a passenger plane flying from dubai crashes after attempting to land in southern russia killing everyone on board. welcome. you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters here. extradition proceedings begin after belgian police arrest a suspect in the paris attacks last year. amnesty international criticizes a deal that will refugees arriving in greece back to turkey. plus. >> reporter: i'm in havana where

president obama's historic visit is raising hopes but also concerns about the future of communist cuba a plane has crashed in russia killing all the people on board. the bowing 737800 took off from dubai late friday night. it was scheduled on time of four hours. it entered a holding pattern, but the second attempted landing went wrong. let's take you live to moscow and our correspondent. we're getting more details. what else do we know? >> reporter: we do know for a fact that the plane tried to do a first landing. that didn't work out. it picked up altitude again and then circled for about two hours, ten times over the airport area before attempting

to land a second time. now that's where we're getting a new version of events. this time from the control tower at the airport. now it appears that the plane went down from an altitude of 9,000 metres to 4,000 metres. at that point it's not clear whether there was a strong wind gust, but it appears that the pilot seems to have lost control of the plane because the control tower says that at that point the plane went into a freefall and hit the ground at a speed of between 300 to 4000 kilometers and that would explain that high-energy impact we saw on that cctv footage that picked up that moment. the investigators are underground at the moment. they're sifting through the debris. the debris is spread over a kilometer. they did find a black box and i think when they go through that, we will know exactly what happened are they saying, just to be clear and i know it's

speculation on our part, that the aeroplane tried to land and crash landed or actually crashed into the ground because it came down with that kind of velocity, 300 km/h in a straight line from that descending altitude it would have been obliterated when it hit the ground. >> reporter: they are saying that it had been completely obliterated and that's why there is debris over such a large area. they said that the plane was attempting to land and then had to pick up altitude again and that's when the plane clipped the grouped and the plane crash landed. now they say it was coming down to try to land and at some point it seems that maybe the pilot lost control, maybe there was too much wind, something happened and the plane nose dived into the ground. it was off the runway by about 5

to 100 metres left to the runway. it missed its target but they are confirming that the plane knows that at this stage. what is not clear is why the pilot decided to stay in that area and to try to land again in that airport during that time. we know about one other plane that actually circled the airport for three times and then was diverted to another airport nearby and we also know that other flights were scheduled to land and they simply did not land and went somewhere else once they get their hands on the black boxes, ethey will investigate whether it was wind sheer, although from 5,000 to 3,000 metres that's a strong display of wind sheer, either and/or severe weather or even, given that the pilot at some point apparently chose not to go to one of the other nearby airports, perhaps, maybe he just

simply ran out of fuel. >> reporter: that is totally one of the options the investigators are looking into. they're looking into three options. bad weather, technical failure of the plane itself and why did the pilot decide to stay in that area and not go somewhere else and maybe at some point while he was circling, he realized that he didn't have enough fuel to go anywhere else and his only option was to attempt the second landing thank you very much the authorities in france will start the process of extraditing the main suspect in last november's attacks in paris which killed 130 people. salah abdeslam was wounded and arrested in a dramatic raid in brussels after four months on the run. the mayor of brussels says he is no longer in hospital but no word on where he has been taken since released. >> reporter: captured on the streets of brussels.

salah abdeslam was among five people detained in the police raid in the neighborhood of molembeek. he was europe's most wanted fudgetive. the mayor confirmed the arrest in a tweet saying simply "we got him". in a news conference soon after the capture, the french president francois hollande welcomed the break through >> translation: salah abdeslam has been arrested and has been formally identified. my thoughts go to the victims of the november 13 attacks in paris and st denis because salah abdeslam is directly linked to the preparation, organization and unfortunately the perpetration of the attacks. >> reporter: they will be seeking the extradition to paris so he can be questioned and

