>> announcer: this is al jaze a jazeera. >> welcome to the news hour, live from al jazeera news center in doha. lebanon's president says he needs more money to deal with the growing numbers of syrian refugees. >> reporter: i'm andrew simmons reporting live from a grim refugee camp here in the valley. there are so many syrians

seeking refuge here that in some places they outnumber the lebanese. italy on strike. thousands take to the streets to demand better pay, working conditions and foreign security. >> [ inaudible ] play for wales. >> a grandfather wins a 13-year old bet that his grandson would one day play football for his country. ♪ lebanon's president is appealing for more money to deal with the strain syrian's refugees are putting on his country. more than 2 million have already

fled the country. the lebanese government estimates the number of refugees are more than a million. first andrew simmons is live for us, andrew. >> reporter: well, this is a grim situation. it's a makeshift camp, and i'm going to take you in. you can giguere -- see garbage and kids playing over there. but this is life in lebanon. these tents are costing these people $50 to rent the ground for this tent, up to $70 for larger ones. and look at this. that's storage for you. if i just come under the washing line here, you can see the kids -- the school is a problem for them. look at this child here, the

sanitation is non-existent. and the males don't want to show their faces some of them because they are going in and out of syria each day to try to make ends meet, because they simply have no money. they have some level of security, but take a look around at this. it's not an unusual picture in lebanon right now, and not only that, these people in some places are outnumbering the lebanese and that is causing tensions. this is what we found out when we started our report at the un center that takes on refugees to signup. more than a thousand people a day in lines to register as refugees. in some towns syrians now outnumber the lebanese. when the war began, these people were welcomed, but not anymore. >> translator: sit down and give

them all of your lies a lebanese taxi woman tells this woman. >> translator: when we come here they insult us. >> reporter: and another sign of how desperate things have become. it is at the end of the eid holiday, when things should be different than this. a passport, an id, can mean a bag of fresh beef, but a growing number of people no longer qualify. this mother is one of them. >> translator: i have been standing here for hours trying to get a piece of meat. plus my child has a fever. >> reporter: then a lebanese man represents his anger at the

roadblock. there is still some sympathy for syrians, though, by the end of the day this donated meat will feed around 4,000 families, but it isn't enough. >> we try our best. we told these people to wait until the end of the day, if we have meat left we'll give them. >> reporter: most of these people return to buildings without running water and rents they can't afford. this woman breaks down before explaining. her sister takes over. >> translator: her and her daughter are sick, i forced her to get up today. we're the only one that can take care of the children. >> reporter: but at least they have a roof over their heads unlike hundreds of thousands in these makeshift tents.

it's a place that once had promise for those escaping war, but it's becoming a living hell. every day the numbers increase, along with the resentment of the lebanese. and what prospects do they have? no one here has any hope. there are no winners in this, and the lebanese president has highlighted this fact, complaining that the world is not doing enough to assist syria, nor lebanon when it is facing a massive economic crisis as a result of the influx of refugees. they have been very toll rant over the years here, but as you saw the situation is getting worse. the people here are prepared to put up with this, but can see no end to it. and we put some questions about what the president had to say to the un special representative who spoke to al jazeera after

her meeting with the president. >> part of the problem is, is that we're only 40% funded and this is creating great difficult for us. so what we're trying to do is mobilize more international attention and more support to be able to better cover all of the needs here which are colossal as you can see. >> reporter: so that's the situation as you heard, let me take you inside one of the tents to give you an idea of what it is like. and i haven't been in here before, but it's a very, very basic picture. they have done their best. they put some carpets down. there is even a tv set, but a meager existence nothing that you could really visualize when you consider household it is getting now with the onset of winter, and i'll take you back outside, the on set of winter, here you get snow, rain, they

are putting rocks down now to try to stop the quagmire of rains. and the people here don't feel angry towards the lebanese. they are just confused and indeed very concerned about their futures not only because they can't go back home, but also because they have to get along with the lebanese, they have been so supportive over the years. >> reporter: andrew we are at a commercial district. if you walk into any shop at least one of the employees is a syrian, and every street corner you see a syrian refugee child either begging or selling anything just to make a few dollars. they shine shoes. 1.3 million syrians are now in lebanon, a significant percentage of these syrians here are working. they have joined the labor

