consider this. the news of the day plus so much more. answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what. jazeera. ♪ and a warm welcome from me, david foster and watching the news hour and covering in detail in the next 60 minutes, a tense scene in eastern ukraine, pro-russia gunman are in charge and ukrainian soldiers on the outskirts of the city. the jordan ambassador to libya's kidnapped by armed men in the capitol, tripoli. south korea spy chief apologizes for a scandal involving senior

agents. plus. >> i'm in brazil, the capitol of brazil where the biggest state-run company here is facing corruption allegations at the highest levels. ♪ starting the news hour with these pictures from eastern ukraine, showing how potentially come busable the situation has become and these pro-russia gunman have continued to ignore orders to leave a government building which they seized over the weekend, barricades there as weapons have been stockpiled and although it looks pretty quiet right now ukrainian soldiers we understand are massing on the outskirts of the city. and the ukrainian crisis straining further relations between the u.s. and russia, a phone call between presidents

president obama and putin has been described as frank. obama accusing putin government of supporting armed groups in eastern ukraine and asked him once again to withdraw russian troops from close to ukraine's border, 40,000 are thought to be stationed there. and obama warned putin that russia would incur further costs on top of the targeted tan shuns already in place and the russian president said accusations of interfering in eastern ukraine are unfounded and turning the tables he called on the united states to prevent blood shed. and nato secretary general has spoken about what is going on in ukraine and in luxembourg where foreign ministers are meeting over escalating unrest in the middle rest. >> obviously we never has a matter of principle come in but i think from what is visible, it's very clear that russia's

hand is deeply engaged in this. >> the government buildings in eastern ukraine were seized on monday by pro-russia activists. gunmen torching a police station and buildings are now under siege across at least ten cities and towns in eastern ukraine. these are pictures out of the same city appearing to show evidence of a russian presence in the east. this is a russian left tenant giving orders to ukraine police who switched their allegiance to moscow. we have two correspondents covering the story and we will be with fred who is in moscow but first let's go to kim who is just outside and kim i know you are trying to get as close to where the troops are stationed as possible. just tell us a little bit about the situation close to where you

are and what you understand about the position of those troops and what they are planning to do. >> reporter: well, we have come around the east side and now on the northern border of the city. on our way there were several checkpoints and most were pretty friendly and are being manned by pro-russia groups and stopped at one and we have to show and we were alleged to continue on but there are ukraine troops in the region and we understand 30 kilometers north from here and hearing a half a dozen ukraine tanks and apcs are in the region and had reports of military helicopters being flown over the city but i would caution we have conflicting reports in all the time. this is very much a developing situation so pinning down exactly where the troops are is very difficult at this stage. what we do know is interim

president and the parliament this morning and confirms the antiterrorism operation is underway in the north and he also went on to say that he will not -- the government will not give arms to civilian and weapons only given to people who join the guard or army and in the past half hour we had reports in that the head of national security and defense council posted online the first guard is being deployed to the east. that force of course was formed after yanukovich fled the country in february and a force made up of volunteers. >> if and it's still an if those forces did move in on slovian, what kind of resistance would they face because the pro-russia gunmen are armed and taken weapons from the buildings they

are currently occupying. >> reporter: that's right. when we are here it is a sense situation and saw men who were very organized and had leaders of command. as you mentioned they had weapons and some professional grade weapons and the situation was very tense. also because these people have a lot of supporters, standing outside the state buildings who say they would stay in and also had reports in that the pro-russian groups have women and children on the front lines to avoid any sort of violent confrontation. >> thank you very much indeed making your way close to where those troops are at least where we believe they may be. russia rejected the call for u.n. peace keeping force in eastern ukraine describing it as absurd and let's go to fred our correspondent in moscow and heard from the russia foreign

minister talking about people going to eastern ukraine and what is he saying. >> there is a mission of observers there in eastern ukraine at the invitation of the russians. they are supposed to look at the situation and report back, the russians seem to believe their report will somehow go to moscow's interest. otherwise the russians are saying they have nothing to do with these revolts that are spreading across eastern ukraine, that kiev has not produced a single russian agent, not one to verify their claims. and they are also saying, hopefully, that they are acknowledging that the government in kiev has in resent days made some steps toward the russian position, that is the president saying he would favor

a referendum on fedzation of the country and so on. i think the russians are angling as everyone is for the thursday talks in geneva when the united states, the eu and russia and ukraine will sit down and hammer out some sort of hopefully some sort of settlement for all this. >> this phone call between the two leaders described as frank and that is a very diplomatic way of saying it was extremely unpleasant on both sides, what are the russians saying that it's absurd to suggest certain things and have nothing to do with the supposed soldiers? >> reporter: that telephone call was two leaders talking across purposes. obama laid down the u.s. position that the russians are pretty much completely to blame for this and they should back off and putin explained to obama that they have nothing whatsoever to do with it.

obama warned again that russia faces further consequences, further isolation, probably much deeper sanctions if they continue in this course. >> fred we thank you very much in moscow and earlier we heard from kim in eastern ukraine. the head of south korea's spy agency apologized for its failings and he has promised an overhaul of his organization 24 hours after his deputy resigned. three senior intelligence officials are accused of forging documents to prove a north korean defector was a spy. the case against him was acquitted but the intelligence agencies appealed against that decision. harry faucet has more from the south korean capitol, seoul. >> reporter: this case centers around a man called sun and defected to south korea in 2004 and again got a degree and became a civil servant working for the metropolitan government and had access there by to

thousands of north korean defectors details and activities addresses and so on. the national intelligence service accused him of being a spy for north korea but he was acquitted in a trial on those charges last year when his sister recanted her testimony against him. there was an appeal against that verdict by the prosecution during which there were documents submitted from the chinese immigration service suggesting he travel to north korea on a number of occasions since but the documents are forgeries created by national intelligence service agents so now we have two of those agents indicted, a third recoverying from a suicide attempt along with what they used to gain the documents who also committed suicide. it has been a very big scandal for the national intelligence service and the boss apologizing in a public manner and one of his deputies resigning, all of this coming on top of the nis

allegations of interference in the 2012, december 2012 president election. that is another criminal case which is still ongoing. >> harry faucet reporting. nigeria president named the armed group boka for to explosions in the nigeria capitol and it was on monday and the explosions killed more than 70 people at a bus station and nigeria police chief ordered officers to intensify surveillance on targets within the capitol and we report. >> reporter: this is the aftermath of the bomb blast at the bus terminal. it went off during the morning rush hour as thousands of people went about their daily routine boarding buses to get to the city center for work, body parts and blood stained clothing and shoes of dead and injured littered the area and emergency services say the bomb may have been hidden in a car. >> it's my information that we

have so far is that the explosion was from a vehicle. the nature of the explosion we are unable to obtain. but the explosion came from inside a vehicle and the effect was quite a number of people. >> reporter: thousands of on lookers showed up to see what happened, the military and police tried to clear the crowds away. these buses were packed with hundreds of commuters when the explosion happened. just over here in front of them there is a crater where it's believed the car bomb went off. witnesses say they heard a loud explosion and didn't know what to do. >> translator: it's something like a bomb or anything. and it was everywhere. i don't know.

it's different here. >> reporter: president jonathan showed up to look at the damage. >> translator: we condole our country men and women will will continue to work very hard, the issue of the attack is within the period of our development and we will do everything to make sure we move our country forward. these are unnecessary distractions pushing us backwards. >> reporter: no one claimed responsibility for the blast but some say it could be the work of boka, the armed group that want to form the islam law throughout the country. it is behind hundreds of attacks since 2009 and those are mainly in the northeast, the last happened last week killing at least 160 people. boka was in the capitol in 2011 blowing up the u.n. offices and dozens killed and injured but since then things have been relatively peaceful there. but latest attack worries many

and this is the most fortified part of the country and if they are behind this it will contradict statements by the nigeria government that the group is diminished and on the run, i'm with al jazeera in nigeria. >> jordan ambassador to libya has been kidnapped and armed men in two cars targeted the vehicle in the capitol tripoli and injured the driver and they called his wife to say he is okay. andrew simmons is live from tripoli. what happened andrew and any idea where he might be? >> reporter: no idea whatsoever, david. it should have been a routine morning. he set out his official car from home to the embassy and a number of vehicles were involved in an attack on the driver who took a gunshot wound to the leg. he is now in hospital. two men in civilian clothes

hooded, then at gunpoint took the ambassador away. no one knows where he is and there has been no indication to which group is involved. all of this information from the foreign ministry and indeed the jordan foreign ministry expressed great concern and warned they will hold whoever is responsible for this accountable for their actions. >> difficult indeed and dangerous times for a number of foreign and senior people in libya right now. >> reporter: most certainly, david. this is as far as we know the first abduction of an ambassador in libya. he was well-known and one of the first arab ambassadors to be assigned after the libyan revolution. now the last abduction of a diplomate was, in fact, only three weeks ago, secretary to the ambassador there and he is still missing.

furthermore, five egyptian diplomates were abducted by an armed group demanding release of their leader who had been arrested in egypt and there was an exchange of prisoners over the weekend, on sunday. there was another abduction of a south korean business man, that was in march, but that was -- ended in release and it was a criminal act. no one knows whether it's political in nature this obduck shun of the jordan ambassador or criminal but it would seem political from the indications we are hearing so far. this is an indicator of how critical the situation is in libya right now, security paramount and one of great concern for all libyans, diplomates, journalists, government officials and also soldiers because the government just cannot get a handle on security here and it cannot disarm all of the armed groups that were involved in the

revolution three years ago. >> indeed andrew thank you and reporting lives that is andrew simmons in tripoli. and coming up, on the news hour how the challenge to be the next president of nigeria is trying to win votes on the streets of paris plus. >> i have and if i become noisy, what happens to the five children. >> with the fight for justice after her husband is murdered, trying to save the natural beauty of the philippines. and in sport 25 years liverpool seeking answers for the stadium tragedy that led to the death of 96 football fans. ♪ opposition fighters in syria have fired mortars into predominately christian districts of the capitol according to syria and state

media and exploded in the area and one child was killed and 41 others were injured in the attacks. deputy governor of yemen by the province has been killed by armed men and he was killed east of the capitol and the province is said to be a save haven for al-qaeda fighters in the region. explosion in the egyptian capitol injured two police officers and a child shot dead at cairo university and 13 people were arrested and two journalists were wounded. and al jazeera still demanding the immediate release of its journalists imprisoned in egypt and get that and fahmy and mohamed was in court and adjourned until later this month and falsely accused of providing a platform to the out law muslim

brotherhood and have been behind bars for 108 days and the fourth al jazeera journalist in detention is held without trial since last august. he is said to be on hunger strike for 85 days and al jazeera rejects all of the accusations. voters in algeria and campaigns at home both at home as you might expect and abroad from paris and jackie roland reports. >> reporter: the challenge to the presidency takes his campaign to the streets of paris. and he is a former prime minister, a member of the old guardian nearly 70 years old. and his team is trying to sell him to voters as a man who can bring about change. >> translator: he is a man who respects the law, a man of his word. when he says he is going to do something he does it. he is not promising the moon but will try.