ultimately face trial back in france. attention had been drawn to the brussels suburb where a number of suicide bombers had lived. he may have evaded capture as recently as tuesday. police found his fingerprints at the scene of a shoot out in another district of brussels. 13 po people were killed in paris on 13 november when attackers with links to i.s.i.l. stormed cafés, a rock concert and a stadium. several of the attackers blew themselves up, including salah abdeslam's elder brother. he was driven back to brussels from paris hours later and became europe's most wanted man. his capture, wounded but alive, is a long-awaited break through into the investigation into who was behind france's worst attack in decades >

the blocking of lula da silva into cabinet. there were protests across the country this week. >> reporter: this is the authority land of the governing workers' party. if they weren't heard here, they risked being drowned by the size of last wreek's rallies. they criticized large sections of the brazilian media and the judiciary which they queues of conducting a coup against the president. >> translation: here we have people who don't completely agree with what president dilma rousseff is doing. >> reporter: many were drawn by rumors that their hero lula da silva would address the crowd >> translation: we got far more people than expected. that should be enough to legit

miz dilma rousseff's government >> translation: we are ready to die if necessary. they will not take away from us the best presidents brazil has ever had >> reporter: this was the biggest pro-government gathering but there were other protests around the country. there what a huge opposition rally last sunday in which 3 million people protested. a low turn out here would have been april catastrophe. this large showing showing has polarized the society. the biggest scenes last sunday was the biggest, the car wash scandal it was dubbed implicating business leaders and major politicians, including the former president lula da silva. lula da silva is the man that this crowd, the government supporters, came to here. >> translation: i'm not going into the government to fight.

i'm going to help my colleague dilma rousseff to do what she needs to do for the country >> reporter: as he spoke, the supreme court was blocking his appointment to the cabinet. a major victory for the opposition which means that the investigation against lula da silva is continued and dilma rousseff presidency is weakened day six of the latest round of the syrian talks in geneva and the focus shifts to a top-level meeting between russia and the u.s. later this week. the u.n. envoy staffan de mistura gave a speech >> reporter: the meeting between the u.n. special envoy and the head of the special delegation. staffan de mistura says he wants to get down to the key issue of political transition. when he spoke to reporters,

ambassador made a statement saying he had focused on overall principles that should govern the process. >> thank you so much >> reporter: he did not take any questions. the main opposition block, the high negotiations committee were holding an event to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the start of the war. they have proposed a new transitional government without president bashar al-assad, but they feel the government delegation led by the ambassador is not empowered to discuss these issues. they believe he is just here to delay and disrupt things. >> he doesn't have a decision there. we need a higher rank team that negotiate with us, a team that can make a decision right here in geneva because we can make a decision on behalf of all people. >> reporter: special envoy staffan de mistura says the fact

that the talks had not collapsed and there was no walk-outs was a positive sign. >> the principles are not just principles. they're the basis for then getting in deeply into what we consider a common ground for what is the modern world issues, which is the mandate for the political transition. no question on that. >> reporter: in those public comments, special envoy invoice stroi was perhaps-- staffan de mistura perhaps was not as tough as on the delegation. i'm told behind the closed doors he had stern words for the ambassador telling him to stop the delay and get down to the real issues. james bays a 17-year-old palestinian male has been shot dead by israeli forces in the west bank. the palestinian ministry of health says the victim was killed in hebron. police say he tried to stab an

israeli soldier. there has been violence in the region since october. still to come on this program for you, the british government is in the dock over the failure to reduce hazardous levels of air pollution. air pollution.

welcome back. our top stories. a passenger plane frying from dubai to russia has crashed on its second landing attempt. all people on board the jet were killed. bad weather, technical favor or

human error all under investigation. authorities in france will start the process of extra dating a main suspect in relation to the france attacks last year. he was four months on the run. the appointment of the former president to the cabinet has been blocked by the courts. protests have been held in the streets. what we know about what happened to that flight 737800 on its time approach. there are conflicting reports about the last minutes of the flight. after the pilot apparently decided to circle the airport up to ten times. here is bernard smith. >> reporter: grainy pictures from a security picture at the airport captured the last seconds of fly dubai, fz981 making a second attempt to land