force, which only means that more and more lebanese are becoming unplea -- unemployed. syrians have been escaping to lebanon in search of not just safety, but work. lebanese shop owners at times prefer to hire them, because syrians are willing to work for lower wages. >> translator: we can hire two syrians instead of one lebanese. syrians accept lower wages, and it is better for us. >> reporter: this reality has caused resentment. >> translator: the lebanese can't find jobs. there will be a lot of unemployed people. >> reporter: this tiny nation hosts over a million syrians according to the government here. lebanon's economy is under

strain. 20% of the nation's 4 million people are now unemployed, and average wages have dropped. >> translator: we work for around 600 to $800 a month. syrians work for 300 or less. >> reporte >> reporter: lebanon has been hurt by the syria crisis. it is mainly the middle class and lower income workers who have been hit especially hard. but even before the mass migration of syrians, lebanon already had a weak labor market. this man is along the thousands who can't find work. he is a biochemist graduate, but doesn't blame syrians. >> translator: there was an economic problem even before the

syrians came. the problem is for the government to find solutions. >> reporter: lebanon's people are just as much victims as the syrians themselves. to talk more about this, we are joined by sammy who has done a lot of research. how the lebanese economy been effected by this influx of syrians. >> sure it has affected the economy tremendously. the level of insecurity has effected the consumer confidence, we know that it [ inaudible ] has dropped by almost 37%. based on the consumer confidence index. and affected demand for investments, private investments, which means there are fewer people actually be employed as a result of this.

construction permits, and production has all declined in the country. >> reporter: what can the lebanese government do? it says it needs to protect its people as well as help the syrians. >> first we need a strong government. and it has to have a plan to deal with the ramifications of the dislocation in the labor market as a result of the syrians. >> reporter: it is fair to say that the economic problems lebanon is witnessing today is a direct result of the massive influx of syrians? we know the economy was not doing well years back. >> indeed, lebanon has a low level of economic efficiency,

and a high level of [ inaudible ] infrastructure. before the crisis unemployment was 24%, and a high level of skilled immigration in the country. so clearly these are not signs of a good healthy economy. >> reporter: we did mention there is no government, there is a caretaker government, do you see any progress on this front any time soon? >> unfortunately we don't see any progress, because politicians and political parties have decided to leave us at the mercy of regional conflict. so every party is waiting for changes in the region. so we're left hostage to this political regional conflict that we're witnessing right now. >> reporter: thank you for joining us. as you can see it's not just the lebanese government that is

effected, it is really effected by the crisis in neighboring syria. >> all right. i want to thank our correspondents. inside syria rebels are fighting government troops in the eastern province. [ explosion ] >> video there show rebels using mortar. the city has been repeatedly shelled recently. activists also released video, they say shows fighters storming an area where 20 solders were killed. and in the damascus suburb, the army has been shelling rebel positions. several people have reportedly been wounded. dramatic new footage has emerged of the attack on nair i

nairobi's westget a mall in september. at least 71 people were killed. stephanie decker reports. >> reporter: heavily armed and on the phone, these new cctv pictures give an incite to the gunmen. gunfire can clearly be seen here. one attacker takes the time to pray as two others sit by. at one point we see a woman with small children. she seems to be limping. followed by what appears to be an injured young girl. and behind them a gunman waving them on. the moment of panic is also seen here in the cafe. at 1:46 help has arrived. two armed men seem to be

figuring out how to proceed. a wounded person lies by the counter. they are eerie images showing the sheer terror people had to endure. one man is seen being shot at point-blank range, which we will not show. the footage shows only one gunman. coming up on the news hour -- >> over the moon that he is here. >> a happy homecoming in canada, after being sentenced to death in iran. turning guns and bullets into art. every country in africa making a statement in london. and in sports, taming the tigers, the boston red sox move one step closer to the world series. details later this news hour. ♪

four u.s. security contractors accused of shooting 17 iraqi civilians dead six years ago will face trial. the case against the men collapsed in 2009, but the justice department has now brought new charges against them. rosiland jordan explains. >> reporter: september 2007, bagdad square, u.s. security officers allegedly opened fire on the crowd without justification. now they are going to try for of those guards. they used to work for a company knowned as blackwater worldwide, which for a time conducted nearly all of the security operations for the u.s. military and the state in iraq.

