weekend and happy easter. d and happy easter. hello, welcome, you're watching the news hour, this is al jazeera live from doha. we will not be intimidated. we will not be deterred. >> the u.s. government offers to help belgium in the brussels attacks investigation as the police arrest more suspects. >> a call for change. protests in iraq demand a new cabinet and an end to

corruption. >> two prominent turkish journalists on trial charged with revealing state secrets. rocking and rolling in cuba, the stones take to the stage in havhavana where their music was once banned. we begin in belgium where the police arrested a total of seven suspect in raids across the capital linked to tuesday's attacks. we're getting word there is a police operation currently underway. this is the u.s. secretary of state john kerry met the belgian foreign minister and offered his country's support with the investigation and vowed to continue fighting terrorism. dominic cain reports now from brussels. >> another late night police raid in the belgian capital. officers comb the property looking for clues. people living in the area were kept back from the scene.

>> i was coming back from school and i found the entire area locked so i couldn't get home. i asked and they said the police had to do some work here, but i don't know what's going on exactly. >> that feeling of uncertainty has permeated the public consciousness. many people are angry that their neighborhoods might have been used by people linked to the bombings. this area in brussels has seen many police searches and raids since tuesday. we now know in this non-descript amount building, the bomb devices were assembled. speaking tersely to reporters, he confirmed that he had had no contact with his brother since 2013. >> why did you stop contact with him? >> because he was in syria. >> did you try to get hold of

him? >> he was in syria. it's difficult to get a phone number. >> was it his choice for your family's? >> no, it was a technical choice or our choice. i have no idea, there were no more contact. >> although other arrests have been made in brussels on friday, the threat level has been reduced. now, the soldiers are wearing berets rather than helmets. friday was the last day of a three day mourning people but while the official condolence period is coming to an end, the official search for answers goes on. dominic cain, al jazeera, brussels. our correspondent paul brennan joins us live from brussels. there was a news conference, what came out of that? >> a very strong news conference from john kerry who studies

alongside the prime minister in physical terms and emotional terms. metaphorically standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder in what they say is the struggle against daish. john kerry spoke individually about some of the victim of the bomb blasts from tuesday's attacks. he spoke about the fact that it was not just americans and belgians, but people from many nationalities apartment backgrounds. he said america would offer assistance to the belgians in order to beef up the capability that the belgians have to try to combat such attacks in the future. what he also did say, though, is that it was important that the physical capabilities, the intelligence capabilities of belgian were aligned with the american's possibilities. >> we will not be intimidated. we will not be deterred. we will come back with greater resolve, with greater strength, and we will not rest until we

have eliminated the beliefs and cowardis a from the face of the earth. >> what details do you have for us? >> it's been widespread and well documented criticism of the shortcomings of the belgian intelligence services. it's a product of rivalry be for example between the french and phlegm issue speaking parts of the services and fragmented nature of the forces here. there's 12 different police forces in the city alone, for example. the latest criticism we're hearing is from a talk about halfway to antwerp where the police chief admit that one of his officers had had information which may have led police to

saleh abdeslam's hideout, one of the paris attackers back in last december, but not through eight conscious omission, but through inadvertent error, that information had never been passed on to the relevant bodies within the anti terror security services, and the police chief came out and apologized for that, but said that it was an honest mistake, rather than a deliberate error. >> paul, thanks very much. >> across the border, the french government said another major attack has been foiled. one man's been questioned after a police raid in a northern suburb of paris. the french interior minister said prepares for the next attack were in their final stages. >> this raid followed important information issued by the interior security emwhich allowed us to conduct an advance mission. this individual is a french national suspected of being an accomplice in the terror plan. this has no link to the previous

