>> "tech know". >> we're here in the vortex. >> tomorrow, 7:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. dozens of sunni muslims are killed in an attack on a mosque. ♪ it has been reported that shiite fighters conducted the attack which is reopening barely healed political wounds. hello there, you are watching the al jazeera news hour. also coming up. in gaza at least 18 palestinians accused of collaborating with israel are executed. and drivers from a russian aid convoy begin town load the trucks in eastern ukraine. and the bodies of 20

malaysians who died when their plane was shot down over ukraine are repatriated. ♪ hello there, warm welcome to the program. sh -- sunni politicians have suspended talks in protest after an attack on a mosque. it happened in this area. we have a witness of the attack. >> translator: i was close to the mosque. they came on black suv and trucks, later cutting off the main road leading to the mosque. they were then divided. some raided the mosque, and killed the worshippers. while others raided the area for them. the former government was based on sectarianism, and the current

one is silent towards this crime and many other crimes taking place. more than 50 people were killed and none of the residences were allowed to enter to take the dead busy -- bodies >> hamas has executed 18 people accused of collaborating with israel. this as two palestinians and a child were killed in the latest violence. some viewers may kind the images in this report disturbing. >> reporter: on this street corner, the aftermath of a mass execution. seven men were killed here after being accused of collaborating with israel. this man witnessed the executions, and tells me what he saw. >> translator: we were in the mosque and had just finished

praying. then some people in masks stood up and said they found men who collaborated with israel to destroy our houses and kill innocent women and children. they told us they would be executed. when we went out to the street, that's just what happened. >> reporter: the message is clear, if you are suspected of collaborating with the israelis you will meet a certain fate. earlier on friday, 11 others were also shot for paper rently working with israel. they were charged convicted and executed under revolutionary law. the punishment was decided by a hamas run military court which allows judges to sentence people to death. human rights groups have criticized the courts saying they violate international fair trial standards. >> our position is very clear. we say that these are traitors, and we support the authority to

punish them, but at the same time we have to differentiate between the rule of law and the rule of [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: the timing is significant. they come a day after israel tracked down and killed three top hamas commanders in an air strike. the largest single blow to the group since the fighting began. a reminder of the total number of casualties so far in the conflict. 68 israelis have been killed including 3 civilians since the beginning of the operation in early july. a thai national was also killed in israel. more than 2,000 palestinians have been killed in the violence. most of the dead and injured civilians. let's go to west jerusalem now to jackie roleland. hi, jackie. the rockets have been coming over into israel today. and for the first time an israeli child one of the casualties. >> yes, what we have been seeing

in the past few hours i think is an effort by hamas to tell the israelis that despite the fact that they carried out a raid which killed three hamas senior commanders, the organization is still capable of striking deep in the heart of israel. rockets and mortars have been fired into israel during the course of the day, and as you mentioned a 4-year-old child was killed, also two people injured slightly further north in a synagogue just before the day of shabat. to israel clearly now responding as well. the prime minister and the israeli army have said that hamas will pay a price for these attacks, in particular for the killing of that child, and they threatened an intensification of the bombardment of gaza in the coming hours, and in fact we have already seen that

beginning. >> and we have protests in the west bank against exactly that, the continuation of this operation in gaza? >> we have seen protests largely by supporters of hamas in various towns and cities across the west bank, demonstrating against the campaign against gaza, but i think what is particularly telling about how those demonstrations played out on friday is the way in which they point up the tension between the two main palestinian groups. hamas on the one hand, and fattah on the other. hamas controlling the gaza strip. and in several cases it was security forces dominated by fattah who were very heavy handed in putting down those demonstrations, particularly where tear gas was used and live

rounds were fired into the air. in other west bank towns the protesters found themselves con fronted by israeli demonstration forces. >> jackie thank you. still to come on this al jazeera news hour, following the police shooting of two black teenagers in missouri, we report on the racial tension. we're in pakistan's capitol where the government has blocked roads to the city in a bid to curve massive opposition protest. and the formula one driver enjoying a less than relaxing spa break. ♪ trucks carrying humanitarian aid from russia have enters eastern ukraine after a long delay at customs. drivers have begun to unload some of the trucks in the

