bloke >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello, welcome to news hour. i'm here at al jazeera's headquarters in doha. syria hands russia evidence it says proves the rebels carried outlast month's chemical weapons attack. and the rise of african art. why paintings are now fetching

hundreds of thousands of dollars on the international market. ♪ >> russia says the syrian government has given it new evidence that suggests rebels were responsible for last month's chemical attack. the foreign minister says he is taking the information seriously. assad thanked the russians for their support saying it created, quote, a new balance. paul, have you any more details about what this new evidence might be? >> no, it's intriguing isn't it? first of all this came out of damascus to the deputy foreign minister who is visiting at the moment, and who today met with president assad himself.

but as far as the details of what this new evidence that the syrians presented, frankly, we're all in the dark. it will be quite intriguing to see what the syrians have put forward. there is speculation that what they are talking about is other aledged chemical weapons attacks. attacks which the un weapons inspectors were originally going to investigate, but were diverted to start to look at in great urgency, the august the 21st attack. so there's speculation it is relating to those other chemical weapons attacks. but the question mark is, what level of impartiality can be put on the evidence that the syrian regime has handed over, and how and when these details can be

independently verified. and there is going to be a huge amount of scepticism in the entire world even while russia is holding on to this evidence. >> the russians are saying that this new evidence must be analyzed. if it does indeed show the rebels were behind some of these chemical attacks would that strengthen russia's position at the un security council talks? >> well, it certainly would complicate things, there's no doubt about it. it is almost a separate issue what is going on in new york. because what appears to be going on there is is whether or not the bestern members of the un security council can persuade russia to include some sort of

chapter 7 resolution. russia in new york and here in moscow is adamantly opposed to that. but what is curious is that russia is effectively risking its own credibility, by saying the syrian evidence must be treated very seriously and must be analyzed, and i think it runs the risk of losing credibility if it puts such emphasis on evidence -- i spoke to an analyst who said there's no way that evidence the regime turns over can be credible. so as far as the forensic trail goes, trying to compare that to evidence that was gathered by un inspectors, the two simply do

not compare, and i think it's -- a risk that russia is taking in this, by putting so much store in what the syrians are telling them. >> okay. paul, thank you. paul is live from moscow. the un security council's five permanent members are struggling to agree on how to deal with syria and its chemical weapons. they'll continue their discussions on wednesday. all sides want syria to get rid of its chemical arsenal, but they are divided on how that happens. even the un reports on the august 21st attack near damascus in the suburbs isn't say who carried it out, it was highly detailed. human rights watch say those details can be used to determine who fired the rockets. two of the rockets hit in areas

of damascus. the un documented the angles on which the rockets landed, and therefore a flight path can be calculated and it suggests that it was fired from the 104th brigadeless than 10 kilometers away. peter joining us now via skype from geneva. welcome to the program. detail how you would how human rights watch arrived at these findings. >> it's actually not human rights watch which worked out the trajectory, it's the un experts themselves. it is contained in the report. >> but it doesn't specify exactly where the rockets came from, did it? >> no, but they give the

trajectory, so we simply mapped the trajectory on the map, and it points clearly towards the republican guard base as the origin of those rockets. >> how conclusive can those findings be? it was mentioned as connecting the dots. >> i think you need to look at the holistic nature of the evidence. it's not just the trajectory of the rockets. human rights watch has determined the millimeter of rockets used, which was only in the possession of the syrian government, the amount of sarin gas, and all of the launching from which this could have come point directly towards the syrian government. i think now at this stage, there is very little doubt by any credible observers that the

syrian government was responsible for this attack. >> doesn't humans rights watch usually focus on humanitarian affairs? why are you getting involved in this, trying to find out who is responsible for these chemical weapon s tacks. >> human rights watch has a mandate which includes criminal conduct around the world. we certainly have the expertise and the mandate to carry out this kind of ininvestigation. >> now what if the rebels are eventually shown to be behind some of these chemical weapons attacks, sir? >> we have investigated various claims that opposition forces were responsible, and they are not credible. russia talks about the evidence it has, but has not revealed the

evidence. they are relying on one source is a syrian nun who was nowhere near the attack. and her evidence is based on the analysis of videos. one of her claims is too many children died in the attack for it to be credible. i think that's evidence to dismiss their claims. >> okay. peter thank you for talking to us. >> thank you. on the ground inside syria, rebel groups continue to fight government forces. we have more on that. >> reporter: in the suburbs rebel fighters are on the offensive. they have managed to take over two government-controlled military check points. the battle is being lead by

