conversation continues on our website, or our google and facebook pages.

we have committed to act urgently to intentionfy targeted measures to increase the cost of russia's actions. meanwhile, the ukrainian prime minister cited escalating tensions with russia >> russian military aircraft. today, at 9:00 crossed and violated ukrainian airspace for 7 times. it's clear that russian aggression has -- is aimed to undermine the global security and global stability to redraw the lines and to revise the

consequences of the second world war. >> in an effort to calm things down, moscow is promising to help win the release of european monitors being helped captive by pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine. more right there near the russian border. >> ukraine's intelligence services says one of the hostages or prisoners, if you like, held by the russian gunmen in the town of slovyansk is in urgent need of medical attention. the russians have said that they will work for the release of this osce delegation, which is potentially good news. for ordinary people here in eastern ukraine, for all of the tensions, life does go on pretty much as normal on a very beautiful spring day. wedding parties driving past our hotel. yet if you walk just a couple of blocks from here, you will find that government buildings are surrounded by mosqgunmen separas

behind bashed while but ordinary people walk past, keeping their thoughts to themselves >> the crisis rages on ukrai an ukraineian leaders commemorate another did he have after t did children olberma chernobyl. it released more than a bomb on hiroshima. presidential candidate tamashenko were among those who visited the site >> the faithful are descending upon vatican city this weekend. they are there for the canonization of pope john paul ii and john xxiii. the more than a million visitors are in rome. many have made their way to the vatican. nick schifrin joins us live from rome. nick, what's the vibe there like right now? it seems pretty festive.

>> morgan, you are absolutely right. it is very festive. the people behind me are here to celebrate. you go through this square. you ask many of them. they are all here, mostly for one man, john paul ii. he died only nine years ago. i use that term "only" because nine years for the church is like the blink of an eye. but the church says that, yes, he satisfied all of the requirements for becoming a saint. and those include having a life and writings of heroic virtue being a role model and performing two miracles. flora doesn't only believe he is a saint. she helped make him one in her coast a rickan sideline, she creates a shrine to the imagine she says saved her life. in 2001, her doctors said she had an aneurysm and would live a month. she cluchld a magazine with john paul on the cover. six years after he died, on the same de jongh paul took the first step to sainthood, flora beth shez says he appeared to

her in a vision >> it filled me with peace and gave me the self confidence i could recover from my sickness. >> after that moment, she says she recovered. her doctors called it a miracle. the catholic church agreed. >> do you feel like he saved your life? >> of course. god saved my life with john paul ii's intervention. >> over 27 years, john paul's intervention transformed the catholic church. he inspired a new younger generation. his leadership helped inspire the movement that led to the fall of the berlin wall and the soviet union. he was a pope of firsts n jerusalem, he prayed at the western wall and was first pope to visit a modern synagogue. at 81, he was the first pope to walk into a mosque. but many, including the people in each of these childhood photographs, see things differently. >> this is david.

he was sexually abused by father john whitely. in this joel. this is barbara doris. this is becky amia. she was sexually abused about this time by the priest in her church in virginia >> the church admits in the u.s. alone, more than 10,000 people say catholic officials abused th them. >> this is tim blenon, and receipt a mila, and this was me. this was the year before father morris started sexually abusing me >> barbara blaine runs and abuse survivors network. she was only 12 when she says her priest first touched her. >> in my mind, i was screaming, no, stop, don't do that. don't touch me. no. but no words came out. i was like frozen, and in a sense, it was like i couldn't -- i was -- i couldn't even move. and i can remember him saying. stop shaking. i am not going to hurt you.

