>> this is al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz, live in new york. unrest in ukraine. a new push this the east for closer ties with russia. a dark anniversary 20 years after a genocide. rwanda looks back while trying to focus on its future. >> counting the votes. why afghanistan's elections are about more than who wins. >> up, down, there's no end in sight. >> the ultimate test of brutal 7-day marathon across the sahara.

>> renewed protests in ukraine. the anger is forcing the country's current president to cancel a foreign trip. protesters fought with police outside a government building in the east. hundre hundreds surrounded the security services headquarters. they threw eggs, then stones and a firebomb. meanwhile a similar scene in the eastern city. pro-russian supporters fought with riot police. demonstrators broke through barricades into a building, replacing a ukrainian flag with a russian one. we have more on the growing unrest. >> pro-russian protesters stormed the building, having marched down from the symbolic lennon square.

a small group were able to get inside the building, standing on a balcony, and calling on thousands that were gathered outside. the riot police line is holding firm, not letting people inside. what people want is varied. some people want to join moscow. others want autonomy for the region. waving a flag, a new flag created in the region of donetsk. indicating that they want to be not only separate, but have the chance to choose whether they look westward or eastward. they say that ousted president is a legitimate leader of ukraine, and say that the authorities are not listening to their demands. this is all really quite pivotal given the run up to the presidential elections in may. many say they'll boycott the election because it's not legal,

and the authorities in you crane can't get the east of the country to vote, it has serious implications for the credibility of the election. >> kim donnell corping. >> the flame of remembrance is making its way across rwanda, serving as a reminder of violence in 1994. 20 years ago today the plane of a rwandan president was shot down, triggering one of the worst gepp sides in history -- genocides in history. 800,000 were murdered in 100 days, members of the tutsis were massacred along with moderate hutus. >> translation: i'm here to ask god to continue keeping me well, and to ask that the genocide never happen. >> people gathered at a catholic church in the capital to honour rwandans killed there. many educated and prominent people were targeted.

>> a lot of women and girls were raped by hutu forces. some kept their children, others abandoned them. >> some are still trying to make sense of what happened. >> tearing of pain. for the past 20 years these women relived the trauma of not only seeing their families hacked to death, but getting raped. they can barely narrate their ordeal without breaking down. most members of this girl's family was killed in the gep side. -- genocide. >> the pain is too much to bear. our chin give us hope -- children give us hope. >> this woman was 12 when her parents and seven brothers and sisters were murdered. she fled but was caught and raped by several men. she lives with her 19-year-old

daughter. >> a kind neighbour who took me into his home advised me against abortion. i never regretted keeping my child. it's all i have got. >> it's not every woman who was raped who chose to keep their baby. many ended up in orphan igements like this one. >> this is a center for children in distress. a hutu him, he saved the lives of hundreds during the genocide by hiding them at the orphanage. after the killings stopped, he took on the tasks of raising the numerous orphaned and abandoned babies. >> they'd leave their babies close to the orphanage where we'd find them. some threw their babies in latrenes. few women wanted to keep their

babies. >> this is a country of thousands of traumatised people who suffer for each other. it has taught them to separate their children from the hatred they feel for those that raped them. into keep in mind more -- >> keep in mind more than 2 million rwandans fled. many fled to democratic republic of congo. 200,000 remain. >> after 20 years as a refugee in the democratic republic of congo this lady is going home to rwanda. she registered at the traps it center -- transit center. she was 10 when the genocide began. since then she married, has four children and is preg napt with

her fifth. >> i want to go home. high children do not go to school -- my children do not go to school here. i'm getting older and want to be with my family. >> mostly ethnic hutus escaped. >> nearly a million people crossed the border here, coming from rwanda into the democratic republic of congo, moving into the city of goma. then they lived in camps for the following two years, along the border. way was infamous for squalid conditions and armed groups that launched attacks. >> in 1996 the rwandan army and allied militia came into congo. many had to go home. others fled to congo, and the u.n. says there's neeble 200,000 -- nearly 200,000 roou wantan reeve gees living --

