>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. condemnation from craifts and leaders around the -- activists and leaders around the world concerning our al jazeera journalists held in egypt. going after i.s.i.l. fighters. and bring back our girls, the campaign heard around the world but what's being done since then. we'll get an update.

>> there last been worldwide outrage over the conviction of our colleagues, three al jazeera journalists being held in egypt. the white house is condemning verdict. jeact john kerry talkin talkingk secretary of state john kerry talking about it being draconian. >> when i heard about that verdict today i was so concerned about it and frankly disappointed in it that i immediately picked up the phone and talked to the prime minister of egypt and i registered our serious displeasure of this kind of a verdict under the circumstances of where we find owsms today. today's -- owstles today. this is a killing and draconian sentence and it's deeply disturbing to see in the midst of egypt's transition.

>> correspondent peter greste and mohamed fahmy our producer were produced to seven years in jail. baher mohamed was sentenced to three more years for possession of ammunition. all accused of supporting the bd muslim brotherhood. mohamed ado reports. >> a guilty verdict nearly six months in the making. the alleged crime doing their job as journalists. al jazeera correspondent peter greste, producers mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed have been sentenced to seven years behind bars. baher mohamed was given an additional three years for spent cartridge found on him. disbelief from the families. >> i don't know how the judge came to that decision. i'll be very interested to hear his reasons for giving that

verdict. it doesn't make any sense. >> it's clearly a corrupt and fraudulent verdict. the case is politically motivated and everything is wrong with it. >> the response from the austrailian government was swift too. >> this kind of verdict does nothing to support egypt's claim to be on a transition to democracy. and the austrailian government urges the new government of egypt to reflect on what message is being sent to the world about the situation in egypt. >> egyptian prosecution had pushed for maximum sentences. six of al jazeera jowrnts tried ijournaliststried in absentia. designated a terrorist organization, muslim brotherhood. they are charges rejected by al

jazeera. abdullah al-shami was released last where sunday after are spending 307 days in prison without being charged. the government ordered his release because of health reasons. global outcry against media restrictions in egypt. the newly elected egyptian president, abdel fatah al-sisi, clear message to both local and international media, that says egypt does not tolerate this sun and the constitution guarantees freedom of the media. mohamed ado, al jazeera. >> and the parents of are peter greste were shocked by the verdict. >> that's crazy.

>> lois and peter greste were shocked by the sentence. >> outrageous and an injustice. in a statement he says today was a really grim day for journalists and journalism not only in egypt but right around the world. the charges against our people against peter and mohamed and baher were absurd from the outset. this case has been followed by civil rights lawyers, we talked to one about cases in the middle east and in africa. >> al jazeera plays a pivotal role, they uphold the rights of the people, they speak about them. they do not silence anybody their part has been nonpartisan. but because of this role,

dictatorial regimes, what we have is a punishment that has to be inflicted that has to be accepted by great people like peter greste and other mohamed and other fellows. what i'm trying to say is law is not an accepted value in it egypt, it is the battle of the gun. that has carried the day and today is a bad day for the freedom of press. >> and we want to hear from you. we are inviting our viewers to talk about the sentence of our colleagues and you can do that by using the hashtag, #ffree #freefreeaj staff. carrying a meeting with prime minister nouri al maliki urging his government to be more inclusive. john terret is in washington.

what did we hear from secretary of state john kerry today? >> the main message is to not pick iraqi people, it's up to the iraqi people, and the iraqi people only. he did say after his one on one meeting with prime minister nouri al maliki, that maliki is committed to a broad based government if iraq, and secretary kerry has been stressing that with some urgency. >> iraq faces an existential threat. the future of iraq depends primarily on the ability of iraq's leaders to come together and take a stand united against

i.s.i.l. not next week, not next month, but now. >> i don't think it's important to stress del that the iraqi government is on hig hiatus aftr the election. last time it took them eight months, del. >> it says much about what the united states is doing and not doing. what is iraq doing ostop the cries i? >> secretary kerry went there with a couple of goals, to stop the i.s.i.l. but to urge politicians to pull together. using the exactly same language that the president was using last week and over the weekend. he had a one on one meeting with prime minister al-maliki, and leaders, one a sunni, the other a shia, and he's now on his way from baghdad to the northwestern city of irbil, a kurdish city, there he will meet the president

of the kurds and secretary kerry has said, what he's looking for from these politician he is clarity. he wants to hear their force on the road ahead, their ideas for commitment to call all the strands together for july the 1st and not much later than that. and he wants to hear a date in which they can convene and choose a speaker and a president and a prime minister and a cabinet. del. >> john terret for us live in washington today, john thank you very much. >> in maybing syria the removal of the chemical weapons that have now been declared complete, the last 13 tons, hundred tons rather have been loaded onto ships an syrian port. secretary of state john kerry welcomed the news saying it's a major accomplishment. >> in the coming weeks, the united states stands ready to begin the destruction which will