fighters from a brigade and coalition of other rebel groups. this is what is left of one of the check points captured by opposition fighters on tuesday. the burned out remains and destroyed tank are signs of how fierce the battle was. >> translator: this position is now under our control. one tank was destroyed and its crew killed. the remaining regime forces retreated. we will take control of the highway in order to cut off the regime's supply lines. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: while participate assads forces had indeed retreated, they weren't far away. as they were forming al jazeera's team came under fire from government tanks. away from the check point, it is difficult to find a single building still intact. assad's air force has been pounding this town for days now. those lucky to survive continue

to suffer in this ill equipped clinic. >> translator: first they bombard us with shells then with barrels filled with explosives. now they dropped containers. we're doing our best to treat the victims. >> reporter: not even the main mosque was spared. a large hole is left in its roof. and just as the massive death toll has shown, the destruction of mosque shows too that very little if anything is still considered sacred in syrian's war. taliban gunman have killed a senior election if i recall in afghanistan. he was shot dead as he was leaving his house. the attack came days after campaigning for next year's election. for more we're joined by jane

ferguson who is live for us from the afghan capital in kabul. and who was this man? >> he was essentially the most senior electoral official. he was the head of the afghanistan electoral committee, so largely really in charge of running the electoral procedures, and as you just said it was only a few days ago that candidate registration opened up across the countryside. so he himself had the most important work to do ahead of him, and we also know he was also involved in the 2009 presidential elections here, so something of a veteran in terms of this fledgling democracy. but he was killed only a few days after registration opened. this area is known to be fairly strong -- to have a fairly strong taliban presence, not like in kandahar, but it is the

taliban's strongest area in the north. he was gunned down this morning on his way to work. and it sends a very strong message to the government here in kabul. and anyone involved in the elections next year. >> okay. jane thank you. jane ferguson live for us from kabul. one person has been killed in protesting in bangladesh during a nationwide strike. they are angry at the death sentence handed to a senior figure in the party. he is the sixth senior opposition leader to be convicted this year. the opposition says the trials are politically motivated. renewed calls for tougher gun laws in the united states. court documents reveal the gunman suspected of killing 12 in washington bought a gun legally.

in that story coming up, plus, streets returned into rivers. mexico brace for its third storm in less than a week. and coming up in sports, the champions league returns. separatist rebels in the southern philippines appear to be losing ground to the army. 100,000 people have been made homeless. >> reporter: after ten days of fighting, philippine government troops are confident they have the upper hand. they have reclaimed ground claimed by the rebels. >> translator: they haven't been firing as much as they used to,

so that's an indication that they are saving ammunition. that shows they are no longer under position of strength. >> reporter: the rebels are still holding some hostages. the entire city has been held hostage while the battle continues behind me. it has been core denned off, and no one is allowed in. many have had to seek shelter in centers like this one. >> translator: because of them, lives are destroyed. our livelihood, all because of their war. >> reporter: a war that was meant to be over when the leader signed a peace deal with the government in 1996, but its implementation was problematic, and the muslim group has fragmented into several

oppositions. in greece public sector workers are protesting against government plans to cut thousands of jobs. schools and hospitals have been forced to close as teachers and doctors begin a 48-hour strike. >> reporter: they came in their thousands, flooding central square warning the government against further austerity measures. the state is now shutting down hospitals as part of an effort to shave $800 million off of the health budget by next year. this is one of two hospitals that have shut down in athens. medical personnel fear the closures may go far beyond what the government has announced. a surgeon was transferred to this hospital along with 87

others. he says it is a toxic mix of intensive work, low pay, and ill equipped hospitals. >> translator: a lot of people lose their insurance because they are out of work. they can still come here and get their surgery done, but it is charged through their taxes. that's a major disincentive. >> reporter: the government says it will set up a basic government insurance by the end of the year, and take some of the pressure off of hospitals like this one through a chain of primary health care centers, but admits that a lot of state health care may end up being outsourced. >> greece was the last soviet state in the european union, this has to end. and we'll end it now. we will be liberals and let the market work, as all ordinary and

good serious people are doing in the rest of the world. why be afraid about that? >> reporter: state services in health and education may bode well for the bottom line, but likely deepen the divide between the haves and the have nots. these workers know which camp they are likely to end up in. james is a senior economist at the think tank new economic foundation. welcome to al jazeera, those protesters in greece clearly think that austerity and job cuts are not the way to go, and i believe you would agree with them? >> yes, they are absolutely right. i mean we can see the evidence the last few years now. austerity of increasing severity has been applied in southern europe and ireland, and you are