attack in paris and brussels. thousands of iraqis are rallying in baghdad to urge the prime minister to form a new cabinet. supporters of iraq's powerful shia cleric are calling for an end to corruption. thousands of people stepped up. they want ministers replaced. we are following the latest developments from baghdad. >> this is the main gate which holds the offices of the iraqi authority. u embassy is also here, tens of thousands of society are gathered here calling for reforms. flags, banners and slogans are here saying that there will be no relief until the prime minister ministers fight corruption. the protestors want those who they say they are corrupted

officials appointed by previous governments to be dismissed. the protest comes at the time when iraqi prime minister is about to announce a new cabinet. he has said in this long promise interval they will bring in specialists, ministers and figures that are not aligned with any political party. >> isil fighters are losing ground in iraq and syria. the iraqi army begun an offensive against size as i will in mosul as part of a wider plan to take the province of n. >> neveh. it's the first fails of the operation to retake mosul which fell to ice i will in 2014. isil is losing ground in palmyra where syrian forces are coming into parts of the isil held

areas. its recapture would be a significant victory for president assad's forces. palmyra is along a desert highway between damascus and the isil stronghold. government control of palmyra would help cut off an isil supply route. >> these pictures brought cast on syrian state television are said to show a significant advance. syrian government forces fighting to recapture the historic city of palmyra from isil. state media showed planes and helicopters flying overhead as soldiers approached on the ground. the syrian observatory for human rights said may be civilians fled after isil told them that the fighting was drawing near. isil is resisting claims its losing control of palmyra. moving quickly to release this video that it says shows its fighters driving around parts of the city as syrian government troops advance.

some analysts belief the syrian government advance will be a morale booster. >> given all the bad news coming out of europe and the focus on isis as a terror organization, this focuses on isis as a military operation. this is a pretty significant setback for isis. it's not the end yet, but it seems to me to be the beginning of the end. >> palmyra includes a unesco world heritage site. isil captured the historic city in may and began a campaign of mass executions and destroying ancient sites. >> palmyra is situated on a desert highway in central syria strategically located between damascus and the isil stronghold. government control of palmyra would help it cut off an isil supply route. a ceasefire between government forces and oppositional rebel

factions has reduced violence but it excludes al-nusra front and isil considered terrorist groups by the syrian government. russia with true troops from syria after launching airstrikes for six months. anything else evidence that the syrian government bashar al assad is still making advances. al jazeera. let's get more on that four. joining us here, elias hanna joining us from beirut. palmyra is at the crossroads of the country literally. if they are just about to retake it, how easy will it be to keep it? >> palmyra is like the location of palmyra is highly important because it's like 90 kilometers from a major city, as well as a little bit more from damascus and it leads to the isil

stronghold. palmyra gives the regime a strategic depth that's really protecting the main highway and five cities. i think that we are going into some tactical operational gains for master plan. this master plan leads later to about two major cities ins iraq. the mosul and in syria, the raqqa. >> when we talk about raqqa, there are claims circulating within the past three or four hours saying we will be able to push on as far as raqqa. is that really a probability? >> it is a probability, however it's too much difficult now. if you are going to raqqa, you are going to need, you know, the air power and we know what happens with the russians. more over, you need the personnel. you need lot of personnel and more than 100,000 troops and the

regime doesn't have this kind of number. moreover, when you want to take raqqa, we've seen what happened at are a mad did i, so to take it, it is going to be like kobane and like total destruction of the city. i think that major contain to contain raqqa, to cut the line of commune be occasion since the gains made by the kurds, the gains made by the regime is really to cut it off and then there will be after a look of political solution is made between the russians and americans. >> when you talk about strategic depth there on the part of the government and the government forces out of damascus, if isil is now on the back foot, why is that? >> i mean, according to military

theories, isil is like over extended, over stretched. it reached the culminating point. no more troops, no more efficiency in order to really regain the troops. now the momentum, it seems that it is with the regime, with hezbollah and iran, backed by the russians. so that's why, if you want to retake, you need more. it seems that isil is losing ground, whether in iraq, around like 40% according to some estimates and like around 20% in syria, according to some estimates. now, they cannot really go over. they are overstretched so far. >> the russian involvement towards the end of last summer undoubtedly turned the tide here. what would we are seeing today have happened at this point if the russians had not got involved? >> yeah, i mean the regime was the fighting in the back foot. he was really retreating and

