♪ still they arrive on the greek island of lesbos despite a deal to send refugees back to turkey. ♪ hello there i'm laura kyle and you are watching al jazeera, also ahead, radio, television, telephones and the internet all ordered to shut down during congo's presidential election. 18 police officers are shot dead in attack on check point in egy egypt's sinai peninsula and

lights out for planet earth as lights are out for climate change. ♪ greece has begun the process of sending regets on the island of lesbos back to turkey as a deal between eu and turkey and even as the operation begins to remove some people more refugees are arriving. dana on lesbos had report. >> reporter: this was supposed to have stopped but the boats keep coming in. europe's refugee crisis is far from over and they are refugees from syria and many from the war torn city of aleppo and going across the aegean sea to reach the greek islands and eu was hoping a resent agreement with sushgky would discourage asylum seekers but those reaching the

shores are hopeful they won't be turned back. >> translator: from coming from destroyed facility as they worn but the situation in turkey is bad for us. >> reporter: wanting to go to mainland europe in search of a better life and others to be reunited with family members who made the journey before them. >> translator: the situation is very bad in aleppo, we endured four years before bombardment and rocket attacks and don't want to be sent back to turkey because my father and two sisters are in germany and i miss them. >> reporter: tighter restrictioned imposed by european countries and closer of the balkin route means they will be stuck here and greece is not a transit country and there are new rules in place. according to the new agreement between the eu and turkey the new arrivals could be sent back to turkey and given the chance to apply for asylum but there

are for guarantees it will be accepted. human rights groups have criticized the deal that would also involve the eu resettling more than 70,000 refugees from turkey and they fear the majority of those who do arrive in europe qualify as refugees and require protection. >> it is 10-11 kilometers from greece to turkey so this port now they told me we are six hours inside the water we lost, okay, and the smuggler go back to turkey so i don't they will agree to go back to turkey. >> reporter: six-year-old and her brother are not aware of the new rules and the restrictions, although know is they managed to escape war and are hopeful their lives will become better. >> translator: yes. >> reporter: she tells us she was scared while crossing the sea but she also knows why her

family had to do it. the situation in aleppo is very bad because of the bombardment she says. the agreement to send back new arrivals entered in force on monday and eu promised greece assistance to deal with all asylum cases but that may not be the hard part and people say they will not accept any move to take a step back. dana reporting there from lesbos. russian planes bombed a city of palmyra and 18 i.s.i.l. fighters were killed and news agency says government forces are advancing west of the city captured by i.s.i.s. last may. there have been air strikes in the northern providence of raqqa and at least 43 people have been killed, five children were among the victims, the area is an i.s.i.l. stronghold and not included in the limited truce which took effect three weeks

ago. lawyers for the man accused of being the only surviving gunman frost last november paris attacks say he will fight extradition to france and abdeslam shot in the leg when he was captured by police on friday and prosecutors say he was going to blow himself up but changed his mind and live with more on the very latest development as jackie roland in paris and the main suspect now in custody what is next for the paris attacks investigation? >> well, officials in both belgium and france are acknowledging that, in fact, it appears what has emerged during the past four months of investigating is that the network of people involved linked to the paris attacks in a support role, providing logistical help and transportation sheltering salah-abdeslam for the past month is a lot wider and extensive than initially

believed and for that reason although the main suspect, the last alleged attacker of this supposed ten-man team that carried out the attacks on november the 13th in paris, in fact, there is a much bigger network and although he might be behind bars and the investigation will continue, we have been told by officials in belgium and france we should expect to see more raids, more searches, more arrests as well and a key part of this has been the reestablishment of border checks between belgium and france for example on the train between brussels and paris, normally you don't show any documents at all. on saturday night police were there on the platform in paris inspecting travelers' id cards and passports really as part of their efforts to try to prevent potential suspects who may in some way be linked to attacks from moving back and forward

between the two capitols which were of course as we are learning the two cities in which most of the preparation of the attacks took place. >> abdeslam in belgium and what are the conditions of his detention? >> he is being held a maximum security prison in a special wing it is called the individual and special safety wing and it's where prisoners are kept if they pose a risk of escape or if they have what is being described as special behavior issues. they are kept in individual cells. there are double doors to each cell as an extra security measure and all the furniture including the bed are bolted to the ground to give you some idea of the extent of security. they are allowed televisions but the television screen is housed behind a thick plexiglass cover. now, we should remember that