however, once the justice found out about the manslaughter decided to charge six of these men, but the case was thrown out in 2009 because the justice department allegedly call sealed evidence from the defense. however, a judge recently decided that in itself was a mistake. four of the men now are going to be standing trial on these charges, including multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter, and it might improve relations between the united states and iraq. when the first case was dismissed it anger sod many iraqi citizens as well as the government that the president has joe biden had to offer an official policy both to the government and the people. no word yet on when these four former guards will be arraigned

or go on trial. it's not a good day to travel in rome, public transport and airport workers are on strike for 24 hours. they joined thousands in the italian capital protesting the government's a austerity measures. sonia how is turnout looking there in all of the protests? >> reporter: well the protesters have now converged on the square outside, and what you have are groups of people from the various unions here who have all come here to listen to the various speeches made by people. also what you have are representatives from immigrant groups again, calling -- to draw attention to the very precarious situation that migrants face when making dangerous journeys to escape conflict zones.

no sign yet of people coming here with tents, as has been hinted at. there is a planned tent camp to be set here as a part of this strike, which is set to continue until saturday. >> now there is a question about the coalition government. can it survive all of this? >> reporter: that is indeed a very important question, and many analysts would think perhaps it is too fragile to survive the on slot that italy is facing. and italy has been in a recession since 2011, and that backed up by a decade of incredibly slow growth. this is a country which has seen very little movement happening in its economy, and that has laid open a lot of frustration, especially for younger again rayings who are finding it incredibly difficult to

encounter opportunities here. and the latest figure on unemployment came out saying it had taken more of a rise, and of course especially hitting younger people. people who are desperate to create opportunities for themselves. and also a lot of frustration represented against the government. the announcement from the prime minister did not please a lot of the people that have gathered here from the union. saying he is more trying not to offend any groups rather than making any courage oust decisions. >> thank you very much. students in the french capitol of paris have blocked the entrance for a second day. scuffles have broken out against the deportation of a 15-year-old

girl to kosovo. she was taken off of a school bus on a school trip before being forced out of the country. demonstrations too in egypt. people coming out against the military, and there are multiple protests in cairo, and other areas, the size of rallies has reduced in recent weeks as the intern government arrests fore members of the muslim brotherhood. thousands of australian firefighters have been battles bush fires that have been burning out of control. hundreds of homes have been destroyed. andrew thomas reports west of sydney. >> probably about a minute after the fire got on to the deck. >> reporter: verdict wally every

fiscal possession adam has is lost. his home was destroyed in bush fires. >> even when we have the big high-pressure house, it did absolutely nothing. you could cool off a piece of be bern -- burning area and move on to another one, and it was just a waste of water. >> reporter: it is unclear what started more than a hundred fires, whether lightning or possibly cigarettes. but there has been little more than a sprinkling of rain since june. helicopters taking water from

golf course hazards to dump it on the flames. firefighters have managed to create fire breaks to stop some fires. the prime minister visits, but in the face of destruction that in australia is too familiar. >> we just have a very, very long experience, and i guess it's ingrained in our culture. >> reporter: the city of sidney it's a has been spared, but the smell was pungent even there. adam and his neighbors are only beginning to come to grips with what they have lost. >> this has been our family home for 40 years. it's dreadful. really. really bad. but just build another one and carry on. >> reporter: it has been much

cooler on friday than thursday, and the wind has dropped [ inaudible ] almost entirely. that has helped firefighting efforts, but the hot weather is due to return on sunday. let's get some more weather now, richard is standing by. is going to get any better? are they going to get any help there in australia? >> i think the good news is sammy the peak conditions is going to pass away. if you look at the contributors, obviously high temperatures, low humidity, it has been under 10%. strong winds, gusts of winds in excess of 100 kilometers per hour, and tinder dry vegetation and that's what we have had in many parts of australia.

sydney is seeing temperatures about 4 degrees above average. and the rainfall deficit in some parts has been kind mild. the rainfall is 75% below average in much of the region. we have also had the issue of high-pressure moving across the front. a lot of the smoke was hanging at low levels beneath the temperature inversion. get through to sunday, you are looking at the high 20s and maybe peaking in the low 30s. then later next week the temperatures will begin to fall away sammy. >> thanks. earthquake survive sflors the philippines say they have had no help to alleviate their suffering despite the government's reassurances. survivors are waiting in tents for help to arrive.

