killing everyone on board. on board. i'm lauren taylor, this is al jazeera live from london coming up. china and taiwan hold their first talks in 60 years. seenl celebrates as it's declared ebola-free 42 days with no new cases.

india's prime minister is greeted with protests at a rally in kashmir. egypt is confirmed there was a loud noise heard in the last second of inflight recording recovered from last week's plane crash. the country's aviation minister has revoold the final few moments of flight 968. all were killed when the metro jet plummeted to the ground in the sinai province. >> a noise was heard in the last second of the cvr recording. a spectral analysis will be carried out, by specialized labs, in order to identify the nature of this noise. the committee noted media reports and analysis, some of which claimed to be based on

official intelligence, which favors a certain scenario. for the cause of the accident. the committee was not provided with any information or evidence in this regard. the committee urged the sources of such reports to provide it with own information that could help us to understate our mission. >> earlier egypt's foreign minister criticized the west for not sharing its intelligence on the possible causes of the crash. now checking closed circuit television cameras, to determine whether foul play was involved. so what do we know about the investigation so far? french investigators looking through the flight data recorders have suggested a sudden explosion was to blame.

the pilots can be heard chatting normally and communicating with air traffic control up until the apparent explosion. u.s. satellites apparently picked up a flash from the plane pointing to a possible explosion. u.s. intelligence involved armed groups in the sinai which also supports the bomb theory. part of the wreckage seems to identify some damage on the inside of the aircraft possibly in an explosion. information is emerging about another plane back in august, a plane coming into sharm el sheikh came from 300 meters of a missile. the plane carried 189 passengers from london. the pilot saw the missile and moved to the left to avoid it. egyptian intelligence concluded it was not part of an attack but

military at the time. aviation analyst joins us from edinborough via skype. investigators aren't saying conclusively what happened in this case but have said there was a noise on the recording just before the plane went down. how significant is that? >> i think it's very significant. at this stage were it not for all the background stuff, we'd certainly not be looking at forming a firm conclusion. because these things are usually quite complicated. but certainly it is an indication that something sudden happened, perhaps an explosive decompression but i think the background of intelligence seems to be fairly firm on this one, does tend to point to some sort of device on the aircraft. >> tell us about this near-miss that's being talked about. why would this news emerge only now? >> a very good point.

i wondered the same thing. it's very astonishing, i don't think there's many professional pilots who have had an experience like that. pilots are bound usually by their company, by their employment conditions not to talk about things unless it's been authorized. i imagine that someone decided that as this was perhaps some kind of mishap on the part of the egyptian military that it's a one off and not to mention it. >> in terms of how long it's going to take, the egyptians are spelling out there were various nations involved in the investigation and it's going to take time but obviously it's not in their interest at this stage to say it was an act of terrorism or a bomb because they've got a lot of interest at stake. but do you think there is that element of them trying to delay drawing that conclusion or do you think it's simply too soon for them actually to be able to know for certain? >> i think it's too soon to know anything for certain. i suspect that there are

political issues involved, and obviously as you say, it's not exactly in egypt's interests to go with the terrorist solution at this point. but you know, yes i mean any accident report will take quite a long while for all the really definitive points to be made. >> and tell us a little bit about the logistics of trying to get all the people assembled in egypt back, how long do you think it will take? >> it's very hard to say. i think the aircraft could be made available, it would have to be charted in or pulse in from other operations. i think it's really a matter of how the authorities and the airlines are able to organize it. because we've already heard that there have been issues about the baggage because they're not talking about screening, i'm not really sure whether sharm el sheikh gets over there as easy as everybody says but i expect

that will be a factor. >> thank you very much indeed for joining us on your thoughts of the anonymous story. thank you. >> now it was a handshake 66 years in the making. the leaders of china and taiwan have met for the first time ever. although the talks lasted less than an hour it's seen as an historic sign ever reconciliation. sahil raman has the story. >> the government taking no chances for leaders of china and taiwan. president xi jinping was the first to arrive then taiwan's leader ma yung jo. just take a look as the press corps that's arrived over 500 of them from across asia pacific and the rest of the world.

they'll be wondering what the impact of this meeting will be on both china and taiwan. neither officially recognizes the other as head of state. china seize taiwan as its rogue province off the chinese coast. taiwan regards itself as an independent country. after 1929 and a bloody civil war, mao zedong declared the republic of china in beijing. and chiang kai-shek create and his comrades created another democracy off the coast. talks would only happen if the taiwanese saw benefit. he has much at stake. >> if president ma is able to successfully carry off this meeting it would significantly

solidify his legacy his position historically and also his post-presidency political life if he's able to set himself autopsies a cross-strait political broker. >> elections due in the new year, president xi spoke before the talks started, was very positive. >> 66 years of development of cross-strait relations indicates that no matter how much wind and rain both sides have been through, no matter how long we have been kept away from each other no force can keep us apart. >> the meetings that lasted less than an hour, this is what ma had to say afterwards. >> translator: both sides should stick to one china policy but we have to recognize that although there is one china, we agree to disagree on its definition. there are different interpretations. >> political commentators agree this is a purely symbolic meeting. while it was all smiles on saturday the upcoming

presidential and general elections in taiwan could see the antichina position taking power then it would be back to the drawing board for both. sahil raman, al jazeera, singapore. protesters in the capital taipei. al jazeera's andrew thomas is there and sent this update. >> reporter: these protesters on the streets of tie pay did not want this summit to go ahead. they're holding up posters like this one. a crossed out president ma and president xi, no to the talks it says. most of the people here want independence for taiwan, official independence officially recognized. long term want the reunification of china something they do not believe in. the dpp party the opposition party in taiwan that is likely to win an election in january they are also for independence of taiwan long term but they are

not part of this protest. they don't want to open these people, that they wouldn't be able to keep the lines of communication open with beijing if they were in power. sierra leone has been declared officially ebola free. this is how people have been celebrating in the capital freetown. the world health organization says there have been no new ebola cases in the past 42 days but neighboring guinea is still trying to rid itself of the deadly virus. sierra leone play be breathing a sigh of relief but the ebola virus hit the country hard. more in neighboring guinea where the first outbreak was declared in march twe 14. at least 20% have lost one adult who looked after them, in total 4,000 people have died and that's a big impact on village economies. in guinea and liberia, ebola is

still a threat and the world health organization is warning for sierra leone this is just the end of the current crisis. are international medical corps ebola response team in sierra leone, speaking from the area, she said saturday's announcement was a major milestone. >> we were fortunate enough to be, to listen to the declaration that was announced for w.h.o, and as the statement came out everyone sort of jumped up and started cheering and laughing and clapping and there were a lot of tears and really, in remembrance of the countless numbers of people who have lost their lives as a direct and indirect result of the outbreak. the last several months there's been considerable effort by the international community and the government of sierra leone to really strengthen the local health care system in terms of training health care workers, how to use appropriate

protective equipment to rehabilitate health care facilities and have the staff members be able to diligently screen for any ebola like symptoms and also there's been considerable work on safe places for isolation and referral if necessary. there's also been a lot of considerable effort out in the communities to really help key health promotes and key preventative measures. >> ahead on al jazeera. new hope in pakistan as a teenage boy is pulled out alive after 50 hours in the rubble of a collapsed factory. and in uganda, a dam that will wipe out some of the country's most famous white water rafting rapids.

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>> a reminder now of the top stories here on al jazeera. egyptian authorities have confirmed a loud noise was heard in the last seconds of the inflight recordings recovered from the plane crash. what's been hailed as a symbolic symbol of reconciliation. and there have been celebrations on the streets of sierra leone after the west african nation was officially declared ebola free. a visit by india's prime minister, several people were arrested in sriniga. indiana's leader is a hard line hin du. fez jamal was at the protest.

>> confronted before the morning rally, almost before the black flags and balloons appeared, they like other demonstrators, want self determination, as to whether kashmir should merge with pakistan, stay with india or remain independent. organizer was taken away by police along with some of the his supporters. al jazeera interviewed him. >> these are subject to justice, justice leads to resolution update issue. at the same time, we will need to resolving the political dispute. >> reporter: at the rally the prime minister delivered as expected, announcing more than $12 billion in funding for victims of last year's floods and economic development in the region. >> translator: my dream is

that this money should be used to make a new kashmir and advance a progressive kashmir. don't consider this a $12 billion final package. it is just a beginning. >> reporter: security had been stepped up all week with news of the prosmsed eighth development and jobs by modi didn't temper the frustrations by some locals as the security clamp down for days just because of the rally. >> they say democracy, democracy. what is this indian democracy, is it that you should bring people in from other parts of the state? >> short and sporadic protests like this one continued throughout the afternoon leeferg thleavingthe promise of economit odds with some people's feelings. helping woos their support and confidence of people here in the

region. but the fact that so much security was needed for rally and to prevent protests shows that any announcement here is a tough sell. fez jamal, al jazeera, india administered kashmir. a young boy pulled from the rubble of the pakistan collapse after are family buried another body. at least 45 people have died since wednesday's disaster and officials say dozens more are still missing. kamal hyder in lahor has the latest. >> waiting for news of hundreds of relatives are still waiting for news of their loved ones who are still under the rubble. but it is the recovery of 19-year-old shahid, 50 hours after the collapse of the building, that is now giving a

new ray of hope that perhaps their relatives may still be alive. the search and rescue operation is very slow because they don't want to move anything that might compromise anybody that may be still alive inside that building. as you can see, a narrow road is now separating the relatives from the rescue workers who are busy just across the road. you can see piles of rubble, contemporaneous are liftincranes of debris and the idea is basically to try to reach most survivors wh who may still be ae under the rubble. >> fightser from islamic state of iraq and the levant have released syrian christians who have been held for months, in the northeast of the country.

the syrian human rights network say negotiations are continuing for release of another 124 people who remain in captivity. activists in syrian say, the aftermath of the strikes which killed at least ten people and injured dozens more. many districts in duma are under rebel control. doctors without borders say 40% of those killed in that area were women or children under 15. heavy rain and flooding has again disrupted life in the iraqi capital baghdad, many people are blaming corrupt politicians for failure of the country's crumbling infrastructure for failing to cope with the issue. osama ben javad reports. >> for second time in weeks raikdiraqis have to deal with hr

than usual rains. as the old drainage systems fail to cope with the downpour. failing infrastructure and insufficient public services. >> translator: the rain is still flooding our homes and streets. we want a solution for our problems swiftly. our children have become ill due the such hard circumstances. >> reporter: more than 50 people have been killed since rainstorms struck serl areas ses last week. iraqis protested against what they call an insufficient government unable to take care of them. protesters in central baghdad protested to sack local officials. the green zone where the government and parliament convenes. >> where is the oil money, 1,000 billion iraqi denars.

>> the people of iraq are not treated fairly. we've seen nothing serious from all the politicians, the economy and services are deteriorating. the people are suffering and the politicians don't respond to people's requests. >> prime minister haider al-abadi has announced reforms. but the reforms have been blocked by parliament. because he announced them without seeking approval from legislators. that stalemate has also stopped the cleric, who has warned people against block anticorruption reforms. >> translator: we have to firm that the need to circumvent or delay the reform steps. >> activists are already calling for more action against corrupt officials. but far from improving conditions on the ground.

osama ben javad, al jazeera. policy on refugees, thousands of supporters at the alternative for germany movement were met with hundreds of counterprotesters. at least 10 were arrested after scuffles. germany faces a record influx of 1 million refugees this year. demanding early elections and an end to corruption. country's politicians are still trying ofind a new prime minister. initial talks with political and civil society leaders failed to find a candidate in romania, victor ponta resigned this week, triggered by a night club fire killing 39 people. candidates in myanmar have held their final rallies, hoping that the election will introduce full democracy, the first time they'll have a say in how the

country's run. al jazeera's florence looi is in yangon. >> i'm here with two first time voters, christina and lee, to talk about sunday's poll. how important is this upcoming election to you? >> well, it's very important for me and for country. the right to vote is very -- the most important thing for the democrat initiative if we are truly practicing and also, we can change our -- we can pick -- we can choose our government. >> reporter: now this election has centered on the topic of change. what sort of changes are you hoping to see? >> how to see more participation from the opposition party in the parliament and also the power balance between that parliament. so i want to see both sides from the opposition party.

>> myanmar transitioned to democracy nearly five years ago. are you happy with the changes so far? >> i'm happy with the change because democracy stay new to the country, at least the government try the change, like even though not 100% at least they are trying the change the legislative system. >> i want them to take more responsibility for rule of law, and also, i don't feel safe around here these days. there are a lot of crimes lately. and also, health care system is pretty poor. and education system, i want my son to go to the best school possible. we want the liberty and creativity. >> christina and lee will join more than 33 million people who are eligible to vote on myanmar's general election on sunday. >> in burundi, the deadline for a controversial weapons amnesty is due at midnight.

president pierre nkurunziza answer opponents were told to give up their weapons and veb surrender, or face extraordinary consequences. a new hydroelectric dam in uganda could have unintended consequences for the tourism industry. once completed it would flood rapids on the river nile popular for river sports. from the river nile malcolm webb has more. >> reporter: the opening stretch of the river nile in yawnd is one of the besuganda is in the world for white water rafting. creates jobs. worked for the rafting company since he was a teenage are but not for much longer he says. the government is building a dam that will flood these rapids. >> the dam will affect me personally because this is my job rafting. when the dam comes the rapids

will be gone. >> its reservoir will submerge four of the falls. the rafting company says that means they will have to close. the rafting is great fun, but that's not the only reason campaigners say that the campaigners say that the tourism isn't the only reason the waterfalls are important. they say that ecologically unique and also they have spiritual significance to some of the communities living in this area. so there's actually a conservation agreement between grawnuganda and the world bank o protect them. several rapids disappeared under its reservoir so the agreement was meant to protect the stretch of river down below. the governmental says the new dam needs to be the largest of three options proposed. >> the other options may not be

viable. we would end up delivering electricity to the people which they cannot buy. would be detrimental to them. >> construction started buy chinese company funded by china's government. the world bank declined to be interviewed. a spokesman said it will complete an assessment of the dam's impact and will not take any action without the bank's agreement but just as it is already happening he lobbies for the tourism company. he shows us thousands of signatures of locals who are against the dam. he says they are being ignored could be because of corruption something the government denies. >> the government who employ pay each other commission, there is a lot of business as a result of this dam. >> it's possible the new dam will help the community more than the new dam but authorities say its impact hasn't been

assessed. generate power and preserve the rapids are being ignored. malcolm webb al jazeera on the river nile in uganda. >> plenty of you on our website the address is aljazeera.com. watch now icon, aljazeera.com. >> for more than a decade, the world has witnessed seemingly endless violence in afghanistan. many tell me the daily reports of the attacks, and the daily killings have ceased to hold much meaning. but for those living in this land, torn apart by war, there's no more important of a time than now. after years of trying to drive back the taliban, most of the