refugees living here. >> thousands live in the area. they don't allow refugees to go home. she managed to sneak away. she's in a group of 20 taken across the border by the u.n. they move a small group, but the trickle is slow. many are not free to go home, and others don't want to. we spoke to several living in goma, they are worried rwandan security agents could target them for crit siting the -- criticising the government or for not going home. this man said rwandan soldiers killed his parents, and doesn't trust the tutsi dominated government. >> what makes me afraid to go back is the government may have killed my parents, or that they have been forced to go back to rwanda. >> the group arrive at a transit

center. they are confident the move is for the better. in coming days they'll be tape back to her village, and are one of many that feel they can rebuild a normal life. >> the turmoil and legacy goes on. >> hearings begin in a lawsuit against the dutch government. it's accused of facing to stop the genocide of a group of bosnians. serbian soldiers murdered nearly 8,000 mousse leems. the vek tips were in a u.n. safe zone that peacekeepers were supposed to protect. it was called the worst crime op u.s. soil. >> boxes filled with ballots arrived at the independent commission's voting. >> elections were praised saying

it was largely a peaceful ta. >> i was impressed, moved parliamently as a democrat coming here on the invitation of the afghan authorities to make an assessment of the elections and evalued them. it was impressive. >> final results are not expected until midway and a run off is likely. for more on afghanistan's future, join us at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific for the sunday segment - the week ahead. >> syrian rebels have been on the run, but they are making gains in a port city that had supported president asaad. syrian forces pound rebel conditions in aleppo. we have the latest. >> this is the aftermath of a syrian army raid on aleppo on sunday. a barrel filled with explosions hit this residential area. witnesses say there were

casualties. others parts of the city came under bombardment by the syrian military against rebel-held areas. president bashar al-assad's troops have made gain around aleppo. but the rebels have been pushing into what was previously considered bashar al-assad's best-defended area latakia. there has been vision of massacres against armenian christians. a campaign triggered protests in tuckey and france. some of the save knesset campaign adds ipp sinuated that turkey, accused of genocide against armenians is aiding syrian rebels to commit similar crimes. the accusations are denied by the rebels. they say they coordinated with the turkish red crescent for the

transfer of armenians for the safe transfer in turkey. >> to take you to latakia, we need to make sure you'll be safe. the last thing we wish is to be hit by a tanker. 18 people, mostly elderly have been taken by bus to the boarder. armenians say they have been treated well by the rebels. the syrian opposition has accused the opposition of promoting a self-proclaimed status as protectors of minorities. the save aleppo is a response by activists to draw attention to the fact that they say all syrians are suffering in the war. >> families in fort hood texas are remembering the victims. three killed, 16 injured when a gunman opened fire at the army

post. president obama and the first lady will taped a memorial service. heidi zhou-castro joins us live. what are we learning about the victims from the attack? >> well the tension is on the three soldiers who lost their lives on wednesday, with memorials planned around town. they remember sergeant first class daniel ferguson, 39. he was from florida. he was active duty for 11 years, serving in kuwait, iraq and afghanistan. he died blocking a door with his body to shield other soldiers from attack. then staff sergeant carlos lasani, 38 were puerto rico, he served for 28 years, hoping to retire this year: and sergeant timothy owens, serving in kuwait and iraq, remembered as an honourable individual. the community is scarred by what

happened on wednesday, but what happened fi years ag in twoon. that's an army major that has seen open fire on the same base, killing 13. the community got over that, tried to heal after finding closure in sentencing nidal hasan to death in august of last year. but now, here they are again. church services around the city - they are asking how could it happen again. >> our hearts are broken. our community is hurting today. we want to honour those affected. i don't know if any in here today were directly affected. i know some were. we pray we'll be able to do an encouragement and comfort and remember those that were lost on that day. >> fort hood is planning a larger service on base on wednesday. president obama will be in attending for the ept. >> considering -- event. >> considering we have seen two

