[ music ] good afternoon. welcome to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. here are today's top stories. two popes become saints as the catholic church makes history in saint peter's square. european observers captured in ukraine are seen for the first time. one has been freed. south africa marking freedom day celebrations marking 20

years. today is a historic day all across the globe. two popes were elevated to sainthood. saint peter's square was filled with followers who witnessed that event while millions watched from all over the globe. pope francis led the sceremony for john paul ii xx iii. nick explain to us what is so significant about these two men being can onized on the very same day? >> reporter: this was a day of first, where pope francis delivered a message of unity and also of striving for improvement, both for every catholic in the world and, also, for the church, itself.

in front of a million faithful, an ancient ceremony became one of the catholic church's most modern moments. never before has the church sainted two popes at once. never before have two living popes publically celebrated mass together. and never before have this many people made the pilgrimage to rome in saint peter's square. with a sing statement, pope francis can onized two popes who have remarkably different papacies. john xxiii and john paul ii's legacy are fresh. he specially strong for

48-year-old andreas vidmar. >> a lot of people come here for hope. they aresponding to a paul of john paul ii who said, do not be afraid, and turn to god and have faith. >> andreas knows that call well. he first arrived in rome as a 20-year-old swiss guard. since the 15th century, the guards have been responsible for the pope's security when andreas first met john paul, he was diagnostic. >> i came here primarily because i thought being a body guard was about the coolest thing you could do. >> changed, of course, once i started to meet john paul. i would see him pray, and i started to feel differently. like somebody brings such a peace about them. it made me want to pray, too. >> john paul taught andreas faith didn't have to be complicated. it could helpful phil him. >> what he talked about is how i was made for excellence and that my faith could actually help me fly like an eagle, you know, to soar to the heights. >> today, pope francis echoed and expanded that message. john paul ii is much obscene as

conservative. john xxiii is progressive. in can onizing them together, francis argued both had the same goal. >> john xxiiii and john paul ii cooperated with the holy spirit in renewing the church and keeping with preistine features >> the canonization ceremonies remained the same for more than a century. john paul's blood, a piece of john xxiii's skin were presented as realics. they help the faithful revere the same and remind everyone to be a saint is human. >> only saints go to heaven. heaven isn't an empty place. we are made for this. we are built, created to become saints. and so we need to understand that the spiritual life and the holy life in that sense is not far off.

>> there are critics of today's dual canonization. but for these faithful today was unprecedented ceremony, two popes, two saints and 2000 years the church has never done this before. >> those pilgrims in the front row waited more than 12 hours for their seats but morgan, they said it was worth it because this kind of event had never happened before and they said was likely never to happen again. >> we are watching history in the making. nick schifrin joining us live from rome. thank you for being with us this afternoon. meanwhile action catholics all across america are celebrating today's event. in fact, al jazeera's john terrett is at the cathedral of the sacred hard in newark, new jersey, one visited by john paul ii back in 1995. now, john, pope john paul ii had a very long history with the united states when he was head of the catholic church. >> that's right. >> how are people reacting there at sacred heart? >> reporter: i would say most american catholics, most of them

have this ongoing long love affair with john paul ii. now elevated to sainthood. here today, we have seen this played out in many ways at the cathedral where he visited in 1995 with president bill clinton, where he presided over evening prayers. of course, he came to the united states on several occasions if you include the stopover that he had in alaska. he visited all of the major cities. so americans are very, very familiar with him. less so with john xxiii, but they recognize the importance of vatican 2 nick was speaking about his report. the priest today at one of the services mentioned the now canonized popes particularly concenoperated on john paul ii, reminded the congregation how he was able to go to prison and forgive the person who tried to assassinate him in vatican scare. they are saying that's one of the reasons why jong paul ii has been elevated to the level of

