>>. >> this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. after weeks of violence, intimidation and diplomacy the votes have been cast in eastern ukraine. suicide bombers and new attacks on the government in yeg. the cycle of violence is escalating rescuers facing new hazards searching for the missing school girls in nigeria. >> and deep in the desert at

atta come by a new window is opening. the polls are closed in lugansk and donetsk. residents voting on a referendum for self-rule. final results are not spected until tuesday. jonah hull has more from donetsk. hastily arranged, low budget. the referendum drew large numbers of voters to a small number of polling stations in eastern ukraine. at issue - the question of whether the region should split from the rest of ukraine. the government in kiev denounced the vote. >> i would like to underline that it is not a referendum, it's an attempt by terrorists,

and citizens to cover up. >> kiev's word doesn't carry much weight in the so-called people's republic of donetsk. how much autonomy they should have is vague. >> reporter: big crowds turned out to vote. just one question of yes or no. there's multiple interpretations of wh it means -- what it means. >> translation: we want to live in russia. >> this woman is not sure what she's voting for. >> translation: i voted for our national rub luck lick -- republic. >> i want peace in this country, not the horrible mess ce itemed in-- created in maydan, a war.

it's not easy to find a voice in opposition to all this. to do so we travelled to horlifka. firmly in opposition hands. this man didn't want to be identified. >>. >> translation: a lot of people are against more than four. in general they don't understand the threat. it appears that russia doesn't want u and we are parting from ukraine. left on its own, we'll head towards catastrophe. >> the referendum has gone ahead despite calls from vladimir putin for a delay. in the east, racked by voim, like in the -- violence, like in the city of sevastopol. the region will be tipped into the abyss say kiev. some fear it has already happened shots fired and one person killed outside a polling place.

a journalist witnessed the event and joins us from donetsk. thank you for joining us. can you tell us what you saw? >> yes, we came there. people were kicked out in front of city hall, because a man entered. we don't know who they were, people say they were nards , others say it was militia. most thing test local militia. they went inside. the people at the polling station had to move to the park. after a while people stood in front of the city hall. they started shooting in the air. more came, there was shouting. they started to shoot in the air, then at the people. it happened a few times, you know, in a row. in the afternoon four vans came

and they tried to get the guys inside out, and they started to shoot all around them. they were shooting at innocent people. i was there. no one had a gun. the only thing they did was throw an axe and a stone. the people, you know, were harmless and wanted to vote, and they were shooting at them, at the back. that's what we witnessed today. >> the armed militia - had they been around in the city prior to this incident or did they just arrive in front of the polling place, basically out of nowhere? >> the people say they are kind of a militia. they were advance of a bank. i don't know the right connection. it was weird. we wondered who they were. on the phone, thank you so much well, ukrainian government officials, as you heard, say

they will not recognise the rimpd um and local -- reference um and local authorities will be held liable. >> reporter: justice minister came out and said that the security service and the prosecutor general warned local councils, representatives, that they could be criminally liable for complicity around the referendums, despite saying that some prince ms of -- principals of schools had been pressured into becoming polling stations. they were threatened with the use of violence. it's coming from justice minister. all the authorities in kiev call this illegal, saying it's iljit mitt, nothing more than an attempt by terrorists to cover up crimes and they are using the people of don esque and lugansk in the process. we are told that yesterday ukranian forces seized 100,000 pre-filled ballot papers near

slovyansk. we haven't been able to verify that. that is what the judds minister is -- justice minister is saying. we heard from the e.u. saying it will not recognise the vote. authorities in kiev say because this is lij nate -- illegitimate they will not recognise the outcome, saying it has been determined by the self-appointed leaders in the region. when the people in the east come out with their results, so-called results, that this will put pressure or on authorities to de-escalate the crisis. in two weeks today presidential elections will be held. joining me from london is alexander, former kremlin advisor, thank you for joining us in london. leading to the referendum there were questions at stake in terms of what did they want to accomplish - did they want an independent state or validation. from your standpoint what do

they mean - not only for the east, but kiev as well? >> well, first of all, it's a remarkable situation when a referendum has been arranged in such short time, and with such vast numbers of people taking part in it. because you would have expected, you know, with all the violence and the shootings that many people would have stayed at home. we are hearing that it's more than 2 million people - obviously we don't know yet the numbers. in any case, it's an outstanding achievement, no matter what win is saying. the problem is this: vladimir putin called on the people of eastern ukraine to postpone the reftend hum. his -- wrench um -- referendum. his logic was he wanted to wait for the presidential elections to take place in ukraine in may 25th.