remember, what president assad said once in his measured speech that i do not have the necessary resources, human resources, as well as equipment, so we need something to be done and here comes the russians for many regional and international goals, but however, it changed the dynamics and syrian theater and there was some gain for the regime especially around the northern aleppo and as well as around, you know, the northern city of eastern side of la a. that's why it's made some gains in palmyra. >> thanks very much. discussions aimed at ending the filing in syria ended in geneva for the moment. the u.n. special envoy to syria, staffan de mistura has wrapped up the latest round of indirect talks between the syrian government and the opposition. both sides are still in disagreement over a transition

of power. staffan de mistura appears to be taking a different tack heading towards the next round of discussions. >> the next round of talks will be not focusing object principles again. we have had enough of that, and they are i think many valid common points there, but to start focusing on the political process and that us, political process adopted by everyone is political transition. >> syrians meanwhile living in aleppo city have been feeling the effects of the cessation of hostilities. we report on life for residents and talk to syrians in neighboring turkey about what they think of the talks in geneva. >> it's almost a month sings the start of the truce which appears to be holding, leaving this market bustling with people and with scenes of relative ease and calm. talks in geneva to find the political solution adjourned

without major breakthrough. he is not convinced it will work at all. >> we hope god brings peace, but if we waited for geneva and europeans, it will take us long. >> others think the negotiations should have one outcome. >> if there's some humidity left in those leaders in geneva, they need to do something. it should lead to the return of ref jose and that won't happen unless bashar al assad and his gang leaves. >> in neighboring turkey are 2.5 million syrian refugees and few have plans to return anytime soon. this restaurant and cafe is where many syrians gather. these opposition activists have differing political views, but they all share deep mistrust towards international communities. >> if the international community hadn't left the assad regime killing syrians to today,

there would have been no isil or other fanatic factions. >> if you ask any young syrian man in the street, is america able to remove bashar al assad, they'll say yes, in one phone call. we hope the international community wakes up and doesn't look for their incident he rests. it's in their hands to stop the bloodbath. >> the truce has reduced the level of violence and bombardment. crucially, it's also restored regular peace protests. >> the revolution's anniversary came at a time where the civil activity of the revolution was restored after we lost it. the truce gave it a little lifeline. i fear it won't last long. >> the war, the truce and the talks are likely to drag on. most syrians are resigned to watching through the haze. they know their five will ultimately be decided by politicians in a distant land.

al jazeera. still plenty more to come. pakistan faces international pressure over the iranian president said visit. we'll speak to an analyst on the relation between these two countries. >> i'm daniel lack in the central canadian province of is a scar we know. is it a way to just keep burning coal or is coal the new clean green fuel for the future? football figures and fans worldwide pay tribute to the man who changed the game.

two journalists published a story alleging that turkey was arming rebel groups in syria. they're charged with trying to overthrow the government and revealing state secrets. harry fossett has more. >> it was arms headed for syrians war but fueled a battle in turkey. published last year, this video purports to show turkish intelligence officers trying to transport weapons and ammunition to what the paper called jihadi fighters in syria. the government said it was bound for ethnic turkmen and called the story an act of espionage. the chief faces charges of revealing state secrets aiming to overthrow the government and aiding a terrorist organization. >> my responsibility not to the government but to the public, and if an intelligence service is tracking illegally arms to a

neighboring country who is in civil war, so this is a crime. >> last month, he and his anchor bureau chief were released from pretrial detention. the constitutional court ruled their rights to liberty and freedom of expression has been violated. now comes their criminal trial. >> less than a woke ago on this busy street, a suicide bomber believed to be an isil member killed four people. days earlier, 38 people died in a suicide talk in ankara claimed by kurdish separatists. the government sees itself as battling a twin threat, one that justifies increased curbs on freedoms. >> government supporters say it's also battling a shadowy parallel state affecting law enforcement, bureaucracy and news organizations. >> turkey considers the parallel state a security threat. turkey is fighting against it through the framework of democracy and the rule of law. most of the cases are on going,