>> reporter: more than 800,000 algerians living in france have the right to vote and have already started casting ballots ahead of election day in nigeria and it's what all candidates want to win including president himself. and he is standing for a fourth term. he is 77 years old and suffered a stroke last year. the most notable thing about his campaign is that he has been virtually absent from it. but his team insists he is fit to govern have. >> translator: the health of the president has improved greatly and continues to do so. at the end it's the people who will denied. as i have said the president governs with his head and not with his feet. >> reporter: the overriding priority for most people is stability. they see what happened in libya and in egypt and they experience their own decade of violence in the 1990s.

so for many people a vote here is a vote for stability. a growing number of people reject the whole process. and believe the elections are designed to preserve a system which they see as fundamentally corrupt. >> translator: they will never respect the will of the citizens and always sit matic fraud and after the experience of all these elections i think it is absurd to go and vote. >> reporter: despite his illness and his absence from public life, the president is widely expected to be reelected. but this is a young country and the voices demanding change are unlikely to go away. jackie roland, al jazeera, paris. >> time on the news hour now to get a glimpse of the world weather and richard is here with us for that, richard. >> thanks very much indeed

david. nasty weather conditions heading towards new zeeland at the moment, running the satellite sequence you see the cloud going in and that is a tropical storm eta which has nasty conditions across australia and heading down to oakland as we head through and into wednesday and on through thursday. so certainly wednesday night through and thursday we will see a lot of rain developing across new zeeland and 150-200 millimeters of rain plus severe gales as the system works its way through but it's quite a slow process and eventually pushing its way to the south. so stormy conditions expected here. moving northward into southeast asia we have conditions across the philippines and a lot of rain showing up here and looks like the rain will be continuing over the next couple days so flooding i'm afraid across the region. further north and north asia

it's a different story we have here, a relatively quiet weather pattern at the moment and once again we have problems of air pollution. it's not particularly healthy in beijing at the moment but across some northern cities we have extremely bad air pollution conditions and expected to continue in the coming days, david. >> a chinese court has thrown out a public lawsuit after a cancer-inducing chemical was found in tap water, levels of benzine rose above the limits and failure of the legal action brought by members of the public is a setback for most needed environmental reforms. firefighters in chile are still trying to take on a huge blaze three days after it started in the port city. at least 14 people have died, thousands have been forced out of their homes. and daniel has the latest.

>> reporter: dousing the flames and massive rescue operation to control the fire that raged over 24 hours destroying hundreds of homes, many lost everything, william and his family have lived here for 19 years. >> translator: nothing, we couldn't do anything. it all happened so quickly. less than three minutes for the flames to reach us. >> reporter: he is trying to find his father's work tools among the charred debris, already thinking about his future. the cause of sunday's blaze is being investigated and the operation to feed and clothe the hundreds of evacuees goes on. the president michelle in her first month in office had to deal with a major earthquake and now this. an ordered the military in to help. and this is the world heritage site and the fire one of the worst in the country's history hit the nation extremely hard.

thousands of volunteers are helping donating clothes, food and other provisions but overwhelmingly their labor. >> translator: we have to respect life because that's all we have and we can't give up and starting here from scratch. >> reporter: the wind and flames and the narrow streets made it difficult for the emergency services to reach the blaze. some lost everything. while others are simply grateful to have escaped with their lives. seeking solace in the ruins. daniel in chile. >> the past ten years we have seen a massive increase in the number of activists killed trying to protect the environment and according to the group global witness many of the murders have gone unpunished and says more than 900 people were killed fighting against land

grabs industrial logging and other quarters in 35 different countries. the murder rate has risen along with increased competition for natural resources and most dangerous place is latin america and asia pacific and more than 400 activists were killed in brazil. over 100 in honduras and 67 philippines but just ten perpetrators, just ten have been convicted and one of the many enkilled was in the philippines and we have been there to visit his family. >> reporter: it has been more than three years since her husband who was murdered. the pain has not eased. the father of five was shot dead in broad daylight. and he was a high profile environmental activist who exposed corruption in the providence in western philippines and some of the report implicated government officials. >> i'm a mother of five children and left with five children to

feed. and like me i have to be practical. if i become noisy, what happens to the five children? but i still believe that we have to be more vigilant for those who can afford to and those who cannot. >> reporter: him and his brother a town mayor were implicated when the killers said they ordered the murder. they are now on the country's most wanted list. this is what dr. jerry ortega fought for, preservation of the environment and here activists continue to fight against illegal logging and large-scale mining. it's divided both local officials and residence in a place where 80% of people live in poverty. global witness released a report saying that the philippines is one of the most dangerous places in the world for

environmentalists and 67 killed since 2002. investigations show that a striking number are alleged to have been killed by state agents. the protection of the environment has never been more dangerous. the president has promised to end the killings but for many here the culture of impunity is just too hard to break. the national level you have that message and local level you still have local officials working, i mean some, some, not all, some local officials are part of the problem, they work with the criminals and a part of the hoodlums committing environmental crimes. >> reporter: she says she has come to accept it may take some time beft may take some time before justice is served. until then she hopes that people will at least remember what it is that her husband died for. i'm with al jazeera in western

philippines. >> let's talk to courtney who works for global witness and we said 900 murders but you said that is a small amount of murders that go unreported. >> that's right, we identified 908 murders between 2002-2013 which is a vast number and we believe it's due to increasing competition for natural resources but believe it's the tip of the iceberg because information about the problem is hard to find and hard to verify and little monitoring of environmental activists and the situation they are fighting is in remote and risky areas and believe what we found needs to have action from government in particular but also from the international community, much more needs to be done to monitor environmental activists which appears to be increasing dramatically. >> ten convicted for the 900 murders, does that reflect the

difficulty in finding out what actually happened or an unwillingness to do so? >> reporter: well, it is certainly difficult to find out what happened particularly because people have been operating in remote and risky areas and little monitoring of what is going on but a real problem with impunity and governments are failing to account and protecting citizens and should celebrate for the work they are doing to protect the environment and lack of information about perpetrators in all of the cases we uncovered and most of the cases there is no information whatsoever about who is behind the killing and there is only six cases where we have actually seen the cases brought into convictions and that is a startling low number and having an effect and chilling effect on activism and startling the work of people trying to protect the planet and themselves and people and all of

us. >> good to have you here and that is oliver talking to us from london, thank you. >> many thanks. >> still to come lots of bling in beijing and everywhere else in china. and they cannot get enough gold, why is that? and how farmers in kenya are getting over their cash shortage by dialling up a quick loan until pay day. ♪ and the most successful op yanukovich in history announces his come back, we will talk about that and the rest of the sport in about 15 minutes. ♪

♪

you are watching the news hour and i'm david foster and the top stories, pro-russia activists surrendered a police station in eastern ukraine and the building seized by the gunmen two days ago and the national guard has been deployed in the east and troops are on the outskirts. jordan ambassador to libya has been kidnapped and armed men traveling in two cars targeted his vehicle in the capitol tripoli injuring his driver. head of south korea spy agency apologized for his agency's failings and promising an overhaul of the organization and three senior intelligence officials accused of forging documents to prove a north korean defector was a spy. and now some news out of italy and there is a certain irony to the need, the former prime

minister having found guilty and you may remember of tax fraud has been ordered to do community service in a care home for the elderly. he is 77. and he has some travel restrictions and they have been imposed upon him and also is under a curfew and we have details on what the curfew is but we understand this was his request to do a year's work once a week in a care home for the elderly. a robot is ready to dive deep for the second day to search the wreckage of the airliner. the blue fin 21 failed to find anything after the mission on monday. the planned 16 hour long search was aborted because the sub exceeded the maximum operating dive depth of 4 1/2 kilometers. the costa concordia trial is

hearing what the captain said after the giant ship started to sink and he made a frantic call to headquarters and blamed a senior official for ordering him to sale too close to the island and said he made a mess of things and destroyed and 32 people drown two years ago and he is on trial for the manslaughter and abandoning his ship. the spanish enclave in moroco is a place for people to get to africa and large numbers of people are trying to climb huge fences simply to get into there hoping eventually they can cross the mediterranean sea and we report. >> reporter: a gate way in the eu on the continent of africa. for years they received many migrants looking to reach europe for refuge and musa tried to get here and camped out on the

mountain behind here. >> translator: we walked for two days down the mountain. then when we got closer we began to walk slowly towards the frontier until we managed to get through the border. >> reporter: this is the fence that musa climbed over to get here and it's 11 kilometers long topped with bashed wire and enforced with ex troo railings and video and police to reach it and deters but does not prevent people getting through. the past few months have seen a surge of people arriving here, periless and life journey and many from africa and most of them traveled for months or years to make it here and their journey is marked by conflict and hardship but for the most part they are relieved to have made it this far. when they arrive they have migrant reception center and holds double the amount of people it's meant to

accommodate. outside they gather together next to the city's exclusive golf club. hundreds of migrants have been crossing into here this year alone and scale the fence and perching at the top for hours on end exposed to elements and many of them simply give up and jump back into morocco before they make the next step to cross into eu territory and not all get there and people escaping the wall came here and many make it through the border by soot disguising themselves as neighboring moroccans without too much trouble and everyday one syrian family comes in this way and sometimes the children go ahead of them and when the police pick them up they are held in juvenile detention centers next door and the mother said the sons are unable to stay with them until the authorities conduct dna tests proving they are related. >> translator: we are demonstrating today because a

child like him cannot move around here and these people take pills and smoke and drink bad things. when our kids walk around they are in danger and they beat them up and if the kids want a shower they go in and come out and the clothes are stolen. nothing is safe. >> reporter: while they are here they buyed time waiting for the next opportunity to create a better way of life. al jazeera. >> in the united states a former ku klux klan leader charged with a hate crime after the shooting of three people in two jewish community centers. 73-year-old frazier glen cross is known to police for antisemantic views. brazil energy petrol brass is facing a worst scandal ever and being investigated for corruption after leaked documents show wide scale bribes being paid by at least one top executive and there are those

who say it's to hurt the president his chances of reelection and gabrielle reports from brazil. >> reporter: energy giant petrol brace is defending itself against allegations and if true is one of the biggest corruption scandals in company history. it was revealed that in 2006 they paid over $1 billion for a refinery in texas that earlier was sold for only $42 million, raising deep suspicions of foul play that sparked a federal investigation. in a separate probe police documents leaks to a journalist and published under the bribes revealed a former company director was allegedly involved in a wide ranging global kickback scheme. >> it became clear that the corruption was high. it was organized. it involved off shore accounts and involved lobbyists in areas.