not seeing a sustained recovery in these countries. austerity is sucking demand out of the economy. people are sending less, and you are setting up this vicious sir call of decline. >> so if austerity is not the way to go, then what is? what should government be doing instead? >> essentially austerity is about the worst possible thing that could be done. if you are serious about promoting recovery in europe, one of the obvious things is creating jobs, looking to perhaps institutions like the german state bank, which has created some 200,000 jobs a year over the last four years, and the government action could be used to promote recovery in places like greece or spain or portugal. so that's the exact opposite to austerity. >> how can governments keep

spending? where would they find the money to do so? >> well, there are problems with the greek tax problem. that principle lies at the top of society, if you are rich in greece you don't pay your taxes. there are certainly things that you could do to tighten up the tax system there, improve the collection of taxes, and you are looking if you are in a recession, this is a good time for governments to be borrowing, particularly when it is so cheap for governments to be borrowing. less so in greece, but there would be funding to reduce the cost of borrowing. i don't think the crisis in greece is really going to be resolved inside the form of the euro zone. but as things stand to remain

trapped inside the euro zone, in greek society in particular, i don't think is a credible option for the long term. >> james, we are starting to hear about an economic recovery in some parts of europe. germany as a whole is looking up. anywhere else? and is this a real recovery? >> it's too early to say. what you are looking at is a year or more of continually decline, there is only germany and maybe a few other places that has escaped this very, very long recession. growth is driven especially by germany. for germany unemployment is about 6, 7%.

in greece and spain it's 20, 25%. so it's probably very much connected, i think to the ability to prop up the european banking system with cheap credit, breaking its own rules to do that, that's what you are looking at. european car sales out today, and that's a good indicator of economic recovery. car sales continuing to fall across europe. so i don't think we're looking at recovery just yet. >> all right. james thank you for speaking to us. >> thank you. in germany's upcoming election this weekend, it's one of the smallest parties that may play the biggest role. if the polls are to be believed the free democrats could be completely eliminated from parliament. >> reporter: the low tax, free

enterprise, free democrats launched their campaign. they have long been the king maker in german politics. small, perhaps, switching alliances with big parties so often, they have served more time in government than any other political group. their leader put on a brave face as polls show his party's support is in fact dangerously low, even if the government as a whole is a popular. >> translator: if you look at the satisfaction ratings of our government, then you will notice how incredibly high these are in comparison to past years. this in turn shows the race is going to remain interesting. but it's realistic that we can form this coalition again. >> but opinion polls suggest that is far from a done deal. the problem is the free democrats may not get the 5% of votes they need to get any representation in parliament.

so the king makers may become something more like the king in chess. a big part of their problem has been the global economic crisis and a period of increased government spending, for instance, to protect jobs in the steel industry. that prevented the government from delivering the tax cuts promised in the last election. so many of the party's supporters are kepty call this time around. >> translator: we now have to see whether politicians are sticking to their word. we in the business community, of course expect that promises are kept. >> the fdp has been trying to distinguish its by campaigning for the tax created by german reunification still in place. the next move is the german voters.

mexico is preparing for what could be its third tropical storm in less than a week. at least 47 people are dead in storms that lashed at the pacific and atlantic coast lines. the government is trying to get aide to more than a million people who have been effected. >> reporter: at least a dozen people were buried under this mountain of mud. just one of many landslides in mexico. rescue workers who were trying to clean up after the previous landslide were swept away. >> translator: the volunteers were cleaning the highway when there was little mad and they were dragged by the mud slide. >> reporter: streets turned into rivers as two-thirds of the country tries to recover from the worst storm season it has seen in decades. more than a million people have

been effected. aid agencies and the government are struggling to provide for tens of thousands of people in emergency shelters. >> translator: the federal government is making and sending out its best effort to have an adequate coordination with state authorities so we are able to provide the necessary support. >> reporter: in the resort city, jet skis had to be used to rescue stranded people, but many had to wade through deep water and cling to dangerous zip lines to reach safety. >> translator: we're desperate because we can't return to our city or jobs. our time at the hotel is up, so we'll see how they support us. >> reporter: many had to be air lifted to the capitol in military planes. there were also incidents of

luting. some said they had to steal food because they had nothing to eat for days. with more rains forecast for the coming days, for tens of thousands of people, it may be some time before they can even think of returning to a normal life. steph is here in the studio now with the latest. and steph, one of those storms doesn't want to leave mexico, does it? >> that's right. ingr ingrid disintegrated, but manuel is still hanging around. there is an area of cloud over the mrepeninsula, and it looks e it has some development it to, so 70% chance it will be our next storm. >> you are saying this new storm