abdeslam and his lawyer are opposing extradition and they say they are going to fight this european arrest warrant which foresees his extradition to france, however french prime minister has said although it may take up to three months he is convinced that eventually salah-abdeslam will come back and asked questions of his role on attacks on november the 13th. >> jacky thanks for the latest on paris attacks. to you now live to southern russia where a mean crashed on saturday. outside the terminal. you can see mourners laying flowers for 62 passengers and crew who died. and the flight was a boeing 73 p on route from dubai missed the runway in bad weather. the aircraft's two black box flight recorders have been sent to moscow for analysis.

investigators in turkey conducting dna test to identify the attacker in istanbul and dozens wounded on the suicide blast on the shopping street and we have more. >> reporter: a somber mood hangs over the street, this is istanbul's commercial lifeline typically packed with tourists and locals but after a suicide bombing earlier on saturday crowds were thin as shop keepers held a vigil for victims. >> translator: we came here right after the incident and left red carnations to share our pain. we wanted to show we are here and we will not surrender to terrorism or grief. we are not afraid. we will not get used to this. this country will continue to be the country of peace and brotherhood. >> reporter: security camera footage captured the moment the blast went off around noon and hundreds of people ran for cover when a loud explosion was heard.

emergency crews sealed off area as victims were taken to hospital for treatment. it is still not known who is behind this attack but i.s.i.l. is being investigated. >> translator: terror once again showed its ugly face targeting civilians and our fight against terrorism will continue with full force in and out of country. we should act together in our fight against terrorism without but. >> reporter: turkey rocked by a string of bomb attacks over the past few months and just last week a blast in the capitol ankara killed 37 people and separatists linked to pkk claimed responsibility. the government insists the country is safe and will have to convince not only the citizens but millions of foreigners who contribute to the all-important to tour -- tourism industry. >> reporter: the boycott and process has been tainted by fraud and we have more. >> this is the front runner for the presidential runoff,

president got 48% of the votes in the first round last month and he is expected to win a second term but the opposition is boycotting the vote. >> translator: we ask militants and democrats to stay at home and not vote ton march the 20th. >> reporter: opposition leaders say the government has failed to address territory, under development and challenges brought by droughts and accuses the government of repression in an electoral fraud. >> translator: the first round of elections held on february the 21st were characterized by irregularities and massive fraud on a scale we have never seen before. >> reporter: former house speaker and opposition leader came in second in the first round of votes. but he has been in prison since november over accusations of child trafficking which he denies but with his health deteriorating he has been taken to paris for treatment. the coalition of opposition parties also known as copa wants

immediate release of him and the constitutional court which endorsed the results and results to be declared null and void but supporters of the ruling party say it's a reaction to not getting enough votes. >> translator: opposition participated in all the phases so far in a manner that shows we have a free and fair election and now they are leaving only after they realized they are going to lose. >> the opinion on the streets of the capitol is reportedly split on the controversial runoff but what every one agrees on is the need for political stability. al jazeera. people are also voting in the republic of congo, the government has ordered a complete shut down of all communications for 48 including television, radio, telephones and internet and harry has this update for us. >> reporter: when the referendum took place a month ago and he wanted people to vote for him to have a third term

people didn't come out in big numbers but now look at it, people are slowly coming out ap -- and looking for their name and if it's on the list they can go inside so vote and it's a contingency election and opposition parties are saying they have not been allowed to campaign, they say they have been intimated and the process won't be free and fair. the eu has not sent election observers to election and saying the process is not transparent but the african union has which is different from burundi last year when the president there ran for a third term and think it's a case of double standards and why is that? some political analysts say it's generally silent on the election and talking about the president trying to extent his term in office and saying could be because of economic interests for example this country has oil, it's the fourth largest oil

producer in sub sahara and africa and could be a reason why some countries seem to be silent and some countries seem to be supporting this particular process. that line met people slowly waiting in the door where they are going in to vote, this is an opposition stronghold and the referendum and boycott elections and want people to come out this time to vote and want to say and show basically how they oppose the process and want this election to go in a second round. president has said that he will win resoundingly in the first round. the concern people have is what will happen after the result. opposition is saying they will not get the result if the president wins. plenty more still ahead on al jazeera, we will be exploring the u.s. and cuba's past and president obama's historic visit. the controversial future hong kong film that is striking a nerve in beijing.