>> reporter: in a statement to al jazeera petrol brace spokesperson says they are working closely and cooperating with the ongoing investigation. it's the biggest and most powerful state-run company in brazil and links with all parts of the government and that is why here in the capitol of brazil politicians of all stripes are scared wondering how big the scandal will get and how it might effect them but no politician stands to lose more than the woman who occupies the palace behind me and that is the president and before she was president she was energy minister and the chair of petrol brace administrative council board at times the corruption took place and not directly linked to any of the alleged wrongdoing but political adversaries call for inquiry with her running for reelection in october. >> translator: we want a congressional investigation that

allows us to have two figures, business people, government members to give us testimony to the allegation and documents. >> reporter: and a former president of petrol brace flatly rejects claims there is corruption. >> they are transparent, honest and clean company. >> allegations are bogus. >> i think they are politically motivated. >> reporter: with police investigation still ongoing it's unlikely the scandal will go away any time soon, gabrielle in brazil. >> china is likely to stay the number one buyer of gold for the foreseeable future and the world god council said it's expected to sore 25% and that is 1350 tons of the precious metal and china is the world's number one

jewelry market and tripling and accounts for 30% of global jewelry demand, that is a demand which is being driven by a number of factors including growing investments and strong traditional ties with gold. let's look at this a little bit closer and gold market and head of research for gold and is live in the southwest of the united kingdomen , and what about the chinese central bank is this a state deciding now is a good time to hoard gold? >> the chinese government have long been buyers of gold and encouraged mining, production so much so they are by far the largest producer of gold in the world. it does appear that it's a deliberate act of policy and has been so for sometime. and the other thing that is interesting is they have a number of refineries and, yet, no -- one kilogram and the bars which is the standard are ever

seen outside china. so they have tight control over the gold market. >> what does this mean to the world in general because the chinese are heavily exposed to the u.s. through treasury bonds and buying into gold, do the two weigh up one against the other? >> yes, they do to an extent. i mean given chinese foreign reserves increasing substantially in resent years it would be perfectly natural to expect them to increase the amount of gold they hold but they have not declared any more monetary gold for the 50 odd tons. the last rise i think was in 2009. but the government quite obviously has quite a lot of gold up its sleeve which is not declared as monetary gold and the point about owning gold is if the reserve financial war let's call it a financial war for the sake of a name, it seems to me that they can easily

switch the value of foreign exchange holdings from u.s. treasuries to gold purely by engineering a rise in the price of gold because they have sufficient gold now to do that. i'm not suggesting they will do this, but it gives them the ability to negotiate very well internationally with trade relations and so on and so forth. >> i'm sure you will tell me why the price of gold has gone down so much but what i'm interested in is fallen in the course of two years why so many people in china decide now is a good time to get in? >> in asia as a whole and china being part of asia it's equally true in china, the chinese and asia see gold as a family pension fund and know this well from the indian experience. and given that paper currency in asia have a tendency to fall more rapidly in purchasing power than anything in the west and goodness knows that is falling as well, then gold has some

very, very strong appeals for these people. and we are seeing these countries like china, india, southeast asia for example an increasingly other countries like kazakhstan and countries are getting wealthy in the wake of the end of communism and the large middle classes throughout asia are spend agree lot of the wealth and high savers and putting wealth into gold and if you lower the price which happened in april last year all that happens is you unleash enormous asia demand and broadly what has happened. >> thank you. and we are talking to you from alister and thank you. and sport coming up, in a moment, how one united states town used baseball to break down

racial barriers and we have that and the rest of the sport. ♪

♪ hello once again i'm david foster and the news hour and more people in kenya using mobile phones to pay bills, transfer money and to get loans. and catherine sawyer reports mobile banking is making life easier for farmers as well. >> reporter: they don't need smartphones or even bank accounts, these are farmers in central kenya and supply milk to one of the country's dairy

companies and after delivery they have to wait a month to get paid. for the first time the farmers may needless than five cows are able to get loans against the milk deliveries using mobile phones to a phone application designed by two entrepreneurs. >> could we take it a step further and look at the smallest business level, one single farmer. could we potentially advance the farmer against his business earnings. >> reporter: here is how it works the farmer applies for a loan through a text message with amount needed, the message goes to a data system ran by the capitol and once approved the money is sent to the farmers in less than two days. the interest rate charged is the same as conventional banks. farmers with few animals and crops find it very difficult to access loans from banks and other mobile banking networks. security is often needed and the farmer does not have that

collateral. and they have five cows that produce 25 liters of milk a day and just applied for a loan, $100 to buy hay and medicine. >> translator: because milk company takes so long to pay us, i normally end up selling some of my milk cheaply at the market. the cash helps me to take care of my animals and family until i get paid for what i deliver to the company. >> reporter: more than 18 million people in kenya and tanzania use mobile phones for banking transactions and the revolution that started in kenya has opened the door to a whole new generation of customers whose very first bank account is accessed purely through their phones. this man says the phone loan service is just another step in the revolution. >> most of the calls are going to talk to have been turned way way by all banks because they are way too small, they don't have collateral and asset base is just near zero. and what we can do is welcome

them on board. >> reporter: here in a field in rule kenya farmers take down the crucial details to help secure them loans. it's another first here, a platform they hope will help make their lives a little better, catherine with al jazeera in central kenya. >> the sport and we have that. >> david thank you so much. it's the 25th anniversary of britt tin's worst ever sporting disaster, 96 liverpool fans crushed to death at a semi final against noting ham forest and significant changes were made to english football in aftermath families of the victims are still seeking answers and barnaby phillips reports. >> reporter: football and liverpool are hand in hand and a history celebrated in the city's museum and commemorated here is the terrible events of april the 15th, 1989.

that was the day many liverpool fans were crushed to death, had gone to watch an important match and the game had started but something was going horribly wrong behind a goal and the fans were crammed in too fightly and could not escape because of the fences which were then common in english football and players and the police struggled to understand what was happening. michael kellie was one of the 96 who died. he was 38 years old. he would be 63 if he was alive today. his younger brother steven counts the years. in many ways steven's life has been defined by his brother's death. >> i don't know how my brother died or why he died and i don't know who is responsible and i'd like to answers to those questions. if it takes me another 25 years, i will still be fighting for them. >> this represents the phoenix from the flames. if you look closely on the

monuments there are 96 beds. >> reporter: part of liverpool's identity and in part because of the pain of all these bereaved families and because of the widespread perception that the whole truth has never come out and that those in authority have not been fair to this city or the fans. taylor studies football and it was a major part of the transformation of the english game and the years that followed stadiums became all seated and prices went up, foreign players arrived and all over the world people watched on tv. >> the modernization of the game, the television of the game, the gentrification of the game, this game has changed in character both in those who watch and to some considerable degree in those who play. >> reporter: liverpool is

resilient and the famous end of the british empire and it reinvented a tourist attraction and hillsborough was another blow and pulls people closer together, reenforcing a sense of solidarity of which this city thrives. barnaby phillips, al jazeera, liverpool. >> michael phelps has taken the first step of competing at the 2016 olympics after announcing he is coming out of retirement and the most successful olympian of all times and will compete in arizona in two weeks time and he retired after the 2012 london olympics and will be 31 by the time the rio games begin. it was his second olympics in athens where he started to win meets -- metals and he broke mark spitz of 7 gold metals in one game by winning 8 and london

2012 they over took the gymnast 18 metals to be the most successful olympian in history. with four golds and two silver he had 22 metals over all. red bull lost appeal against daniel suspension from the australia formula one grand prix and stripped a second spot for breaching the new fuel regulations. fia international court of appeal upheld the decision after a hearing in paris. the team has 18 points in the championship race. tuesday is jackie robin son day in the united states, annual tradition which honors the first african/american player in major league baseball in 1947 and john henry smith has more. >> reporter: baseball is a sport with a rich history but much like the country that made it popular the pastime also has a clouded history of race relations. in the 1870s white teams and leagues were rejecting black,

hispanic and native american players, segregating the sport. however, this exclusion spawned an opportunity for the nonwhite athletes to play their own game. >> the negro leagues rose from the ashes of american segregation but out of segregation came this wonderful story of triumph and conquest based on one very small simple principle, you won't let me play with you in the majors i will create a league of my own. >> reporter: by the early to middle part of the 20th century the leagues established themselves as a baseball entity, around the same time in patterson, new jersey the community was looking to build an athletic venue to house big ticket events, in 1932 the venue, hinch lift stadium opened and by 34 the biggest ticket in town was the new york black yankees of the negro league. >> prior to that in 1930 the

census had 2.1% and telling how the community really embraced major league baseball. >> reporter: jackie robinson broke the barrier by taking the field for the brooklyn dodgers on april 15, 1947. that was immediately followed by patterson's larry dobie breaking the color barrier in cleveland that july, the historic events led to the virtual demise of the negro league in 1951. however from 1934-1937 and from 1939-1945 the black yankees called the stadium their home. >> there were a number of great players and great teams that made their way through patterson to play there. we are talking about page and larry dobie and monty and wells and all hall of famers. >> reporter: patterson, new jersey is looking to use this as

a cornerstone over rejuvenation process and it would serve the public schools of the city and other local events the venue's history will continue to tell a tale for generations of a league that thrived in the face of a nation, torn apart biracial boundaries. john henry smith, al jazeera. >> that is your sport for now and i will be back a bit later. >> thank you very much. to a piece of graffiti, and a phone box in england and may be the latest work by the street artist known as banks and the work talks about the eve dropping techniques of the british spy agency dch q and the mural depicting different phone tapping techniques was painted in the town here and that is where gchq is headquartered and worth a lot of money to merchant

banks. i'll be back later. ♪

>> i remember it was a blinding light. i remember everything going pitch black. >> remembering the victims and survivors of the boston marathon attack, the memorials and continued recovery one year after the bombing. >> pro russian accept are a activities seizing more buildings in eastern ukraine as the government in kiev launchings and effort to get them out. >> it appears like an open pocketbook. >> the most corrupt town in

america, the place lawmakers threatened to wipe off the map because of all its problems. >> to have that level of pride, to play on the same field as some of history's legends in the game is just going to be awesome for those kids. >> restoring a stadium where jacki robinson and others got their start to give kids a brighter future. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. one year ago today, 27,000 runners taking partly in the boston marathon. >> it began like every other race in the 127 year history but ended in an act are terror. >> two bombs exploding, killing three, injuring 260, the city was paralyzed while authorities carried out a massive search for the suspects. >> one year later, boston prepares for a memorial service. >> it's going to be a hard day

for them, one year anniversary, but an important step in the healing process and healing pros for the city. >> the as her moneys lead up to this year's marathon which is going to be held next monday. we are in boston covering today's tribute. john, walk us through where you are right now and what's on the schedule for the day. >> good morning to you, it's a gray, miserable drizzly day in boston which befits the mood. we have chosen fenway park, home of the red sox to begin coverage of the ceremony later today here in boston, remembering the fallen. behind me is a statue of ted williams. now ted is one of the greatest of rod sex, called the greatest hitter in the world and this city is going to need his resilience today as they face up to what they don't want to face up to, this town well aware that three died here on this day last year, more than 260 injured. the city wants to move on but

can't. before it can, it has to get through today. the program, beginning at mid-day eastern there will be a tribute to the fallen and injured, a service of music and reflection. those who were injured will be there surrounded by friends and family. between two ok and 2:30, there will be a flag raising ceremony down on the newly painted finish line where the first bomb went off. at 2:49, a moment of silence as boston, the country and the rest of the world remember those who died here in 2013. the guests of honor include the governor of the great state of massachusetts, duvall patrick, the president and the of course the american people. >> >> the surviving suspect in the bombing remains in a prison