the reason for that, he wants to find someone to talk to in kiev. at the moment there's an interim regime which is not really illegal regime. it doesn't really represent anyone. once the election takes place, and the president is elected by whatever majority. there's somebody from then on, in kiev, to whom moscow can talk. moscow, i suspect, will tell him that there has to be a dialogue between kiev and the eastern part of ukraine. that is why vladimir putin didn't support the idea of the referendum, not because he was playing a game like some observers accuse him of. >> are you suggesting there won't be an end to the crisis, if you will, until the elections of may 25th, so there can be official dialogue between moscow and kiev?

>> obviously. it's not throng wait now -- long to wait now. whatever happens on 25 may, we basically know who will win. the name is known. there have been certain contacts with that person. obviously he doesn't want to talk now about anything, he wants to win the election. obviously he understands he can't allow the situation to continue. moscow will contest for eastern ukraine to have a representation and talk to kiev's new regime, government, president. that is how this conflict might start to get sorted out. unfortunately at the moment there's no way to solve the crisis no one is talking to each other. in the east noiun is accept -- no one is accepting the current regime in kiev. that's why the stalemate. >> prior to the vote and after

the united states said the referendums are illegal, and they have imposed sanctions - has that combination had any effect on what is going on in ukraine or whatever. >> well, the question of sanctions against russia - this is not as simple as many thing. in europe most of the countries are reluctant to introduce sanction, and the sanctions that america is introduce - some of them are hitting them back. the situation in russia is not as bad as some. agencies or experts are portraying. of course there are problems, but they'll be hitting the west as well. with the sanctions, you have to understand, there's a lot of sort of talk going on, but behind the scenes the europeans

are refusing to support america. i think we are seeing with this crisis in ukraine a serious wedge developing. >> former kremlin advisor joining us from london. thank are for the insight. al-qaeda fighters executed another attack in yemen where a suicide car bomb killed 11 soldiers. it was seen as retaliation for the campaign to remove al-qaeda fighters. a surm of violence -- surge of violence hit yemen in recent days. >> reporter: we know suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into the building of the military police, killing 11, ib juring -- injuring 18 people. part of that building was destroyed and a search is underway for people buried under the rubble. there has been no claim for

responsibility. naining the only -- many think the only ones with the kaup ability to launch an attack, which is listed by the u.s. as an active franchise. it launched many attack in the same area. it launched a spectacular attack in 2009. it killed western tourists in the area, and over the last few months it launched attacks against security forces in the same area. it came hours after an attack here in the capital, on a military checkpoint near the presidential palace. we are talking about an area that is supposed to be secure. not far from there is the headquarters of the intelligence. people are concerned about al qaeda taking the fight to the heart of the capital. joining us is juan cole an

international affairs contributor. obviously the violence in yemen is escalating. what do you make of the latest attacks? >> they are in retaliation for a major campaign that the yemeni government with u.s. help launched on april 29th, as your correspondent said, in the interest and south of the country. >> well, if you look at yemen today, it's fractured, considering all the many tribal divisions. can this situation evolve into any sort of civil war in the country? >> well, there has already been major battles amongst yemeni factions. the shi'a group. the houthis were considered extremists, have engaged in pitched battles with al-qaeda forces on the sunni side. these are two extremist groups. there are those that don't

approve. the crisis we are seeing now, with attacks by al qaeda forces on the presidential palace, on police stations in the provinces, really is about the major push the government is making against al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, during which about 60 al qaeda forces have been killed. some of them leaders. >> some argue that the u.s. drone operation in yemen is illegal. and not exactly serving its purpose. they say that it's causing more violence. is that a true assessment? . >> i'm a critic of the drone programme because it's operating outside the framework of international, bilateral law. if the yemeni government wants the u.s. to deploy drones against the al qaeda forces in yemen, so there's a behind the

