that brings us to the end of "inside story." thanks for being with us. from washington, i'm ray suarez. >> s this is al jazeera america. live from new york city. i'm richelle carey. here are the top stories - widespread damage and dozens hurt after an early-morning earthquake in california. >> i'm peter, a journalist in boston, massachusetts. an american held hostage by a rebel group in syria has been freed. israel says bombs will fall wherever hamas hides.

and ferguson, missouri prepares for the funeral of michael brown. we begin in california, where a powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake rattled the wine country, north of san francisco, between nasser and american canyon. power and water was knocked out. scientists say this is the largest quake to hit the bay area since the 6.8 quake back in 1989. the governor declared a state of emergency in napper to bring in state aid. jacob ward is live in the city. what is the latest assessment of injuries, damage there - what can you tell us? >> well, fortunately there

hasn't been additional injuries, 87 injured, three critical. damage is the major issue. three buildings unfit for hislation, made out of this stuff turning to literal in the shaking we saw. and water mains is the other great concerns here. >> obviously gas and water leaks, are what officials are concerned about. you talked about the water - why the concern about the water? >> water is life in california, there's an incredibly sophisticated system carrying water to the wine industry and sacramento, and the halfway point is where the earthquake struck. the city manager in nasser told us about the condition of the transmission lines. >> we do have mutual aid, folks

coming in who will be able to provide equipment and repair kits we need for the water mains. none of our larger transmission mains appear to have been damaged. it's more of the distribution lines that are causing a problem. you know, it's very lucky that we didn't see a mains break. at that point it would have stranded the businesses, and every drinking person, all of us, would have been without water. that would have been the real nightmare. >> was there a warning about this particular earthquake. >> well, it's funny you should mention that. university of california at berkeley, the seismic lab has been working on a prototype system that tries to deliver early warning systems and alerts via text messages based on a

japanese system, and they sent out footage of the early warning system giving a 10 second warning to the limited numbers that had access to it. there's a state initiative on the balance that said that the state should be investigating a state-wide system, but no money has been put towards that. perhaps this will kick it in the pants. >> it's only effective if enough people have access to the information. before you go, aftershocks are a concern. what can you tell us about that? >> that is the real concern. statistically speaking there's a greater than 50% chance that we'll see a 5.0. the earthquake wases 6.0, 5.0. we are relieved that this didn't happen at a different time of day. this wine bar would have been filled with people. we are staying away from these

buildings as best we cap because anything could hit -- can, because anything could hit any time. we follow a developing story out of syria where an american hostage has been freed. journalist peter theo journalist was captured in october 2012, seen in turkey and had plans to enter syria to teach english. he is held by the al nusra front. he was handed over to u.n. officials in the golan heights and the obama administration expects him to be reunited with his family soon. his relief was in part because of efforts of qatar. a note - al jazeera is funded by the government of qatar. a statement was released saying they were grateful and relieved that curtis was coming hotel. they released a statemen

statemenstatement courtney kealy joins us, and reported from war zones in the middle east and knows how dangerous the areas can be for journalists. his family statement said a lot, by bringing jim foley into the equation. let's break it down. the two groups that we are talking about, some call it i.s.i.s., i.s.i.l., or the islamic state, is not the same group that was holding theo curtis. can you compare the two? >> yes. basically the nusra is a group of fighters in syria. they were holding curtis. now, they released him to qatar authorities and according to the statement with no ransom paid. he is a lucky man, what happened to a lot of other officers in

syria, is often you are with a group or an afill yachtive group -- afill yachtive for or sometimes with a common bidder that sells you up. i talked about the islamic state, with their ferocity and vir lens and we saw the horrific video of james foley. they demanded more than $130 million for james foley and killed him to retaliate against the u.s. they are completely a different group. they have other americans being held hostage now. so the news that he's been released, even though by a separate group, and the fact he wasn't traded up is in - he is incredibly lucky. >> if you are a family member of someone who is held hostage, is there a reason for hope, not necessarily because the groups are different?

