governments, that you are not aware of. >> boats are looking too. an australian naval vessel is on site, as are commercialships. china is sending three ships. if objects are found, and they come from flight mh370, it explains where the aircraft ended up, but not why. a recording of the final 54 minutes of the conversation of the pilot with those on the ground is only an unusual repetition of the heights. it's possible the where will lead to the why, and that is what this is all about. >> and joining us now on the phone is lieutenant commander

john ball by, a p3 pilot. first to get your thoughts on the storm we are hearing reports of. how is that expected to impact the search. >> the weather impacts the search around the equator. a lot of aircraft are equipped to handle foul weather. the storm doesn't look like it will be too bad. it could create a higher sea state which could reduce visibility. a higher sea stake could cause false returns and reduce the range visibly. it will affect the search, but we should be able to work around it. >> how effective do you think you guys are on the searches. are crews returning frustrated or do they feel they are covering the ground they've been directed to cover. >> the crews are not frustrated. they do know they are covering

areas that they are patrolling well. we often are tasked with related missions and our crews are good and well trained at spotting things in the water. >> do you get the impression that you guys are focussing in on an area seeing so many heard reports of a photo showing possible debris in the water. >> well, there's a coordinated search plan between the malaysian government, malaysian air force and the australians that are coordinating it all between the participating nations. we have units flying out of malaysia and australia. we are covering different zones, and there's a well-laid out plan for covering the areas. >> i assume nothing changes, how long do you expect your officers and crews to be out there searching? right now our government is working with the

malaysian authorities to determine how long it would be useful for us to stay out here. i haven't heard anything from my chain of command indicating that we would be leaving soon. >> are you getting support, direction and clarity that you need from the malaysian government? >> absolutely. there's a planning team that congregates every day. it's well thought out, this they are receptive to the crews out there doing the work. it's important to keep our spirits up. there's a lot of water to be searched. the indian ocean is huge. it's hard to wrap your mind around the vast expanse. there's a lot of areas to be searched. everyone is optimistic over what we see. we can't discredit the possibility of finding something of importance. >> good luck to your men and women. >> thank you. >> and just here with a look at sport next. >> for some kids sports means

more than wins and losses. for an african teenager, basketball may be a ticket to a new world. >> i have been waiting for this opportunity all my life. yes. the sky's the limit. >> we'll have that story coming up in sport.

>> a dangerous and deadly situation happened in western washington. we have pictures and videos that have wiped out part of the county, you see where it slid and damaged and destroyed eight homes. it's killed three people, and has injured eight. the mud slide has blocked the squamish river and the damning of the mud created flood conditions in western washington. that'll be a concern as we watch the potential of the water pressure busting through the mud, sliding to arlington. we'll monitor the situation overnight tonight for you and keep you updated on the latest. coming up now is your news.

>> it's that time of year. spring is here, the flowers are booming and we are talking march madness. >> that tees we showed before, a little basketball, a little bit different. we are telling a story about the basketball. kids on the other side of the world are using the sport as a pathway to the dream.

we are shown how basketball is changing the lives of an african team. >> it's september 25th, 2013. 16-year-old koby is preparing to go to the american embassy. what he is praying for is basketball will open the door to a new world and a better future. >> i have been waiting for this opportunity all my life, yes. better education, facilities. hard work. the sky is the limit, yes. >> less than a month later he arrived in maryland, at capital christian academy. he won't be home again until 2018. >> what is being here at the

academy mean to you? >> wow, a lot. because we have a good coach. team-mates are great. the teachers, everyone is good. i think if i keep on working hard, i'll just make it to where i want to go to, yes. >> this is koby's american dream. he's one of the latest in a pipeline of players that left their country for placement in american basketball. they leave homes and loved ones to create lives they'd never have in their home towns. >> for me the opportunity is here, to go to games where coaches come and watch you play. they help you out by training you. like in ghana, it's like that there. >> africa has been a recruiting

site for american basketball programs. there are three other noteworthy examples. koby's dreams are not only geared towards the n.b.a. the only child of a poor single mother, he came to the education she couldn't afford. >> can you describe why it was hard for her? >> my mum combining work and taking care of me was hard. i'm the om one she has. it's me and her. she made sure everything was right. because i told her i want to play basketball, and, firstly, i'd like to be a physiotherapist, yes, a

physiotherapist, yes. >> physiotherapist you said first, and you didn't say go to the n.b.a. why is the education more important than the basketball dream? >> you have to have something more than basketball. >> is your ultimate goal the physiotherapy. >> yes >> and if the n.b.a. happens. >> that's great. >> for koby the journey began in primary school. when you first started to play, what could you do. >> i could bounce my right, and just run with the ball. >> that's all you did. >> just - i didn't know the regulations or - i didn't know anything about it. >> koby did note the history of african born players finding success in the states. sips 1984, when maki became the