outside boston, dzhokar tsarnaev accused of planning the attack. his attorney said he could have been under the psychological domination of his brother, tamerlan tsarnaev. >> within hours of the bombing, flowers, teddy bears and other items piled up near the finish line. in the days and weeks that followed, tens of thousands of people visited the makeshift memorial to pay their respects. erica pitzi joins us now. you must have seen this memorial grow and grow last year covering the race. >> so many people leaving different objects and mementos to show they cared. almost everything said boston strong. one local curator decided to

bring that inside the boston public library, which just happens to be at the finish line. >> dear boston. >> every day i run for the victims and their families. >> may we never forget. >> together we are one. >> we will get through this. >> piece and love. >> boston strong. >> so many notes, and the words they get you the most. >> until now, jacki had never seen the makeshift memorial in boston. on april 15, 2013, she was watching the bass mar, waiting for a friend to cross the finish line when the second pressure cooker bomb exploded just a few feet away. >> i remember it was a blinding light. i remember everything going pitch black and i remember the smell, it smelled like sulfur and it was overwhelming. >> she did not realize how badly hurt she was until she sad on the sidewalk with a paramedic. >> i noticed that my leg was severely injured and that it was

pretty much blown open. >> shrapnel tore through her right leg. she is able to walk through the boston public library where she can finally experience the memorial dedicated to those who died and survived. >> to all the victims whose lives are forever changed, boston is with you, loves you, boston strong. >> when this make shift memorial was along the barricades of the crime scene, one object quickly started setting it apart from other memorials marking tragic events, running shoes and lots of them, nearly 600 pairs placed in remembrance. while there are only 150 on display, they are front and center, a heartfelt show of solidarity. >> they are size women's five and men's 13 shoes that were left. >> the shoes inspired the curator to turn it into an

indoor exhibition. >> after the bombing, they get an extra layer of meaning about what it meant for mar to knowers that day, sometimes messages of mourning, sometimes resilience. >> the survivors say the shoes say enough, since runners tend to save their sneakers for themselves as a memento. >> for them to put them down here, that's impactful, because you know that they gave up something that is sacred to them for people that they don't even know. >> virtually everything here is a way for perfect strangers to communicate with survivors like jacki. >> strangers. >> i know, it's overwhelming. >> one year later and memorial carries on the conversation. jacki is still recovering emotionally and physically.

>> i still have surgeries, still in pain. >> she said the love behind this simple exhibit goes a long way. >> it's overwhelming and it was what we needed and they really rallied behind us and gave us strength to go on. >> the exhibition is on display at the boston public library until may 11 and every note and shoe will go in the archives when it's over. >> i know you're going back to the bass mar taking place monday. you're going to have another incredible story of survival. >> absolutely. we're going to talk to two brothers who were at the finish line. they each lost a leg when the second bomb went off. you're going to hear why they call this past year the best of their lives. pretty inspiring. >> no more hurting, thank you.

>> stay with aljazeera america for continuing coverage of the one year anniversary of the boston marathon bombing. coming up, we'll examine the intelligence failure that led up to the bombing, plus a charity that is helping victims rebuild their lives one step at a time. >> britain marking 25 years since the hillsborough disaster, one of the worst soccer accidents ever. 96 people trampled to death in 1989, more than 700 others injured. about four hours from now, there will be a moment of silence across liverpool, investigators finding too many people were allowed to enter the stadium. >> a flurry of diplomatic efforts underway in hopes of preventing bloodshed in eastern ukraine, but ukraine said a military effort is underway in donetsk. we've had reports of ukrainian tanks head to go restore order there. daniel lee is in washington where president obama spoke last

night with vladimir putin. what is the message out of washington on this? >> the message is that talks are getting started, but that in no way was that phone call evidence of either side agreeing to anything. it was described as a very frank phone call. as the tensions in ukraine increase, so are the tensions increasing between the u.s. and russia and the hope is that this emergency meeting coming up in geneva is going to sort through that and focus on a solution. >> in ukraine, protestors upset about the governments lack of action rallied through the night. pro russian accept are a activities confiscated more thises in eastern ukraine, the kiev government warned it would send troops to retaliate but so far hasn't followed through. the white house expressed growing concerns russia is behind the highly organized accept are a activities. >> the evidence is compelling that russia is supporting these efforts and involved in these

efforts. >> add got to tensions, a russian attack plane made several unauthorized passes over an american warship at sea and a frank phone call, president obama and russian president vladimir putin talked. russia says putin denied responsibility for the protests and called on the president to prevent the use of force. both sides will continue talks in an emergency meeting in geneva this thursday. >> it's an opportunity for dialogue and that's why we're holding the meeting. >> the hope to deescalate the situation, the white house is considering additional steps and new sanctions. >> secretary of state john kerry will be having breakfast and the situation of ukraine is sure to come up. >> danielle lee for us in washington, thank you. >> there is a new u.n. report addressing the human rights violations in ukraine since november, the report sedding to the security council, saying excessive force used against

protestors radicalized the movement in ukraine. propaganda must be stopped to avoid escalating the current situation and bloggers were threatened, tortured, in the days leading up to last month's vote to break away from ukraine. aljazeera what in democratic coverage of the crisis. we have how close the country may be to a civil war and what the international community is doing to try to stop that from happening. >> a small robotic sub searching for the missing malaysia airlines flight 370 has struck out. waters in the search zone area are too deep. search crews sent the american sub into the ocean late monday. 16 ours later, the sub competed its maximum department limit. crews detected four possible signals from the plane's black boxes that after six days of silence, officials fear the batteries may have died. >> police in southern california

arrested two suspected serial killers, the men who were out on parole apparently committed multiple murders while wearing ankle monitor devices. steven dean gordon and frank cano are charged with the rape and murder of four women, missing from anaheim and santa ana. investigators say the discovery of one of their alleged victims led to the arrest. >> utilization of g.p.s. coupled with additional evidence led us to these two individuals. >> if convicted, both men could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty. police have not recovered the bodies of three of the women. >> the suspect in those shootings at a kansas city jewish center will face hate crime charges. arrested on sunday for a shooting spree which killed three people at the community center and nearby retirement home, a former member of the ku klux klan and well known white

supremacist has a history of making comments about jewish people. >> dozens of campers were flipped over near the mississippi river during storms. look at that low lying areas of flooding there. >> still a risk of even more severe weather today. >> the storm system is bringing snow to some areas. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> that video was out of goshei mississippi, hit with high behind. as the storms rolled through parts of texas, we had some reports of hail. that's what we can expect with this storm system again today, possibility of hail, high damaging winds and an isolated chance for tornadoes as all of this continues to move along. a lot of rain, as you can definitely see.

the risk shifts from florida up to the mid atlantic today, general thunderstorms with some heavy rain, as well, and on the backside of this, some cold air. that is what has been supporting the snow, and we're already seeing some of that this morning, getting reports out of places like flint, michigan or cleveland. this is some of the snow video coming in from yesterday. you can see being driven by the wind, as well as this moved its way through the great lakes region. some of these places did pick up one or two inches of snow. it's not out of the question that as this moves through the northern tier of places like new england, it could do more of the same and places already see that go. rain and the mild air along the coastline, as we get on the backside that have frontal system, chances for switching over to snow. not a lot of accumulation. there has been a little in some cases. most of the east coast shows rain. it's not completely unexpected. this stays soggy for the east

coast, clears out overnight, then already by tomorrow, we start to see another chance for snow. yes, once again, it is april into portions of the midwest, because we're just going to have cold enough air behind that system. how cold is that going to be over the next couple days? i'll have more on that in just a couple of minutes. >> just put away the winter clothes. nicole, thank you very much. >> the guardian newspaper guardian post winning a prize for reports on that interstate reporting programs based on documents released by edward snowden. it helped spark a debate over the government and privacy and snowden saying the award is a vindication for everyone who believes that the public has a role in government saying my efforts would have been meaningless without the passion, skill of these newspapers and they have my respect and gratitude. >> it's april 15, tax day.

procrastinators have until midnight tonight to file in line or on person. if you're thinking of filing late, you only pay a penalty if you actually owe money. the government expects they'll get about 35 million last minute returns on top of the 100 million tax returns that have already been sent to the i.r.s. 79% of taxpayers will be getting refunds this year, more than 78 million refunds have already been handed out. >> the government says it will stop seizing tax refunds as a way to collect on old debt. the social security administration has been collecting state and federal tax refunds from about 400,000 americans who had relatives who owed money. some date as far back as 50 years. collections started in 2008 when a provision in a farm bill allowed the federal agency to collect on debts older than a decade. stay with aljazeera for more in-depth coverage on this tax day. the challenges that same sex couples have when filing, plus the changes last minute filers

need to know about. >> oh, joy. still ahead, president obama and putin trying to find a dip blow mattic solution to the ukraine crisis. >> nobody rocked the boat, nobody paid attention. >> the corruption in a town where the public records were said to be last in a swamp. people took matters into their own hands to turn things around. >> today's big number is $1,383,000,000,000. >> that's how much i owe the i.r.s. why this is a large number that represents the savings for the federal government.

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>> remembering the victims of the boston marathon bombing one year after the attack. welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. we're going to talk about security failures that led up to the boston marathon bombing. >> restoring a piece of baseball history, a stadium where players of color like jacki robinson first rose to fame is transformed ford players of the future. >> in our next half hour, kicking off a special series we are calling five days in detroit. we're going to ride along with police there.

they're trying to regain control of a city ravaged by crime. >> first, the oldest marathon ending in a dramatic manhunt that shut down the entire city of boston. we look back at the tragic events of the 2013 boston marathon bombing. >> >> at 9:00 a.m., the race begins. 26.2 miles to the finish in the heart of boston. half a mail people cheering on 27,000 runners. the winners crossed the finish line in stellar time. the race continued, and thousands stay to cheer on their loved ones. then at 2:49 in the afternoon, four hours into the race. [ explosion ] >> the first bomb explodes just feet from the finish line, shattering windows, tossing metal barriers, tearing through the crowd. before there's time to react, a

second explosion, 12 seconds after the first, less than a block away. >> we've had an attack. >> dozens more are hurt. there are fears of more bombs. the marathon is now a race against time to save as many as possible. the injuries are devastating. three people all spectators cannot be saved. 29-year-old crystal campbell, 23-year-old ling lushi and martin richard. the marathon is officially stopped, the route becomes a crime scene sealed off by police. the emptiness eerie. >> this was a heinous and courtly act. the f.b.i. is investigating it as an act of terrorism. >> investigators soon realized pressure cookers had been turned into bombs, loaded with beebees and nails. days later as boston mourns, police reveal pictures of the

two young men thought to have planted the bombs. launching a manhunt unlike any boston has ever seen. later that evening, an mitt security officer is gunned down by the bombers allegedly. after that, a young man escapes a carjacking, telling investigators the two highjackers claimed to be the bombers. it's a crucial break for police who can now track that stolen one accused bomber, 26-year-old tamerlan tsarnaev is killed. his brother escapes. officers go door to door, searching for the brother. not until a man checks on his boat in a back yard that the lead is found, blood. police used thermal imaging and realize there is a person inside that boat. five days after the bombings, the suspect is arrested. >> it's a victory for peace, for love, for the country, it's a victory for all of us. >> finally, the healing can