>> they are different but not that different. there are ways things happen in war zone. if you were kidnapped you nef wanted to be traded to an al qaeda group. al nusra were affiliated with al qaeda, but were willing to release curtis. you have to hold out hope. things change, deals are cut. >> and change quickly. don't they? >> yes. >> some of the areas are rural. there is hope. i feel terribly for the families who had to watch the memorial of james foley, this is a family that is happy and saddened by the whole state. >> can you tell us more. it's an newer situation that peter theo curtis found himself in, can you talk about that? >> it seems unfamiliar to someone not familiar with that. i went to teach high school in

beirut. sounded crazy at the time, but that's how i started as a freelance reporter and started my career that way. many have done that. you go to an wear that may have been war torn, or go to a dangerous area and hope to freelance. he was fluent in arabic, he wrote a book about disaffected western men going to yemen. he had a ph.d. in comtarive literature and was 45. he made the calculations of going in in october 2012 when a lot crossed out at the time. what happens in the situations which is tragic is the ground shifts underneath you, and it seems like it shifted quickly for him and a number of freelancers and veteran journalists when they are taken, betrayed by fixers, held in gaol and then for some of them being

taken by the islamic state. >> truly a remarkable day for his family. and a tragic time for the family of james foley. thank you so much courtney kealy. a service was held for james foley, the american journalist executed by islamic state fighters. the remembrance took place in rochester. the islamic state released a graphic video showing a masked man beheading foley. he was captured in november 2012. the british government is close to identifying foley's visitor. here is what the ambassador told "meet the press." >> we are not in a position to say what this is, but there's sophisticated voice technology and other measures that should allow us to be clear about who this person it before long. >> the man who killed foley is believed to be a british citizens fighting for islamic

state in syria. syria repelled an effort by the islamic state to take over an air force bags near raqqa. islamic state fighters were forced to retreat after 70 were killed. they seized three bases in the area. there are signs of concern among the mid east nation about the security threat posed by the islamic state group. foreign ministers from saudi arabia, united arab emirates and qatar met in jeddah. the group will discuss military action against islamic state and the possibility of future air strikes in syria. >> to the latest developments out of the iraq, where the outgoing prime minister met with iran's foreign minister. nouri al-maliki greeted the irani delegation at the start of the visit. both leaders will address concerns and political stability

in iraq. in northern iraq kurdish leaders are asking for more international help saying is fighters are equipped with more modern weapons than the peshawar forces. jane arraf has more. >> security forces in the capital of erbil are on higher alert than normal, following a rare explosion on saturday night. a sticky bomb attached to the undercarriage of a car. this is as the peshmerga forces might. one of the fronts is the town of jalawla, 20km from the iranian border in the province of diyala in north-east iraq. iranian forces are said to have backed the kurtish fighters. the iranian foreign minister arrived in baghdad with talks with his counterpart and to congradualate the prime minister designate. the prime minister has a tough

job. haider al-abadi is trying to contain the fallout of a massacre at a sunni mosque. that one blamed on shia militia. it's not clear who is responsible, but the government has vowed to bring whoever is to justice. all of that is jeopardizing efforts to form a government within the deadline they need to form a new iraqi government, including sunnis, kurds and the other factions to tackle security issues. >> joinings us from washington d.c. is christopher swift, a professor of national studies at george town university. the air strikes continue in northern iraq, violence is erupting in baghdad. there's a government in place, right, that is supposed to, in theory, help ease the sectarian violence. how long could that take? how important is this new

government to easing the situation, the deteriorating situation in iraq? >> sure, the formation of a national unity government including sunnis, shi'as and kurds is crucial to meeting the threat posed by i.s.i.s. that political process will proceed on a different track and pace from the actual war itself. that is usually the case. each if they were to get an entire new cabinet put together today they'd be several weeks or months away from dealing with corruption in the security services, getting the right material in the right places and turning the tide. that's unfortunately the reality that nouri al-maliki left his country in after four years of misrule. >> that's the political tract. you said there was a couple. let's talk about the war. go ahead. >> i was going to say that will be clear than the war track,

base i.s.i.s. will determine how and where and when they attack. >> let's talk about is, can you compare and contrast fighting is compared to fighting al qaeda? >> sure. there's some pretty important differences here. in many release, i.s.i.s. represents what al qaeda hope to become, a transnational self-sustaining insurgency that is able to fund itself, that is able to recruit indefinitely and able to engage in conventional warfare against national governments. al qaeda was never able to do that in part because the organization was so diffuse, and in part because generally speaking they were so weak. in many respects fighting an adversary like i.s.i.s. is challenging because they have more resources and can bring more to the table. they are easier to pin down,