>> reporter: isolated, left to cope with the destruction on their own, this is a town in the central philippines. since the earthquake struck early on thursday morning, their situation has been like this. people here are frustrated. they have not gotten any help for days, despite the assurances by the government that aid will reach those who need it most. resources are scarce. there is not enough medical supplies, food, and drinking water. power is cut off. >> isolated right now from the rest of the world. it can only be accessed from the sea or the river. the government [ inaudible ] should have done -- to look for alternative roads that will connect us here.

i don't think the government is doing something about it. [ inaudible ] especially [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: the philippine government has extended a visit by the president to south korea this week, saying he is working on an economic deal that can help secure the country's future. but for this man right now the future is something too difficult to contemplate. >> translator: it's so painful, my family, our friends, our livelihood, this is what we all had, all gone in an instant. >> reporter: this is a place where people have lived all of their lives together. their sense of community remains strong they say even in the midst of tragedy. well that's the situation in the philippines, in california they are being prepared -- >> reporter: so when the big one hits this earthquake simulator

gives the effects of what a major quake might feel like. and european share prices hit a five-year high as economic growth in china accelerates. and in sports have the hopes come crashing down for this main man? we'll hear more on that.

♪ welcome back. let's recap the headlines here in al jazeera. lebanon is asking for more help to deal with the rising number of refugees from syria.

the president says the world isn't sharing the burden of hosting more than a million displaced people. thousands of australian firefighters battling out of control bush fires. it's feared hundreds of homes have been destroyed. one person has died. and chaos on the public transport system in rome where workers are on strike. airport workers also joined the 24-hour walkout. saudi arabia has rejected its seat at the un security council. it was elected as part of the ten non-permanent members. it the council has been criticized over inaction and

dead lock over the situation in syria. 12 car bomb blasts killed 48 people and injured more than a hundred across bagdad. people headed out to parks, coffee shops and restaurants after sunset on thursday. in northern iraq at least 12 people were killed when a truck blew up in a residential area. in southern yemen a suicide attack killed at least five soldiers. other fighters attacked the complex with guns and rocket-propelled grenades. a canadian man has returned home after spending five years in an iranian prison. he was one of 80 prisoners released last month. he says he survived brutal conditions in the prison, but his brother did not.

daniel has the story from toronto. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: neighbors greet him as they take a walk. accused of spying for a rebel group, he faced torture and solitary confinement, his brother died in jail. hamid was eventually sentenced to death. >> there was times when i would really, really, just lose my hope, but when i think about my family and my wife, my sister, my mom, and why i'm there, that keep me going to -- to stay up, to hold my chin up. >> reporter: keeping the world aware of his flight was his wife. she held rallies used social

media and lobbied diplomats. they called for clem mansy, the couple believe that international pressure had some impact on tehran. >> at this point we're just delighted, we're just over the moon that he's here. you know? but there may be repercussions on our life that we still don't know about. so -- it's early days. >> reporter: his eventualal release and rapturous return to canada, he is certain, is due to the new president. >> it wasn't a coincidence that the same day that rouhani went to new york, i think he was just

about to land, they let me out. >> reporter: he is home now, and an unthinkable or deal has ended. but his brother's death in custody, and the refuse for to apologize for that and his own illegal detention, these are burning issues that he and his family hope they can settle one day. let's bring you some breaking news coming in from afghanistan. we're hearing about a series of explosions, what apparently seems to be an attack in the eastern part of the afghan capitol of kabul. the attack we're told is still underway, not entirely clear what the target or the casualty situation is. we will try to bring you more details as soon as we get them. european share prices have hit a five-year high.

the economy expanded by 7.8% in the third quarter. that's the fastest rate this year, both factory production and retail sales were higher than in previous months, and that keeps the government on track to hit his target for the entire year. but the world's second alarmest economy is growing at its slowest rate in 23 years. >> reporter: the exhibit halls of china's largest trade fair aren't as busy as they used to be. this is usually a gauge for how the country's economy is doing. there are less exhibitors this year. >> translator: business hasn't been too good, but we just have to adjust. make ourselves competitive by

adapting to market need and lowering our cost. >> reporter: the drop in the country's export figures is reflective of a economic slowdown. the current leadership wants to increase domestic consumption and test driving new trade polic policy. >> i think the world should believe china is going to follow the standards everyone has set, and we are trying to -- to move this -- this great economy issue, this great work, and we are trying to be part of that. >> reporter: back at the trade fair it is china's consumption that a has at trick -- attracted some to bring in new products.