>> she accuses john paul of knowing in the church, abuse was pervasive. she said a man who conceals sin is no saint >> john paul ii had information and authority to remove sexual predators and protect children. and he refused to do that. >> john paul's defenders deny that and on sunday, blaine's voice will be vastly outnumbered. john paul will be sainted to one of the largest crowds that will ever fill saint peter's square >> those pilgrims will see 2 historic firsts but pope benedict, the former pope, before he abdicated last year will be in the square. morgan, that will be the first time that two popes, living popes, celebrate mass together. >> but nick, speaking of all of those people in the square, we are hearing that about 5 million are expected to descend upon rome tomorrow but how is the

vatican going to accommodate those people where you are standing? >> reporter: i think the millions are coming for tomorrow. they came, of course, also for the easter holiday last week. i mean it is the big season in rome here and the peak, of course, will be tomorrow morning. there is a huge amount of interest here, not only for john paul, of course, very popular in the states, but, also, for john xxiii, a lot of people feeling these are two of the most popular popes in the 21st century and to celebrate. i don't know if you can hear behind me. there are people clapping, people moving behind me, playing music. it's a really festive atmosphere. to keep the peace, to keep everyone in check, if you will, the police have sent out about 2400 officers here. tomorrow, there will be 600 priests and a couple of hundred deacons distributing the canonization here ridght outsid the church and down the street

right here. and, also, there will be big screen t.v.s all across the city, morgan, including inside the canon icesation. if you don't get here very, very early tomorrow morning, people here in this city can see the festivities tomorrow on the big screen t.v.s >> we can hear the cheers and see the people behind you. it seems like quite the festive objection. nick, thank you for being with us live from rome. many people have vifdz memories with john paul xxiii but aren't necessarily as familiar with the man who brought the church into a new era. pope john xxiii ran the vat can a from knife 58 to 1963, time enough to show the world he was different from his predecessors? >> they were much more similar to kings or to monarchs or to emperors. >> that's the major difference that made him known as "the good pope." > the good pope was the third of

13 children raised in the italian countryside in lombardi. his education was traditional italian but before becoming pope, he traveled as a diplomat reaching out to non-catholics, jews and christians. >> changed him. >> a great moment of change in the life of the catholic church. >> it was john xxiii who decided at a time church needed a new ecumenical council. many thought global debate about the church's future was tunness >> it became known as vatican ii. when pope john xxiii was asked why, he opened the window and said, we need fresh air. >> for the first time, church leaders from all over the world came to rome to discuss the church's future. >> for the first time, it opened the door to a near series of themes, of issues, and it made

the church able to interact and to survive and to thrive >> another profound change by vat kin ii, the language of the liturgy. mass can now be celebrated in all languages and not just latin. so now, john xxiii is being can onnize would. thef pope francis is saying one miracle instead of two and a book called john xxiii, the medicine of mercy. >> there is no question that at a time second miracle was going to surface, so pope francis knew very well that it was not interfering with the procedure. he was just expediting something that was going to happen soon. >> pope john xxiii, in life and in death, a saint. john teret, al jazeera, new

york. the clock, eastern time, at 8:00 o'clock we will take a deeper look tonight at 8:00 eastern on al jazeera america. sou south korea ian official. ardmore. t the man in charge of navigate something in custody. divers had to stop their search since the bad weather made it difficult for them to comb through the wreckage. policy and procedu president obama is attending a state dinner in malaysia where he toasted the long-standing relations between the two countries. it's his first of two days in the country and the first time in nearly half a century the u.s. head of state has visited malaysia. mike viquira brings us more. >> the president addressed u.s. forces gathered at yon song garrison before departing south korea and arriving later in the afternoon in malaysia, becoming

the first american president since lyndon johnson some 50 years ago to visit that country. looming over the visit, of course, the tragedy of malaysian air 370, the country reeling, but there are other issues on the agenda: trade among them. the president pushing his trans pacific partnership, opening up markets across east and southeast asia. also, china looming over this visit as it has over the first two legs and japan and south korea principally because malaysia is among those countries that is involved in a territory y'all dispute in the south china sea with no fewer than 6 other nations in that region. on the agenda, although the president isn't likely to bring this up in a very obvious way, the human rights situation in malaysia, the opposition leader there has been jailed twice on what many believe are trumped up charges. international human rights organizations say there is an epidemic of police brutality in that country and sensorship although the president's national security susan rice is

