british officials saying it was likely caused by a bomb. >> egypt's president along with the british prime minister talking about the cause of the crash dominating the agenda at talks. >> also ahead, the british prime minister says a bomb is most likely to blame for that air crash in egypt. >> we can't be certain that the russian airliner was brought down by a terrorist bomb, but it looks increasingly likely that that was the case. >> revenues the requireian government said it's retain a strategic highway into the

divided city of aleppo. >> wielding power in myanmar says election. >> the egyptian president al sisi is holding talks with the british prime minister in downing street, top of the agenda, the recent crash of a russian airliner in sinai as well as security concerns in egypt. the decision is defended to suspend all british flights between the u.k. and the egyptian resort of sharm el-sheikh. >> i have every sympathy for the egyptians, because of course, tourism is vitally important to their economy. i want to restore our links and our flights with egypt as soon as is safe and possible, but i have to put the safety and want to put the safety of british people first. if that russian airliner was

brought down by a terrorist bomb, that does have very real implications, and it means it's essential that we see that improvement of security at sharm el-sheikh airport. that's what we'll discuss today. we'll be working round the clock with experts to help put that in place. >> we are outside the british meeting. a bit of tension when it comes to what caused this crash. >> tourives are one of the

largest groups. it is going to hit the economy and hit it hard. it's understandable that the egyptian authorities obviously aren't so happy about this, but obviously in those meetings, they will be discussing how to address something similar like this. al sisi had tried to claim to the world that the reason why he should be invited to place like downing street is because he was the man able to prevent such attacks. obviously the statistics since he came to power prove something different, violent attacks in the sinai increased three fold since the 2013 coup. a controversial visit by the

president of the u.k. >> both sides of the political spectrum, on one side, those in favor of this who have been gathering outside downing street, significant number of people who view the city as the savior of the nation, as they say as somebody who has been able to or will be able to take the country forward after several years of instability. they've been making their voices heard. on the other side, there are those opposed to al sisi, seeing him as somebody with blood on his hands, responsible for what human rights watch calls the worst massacre in human times to take place in egypt where over 1,000 people were killed in one day. they've also been making their voices heard. it's really shown or gone to the forefront again the huge division in egyptian society, maybe we haven't been able to see that in egypt because of the fact that protest laws there since sisi came to power prevented demonstrations taking place. at least here in the united

kingdom where people are free to protest, that's brought that once again to the forefront. >> thank you very much indeed. we expect to hear from the british prime minister and the egyptian leader after their meeting at downing street. we'll bring that to you live of course here at al jazeera. >> meanwhile, an international team of investigators is still at the crash site in the sinai desert. the crash site of that russian airliner. the airline black boxes are being investigated for fatal clues. the russians have been using drones to survey the crash site. britain says government said the jet may well have been brought down by an explosive device. egyptian investigators are examining sand at the crash site to try and determine if a bomb was involved. egypt accused britain of prejudging the results of an ongoing investigation. a technical fault hasn't been completely ruled out. >> an aviation industry consultant said it's too soon to tell what caused the crash.

>> looking from the pieces of the wreckage, the photographs released by the media, it does look like it's either a bomb or a structural failure of some sort, but to conclude it as one way or the other at the moment seems premature. i think the foreign minister just decided to take precautions in public interest, rightly or wrongly, but yes, it can be misunderstood as in they conclude that it's likely to be a bomb. we look at the photographs, there are signs that it could be, but then to confirm it would be to look at the investigators find out whether there were traces of explosives that was involved. >> the syrian government says it's taken control of a strategic road into the divided city of aleppo, but lost ground on another key supply line in the north. we have more on the battle for vital territory.