>> we feel there is a great opportunity here in china. >> reporter: china is indeed getting richer, but the wealth remains in the hands of few. this could force the government to deal with social issues that may bring with them political costs. work is underway in kenya to find out how much water could be sitting under one of the country's driest regions. a newly discovered aquifer could hold enough water to supply the country for more than 70 years. katherine soy reports. >> reporter: this family on their daily search for water in the dry and harsh county. there is a drought in some parts, and that means they have to go farther, and big deeper to

get the water. and when they find the water, it does not matter how bad it is, they have to make due. water born diseases here are common. they have not heard about the discovery of a large discovery of underground water 30 miles from her home. >> translator: getting food and water has always been a struggle, if what you are saying is true, then our life will change. >> reporter: this is one of the two aquifers that have been discovered. they may be large enough to supply the country with water for 70 years. this is the land of water where different rivers meet before heading on to feed a lake that is a lifeline to thousands.

this woman shows us her brother's grave and tells us at the time of his death he was severely mall nourished. the water will be crucial for irrigation. it can produce enough food to sustain its 1 million people. >> our first priority is to ensure the people benefit from the water. there after we can see how the rest of the country can also enjoy these resources. >> reporter: but it will take a while before the water finally makes it to this area. this family on hearing about the discovery, moved closer to the aquifer which has been sealed for now. after a couple of days they decided to move on, maybe even into sudan by itself. they hope by the time they come

back, they won't have to move again. all right for more on this now, we're joined by alan hal who is a senior advisor at global water partnership. first of all how significant is this discovery? will it transform the country in the way that people are predicting? >> it's a very good news story. kenya certainly needs water, but the real issue is how well it is used, how well it is managed and how well they exploit it. because often these sources of water are not located where the people are, so it's up to the government to exploit this in the west way possible. >> and finding water doesn't always end all of your problems in kenya, does it? >> no, they have to do a lot more work to decide how much water they can extract, so that they don't mine the ground water

too quickly, and what the quality of the water is for drinking. if it needs a lot of treatment that would also be a problem because of cost. >> doesn't this point to perhaps the possibility that there are even more aquifers waiting to be discovered. >> yes there was a study done years ago mapping the ground water. this was a big break through and provides a really strong basis for now looking for ground water. you can now pinpoint where you can go a little bit more in detail to find other sources of water. but the real problem is -- >> yeah, i was going to say there is a question of cost here now. would a country like kenya have the ability to extract this, to

make sure it's clean enough? this sounds like quite an expensive business. >> yes, that's right. it is generally speaking there is enough water in most parts of africa, of course different locations vary very much. but even though there is water, it is often not exploited because the government doesn't put in enough money for all of the infrastructure that is needed. the actual gdp that countries invest in their water supplies generally is quite low and very unreliable, so together with finding new water, there needs to be better policy, better management, and more investment. and they often rely on the aid agencies, but it's a matter of the government putting more effort into this very important area. without water you can't have economic growth or social development.

so increase the amount of money that the government puts into water, that's what they must do. >> all right. thanks so much for your thoughts. still to come in sport, what sparked mexico in to sacking their third football coach in just six weeks? ♪ on august 20th, al jaz

♪ welcome back. more than 24 million people around the world have taken part in coordinated earthquake drills.

stephanie respondents from los angeles. >> reporter: this is only a drill, a mock scenario being played out in an elementary school of what might happen if a major earthquake strikes los angeles. emergency responders help those injured in the quake. the drill is part of a drill called the big shake. >> there can be many earthquakes that can happen here in southern california we have more than 300 faults that can have a magnitude 6 or greater. >> reporter: so this simulator gives you an idea of what a major quake right feel like. a recent report by "the los angeles times" newspaper, found more than a thousand old concrete buildings may be in threat of collapses.

>> any building that is older than 1974, you begin to think maybe i better look at it. >> reporter: even if a building is known to be unstable it would cost hundreds of thousands in repairs. the l.a. times investigation sited a study done at the unfortunate of california in berkeley. engineers identified 1500 vulnerable buildings in los angeles, but the findings are not being released for fear of legal ramifications. >> i'm calling for them to give us a report on what is out there, what the challenges are, and what steps need to be taken. there will be another earthquake. >> reporter: the preparation does not yet seem to extend to the thousands of structures that might be at risk across southern

california. all right. let's catch up with all of the sport now. >> sammy thank you so much. the boston red sox are now one win away from reaching baseball's world series. mike napoli started off the scoring for the red sox. this was his second home run of the series. then detroit staged a comeback and closed the gap 4-3. and that's how the game ended. boston holding on for the win. the red sox can now clench the series if they win game 6 back at fenway park. >> of course, i want to get back there. but not getting too far ahead of ourselves near. we take one game at a time and try to win that day. we're in a good position now, but we still got business to take care of, you know. so, big game coming up, and we're going to go out there and