first african player in the n.b.a., basketball has grown in popularity. >> there has been a boom. the youngsters play more. they don't have the direction, which way to go, so they joke with it. >> in countries like ghana, there are few basketball courts and no basketball leagues, mostly because soccer is a dominant sport. men like falconer, the coach, have become invaluable to american scouts. >> it's a passion for me to help the underprivileged kids get out there and make the best of their lives. >> nearly 30% of the population of ghana lives below the poverty lef. with that in mind falconer reached out to jack whitehead, a scouting service out of philadelphia.

whitehead was helping african basketball players transmit pro bono. >> he said "i have a kid here, you have to get there." he's tough. he doesn't give me a lot of kids. when he gives me one, you know he's a good ball player, person. >> what was your first impression of koby when you saw him as a player. >> based on how much or how little he played, how far he was develop. i figured once he gets here and plays, he'll be incredible. >> whitehead knew it could take more than talent. there's plenty of similar programs focussing on cultivating players. the dee is not must finding skills, it's the right fit. >> what did you think of the personality. >> what kind of kid do you see today waking up at 4 o'clock in

the morning, praying with his mum and cleaning the house before he starts the day off. that's him in a nutshell, she's a nice kid. >> after considering a number of schools, whitehead called the headmaster and coach. a small private school in maryland. >> in copy's case he was that type of young man. he was humble, honest, forthright and had confidence. he had an interesting glow, and everyone knew, okay, this is a guy we can offer an opportunity to, to be a part of your program, and more that that, a part of our school family. >> how are you doing in school? >> good. >> as, bs. >> yes, as, and bs. >> though the sacrifice is big, so, too, is the pay off.

luodang spent a year at duke before becoming the 7th overall pick in the 2004 n.b.a. draft. gorhi won a title at louisville last season and became a first-round pick, and embi, who picked up the ball in 2011 is hailed as a top three pick in this year's draft should he leave cann assist early. >> you see more and more african players in division one teams. how many more do you think will go to africa. >> if you see a lot of success with the players, people will continue to go over there, because the players want to come here. it's a great opportunity for them. planes run every day, so. >> the 6 foot 7 forward is an integral part. >> koby acquitted himself across

the board. he's a keeper. i think athletically he's a rare athlete where you realise early on that he's a sky is the limit kind of prospect. >> why is that? >> he is gifted. he has the one thing you can't teach of a young man - instincts. and his instincts are amongst the best i have seen. >> whitfield and whitehead delight in koby's attitude. he is grateful for everything he gets. so focused he barely makes room for anything out of basketball and school. >> his job is to come, earn a living and help his family. the stakes in that sense are very large. >> welcome to your first american school. >> my mum worked hard to bring me up this way. and the course, they use a lot

of time, money taking care of me. if i don't do what is expected of me, i waste everyone's time and money. >> the thing i love about that storey is the fact that they are not talking about having their name in lights, they really want a good education and open a new world and help the families out. >> he doesn't want to be an n.b.a. player, but a physiotherapists. that's stun yip. >> he has the name koby. >> it's spelt differently. >> hopefully it's a great career for him. >> that's the show, thank you for joining us. headlines are after this short break on al jazeera america.

>> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york with the top stories. >> russian troops seized the largest air force base in crimea after a tense standoff with ukrainian soldiers.

gunshots were heard, sending bystanders ducking for colour. >> calls for the return of ousted president viktor yanukovych. >> president obama heads to europe for an emergency meeting with the g7 leaders. the first lady is in china. in beijing michelle obama urged students to study abroad. >> china released a satellite photo showing possible debris from the missing malaysian airliner. a tropical psych len is heading to the other, and it could hamper search efforts. >> turkey's account to shut down twitter failed. they tried to shut the accounts which leaked recordings suggesting government fraud uens. >> the health ministry is trying to consane an outbreak. >> hours after same-sex couples began getting married, a court ordered a stop to the unions

until wednesday. people married after a federal judge over turned the ruling. >> those are the headlines. "consider this" is up next. for updates go to aljazeera.com. >> more deaths in venezuela, as president nicolas maduro continues to imprison politicians he can't control, a former south american president condemns the violence in venezuela. also, could frequent sleep depravation cause brain damage. is most of what we thought we knew about eating saturated fats wrong. and a call for women to land a bachelor, before they land a bachelor's degree. i'm justin morrow, welcome to "consider this". here is more on