may hit a different part of mexico. >> that's right. this one is hitting the yuck tan peninsula, but also drawing moisture in to places in the west like acapulco that has been worst hit. >> okay. ♪ there are other storms around as well, there's also a large area of cloud just around the east coast here of vietnam. it has been working its way towards the west over the past 12 hours or so, and it has certainly given us some very, very heavy downpours. we now have a tropical depression developing at the moment. but gradually strengthening. it's just in this area of blue there. now the circulation is just to the east of it. that's certainly not good news, because that area has already

given us torrentially strong downpours over 200 millimeters for many of us. that storm system will intensify things over the next few days, it does look very, very wet, and there's a high risk in the way of more flooding as we head through the next few days. we have this area of cloud here just to the east of the philippines. this is our storm. it's covering a huge area. it's not particularly intense at the moment, but it is slow moving and will give us prolonged rain. ♪ thanks very much, steph. still to come on the program. north korea calls for talks on its nuclear program but asks that there be no preconditions. plus all of the sports news,

washington's baseball team pays tributes to the victims of the navy yard shooting.

♪ welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. russia says the syrian government has given new evidence that says that rebels were responsible for last month's chemical weapons attack. taliban's gunman have killed a senior election official in afghanistan. he was shot dead as he was

leaving his house. the attack came just kays after campaigning kicked off for next year's elections. the philippine army says it has retaken 80% of the area that had been seized by rebels in the south. more now on a top story on the conflict in syria. refugees in egypt are complaining about a complain of persecution and harassment against them. they say until recently they were welcomed. a has changed after the overthrow of president morsi. >> reporter: this empty flat is a far cry from how he used to live in syria. back home he and his family were comfortable. he sold cars, and now he is a refugee in land where he no longer feels welcome. >> translator: i feel like

leaving this country. to be honest, i feel affray. >> he and his sons were fired from their jobs. nobody wants to hire syrians anymore. he stays inside smoking cigarettes and making coffee the syrian way. >> translator: we didn't do anything wrong. they think the syrian support morsi, and now the syrians are being punished for something they didn't >> reporter: on egyptian television recently a number have accused syrians of siding with the must -- muslim brotherhood. the man who deals with the un's refugee program here, said some syrians probably did join street protests, but insists that is no

reason for their treatment. >> it is simplistic, it's utterly wrong. we have contacts -- daily contacts with syrians who really distance themselves from engaging into any political debate, but unfortunately tv has a strong influence on the people's minds and mind setting. >> reporter: it is estimated 250, to 300,000 syrian refugees have come here. until july 8th, they didn't need visas, but the new government has proved less welcoming. it has restricted entry and many syrians have been arrested. we asked the government to explain what was going on, but were told no one was available. hundreds have left egypt in the last few weeks. if he could only find the men

this man and his family would too. north korea has called for talks on its nuclear program, but said there should be no preconditions. scott reports. >> reporter: as the sixth party informal meeting got underway here in beijing, china and north korea pushed for talks to resume. >> translator: all parties should be devoted to restarting the six-party talks. we should not only return to the talks, we should extend the talks, but also we should reach agreements and achieve peace. >> now the north korean government wants the talks to start again, but without preconditions. >> translator: the hostility

towards north korea does not solve the nuclear issue. instead it has made it worse. the nuclear threat by the united states has become stronger and more real. >> reporter: as it stands now the idea of renewed talks is a non-starter for the u.s., south korea, and japan. they have insisted talks won't start until north korea shows specific action that it is dismanteling its nuclear weapons program. >> reporter: the release of these satellite images suggesting that the mru tome um

reactor may have been restarted. well nearly half a million birds are to be pilled in nepal to contain a bird flu outbreak there. >> reporter: this used to be a bustling poultry farm, but last month 4,000 chicks got killed to stop the spread of the bird flu virus. >> i have not come back up here since the kill. it makes me very sad. they were such beautiful birds. >> reporter: he lost $20,000, most of which he owes to the bank. without his chickens he can't even pay the interest anymore. he is just one of the thousands of farmers facing this problem. when the first stages of the bird flu virus was discovered last month, some farmers rushed

to sell their birds, spreading the virus. last month it was declared a emergency zone. over 1.5 million birds have already been killed. poultry farmer's say the government's unwillingness to compensate farmers has helped spread the virus. >> reporter: the government says it has already paid more than $2 million in compensation to farmers. >> if we increase the compensation rate, farmers may not be motivated to minimize the risk. >> reporter: now the government is targeting domestic chickens. >> translator: in order to control bird flu, our team will come to all homes and destroy all ducks, chickens, and eggs.