in bad weather. the bowing 737800 took off from dubai friday evening bound for southern russia. it circled the airport for more than two hours. russian investigators say there was strong gusting winds at the airport at the time. they say one of the aircraft's wings clipped the runway on the second landing attempt. as relatives and friends gathered at the airport, they learned that all 55 passengers and seven crew on board had been killed. fly dubai is a low-cost carrier based in the gulf. they have a strong safety record. the staff are in shock. ceoo says their thoughts and prayers are with the families a dark day for humanitarian. that's how amnesty international has described the e.u.-turkey deal over the ongoing migrant crisis. ministers in brussels sibdz off on the plan. the e.u. will receive one

refugee in the camp with the return of another. >> reporter: it is a deal that will affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of stranded refugees and migrants. a game changer in a crisis that has shaken the very foundations of the european union. turkey has now agreed to play a crucial part of stemming the flow of refugees into europe. >> turkey will be getting all those who are crossing to asian islands illegally, but meanwhile european countries will receive the same number of legal migrants from turkey. so this is very fair and encouraging steps for refugees as well. those who are looking for their future. >> some think this is a silver bullet, but reality is nor complex. it is just one pillar of the

strategy, and can work only if the other pillars are implemented. >> reporter: turkey has asked for double the amount of aid to 6.7 billion dollars. they want free travel for their citizens. the agreement will come into force at midnight on sunday. all migrants and refugees arriving in the e.u. after that will be processed and returned to turkey. under the agreement as many as 72,000 refugees could be eligible for resettlement here in the e.u. there are concerns that there could be a sudden surge of people trying to reach the e.u. before the sunday deadline. worries too about the legality of the deal. there is some discomfort among e.u. states who are worried about returning refugees back to a country that they say has hay questionable attitude to civil liberties and human rights. >> such decision will invoice

late european-- invoice late european standards. from a moral and political perspective, you cannot exchange money with people. to control the refugees flows without providing proper training and access for the labor market, it will be actually be nothing when it comes to reducing the number of people arriving in europe, the e.u. needs turkey on side and turkey knows it has a powerful role to play despite that deal, thousands of refugees trapped on the greek-macedonian border are hoping the balkan route to europe will soon reopen. >> reporter: at the refugee camp here people are near a stagnant pool of water and they build tents. other prepare beds for the refugees.

every tent here will hold 60 families. >> everyone won't be able to sleep in those big tents. no. they will still sleep out, sleeping in small tents in the mud >> reporter: at least 13,000 people are trapped heard. the borders close to them, they know they will be here for a long time. greek families living near the camp are coming to their aid. this man and his family, five syrian families. >> translation: what they did is cruel and inhumane. they trapped these people in terrible conditions, babies, families and the disabled too. >> reporter: the refugees believe europe has the capacity to deal with their polite. they say what is-- plooit-- plight. the european union refugees deal

with turkey agreed on friday offers little relief to the people stuck here. the argument puts the emphasis on stopping the flow of refugees from turkey to greece. >> reporter: we didn't come here to live in camps. we came to live with the europeans, find a future,ed case for our children and jobs for ourselves. >> reporter: the e.u. dictates that refugees landing in greece from next week will be deported back to turkey. they will then be placed at the back of the waiting list to seek asylum in europe, but some question whether it will work or even if it is legal. al-qaeda north african arm has claimed responsibility for attack on an fuel station

there have been violent protests since april when the president sought a third term. more than 400 people have been killed and 250,000 have had to flee the violence >> continued human rights violations and impunity for perpetrators mean that many of burundi's people live in terror. the country remains on the brink of a sudden escalation of violence to even more massive proportions back in europe the u.k. government has been taken to court accused of failing to reduce levels of air pollution. an environmental organization has filed the suit of the high court in london in an attempt to force the government to do something. our correspondent tested the reality of breathing if london air >> reporter: they're protesting because britain have some of the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide in europe. they hope the courts will force the government to produce a new