scenes cooperation, whatever they may say in public. this should be a matter of a treaty, there should be a law around it. you know, they are imperfect. they kill civilians, children, wedding parties and so forth. that's why some say they are alienating to the yemenis that may otherwise join in a fight against al qaeda. >> the u.s. commitment is more than just drone strucks. how involved -- strikes. how involved is the u.s. in day-to-day running of yemen. >> the u.s. is backing their president. it has close military cooperation with yemen. yemen is at the mouth of the red sea, a major world trade artery through which 10% of world trade goes. the u.s. is deeply involved with the government and is an ally in the war on terror.

>> also very key point in the world where yemen is located. thank you so much. a nigerian military expert says boko haram may have policed landmines -- placed landmines in a forest where teams are searching for school girls. it has folked on a forest, a known boko haram hideout. despite this, the demand to find the girls has none wavered. churns and mosques have held special prayers and fasting for their release. we have details. >> reporter: almost a month after the abduction of the girls, nigerians are praying for their safe release. the catholic church called on its congregation to hold special prayers. many responded to the call at the holy rosary church in abuja. >> it's important to pray for the girls. after exploring all options in

terms of government and trying to make attempts to rescue the girls. >> reporter: the nigerian catholic church urged all nigerians, irrespective of fauth, to pray, instead of trading blame and accusations. >> at this mosque clerics say they have been praying after every scripture class. the government of the state called for three days of fasting of. >> this has brought a sense of unity, solidarity, regardless of people's faith, people's, you know, tribe and geographical location. it's a concern, you know, for all of us. >> many have koimed the arrive of -- welcomed the arrival of

help. many say the pressure needs to be sustained. >> no one will violate my rights. i'm not going anywhere. i have the right to free movement in my society. this is a democracy, if under military rule - i protest it. i'm not going anywhere, gentlemen. >> they want to ensure the government does not relent until the sample and rescue effort -- search and rescue efforts yield results. coming up, one mother's story. >> i know he's fine and he's not suffering. >> she lost her son to a senseless act of violence. now she's taking on a new life. he may not be a superstar on the field, but michael sam has made the history in the n.f.l. reaction to the first openly gay

player to be drafted - coming up

next. today marks the 100th anniversary of mother's day. for one mother in florida, it marks another day to mourn her son and the fight for gun control following the shooting that hit the headlines. a report from the woman that will always be jordan's mum. >> it's too hard and too much

effort for him to make up the beddery morning -- bed every morning. >> reporter: the little quirks that mum's know stick in the mind when her son is gone. this mum says jordan davis was meticulous about his appearance. he wanted everything to match, from his hat to -- to his shoes. he didn't smile for the first six months of his life, but since then he never stopped -ml the day he was killed following a dispute however music. >> i know he's fine. >> lucy will always all herself jordan's mum. now there's an ache attached to that title. in february a jury deadlocked on a first degree murder charge against michael dunn, the defendant. the city attorney plans to try him again. >> it's like a dark cloud hanging over our heads.

it's something we have to think about every single day of our lives. >> since her son's death she has stepped into the spotlight as a gun control advocate. last fall she testified before a judicial committee investigating the exact of stopped your ground laws - allowing people to defend themselves if they feel they are in danger. dunn said he feared for his life. she refutes that. >> an angry man that owned a gun, kept it close at hand and demonstrated hatred one balmy evening for reasons i will never understand. these laws empowered his prejudiced belief and rage over my son's own life, his liberty and pu suit of happiness the role of crusading activist is not something she envisioned.