be our responsibility, precursors, this is an unprecedented mission and it will ensure that the weapons removed will never again be used against the syrian people or against us, our allies or our partners in the region or beyond. >> that destruction process by the way expected to take several months. in sudan we have an update to a very controversial case there. a court now ordering the release of a woman who was sentenced to death for converting from islam to christianity. the case of miriam ibrahimi. overturning the conviction against the woman, the 27-year-old is married to a christian american. police in nigeria say an explosion at a medical school, happened in kano, state police commissioner saying boko haram is suspected. boko haram has not yet claimed responsibility or the that

explosion. after the april disappearance of hundreds of school girls in nigeria, the entire world came together for one common goal: bringing the kidnappers to justice. but months after international media campaign or outcries, we are no closer to stopping the abductions of boko haram. are are joins us vee skype from washington, mr. akwe, if anything can be said about what's happening on the grounds of nigeria, while the whole world watches the killing continues. what should we think about that? >> i think it is a sad indictment on the capabilities of the nigerian government. it reflects bad reply on their commitments to protect their citizens in the northern part of the country and of course as you said, it really does mean that we're not any closer to hopefully having these girls

released back to their families. so it's not avery, very good picture. >> let's just lance the boil then. are you convinced that the nigerian government can stop boko haram? >> i think the nigerian government has sought out help from the international community. but they themselves need to do internal soul searching. their technical capacity is a question of whether or not the resources are actually reaching their forces or whether the story of alleged graft and corruption are debilitating their capacity. but there's clearly a failure to address whether they have an adequate strategy or even a strategy at all, to respond to this crisis. >> but failure to address the situation adequately is a polite way of saying, they're not getting it done at all. >> unfortunately not. as you mentioned that there have been killings since. there was roughly 300 people who were killed at the beginning of

june. they attacked yesterday. there were attacks even quite near chibok where the girls were abducted. so the security situation has not improved. despite some assistance going in even from the united states, despite announcements by the 9 nigerian military, with about 10 generals be fired. they're in a real problem. >> are you convinced that that what the united states is doing in nigeria is enough? >> i think we have to remember that the fundamental issue is the nigerian military and the nigerian government civil. they have to be the ones at the front and leading this initiative in responding to boko haram and also rescuing the girls. the u.s. and the international community cannot just work with any military that has

questionable human rights objectives. there may not be enough in terms of what we see here. but there's clearly,. >> let's cut to the chase. are you convinced that these girls will ever be returned home and is it already too late? >> i don't think it's too late. i think chances are very low. but i think you know there may be some avenue for negotiation he. we ourselves don't comment on that kind of thing. but if those girls are prioritized as they should be, there probably are some ways that could be done to try and secure their release. but we don't see that kind of creativity at the moment. >> adote aque is the managing director of operations at amnesty international. thank you for joings us.

>> next on al jazeera america. >> so often they have stared at us or sought to erase us. >> the washington cathedral welcomes a transare gender priest. we'll show you a warehouse that is holding on the illegal items that have been seized.

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america

i think that al jazeera helps connect people in a way they haven't been connected before. it's a new approach to journalism. this is an opportunity for americans to learn something. we need to know what's going on around the world. we need to know what's going on in our back yard and i think al jazeera does just that. >> in canada, those three escaped convicts who are on the run have been caught. found hiding out in montreal about 150 miles away. they are awaiting trial on several charges including murder. all expected to appear in court in quebec city today. police look for a convicted murderer who escaped from an arkansas prison. police say he took a hostage when he walked away from a prison work assignment on saturday night.

the hostage did manage to escape. buffington expected to be armed. jaguars and other things are seized by smugglers. trying to put an end to buying and selling of wildlife contraband. we warn you the individual yoaz you're about to -- the video is disturbing. >> we have everything from tigers to jaguars to leopards, snow leopards, ocelot, most of them endangered. >> part of the half million wildlife items stored here. >> one of the more interesting or grotesque items we have seen is this tiger fetus. >> from the u.s. fish and wildlife service.