plan to clean up britain's air >> something like 40,000 people are dying here because of the air quality. we want the government to take responsibility and deliver clean air so that people are not dying, are not being made seriously ill, through illnesses such as ma, heart attacks and strokes >> reporter: london's air looks cleaner than many of those in the developing world, but nitrogen dioxide is an invisible killer. it damages our lungs. it is the very young and elderly that it affects. >> the government's sta advertise six show that-- statistics levels show that pollution will not come down to acceptable levels until 2025. my eldest son will be 18 and next 16 and youngest will be 12. they will have done most of their growing. the damage to their lungs will

be done. >> reporter: eye cycle across london every day on my way to work on very busy streets. i wanted to know how much damage this journey might be doing to my lungs. we've been measuring air pollution in central london along my daily commute using this machine. it told us that the amount of nitrogen dioxide in air here next to london bridge is almost five time the safe level according to e.u. regulations. obviously, this is not entirely scientific. ideally we would look at an average over many weeks or months, but it does suggest that the air i'm breathing in central london is not safe. the government wouldn't speak to us, but in a statement said it has plans to improve air quality throughout the u.k. and says it is committed to further action to reduce pollution. in the meantime, environmentalists are gathering more data ahowever they can.

on a hill over looking london pitjantjatjara i don't knows are being-- pigeons are being fiduciary with pollution monitors. they will fly low over the city and you can read their measurements on twitter >> we have trained these birds to deliver messages from the battle field. what about delivering the message of the pollution. >> reporter: off into london's smoggy skies which just about everyone agrees need to be much dleener. for the sake of our birds, children and all of us the u.s. and philippines have agreed on five locations for u.s. forces understand a new defense greept. one location is in the disputed islands in the south china sea. it was approved by the philippine supreme court in january. two years after it was signed local group p groups were opposing the presence of u.s. military in the country.

it venezuelan president has arrived in cuba. he is expected to sign new agreements. he says he hopes to deepen economic and political ties with cuba. obama will become the first sitting u.s. president to visit cuba in nearly 90 years on monday. it is another step in the normalization of relations, but beyond diplomacy, what do they think his triple have for the people? >> reporter: they're old enough to have known both capital at allism and socialism-- capitalism and socialism. they never thought they would live long enough to see a president come to cuba >> translation: i never thought this would happen >> reporter: as the country paves the way for obama's rival, many cue-- arrival, many cubans are raising their expectations

>> translation: it means change. i might sell one of my paintings to obama. >> reporter: this five-time award winning musician expects of the visit to contribute to a more normal relation. in 202 he was denied a visa to the u.s. to pick up a lalt engram ee. -- latin gram ee. >> it would have been better to have happened sooner, but it is never too late for good things. >> reporter: for most, they want to see an economic impact from the relationship which is why obama's decision to further loosen restrictions on trade and travel to cuba is widely seen as a significant pre-visit gift. >> translation: the process has to be accelerated because no-one knows who will be in the white house next. we still have two or three months for obama to exhaust all the possibilities of breaking down economic barriers with cuba. that would really have an

impact. >> reporter: but some staunch communists fear too much of an impact. all this military hardware at the museum of the revolution is a reminder of the cold war. yet there are those who believe cuba is still under threat, but this time from an american economic invasion which they suspect ultimately aims to change this country's political system. in that context, presidential obama's visit here is seen as the trojan horse. cuban government opponents and human rights activists are divided between those who say obama is capitulating to the cuban government and those who believe opening up to havana is a crucial first step. >> it means people contacting cubans, a more open society and idea that there is the flow of ideas and i think it's important and he hasn't capitulated. >> reporter: expecting his visit

to change anything radically is unrealistic. for many cubans, the fact that he is coming is the biggest change lots more on the news at the website at aljazeera.com >> this week on talk to al jazeera best selling author mitch albom. >> i use death to ricochet your attention back on to life. >> albom's latest novel is "the magic strings of frankie presto", a tale about the greatest guitarist to ever live and the lives he changes. the writer's first dream was to be a musician. >> i didn't write anything until i was already well into my twenties, cause everything i wanted to do was based around