>> this is one battle in a war focusing on syria's highways. in the north, taking control of a town on the main road in the west of the country, there has been weeks of fighting since the government in syria, along with its allies pushed into this region. they have been backed by russian airstrikes. the rebels managed to take background in this region. it is north of government control, close to a highway that runs through syria's major cities. the government wants to take full control of the countryside to control its strong holds and push further north. >> the regime pushed into the north to regain the. is. they need land routes. they cannot air drop supplies to their forces. the opposition has now turned the tables. the government is in a difficult position now. >> it regained ground on another front, recapturing an important supply route.

when isil captured the road over a week ago, it was seen as a setback for the government. this is a lifeline for the military and the people who live in western-controlled districts in the divided city of aleppo, but the main highway between aleppo and damascus has been blocked by the opposition for years. >> this new battle is about securing highways. it always has been. the army has had man power problems. even with the support of allies like lebanon's hezbollah movement, it has had to choose battles. the goal of the government and shorters now is to secure movement between the cities and maintain control of what it calls core territories. >> this fight, however, also has political goals. each side hopes to change the balance of power in order to impose their own settlement. while technical gains have been made since the start of the recent military campaign, neither side has achieved a strategic win. al jazeera, beirut. >> a roadside car bomb is

reported to have killed at least five people in the lebanese town near the syrian border. state t.v. says a meeting was targeted. the town was briefly taken over by isil and al-nusra fighters last year. dozens of soldiers were killed or kidnapped in 2014. a ceasefire was negotiate by a group of religious leaders. the u.n. chief negotiator in libya is stepping down to take a job with a gulf country which supports one of libya's rival governments. he is to work for the united emirates which supports the u.n. backed government in the eastern city of at you before you can. he'll take over as head of the academy. response from the tripoli government has asked the u.n. to investigate, warning that leon's appointment risks destroying the political process in libya. >> in pakistan, the search continues for up to 150 people trapped after a factory collapse. at least 21 people are confirmed

to have been killed in lahore. it's not clear what caused the collapse, but there was structural damage in the area after last week's earthquake. let's go live for the latest from lahore. it's now nighttime, how are the search and rescue efforts progressing? >> it's the second night since that tragedy happened. the rescue teams are still busy in this industrial state. it's about 30 kilometers south of lahore on the main road to moltan. this is the hub of pakistan's industry. the building that you were talking about was unfortunately poorly constructed. you can see the beams, the supporting beams and pillars were not, according to standard, despite that, the owner decided to add yet another floor and that of course led to the collapse of the building.

importantly, most of the people who were trapped inside or still trapped inside are poor people, laborers busy making shopping bags and now the attempt by the rescue teams is to try and reach them if they are indeed trapped in any air pockets under the rubble. >> how are the family dealing with the weight of news of their loved ones? it must be a pretty anxious time for them. >> absolutely. it's very tragic to see mothers, fathers, brothers, family members waiting to hear news about their loved ones, because in most cases, they are the bread earner of the family, as well. last night we saw a mother sitting all night. she said she had called her son on the cell phone but all she could hear were screams on the telephone. some people have been able to establish contact with the rescue teams through their cell phones, but it's very difficult

to locate where they are. the rescue teams are cutting through concrete slabs and steel to troy too make corridors into the basement, because it is possible there are a large number of people may have been in the basement tell the of the collapse, so the rescue teams working very hard, but they're not well equipped, not well trained and of course that would complicate the matter as far as the rescue mission is concerned. >> thank you for that update. >> still ahead on the program, think germany is welcome home to refugees? not here.

>> welcome back. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. the egyptian president is holding talks with the british prime minister in london at downing street. on top of the agenda, the recent crash of a russian airliner in the sinai as well as security concerns in egypt. >> just before meeting al sisi, david cameron said a bomb is most likely to blame for that air crash in the sinai. his government has sent its own aviation experts to assess the security at the airport. >> the syrian government said it has taken control of a strategic

highway but loft control of a city near another major highway. the government is reported to have launched a counter attack. more now on the investigation into the crash of the russian airliner in egypt. joining us is the managing he had he tore of i.h.s. insurgency center live from london. you've got the brits and americans saying on the one hand a bomb may be involved, the russians saying not so fast. based on the public information right now, what do you think happened? >> well, i think it's clear that the u.k. and u.s. officials have come out and made the statement. they've been very public about saying it's very likely that a bomb caused this aircraft to crash. i think we have to assume that to come out and make such a strong statement, they'd have to have a variety of intelligence