luhansk region. the ukrainian government has been concerned that the convoy could be used to assist pro-russian fighters. ukraine says the presence of the trucks constitutes a direct invasion. >> translator: this is another blatant violation of the foreign minister principles of the international law, including entrance from another state and fulfillment of international obligations by the russian federation. >> also the russian ambassador to the united states gave this explanation for the decision to move the convoy. >> there was continuous pressing need for humanitarian assistance, and some of the goods which i have described are perishable goods, particularly the food for children, a decision was taken and we were told the icic, and the

ukrainians i think on the 20th that we cannot wait much longer, so if they keep procrastinating we'll start moving. so the convoy departed. >> u.s. defense chiefs have been monitoring the convoy closely. >> we made our position very, very clear that they should not be doing this under the guise of humanitarian convoy to use that as an excuse to cross the border in an unauthorized way. we have a lot more work to do here, and i think we'll sort this out, throughout the day. >> rory challands joins us now from moscow. russia obviously sticking by its explanation that this convoy is purely humanitarian. >> absolutely. it has been saying that there are many people who are in li lieu -- luhansk, and donetsk who

have been stuck in a war zone for months they need help. and that of course is true. it has been said by the red cross and many parties around the world who have been watching this conflict. what is contentious here is the way that russia has chosen to alleviate the suffering of those people. the international committee, the red cross, essentially gave its brood consent for some sort of relief effort. russia then decided it was going to do this under its own steam, and since then this has become a very, very controversial humanitarian effort. the west, particularly nato, does not believe russia's assertions that this is purely humanitarian. it thinks there is another agenda going on here. it doesn't know what this might

be. it doesn't know if this convoy is some sort of trojan horse or maybe if russia has said this convoy got attacked that could be a pretext for sending in more overt military convoys and tanks and rockets and such. or whether there might be something else going on that russia isn't admitting to. but whatever is happening, the west does not believe russia's justification for this. >> rory challands thank you. neve barker is now joining us from donetsk to give us a different point of view. he sent this report. >> reporter: the separatists-held city of luhansk where street-to-street fighting rages. the city remains under constant ukrainian bombardment. more than a thousand refugees

have sought sanctuary. a few weeks ago these people lived ordinary lives, but the war has changed everything. angela escapes fighting in her town. she says she has been at the monastery for month. her and her family gathered what they could and fled. we're on the road, to now the scene of some of the fiercest fighting. even here without water, electricity and the constant threat of shelling, locals are trying to live norm alives. we past the last ukrainian check point and we're now in no man's land. the separatists fighters remain in control of this town down the road. the ukrainian army together with volunteer battalions continuing to tighten the noose on the s p

saep -- separatists strong holds. >> translator: there are no major forces left. >> reporter: but the battlefield changes shape on a daily basis. with the arrival of the russian convoy, the tide of war could steel change. now the bodies of 20 mill lay shan -- malaysians killed on flight mh17 have been returned to their home. rob mcbride has the story. >> reporter: there was an uncanny hush at though international airport for the arrival of the special cargo plane. draped in the national flag and given full military honors, the caskets were carefully received. once all were safely on malaysian soil, a moment of silence.