just play the way we do. in the nhl the st. louis blues needed a shootout to beat the chicago blackhawks. the loan scorer gave the blues a 3-2 come from behind. mexico are on the hunt for their fourth manager of their disastrous world cup qualifying campaign. mexico are still in contention for next year's tournament in brazil, dispie winning just two of ten qualifiers. the mexicans haven't missed a world cup since 1990. mexico began their quali qualifying campaign under this man, he was sacked in september after overseeing just one victory, and he placed by this man, who was let go after one

game. a 2-0 loss to the united states. and in came this man just a few weeks ago. his two matches in charge included a home win against panama, followed by a loss to costa rica. mexico has the u.s. to thanks for their advance to the playoffs. miguel herrera is expected to be the fourth man in charge. he'll have just two weeks to prepare for the game againnew zealand. loew has been resigned through 2015. rome and napoli will square off on friday.

rome have won all games this season under new coach rudy garcia, while n-- napoli is two behind. >> translator: it's true for now all of the traffic lights are green for us. i'm not sure if you say that here. >> translator: the championship is a contest of resistance, we can win it, and we are getting closer but we are sure we will not win the championship even if we win. if we lose it's the same thing. for me it's an important match to build our confidence. rory maccel roy has had his first tournament back after making a month-long leave from golf. >> i'm in a decent position

going into the weekend. i feel like i could be a few shots better, so if i stick to the same game plan and play similar golf and maybe just hold a few more puts i have a great chance. meanwhile j.j. henry has broken the event in las vegas. the highlight was a 50-foot eagle put on the final hole. mark marquez can become the youngest every moto champion with a win on sunday. but he suffered an early set back. he was uninjured and returned to the track 20 minutes later. jorge topped the time sheets in both sessions. new zealand will look to

complete a clean sweep of the rugby championship when they face australia on saturday. corey jane will also miss the match with a hamstring strain. they have already secured the championship and the bledso match with australia. [ inaudible ] in the quarter finals of the event in austria later on friday. the frenchman advanced to the final 8 with a top win over daniel of germany. and the decider, 7-5, 6-7. [ inaudible ] has made history by coming the first indian snooker player to make it

to a world event. the final of event has just gotten underway. and talk about a lucky bat. the grandfather of welsh football player has won a bet that his grandson would once play for wales. when his grandson made his debut on tuesday. he won $200,000. he has announced that he is taking an early retirement. >> i didn't start to think about it at the spur of the moment. he was crawling up to the ball in the living room, and i just thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to put a bet that he would

one day play for wales. artists from all 54 countries in africa are showing off their work. but is their work being sold too cheap? some thing so. >> reporter: from zimbabwe, a new take on michael angelo's last judgment. some leaders seem to be ascending to heaven, others tonight fair so well. from mozambique, restriction weapons treated with humor and irony. and photographs that celebrate the brotherhood and hair styles. all brought together thanks to this woman. but with 54 countries in africa, is there even such a thing as african art? >> we have tradition and

religious influence difference. but they are full of energy and this is what you can see on the world. there is no theme, what is surprising for all of the people is the diversity of it. >> this is european history and african culture intertwined. >> reporter: this woman merges idea from african and british history into her sculptures. and feels african art is sold to cheaply. >> we have probably done a lot more than some of our white contemporaries that are more successful, but -- because we have an african tag. i think people are shy of actually looking at what we do. >> reporter: the fair has been busy. people have been buying, which after all is what it is all about. but although much of the art is

new, is this the same old story of wealthy europeans taking the best from africa. most contemporary african art is brought by people in europe, but more and more wealthy collectors are investing in their own country's art. for years, african sculptors have taken every day objects and transformed them. now their skill and that of african painters and photographers is getting real recognition at home and here in london, are where the organizers hope this fair will become an annual event. stay with us here on al jazeera, we have another full bulletin of news coming up in just a couple of moment, and you can keep up to date with all of the news if you would like, if you head over to aljazeera.com.

see you in a couple of minutes.

this is al jazeera america live in new york city. i'm del walters with a look at today's top stories. transit workers in san francisco on strike right now. a bart union official say both sides agree on health care and pension, but remain far apart on pay conditions. bart workers walked off for nearly five days in july. the new homeland security head will be announced today. he served as a counter terrorism advisor during the president's