shooting in five years, what are people saying about preventing another tragedy like this again? >> they are exasperated. five years ago they heard the same promises from the department of defence, from officials vowing to make sure this would never happen. that promise was not kept. efforts were made after the nidal hasan shooting. they increased security, mental health courses. specialist ivan lopez last wednesday slipped through the cracks. he was armed with his personal gun not registered on base and had a history of mental disturbances. some have been calling for soldiers to be allowed to carry their arms on base. representative michael mccall said he would support a measure for senior officials, but

admiral mullins on "meat the process" thought the ban should be kept on having private weapons on base. >> we need to review security procedures. i'm not one, as someone who has been on many bases and posts, that would argue for arming anybody that is on base. i think that invites much more difficult challenges. >> we have heard from multiple representatives and senators that the department of defence will be reviewing all the procedures, and hopefully make real changes so that this doesn't ever happen again here. >> i hope not. >> officials are trying to determine if sounds heard in the indian ocean are from the missing malaysian airliner. yesterday a chinese ship picked up two pulse signals matching the black bombs.

an australian ship "the ocean shield" picked up a third pulse and is analysing it now. >> we were informed about the ping detected by the chinese and australian ship. they are there now. we have to verify the thing, the detection. >> what do you think about the frequency? itched the frequency is 7.5. that is the frequency. we had to verify, we are not sure. there's one or two ships in there to verify. we have not got any information. >> experts question if chinese ship's equipment is sensitive enough to identify pings from the plane. the "ocean shield" has advanced technology with a deties, the

toed pinger locator and can accept sound at a depth of 20,000 feet. >> and still ahead - a show of support for a new mexico police officer after an officer shoots and kills a homeless man. >> and microsoft operating system - details when we come back.

>> demonstrations in mexico, but the gathering was in support of the albuquerque police department. police officers are not the problem, they are doing their job. john huli has the latest from albuquerque. >> earlier today about 200 people gathered in front of the albuquerque police department showing support for the embattled police force. 200 carrying fines saying "i love the albuquerque pd", others, friends and family of the members of the police force. 100 of the demonstrators, members of a local motorcycle club showing support.

all of this happening at the same place from a week ago. some 800 antipolice protesters showing up. spitting on police, throwing locks. police had to move in and use horses and tear gas. demonstrators say police are out of control. demonstrators here say they are doing their job. >> the police department handles a lot more calls, they are in a situation where they are in danger. >> on the right side of things they are doing what is right. what is wrong is the mental health system in the community. people that have been shot are mentally ill. i want to see community leaders out here saying they'll give a.p. what they need to take care of the problem. >> all of this happening in albuquerque as the police department are under

investigation. come monday the city council will meet here, discussing the crisis and it's expected to be packed by people supporting the buckhorn creek police and nontors. >> a babe -- demonstrators. >> a baby girl is in stable condition after falling ill at sea. the family called for help when their sail boat became disabled. a californian national guard crew par chuted into the water and stabilized the one-year-old until a navy ship picked up the family. they were trying to circle the globe in a 36 foot boat. >> a small spider is weaving a dangerous web. a recall starting three years ago has been expanded to 46,000. 2010 to 2012 models will get gas tanks. spiders attracted to gasoline can weave a web blocking air flow into the tapping.

it can -- tanks. it can start a fire. none have been reported. >> microsoft concerns - that it may leave the door open for hackers and the xp system. this report on the risk you now face. >> here at lik ety split ice-cream shop the cash register runs on windows xp. you'd think they want to upgrade. >> we don't have to. should we, absolutely. i feel we should be safe. we'll risk it. after 12 years, microsoft walking away. running the operating system, it will work, no more support, no more fixes, no more updates for xp. if you are running an antivirus, if you run a fire wall and have