>> all from seizures that happened in the united states. a lot of what you see here are foreign species. most of those seizures were happening at our border ports or major airports or sea ports. >> that includes everything from hard shell sea turtles to stuffed bengal tigers. >> what about this? >> this item here is actually a carving that was created from a rhino horn. >> it's an incredible but illegal piece of art. on the black market, a rhino horn can fetch up to $30,000 a pound. >> this holds thousands of tons of ivory husk. >> in the end six tons of ivory were destroyed in a massive crushing of the tusks, all of it seized from poachers. >> 30,000 elephants killed over last year, over a thousand

rhinos. >> in an announcement, u.s. trade representatives showed this haul, they believe the illegal wildlife traffic is helping to finance groups such as al shabaab. >> a lot of it is make its way around the world into asia and into the united states. >> some of this haul may eventually end up at the repository in denver to be held as evidence in upcoming trials. >> i think in instances for individuals it is having something so unique or so rare that no one else on the planet has that in their possession. >> as part of the crack down custom and wildlife officials are now alerted businesses and auction houses around the country to be on the alert for illegally traded goods that may come their way. jim hig high hoolie, al jazeera.

interfering in the investigation he is also accused of lying to investigators and deleting computer files. montanov is charged with participating in the bombing, or not credit charged with participating in the bombing but knowing about it in advance. for the first time ever a transgender priest was welcomed with open arms in washington. not what he said but where he said it. johnmenary smith, has the story. >> like huge moment, like hearing martin luther king preach. >> for the first time, a transerp gender priest, dr. cameron partridge, transitioned 13 years ago and says he knows transgendered life can be hard. >> so many in the lgbtq

community, find ourselves in the position of intense oppression. >> allowing the ordination of transgender people like reverend partridge. his historic sermon was the latest from a religious community he says has often been hostile. >> so often the worlds we live in have either failed to see us, have stared at us or have sought to erase us. >> as part of the cathedral celebration of lgbt pride month, a bishop performed the eucharist. >> desperately needed to be heard by many of those who are young people kicked out of their homes when they came out to their parents. >> disagreed on the importance of this moment. >> i think he was trying to say from the nation's -- you know the national cathedral that lgbt people are important, the rights of trans-people are really

important and this being gay pride month it is important that the nation's religious organizations get behind that. >> the church being a nondenominational church limits the impact it can have. >> i'm so grateful and proud to be in a church that is now living into this charge. >> currently, reverend partridge is one of seven preemple preachs ordained by the church. >> wait until you hear the price tag of the water lilies. if i told you that a free ten-second test

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the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters l. these are your headlines this hour. the white house is condemning the conviction of our colleagues, al jazeera journalists in egypt, peter greste for seven years and baher mohamed, for an additional three years, because he possessed

ammunition. al jazeera rejects the charges against the journalists. secretary of state john kerry is in baghdad, meeting with prime minister nouri al maliki. no one has the right to pick iraq's leaders. the chemical weapons turnover is complete from syria. loaded onto ships at a port in syria. those will be destroyed from the ship currently on the port in spain. collectors around the world gathering in london, one piece we are told could fetch as much as $50 million. jessica baldwin is in london. >> this picture is one of the world's most popular images. claude monet painted hundreds of images, in the houses of the rich.

>> they are extremely beautiful in the first instance and extremely modern. monet had an abstraction in art which appeals to people. >> there are two other monets for sale but the water lilies is the most modern. at the time 100 years ago it was considered revolutionary. but today it's not remotely edgy. it is a safe calm much reproduced image of ground art. monet's image is not confined to walls. there is a lot of are monet merchandise. it is easy to understand and universally accepted. the images are favorites for posters and prints. >> people recognize it and think it's artistic and think i want to show i'm artistic and think i should show it on a mug or a tee shirt.

>> the artist is one of the most downloaded into digital collections. >> it became classical and then because it was always classical everyone uses it again and again. >> he became obsessed with water lillies painting a series of 250 in the last 30 years of his plieclife. monet probably didn't envision that 100 years after his death they would be used as a plastic watch,. >> flooding problems here the last 24 hours. this is rainfall that's come into parts of north texas. the heaviest rain right around way cowaco, estimated 5 to six s of rain. granville hit pretty hard. flash floodings when that water rises quickly and the flooding

drops quickly. so it's not the large scale river flooding that we're seeing in the other parts of the country but flash flooding will continue to be a problem, this rain continuing to push through area, more showers maybe even strong thunderstorms possible. but the forecasted rainfall has another complex of systems with very heavy rain associated over the next 48 hours. not the same area of north texas but eastern oklahoma, parts of arkansas, missouri seeing close to four inches of rain. flash flooding is when the flooding occurs rapidly. only about six inches of rain can make a vehicle stall or lose traction, sweeping the vehicle off the roadway there. watch that closely. river flooding is the big problem in river plains. cresting and will slowly be dropping over the next few days but most likely staying above flood stage here at least until friday on few of the rivers,

del. >> thank you very much dave, are i'll del walters in new york, "techknow" is next. a reminder if you want to check us out 24 hours a day go to aljazeera.com where the news continues 24 hours a day, seven days a week. fp week to aljazeera.com. >> this is "techknow," a show about innovations that can change lives. we will explore the intersection of hardware and humanity and we are doing it inique ways. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out our team of hardcore nerds. dr. shay soma are. a, a mechanical engineer. facial recognition technology. it can fight crime by spotting a face in a crowd, but can it keep you out of the club? >> my picture is in the gallery. information. >>