>> reporter: all have been effected by this crisis. and while the virus has not spread to humans, the government has not been able to bring it under control yet. the fear is without everyone's cooperation it could effect people. tony abbotts has been sworn in as australia's new prime minister. he lead his conservative coalition to power earlier this month. abbottal -- abbott's allies won't control the senate, however. >> we are committed to stop the carbon tax, to get the budget under control, and to build the

roads of the 21st century. we will be a problem-solving government based on values, not ideology. the president of brazil has postponed a state visit to the united states. the trip scheduled for next month was called into doubt after leaked documents reveal that brazil was one of the targets of awes spy program. president obama has been trying to ease tension since the leaders met on the sidelines earlier this month. the white house says it understands why the revelations have caused so much controversy. >> they both looked forward to that visit which will celebrate our brood relationship, the president believes and the president of brazil believes as i understand it, should not be overshadowed by any single bilateral issue. no matter how important the issue may be, and we're certainly acknowledging the

concerns that these disclosures have generated in brazil and other countries. well the global economic downturn has effected people across the world. the financial crisis which started in 2008 is being blamed in the increase in the number of people committing suicide. >> reporter: three and a half years ago kevin sheperd felt like his world was falling apart. the loss of his job and the break up of his relationship lead him to the brink of suicide. >> the next thing i know i'm on top of the car park looking down. the redundancy from work was a massive, massive impact. being a middle age's man, you are seen as the breadwinner, and all of a sudden you wake up and it's all the gone.

>> reporter: kevin is now in good health and working again, but what happened to him was by no means unusual. a new report examining data from 54 countries found that suicide rates increased after the start of the economic crisis. research has found that around 4,900 more people committed suicide in 2009 than expected based on previous trends. in europe more men of all ages took their own lives, but the rise was sharper among the 15 to 28 year old group. rises in national suicide rates seem to be associated with an increase in unemployment levels. in greece the financial crisis is still biting hard as the poverty and unemployment levels have risen, so too have the suicide rates. >> common knowledge, common

ground, everybody [ inaudible ] then we're seeing an almost 50% increase in few years. >> reporter: researchers say the rise in the number of suicides is just a small part of the emotional distress caused by the crisis. all in sports is still to come. >> beautiful [ inaudible ]. >> find out why chelsea's manager has compared his footballers to eggs.

♪ fbi and court documents show that the man suspected of the shooting in washington, d.c. on monday has a history of violence, but he still passed a background check to buy a gun. police say aaron alexis legally bought the shotgun used in the attack that killed 12 people. and the shooting has renewed calls for tougher gun laws. >> reporter: they are back once again on capitol hill. >> i just don't even know what to say. i have no words. enough is enough. we will see change. it must happen. >> reporter: families from newtown, connecticut boarded buses yet again for a trip to washington, d.c. >> unfortunately until something

happens there will be other communities that join our terrible club. >> reporter: for the president another shooting, another statement of support, it has become a predictable pattern in his presidency. 13 killed at the fort hood army base. 12 dead, 70 wounded in a colorado movie theater. and 20 children, six adults gunned down in their classroom in newtown, connecticut. >> the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. >> reporter: the emotion of newtown translated to action. and pushed congress to strengthen background checks and a limit of the amount of bullets that a magazine could hold.

and now another mass shooting. >> we continue to call on congress to listen to the voices of their constituents. >> reporter: the leader of the senate said on tuesday he still doesn't have the support to pass stronger gun control, but people like this are still hopeful. >> it's going to come down to what the american people want, and how many people speak out and voice their opinions. >> reporter: polls show the vast majority of americans support some gun control measures. it hasn't been enough to get anything passed, and it still seems unlikely that any of the politicians are going to try to change that any time soon. at least 16 inmates have been killed in a prison riot in western v western venz -- venezuela.

it sun clear what caused the riot. the completion of this flight is a milestone for bowing. the longer dream liner is expected to be more profitable for boeing to sell, and it's customers to operate. time now for all of the sports. >> barcelona headlines wednesday's action as the opening groups matches continue. reel madrid began their campaign in style with a hat trick. it started on the bench but came on in the second half. his free kick set up the second of his three goals. and had 6-1 victory.