now she can't imagine doing anything else. >> i feel a responsibility now to protect others, to keep the same thing, the very thing from happening to others. >> she said jordan is speaking through her, guiding her. >> everything that i ever parade for jordan over the years - all the application i want him -- protection i wanted him to have, all the love i wanted him to have, everything i wanted to give him. god has given him that tenfold. >> in jordan's room is a photo, taken for mother's day before the holiday that became a painful loss that no mother should have to bear history was made at the n.f.l. draft as michael sam became the first openly gay n.f.l. draft pick. jessica taff is here with this landmark moment. we knew he would be drafted, we didn't know when. >> reporter: yes, there was a

long wait. he's is not the first nor will be be the last to come out. no major sport has seen an openly gay athlete come out before his career begans, and sam made it happen in a popular sport. the weight of the moment was overwhelming for sam, who broke down whilst getting a call from head coach jeff fisher that he was the 249th pick. it was a dream come true, one shared with his boyfriend. after exhaling, the newest took to twitter, thanking the rams and the city of st. louis, pledging that he would take the opportunity to achieve greatness. his new team-mates were there, robert quinn welcoming him to the d line showtime, and ram and hall of famer congratulating him. eric dickinson. i'm not sure that michael sam could have landed in a better

situation. transition should be easier, he has a built-in fan base and he played there at the university of missouri, and he has a coach that knows how to have a good mat sewer team around him -- mature team around him. >> now that he's with the rams, teams are saying the level things. what about other reaction from the league? >> of course there's a lot of good things, and then the bad. some were not happy with the public display of affection, where he kissed his boyfriend in a live audience. and we had a tweet from a dolphins saying omg. we had horible on there. don jones - that tweet as removed, coming after another dolphins player, involved in a bullying scandal, mike pouncey

tweeted - great pick. basically dolphins have to worry around their franchise. >> we'll see how he is accepted. thank you still ahead - football of another sport - the world cup set to kick off in brazil in a month. there's more than a championship riding on the outcome. also coming up. >> food culture in the u.s. has come along. >> food hib rids are becoming big business.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. men in eastern ukraine cast their ballot - voting ticking place in donetsk and lugansk. many are condemning the vote.

prayers are held for 276 missing school girls if nigeria. some mosques are holding a fast. despite u.s. and u.k. assisting the government, the search has yielded no results. in yemen, al qaeda fighters killed 11 in suicide bombing. fighting between the yemeni army and al qaeda has intensified since the government began an offensive to kick the group out 22 are dead in a base in iraq. some of the killings happened execution style. troops stationed there were in charm of ab oil -- charge of an oil pipeline sending oil internationally a bittersweet homecoming. hundreds returned to homs and got a glimpse of destruction caused by years of fighting. some residents made plans to stay in the homes. fighting rages on in aleppo. residents have been without

water. rebels reportedly cut off supplies to government-held neighbourhoods. as hundreds of thousands flee the civil war they are taking refuge in jordan. it's forcing oman to take a look at security. >> reporter: it's the second largest refugee camp in the world, home to over 100,000 sir yabs -- syrians. maintaining order is a matter of national security. riots and clashes broke out here in the past, and jordan doesn't see the camps closing. that's why a comprehensive security plan is seen as essential. tighter security means everything and everyone entering the camp is searched. last month the army found an intact improvised device near the camp's gate and that sounded alarm bells. >> what is going on inside syria, a lot of parties working there. a lot of parties trying to

transfer their kys sis to jord -- crisis to jordan. we know some enter jordan to make problems for us. police patrols increased and every day a team of 200,000 personnel are needed to cover shifts. sound barriers are needed. there's a hands-off approach. refugee community leaders are trained and paid to carry out internal policing and report threats. >> translation: when there's a problem we try to solve it ourselves and not go to security forces. if we can't, we have to tell them so the issue does not get bigger. >> isn'ts the beginning of the year the government uses iris scans to document syrians in jordan territory. authorities expressed fear about the appearance of sleeper cells across the country. the groups are believed to be

quietly working on behalf of the syrian government and are suspected of creating chaos and instability inside and outside refugee camps. refugees agreed there are loyalists among them. >> translation: they are ipp fill traitors, syrian government loyalists, here in the camp -- infiltrators, syrian government loyalists here in the camp. i used to live here, and i moved. >> refugees say rebel groups established a foothold in the camp, a reason why jordan is taking the security of these camps seriously. stupid and idiotic that is what iran's sprooum leaders called expectations for increased missile programme. ayatollah kem any made the comments and called on the guards to mass produce missiles.