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hello again and reminder of top stories and sending refugees on the island of lesbos back to turkey and a deal of the eu and turkey but even as the operation begins to remove some people more refugees are arriving. nigir elections going ahead despite an opposition boycott and say process has been tainted by fraud and the president is expected to win a second term.

and lawyers for the man accused of being the only surviving gunman from last november's paris attacks say he will fight extradition to france and belgium police say salah-abdeslam planned to blow himself up but changed his mind. 18 policemen killed in attack in egypt sinai peninsula and interior ministry says a check point in the coastal city was hit by mortar rounds and i.s.i.l. says its fighters were behind what was the biggest attack on egyptian security forces so far this year. security in sanaa question deteriorating and three members of egypt army killed in another attack and last october aid i.s.i.l. was responsible for bringing down a russian airliner over see sinai killing 224 people on board and security forces on heightened alert since july with more than 15 attacks on security sites and earlier i spoke to abraham a senior policy

foreign policy fellow at brookings and he says the government's approach to dealing with armed groups has left people feeling alienated >> this is a very serious concern, security concern because sinai has historically felt more marginalized and frustrated, the community of sinai for not being involved, for not being part of the government's policies towards the development and engagement with capitol and instead of actually approaching more of development concerns on engagement the government responded with strictly security approach that actually contributed to creating a more conducive environment to extremism and this type of attacks. so the government actually conducted a self defeating policy instead of dealing with radical and it contributed to the security approach to a more

inclusive environment that encouraging this and one strong evidence on this actually that sinai replaced from al-qaeda to a more lethal group which is i.s.i.s. and more involvement of radicalism in sinai many terms of the version that they are taking from al-qaeda to i.s.i.s. or from the types of attacks they have conducted as we are seeing, it's becoming more frequent and more lethal these days. >> u.s. president expected to arrive in cuba in the next few hours, the moment he lands on cuban soil is a huge symbolic movement of reconciliation between the countries and russians frozen since the cuban revolution a century ago as patty reports. >> reporter: for more than 50 years this is the image many americans had of cuba, castro the country leader and face and passionate voice of a revolution, he led the overthrow

of a brutal dictator that had been backed by u.s. now relations between the two have a fresh face is change is heart this our own lives and in the lives of nations. and change is even harder when we carry the heavy weight of history on our shoulders. >> reporter: that shared history is marked by suspicion and animosity and took the world to the brink of a nuclear war. >> under the table. >> reporter: direct u.s. interest in the island goes back to the 19th century when americans intervened in ka ba's war for independence from spain and cubaens ruled the land but governed with the backing of the u.s. and economic growth but also poverty and similar erring resentment in 1959 castros and followers fought their what to havana and he was the leader and cuba was a one party communist state. >> new york pennsylvania station rarely has seen anything like it. >> reporter: travels to the united states only to be publically shunned by president

who went golfing to avoid the meeting and richard nixon. >> castro said we will go to united states but not every other president and cow tow to washington to get on our knees and beg for money. >> reporter: that is when president nationalized the business and began in earnest to over throw castro in overt and covert ways and sent people to the bay of pigs invasion and failed miserably. behind the scenes cia tried to kill him ta series of botched plot was in 1962 cuba became the center of the cold war and u.s. realized the soviet union had missiles on the island >> shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from cuba

against any nation in the western hemisphere as an attack by the soviet union on the united states requiring a full retaliatory response. >> reporter: this was the most dangerous time of the cold war and arguably one of the most dangerous moments in human history. >> reporter: the soviets eventually removed the missiles but u.s. and cuba were now firm enemies. the countries remained in a stalemate until this. his brother rual took over and the handshake with u.s. president barack obama signalled things could change and they did and now with this visit president obama is hoping to solidified his new approach but can only do so much and embargo only lifted by u.s. congress which has shown no indication it's going to do that, patty with al jazeera, washington. south africa ruling party meeting in centurian and the future of jacob zuma is not on