dignitaries and family members attended. outside many malaysians came to pay their respects. >> we pray every day for them, and we're here to support them. >> the whole of malaysia, i think we are in a situation of grief, really. >> reporter: the authorities have been preparing meticulously for this event. they are determined after the trauma of the past month, now the victims are back on malaysian soil, they will be treated with the utmost dignity. some of the remains were flown to other parts of malaysia for burial. others were moved by hearse for burial here. they were brought first to this mosque. airline staff remembered not only their colleagues, but also the crew and passengers of

mh370, still missing nearly six months on. the flag carrier they work for, like the nation who's flag they carry, still trying to make sense of what has befallen them. rob mcbride, al jazeera. while the families of the victims will have some closure, they still don't know what happened that day. here is our report. >> reporter: this is one of the biggest crime scenes in aviation history. flight mh17 ripped apart in the air, and the wreckage scattered across these fields and villages, but there are still many clues that point to a missile attack. investigators will be searching the debris for any holes made by the shrapnel. although both sides possess the same technology, there is growing evidence it was a separatists that fired the

missile that brought down the aircraft. reporters saw missile launchers in separatists territory. this is the dispatch he sent: this u.s. intelligence map shows at 2:15 in the afternoon, around the time contact was lost with mh17, a surface to air sis mile was fired from pro-russian territory. and ukrainian intelligence says this conversation happened just after the plane went down. a top commander tells a russian security official they shot a plane down. >> the separatists shot down a military transport plane on monday the 14th, three days

before mh 17 was shot down in the same area. it seems very likely that thought they were locking on to another military transport. >> reporter: three hours later, separatists leader tweets: that treat was later removed, and this is what he had to say when asked if he brought down the airliner. >> translator: did not have any buk missile launcher under my command, and i did not give any orders to bring down a malaysian plane. >> reporter: russia accuses ukraine of shooting down the plane with a heat-seeking missile. but the presence of shap nel on the fuselage tells a different

story. >> you shouldn't see heavy shrapnel damage. and there would be much more components there. >> reporter: to prove this, the wreckage needs to be taken away and pieced back together. the relatives of those that died in these sunflower fields deserve answers. the crash site was left unsecured for so long, it may be too late for investigators to come up with a definitive conclusion that all sides can accept. the u.s. national guard is withdrawing from ferguson in the u.s. state of move. it follows a calmer night in the city. the police have been widely criticized for using heavy handed tech ticks to quell earlier protestests. another shooting of a teenager

in nearby st. louis has raised more questions. but that's part of a larger problem. >> reporter: it's america's monument to western expansion. the symbol of a journey towards a prosperous future. yet in st. louis life is still bound to a history of racism. >> they used to sell slaves during the civil war and i don't think that mentality has ever left. >> reporter: here murals pay homage to slain civil rights leaders. inside a survival kit from the aclu is tacked to the wall. >> i had one incident where i left my house. i was going to the gas station, just to get cigarettes, and an officer stopped me right here -- >> reporter: just for walking down the street. >> yeah. >> reporter: how does that make

you feel? >> it makes me feel bad, sad in a way. >> poverty is only one aspect of it. the other aspect is a lack of investment in your urban core. >> reporter: carol heads the cent center on urban research at washington university. and in residence like these the contrast between haves and have not grows as the tax base crumbles. >> so america is a land of opportunity for those who have the preparation to take advantage of those opportunities. however, the disinvestment for the young and the poor has not been. that's where the promise has not fulfilled its reality. >> reporter: across the united states there are many cities that have segregated neighborhoods and divided areas. but here if you drive down the

boulevard and get out and talk to some of the people here, they call it the delmar divide because whites are on that side and blacks on the other side. the economic disparity is right out in the open. >> the disconnect is social, political, and economic. and the geographical divide, where you have persons of color, largely living in one segment of the city and the counties, and whites and persons of means living in another segment of the city and the county only exacerbates that. >> reporter: some natives acknowledge segregation exists here. >> for instance, just going into north city, you know, if you are white, most people just think, oh, yeah, i just can't go there. whether it is racism or just a community that you just don't interact with as much. which is sad. i think there is some underlying racism. >> reporter: a divide that some compare to native americans being put on reservations.

