almost a year after it fell to i.s.i.l., syrian government forces reclaim the ancient town of palmyra. welcome. you're watching al jazeera live. also in the next 30 minutes. security concerns delay a planned march against fear in brussels. a new push to get the macedonian border open. we will have a report on a refugee protest. christians around the world mark their holyest day.

it's easter syria state media and some monitoring groups are saying the army has taken full control of the ancient and strategic city of palmyra. there has been heavy fighting in the area. the syrian army backed by russian air power have captured the citedel which is the world heritage site. palmyra is 20 kilometers from damascus. it is key because it would mean retaking the airport and several weapons depots and oil and gas facilities too. joining us live from gaziantep is our correspondent. it's not quite a done deal. there must be some skirmishes going on there. >> reporter: absolutely.

in the last over an hour ago we were told by i.s.i.l. their media group that a dual suicide attack was carried out from the group against the gathering for the syrian army to the east of the palmyra, an area where we don't know what the kind of suicide attack. whether they were walking or driving in cars loaded with explosive. we don't have word yet in regards to casualties, but in will be a pattern. we also know that the syrian army is here in a few areas. i.s.i.l. is strategies always when they leave somewhere, defeated from somewhere, they leave behind a lot of explosive devices or booby traps. also i've seen footage from the syrian state television and it is from palmyra and you can clearly hear some sound of explosions and firing. so it's not 100% done deal.

noufr, the military spokesman from damascus did come out in a statement saying that they are in full control of palmyra and that this was the beginning of i.s.i.l.'s retreat and defeat i.s.i.l. commanders do or do not feel that they're well enough resourced to fight back against this. >> reporter: i think the strategy is that they will leave or they are forced to loef and then they will try to regroup and attack and attack the syrian army in different places. this is a tactic they've done before in syria and they've also done before in iraq over the last 48 hourlies, i.s.i.l. in iraq did the same thing when they attacked a huge military base in anbar province. in syria i think they will pretty much do the same. i think they retreated to a number of areas mainly to the east of the der azor or to the

north > the destruction of palmyra's architecture by i.s.i.l. last year made immediate lines around the world. the syrian regime's most notorious prison was in palmyra. political prisoner were held there. i.s.i.l. blew up the empty jail in a symbolic move last may. the city is close to damascus making it an important strategic gain for bashar al-assad's government. >> reporter: a significant advance against i.s.i.l. in syria. according to state media government forces backed by russian air power of recaptured the ancient city of palmyra from i.s.i.l. after days of intense fighting. while there has been no independent confirmation, the syrian observetory for human

rights say that the forces in retreated. i.s.i.l. took over palmyra a world her at the timing site last may and began a campaign of destroying ancient sites and staging mass executions. known as the bride of the desert, it used to attract tens of thousands of tourists every year before the conflict began. it is not simply known for its beautiful ruins. the prison complex is there. for decades it was one of the most feared detention centers, known for housing political prisonerss. thousands of government opponents were tortured there. shortly after over taking the city, i.s.i.l. blew up the jail which was empty at the time destroying an important symbol of government control. palmyra is between damascus and deir az zchlt our. russia recently withdrew forces from syria after six months of

aerial bombardment, the government of bashar al-assad has made advances in rebel-held territory. recapturing palmyra opens up a possible advance of government forces for as much of the eastern desert stretching to the south and i.s.i.l.'s heartlands of the area to the east a solidarity rally named march against fear has been postponed in brussels because of security fears. the authorities urge people to stay away from brussels in order to spare the over taxed police force. it was planned to mark tuesday's attacks which killed 31 people and injured hundreds. prosecutors have charged three men with terror offences over those suicide attacks. people needing to express the tabbing that they were not going to be intimidated by what happened on tuesday and they're not going to get the cans to do