the agenda but over shadowed by allegations of the south africa leader and opponents calling on him to go and anita miller has this update from pretoria. >> reporter: mixed messages over the course of the weekend from the national executive committee of the national african congress to what extent it will be discussing allegations against the president jacob zuma and accused or rather his relationship with a prominent influential family here in south africa that originally hailed from india has been under question in terms of the influence this family has on the running of the anc as well as south africa and the influence they have in terms of relationship with president jacob zuma and accusations have come out in resent days and despite all in the national executive committee or all indications from the committee are that these allegations won't necessarily be high on the

agenda rather than dealing with the president's relationship with the family they may instead be discussing the issue of state capture, the influence of corporates on the african national congress and may i be discussing that more broadly rather than dealing with the president specifically and this of course may be due to the amount of support he enjoys from the national executive committee and a number of people within that committee are willing to defend the president especially at this crucial time in south africa where elections are expected later in the year. >> protests have take ebb place in hong kong over the disappearance of a popular chinese columnist and protesters marched to the local office of central government demanding to know the whereabouts of a man and went missing after warning colleagues of danger of republishing a letter calling on president xi jinping to step down. the controversial film predicting a grim future for hong kong under chinese rule has been nominated for best picture in up coming awards and selling

out in early screenings despite apparent moves there and mainland china to limit his release from hong kong and rob mcbride reports. >> reporter: the film is called ten years and it's a feature length package of five short films by different directors and predicts what life will be life in hong kong in 2025. it's a bleak picture of a city firmly in the grip of chinese communist party control. that is in spite of the so called one country two systems form of government that is supposed to guaranty hong kong a high level of autonomy. >> and the two system is not work. i believe freedom of speech. >> reporter: production started before umbrella movement street occupations of 2014 demanding greater political freedom. those real life events became

woven into parts of the film helping to connect with the hong kong audience. >> as some moments in doing umbrella movement as hong kong people we can never imagine and so i think the tone and the mood become a little pessimistic. >> there was a riot. >> reporter: events since then seem to confirm that pessimism and street violence that happened at chinese new year which many believe was fueled by discontented youth and the case of the hong kong book sellers who produced works critical of china's leaders detained and paraded on mainland television. the early screenings of the film have sold out in hong kong. made on a budget of less than $100,000 it has taken nearly a million at the box office but some cinemas are afraid of showing it. >> but even with that smashing record suddenly the cinema motel

the film said no we will not do that to the film. >> there is now speculation the up coming hong kong film awards won't be shown in mainland china because of the movie's nomination for best picture and combine that with the reluctance of cinemas to show it and film makers can be excused for thinking their to prediction is coming true, rob mcbride, hong kong. thousands of buildings around the world turned off their lights for earth hour on saturday. the annual events seeks to highlight environmental issues and the impact of climate change. gerald tan reports. >> reporter: going dark to shine a light on climate change, more than 7,000 cities taking turns to switch off their lights for an hour at 8:30 p.m. local time. landmarks across russia's capitol moscow with the candles

that gathered for the initiative. >> translator: the goal of this event is to remind us of the limits of natural riches and how human life is. >> reporter: paris shows its love for the environment without the usual romantic glow of the eiffel tower. the world's tallest building in dubai sits in the blackness of night. from sidney to taipei millions coming together to raise awareness about the environment. >> translator: i'm mostly here to support environmental protection because climate change has been severe recently and the cold weather and the abnormality let many realize the importance of environmental protection for our planet. >> reporter: this is the 10th year of the earth hour conservation movement and organizations say sexy action worldwide keeps momentum going to address an issue that is

affecting us all, gerald tan with al jazeera. >> plenty to keep up to date with and you can find the latest news and blogs from correspondents in the field and a chance to watch any of our programs again, all that and much more at al jazeera.com hello i'm barbara sarah and you are at the listening post and some stories we are looking at this week, pressure ramps up