>> if you break it down in that way, you will get a better understanding of how you are being herded, manipulated and shoved here and what is being thrown at your community. and why you have this type of thing. >> rufus bought a house in this blighted neighborhood for just $4,000, believing one investment at a time could make a difference. a difference he hopes could be ignited by the racial flash points in ferguson. robert ray, al jazeera, st. louis. to pakistan now br -- where thousands of protesters continue to take to the streets demanding the resignation of the government. the move is affecting the city's businesses as kamala harris now reports. >> reporter: this is the market.

it has been closed for over a week because of the continuing political crisis brought on by anti-government protests. some shops are now slowly starting to open. a few days ago this market was the main venue for supporters of anti-government cleric. as they slept and sought a break from the heavy rain and heat of islamabad, but the closure has hurt many businesses. this man runs this shop, and has been doing business here for the past 25 years. he says he lost about $30,000 in profits in just eight days because of the closures, and said the combined loss of money for this market is even bigger. >> translator: the loss is in millions of dollars, and the situation is still not clear. all roads to the city are still

blocked and the supply chain is badly affected. >> reporter: all of the began when thousands of protesters travelled to islamabad from other parts of pakistan calling for the government to resign. now the impact is being felt by everyone here, like this person who sells mobile accessories and says he makes $7 a day. even he admits the crisis has hurt the small enterprise. the political crisis has cost traders billions of rupees, but it's not just ordinary shopkeepers that are affected. banks, offices, airlines and schools have also remained shut throughout the crisis as officials seal off this city from the rest of the country. the political future of pakistan may be at steak, but beyond that it also has a heavy economic

impact the country cannot afford. kamala harris, al jazeera, islamabad. still to come, we're in yemen's capitol where the government has been given an ultimate tum to quit. and portraying war in an artistic life. and i'm in spain where little ones are about to make big waves in spanish football. ♪ >> now! >> faul lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> there blocking the door... >> ground breaking... >> truth seeking... >> we have to get out of here... award winning investigative documentary series... special episode ferguson: city under siege

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>> i'm ali velshi, the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news.

♪ a quick reminder now of those headlines here on al jazeera. sunni politicians in iraq have suspended talks on a new government over protest on a deadly attack on a mask in southeast of bagdad. killings come in gaza a day after israeli strikes killed three senior hamas members. and there reports that trucks from a russian convoy said to have been carrying humanitarian aid have been

unloaded in the luhansk region. for more on our top story and the sectarian violence in iraq, we're joined by philip from the university of maryland, a researcher on islamic extremist groups. what do you make of this situation. >> i think this happens a lot with a fog of war. the associated press was reporting that this was actually an isis attack that used a suicide bomber and then gentlemen. but then reuters and afp were reporting and saying that shiite militia men took part in it, and there was another report that they were in some way involved. and it's not like anyone is taking credit. one of the further problems is

you have people affiliated with or supporters of this isis type group, and they will say these shiite leaders need to be targeted, but then you have shiite supporters that will come out and say, no, this is clearly an i.s. attack. >> and if it does turn out to be a shiite militia, what do they gain in carrying out an attack like this? >> it all depends. it comes down to certain sectarian motivations. there was a history, and still is, of sectarian killings and ethnic cleansings that has happened in iraq and it has happened since the united states occupation of the country. so in terms of pulling off an attack like this, the immediate reasoning was there were a number of shiite militia men who were attached with official

forces who were killed in a bombing, and then they took out a rage on this sunni moss -- mosque. however, such a blatant and open attack hasn't really occurred before from a shiite militia like this. >> you talked about the fog of war, and i wonder if social media makes the situation even more complicated to fully dissect. >> it certainly does. because everyone is playing some bit of a narrative battle. just today when i was putting up what i considered rather objective statements, the first reports came out and said that unequivocally that it was shiite militia groups doing this, i had absolutely pushback from people

that immediately shot back and said no there were no shiite militia involvement. this has to be i.s. then you had i.s. supporters who were saying, no, no, see this was a sectarian attack from the shiite, and trying to use that to bolster their own image as protectors of the sunnis. so you have essentially two radical elements that are in this trying to push their own lines, and when you are on social media, they do want to sway opinions and they both have an interest in muddying the waters when it comes to facts. >> phillip thanks very much for your analysis. united nations says more than 191,000 people have now died in the conflict in syria. according to the u.n. human right's chief that is nearly double the death toll recorded a year ago. the figure is also likely to be