they are located in a particular area, and their operation and pipelines and support structures are based in that particular area. in some respects it's a war like conventional warfare, and in others it's a larger threat. >> they are not trying to hide. that's for sure. >> that's right. >> what feeds a group like i.s.i.s., like i.s.i.s. with their level of brutality? what feeds them? >> part is ideological and part aspiration. the ideology views war as an end to itself, rather than as a means to an end. you can see that in a lot of propaganda videos that they are posting online, and in the beheading of u.s. journalist con foley, and in the way that they recruit young men and women into their ranks.

at the same time, like a lot of other organizations that evolved out of al qaeda in the wake of osama bin laden's death, many are rooted or grounded in the places they operate in the way na al qaeda never was, this allowed these people, the localisation, to marry the ideology to the practical realities of running a local insurgency, creating a new threat that people in the area need to take serious. >> they operate in syria, having said that will the obama administration have to deal with them in syria? will they be forced to? >> yes, it depends. washington hasn't decided how much it is willing to intervene. it's clear that washington is ready to intervene to protect u.s. military forces and documents in northern iraq. it's clear we have an interest and had an interest in protecting the yazidi.

the operation is moving towards trying to buy the iraq government more time to get their act together and field a ground force. at the end of the day if washington doesn't determine the matters of the mission, the circumstances on the ground will determine the parameters for us, and that will put i.s.i.s. in the driving seat that may be uncomfortable for policy makers and the american publishing. we need to determine what the mission is otherwise it will define us. >> it's clear arab leaders are concerned about i.s.i.s., and they are meeting to talk about it. secretary hagel said that they were a global threat. do you agree with that? >> they have global capacity, which is to say, you know, a splinter group or a cell or some part of that organization might very well come back into the united states or western countries to try to run an

operation here. they have the capacity through recruiting and online indoctrination to get people involved in acts of violence in the united states. despite the fact they have no physical or operational connection to the operation. when we look at i.s.i.s. as an organization, rather than as a phenomenon or looking at the ideology, most of their provisions are based in the sunni area that straddles the border. the focus will be on maintaining and expanding the gains they made there. while they may conduct operations against western target directly or through proxies, the primary focus is going to be in that calafat that they say they have established. >> helps the name, the islamic state. christopher swift. professor of national security

studies at george town university in washington. thank you very much. >> good to be back. in gaza civilian casualties are mounting as a result of military air strikes. today's fighting killed a 1.5-year-old little girl. she was plays in her yard. we have more on the price civilians are paying in this conflict. >> reporter: after more than six weeks of fighting this is perhaps the largest act of property destruction by israeli forces in a single strike. distraught residents fled the residence with little more than the clothes on his back. several were injured. >> we were informed half an hour before the shelling. this has 32 floors and many families, we efactuated and two

rockets were fired. the building collapsed. all families are in the streets - god help us all. >> israel's military said the building was targeted because it was used by hamas. residents denied this. the destruction of the tower was a sign of the collapse of a truce bin israel and hamas. on setthe president met with abdul fatah al-sisi. >> what concerns us is to put an end to the bloodshed and more sacrifices. once that happens, rebuilding efforts must start. >> reporter: after weeks of blood shed and destruction, many want to see an end to the violence, but only if israel lifts the blockade, which strangled the economy. >> in the background to violence and calls for a ceasefire are

signs that palestinian officials may playto join the criminal, that would enable them to call for an investigation into whether israel may have committed war crimes. joining the i.s.i.s. mean they, too, could face the same scrutiny. >> an israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu is making no apologies for civilians caught in the crossfire. he said bombs could fall anywhere the military believes hamas may be hiding. >> hamas will pay, and pay heavily for its crimes. i call on the residents of gaza to vacate every site. every place is a target for us. we have proven in the past days that there is not and will not be any immunity for those who are shooting at israeli citizens. this is true for all areas and borders. israeli's prime minister, binyamin netanyahu. still ahead - a day of

warning in ferguson, missouri. we show how the community is remembering michael brown. and americans of different backgrounds, how they are reacting to michael brown's death, and the protests in the weeks following.