sainthood. after the mass, we caught up with some parishners including a woman who is mom is very devout catholic living in the caribbean and she phoned her up and said get down to church for me, please, and open our family account with jp ii and j xxiii here is what she told us? >> i heard from my home in haiti. she said you have to go because i haven't been in church in at least a couple of weeks, and she is like please make it if for me this morning. my mom in haiti, she was watching it as well. >> tell people who aren't catholic why the saints matter. >> actually, you know, we go to church. we pray, you know, to the saints, ask for help, strength to us, protect us. it's a whole bunch of different stuff. people put it in a different way. i pray to the lord. i pray to the virgin mary. i pray, you know. >> now you pray to john paul? >> john paul. >> and john? >> yes. >> i think it's amazing because

i never thought i would live in a time where i would actually be able to relate to pope john paul ii. and actually see him canonized as a saint. so i think it's great. i think he truly is a saint. >> reporter: catholics all over the country are being presented at church today with this flier which has a picture of john xxiii and john paul ii, both here, both now saints, morgan. >> both now saints. but john, what about the sexual abuse controversy during his time as pope because that's something that has a lot of people still worried and not really celebrating today >> reporter: this is why i said at the top that most catholics have this ongoing love affair with jp ii but it's a very, very valid qui. there are a lot of american catholics who belong to the snap organizations or who know people who are a part of that organization who are very, very angry with the elvis of john paul ii, who feel its way too soon, only nine years, and they

point out, look. how can a man who basically resided over the revelations regarding church sexual abuse and did nothing for the victims and covered up the ped file priests, how can he be a saint, they say? the answer to that seems to be that the catholic church and most americans, i would contend, feel that this is a judgment based upon the man's entire life, not just on the way he ran the business of the catholic church for 27 years. morgan? >> john terrett joining us live from newark, new jersey. thank you for being with us live this afternoon. at least one of the european observers detained in ukraine is now free. we have learned the released observe was freed for medical reasons. he was part of the geneva packet captured last friday seen for the very first time today. the head of the group, colonol axil snyder, he insisted they are in the region for diplomatic reasons along and not spying for

nato and that they are not being mistreated. >> we have not been touched, and we have been treated as the maximum extent which is possible under the circumstances. our presence here in slovyansk is for sure a political instrument for the decision makers here in the region and the possibility to use it for negotiations. >> be sure to stay with al jazeera america for the latest development in ukraine, not to mention the reaction to two new saints and the rest of today today's top stories. you can also like us on facebook by simply searching al jazeera america. south korea's prime minister

resigned today over his government's handling of the deadly ferry sinking. he is the highest-ranking official to lose his job in the wake of that disaster and his resignation comes after relatives of the victims say the government mishandled that accident and they really didn't do enough to rescue or to even protect their loved ones. >> the right thing for me to do is to take responsibility and resign as a person in charge of the cabinet. on behalf of the government, i apologize for many problems, from the prince of the accident to the early prevention of the accident and the handling of the disaster. >> the recovery mission has been hampered the last 12 hours. the coast guard is back to the site where that ship sank on april 16th. the disaster left more than 300 dead or missing. >> president obama heads to the philippines for the last leg of his four-country, east asia tour where he is expected to discuss defense and security issues before departing, he was in

malaids i can't where missing flight 370 overshadowed that visit. al jazeera's mike viqueira is traveling with the president and has more. >> after weeks of criticism and suspicion that he and his government haven'shared all they know in the search for missing flight 370, prime minister got a public boost from president obama. >> the united states and other pers have found the malaysian government eager for assistance, have been fully forthcoming with us in terms of information they have. >> najib's government is under fire for human rights record with charges of systematic abuse by police and public targeting of gays. president obama defended him. >> the fact that i haven't met with mr. armoire, in and of itself is not indicative of our

lack of concern given the fact that there are a lot of people i don't meet with and opposition leaders i don't meet with. >> mr. obama will send susan rice to meet with amwar. najib insists he has pushed through reform. >> you should not under estimate or diminish whatever we have done. >> as it has throughout his trip, the crisis in ukraine hung over the president's stop in malaysia. the u.s. and its allies have threatened sanctions on broad sect orders of the russian economy. some in europe are balking. sunday, mr. obama said the u.s. won't go it alone? >> we are going to be in a stronger position to deter mr. putin when he sees that the world is unified and the united states and europe is unified rather than this is just a u.s./russian conflict. >> mike viqueira, al jazeera, traveling with the president in malays malaysia. >> let the freedom bells ring.