an underestimate. analysts say more than 50,000 victims have been excluded from the official death toll because they have no name, date, or location of death. and >> -- short-term geopolitical considerations, and national interests have repeatedly taken precedence over intolerable human suffering. i firmly believe that greater responsiveness by this council would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. >> reporter: supporters of the easted egyptian president, mohammed morsi held protests across the country on friday. supporters of the now outlawed muslim brotherhood are calling

for morsi to be reinstated, and calling for justice for those killed since the coup in jewel of last year. now an update on our colleagues imprisoned in egypt. lawyers for our three al jazeera journalists colleagues have filed appeals against their convictions. their case will now be heard before the court of cessation which will examine the grounds for a full hearing. a date, though, hasn't been set. the three were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. mohammed fahmy and peter greste were given seven years. baher mohamed an extra three years because he had a spent bullet casing in his prosense that he picked up at a protest. thousands of people have been demonstrating in the cap

top of yemen. >> reporter: thousands of houthi rebels or the partisans of god as they call themselves, stream into the capitol. they are furious at a government decision to scrap fuel subsidies, but they also want the government to resign. >> translator: we want a government of technocats backed by everybody. yemen faces many challenges that one party cannot solve. >> reporter: soldiers and army officers also joined the protests. this is a country divided along sectarian lines. the houthis are a minority group except in northern yemen. they say they will set up a protest camp and stay and will only go back home if their

demands are met. >> translator: let me make it clear to everyone. if the authorities open fire at the protesters we won't tolerate that, and we will respond. >> reporter: crucial negotiations are underway in a northern province, the houthi's strong hold. if talks go nowhere, many fear the houthis might move into the capital. if that happens the sunni majority will take up arms. wherever you go, supporters and opponents all agree that the houthis are now a major political force in yemen. it may be an indication that they are likely to play a bigger role in the future of yemen. china is celebrating the birthday of the late leader. it is thought his policies are

responsible for turning the country into an economic powerhouse. chinese state tv is airing an drama series on his life, but certain details are missing. >> reporter: propaganda dressed up as entertainment is nothing new on state-controlled tv. which is why these two have been so surprised by the drama they have been watching every night for the past two weeks. it touches on a previously taboo subject, the political turbulence following mou's death. >> translator: china will then have developed so fast if he hadn't taken the leadership. >> reporter: some issues, though, were simply too sensitive to include. namely the events of june 1989

when dung ordered the army to use live rounds on student demonstrators. >> translator: i always worshipped him. i think he was a successful dictator, and a dictatorship was much needed in a time like that. >> reporter: the political commentator says while the drama series is based on fact, it is still entertainment. >> it is quite interesting that people have -- take so much analysis of this movie. it's after all a movie. it's not a real documentary. i think it's healthy, but it didn't really mean that much to history or to whatever china really experienced. >> reporter: dung is especially venerated in this southern metropolis where the experiment with state-controlled capitalism began 35 years ago.

this anniversary is stirring nostalgia for a time when china seemed more equal. >> translator: i'm very touched by the tv series. china could never have come to what it is today if it wasn't for him. >> translator: i brought my daughter here to ta tribute after we watched the tv series. he was a great leader. >> reporter: the reforms that dung began here, created rapid economic growth. but today they have growing income in equality, and social instability. but dung was able to pursue bold economic reforms while keeping a tight grip on power. exactly the strategy of the current leadership. now it has been more than a

week since floods in western nepal killed 100 people. the survivors have been left in a desperate situation. our correspondent sent this report. >> reporter: a week after the river created massive flooding in western nepal, people over here are still trying to rebuild their lives. this home was full of mud, and people are trying to get all of the mud out to make their houses livable. now the floods created a huge damage to infrastructure and lives. more than 100 people are dead -- more than that -- 130 people or so are missing still. in this village -- because this village is quite near the highway, the army managed to rescue all of the people, but people have lost their means of