that now o >> reporter: they are still able to express their solidarity and their defiance, but in a more informal way here at the square in front of the old stock exchange. pretty much ever since the attacks on tuesday people have come. they have set up the shrines with flowers. that has continued. there has been a flow of continual people. although there isn't a formal march, the organisers agreed it was too much of a risk in the current climate. nevertheless, people have been coming to the square and it is noticeable on sunday that the army has set up quite tough road blocks. we're talking about obstructions, closing off roads around the square just the immediate perimeter of the square. i've seen at least one ar howed vehicle as part of the security measures to try to secure the

square as we're expecting to have lots of visitors during the day 12 people in detention. what's the latest in relation to the investigation? >> reporter: the latest on the investigation is that another person who was arrested on friday has now been charged with participating in terrorist activities. the man's name has only been given as a. the prosecutor only identify people by the initial of the surname. he was the man would was shot in the leg while resisting arrest at a tram stop on friday. he has added to the other three who have been charged. one of them has been name as faycel c, an belgium media believe that police are looking at the possibility that he could be the first man in the airport

cctv image, the person wearing the light coat and the hat who escaped after the bombings. the other two suicide bombers blew themselves up in those attacks to greece where refugees are protesting, calling for officials to let them through. to give you a better idea of the situation in that country, there are more than 12,000 people who are still stranded at the greek macedonian border. that's the improvised tent city that most live in. most refuse to leave. they're afraid they will be forced to stay in greece or be deported back to turkey. elsewhere on the greek island of lesbos, dozens are being prepared for deportation. more on that story for you from our correspondent.

they can't really think that their presence will mean that the border will open up >> reporter: they had planned to march towards the border, force their way into macedonia. people are from yous trade, they're angry, but it didn't take long really before they changed their minds. the greek police were out in force. they deployed along the border, warned them against doing this. at the end the people were convinced that even if they managed to cross into macedonia, what is next? the last time they did that they were arrested and sent back. they held a peaceful protest in front of the world's cameras that the people would hear their plight. they do not want to leave. people are afraid to do that because they think they are going to be forgotten. it could take months or years before their papers are actually

processed. frustration is growing but undoubtedly a few hundred people have moved from idomeni. they are resigned to the fact that the borders are not going to close and they have to go through the legal channels in order to be relocated in europe. undoubtedly the conditions here are worsening. we saw in the early hours of the morning people walking kilometers and kilometers when they are heard rumors that the border was going to open. it shows you how desperate they are still to come here on al jazeera for you. >> translation: in the first hospital there was no qualified doctor. the second hospital no drugs and constant power outages how nigeria's poor medical facilities are costing lives. we will tell you why argentina's teenagers are reluctant to smile. smile.

you're watching al jazeera coming to you live from doha. top stories. groups are vague the army has taken full control of the ancient and strategic city of palmyra. government forces have been advancing into i.s.i.l.-held territory over the last few days. refugees on the greek-macedonian border held a proficiency fest hoping that it will be open for them. italian police have arrested a man for producing fake id documents. a third map has been arrested in

relation to the airport bombing going back to our top story for you. the syrian military taking over the city of palmyra. earlier we spoke to a journalist inside palmyra. he says despite the army's victory, the fighting in the area with i.s.i.l. is far from over. >> shortly this morning, before they managed to take the city, despite fierce attempts of i.s.i.l., around 4am i.s.i.l. fighters took the prison, one of the most significant buildings in the city, but the army managed to overcome that and continued to fully control the city. there are units of the army trying to de-mine the city because i.s.i.l. has planted a

large number of explosive devices over the city. they have to go house to house and building to build to see there's no devices. it looks like they have given up on this part because the nearest stronghold for i.s.i.l., they still have large forces. the syrian army has done something unprecedented in the syrian war. the syrian army had to have a large-scale operation such as this one. they will have to reallocate forces and take units from certain front lines undermining the area. we have seen surveillance equipment to interfere and to

tap into i.s.i.l. communication. i think this explains why this is the first battle for the army with a large number of i.s.i.l. movement. a source told me this morning that they have a body count of i.s.i.l. of over 380 which is a very high number australia has a tough policy to deter refugees who arrive by boat. some of them are making a valuable contribution to the country. andrew thomas reports from noble park near melbourne. >> reporter: every summer parts of australia go up in blames, in hot windy conditions wild bushfires are common. containing them and stopping them from destroying homes or lives genally falls to volunteer firefighters. not many from iran but this woman and her husband are refugees that came to australia by boat.