in ferguson, missouri the protests have gin way to peace and the -- given way to peace and the community is getting ready to mourn michael brown, shot dead by a police officer, david wilson, on august 9dth. and his funeral will be healed tomorrow. robert ray is there for an event, peace fest. what is happening there? >> good afternoon, we are at peace fest in st louis. you can see behind me a lot of tents and music, and people celebrating the end of summer and looking forward to putting to rest michael brown tomorrow. people have been gathering here all day. it's very, very hot. 110 with the heat index.

so far it is a very good demonstration, and a lot of peaceful demos going on today, thus, peace fest. >> let's talk about the weather and how it's affecting the turn out at events over the weekend. it gets very hot in st louis at this time of year - i used to live there. >> yep. definitely. you can tell there would be more people on the streets of bill ferguson, peacefully demonstrating, and probably likely more here. this goes on into the evening. we are hoping that the temperature goes down. i seriously doubt that. it is very hot. i think that tomorrow it's going to be roughly the same for the funeral tomorrow, highs of 110. bad humidity. people are out, trying to move forward and get confidence to get the community up and running. >> tomorrow is michael brown's funeral, tomorrow morning.

what kind of police presence is expected there? >> well, we are not 100 trz sure. i don't think there'll be tactical gear or military-like police walking around. that would be inappropriate. we'd be surprised to see that clearly there would be police on the perimeter. we kather over the -- gather over the course of the weekend everyone has been very good. there's not been a hostile environment. there were a few arrests last night, but hooligans, not really - they are not part of the overall march here. we are expecting a good crowd tomorrow. actually, reverend al sharpton will give theual any. people from -- the ooul any. it was be a private event, media will be on the fringes.

>> what happens next after the funeral? it's a really long process? >> the grand jury has met. we are told they'll look obvious the evidence, probably all the way to october, as to whether or not the officer david wilson is indicted on any charges. we'll see if that happens. so far the people on the ground. they'll continue to protest. it just - just possibly in a different way. if we roll sound of a gentleman we talked to here, he summed it up best. let's line. >> i think it's going to take some more protesting in a silent manner, nonviolent, non-threatening, and the leaders in the community to step up and reach out to the major, and work with the police department, and just - i think each part has to do its half, and meet each other halfway. you know, and rochelle, the

thing is about the community in st louis and metro, i think it will open a big dialogue on a lot of levels - from how police act, how impoverished areas are treated, and, frankly, from what we have seen over the course of the past two weeks, maybe the topic of race relations. >> robert live in st louis. let's talk more about race. americans are divided in how they see the protests in bill ferguson, and what sparked them, the killing of michael brown. tom ackerman reports on the gap. >> reporter: michael brown's death from police bullets and the anger from his killing has been a recurring anger under the first american president and under attorney general eric holder, the highest ranking law officer in the land. early in his tenure, holder drew criticism for saying: in thinks

racial we have been and continue to be, in too many ways essentially a nation of cowards. something he recently repeated. >> we are still a nation that is too afraid to confront racial issues. >> now samples of a representative cross section of men's indicates that holder reflects black opinion about the clashes, and whites see things differently. >> eight in 10 blacks surveyed by the pugh research center said the event raised important issues of race, compared to half the rights that agreed. >> beyond race, partisan factions is a big part. 6 in 10 say the issue of race has gotten too much attention. most democrats say no, this is an issue that raises important racial questions about what is going on. >> two-thirds of blacks said the police in bill ferguson had gone too far in responding to the

disturbances, but only one-third of white said the rehabilitation was excessive. half gave no opinion. and 18% of blacks felt confident in the investigations holder and local authorities promised. with 45% saying they had no confidence. yet half the whites expressed great or a fair degree of confidence in the investigation. the survey results indicate a shift in white attitudes when compared with those over a similar shooting of another unarmed black teenager in 2012. george zimmerman, a white neighbour hood watch person shot and killed trayon martin. >> more whites today say the brown shooting raised more issues than offer the trayvon martin case. 70% of blacks say that local

police treat them less fairly than whites, according to the pugh poll. we examine how the people of ferguson and the nation moves forward. that's tonight. ahead stopping ebola from spreading. initials have an estimate of how long the outbreak may last. a new video from boko haram. the leader is claiming gains in nigeria.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at the top stories. 90 people were injured in the 6.6 earthquake in napper, california. damn to 16 buildings rendered them too dangerous to occupy. faulty watermain breaks are yet to be repaired. and many are without power.