livelihood. everything has been lost. one lady said she has absolutely nothing. she sent her children away to a relative. she has no food, shelter, nowhere to go to, and she thinks that -- she is now saying that she would have rather died than stayed alive in this kind of situation. so situations are quite desperate and people are appealing to the government to help as soon as possible. now contemporary artists exposed to the conflicts in iraq, afghanistan, syria, and in the balkans are providing a unique incite into car. tim friend reports. >> reporter: at a glance they could be the images from any sales convention. men in suit. young women handing out glasses of wine. but what is on sale here are more efficient methods of

killing people. this artist goes undercover with her sketch pad to capture the matter of factness of selling weapons. >> i used satire for good right-wing which is the arms fair is shrouded in these suits and royal visits and government sanctioned, and i think that satire is a very effective way of stripping back pretensions. >> reporter: tim shaw's giant image is instantly recognizable, exemplifying the exhibitions title, shock and awe, a reminder of torture by the united states in iraq. >> it began as an expression of frustration and anger towards the u.s. and our own government to go to war in iraq. several years on from that, i actually feel it's a an image

that is extremely relevant to us today in that it's an image that is potent as this thing that trolls beneath the human consciousness as a reminderness of our primal instincts, that being violence. >> reporter: the underlying message is antiwar. all of the artists are trying to prompt a deeper consideration of what conflict remains a part of human existence. some are ironic. medals that are on closer inspection, made of toy soldiers. many images are from afghanistan and iraq, but some date back to earlier wars, a picture from the firstward with sketches from syria, show despite what

politicians constantly urge, they themselves have not learned the lessons of war. still to come, find out what teachers are doing in the nicaraguan city to prevent a tradition from fading. ♪

♪ millions of liters of wastewater from a copper mine in northern mexico has contaminated

nearby rivers and farms. >> reporter: francisco says these waters have become poisoned. two weeks ago, mexico's largest copper mine spilled 10 million gallons of sulfuric acid and heavy metals into two rivers and the water reservoir. it happened in a northern state near the u.s. border. thousands of farmers have been effected. authorities say it's not safe for humans or imagines to drink from the rivers, so francisco may never sell milk again. >> translator: the river was a place where kids used to play. and now it is gone for them. it has been contaminated. >> reporter: the government is filing a criminal case saying the government line -- lied when it blamed the spill on a heavy

rain and the company may face $3 million in fines and could be shut down. workers here tried to block the mine in protest. but riot police were deployed to protect it. >> translator: this was negligence from the company. we told them seven years ago, this could happen. they did nothing to prevent it. they ignored us. now these are the consequences. >> reporter: mexico recently passed a controversial law to reform its energy sector allowing foreign companies to exploit national resources for the first time in 75 years. although this mine was mexican owned, about viss say the energy sector needs to be regulated further, but the new law does exactly the opposite. they say the reform could lead to more accidents and spills in the future. let's go straight to andy now with all of the day's sports news.

andy? >> thank you so much. mario balotelli is at liverpool's training ground for a medical. the italian international has of course had disciplinary problems at most of his clubs during his career. one coach describing him as unmanageable. he will be signing up to a code of conduct, but liverpool say that is normal. >> i think every club will have a code of conduct for the people and the professionals that work. we have got quite an extensive code of conduct for players and staff here. so -- so there's no specific one for any one individual. it covers across the professional group of people here. larry's goal of rebuilding work has continued with the signing with the argentinian for