the courts will decide. >> in march, the government struck a blow against the movement that controls this par lil state by controlling its newspaper. >> there is no difference between the terrorists who have guns and bombs and pens and titlion to help the terrorists achieve their goals. >> journalists and campaigners say all of this is simply intimidation designed to quash dissent. >> they can't solve the terror problem and terror threats on turkey. that's why they want to stifle and muzzle the press and, you know, silence the critical voices. >> for turkey's people there are to narratives to choose from, the government or the critics who say democracy is being eroded under increasingly authoritarian rule. >> why have they go for this charge of selling state secrets.

there's been speculation and reporting about military equipment and personnel crossing the border between these two countries, or was it the way these journalists focused in on very, very specific allegations? >> that's right. the government had come up with various denials of those sorts of stories up until the point that this story on this video was published. they said that nothing has been shipped, that aid was being shipped, but arms were being shipped but not to the people whom it was being alleged that arms were going and then came this story which seemed to show pretty conclusively what was happening and as a result of that, we've had this pretty furious reaction from the government, from the president himself, saying that the editor in chief of no newspaper would pay a heavy price, and he and his colleague to some extent already have, having spent three months in prison in pretrial

detention from which they were released towards the end of the last month. they came here to this court for the first day of their trial a little earlier on friday, and i asked whether the same defense made to the constitutional court using the provisions of the constitution for freedom of speech among other things would prevail in this case, as well. >> we have still confident about the decision of the court, because the constitutional court has already said that this news is not an act of terrorism, but an act of journalism, so this judge, we hope that will approve the decision and drop the case. >> so an expression of some confidence there before he went in, however, a couple of days ago, when we spoke to him, he did say that there were obviously some questions as to exactly what he could expect at this trial, noting the power of

the presidency, the fact that he and his colleague could find themselves back in prison if the judge so decreed. the judge decided the case would be held in camera. he has said that the national intelligence service are affected by this prosecution and they will be legally represented in this court, so a couple of indications that things are going not entirely in the journalists favor so far. we wait to see whether they maintain their liberty through the rest of the case or whether that he may be taken back into custody this evening. >> harry fossett reporting live. time for the world weather, richard joins us, linking two different parts of the world today. >> that's right, peter.

a band of wind blowing up the atmosphere up to 300 kilometers per hour. normally when we talk about the jetstream, they are occurring in the polar regions, the polar jet. we've got one at the moment blowing in close to the u.k. and it's beneath this we get weather systems developing. there are several developing and blasting across u.k. and western parts of europe over the next two to three days. there is another jetstream toward the south and it shows up quite nicely. it is all the way across west africa up through northeast africa through towards egypt. it's all part of the same system. it's on this northern side, the cold side where weather systems tend to form. as i run this sequence through, you can see all the cloud developing through the deserts of libya. it doesn't really show in the forecast as any great weather system, but there is is this circulation here. we could see the lift of dust

here over the next 24 hours. certainly i think that jetstream is enhabsed precipitation occurring further towards the east. around the levant generally, i think we could see fairly heavy rain affecting parts of israel, maybe as far as lebanon and certainly into northern parts of saudi arabia. over the next 24-48 hours, heavy rain is likely here and we could see localized flooding, peter. >> many thanks. still to come, find out why supporters of communist party calling for the president's resignation. why this good friday is an opportunity for millions of filipinos to pray for progress. in the sports news, everyone in basketball wants to emulate finally he meets his match.