inputs, which taken together gave them a very credible idea of what took place on the aircraft. while nothing's confirmed yet, it speaks volumes lead to come out and speak so publicly about a bomb. >> indeed it does, and an isil affiliated group has claimed responsibility for the crash. what do we know about isil's presence and its activities in that region in the sinai peninsula and are they capable of downing a plane? >> in the region, there is an established presence in the sinai peninsula, limited to north sinai really, so pretty much along the northern coastline of the sinai peninsula in towns, they are not known to operate in areas of the south sinai. so around sharm el-sheikh, they don't have that strong a presence there.

that doesn't mean they aren't capable of operating there, but it's a new operation, if you like. >> this is an isil affiliated group claiming responsibility, not isil itself. do we know what sort of relationship there is between isil in syria and iraq and these groups that claim allegiance to isil? >> the group is active in the sinai. it's an official part of the organization. for all intents and purposes, it can be considered part of the islamic state, a meeting of the leadership and follow directives from them. >> the egyptian leader al sisi has said that it is in full control of the sinai peninsula, that basically this claim of responsibility by the isil

affiliated group is simple propaganda with that what do you make of this statement? >> well, it's very much in the interests of the egyptian government to play down the extent of the insurgency in north sinai for obvious reasons. the egyptian government enacted number of pieces of legislation over the past six to 12 months, from reporting any security or terrorism incidents that don't follow the line dictated by the military, the government, so they are obviously going to try to play down the impact it has. we've been tracking the insurgency closely. it's very well established, very concerted, and over the past three so six months, that has been gathering pace, carrying out increasingly more brazen attacks, showcasing increasing capabilities. >> matthew, very good to talk to you from london.

thanks for your time. >> myanmar's opposition leader says she will be the true power above the president if her party triumphs in the election. we have this report. >> the queue formed hours before the opposition leader was due to speak. it shows the interest in the upcoming election. she cautions against too much optimism. >> it is certainly not a great democratic conversation. whether it is or not, we'll have to wait and see after the election. as i said, already the election process is proofing to be less than free and fair. >> for half a century, myanmar had been ruled by the military. the constitution is heavily weighted in its favor and guarantees it a role in politics. it was only in 2011, after an

election widely dismissed as fraudulent that a political party, one dominated by former generals took over. the upcoming poll, too, is not without its problems. opposition party, the national league for democracy said it's concerned about errors in the voter list and how advanced voting overseas had been carried out. >> in some parts of the country, fighting between armed ethnic groups and the military will prevent many from voting. >> in recent days, thousands of people near the township have been displaced. the election commission has said polling will not take place in seven townships, and in as many as 600 villages around the country. it's disappointing. he was plan to go run as a candidate for a party

representing the minority. >> it makes people lose their voting rights and also the ethnic candidates have lost their chance to represent the people. >> in the western state, hundreds of thousands of muslim rohingya, an ethnic group not recognized have been rendered stateless and struck from the election rolls. >> it is seen as a test of the ruling military backed party commitment to reform. some are questions whether the ballot can be said to be truly representative of the people. al jazeera. >> in bangladesh, protestors have been carrying mock cough finance through streets, meant to represent the bodies of murdered writers and publishers. the government's accused of not doing enough to stop the killings. >> protestors try to force their

way toward bangladesh's parliament. they are angry at the government, which they accuse of doing little to sox the murderers of bloggers and publishers. the crowd carries makeshift cough finance. each represents one victim. patience is running out. >> we are going to assert a coffin march against the impunity that -- and against the killers of bloggers, publishers and writers and again -- >> the most recent targeted hacked to death above a crowded market on saturday. he published secular books, including some by bangladesh author roy. roy was slashed and killed as he watched from a book fair in february. since then, three other bloggers have been murdered.