expected to meet with opposition leaders. so, the president continuing his journey around east and southeast asia kuala lim poor. back to you. >> not everyone is happy about the president's trip. protests took place outside the em piece in quala limpur some saying he is an enemy of islam and a plan to lower trade and investment restrictions inside the country. the u.s. is allowing malaysia and 11 other countries to join. authorities burned over nine tons of illegal drugs, eight of which were cocaine. the large haul came from antinarcotic operations where drug cartels have been using panama to traffic drugs into the united states. coming up on al jazeera america, flash floods have killed almost 200 people in afghanistan. now, thousands of people are waiting for aid from the government. plus, a museum devoted to the

1989 massacre tineman square stirs up controversy in china.

they have suffered from lots of destruction. >> people are beginning to pick up the pieces after the floods, but they say they still urgently need help >> translator: our shops and houses have been destroyed. so far, we have not received any aid from the government. >> reporter: the afghan military rescued people from the worst affected province. the regional police chief said they found many bodies and expect to find more. >> people took those dead bodies to the hospital. then the bodies were handed over to their families. around 7 villages in the area were destroyed by flooding. >> it's the start of spring, usually a wet season. but not to the extent seen here in recent days. the disaster relief committee says more than 5,000 people have

been displeased and medicine and drinking water are running out. it caroline malone, al jazeera. a new museum just opened in hong kong commemorating the 1989 tiananmen square massacre. while it gives a rare look into a very important bit of history, some say they are just ready to move on. al jazeera's dibi dibia goplin reports >> reporter: the document 25 years ago, the museum is declared open. >> it's designed as a maze and takes the visitor through the events leading up to the june 4th crackdown in which stud tents were killed. 75 square meters, it's one of the smallest museums around but organizers expect it to have a big impact. we are targeting the younger generation born after the june 4th massacre so they can come and experience what we have experienced at that time, the shock, the despair and, also,

the hope at that time brought about by the movement >> the group behind the mudzem is made up of lawmakers and pro-democracy activists. they formed in 1989 to help fund the students democracy movement >> interactive images, they hope to educate mainland tourists. there were 41 million visitors. mainlanders are unaware of the crackdown because all reference to it is banned there. there are citizen groups who feel that the discourse could threaten hong kong's stability. >> lat issue a lee says the exhibition shows one side of the story. people want to move onisha lee exhibition shows one side of the story. people want to move on >> the incident is like a word created by history. why can't we leave it alone? >> some of those who share her views gathered on the street outside the building housing the ex hipition.

the mudzem is in the middle of this normally quiet alley on the 5th floor of the valley behind me but on the opening day, it's creating a lot of noise from a confrontation between the supporters and its detractors. >> reporter: the commotion and the press will draw attention to the museum, but it could also jeopardize its existence. the exhibition ends with the goddess of democracy. she may have to find a new home soon. the building's owner is threatening legal action saying it will be disruptive for the other tenants. >> south africa is marking 20 years of democracy. in 1984, the country held its very first free elections. that was when all races could vote. those were the votes that put nelson mandel a into the president's office and south africa will hold general e elections in just two weeks. coming up on al jazeera america, people all around the world are celebrating william shakespeare's 450th anniversary.

we will tell you how one man's love affair is taking a toll on america's bird population. a new exhibit of street artist banksy opens up. we will tell you why the famous artist is calling it "disgusting. ~" talk to al jazeera >> oscar winner sean penn shares his views on privacy rights, press freedom and his controversial relationship with hugo chavez >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america