>> picture live from the area. there was a loud explosion coming from a house in that borough. forces going into palmyra. two turkish journalists on trial charged with revealing state secrets. they published a story alleging the turkish government was arming rebel groups in syria.

the trial is seen as a test of turkish media freedom. egyptian police blame a criminal gang for the torture and murder of an italian student in january. they say identity cards and other personal belongings were found during a raid on the gang's headquarters. human rights groups accuse egyptian security forces of the student's death. we have the story. >> egypt's insterror ministry say gang members posed at police officers and this is what they say they found at the scene, identity cards, a passport, phones and a bag bearing the italian flag, all belonging to murdered italian student. the 28-year-old went missing on the 25th of january, the fifth e uprising in egypt that toppled mubarak. autopsies's confirmed he's been tort odd, his body beaten, burned and electrocuted.

his friends and family have been holding rallies and vigil to keep up pressure on the investigation into his disappearance and death. the cambridge university student published articles critical of the government of president al sisi and researching the trade union movement. egypt's security forces were blamed, saying torture marks on his body were consistent with other cases of torture and forced disappearances allegedly by security services. the government has consistently denied the allegations. >> it's very annoying and frustrating to hear accusations and rumors about the involvement of security agencies, the egyptian security agencies are known for integrity and transparency. >> they have a long history of unaccountability and i believe this has to do with the way the police force and policemen are

being trained right when they are cadets. they are trained to disrespect human rights. >> in exchange on egyptian state t.v.2 weeks ago does little to dampen suspicions of a government coverup. >> eggs we haven't found a scapegoat yet. t.v. host host responds this is funny and sad at the same time. egypt's interior ministry said all four members of the alleged criminal gang was shot dead on thursday. the same men now being blamed for the student's murder. >> chinese police are reported to have detained at least 20 people in connection with the publication of a letter criticizing the president. it was published and quickly

taken down. >> a chinese dissident living in the united states says his parents and younger brother were taken by police on tuesday and haven't been heard from since. he says police had been harassing family members for more than a week after he was accused of helping to circulate a letter that was published on line urging chinese president to resign. now he denies any involvement in this. according to him, several employees of the website that published the letter have also been detained. now this is also being reported by a news agency who say that at least four employees of that website, including the c.e.o. and the managing editor have been missing and out of contact for a week. these developments come about 10 days after a prominent journalists disappeared just as he was about to board a plane to leave beijing. it is widely thought that his disappearance has to do with the letter, as well.

this was first published earlier this month on a website. the letter was tub learned anonymously. the signatureries walking themselves loyal communist party members. in that letter, they accused president xi of concentrating power in his hands, abandoning the principle of collective leadership and of cultivating a personality cult around himself. it also urged him to resign for the future of china and its people. these recent developments suggest that the authorities in their eagerness to get to the bottom of this, to find out who sent the letter have been deepening and widening the crack down to the extent of detaining and arrestedding family members of throws suspected of involvement. this is a worrying trend for human rights and for free speech advocates, suggesting not only is the government intolerant of criticism but there is a

practice of going after critics. president rouhani arrived on his first trip to pakistan. iran is expected to work on energy deals and urge pakistani leaders to restall work on a stalled pipeline project. >> pakistan has been facing an cute energy crisis that has brought the countries industrial output to a virtual stand still. therefore, pakistan needs to get energy from neighboring countries to turkmenistan, afghanistan and iran. work is still to be completed on the pakistani side of the pipeline. this is because of the fact that there are international pressures on pakistan not to build the iranian pipeline. at the same time, the europeans and americans have been trying to convince tehran to move its gas to turkey in a bid to end the russian monopoly of gas

supplies to europe. the pakistanis will have to look into the fact that whether this pipeline is feasible, whether there is enough money to complete the pakistani end of the pipeline. also interesting to note that pakistan ma made a deal with qatar for the supply of energy for the next few years to the fun of $15 billion, the chinese are helping to bring that energy to a central industry grid system in pakistan, so it will be interesting to see whether the pakistani's and iranians are able to make any progress on the i.p. pipeline. stay with that story for a couple of minutes. joining us is a former pakistani advisor with that welcome to the news hour. what is the dynamic in this relationship for you? >> i think it's get more evidence that pakistan's view of