we follow a story out of syria where an american hostage peter theo curtis was released. he was captured in october 2012, seen in southern turkey, where he had perhaps to enter syria to teach english. israeli military air strikes killed many. binyamin netanyahu warned gazans to leave the area. anywhere the military believes hamas is hiding will be targeted. >> fear of the ebola virus is prompting cameroon to close all borders in nigeria, air, land and sea. the world health organization estimate it could take 6-9 months to stop and contain the disease. more than 2600 have been affected and 1500 killed. liberia has been hard et cetera hit with over 1,000 cases and 600 deaths. sierra leone has seen 900

infections and many teeth, guinea, over 400 deaths, 600 days cases. in nigeria, 16 contracted the virus and five have died. >> boko haram as re-emerged. >> reporter: in the 15 minute video, the leader of boko haram claims that a town seized earlier this month "no longer has anything to do with the rest of nigeria, and the group is there to stay." we have heard the group say that one of their aims is to establish a so-called islamic caliphate in north-eastern nigeria, and in recent video, the leader expressed admiration of the other calafat, the islamic state group in iraq and syria, and na calafat there -- and that caliphate there.

it's important to take in claim with a pimp of salt. it is a group that wishes to focus on the notoriety of the islamic state in iraq and syria. the situation in nigeria is different of the the nigerian military, although criticised, is very much present across the north-east. when it comes to boko haram's actions, while we have seen them signal a shift in strategy by consistently seizing towns and villages, what they are doing is pushing people out of the towns, displacing thousands of people. they are not necessarily running the towns as an effective government. until now we cannot see that the group established a calafat in the north-east of nigeria. >> one of the militias battling for control of libya says other nations have gotten involved. the misrata brigade are behind

two air strikes in tripoli. 15 members were killed. 30 wounded. the militias claim that it controls tripoli as well as its airport. this is the worst violence since libya's revolution in 2011. the most powerful military forces initially fought together to overthrow the dictator muammar gaddafi, but are at odds because of ideological differences. they have been fighting for control over the international airport in trip -- tripoli, and other institutions. it has fallen into the hands of misrata, who opposed the new parliament. the benghazi brigade tried to help their rivals to defend the airport, but failed. benghazi and tripoli are so insecure that the parliament is meeting in the port city of tobruk. effort to form a government

in yemen collalsed. the country -- collapsed. the country's president rejected the houthi's demand. they have been protesting for years, demanding the current government resign and subsidies be increased for fuel. the somalia government is seizing weapons from the warlords that have been fighting each other. it's a hard task because citizens don't believe it will make the country safer. . >> reporter: after years of struggling the somalia government seems to have realised the need to scoop up illegal weapons. here african union peacekeepers and government troops raid the houses of people they call war lards and suspected militia leaders. officials call the operation a success, and say they'll continue until they bring back a measure of stability to the

country. >> we will not stop until we reach a point where we need a warrant of arrest, and not guns to arrest criminals. the current chaos cannot continue. >> not every militia leader has been disarmed. this man is keen on keeping the private armies. use from a former war lard say the men fight for the government. and that earned him enemies. >> reporter: the government should provide adequate security for people that may be targeted or let them keep their weapons. i believe people like me will not be disaround, we are waiting to see the government's response. >> reporter: somalia has seen little peace. warlords have battled for control. it has fuelled conflict between them. >> a few days ago, this street as one of the biggest arms markets. traders abandoned it and have

taken a massive trade in guns under ground. >> in a suburb we met a young man trying to sell an ak-47 rifle. with the market closed, they are officially part of mogadishu's illegal trade in arms. >> translation: we will continue to sell arms to anyone who needs them, until the government provides us with alternative employment. this is our job, the only one we know, and all that we care about. >> reporter: disarming the whole of somalia will not be an easy task. many believe it can't be done by force. month, years of negotiating with militia man and clan elders will need to occur. the gof has to rea -- government has to reassure that those that bear arms, that it has the capacity to fully protect them now. afghans voted for a new