protection. >> no more automat youing application -- automat k applications or virus application. >> most small atms and personal computers run on xp. not everyone feels the urgency. >> do i have it password protected on qidi and is software? are they up to date - it's overwhelming for some. >> atms and cash registers were built to last a long time. it made some businesses his dant about making upgrades. if it has you a little worried, it shouldn't. >> over a decade of updates done to the pc. you probably have a lot of

updates and can't function. >> we spoke to an ex-expert saying where you should be nervous - health care facilities, especially in rural areas. >> health data is worth 10-20 times what you see for credit card data. consumers using xp will be out of luck. users with deep pockets have more time. jpmorgan chase in the use and the british government are paying billions to get xp support for another year. >> and this guy will plunge down 100 bucks for an upgrade. >> we'll feel a little heaten of but then it will be okay. >> a risk he's willing to take. >> rebecca stevenson is here with weather. severe thunder storms across the country. >> yes, focussing into the south-east where we have been

getting a lot of rain. showers and thunder storms yesterday tracking eastward. they are riding along a front that stalled out along the gulf coast, allowing intense rain fall. across louisiana and mississippi getting the heaviest falls. we expect to see rainfall totals of 3-5 inches. we have a lot of flash flood warnings in place and a torpd watch -- tornado watch folkeded in south central louisiana, and some parts of texas included. storms moving through can become severe. manly, we are getting the heavier rain and hail. as we get though the night into tomorrow, the biggest threat of a lot of these storms as me move across mobile, alabama, panama. the biggest threat is wind gusts.

the national service is expecting to see a lot of wind gusts, more than they have seen in a year. that's how strong the storms will be. totals in the last 24 hours. you cap see half an inch to two inches. >> we see the most intense and severe storms in barack obama over into the coastline for the carolinas. the rest of us will be incluteded in the rain. >> we will not be left out. the rain will work up the east coast into places like mork to boston, by the time we get to tuesday. expect showers, but we'll focus on the south-east. >> still ahead - could a baptism bring social change around the world. >> a same sex couple in argentina hope so. >> i'm rich in the sahara desert talking to runners about to undertake one of the world's

toughest races.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories. >> fort hood, texas, are honouring the victims of a shooting. ivan lopez killed three, wounded 16 before turning the gun on himself. investigators still don't know why he did it. president obama and michelle obama will attend a memorial on wednesday. >> gunmen stormed a building in ukraine, replacing ukrainian flags with russians. >> the genocide was neither an accident. a flame of remembrance has been crossing the country. >> a victim joins us. she's from rwanda and a survivor of the genocide.

i can't imagine what it's been like in the past 20 years. tell us a little of what you faced in 1994. >> thank you for having me. thank you so much. >> it's our pleasure. >> it's been 20 years, but it's almost like yesterday. last night i had a nightmare someone with a machete holding my hands up. it shows how clear this is. it's really, really painful for these things. for me, during the genocide, i was 14 years old. i lived in a small town. in a small town, you have heard so many people have been murdered. i, my mother, father and two brothers, we were young and wept into hiding. going to hiding is going through the bushes and sometimes you

have to ask someone, a hewitt ou to help you. -- hutu to help you. a lot of time for me, my mum and siblings, they turned us down and called killers. the first week of the genocide, april 15th - actually, the second week, my father was killed. the killers find us. we were heading and we heard people describing how many people were murdered. >> you were hiding in the ceiling of an abandoned home. >> it was a friend. not a friend, but everybody was kind of friendly because they were neighbours. they hid us in the ceiling where my dad was followed by the killers, because he was trying to figure out a place to hide. in the ooeping we -- in the evening we heard he woods murdered. >> so your father was killed?

>> at first. we hid. it was hard and difficult, myself and my mum and siblings. it was hard going through the bushes. i remember one place we went and a person was a neighbour of my mum for so many years when we went asking for refuge, he took is drum and called killers at the roadblocks. >> this is supposed to be a friend of your family. >> it was a really good friend of my family. >> outing you to the hutus. >> yes, calling them to kill us. a killer was there waiting for the order to kill us. he had a machete, and thick wood with nails. i am sure you have seen it on television. and they used to call it enemies. the me were staying there to kill us. for some reason, i don't know what went through his mind, he said "run, go and leave."