itself and its relationship with the region, particularly the big regional powers is evolving and the fact that pakistan has with stood a lot of pressure from the g.c.c. countries to be a more active participant in the misadventure of yemen is proof positive that pakistan realizes that it cannot continue to maintain a relationship with the gulf countries at the expense of a useful functional both economic and political relationship with the head on. >> the back story, you haven't used the word, but it does include the saudis. pakistan some say is ambivalent about where that relationship should go next. >> i think pakistan and saudi arabia enjoy very, very deep political security and cultural ties. i don't think there's any threat to those ties being jolted or changing dramatically, but i do think there will be an

evolution. i think that perhaps in the decades past, saudi authorities have seen pakistan as being able to provide whatever the riyadh would ask for. i think what we're going to begin to see now is a slight shift in the dynamic and greater equilibrium. >> equilibrium and stabilization of other causes, the sub titles there should actually say saudi arabia, they should say yemen. >> absolutely, but, you know, iran in and of itself, iran has also been not a great supporter of regional stat. i think what pakistan has to do is to try and balance between the sort of instincts of tehran,

maybe expansionist instincts in tehran and highly defensive nature of the most recent saudi regime that. between these two, pakistan will maintain and continue to maintain deep economic interests. in saudi arabia, there are 2 million pakistani's who make their home there. there is a robust defense and security relationship. with ran, the potential for the gas pipeline is huge and there's always room for pakistan to buy more simply because the energy needs of this country as the economy grows are going to continue to grow exponentially. >> thanks very much for joining us here on the news hour. let's take you live to brussels. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry is just about to lay a wreath at the scene of one of the attacks a little earlier this week. he has stood shoulder to shoulder of course with the

belgian prime minister. memories there of the people who lost their lives in be those very well coordinated bomb attacks on tuesday. belgium police of course arrested several people. one said six people in brussels as that investigation goes on. the investigation still on going in the district. in france, a suspect lieu was mating attack was arrested near paris. this time yesterday, we were talking about how abdeslam, the prime suspect in the paris attacks from november 13 last year at the theater decided to say yes to being extra dated. he did a complete about-face

having changed his mind. he was dead set on fighting the extradition process. mr. kerry, however in brussels today saying that isil will be destroyed. that's the strength of the language that mr. kerry has been using just in the past couple hours. you see members of the emergency service there is. one assumes they are there because they were the front line responders to the events that unfolded so dramatically on thursday, islamic state claiming responsibility for brussels. he went on to say the alliance

would continue to fight and destroy isil. we will not be deterred, he said, we will not be intimidated. investigations still very much on going as a multi-agency, multi-country inquiry taking place now where we have seen live picture coming to us out of that suburb with brussels, falling on from those arrests. we'll stay with these picture and we'll talk to our correspondent, dominic wane. so dom, various strands of this story coming together as we speak. as far as the investigation into tuesday is concerned, where are we? >> before we discuss the investigation into tuesday's attacks, i have to tell you i'm now in the area where there is an operation going on behind me here. we have heard the sound of

explosions, but they were more consistent with sounds you would expect from flash bang stun grenades, the sort used by the forces of law and order here. we know an operation is underway. we hear one man has been neutralized during the course of the operation. it's very much an ongoing operation here, as you can see behind me. there are police, there is a cordon, all the areas around this square. the area has been sealed off. there is an ongoing operation right now. we nobel jen news outlets suggest a man has been neutralized. they are more consistent with the sorts of sounds you would expect from stun grenades being set off by the forces of law and order rather than perhaps any other types of explosive device. >> the word neutralized can be a euphemism for so much more, is

the operation going on as a result of an electronic footprint intelligence gathering or was there a specific situation to which the police and the security forces were reacting? >> well, peter, as things stand, there isn't a great deal of clarity about what has caused this operation to take place. there is the suggestion that this is linked to events earlier this week in this city, but as i say, so far, there is not a great deal of slaty. the fact we know as i say are the explosions that have happened and that news agencies report the neutralization of a man during the course of the operation. that use of the word naturalize, we're not sure what that means but that does raise questions about what has happened. yesterday the terror threat level was reduced by the government here and yet now we have this operation going on, a person being neutralized in the center of brussels.

this is a well populated area, so clearly there is something going on here. the question is what exactly is going on and what link there may be between this person who may have been neutralized and things going on in the city. >> details are scarce. give me an idea of where you are in relation to else that parts of brussels we all know and are used to seeing. where are you in relation to the airport and the metro station? >> first things first, earlier this morning, i was filming a report and we went to the bomb making factory where the four people we know who were involved in the attacks on tuesday were compiling their devices. that's not far from here. that's perhaps a kilometer or so far from here. we are quite close to the center of the city here, driving here to get reports on this incident

was quite simple because it is quite central. as far as the airport is concerned, that is some distance away from here. this is some kilometers out of the city. where we are is very central. it's a residential area, lots of businesses here and it is a wide open square. from that perspective, it is very likely that as i say, well populated, the chances that it's any activity, any sort of activity similar to tuesday to take place, it could take out many people, perhaps explaining why the police have made such a serious operation, closing or so many streets. this is a square and has many streets to lead to it and the police are cordoning off perhaps 100 meters all around it to try to keep people safe. we are not allowed any further than the cordon i am right up against here as i speak to you now. >> we are watching the latest live pictures as you're giving us your take on what's going on

there. we are seeing what is obviously a bomb disposal expert clad in that forest green body paneling. we're not seeing ambulances or police vehicles flying around with sirens blaring, their flashlights going on and off. how much of that immediate area is sealed off, because it's a friday, it's still the working week where you are. that's right. it's good friday, so obviously it is a holiday that in sense. this easter holiday weekend here in belgium, but it is still there very many people all around here. there are perhaps two, three, four, five police cars i can see from our position now and we have had other police cars, so there are very many all around.

there were sirens blaring driving past, clearly indicating the urgency of the situation, but it's obviously an unfolding situation as we speak. there is clearly a serious operation underway here. the fact that we know that news agencies are talking about a person being neutralized during the course of the operation, that indicates that there is a degree of seriousness, severity, otherwise they would not have taken that action, we must assume. >> looking at live picture, it looks like the normal predictable european suburb area. we are looking at iron railings, a mixture of apartments, flats, houses and one feels for the people of bus sells getting the distinction sense of oh, it's another day, it's another raid, it's the security forces walking around again. the people of brussels must be

quite used to being told stay indoors, don't move. >> well, that's right, peter. one thing i can tell you is in the course of compiling the pieces we were putting together on earlier today, we went to the area where the bomb factory was discovered. quite a few people were unhappy with our presence. they say you're filming here, they've gone now, pleased leave us in peace. the other point to make is perhaps earlier this week, there was an article written by the editor of one of the more prestigious newspapers here who said that what had happened was making people here in belgium think well, this is becoming the norm, this is something we have to get used to, high level of threat, security presence, how can they explain the events that had happened to their children. how accounted their children get use to the sorts of things happening here. these areas, these residential, business areas which are very highly populated, which have a

lot of traffic coming and going inside them, they are exposed to this sort of danger. it is something that is seeping to the belgian psyche, certainly. >> you keep us right up to date with the very latest developments, thanks very much. let take the supports news. >> that you work very much. pakistan are out of the world 2020 championships. they were beaten by australia who kept their hopes alive. smith led the way for the aussies, unbeaten 61. james faulkner did the damage with the ball, taking five wicket as australia won by 21 runs. the west indies will face africa. a victory will see them join new zealand in the semifinals.

they've won the toss and elected to field. being remembered as a man who change would the way the world saw football in the netherlands, the barcelona great died on thursday at age 68. we have more. >> it was the move that changed football, a group game between the netherlands and sweden at the 1970 world cup, a turn, an instantaneously, the name was known across the world. his silky football skills mimicked. 43 years later, he is remembered as a man who changed football. flags were lowered at the headquarters, the club he joined on his birthday. fans young and old laid flowers. >> i watched him play. yes, we are the best and we've got the best player in the word.

it was like watching calais. >> he fled a golden area of dutch football. he went to three europe that cup tights between 1971 and 1973 and the netherlands to the final of the world cup a year later. although they were beaten by germany, a dynamic style of play was born that still echos today. >> the whole world knew him and dutch football through him. >> at a game be a applause at the 14th minute, the number matching the jersey he made famous. violence at barcelona, the club he joined for a then world record in 1973. later as a manager, he led the team to four consecutive la liga tights, as well as their first

european cup trophy in 1992. >> the most important person in the history of football worldwide, but also in barca. >> all the barcelona has been achieving in recent years is because of him. a person who change would the way of thinking in barcelona football. >> his health also suffered. he was a heavy smoker before undergoing heart surgery in 1991, and he revealed last year that he was suffering from lung cancer. his family say he passed away peacefully at his home in barcelona. he was 68, but his influence on football that has been present for decades will live on for sometime to come. >> world cup qualifying games have been taking place across south america. argentina came behind to beat chile. ecuador continue to lead

qualifying. >> brazil will also be in action later on friday, they are currently fifth in the qualifying standings with two wins from four, hosting uruguay who welcome back suarez, making his international return after his ban for biting during the 2014 world cup. after limping off the course on thursday with a back problem, world number two golfer jason day was back in action on day two of the w.g.c. max in texas. the australia surprised himself with a dominant victory, win now puts him in the same position as jordan speith. the world number one speith who will defend his title at the masters in two weeks has another stress free day. he reported a 5-4 win. mcelroy fought back from behind

to twice to continue his unbeaten start. he beat smiley coffman. the golden state warriors star player seth curry has no shortage of achievements under his belt but now earned the honor of a wax double, as well. he took selfies with his statue and posed for family pictures. a team of artists and sculptures spent four months on his figure, making 250 measurements opinion that's it for me, peter. >> thank you very much. >> the rolling stones are about to rock cuba where their music used to be banned. they are doing object stage for a massive concert. the stones are ready to show cubans what they missed. >> until recently, this was the closest that a legendary british rock star had ever come to cuba.

the countdown has started for what promises to be the most exciting rock concert in this countries history, the rolling stones are coming and no one wants to miss them. >> when i was her age, i dreamed of going to a concert like this but it was never within our reach. >> it is the first time we will see something like this and maybe the last. we want to travel abroad to see them. >> the famous british rock band has brought in 500 tons of equipment and will play before an estimated crowd of hundreds of thousands. this will be the grand finale of the rolling stones tour. only here are they performing for free. ♪ >> the stones sent a message on you tube to the cuban people with mick jagger speaking in pretty good spanish, saying that this was a historic concert, and

that he hopes the cuban people will see it that way, too. practically no one has seen the video, because internet access here is so limited. still it will be an extraordinary event in so many ways. >> cuba is not on the circuit of major music tours, so you can imagine. also the stones span three generations of fans. >> it's also worth remembering that for decades, the beatles and rolling stones music was banned by the communist government, which called it ideological deviation. president obama's visit here earlier this week was also historic. this concert is less institutional. cuba is being embraced by a rock band that is a living legend, which seems to indicate cuba is coming full circle. another operation on going in brussels, we'll bring you the latest live when we come back

top of the hour. r. one note at a time. >> proudest moment in my life.

♪ these pictures coming to us live from belgium. more suspects are arrested in a series of raids. ♪ hello there, welcome. you are watching al jazeera flooif -- live from your headquarters in doha. calls for change, protests