president over four months ago. with demands by one candidate for an audit, the election is far from over. in warehouses like this on the edge of kabul, afghans and observers are trying to figure out who won the election - ashraf ghani or abdullah abdullah. day after day supporters argue over which ballots will count. like this dispute over a ballot box from eastern afghanistan. >> we have 568 on the registered sheet. there is 568. when we opened the box there was nothing. >> so he want the votes thrown out. that will ultimately bet the decision of the election commission. the deputy chief is satisfied with the progress here. >> translation: i'm confident because a thorough review has

never been done, it's 100% outeded by african observers. this is the only one. >> neither won a clear majority during the first round of elections this year. it's when preliminary result gave ghani a lead, his opponent alleged fraud and threatened to form his own government. secretary of state john kerry has been trying to resolve the deadlock. the outgoing president would like to see all this wrapped up by september 2nd. it will be tight. all eyes on on these ballot boxes, 6,000 chosen. >> each campaign chose half. the most contentious and taken longer to evaluate. each team is trying to calculate the votes. officials must died how many votes that gave ashraf ghani the lead will be thrown out. >> nobody will get everything

they want. whether one or two accept it or a nation of 32 people, if one million don't accept it, it won't be the end of the world. both candidates have been met. the long delay damaged the economy and security. >> in pakistan an anti-government protest shows no sign of ending even though demonstrators are falling ill. thousands have been camped out in islamabad since august 14th. protestors hope to force nawaz sharif to resign. that has not happened. protesters are getting sick, being treated for dehydration and food disorders. rockets fell on a hospital in donetsk. the ukraine government attacked badly damaging the morgue and

other sections of the hospital. pro-russian militia hold most of the city. hundreds of thousands of residents have been driven away. the attack coming hours before parades held in the government held parts of ukraine. they marked the 1991 independence from the soviet union. rebels in donetsk took the opportunity to mock their opponents. >> reporter: in the city of donetsk pro-russian separatists held an alternative ceremony in defiance of kiev. dozens of prisoners captured during months of fighting were paraded through the streets. also on show, destroyed ukranian hardware. as the rest of the country marks 23 years of independence, the separatist fighters remain loyal to moscow. >> donetsk has been under constant ukrainian bombardment.

hours earlier... ..shells landed on this hospital mortuary. in the ukranian capital, a different screen. here thousands celebrated independence day with a show of military mite. the government's promised it send much of the hardware to the front line. president petro porashenko used the occasion to announce a $3 billion increase in military spending. >> translation: the event of recent months have become, for us, a war, not officially announced bit still real. it will probably go down in history as the great war of 2014, it's war against external aggression, the war for ukraine, for the honour and glory for the people, for independence. >> in eastern ukraine, not far from the fighting the people of slovyansk staged their open demonstration. there's confidence here that the

ukrainian forces are back in control. several weeks ago slovyansk was the center of separatist activity, now this small brand of people are showing loyalty to kiev. it's hard to imagine everybody here feels the same way. quietly, behind the scenes, ukrainian forces are doing everything to eradicate remaining separatist sympathies. it's normality, but not quite. dozens of towns have been recaptured in the last few months. but only a few kilometres from here, ukraine is divided and at war. the body of the chief steward on malaysia airlines flight mh17 was returned to malaysia today. he was buried at a muslim cemetery in kuala lumpur after being awarded military honour.

he led a 15-person crew. it's been more than a month since the aircraft was importantly shot down over eastern ukraine. an international investigation of the crash is still underway. over 3,000 miing rant were -- migrants were saved this weekend after they tried to cross the mediterranean sea from north africa. unrest caused an increase in immigration. iceland lowered warnings from red to orange as forwards of an eruption calmed down. two earthquakes were recorded near the bardabunga. a volcanic eruption is possible, but the threat is not so great that they need to ground any plans. coming up, we update top stories, a shock that a week people in california. we explain how the draught may

have played a roll. and how negligence is making a bad situation worse.