today south africa celebrates freedom day celebrating the first post-apartheid election 20 years. that was the first time each race could vote and that's what made nelson mandela president. here is more >> reporter: photographs of her family bring fond memories but she says she sometimes gets annoyed. she voted for freedom in south africa's first democratic elections in 1994. she feels young people these days don't understand what it was like living under apartheid. >> they are stupid. i want to tell them they are fools because we used to live like dogs. >> violet calls the apartheid years the dark days. some spoke out against the white minority government were arrested or killed. 20 years later, the ruling party, the african national congress is credited for helping end the depression. >> 22-year-old kumedi learned

about apartheid in school and through word of mouth. she knows during apartheid she probably wouldn't be doing this job because of the color of her skin. she is grateful. like many young south africans, she feels democracy should be more than just freedom? >> there are a lot of issues that come up with regards to the caliber of leadership we have in our country. this is definitely riddled with, you know, a lot of corruption. you know, our leaders that are innocence forgotten. they are people. >> millions of people are jobless, approximately one in every four. there is anger at government's failing to address inequality. >> we have a class apartheid who continues to benefit those who benefited under apartheid but with the small layer of the black middle class grafted onto those who benefited historically. and that has to change

>> reporter: phillip akuta says the ruling congress has done well over the last 20 years. >> able to have basically today. >> millions more across the country say they are still waiting for the basics like water and electricity along with affordable housing. hara metasa, johan he isburg. coming up on al jazeera america, haiti in the middle of a severe drought. it's so bad farmers can't really grow anything. they are running out of options.

>> the debate that divides america, unites the critics, a reason to watch al jazeera america the standout television event borderland, is gritty honesty. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on down here, the only way to find out, is to see it yourselves. >> taking viewers beyond the debate. >> don't miss al jazeera america's critically acclaimed series borderland on al jazeera america also available on demand al jazeera goes beyond the talking points of the immigration debate and puts a face on the experience. we take six americans and film they them as they follow in the footprints of some migrants who wanted to make a new life in america. join us for our

critically-acclaimed series, "borderland." "27-year-old john has tried and failed to cross the u.s. border many times. he says he wants to reunite with his mother who abandoned him when he was just two years old. tran [speaking spanish.] [speaking spanish.] nelson from el salvador has taken the death train four times and has experienced the brutality of the criminal gangs.

[speaking spanish.] >> put her on the tracks? >> saw with his own eyes. >> so there are criminals or gangs on the train that are preying upon the my grants as they go? >> speaking spanish.] i have

mixed feelings here because i certainly feel for the people and what they are trying to leave and what they are trying to achieve. but i am really pissed off at the mexican government. i mean this train leaves every day packed with 300 people. you know, they could stop this all t all along the way. we have the government of mexico enabling this whole situation where they are just funneling thousands of people a week into our borders. then they face horrendous conditions. so, i am just really not happy with what's going on here. >> the third episode of "borderland" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. >> a severe drought having a devastating effect on haiti. they have been without rain for months in some regions. they are relying more and more on donations but as the drought runs on, so do the donations. andy gallagher reports