the comment coming as iran and six world powers meet to discuss ways to end a stand off over iran's nuclear capabilities. 40 are dead after a bok in sub-sa -- boat in sub-saharan sank, east of the capital of tripoli. some bodies washed upon shore. other were collected at sea. they rescued 51 preem. a train -- 51 people. a train featured in "borderland." hundreds of migrants have been stranded in mexico. the train is banning stow aways. a special episode of the "borderland" airs tonight. the cast members are coming together to talk about their experiences crossing the u.s.-mexico border. that is tonight: tomorrow, amnesty international release a report that shows torture is a tool used in more than 100 countries

around the world. we'll focus on that report and implications at 8:30 in the "the week ahead". courtney kealy joins us with a preview of the report. >> hi. we are taking a look at torture around the world and trying to put a personal face on it. we talked to a survivor. what drove the point home is the survivor is so scared of what cap happen to his family in western africa, we couldn't say what country he was from, that no distinguishing details were able to be put on air. he talks about what it's like for him, he has asylum and we talk about healing have treating the mental and physical anguish. >> again, more on the issue of torture coming up at 8:30 in "the week ahead", here on al jazeera. americans are living longer, but as life expectancy goes up

many struggle to save money for their later years. a third of americans have less than $1,000 in savings and investment. lisa stark reports on why many have little tucking away when karen conka works it's primarily as a volunteer, managing to retire a few years ago at age 52, after nearly three decade as a county government worker. >> one of the main reasons for taking the job was the excellent retirement that the county had. her 28-year-old daughter has a management job with a small company, but has not been able to start saving for retirement. >> does your company offer a retirement plan? >> no, not at this plan. >> have you worked for a company that offered a retirement plan? mented no, i haven't. >> more than half workers do not have a retirement plan. middle income workers who are offered a man at work are likely

to put money away than those without. >> people making between 30 and $50,000 when covered by a plan at work, 70% participate, luke savings plans. when they don't have access to a plan at work, less than 5% save on their own. >> conquer says having money deducted from her pay check was key. >> i did not factor that dollar amount into my monthly budget. >> the retirement situation is dire for blacks and his panics. a recent report found those families have 30,000 socked away, compared to 120,000 for white, near retirement age. >> let's do more to help americans pay for retirement. president obama paid for the issue, then through executive order, creating a new retirement fund called a my ra.

businessing can offer the programme at little or no cost. money would go through a government-backed fund. workers can start saving with as little as $25. here is a low risk, low cost, low balance alternative for folks that haven't gotten started. sandra says between living expenses, and student loans, saving for retirement is tough. >> it worries us, but our hand are tied. >> her mum supports retirement plan options for young workers. >> it gives them the opportunity to think about the future. >> it's never too early to do that. a new study could leave a bad taste in your mouth. researchers at harvard link climate change to malnutrition. rising levels of carbon dioxide may decrease taste of foods.

there was a drop in zinc, iron and protein in rice and wheat. >> new york city has been a mecca for food lovers, a growing number of shops sell specialty foods in the hope of attracting a cult following of foodies. >> ghorning, guys. >> the line forms early and snakes around the block. >> thank you for coming out. we appreciate the support, despite the rain. >> hundreds waiting to taste this, the doug nut hybrid making the owner famous. >> we have a line-up of 100 to 200. only 350 of the sweet treats are made and he sells out before lunchtime. at $5 each, it is a sweet business. >> i grew up in a poor family. we never had enough money for food. i was lucky and worked hard.

>> anton is a chef cashing in on a growing appetite for specialty cuisine. >> food culture in the u.s. exploded. interest in toed among -- food among millennials and gen y. people are interested in high quality food and food in general. >> new york is ground zero. fans flock here to taste a master sauce. >> there are 400,000 new york restaurants, enough to eat at a different one every day for 12 years. there's stiff competition for the next food fad. this woman and her husband left car oars on wall street to -- car oars on wall street to give it a try. >> there's not a day that i don't have heart pal pit atting, running around. i go out on deliveries.