back to our top story, a strong earthquake rocked northern california. the intoing ni attitude -- magnitude 6 quake was between nasser and american cannesian. and felt as far away as san francisco. take a look. >> it's an earthquake. >> dad. >> it's an earthquake. >> scary. people were shaken out of their beds, 90 hurt, and widespread damage to buildings and roads. california governor jerry brown declared a state of emergency. scientists say it's the largest quake since the quake in 1989. california's drought may have

played a role in the quake. reachers say the amount of water loss -- researchers say the amount of water loss is so great. 63 gallon, that tectonic plates are rising, causing the crust to push the ground up as much as 0.6 of an inch. that kind of growth rate is seen in giant mountain ranges like the himalayas. like california, sri lanka is facing a drought. the lack of rain has caused crop failures. we have this report from southern sri lanka. >> reporter: this woman is digging a dry creek bed to look for lot us roots. she has little choice, after her crop was destroyed by drought. >> educating the change and paying everything with the money i earn here is difficult. what else can i do. >> it's back-breaking work. villagers can earn $6 a day

selling the roots. 10 months of dry weather has wiped out crops. 16 of the of the 25 districts are affected. successive crop failures caused much hardship. >> both planting seasons have been affected. that's why people are badly affected. previously, if one season failed, we could recover with the n. in the worst effected districts, the amount of lapped has fallen by halve. authorities predict that the harvest will fall by 16% in 2013. >> this tiny water hall is all that is left of the tanks and dozens like it. despite signs of rain, more is needed, say the farmers to reverse the prolonged dry spell

that damaged crops. >> reporter: sri lanka's agriculture system relies on large-scale reservoirs to store and distribute water during dry spells. the network suffered through poor maintenance. >> some of these have not been desilted for 50-60 years. that's why they are not full capacity. we can use the time to our benefit, so we are better prepared in the future. >> the government said the impact on livelihoods is its primary concern. it's spending millions of dollars to clean-up and repair the irrigation network. in the interim people will rely on water bowsers for supplies. >> translation: there's not enough water for drinking and when cooking we need to use water carefully. >> the lack of rains not only affected tens of thousands of people, but livestock and wildlife. all hoping for a speedy end to

the dry spell. >> still ahead on al jazeera america. child horses roaming the open spaces in the american west. aniconic image, one threatened by a government agency.

>> fault lines labor day marathon the true cost of cheap labor >> nothing can be worse than this people burnt to ash... >> horrendous conditions... traffic labor on us bases... management stealing wages... exploited children put

to work... >> how many of you get up at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning to go out to the fields? don't miss our award winning series fault lines labor day marathon only on al jazeera america wild horses run free in parts of the american west for centuries. the agency that is supposed to protect the horses has been selling them for meat. >> i see horses up here. there is nothing any more exciting, hardly, than seeing a band of wild horses. >> for 21 years ginger kath rinse, a documentary film-maker focussed her lens on wild horses that roam in wyoming and other states. katherines joined a bitter battle to keep them wild, fighting plans by the bureau of

land management. b.l.m., to round up the forces and remove them from this part of wyoming forever. cattle ranchers argue the wild horses overrun the grazing areas on private land. none would speak on camera. the organization that rpt them -- represent them won a lawsuit against the bureau of land management, forcing them to remove wild horses from private and public land. the b.l.m. in recent years rounded up the horses to control their population. they go to b.l.m. holding pens and pasture, but a federal investigation is under way into allegations hundreds were sold to be killed for their meat, a felony offense. the biggest buyer by far is a colorado livestock hauler who has publicly advocated that the wild horses should be sold for slaughter. since 2009 tom davis bought more

than 1700 wild horses according to the b.l.m., in his applications uncovered by pro-publica, a nonpublic group. davis promised they'd be used for movies, turned out to pasture and put on oil fields. inspection records from colorado show that davis said hundreds of horses with bln brands were sent to texas and towns near a border crossing for annals on their way -- animals on their way to slaughter houses. the b.l.m. refused to comment on their case. the office of inspector general said the investigation is ongoing. ginger is convinced b.l.m. officials look the other way to get rid of animals they no longer wanted. >> you hold them culpable. >> i do. >> they are culpable. this should never have happened, never. it's the only wildlife species that they are supposed to manage. they have made a horrible mess

out of it. thank you for your time. i'm richelle carey. "real money" weekend is next, and for updates be sure to check out the website. that is aljazeera.com. don't look now, here comes britain's economy. the uk's economy is powering forward and could take over as europe's strongest economy. we'll look at what britain is doing right. also, reading, writing and red ink, a step that a school system is taking to open the school for the kids. living in a box - going inside what could be the apartments of the future to see how they stack up - literally - i'm ali velshi, and this is "real money".