begin. jonathan betz, aljazeera. >> dzhokar tsarnaev pleaded inning, his trial will be in november. he faces the death penalty. >> here to discuss the lessons learned is thomas russkin, former police investigators and president of his own security firm, an investigative group. he was involved in many high profile cases, including the 1993 attack on the world trade center. thanks for being with us. of course, our hearts are with the victims a year after the tragedy. it's a time to figure out what happened. we learned recently that russia, who was tracking tamerlan tsarnaev didn't share all the in telling they had on him including a phone call discussing islamic jihad with his mother. the c.i.a. missed warning flags,

including that he had been radicalized. how can that disconnect be prevented in the future? >> we have to learn from every single incident that we deal with from a law enforcement standpoint and cries management standpoint. you look to improve those intelligence networks. it should supercede politics nowadays. the fact that russia and the u.s. aren't getting along rewarding ukraine and have differences should not impact the intelligence or possible terrorist threat in russia or the u.s. or somewhere else in the world. >> let's break down some of the other lessons learned from this tragedy. how was the initial response to tracking down the suspects, in your estimation? >> it was phenomenal. within days, they had both men, one killed in a gunfight with police and the other in custody, and now facing the death penalty in federal court. relative to the investigation,

between the boston police department, the f.b.i. and all the other help that they got from outside agencies, it was phenomenal. i mean, you have two independent people, who would be considered in law enforcement standards lone wolves, coming into a very massive situation, being the boston marathon and placing two pressure cookers that they put together themselves and killing all the innocent people they killed. identifying them and bringing them into custody. >> before they were brought into custody, a lot happened between. let's start with the coordination between boston police and other police agencies in the vicinity, including mit's campus police, which ended up losing an officer. >> right, well, i mean, look, you have two, as i said, lone wolves. lone wolf by definition is someone who is not coordinating, it's not a terrorist plot. the plot was between the two

brothers, the tsarnaev brothers. no one knew what they were going to do. it must have been agonizing for the boston police department and f.b.i. to sit down and deciding to put out that picture. a lot can happen by putting out the picture of the two you suspect. in the days leading up to that, there were a couple times where the media got it wrong, put out false names, sending people in different directions. >> that certainly didn't help as things were unfolding. besides the media mistakes, is there one thing as you look back on the investigation, on the apprehension of the suspect that you would have done differently as an experienced crisis management, one thing that really law enforcement can take as a lesson on this one year anniversary? >> well, i mean leading up to it, ile have been very nice had law enforcement and had the intelligence networks worked together in at least monitoring

the tsarnaev brother, the older of the two, and knowing that he had become radicalized in this country so someone may have looked at him, seen him, watched his postings on line, and identified him as a potential terrorist. so that leading up, but as far as the investigation is concerned, we have the two in custody who were responsible for this heinous act a year ago, killing innocent people and injuring a lot of people, and, you know, you learn from every single incident that happens in this world, but we live in a free society and it would be almost impossible to stop a lone wolf from doing this anywhere in this country. >> one of the suspects died during the shootout and was run over by his brother and the other suspect. >> and we lost a police officer, an innocent police officer guarding a campus in the area of the bombing. >> the m.i.t. campus. former new york city police detective joining us from miami,

thanks for your time this morning, sir. >> lets go to john tar rant in boston covering the ceremonies today. boston strong was the rallying cry. you talked to somebody who really embodies that message. >> boston strong is the message this city wants to send out going forward. it's desperate to put what happened a year ago behind it. it has to get through today's ceremony before it can do that. they're all hoping here for a really good boston marathon monday. the survivors are an extraordinary bunch. their spirit and zest for life is absolutely remarkable. we're going to introduce you to two stories now seen through the eyes of a man who lost both his legs below the knee in a car accident in 2007. he started a charity for people

to help with advice to get prosthetic limbs. he helped most of those who needed pros they goetics. he's calderic holm and this is his story. >> if you didn't know and if he wasn't wearing shorts, you'd never guess eric is a bilateral above the knee amputee who walks on two pros they goetics worth more than $200,000. >> these were built by the military. >> he was hit by another car in 2007 while helping a colleague change a tire by the side of the road. today, his not for profit "wiggle your toes" helps other who lost limbs. after the boston bombings, he was busy helping others. >> you have no idea am i going

to walk again, am i going to depend on a wheelchair. is my house even equipped, there's a lot of steps in my house. how am i going to get in the house. >> this non-profit provides grounds to buy prosthetics when insurance companies fall short as they did with young jane richard who lost her leg in boston. >> she is loving her running leg and using it as her primary leg. a lot of kids, that turns out to be their primary leg. >> jeff who lost both legs and whose photographic become an iconic symbol of the day. >> a great team member for me, i call him up and shoot him texts here and there and emails. he's always there for me. >> wiggle your toes is not aaron's full time job, but is his passion, that drives him to help others on the road to

recovery. >> they are two very high profile victims of the boston bombings. they'll be here today at the tribute at the heinz convention center. tonight at 8:00 in john siegenthaler's show, we'll meet heather, another victim. she has another kind of prosthetic. hers is a leg and you'd be very hard pressed to notice that it wasn't a real one. she has four legs, one allows her to wear a heel. >> stay with aljazeera america for continuing coverage of the one year anniversary of the boston marathon bombing. >> we'll be joined by a reporter from the boston globe. >> deadly wildfires in

valparaiso, chile as winds continue to fan the flames. entire neighborhoods have been reduced to ashes and thousands forced to leave. many homes are high on the mountains accessible by steep stair wells and narrow roads and with no municipal water or fire hydrants for firefighters. residents used anything they could to douse the flames. >> we put out this house with soda until the firefighters arrived, but they didn't have water when they got this far, so they couldn't do anything and the soda and the beer is what saved us. there's nothing else to say. it was a miracle. >> more than 5,000 firefighters, police and soldiers are working to contain the wildfire that has killed at least 14 people. >> after five days on the witness stand, prosecutors finishing their cross examination of oscar pistorius, the man known as the blade runner. he was asked to recount every detail of his last moments with his girlfriend before he shot

and killed her. the chief prosecutor said they had a rocky relationship and pointed at holes in his testimony. >> once again, we have -- we shouldn't blame you for the fact that you shot her. >> right. i agree. >> we shouldn't blame you. who should we blame then? we should blame somebody or something. who could be blamed? >> i'm not sure. >> he believed his girlfriend was a burglar when he shot her through the door of the bathroom. he faces life in prison if he is convicted. >> hampton, florida has a population of 477 people, but the tiny town has been given a dubious title, the most corrupt place in america. in february, an audit found 31 violations of local, state and federal codes in addition to allegations of widespread. they fix and personal use of city property. as america tonight correspondent reports, florida lawmakers are considering dissolving the entire city.

>> it's like may berry, u.s.a., we're like a 1-horse town. >> this town is mired in charges of corruption and crony. >>. people trying to save the town from years-long neglect and scandal that prompted officials to threaten to wipe hampton off the map. former mayor. >> a certain amount of people that ran city hall the way they want to run city hall. it was ran their way or it was the highway. nobody, there you go again, i'll phrase it again, nobody rocked the boat, nobody paid any attention. >> it was so real, it was almost make believe. because you say that really can't be happening, but you can't make that kind of stuff

up. >> gordon smith is the county sheriff, now investigating the goings on in hampton where one powerful local clan with deep roots here controlled city hall. >> it appears that they used the taxpayers dollars like an open pocketbook. what was it all spent on? we would like to know, but all that stuff's been destroyed. >> four years the state audit found, water bills went uncollected. some residents weren't build at all. checks sat around and cash like records just disappeared. >> he claimed he lost the water book in the swamp. he where he could the city vehicle in the water and the book ended up in the swamp and he lost it in the swamp. you believe that? i got some swampland in arizona for you if you believe that story. that's a good one on me, man. that's a new one. >> that brings us to hampton's biggest money maker, a notorious speed trap.

the audit says they were writing thousands of speeding tickets, raking in more than $200,000 a year. the problem was, even with although tickets hampton police officers wrote, the department spent more money than it took in. at a make or break meeting with town legislators, the people of hampton proposed moving city limits back from the highway, no more speed traps on 301 and offered up a new slate of city leaders until elections this fall. >> in time, hampton perhaps could become a model on how people take back their town and try to make a positive change. >> people in town hope hampton's days as the most corrupt town in america are behind it, but the sheriff says he's still digging and those in town acknowledge there's probably more dirt to be found. >> lawmakers have called for a special election in september to

replace those in office where the corruption scandal back. >> it's a pretty little town. >> that's bad. you see officers with the mirror sub glasses on you and you wonder. >> let's look at other stories making headlines. michael phelps is coming out of retirement, his coach said there's no long term plan. he last competed back in london, talking about coming out of retirement on april 4 in arizona. >> he is only 29 years old, so a lot of us phelps fans are saying why not. he is the most winning olympian in history with 22 medals, the most decorated. the question is will he be in london. >> will he be representing subway. >> still looks great. >> the website extreme tech on the eerie glow in the dark roads. >> this is one of those things that comes right out at you. they're trying to save money and had to cut down on street lights and put that glow in the dark

paint there and it irradiates during the day and glows at night and starts to slowly calm down. >> it's only in the netherlands now. i think it would be great for detroit where a lot of city street lights had to be turned off. >> couples who are hangry. >> what is that? >> a combination of hungry and angry are moor likely to fight. it said your sugar levels spike and go down and when they do, you become more angry at each other. they say if you really want to just find some way to have peace, maybe break out a snickers bar. >> they used voodoo dolls with couples to say when they were hungry if they were poking the voodoo dolls more. not very scientific. >> what scientists say other countries could be doing that is causing severe weather here in the u.s. >> honoring the path of

trailblazing athletes on jacki robinson day. >> this conquest, you won't let me play with you in the major leagues, i'll just create a league of my own. download it now

>> if you went to bed before midnight, you missed a spectacular show in the sky, a total lunar eclipse. >> we sped it up to see it in a fraction of time. it's known as a blood moon. >> it happens when sunlight is scattered through the edges of the earth's atmosphere. >> it is a series of four eclipses that will occur over the next 14 months. >> time for our discovery of the

day. >> this may be contributing to extreme weather in the u.s. tiny air pollution particles are being blown toward the north pacific where they bond with water droplets, forming heavier clouds with precipitation. >> pollution levels in china and india reach hazardous levels on a dilly basis. >> for more, let's turn to our resident weather expert. >> a couple things that you might know talking about the pollution in china. it's worse in the winter because not only do you have all the factories, but people use coal for heating, adding to the pollution. the mid latitudes including china, weather patterns tend to go from west to east because of the prevailing wind flow. this is what you end up with, just what you guys were talking

about, that pollution. it gets into the atmosphere, treks across the ocean. pollution can be condensation and that can make the denser storms hitting the west coast, so it's impacting weather patterns, that pollution out there. we've had big storms on the west coast this year. >> i love when you bring out the big science words. >> on this day in 1947, jacki robinson broke the major color barrier. before then, black baseball players played on segregated fields. they were often the best ticket in town. that includes a special field in new jersey that starting tomorrow is getting a major face lift. >> baseball is a sport with a rich history, but much like the country that poparrized the game, america's past time has a clouded history of race relations. in the 1870's, white teams and

leagues were rejects black and native american players segregating the support. this spawned an opportunity for the non-white athletes to play their own game. >> the negro leagues rose from the ashes of american segregation, but out of it came this wonderful story of triumph and conquest based on one principle. you won't let me play with you, then i'll just create a league of my own. >> by the early to middle part of the 20th century, the negro league established themselves as a formidable entity. in new jersey, the community was looking to build and showcase an athletic venue that could house big tickets events. in 1932, this venue opened, and by 1934, the biggest ticket event in town was the new york black yankees of the negro leagues.