$26 million. he is well aware of the pressure he is under. two weeks ago, i was the king of manchester, and now i'm the devil of manchester. it's -- the football world, and it is especially the media in this football world. >> european football's governing body, uefa has announced it won't recognize any matches played by crimea's clubs. in a statement uefa said that their emergency panel has requested: brazilian footballer is to

face [ inaudible ] charges in france following his head butt during a league game last week. following this incident in the player's tunnel, the player is set to appear in court in november on charging of committing premeditated assault. his lawyer says his client denies committing the defense in a premedicated manner. the match is currently 0-0. the second leg of the spanish supercup kicks off in a couple of hour's time. they are level at 1-1 after the first leg. and a new league commences on saturday, and will feature a team playing in the top flight

for the first time in 74 years. >> reporter: it's a fairytale looking club with a football team to match. they are preparing to face real madrid in barcelona. but it has been a battle both on and off the pitch. having won the second division they were told they couldn't complete in la liga, because they didn't have $2.5 million in the bank. they had money in their account, just not that much. the obvious solution? a buyout from a foreign tycoon. but they didn't want to become a victim of its own success, so the president asked the fans for the money. >> i really think that this is unfair because when we joined second division, i think we were the only team without any debt in all of spanish professional football, and nevertheless we

were forced to -- to face that capital raising when we really didn't have the need for that. and we know that there are a lot of big football teams, which have huge debts and they can carry on with their job, and this is really difficult to understand. >> nearly everybody in the town bought a share at $65 apiece. the butcher, the baker, and if there had been a candle stick maker, he would have bought one too. 8,000 were sold in total. >> translator: the football association made it hard for the club, but how could we not support them. >> reporter: people from 50 other countries also invested. cristobal help these explains why la liga bosses need proof of

finances. >> translator: the incomes are averaged. >> reporter: 15,000 spectators must also be accommodated. aybar's stand holds just over 5,000. they have built temporary standings, but are in court to try to fight that law. mercedes has again dominated in practice. hamilton moving a half of second quicker. rossberg is 11 points out of hamilton in the title standings. this session was stopped a couple of times after a crash coming up here. the venezuelan was taken to hospital for checkup, but has been cleared to return to racing

on saturday. new zealand will be aiming to get over a rare setback when they play australia on saturday. they played out a 12-12 draw in the opening fixture last week. it ended the all-black 17-game winning run. >> i think after the game [ inaudible ] certainly the game on monday, it's going to be a similar sort of situation, and that puts [ inaudible ] in the driver's seat, and we'll come out better this week. >> more, of course on our website, including news of michael phelps successful return to swimming. that is it for me. back to julie. andy thank you. there are fears that a traditional art form in nicaragua is dying out. fewer young people are taking part in the tradition.

david mercer teaches in the city of leon trying to encourage a new generation to get involved. >> reporter: they tell stories of war, rebellion, struggle and hope. a type of public blackboard. murals were a response to 500 years of colonialism, and a way to reclaim their heritage. but 3.5 decades after the revolution that gave birth to the movement, mural painting is fading away. >> translator: artistically speaking i'm alone. i haven't found anyone here in the city that is trying to make a mural project. i haven't found anyone. i'm alone. >> reporter: while political changes lead to the destruction of many murals modernization has brought its own form of damage and neglect. but on the other side of the

city a group of volunteers is working to rescue this tradition. every saturday more than 100 children practice their painting and drawing inside this small house. for those who run the school, cultural survival comes one child at a time. >> translator: i'm learning how to paint and dance. i love coming here, because it's fun. i would like to be a teacher here when i'm older. >> reporter: like most of the volunteer teachers alan was once a student here. now he's the school's director. >> translator: many of our students still haven't discovered their artistic potential that is inside them. our work is to help them find this skill. we would like to awaken the talent inside people. >> reporter: this group of older students are retouching a 50-meter long mural they created a few years ago.

like the paintings of years past, it's a way to reclaim their heritage. this is an attempt to illustrate this community's history and values on one single time from the time of the indigenous to the arrival of the spanish and on, it has become a source of pride for the community. a form of social and political expression born from revolution, now being brought back to life. don't forget you can watch al jazeera online, the address is aljazeera.com. you can see our top story, still concentrating on happenings in iraq. we'll have plenty of that in the rest of our coverage this evening. i'll be back in just a moment with more of today's news. see you in a little bit.

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