. good morning. welcome back to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. here are today's headlines. more shafshingsz headed russia's way in response to ukraine. huge crowds are making their way to the vatican to witness the canonization of not one but two popes. they will be made saints during a ceremony led by pope francis as well as his predecessor, benedict xvi. president obama is in malaysia, his third stop on a four country tour of east asia. trade and economy are expected to be his talking points with malaysia's prime minister tomorrow. a london exhibition called

squ "stealing banksy" is showing the anon mutts street artist's work without his permission. the artist called the move disgusting. the group hosting said it's interested in graph ffitgraffit long-term survival. they charge a fee and plan to auction off seven of his pieces. >> money will then go to charity. shares spear had a love for birds in addition to writing plays. but one man even released starlings in central park in the author's honor. on shakespeare's 450th birthday, the birds aren't so popular with everyone in the united states. ranch pinkston is in d.c. with more >> reporter: this is where part of the story began. new york central park in 18 night when a german immigrant released starlings in north america as a tribute to william shakespeare. the other part of the story began 300 years earlier in england where speaks spear

places references to birds >> he loved birds, i think partly because they are musical. when you think about bird songs, it connects you to the human voice >> michael whitmore is director of the library in washington, d.c. whitmore says he was a keen observer of nature and included 60 species of birds and he liked the star lings' ability to mimic speech. ♪ hi, baby >> he mentioned them in "henry ix" who will mention mortimer and the king stomped off and said don't ever say mortimer to me again >> the descendants of those 60 starlings now number more than 200 million in north america. when they fly together in large numbers called mermurations, it looks like art in motion while

bird watchers and fans of shakespeare might appreciate them, wildlife experts say star lings are a nuisance? >> they can kick other birds out of areas. i don't think a lot of other species want to hang around when you have 10,000 star lings taking up a block >> unlike larger bloods such as canada geese which brought down flight 549 in hudson river, s r starlings are smaller and poise more of a threat to farmers the starling is one of the speaks ceases the u.s. department of for agriculture tries to control? >> it's not feasible economically or practically to eliminate them. they havee they have pretty much reached their critical mass >> like shakespeare's classics, the starling did have made their mark on america. randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington.

good sought to you. i am eboni deon. first we want to take you to the east coast where it looks like things are finally, clearing out. but as we take a look into some video out of north carolina, this is an area that dealt with a lot of stormy weather just yesterday and we saw damage as well as golf-ball sized hail. there were nine reports of tornados in the national weather service out there doing their survey today to see how manitons actually occurred but a lot of damages structured. today it's improving for the clean-up to take shape. your attention further west as we look at the satellite radar, this area of low pressure spinning out across southern areas of california that will reject eastward. not a lot of activity now but it's in the middle of the country treer where we will watch for the threat of strong to severe storms and it looks like the primary threat will be large damaging hail as well as high winds and even a few tornados. much of the day is going to be warm and var windy.

you can see here, not a lot of activity taking shape right now. i have been watching some showers just across missouri but it's along this dry line where we are going to see a few storms popping, mainly as we get into the evening hours. what we have is a lot of warm, moist air pulling up out of the gulf of mexico at the surface. upper level wind energy coming out of the west. >> that's the dryer air. so once we get that clash, we are going to be dealing with thunderstorms, and we will have the instability in place, lots of lift and, of course, with the changing of winds with height, that's going to allow for some rotations. so we could certainly see a few super cells forming. now, on the west side of that system, it is very dry and unfortunately, we will be dealing with high fire threat across abilene and into many western areas of texas. that's why we have the red flag areas posted. as far as the storms, not everyone will see the storms. around the dallas fort worth area up into oklahoma city by this evening, overnight into sunday, that threat will expand and we will see an even better chance of toranados by the end of the weekend.

morgan, back to you. >> thanks so much, eboni. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. i look forward to seeing you at 1:00 p.m. eastern. for now insi"inside story" is u next. we leave you with live pictures from the vatican. >> after a dozen john kerry visits to israel, the palestinian peace talks look like they've unraveled even leaving president obama suggesting it might be time for a pause. it's the inside story. hello, i'm ray suarez. this week the largest factions