>> what is interesting, prior to that in 1930, the census had african-americans here in patterson at only 2.1%. i think that's very telling about how the community really embraced negro league baseball, and my argument is that it's because patterson really was historically a baseball town. >> jacki robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier taking the field for the brooklyn dodgers on april 14, 1947. that was immediately followed by patterson's own larry dowy breaking the color barrier in cleveland. it led to the demise of the negro league in 1951. the black yankees called this stadium their home. >> there were a number of great players and teams that made their way through patterson to play. we're talking about satchel page

and larry doby, and willy whales, all hall of famers. >> the rich history of this stadium was almost left behind after it closed down in 1997. however the friends of the stadium brought national attention to the significance of this deteriorating building, eventually garnering national historic landmark status in march, 2013. >> i think to have that level of pride to play on the same field as some of history's legends in the game is going to just be awesome for those kids. i think it's going to be able to let them know that there is hope, hope that there is a possibility of getting out of -- of not being stuck, not being a victim of your circumstance. that's what the stadium is about. >> patterson, new jersey is looking to use this relic as a cornerstone of its own rejuvenation process. while it would serve the public schools of the city and other local events, the venue's

history will continue to tell a tail for generations of a league that thrived in the face of a nation, torn apart by racial boundaries. aljazeera. >> as part of jacki robinson day, all major league players will water number 42 tonight. that number was retired by major league baseball. >> here's the stories that we're following at the end of our first hour, as her moneys marking one year bins the boston marathon bombing. >> diplomacy underway in ukraine, the government launching a military operation in donetsk pushing out those pro russian demonstrators. >> two parolees under arrest, accused of murdering several women while wearing g.p.s. monitoring devices. >> detroit's new police chief, we'll ride along with officers trying to fix the crime problem.

>> storms shifted to the east coast today and behind it, snow. i'll have the forecast.

>> a killing spree in california comes to an end after two men arrested that were on parole. they were wearing ankle bracelets during the murders. >> i remember it was a blinding light, i remember everything going pitch black and there being a lot of soot and the smell of sulfur was overwhelming. >> one year later, boston prepares to pay tribute to the

victims of the boston marathon bombing. >> trying to put long distance diplomacy to another test, to end the violence in ukraine. >> this historic distinction of being the murder capital, murder city, i knew we could do better and it was time to shake it. >> taking back the motor city from criminals, detroit's new police chief's plan to crack down on crime and make the streets safer. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. >> the manhunt for two alleged serial killers in southern california is over. >> police arrested two excons who went on a braising killing spree stretching from anaheim to antat a anna, california. >> they allegedly committed crimes while still wearing ankle monitoring devices. >> together, police say the two alleged serial killers were responsible for a spring of rapes and murders, all while

wearing the ankle bracelets used to monitor them. >> the g.p.s. was intact, attached to these suspects during the commission of the crime. >> police arrested the two men after last week's discovery of one body on a conveyer belt at this recycling center in anaheim. investigators typed that rape, murder and disappearance to three other women, saying frequenting areas known for prostitution. >> we have filed four counts of special circumstances, murder, and four counts of rape, and the special circumstances are murder in the commission of rape, multiple murder, and lying in wait with respect to each of the four victims. >> we are confident there is one additional victim and possibly more. we are asking for the public's help. >> both men were outfitted with ankle bracelets when removed

from prison. >> after cutting off the devices, the men were outfitted with the monitors which ultimately led to their capture. >> utilization of g.p.s. coupled with additional evidence led us to these two individuals. >> while police are credited with stopping more killings, they can't explain how the two men were able to commit the crimes while authorities were monitoring them. that's something one girl's mother wants to know. >> i know about the g.p.s. monitoring about them, found out earlier today. i'm not to understand of it now. it seems that it does not work. >> police have not recovered the bodies of the three other women. if convicted, both men facing life without parole or the death penalty. >> the suspect in the shootings at a kansas city jewish center will face hate crime charges, frazer glencross was arrested sunday for a shooting spree which killed three at a jewish community center and retirement home.

he is a former senior member of the ku klux klan and white supremacist with a history of making inflammatory comments against the jewish people. families spoke out about the shooter. >> it was a horrible act of violence, and our dad and my son were at the wrong place at the wrong time for a split second. >> it takes no character to do what was done. it takes no strength of character. it takes no backbone. it takes no morals, no ethics. all it takes is an idiot with a gun. >> at a white house easter prayer breakfast, president obama said americans should not tolerate hate. >> that utah woman accused of killing her newborn babies apparently has now admitted to those crimes. seven infants were found at a home she used to live. she said six were born alive and

that she either strangled or suffocated them. bail has been set at $6 million, $1 million for each of the children she is accused of killing. >> it was one year ago today 27,000 runners took part in the annual boston marathon, it began like every other race in that 17 year history but ended in an act of terror. >> three people, injuring 60 others. the city was paralyzed. one year later, boston is preparing for an emotional week long attribute to the victims and heroes. >> i think it's going to be a hard day for them, obviously a year offers, but an important step in the healing process, and also a healing process for the city. >> the ceremonies will lead up to this year's marathon, which is held next monday. let's go to aljazeera's john in boston. walk us through wherer -- good morning stephanie --

>> and today's schedule. >> we've chosen the iconic home of the boston red sox, fenway park for our coverage as today's tribute. ted williams was one of the greatest ever boston red sox player. there will be a program of music and reflection and those injured will be there with families, surrounded by love for the hour and a half event ceremony taking place. between 2:00 and 2:30, a flag raising ceremony on the freshly painted finish line where that first bomb went off a year ago today and a moment of silence to remember the three people who died and more than 260 people who were injured.

the guests of honor today include the governor of the commonwealth, do value patrick. >> whether is security like today around those parts? >> we've been in boston for the best part of the last week and we've noticed a significant up tick in that time in security of all times. the massachusetts emergency management agency will have 3500 police officers on the course, which runs through seven towns and cities before it gets to boston. the police commission have told me he has 2200 staff to call on. all leave has been canceled so they will be available to him next monday should he need it. there are multiple more c.c.t. cameras than last year and there's been training for 1,000

staff, encouraging them not to watch the race this year, but to watch the crowd. that's a significant difference. many officers will be in plain clothes. it's a 26.2-mile route. you can't police all of it, but the authorities here are going to do their level best. hoping for a good marathon, an old-style marathon. >> we all hope for that. thank you. >> the surviving suspect in the bombings is currently in a prison outside boss, dzhokar tsarnaev accused of helping to plan and execute the attack. he may have been under the psychological domination of his older brother who was killed during that shootout with police in the days following the bombing. dzhokar tsarnaev faces the death penalty if convicted. >> ahead, an exhibit capturing boston's fight to heal. >> for them to put them down here, that's impactful because

you know that they gave up something that was sacred to them. >> a bombing survivor's first look at that emotional exhibit as she works to recover from the violence one year later. >> diplomatics efforts of taking place around the world this morning, trying to prevent blood shed in eastern ukraine, a military effort may be underway in donetsk. there are reports of ukrainian tanks heading into the region trying to push out russian accept are a activities who have been taking over the government buildings in a number of cities. the president talked last night to russian president putin. what is the message out of washington? here is danielles report. >> in ukraine, protestors upset about the government's lack of action rallied through the night. pro russian accept are a activities have confiscated more buildings in ukraine, the government warned it would send troops to retaliate, but so far hasn't followed through. the white house expressed growing concerns russia is behind the highly organized

accept are a activities. >> the evidence is compelling that russia is supporting these efforts and involved in these efforts. >> adding to the tensions, a russian attack plane made several unauthorized passes over an american warship at sea and a frank phone call, president obama and russian president vladimir putin talked. russia says putin denied responsibility for the protests, and called on the president to prevent the use of force. both sides will continue talks in an emergency meeting in geneva this thursday. >> it's an opportunity for dialogue, and that's why we're holding the meeting. >> the hope is to deescalate the situation, but the white house is also considering additional steps and new sanctions. >> the kremlin saying the situation in ukraine is on russian foreign minister sergey lavrov's agenda today, meeting with top chinese officials in beijing. >> the washington post and guardian have taken the top

award for the coverage of the n.s.a.'s domestic spying efforts, sharing the pulitzer prize. edward snowden thanked them after learning of the pulitzer. >> there wouldn't be any story without edward snowden. there wouldn't be any debate in the u.s. and the world about the balance. >> edward snowden said: >> an army judge declining a clemency request from bradley manning.

he was convicted of leaking classified government data to wikileaks in 2010. his legal team saying it will now seek a presidential pardon, the white house saying it won't consider a pardon until all appeals have been exhausted. he is living as a woman now going by the name of chelsea. >> mississippi was pounded by severe thunderstorms powerful winds damaging trailer park in mississippi. dozens of campers were flipped over and two injured, one had to be rescued cutting through the floor of a trailer. the mississippi river swelled to about 15 feet in some areas, causing streets, highways and low-lying areas to flood. >> if you thought it was safe to put away your winter gear, those severe storms causing a huge drop in temperatures. >> i had a friend in minnesota that pulled off the winter tires. i was like don't do it, you are asking for trouble. you are talking about storms. as they move through mississippi, high wind damage was the biggest problem here in

louisiana and back behind us into parts of texas it was hail. now still that heavy rain associated with all of this for parts of the panhandle of florida and up into georgia and that risk for strong storms, wind-hail the biggest threat, chance for isolated tornado, as well. up and down the east coast, chances for thunderstorms with this potent system, heavy rain, as well. it's going to be a soggy day. behind this, there's been snow. you've seen it in cities such as cleveland and you can see just how wet the region is going to be. northern parts of new england, snow could mix in. not a lot of accumulation expected. if you've been one of the people sneezing recently through the eastern half of the country, this cleared out a lot of the pollen. i need to give you a silver lining because of what i'm about

to say next. this clears through, it gets much colderrer. into the day tomorrow, we could see a significant snowstorm and there's already winter storm advisories up, a watch up for places that could see over a half foot of snow. we'll monitor all that have for you. back to you. >> i like the sun and the sneezing, nicole, thank you very much. >> a small robotic sub sent to the i understand yes, sir ocean to look for the missing malaysian airliner is heading back, the waters just too deep. crews sent the american sub into the ocean late monday. six hours into a 16 our mission, the sub exceeded its maximum democratic limit. four possible signals were detected from the plane's black boxes, but after six days of silence, officials fear the batteries died. >> 500 men are being tested at a private click school. a fee maim student was raped in

a bathroom there last year. many of upset about how long it took to get the investigation started. >> arriving to class is an unprecedented police please getting underway. 475 male students and 31 male teachers at this private catholic high school are being asked to give a d.n.a. sample. the school's director says it's the last chance to find out who raped a 16-year-old girl in a dark school toilet here last september. >> i don't know why this took so long, but it's not right. the person who did it may have been at the school for the last seven months. it's horrible. >> police say genetic material recovered from the girl's clothing did not match any profiles in the national d.n.a. database. 21 males who were at the school on the day of the attack have been asked for a saliva sample, as well as teachers and pupils. >> it takes about three to five

minutes per person, no more. there is an officer that collects the d.n.a. and another that takes the statement to make sure we have all the right details to go with the d.n.a. and get their agreement before the test. >> the local prosecutor said people refusing to take part will become potential suspects who could be taken into custody. that's angered some in the legal system, but people here welcomed the testing. >> everyone's taking part without any problems, because we feel solidarity with the girl who was raped and all want to find the perpetrator. >> the genetic testing results are due within a month and all samples that don't match the attacker's d.n.a. will be destroyed. aljazeera, paris. >> investigators say the d.n.a. testing will continue until wednesday. >> you can only imagine if that happened in a city in the united states. what would they be saying? >> mass testing. >> we'll talk about an effort to end detroit's run as one of the

most dangerous cities in america. >> the message is we will not tolerate this lawless behavior. the message is you are not welcome here in detroit. >> how the city's new top cop plans to fight crime in the streets of the motor city. >> a city is left in radio ins in the wake of a massive and deadly wildfire in chile. how some of pushing forward after losing everything. >> this year for the first time, same sex couples can file federal tax returns jointly, but there may be challenges depending on what state they live in. that story, coming up.