what they all had in common was speaking out against religious violence and an armed group said its responsible for the attacks. bangladesh's government describes the murders as isolated incidents, and says they're being investigated, but the protestors say that's just not enough. rob mathieson, al jazeera. >> germany's expelling thousands of asylum seekers who arrive from the balkans under tougher laws passed this week. the government has drown up a list of six countries it believes are safe, but human rights group say many will be put at risk if forced to return. >> parts of berlin is well established, arab and turkish communities have long added to the ethnic mix but in recent years joined by others from the balkans. they are the subject of hard choices by the german government. the albanians say the new asylum

law has left their community to work out whether a hostile germany is actually any better than a life in poverty where they came from. >> on the one hand, they see a much better life. they have security. they have hospitals, doctors, and all of these, school for the children. on the other side, they feel this home sickness, because they are here the kind of strangers. >> the numbers suggest that even more albanians made the journey through the balkans this year than syrians and german opinion is hardened against the numbers arriving here, saying migrants have used the syrian crise as a trojan horse to come in on a false claim. the new asylum laws serve more than one purpose here. they help her keep her right

wing coalition together. angela merkel could argue that getting rid of tens of thousands of people from the balkans can free money and space for tens of thousands of desperate refugees from syria. the removals are beginning, police arriving to explain to macedonians, serbs, albanians and montenegrins that they have to go. >> there are trained police talking to them, hoping they'll volunteer to leave. we offer them money to return home. >> the central claim by the german government that all the balkan countries are safe since they are not we're zones isn't shared by human rights groups who say some are at great risk if forced to return. >> i would not say they would fall under the geneva

convention, but what we have is the situation they would endure when they go back to kosovo. it's a situation which would not allow them to have a life in dignity. >> still, the bold fact is that nearly 200,000 people from the balkans will be removed under that this scheme. however desperate their situation at home, whether they think themselves worthy of asylum, their failed cases collateral damage of the syrian war. lawrence lee, al jazeera, berlin. >> liberal party leader justin trudeau has been sworn in. half of the cabinet posts have gone to women. he promises to restore canada said reputation as a peacekeeping nation. >> a report has revealed that the pentagon paid millions of dollars to sports teams across the u.s. in exchange for displays involving the military. the teams could now be forced to

return the money. >> their call it paid patriotism, the years displace like this have been commonplace at u.s. sports events, armed services unfurling flags, performing the national anthem and being applauded by fans. turns out it came at a price. >> unfortunately, we, thanks to in depth vehicles, a lot of that patriotism is paid for. in fact, as much as $6.8 million that we saw the department spend on contracts since 2012. they obviously should not be doing this. >> a senate report released on wednesday revealed the demonstrations were taxpayer funded, a multi-million dollars program intended to promote the armed services and boost recruitment. >> there's a lot of good things that professional sports do to

honor the men and women who serve in the military, but these millions of dollars are not acceptable of an expenditure of taxpayer dollars. >> the investigation show 72 krauts were in place with up to 50 pro sports teams. the payments totals $9.1 million involved the country's biggest competitions, the nfl, nba, nhl and major league baseball. >> we went to the pentagon and asked them to provide information and it was like pulling teeth. we're still not convince that had we have all the information so far. >> the practice has since been banned and the teams profited urged to donate the money to charity that is help veterans. future displays of patriotism will have to be free. al jazeera. >> nasa has released breath taking new pictures of the sun. they were created from still images taj by the solar dynamics

observatory. the state-of-the-art telescope orbits the sun and captures energies's across 10 wave lengths of invisible ultraviolet light. the result is this beautiful depiction. >> in the u.s., native leaders from 165 recognized indian tribes are in washington for a special summit hosted by president barack obama. the tribes demand better protection from the impact of the on him and gas industries in their territories, plus rising sea levels. >> the women are recreating their forbearers 19th century migration from the tribe's ancestral lands. they reached a marsh outside new orleans. >> the consistent theme we've had each day is what do we think our ancestors wanted for us, what kind of ancestors do we want to be and