>> reporter: high in the mountains of northwestern haiti, it's only rained once in the last seven months. this valley should be full of healthy crops and livestock but it's dry and barren. it is making life harsh and follows two years of below-average rainfall. tr tran. >> the local farmer tells us he planted crops? september only to watch them wither and die. in a region already remote and poor, the effects of drought have been felt throughout the community. school meals are rationed and almost all of the food is being brought in from the outside. its supplies are running out. >> it affects children in so many ways. when they don't eat at home, you will or if you see them in class, they will be exhausted a all day. >> this part of haiti depends almost entirely on agriculture

and there has been some success in helping farmers to build stone walls to keep soil in place. other issues are hard to attack. >> when rains come, all too often, the fertile soil is washed away because of deforestation, there is nothing to keep it in the ground, and that is one of the biggest challenges this entire region faces. >> it's almost impossible to stop people chopping down trees for charcoal when for many, it's their only source of income. it has removed so many trees, it's making a bad situation worse. >> the drought is destroying us completely. if you look around, not even a child can find a little something to eat. the adults have nothing to do. so they don't have any jobs or money. >> the rain could come any day now, and it's much needed. if again the rainfall is below average, conditions may only get worse. and i gal kerr, al jazeera,

haiti. >> just ahead on al jazeera america, this little guy is causing a lot of headaches. we will tell you about a new market for these invasive fish, one that's putting more people to work.

[ music ] good afternoon to you. welcome back to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford live in new york. here are today's top stories. at least one european military observer detained in eastern ukraine has been freed and that's due to medical reasons. eight observers working in the country were captured last friday by pro-russian separatists. the observers were seen today and insisted they are not being mistreated. meanwhile, president obama heads to the philippines for the last leg of his asian tour. he defended the country's missing flight 370 saying officials are working around the clock to find it. obama is the first american president to visit the country in 50 years. from popes to saints, two

catholic giants, pope john paul ii and john xxiii have officially entered sainthood. millions gathered in saint peter's square to witness history at the vatican. carp has been wreaking havoc all across the united states but researchers haven't had any luck slowing the spread, that is until a plant in kentucky decided to export them to china. john hendron has those details >> reporter: what do you do when an invasive species overwhelms american waterways? for two rivers fishery, it's earn millions for sending them back to china. >> last year, we export half a million points. this year, we are going to enlarge the numbers for export. at the same time, we also are marketing u.s. for sure we will cut down the numbers. >> the massive asian carp first arrived in kentucky in the 1970s and '80s to control algae.

frequent floods overwhelmed the ponds and carried the fish into local waterways including the mississippi river. now the hefty herbavores are bounding. one broke darrell butler's ribs? >> hit my ribs, you know, just they are dangerous. they are increasing by numbers every year. they have even took over all of the small lakes and refuges. >> they are too big, too boney and too foreign more many americans taste earning $0.10 a pound instead of the $0.60 others net. >> george capelian uses a bow and arrow? >> carp in this country is kind of a dirty word. in europe and asia, it's a delicacy. over here, people jut don't know. they are used to big macs and french fries and they don't want to, you know, explore other opportunities. >> for most fish, there are limited seasons when you can reel them in. there is nothing fish and wildlife officials would like

better than to depleat the stocks of asian carp. reel them in as these fishermen are doing year around. >> we are trying to feed and employ people in a community that needs employment. >> it does have more bones than other piespecies do but it's go people need to try it. it's delicious. >> with the first of the invasive critters appearing in the great lakes watershed, no one is worried about over fishing asian carp in america except perhaps two rivers fishery. john hendron, pad yopaduca, kennedy. >> a large standing tradition being put to the test, waiters and waitresses donned their ape songs. he fishency poise and grace on display as the contestants walk for two miles perfectly balancing a glass of wine, a bottle of coke and don't for get a bottle of water. >> that's service. thanks for watching al jazeera

america. i am morgan radford, "101 east" is next. for news updates throughout the day, head over to aljazeera.com. >> as the world's most elderly nation - japan is dancing with a demographic disaster. people are living longer and birthrates are falling fast. no other country has a greater percentage of old people. the government has responded by raising taxes and the retirement