>> you're looking live at the main post office in new york city where nobody is going to stop and smell the roses or daffodils. going to see a lot of traffic today, because all the procrastinators who waited until the last minute to file taxes. more on the changes coming to our taxes. >> does anyone send it through the post anymore, don't a lot of

people he file? >> i don't remember anything about those old days. >> exactly. >> welcome back, straight ahead, we're riding along with detroit's police department as officers work to tackle that crime epidemic. >> there was something other than email? well, first let's find out about the temperatures you'll see across the country today. >> we showed you a shot of the daffodils. they're my favorite flower. when the weather turns gloomy and cold, they remind us of spring. ahead of the front, the current temperatures, 70 degrees almost in washington, d.c. this morning. enjoy it while you've got it. behind it, temperatures have dropped 20-30 degrees. for the rest of the day, we're seeing the warm stuff. temperatures will drop in a lot of cases. chicago today, 40 degrees, that's in the core of some of that cold air, as the cold air really sinks in, this is tomorrow morning, into the

south, birmingham, 31, could go blow freezing. since we're getting into planting and growing season, there's hard freeze warnings up for a lot of the south because of some of that vegetation that's trying to get started. back to you. >> ok, nicole, thank you. >> friends and family pay tribute to one of the victims of that deadly california bus crash. >> my friend and brother. >> classmates getting choked up remembering the 19-year-old high school senior. he was well known and well liked at his school. he planned to play football in the fall. a fedex slammed to a bus can i go 10 people. even though who just met the young man said he had an impact on them. >> i didn't really know anyone and i was kind of shy going in and he just opened me up. >> that weekend was supposed to

be fun. >> five students were killed in that fiery wreck along with three chaperones and the drivers of both vehicles. >> detroit has a violent crime rate, among the highest in the nation, the murder rate 10 times the national average. we have a special series "five days in detroit" focusing on the issues affecting the city. we ride along with the police department and the new top cop as they try to get an upper hand on crime. >> with guns drawn, dozens of detroit police officers raid a home on the city's east side. police are after drug dealers, gang members, criminals accused of paralyzing communities. our cameras were rolling as they conducted 17 raids in one night. it's what d.p.d. calls operation march madness.

>> cocaine, heroin, marijuana, pills, money and guns are seized. 44 people are arrested. tamara lives across the street. >> safety is a concern. you hear gunfire a lot, so to have that, some of that out of the mix and off the street is great. >> detroit police chief james craig has been on the job since july. the 57-year-old worked in cincinnati, ohio before returning to his hometown, now mired in bankruptcy and for years has ranked high among the f.b.i.'s list of most dangerous cities. >> this distinction of being the murder capitol, murder city, i knew we could do better and it was time to shake it. >> in a town where at one time, a call to 911 wouldn't guarantee a police response, detroit's top cop eliminated 12 hour shifts and put more officers on the

street. >> the message is, we will not tolerate this lawless behavior. the message is you are not welcome here in detroit. the things you could do, you will not do. >> not everyone is happy. the chief said the raids are shutting down drug dealers and impacting revenue streams. in february, a gang member made a death threat against the chief on social media. five were eventually arrested. >> kind of slow. >> we went on a ride along with two veteran officers. officers downer said the no-snitch mentality which breeds a culture of non-cooperation in law enforcement is losing its grip in communities. >> a lot of people are stepping forward, they're getting fed up. >> violent crime has dropped 7% in less than a year, but detroit with a population of just under

700,000 recorded 334 homicides in 2013. in the same year, 333 people were murdered in new york city, where the population is over 8 million. >> when i was younger, it was -- i mean, to me it was the best neighborhood in the world. >> mark coving to know is encouraged. >> you'd go days and weeks without seeing a police car around here unless something happened, but now every day, you see police. >> detroit is resilient, detroitors are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get in right on the ground and do the work. that's what's helping. we're seeing true partnership. >> break agriculture of violence and crime is expected to take time. aljazeera, detroit. >> tomorrow, we're going to introduce to you two new start

ups who have moved their businesses into the city, betting that it will come back. >> a billion dollars corruption scandal in brazil could reach the very top levels of government there. what a major oil company is accused of doing and why it could have a big ripple effect. >> a death defying drop for a driver in england. his car plunged 80 feet off a cliff. >> a survivor of the boston marathon bombing gets her first look at the outpouring of support following the affect. >> capturing the boston bombing and the city, how it changed the city and the world and how they all came together to heal after the attack.

>> the boston marathon bombings one year after the attack. welcome to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy. >> three were killed, 200 injured. within hours, teddy bears, flowers piling up on the streets nearby. >> tens of thousands of people visited that makeshift memorial to pay respects. erika joins us now. you are a proud boston native, you covered the event last year. you must have seen this memorial grow. >> absolutely. it was amazing to see the outpouring of support, whether a tee shirt or running shoes, almost everything said boston strong. one curator looked at the items and decided to preserve it

inside the boston public library, which happens to be right at the finish line. >> dear boston. >> every day i run for the victims and their families. >> may we never forget. >> together we are one. >> we will get through this. >> peace and love. >> boston strong. >> so many notes, and the words they get you the most. >> until now, jacki had never seen the makeshift memorial in boston. on april 15, 2013, she was watching the boston marathon, waiting for a friend to cross the finish line when the second pressure cooker bomb exploded just a few feet away. >> i remember it was a blinding light. i remember everything going pitch black and i remember the smell, it smelled like sulfur and it was overwhelming. >> she did not realize how badly hurt she was until she sat on the sidewalk with a paramedic.

>> i noticed that my leg was severely injured and that it was pretty much blown open. >> shrapnel tore through her right leg. she is able to walk through the boston public library where she can finally experience the memorial dedicated to those who died and survived. >> to all the victims whose lives are forever changed, boston is with you, loves you, boston strong. >> when this makeshift memorial was along the barricades of the crime scene, one object quickly started setting it apart from other memorials marking tragic events, running shoes and lots of them, nearly 600 pairs placed in remembrance. while there are only 150 on display, they are front and center, a heartfelt show of solidarity. >> they are size women's five and men's 13 shoes that were left. >> the shoes inspired the curator to turn it into an indoor exhibition.

>> after the bombing, they get an extra layer of meaning about what it meant for marathoners that day, sometimes messages of mourning, sometimes resilience. >> the survivors say the shoes say enough, since runners tend to save their sneakers for themselves as a memento. >> for them to put them down here, that's impactful, because you know that they gave up something that is sacred to them for people that they don't even know. >> virtually everything here is a way for perfect strangers to communicate with survivors like jacki. >> strangers. >> i know, it's overwhelming. >> one year later, and the

memorial carries on the conversation. jacki is still recovering emotionally and physically. >> i still have surgeries, still in pain. >> she said the love behind this simple exhibit goes a long way. >> it's overwhelming and it was what we needed and they really rallied behind us and gave us strength to go on. >> the exhibition is on display at the boston public library until may 11 and every note and shoe will go in the archives when it's over. >> this year's marathon is monday. we'll introduce you to two brothers who were at the finish line when the bomb went off. >> this whole leg was ripped open. >> i definitely was in shock and wanted to reach my leg, but for some reason, my body wouldn't let me. >> it took a tragedy to find out how good life is. >> hear why the brothers say

this past year has been the best year of their lives, plus we also go back to water town, the boston suburb where the police had that manhunt for the bombing suspects that came to a fiery end there and we'll hear how the community has changed in the past year. >> it seems fitting that the memorial is in a library where the volume is kept low. >> you can feel walking through, people taking it in from all over. i talked to someone from island visiting. this has struck to a. chord with people from around the world. >> we'll talk a a reporter who has been covering the story non-stop. >> today is april 15, tax day. americans have until tonight to file or get an extension. where do all the tax dollars go. >> 27 cents of each dollar to

the military, health care 23 cents. 14 cents pays off the interest on the federal debt. >> veterans benefits take just over a nickel and another 5 cents of each dollar goes for food and agriculture programs. this tax day will also be different for same sex couples, as tanya moseley explains as they file returns for the first time. >> when jane and petey first moved in together, people made all sorts of assumptions. >> originally, people would say roommates. >> then came the questions. >> are you sisters? >> and then that kind of evolved into partner, but that sort of sounds like the cowboy partner or the business partner. >> that was almost 40 years ago. >> you may now kiss. >> on december 6, 2012, they became the first couple in washington state to receive a full-fledged marriage license. today they call one another wife. they are still getting used to that. >> i say this is my w-ife, but

it's getting easier. >> they didn't have to split their assets this year filing taxes. gay married couples are allowed to file material taxes together. >> the down side is that we were bumped up into a higher category for paying taxes, which really kind of threw us. >> washington doesn't collect state taxes. gay married couples don't have to worry about that. the process has become a headaches in other place. >> the laws are different, depending on what part of the country you live in. in massachusetts, the state recognizes same-sex marriage, but in places like the commonwealth of verge, couples may have to file three different tax returns. it's the same issue in 22 other states. >> it's very confusing for the taxpayer, which must be more for them, because it's confusing for me and i know this stuff. >> certified public accountant

spent extra time filing additional documents for same sex clients in states that don't recognize their marriages. it can be costly. >> there's questions on state level, what if they have kids, who gets the dependents, how do you figure that out? >> they don't see all of this confusion as a setback. >> i think it's going to get better for them. i really do. i'm an optimist. it will take a while, but it's happening. >> an optimistic view as many states tackle the issue of same-sex marriage. >> here to discuss some of this year's other tax changes is richard, manager of personal wealth management firm. i want to get to some of the new issues on tax day. the affordable care act, this