>> their mini baying else stuffed with cream cheese are taken off. >> business people love you don't have to spread, there's no awkward - am i going to eat a whole bagel. >> it has been embrassed by this couple who -- embraced by this couple. >> not everyone can wait in a line. >> for chefs who hit the hard to define sweet spot - success tastes good too i think it's officially time for dinner. the cost of a state of the art drone is $16 million. commercial correspondence is cheaper. a bolivian inventor is putting drones in the air without the expense. brazil puts the finishing tups on its world cup -- touches on its world cup facilities. the tournament is a month away.

those stories coming up, you're watching al jazeera r

it's one of the biggest sporting events in the world. 31 teams play in brazil in five weeks. the final of the world cup will be held op july 13th. matches will be played in 12 different venues across brazil. the stadium hosting game 1 opens this week. questions remain whether they'll be able to host the crowds. we have this story in sao paulo. >> reporter: it was a day for smalls at sao paulo -- smiles at sao paulo's football stadium where the president was on hand for an opening. this was an inauguration in name only. the eyes of the football world will be on the stadium for the opening match of the world cup

between brazil and croatia in 35 days. the 65,000 venue, the cost jumping to $500 million is ready for international matches. look closely - little else is ready for the spotlight to bion upon it. heavy machinery is used to lift seating into place. the interior work is close to being done. construction workers scurry about. >> reporter: it's outside the stadium that you can get a feel for how much work needs to be done to get the stadium world cup ready. some look at scenes like this and say the stadium will get done. others say it's going be impossible. we'll find out in a few short weeks. temporary seating is being put into mace for added cap -- place for added capacity during the world cup. it's little more that scaffolding now. at ground level they are moving earth - symbolic of heavy

lifting needed to be done. on the same day ruse ep was in sao paulo, a 32 year-old workers was killed, electrocuted in the stadium - bringing to eight the number killed by accident whilst working on the project. fans of the corinne thian club, the team that will call it home after the world cup is optimistic. >> translation: certainly the stadium is ready. i have been following the construction process since it was an empty field. >> translation: we only need to finish the exterior. i think it will be done in 10 days. >> they are hoping their predictions are true and delays, come the opening, will not matter. joining us from rio de janeiro is julia michaels, an

american journalist and blogger documenting the associate changes that the world cup brought to brazil. thank you for joining us this evening. >> my pleasure. almost a month away and there has been so much talk about what is ready and what is not ready, and how it's affecting the overall countries with so many protests going on. as it stands now, what state is brazil in as it relates to the world cup? >> well, it's hard to say. it's a different story in each city. the games will be played. the world cup will happen, and it will be part of a bigger process that is happening in all of brazil. one of deep social change. >> oval to have an event such as the world cup brings a lot of attention to the host nation. we have seen so many protests dating back to the federations

cup. people are upset that so much is spent on sport, not enough on things that faelent every sit -- affect every citizen in the country. why is that? >> i think because it's true. the megaevents and the olympics, and other events that we have been having, have been drawing people's attentions to things they may not have noticed before or thought they could do anything about, more importantly. and now with the attention that we are having from abroad, and all this shifting around that is happening, partly due to the megaevents and other factors, i think everyone is made to think what are the priorities, who is favourite, who needs more attention from the government. >> it seems so much of the coverage leading to the world cup and the olympics two years after that - it's been negative. has there been a positive impact

on brazil hosting the world cup this summer? >> i think definitely. brazil has been an inward-looking country. finally we are receiving people from the outside, receiving a lot of pressure from the outside, and new ways to do things. people have been coming from abroad. bringing new ways of making plans, planning. in is something that is not a forte here in brazil. so i think there's a lot of new information coming from abroad because of world cup and other megaevents. much more a sense of being in the world. brazil is opening up, and having to be looked at and look at itself. >> brazil is a proud soccer nation. the team will be one of the

favourites to win the world cup. there has been questions on whether the team needs to one in order for the president to be reelected. will the outcome of the world cup have that much of an impact onelections coming up? >> i think it could. i have been here for years and i've seen the nation enter into depression when the team does not win. this time, if it happens with the world cup being here, i don't want to think about it. i think it could have an impact on politics, yes. >> a proud soccer nation gain, to say the least. thank you so much. live from rio de janeiro. a new look at vladimir putin - check this out - he's on skates. he donned number 11 for an ice hockey festival in sochi. it was app amateur game in the night hockey league.