>> he let you escape. >> in may, around the time, we hid in several places. it was a rainy season. mum had to carry my younger brother who was almost 18 months old. and sometimes knocking on the door to ask someone to help because we were so hungry. when we got there, i remember this place and i remember - i think it's a long, long story, i'll just give you one incident. some incident happened. a woman was part of the killing and her husband was at the road block during the night. for the woman, his children begged for her. >> in the end you lost a lot. your brothers were killed. you said you lost your father. you survived with your mother and sister, correct? >> yes. my brothers were murdered by

someone who was a neighbour for my mum for many years, and at the end, when we hid, as you know many women were raped. i was one of them. >> you were one of the ones raped. >> i found out i was h.i.v. positive as a result of the rape. >> from your attacker? >> yes. >> how do you try to process this. crimes are unspeakable. horrors unimaginable. how do you try to recover from something like thx. >> i had been having nightmares a lot of time. each at school i focus. for me it's because my mum told me to not be angry or helpful to those that have done that. throughout the years i managed to larn from her. i think it helped me because i never give up. i committed myself to her.

throughout the years i've been able to surround myself with people who helped me to heel from the pain i had. and i think, also, it's a way for me, when i talk about it. when i wrote about it in my book, it was a relief, like therapy for me. >> to share the story. you don't want it repeated. and you want to comfort other victims deal with this. >> absolutely. because i know there are so many sfiors. i am a fortunate one, at least i have a mother, because i have friends who don't have a mother. who have lost an entire family. they struggle a lot. every day, and i think we still have a low journey. for me, i think that - i felt like i needed to be part of that. as a survivor who had the courage to talk about that and

needed to keep healthy so that we can hear that. >> you lived in new york since 2001. do you recognise rwanda, is it slightly resembling the rwanda when you were there? >> absolutely not. >> compared to now you how it was before for me growing up. it's different and a lot of things changed. >> in a good way. >> in a good way. for survivors, tas long journey. -- it's a long journey. we have wounds that need to be heeled. >> i'm trying to get my head around understanding what it's like in rwanda. 20 years aftftftfter people in country killed in a horrible way, how much that hounts everything that country does, how much that brought up in day to day conversations. is it something that is always in the back of everyone's minds? >> it has beeeen really difficu for a lot of people to have a

conversation, of course. we had to live side by side with the people. >> exactly. the awkwardness of that alone. >> it has been hard. it depends. some people have forgiven, for those that have murdered their loved ones. >> have you forgiven? >> i think i did, yes. i think i did. >> you are not convinced? >> i did. the reason i am where i am is because i don't carry hatred towards those people. >> how do you get to that point. how can you not be consumed with hatred. it took me a long time. it's not like it was overnight to get to a place where i'm comfortable enough to be around these people. i felt like it was from a well being for me. to be altedzy and fulfilling life i have to do something that

is good for me. >> we appreciate you coming in and sharing your story. i know for you it feels like yesterday, and for a lot of observers it feels like yesterday. >> thank you for coming in. >> thank you for having me here. >> we'll take a break, more news in a moment.

>> welcome back. the libyan government reached an agreement with rebels holding key ports. the rebels will open the two smallest points, accounting to 200,000 of exports. the blockade has gone on for eight months. they want a greater share of the oil wealth. >> tensions were high in the is rily-palestine -- israeli-palestine talks. mahmoud abbas was warned about a move to join international conventions. >> translation: the palestine's

threat toin the u.n. will not affect us. the palestinians have a lot to lose. they will achieve a state though negotiations not through empty announcement and yooupy lateral substance. >>st rail's failure to -- israel's failure to release prisoners have left talks in limbo. >> al jazeera's journalists have been detained in egypt for 99 dates. the trial of mohamed fadel fahmy, mohammed badr, and peter greste has been adjourned until 10th. they are accused of providing a platform for muslim brotherhood. >> a fourth, abdullah al-shami, has imprisoned since august. he's been on a hunger strike and condition is getting worse. we spoke to his brothers. >> lawyers asked for a release