>> it is an important victory, because when you start well, the first game of the group is a good thing for us, because we have a little advantage compared to the other teams, but nothing special i think. the result was really good. it was important to win away the first game, but we have other five games. >> they made the perfect start to their defense. closing out this group-d game. wayne mooney became just the fourth player to score as many goals for his team. >> you need several world-class

players, and we fell into that category. so it's really important that you have as many as you can, and the teams can see what some of the teams have got, and we have to try to keep adding to that, and keeping the ones we have already got here. >> the eight matches will be played across europe on wednesday. earlier i spoke with our football correspondent. >> i'm really looking forward to a group, but if we start with chelsea, they haven't got a bad group at all, really. you would expect chelsea to come through. it is never easy in the champions league, but there could have been worst draws, and napoli, looking really good. and then marseille playing

arsenal. that shows you how strong that group is. and you can pick any two to go through. and then the second favorites for the tournament. always strong. perhaps not as strong as they have been in the past, and you would think that milan would be the team most likely to go through. but anything can happen in the champions league. >> let's talk about the manager stealing the limelight with what i thought was an excellent speech actually. >> yes, he is primed to do that, isn't he? and i think sometimes, dealing with the media can be a necessary evil for him. his main job is coaching players. and he likes to have a bit pan. and he does it dead pan. he would say i'm sure he was serious. >> beautiful yang eggs. [ laughter ]

>> eggs that need a mum. in this dacase a dad. [ laughter ] >> to take care of them, to keep them warm during the winter? huh? to bring the blankets and to work and improve them and one day we arrive in the moment where the weather change, the sunrise, you break the -- the eggs and the eggs are ready to -- to go for life at the top level. >> and so he will need to pick 11 of those young eggs for starting lineup in the first champion's league game tonight. moving on to the asian's champions league, north korean scored in the 89th minute against saudi arabia.

2-1 on aggregate, later qatar had a 2-0 deficit to overcome. and saudi arabia will take on japan. that is level at 1-1. baseball returned to washington on tuesday following a fatal shooting rampage. >> we remain united as washingtonians and americans. >> a minute of silence was held for the 12 victims before the national's game against the atlanta braves. the series opener had been postponed a day resulting in a doubleheader. washington remains in wild-card contending after stunning late-season turn around. also texas snapped a 7-game

losing streak and did it in stale against tampa bay. they are even with the rays in the race for an american league wild-card. rookie jordan speaks is on the verge of completing an amazing rise through golf's ranking. the 20-year-old teed off in atlanta this week, as the youngest player to ever qualify for the championship. we will finish with a maiden pga title. he also has the president's cup to look forward to. >> if i start really dwelling on the year, then i think i lose focus on the presence in the tournament, and especially the president's cup, and i don't want to do that at this time. these two out of the next three weeks are the most important weeks of the year for me.

>> and for more check out aljazeera.com/sports. and you can also get in touch with our team using twitter and facebook. africa is already famous for its traditional art, but collectors are becoming more interested in modern african art. high profile galleries like london's showcase leading artists. >> reporter: this is one of nigeria's budding modern artists. her exhibition is called unmatched beauty. it includes diverse themes. in this painting she depicts revelation, temptation, and creation in the garden of eden. in this series of work, she

focuseses on the strength and resilience of women. these paintings have sold for as much as $10,000 each. >> right now, african art is -- [ technical difficulties ] -- to get [ inaudible ] afghan just to have something hanging on their wall [ inaudible ] some of them [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: sales of her paintings also show there is a growing demand for modern art from africa. last year a piece sold for $850,000. and sales of south african art have increased by 500%. and the idea that traditional african artifact represent all that african artists have to offer is changing. here at the art market, artists say there has been a decline in

sales of traditional african art like masks, textiles and sculptures. at the gallery nearby, this art dealer says the increase in sales is because of the fact guy nearia and west africa are now more accessible. >> nigerian art has been underpriced. it's amazing the prices we used to sell some top-notch art some 15 years ago as opposed to now. that is why it is a great time to be collecting african art in general. >> reporter: that's good news for this artist. thanks very much for watching al jazeera. there's lots more to come. do stay with us.

be back in an hour. ♪ on august 20th, al jazeera america introduced a new voice in journalism. >> good evening everyone, welcome to al jazeera. >> usa today says: >> ...writes the columbia journalism review. and the daily beast says: >> quality journalists once again on the air is a beautiful thing to behold. >> al jazeera america, there's more to it.

[[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country. and with them, a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you've heard angles you hadn't considered? antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours.