a victory for iraqi kurdish fighters as they recapture the key town of sinjar from isil. hello. you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, two israelis killed in a drive-by shooting in the occupied west bank as two palestinians also killed in other incidents. an all star welcome for mohdi as he appears for a rally in the wembley stadium.

and a chunk of debris burns up in the earth's atmosphere. find out what it was and where it disintegrated. hello. iraqi kurdish militia say they have liberated the town of sinjar from the islamic state of iraq and the levant. isil took over the that town more than a year ago now committing atrocities against the people living there that was members of the jazzdy minority. sinjar sits on highway 47, which isil has used to move supplies and fighters. the highway is also part of a network of roads that link two of isil's strongholds, raqqa in syria and mosul in iraq. elsewhere a coalition of arab, christian and kurdish rebel factions pussed isil out of the town of hull in syria.

we're outside sinjar and we have this report. >> reporter: they've been arriving here since thursday hoping to go home to sinjar town. this is in northern iraq, one of the routes into sinjar and an important supply line for the offensive. the news that kurdish peshmerga forces defeated isil and declared the town liberated gave hope to the yazidis who practice an ancient religion. he wonders what he will find when he goes back. >> translator: i just don't want to be here anymore. i want to find out what's happened. i don't care whether my house is burned to the ground. i just want to see my home. >> reporter: the kurdish peshmerga want their people to leave here because they need to clear and hold the town itself and the surrounding area. isil have used targets to devastating effect before. they have booby traps and park car bombs in the areas they have fled, and that's a real problem. the peshmerga forces declared a

curfew in the villages around sinjar. they need to be clear before anyone returns. that decision has angered many here who want to go back to their homes. >> translator: why won't they let us through? i'm not a soldier, but i'm wearing our military uniform to show solidarity with our troops. i just want to go home. i don't want to live in the camps anymore. >> reporter: the kurdish forces have entered the northern areas of sinjar town. the offensive has cut off isil supply line from raqqa in sear gentleman and mosul in iraq. the kurdish president says it paves the way to liberate mosul. >> translator: without a doubt, any victory will have a big impact on achieving victory in the remaining areas. without that the liberation of sinjar will have a big impact on liberating mosul, too, god willing. >> reporter: the retaking of sinjar could be the turning point and advantage in iraq's fight against isil.

meanwhile, the syrian government says it's retaking control of an important town and an airbase in aleppo province. activists say the advances against rebel fighters have been helped by russian air power. in other developments while leaders are due to meet in vienna on saturday to discuss the ongoing crisis in the country, we have the report. >> reporter: these city and army soldiers are marching to the town in aleppo province. this places them closer to the highway that links rebel-held aleppo to government-controlled damascus. activists say the military's advance is aided by russian and syrian jets. their offensive in the north appears carefully chosen as the terrain has the larger force with heavier firepower. the advance comes a day after the military took over an airbase in aleppo. it was besieged by isil. it's significant because it gives the assad government and it's allies an operational base in the north where they have lost control to various groups.

the rebels are fighting back. they reject that they've completely lost and say they have pushed back multiple vabss like the statement of victory on syrian state tv, they have posted videos online saying they've made tactical retreats to higher ground. >> translator: fighters in aleppo continue to fend off the regime and iranian and shia militias and prevent them from advancing. we're engaged in fierce fighting that lasted more than ten hours. >> reporter: all the country is supports various sides are due to meet again in vienna on saturday. as the fighting continues, so does the difficult work to reach an agreement on the way forward. even if we wanted to, my friends, even if you made the worst deal with the devil as one says and said, well, that's what you have to do to try to make this process go forward, i got news for you. it will not stop, because there

are those invested in what has happened and what has been done to them who see assad as the critical component of the transition. were emboldened by russian air cover and helped by iran the government strategy is making headway in controls areas it once ruled. despite these gains much of syria remains outs of its control. the pentagon says it's reasonable certain that british isil fighters known as jihadi john was killed in a drone strike in the raqqa. u.s. army colonel steve warren says there's video evidence showing the man in a car struck by the drone, and he's appeared in several videos showing the murder of hostages. >> he's a barbaric murderer. he was shown in the sickening

videos of the beheading of british aid workers. he posed an ongoing and serious threat to innocent civilians not only in syria but around the world and in the united kingdom, too. he was isil's lead executioner, and let us never forget he killed many, many muslims, too. he was intent on murdering many more people. so this was an act of self-defense. it was the right thing to do. now, u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been in tunisia. they're considering a loan guarantee of $500 million requested by tunisia. he met members of the national dialogue quartet and he spoke of

their wish to see tunisia succeed. >> the eyes of the world are on tunisia, and america wants tunisia to succeed. tunisia is where the arab spring was born, and it is where it distinctly continues to bloom in ways that are defining the possibilities for other countries in the region. four more people have been killed in the latest outbreak o violence in the occupied west bank. it takes the death toll in recent weeks to 83 palestinians and 12 israelis. two palestinians were shot dead in separate confrontations with israeli troops. one died in hebron, and the other was killed in a village of budrus northwest of ramallah. 24 other palestinians have been injured during friday's violence. and at least one palestinian gunman opened fire near hebron kills an israeli father and son as they drove by. three other members of the family were injured.

we have more now from west jerusalem. >> reporter: emergency medical services did confirm that two israelis were killed, a man in his 40s and his 18-year-old son. they were traveling with tir family in a van on a road south of hebron near a jewish settlement. according to the israeli military, it was a drive-by shooting. however, there are reports from the local media that suggest that the attacker at least one of of them maybe was standing outside of the car. now, it's not clear how many attackers were involved in this operation. they did -- or he did manage to flee the scene, and the israeli military said that there is a manhunt going on at the a manhunt that involves the army and police and israeli international security services. prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who is in the united states still, has issued a statement vowing to bring to justice the attackers and

calling this a, quote, heen nus act. it comes at the back of a lot of tensions in hebron itself. just yesterday some undercover police went into a hospital to capture a han they were looking for in the raid. they killed his cousin who happened to be there visiting. that angered a lot of palestinians living there, and then earlier today there were some clashes between young protesters and the israeli forces. one of the protesters died of his wounds later in the hospital. now, this keeps on going on a daily basis. exactly five years to the day that sue chi was released from house arrest, myanmar official confirmed the landslide victory. the nld has taken 364 of parliament's 664 seats. that's well beyond the 329

required to secure a majority. remember, a quarter of those seats are reserved for the military and any change to the constitution requires 75% support in parliament. despite the majority, the nld can't actually make her president as the constitution bans anyone with a foreign spouse or children from that role. she declared she will lead the country i anyway acting above the new president who is a figure head. we have the report now. >> reporter: just a few years ago visiting the headquarters of the national league for democracy could have resulted in arrest. now it's the home of the party that will form median march's next government. its members have been through so much at the hands of the army that ruled this country for 50 years that some can't quite believe what's happening. >> i was arrested four times. kwhiel while i was in jail, i

didn't even dream of one day that we'd do this. >> reporter: in sunday's election the people came out in huge numbers and overwhelmingly demonstrated they want the country to take another step towards full democracy. for the last general election, which was held under military rule in 2010, we had to sneak into the country to cover it. then just a few days later, in fact on this exact same day five years ago we were here outside the home of the nld's leader as she was released from her final sentence of house arrest. now many of the same people who held her captive and tried so hard to keep her and her party out of the picture are preparing to hand them control of the country. she herself can't become president because she has immediate family members who are foreign citizens. she hasn't said who she will put forward, but the 70-year-old has made it clear she'll be calling the shots.

the pressure is now on her and her mps to deliver on decades of campaigning for things like human rights. one of the big problems facing the buddhist majority country is religious intolerance. muslims in the western state have felt the full force of that. they're regarded as illegal immigrants from neighboring bangladesh and, and many of them are confined to camps. they hope the nld will offer them citizenship of myanmar, but the reality may be different. >> we do not recognize them. they're just muslims who came from bangladesh. so since the president still tries to solve the problem, that minor problem will now be on our shoulders. >> reporter: clearly there are many challenges ahead as the nld transitions from democracy campaign and opposition party to the government. wayne hey, al jazeera. there is much more to come

for you here on al jazeera. deciding if russia will be stopped in its tracks. the athletics governing body meets to discuss the doping allegations. also, switching off the lights. costa rica banned the sale of sky lanterns. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around.

welcome back. you're watching al jazeera. let's take you through the top stories this hour. kurdish forces in northern iraq say they have retaken the

town of sinjar by isil. it was captured last year and thousands of people were killed. there's more violence on friday in the occupied west bank. two israelis were killed in a drive-by shooting. in another development a palestinian man was shot dead and another palestinian was then shot dead during protests in hebron. election officials in myanmar have confirmed that the nld party won a landslide victory. she's unable to become president herself. in other stories we're following, burundi's government is calling to urgent talks to get back from the brink of genocide. we have the report now. >> reporter: this is how you find several in the capital on an ordinary day it will be a very busy time, but people have

closed shop, their homes and ran. this security guard shows me the property he's left to watch. he's afraid to be here, but he has no where else to go. >> translator: we are scared. every other day you go out and see a body dumped in the street. sometimes it's someone you know. last night we heard gunshots. >> reporter: the government says that some people in this area have illegal arms which they're using to carry out systemic killings. security forces have started an operation to disarm them. more than 200 people have been killed since april. that's when the president announced he was running for a controversial third term, which he won. this is worrying the international community. many human rights frups groups and the united nations say what's happening in burundi could get worse. words like genocide have resurfaced. >> every time you have a

situation you need to remain reasonable. at times some of the assessment and pronouncements and statements that those people are making could actually inflame the situation and get the opposite of what they're intending to do. >> reporter: the united nations security council has passed a resolution calling for unspecified measures against those sent in to balance. the u.n. has also discussed the possible of deploying troops should the situation worsen and it's pushing for political dialogue. >> i think some people out there think that this is something that needs to be done only with the opposition here, but we think that we have to be -- you have to be broader and bring on board many people, various stakeholders whether they're in the country or outside the country. >> reporter: in many other parts of the city life is going on as usual.

markets are busy and people are coming to work. when you talk to them, they tell you they're also worried about the security situation. many here say they just want to get on with their lives in peace. they hope all the diplomatic efforts help to restore order. now, russia's aviation authority is starting egypt's national airline from making scheduled flights to moscow from saturday. no reason is given for the action taken against egypt air, but russia has already stopped all of its flights to egypt after the fatal crash of one of their airliners two weeks ago. an investigation is still ongoing into the crash in which all 224 people on board were killed. with some intelligence reports suggesting it was brought down by a bomb. now, athletics world governing body convened to decide the fate on russian athleti athletics. they're kurncurrently meeting b

conference call in the wake of russia's allegations of drug cheating made by the world anti-doping agency. they recommended russia be suspended with a possibility they could be ruled out of the rio olympics if they don't make major reforms. leo wellings joins me in the studio. this meeting by conference call is underway. what's likely to be happening? >> it's underway for an hour and 15 minutes. the head of world athletics under a lot of pressure itself is in the meeting in london and monaco and others are taking part. a russian representative is not allowed to vote, and the other 26 will. should russia be provisionally suspended from athletics? then it's the detail that's important because how long would the suspension be because they're likely to be suspended and would it take us up to the olympics or would they be able to find a way to do it in time.

the politics in russia the past few days the pressure exerted on the governing body is saying, we're getting our house in order. we'll work with you rather than being completely pushing away athletics and being antagonized further. i think they're trying to work with them. >> yes. there's a con sill to her term from russia, isn't there? they're willing to cooperate. the international olympic committee will watch this closely. >> they will. the international olympic committee gets along very, very well with russia right from the top where vladimir putin is putting him back. the ioc wants an olympics without russia? of course not. it will cause problems politically with sponsors. it's a nightmare from this whole situation, so they will watch very, very closely as to what's happening in the conference call. there would be emergency calls happening throughout the week, and will russia be banned or the athletes right up to the

olympics? i think the ioc hope not. >> all right. lee wellings, thank you very much. now, a day of moufrning has been declared in lebanon after a double-bombing claimed by isil killed 43 people in the capital. the attacks took place in a southern suburb of beirut controlled by hezbollah, which has been fighting alongside president bashar al assad's forces in syria. from bau rut, we have more. >> reporter: one by one the victims of thursday's bombings are laid to rest. those who were killed were civilians. people who are either store owners, shoppers heading our leaving home or just passing by. they died in an attack that targeted the base of hezbollah's movement, the shia community. the attack was in the heartland, the southern suburbs of beirut. many say it's linked to hezbollah's decision to side with the syrian government, and if the aim was to turn the people against the armed group, it didn't take long for

hezbollah and its supporters to show nothing has changed. >> personally, i was against hezbollah's decision to be involved in syria. but right now i'm convinced they were right to be involved in syria. they are taking proactive action. they're not waiting for isis to come. >> reporter: officials have condemned the attacks. it was a rare show of national unity in a deeply divided country. hezbollah has criticized for sending thousands of fighters to support syria's president. the bombings came at a time when the group stepped up the involvement in the war, mrauing a lead role in recent offenses. already hundreds of men from beirut's southern suburbs have been killed across the border in syria, and this is how many hezbollah's enemies are retaliating. thursday's bombings are described as the worst in years. the intention was to kill as many civilians as possible. the area that was targeted is a residential neighborhood and a

busy market. the casualty toll could have been higher if the third attacker managed to detonate his explosives, but he died in the bombings. the bombs tore people's lives apart, and the fear now is a repeat of a series of attacks in 2013 and last year against targets linked to hezbollah. then, like now, the victims were civilians and then like now the mesage is the same. we will not back down. al jazeera, beirut. the bodies of seven dead babies have been discovered at an apartment in germany. police say a woman close to the border with the czech republic found a body and then called emergency services. officers say they went -- they want to question a 45-year-old woman who used to life at that address. now, austria's government says it's building a fence along a stretch of its border with

sloven slovenia, despite the interior minister saying earlier it would hold off on the plan at the request of the slovenia government. they started to put up a razor wire fence along their border to croatia to slow the refugees. >> reporter: the government decided to set up a fire fence along the border with slovenia. the main reason is the fear of a new refugee wave to europe before the winter. they will not do it right away. they will do it only in the case if the new measures are reinforced by slovenia on the border with croatia won't prevent an uncontrolled influx of the refugees. in that case they will build 25 kilometers of it. so far on the border slovenia said the power fence, and that decision the government has dwuded slovenias. there's almost 200,000 refuses

that crossed into slovenia, and the country spend more than 6 million euros on this problem. india's prime minister has been addressing an audience of more than 60,000 people in london's wembley stadium. >> primae minister modi. >> david cameron introduced him to the stage at the venue which is used to hosting rock stars. the community has been taening the welcome event that includes singers, dancers and fireworks. prime minister modi is on a three-day visit to u.k. we have this update from wembley stadi stadium. >> reporter: the rock star reception here at wembley stadium for the indian prime minister. the organizers of this event said that they wanted to stage

something of olympic proportions, and that's exactly what's happening here behind me. invitations have gone out to 60,000 people, and most of the stands behind me are almost entirely full. they have been entertained by a series of performances representing a fusion of different cultures both from the u.k. and from india, too. this is, of course, a very carefully choreographed, very well-staged managed event forming a backdrop to a three-day visit that haez seen the signing of $14 billion worth of trade deals in what both countries hope is a new era of cooperation between delhi and london. a chunk of space debris burned up in the earth's atmosphere friday morning over the coast of sri lanka. it's believed to be a piece of a rocket, but the either's orbit is filled with pieces of junk. scientists are just now getting to terms with the issue.

>> reporter: there's a whole new field of astronomy watching for space junk, literally the debris across low earth orbit with all the activities up there. that debris is multiplying as it whacked into each other. objects begin to create whole new fields of degrbris. at this point we have 21,000 objects up there. they have incredible speeds and sefrl several miles per second. being able to predict the movement of that stuff, especially when it comes and makes contact with the atmosphere or god forbid the surface of the earth, that's very important. still looking skywards, this christmas we see an end to costa rica's lon-standing tradition of lighting sky lanterns. they're banning the use and sale of lanterns after pressure from the fire service over health and safety. they're a popular part of christmas and new year's celebrations for many years, but firefighters say they're

dangerous and a major cause of house fires. remember, more on everything we're covering on our website, the address for that is aljazeera.com. there you find all the latest comment, analysis, video on demand and crucial background information on all of our headline stories. aljazeera.com. this is techknow. a show about innovations that can change lives. the science of fighting a wild-fire. we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity and we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science, by scientists. tonight, techknow investiages dirty gold. see the color of this river? this is not normal. inside the illegal gold trade. profits are enormous