on bail and said he would stay in egypt. there is nothing. we don't get a reply from the barristers. what we ask from court is refused. abdullah al-shami's health is getting worst. and the 76th day of hunger trike strike and nothing is happening to him. >> al jazeera rejects chrms interest the journalists saying they are falsely acaused and are nanneding their release. >> a unique ser mop yea took place in argentina. the child has been backtiffed, from a same-sex marriage. >> at the roman catholic cathedral an upprets dented -- unprecedented mapitiesment.

she is is the -- mapities. she's the first child known to receive the catholic sack rement. >> the father was waiting for a memory like ours, a gay couple. he accepted us the roman catholic church said yes to the bapitiesle of a baby -- bapities of a baby girl. the god parent is president hernandez. unable to attend, she sent an aid. she had signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. it came when cardinal stran sis, now mop was argentina's catholic leader. all children have the right to be baptised. assistance the papacy she showed more tolerance to gay and

lesbians. >> translation: we hope to await this moment, we are awaiting a wedding. >> they are legally married but requesting an official ceremony in a catholic church. >> racing through the desert, that is what a thousand runners are doing in the sahara desert. they are required to carry everything they need to survive on their backs for seven days. we are at the starting line in morocco of the 156 mile race. >> the main worry is keeping themselves healthy and bodies healthy. 90% of drop outs is because of dehydration and blistering. everything is rationed. water given to the runners is rationed. they have to be careful how they managed their water and how they looked after their feet. if you imagine, if you get sand foo the running shoes.

some runners suffer delamb jipation, where effectively the skip off the sole of the foot is removed. medics are sfected to hand outed -- expected to hand out more than 6,000 pain killers. >> those are some athletes. if you run through the sahara desert, in that heat, crazy. >> i'll go a mile. i have an athlete that will impress you a little bit. canadian football player ley ron tada. he's hoping to take his game to the highest level. if he doesn't make it big in the n.f.l., he is going to use his medical background to help the sport and players in the future. >> football is a violent sport, a sport of collisions. nowhere is it more evident than along the line of scrimmage.

blow after powerful blow is delivered. for ley ron. offensive lineman and medical student, it's a fusion of both worlds. >> to be passionate and watch film and analyse opponents, because they are different. i find that it's the same thing. when with medicine, every patient is different. you have to understand them, there's a lot of numbers and science behind it. the strategy of football and medicine can have similarity. >> canadian born ley ron has a future, as evidenced by the nine n.f.l. teams that showed up to his pro day. it will not top the 23-year-old 6 foot 5 lineman making a contribution to modern medicine. as a posterior, he'll wear a sepp sore track k the severity

and freeiensy of the hits he delivers and receives. >> when we diagnose someone with a concession, it's hard to get the follow up eight. be want to attract the hit with the ipad or ipod, and though who is more at risk of getting conkugs. to be able to not prevent but diagnose them, but keeping the player on the people. >> the risk of concussions is real, he's willing to take the chance. he believes he can mitigate the risk through making changes to the technique. >> the best way to protect yourself is be aggressive. if you fall on someone, you enjoy yourself. if someone falls on you. yes, determining the way you block. you don't want to troll your head to the chest. i want to put my head there, working with my arm, pushing the

player. that's a different technique. that make me get a coninvestigation. >> it doesn't hurt if he wants an edge in the future. the play book here is different to the states. to be labelled as a smart kid helped my case. >> when the football case is over, he can use knowledge and teams of all times in the treatment of concussions. >> 10 years down the road i'd like to study and be a qualified doctor and help teams, olympics, football, hockey. >> what i love is he wants to be an n.f.l. player. brains and braun. can't go wrong. >> still to come, back from the brink. fighting off extinction.

boosting a struggling economy.