year the tax penalty is supposed to take place. anything you're filing today is 2013 tax issues. >> today's filing has nothing to do with the health chiropractor requirement, it's a 2014 issue. >> let's go on to the other issues. until monday, and this was a surprise to me, the treasury and social security administration had been intercepting tax refund from hundreds of thousands of people who are behavioral the children of their diseased relatives who have overpaid social security, and then these adult children were now having to pay these bills. that apparently stopped on monday. should we all be in the clear? >> this is the result of a change in the farm law back in 2008 that allowed statute of limitations to go away, a 10 year statute of limitations. this year, the social security has been aggressive in getting refunds. the director of social security said we are going to halt refunds being intercepted at

this time. there's been a public outcry, senators calling for this to stop. >> they have collected $1.9 billion in tax refunds just this year by intercepting refunds. why did they start doing it? >> well, it's weighing the good and bad. we have taxpayers on the line for making payments, we support social security and payout payments to recipients. if overpayments are made, social security has an obligation to make sure they get back that which has been given out incorrectly. the question here has been is there enough evidence that these overpayments have been made, is there enough evidence to go back that many years and from the recipients point of view, they don't have the evidence. most people save their information three years, six at a maximum. it's an issue of due process. >> in many cases, the children of these deceased parents didn't know there was a debt. is that fair and is that legal? is that a question? >> i think that's the issue, is

it a legal issue of due process to go after beneficiaries, the argument on the social security side is there are survivor benefits that have been paid to maybe a surviving spouse for the benefit of the children, so in fact, the children have benefited from these payments. the question is did they directly benefit and should you go after these folks. >> aljazeera did a story about how a growing number of u.s. citizens living abroad are renouncing citizenship because of taxes. why do we see a growing number of people doing that? >> i think the issue has become a little bit, you know, wide open now because of the additional compliance requirements. u.s. taxpayers have been taxed on worldwide income no matter where they live for a long period of time which happens now as the there are more filings you have to make, disclosing accounts you have in foreign institutions over $50,000.

there is another requirement under the bank secrecy act. >> that has made it hard for u.s. citizens to open accounts abroad. >> what's happened is that? of the non-u.s. banks don't want to deal with the u.s. rules or compliance and are making it difficult for folks living abroad to even have bank accounts. i think that, you know, reenunciation is probably the last ditch thing that you would do. i don't think the taxing and compliance are the overall reason. there are many factors that go into that decision. >> tina turner and others have done it. >> facebook co found their done it. i always think that it's just a factor in the process. these are people that are giving up their u.s. citizenship. if they feel there is no value added to having that citizenship, i think there is many more issues, perhaps the family living abroad don't need the u.s. pat port or voting rights, they don't intend to come back here. taxes are just a piece of it. remember, too, reenunciation process is not that easy for

folks that are wealthy people, which most of these folks are, there's an exit process and a tax on exiting and reenunciating your u.s. citizenship as if you sold all your assets and there's a capitol gains tax. it's not an easy process. >> thanks so much for coming in this morning. >> there has been a major shakeup at general motors, two senior executives leaving the country, the first high level managers to do after the automakers's recall. manufacturing defects in recalled cars have been linked to 13 deaths. they are saying those resignations are not related to the recall. >> one of the worst scandals ever, a company being investigated for money laundering and bogus government contracts in brazil, the president was the head of the

company's board. the charges have some saying these attacks are politically motivated. >> braily dozen energy giant he is defending itself against allegations that if true would be one of the biggest corruption scandals in company history. it was revealed that in 2006, they paid over $1 billion for a refinery in tax that a year earlier was sold for only $42 million, raising deep suspicion of foul play that sparked a federal investigation. in a accept route probe, documents leaked published under the headline "the bribes" resulted in a global kick back scheme. >> it became clear that the corruption of high, was organized. it involved offshore accounts. it involved lobbyists,

intermed-years. >> a company spokesperson said it was cooperating with the on going investigation. >> petro brass is the biggest and most powerful state run company in brazil, links with all parts of the government. in the capitol, politicians are running scared, wondering how big this scandal is going to get and how it might affect them. no politician stands to lose more than the woman who occupies the presidential palace behind me. >> before she was president, she was energy minister and the chair of petro brass administrative council board at the time allegations of corruption took place. she has not been directly linked to any alleged wrongdoing, but her political adversaries are calling for an congressional inquiry before the election. >> we want a congressional investigation that allows us to

summon key physician, business people, government officials and access to documents. >> sergio, a former president of petro brass flatly rejects claims of corruption. >> i can assure that the company is transparent, honest, and clean company. >> so the allegations are false. >> i think the allegations are politically motivate. >> with an investigation still on going, it's unlikely the scandal will go away soon. aljazeera, brazil. >> it is being investigated in the u.s. and europe, involving more than $100 million of alleged bribes to a dutch ship leasing company. >> turkey's government is accusing twitter of tax evasion. the two sides held their first direct talks since the two week ban was imposed on the site as the government battled a corruption scandal. turkeys prime minister is asking twitter executives to pay up, saying it needs to comply with

the countries laws. the government estimates twitter generates $35 million a year of ad revenue, none taxed. there's been no comment from twitter. >> firefighters in chile are battling fires in values. hundreds have been forced to leave. we talked to residents returning to their homes. >> dousing the flames, a massive rescue operation to control a fire that raged over more than 24 hours, destroying hundreds of homes. many lost everything. william and his family have lived here for 19 years. >> nothing. we couldn't do anything. it all happened so quickly, less than three minutes for the flames to reach us. >> he's trying to find his father's workforce among the

charred debris, already thinking about his future. >> life goes on. we have no choice. we're all asking why this happened. >> the cause of sunday's blaze is being investigated, while the operation to feed and clothe the evacuees goes on. the president in her first month in office has had to deal with a major earthquake and now this. she ordered the military in to help. valparaiso is a world heritage site and this fire has hit the nation extremely hard. with the flames now more or less under control, the cleanup operation is underway and the task of rebuilding lives has begun. thousands have volunteered to help, donating clothes, food and provisions, but overwhelmingly, their labor. >> we have to respect life, because that's all we have, and we can't give up.

we are starting from scratch. >> the wind fanned the flames in the narrow streets of valparaiso, making it difficult for the emergency services to reach the blaze. some lost everything, while others are simply grateful to have escaped with their lives, seeking solace in the radio ins. aljazeera, values, chile. >> at least 14 people have been killed since those fires broke out on saturday. >> one year later, boston working to recover after the unthinkable hits home. >> we'll give you the stories of individuals who became part of the boston marathon bombing. r

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. straight ahead, where boston

stands one year after those deadly bombings. >> first, a look at the wet weather. >> most of the excitement on the east coast as the front moves through. you can see heavy rain, florida through georgia. thunderstorms embedded in all of that. the risk for stronger storms, this would be wind damage more than likely if we see any of that, but anywhere up through virginia. north of that, definitely still some rain this morning and more of that snow starting to mix in as the temperatures get colder behind that. that's something you might see a couple of flakes fly by. northern parts of new england could see accumulation with all of this. as this system clears out, but it's going to take most of today and into early tomorrow, watch behind that for the midwest minnesota through wisconsin, tomorrow, six inches or more of snow coming back in. back to you. >> as we have been reporting, the boston marathon bombings were a national tragedy.

for the people who lived there, it was personal. a reporter covered the story from the very beginning. he co authored a book. he joins us this morning. the boston globe one a pulitzer prize for its coverage. what has this last year been like as a reporter? >> this is sort of what we do, we see these sorts of stories with some regularity, unfortunately, you're a person, also a journalist. for us, he have to put some of the personal aside to cover the story in a somewhat dispassionate way. in something like this, that is all but impossible. this touched us all very deeply here. >> we think of boston as a big city, but in fact is one big town. how did you manage to choose five individuals among the thousands out there? >> we knew this was a massive story, one that everybody here

in a sense lived through. we wanted to give readers some characters to really get to know that would help them understand what it was like really at a ground level. we ultimately chose five people. we wanted to police perspective, the perspective of a doctor, that would give us a window into the medical community. we wanted the perspective of somebody badly hurt, so talked to one of the amputees. unfortunately three people died in the bombings, we wanted that perspective. we also wanted the perspective of the race director. this is a very special day on the boston calendar, a huge event in the running community and boston. we wanted to bring a little bit of that into the book, as well. >> is there one person who stood out the most? >> they all have such good stories. the amputee that we focused on, heather is from rhode island who has this annual tradition going to the marathon, watching outside of a restaurant when the

second bomb exploded. she wakes up on tuesday in the hospital relieved that she still has her leg, because she thought they was going lose it and in this wrenching week, her condition deteriorates and she's faced with an unimaginable decision, do i keep my leg or not. that was really interesting to us. i think we didn't quite understand the degree to which this is a choice for some people. in her case, doctors said you can keep your leg, but you're going to have a better life without it and that's what she chose. >> after so many tragedies, people say they just wanted their lives to get back to normal, just being another city in the u.s. without the media glare. is boston back to normal? >> i don't think so. this is a very solemn day as the affairs approaches this afternoon. we have the next marathon happening on monday. i think once we get past that, i think there's a sense of wanting to really reclaim this special

day for the city. i think that will happen. once we get through the race, i think we'll begin to move on, the cameras move away, the lights go off. it's easy to get caught up in all the attention. we have to be mindful for the victims and families, it's not going to get easier. it's not going to get much easier for a while. >> you've been there since day one, what will the race mean? >> this is arguably the most important running of the boston marathon ever. this will be the 118th race, this has happened for a very long time. i don't think the city has ever needed the marathon more than it needs it this year. i think you will see a tremendous outpouring, tons of spectators, a record number of runners. it will be a very special day and again, trying to restore the glory that the marathon has always had for the city is everybody's goal. i feel confident that's what

we'll have. >> staff reporter with the boss globe that won the pulitzer prize. >> we will have continuing live coverage of the boston marathon tribute. our coverage begins at noon eastern time. >> you could call him lucky. that would be an understatement. a man in england survived to plunge over the weekend, his car veered off a road, crashing into the rocks by the sea shore. the driver suffered minor injuries and was able to get out of that car. he managed to walk down the beach until he was found. >> we were absolutely stunned. we come walking quite often and that's got to be an 80 or 100-foot cliff. for somebody to go over that and walk away, all i'm saying, is a very lucky man. >> 22 emergency responders including the british coast guard tended to the driver and searched land and sea for the

other victims. >> there has been a shortage of white fish. the cold temperatures depleted the white fish. it is the cornerstone ingredient in a jelly covered meatloaf looking delicacy made from sound fish, onions and eggs, a staple every pass over. one wholesaler has requested 500 pounds of white fish but just got 75 pounds. >> what's going on? >> you're looking at me. >> there was a shortage of perogis, as well. >> there was another shortage. >> limes. >> any religious holiday associated with limes? >> cinco de mayo. that will do it for this edition

of aljazeera america. >> thanks for being with us this morning. have a great morning.

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> and this is the al jazeera news hour. i'm david fosters, good to have you with us. here are some of the stories we're keeping an eye on. troops wait for instructions in ukraine. neither male nor