it was formed to give businessmen who worked during the day a chance to may at fight. he scored a double hat trick, six goals - but who is going tocheck vladimir putin. in switzerland, the competition was more even in the cow-fighting competition - that's right, cow fighting. it's a tradition since 1923. the winner is queen of queens and all the competitors retire to the pastures for a celebratory meal. >> soccer players in the world cup have been easier than final lifts. they will not juggle giant bowls of molten glass. over two dozen participants convened to do that at glass-blowing championships. there were three steps where glasses masters blew a plate, cylinder and sphere as big as they could. >> the crazy competition

conditions in hong kong where colourful machines flew through the air, part of the red bull's event. thousands gathered to watch a whacky aircraft plup ing into the -- pluj j into the -- plunge into the water. that's what they usually do. contestants come back year after year. >> unmanned aircraft, drones, are useful tools in the united states. the technology is not readily available elsewhere. morgan radford on a bolivian inventor who is handcrafting a new generation of flying machines. >> reporter: this is a master recycler. deolderant lids, pen caps, perfume bottles is not generally material used to make a dran. >> translation: you can find printers, fridges, photocopiers

and controllers pulled apart. loads of things to use for a robot. it's considered a paradise for robotizists and all these things are cheap. while the motor, camera and gps are imported, the body is his design. pulled together from discarded wood and metal and held together with plastic ties. the hand-crafted robot doesn't just look the part. it can fly for 20 minutes at speeds of up to one mile high. in developing countries like bolivia, he feels that being creative may take more creativity, but finds the challenge worthwhile. >> translation: there's an underground movement appropri e appropriating technology. they come across a lot of interesting experiences. >> conventional drones costs

thousands and military zones in the millions, it's hoped the unorthodox creation will create more high-flying technology for his country. >> well, the drones may be inexpensive. mark philips high-tech tool is a billion dollar supertelescope. >> it took three billion years to get here. >> what we'll learn from the telescope is next here on al jazeera.

astronomers in chile discovered a 13 billion year-old star. we'll look at a giant telescope making more discoveries like this possible. >> reporter: to explore the cosmos you need to capture star light that could have travel billions of light years. to do that you need a clean

mirror. made from 7 tonnes of glass, a surface of aluminium, one ten thousandth of a millimetre thick. it will be the most powerful telescope in six years time, built 250 metres up there. >> reporter: research depend on our ability to see into the air. a mountain top has been blown apart and flattened in a press to answer the questions like the nature of dark energy and matter, the story of back holes, and how stars and galaxies evolve. >> in is how the giant majellan telescope will look, approaching $1 million in engineering. it will produce images 10 times clearer than the hubble

telescope. >> the majellan telescope will open up the skies for us. and will allow myself to go after ain't stars and dwarf gal amies squirrelling -- galaxies swirling out and about, which we have trouble observing. >> down below the majellan chefs are hard at work. you need to be well fed turning the star light into spectra. as the sun drops, they set up to film the light from the center of the milky way. >> it's fascinating to combine my research work and the speck tro scopic data that doesn't look appealing. it gives us information about the cosmic object with the beautiful images that that same sky gives us. >> a fellow astronomer is on the hunt for super-novemberi,

tracking about three or four billion jeers. >> we see the super-novemberie the way it was. it took the light years to get here. you can measure the universe. it was discovered that the expngs is accelerating instead of desell rating. hours later more incredible pictures of our home galaxy. >> we have a movie glitch of the rising milky way, the galactic center. you can see the structure, and this is the spiral arm backlit by the big galactic center, where there's a lot of gas. it's very bright, and that's what makes the milky way special in the southern hemisphere. >> reporter: another night's observations are over. more data, speck tre and

knowledge. bit by bit we build on our understanding of the yup verse, and our place in it. amazing images. i'm michael eaves. i'll be back with another hour in news coming up later. "america tonight" is next. updates - go to the website, aljazeera.com. on "america tonight" - the weekend edition. stopping sexual assault and helping survivors move forward. our investigation into a nationwide backlog of hundreds of thousands of rape case, and the evidence that it allowed serial rapists to go free. >> you start to wonder is rape illegal. the law says it's illegal. in practice if nothing done is it really illegal. >> and another question - how to