>> life for many foster children is tough enough much for many it's tougher when they turn 18 and lose state support. many become high school drop outs, some homeless. lisa bernhard has their story. >> geppa is 20 years old -- jena is 20 years old and raising a son. thanks to a program in oatland she is in the california foster care system. >> my last foster home was a good one. >> a year ago california law maybers voted to opt in, taking advantage of a federal law matching funds to states willing

to extend foster care to young adopts. >> you guys are at high risk. >> the gol is to counsel and assist them to help them avoid a life of poverty, addiction and gaol. >> this is a social worker and coach at first place for youth. teaching batt east that no one that is, how to get and keep a job, shop on a budget. pay rent. >> teaching them to be self-sufficient, giving them basing living skills that an average person may take them for grant. >> batist, and her second you are done with foster families and loif in a one bedroom apartment. first place for use assists with represent. she pays a growing share and

eventually will pay it all. >> without the program it's hard to get an apartment because i was so young. >> and they helped her get a job. she is working towards getter her cosmopolitan licence. > i though that my bills will be paid. i don't want to go through that, none of the things that i want to. i brought in the february and march budget. >> she works, studies and accepts the tough love so she and her young son will be on her own next year. >> i did not have much vision. she makes shoe i have everything. >> the hope is programs like this will hep b aptiste beat the

odds that led others into a failed and painful adult life. >> the pacific grey whale was nearly hunted to extinction. now it's back and in california it's given a boost to the local economy david mercer has more. >> power and grace in motion. grey whale in the waters off mexico. the females travelled up to 10,000km from the arctic to gi birth. this is one of the only places on earth you see the greys swim with calves. >> scientists have been coming here for decades to study them. >> translation: the st. ignacio lagoon offers ideal water textures and safety for the

whel. it is important because predators don't enter the shallow water. >> the isolation and remoteness of places like this kest thousands of whales from coming back. it kept the communities who lived here in poverty. because of the whales, it is changing. >> locals used to fear the whales and referred to them as devil fish. over the years more and more tourists came so see the grace. with that local stoouds began to change. fisher many like this man have never looked back. >> many people make their living from the whales. men and women work in kitchens as boat drivers, shuttle drivers, cleaners. >> it's a relationship meaning thousands are able to glimpse through a window where whales up to 15 metres long offer themselves up to be touched by human hands.

for many, it's a once in a life-time opportunity. >> it's something amazing and beautiful. they seem to come out of nowhere. they are so trendily. >> this year there were more grey whales to see, with scientist reporting a 50% increase over numbers last year. a return from the brink of extinction based on a new-found appreciation of these marr each giants. -- marine giants. >> what a great comeback there for the grey whale. that's the show on this sunday afternoon, thank you for joining us. i'll be back at 8:00 pm eastern for another hour of news. first, a look at the top stories 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. pro-russian demonstrations are breaking out in eastern ukraine. protesters clash with police as they tried to storm a number of

buildings. many managed to get inside and replace ukrainian flags with russian ones. >> president obama said the rwandan good afternoon side in 1994 -- genocide in 1994 was neither an accident. >> investigators don't know why iraq war veteran marcus mcivor -- veteran ivan lopez went on a shooting rampage. president obama and michelle obama will attend a memorial on wednesday. >> a chinese ship picked up two pulse signals on saturday matching the frequency of black boxes. "ocean shield", an australian ship picked up a third signal in a different area. they are analysing the ping. >> libyan government reached an agreement with rebels. they'll open two small ports for

a big share of libya's oil. the blockade had known on for eight months. >> those are the headlines. "real money" starts now. you can find us online. head over to aljazeera.com. >> too many americans have been out of work for aware too long -- for way too long but i'll reveal a silver lining, something we haven't seen in several years. and gm's known fame your to recall dashes failure to recall may be criminal. a shift in health care coverage. that will affect you some day even if you are covered by your employer. i'm ali velshi and this is "real money" ."