>> the hose is heavy, especially when the water is going on, it gets heavier. for me, maybe men not, but for me it is very heavy. i like it. i like to save people, even trees, even nature. i love it. >> reporter: a few years ago the local fire brigade faced a problem, a dwindling number of recruits. five years ago there were not enough volunteers to run a training exercise like this one, let alone have enough people on call for when a real fire broke out. the fire service was becoming unsibl >> we had about 12 members in the brigade. we had to do something to change that around. >> reporter: the fire service made an active effort to recruit from ethnic minorities, particularly resettled refugees. nowadays australia's government deports any refugees who come by

boat. between 2010 and 2013, tens of thousands arrived who were allowed to stay. a high number settled to the south and east of melbourne. the very area facing a short age of firefighting volunteers. today of the 52 volunteers based at noble park half are from immigrant backgrounds. >> they helped us and they accepted us to be in australia. so i should do something. i want to do something. it's like pay back. >> reporter: the firefighters are more representative of the immigrant communities they're serving. >> particularly in a situation where you've got a fire, it is a bad time for people and english not being a first language, we have members responding who can speak other languages and offer comfort and support to people in their time of need. >> reporter: the focus of australian politics recently has been on how to keep refugees out. sometimes over looked is their

contribution once they're in. appear drew thomas. - - andrew thomas the indian government has imposed presidential rule in the northern states run by the opposition congress party. the prime minister' cabinet gave a go ahead for this. congress has accused him of destabilizing state governments run by the opposition. there are some two billion christians around the world and many of them are marking their most holy day. easter. which is the day they believe marks the resurrection of jesus. in india, people celebrated with singing and dancing. they attended special prayers. in northern iraq in the mainly christian town hundreds of people gathered in churches. many have been classified as internally displaced people since i.s.i.l. took control of their villages near the city of

mosul. officials say they tried to help people feel removed from the conflict in their country. pope francis is celebrating. thousands of people have come to the square to watch the service. he began by sprin keling incense. in the wake of the attacks he urged people not to lose hope. 100 years since the easter uprising in ireland. a public ceremony to mark the events of 1916 t that is when there was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the british. it led to the creation of the irish free state in 1922. sdwron thon moor is an expert in modern irish politics and says the relationship with neighboring britain is focused on future e.u. membership. >> there is a real problem for

some people with ways going on today and that is that there are-- is that there are still people in northern ireland who want to do what men and women did, fight against the british states. anything might be seen as giving them a green light to do that. there is a wariness about what today means. there is great fear in the irish republic and in northern ireland as well. one report said it could suffering economically if the u.k. does leave. there is great fear because despite all the years of independence in the republic, the two economies are very much intertwined and there is a great hope amongst irish political circles and wider circles that the u.k. will not depart, but certainly it would have very,

very interesting implications for the peace process because the vast majority of people in northern ireland want to stay within the united king domesticing domestic and the consequences of the u.k. leaving is maybe there would be a rethink about their relationship with britain and the republic of ireland the w mo says there has been an increase in deaths from cancer in nigeria. nearly 80,000 people die out of 100,000 who get that diagnosis. inadequate medical facilities and late diagnosis is to blame part areally for that problem. >> reporter: two years ago this woman road accidents diagnosed with bone cancer. she is a student in nigeria's northern state. she says she is in constant pain and can't walk properly. she blames poor medical facilities for her condition. >> translation: in the first hospital there was no qualified

doctor. the second hospital, no drugs and constant power outages. the next hospital i was transferred to do not have the right equipment. >> reporter: the world health organisation says inadequate cancer treatment has led to an increase in people dying. there were 68 deaths a day four years ago. today there are around 98. in a couple of 198 million people there are only seven hospitals. health minister says early detection is important as well as investment in the health care sector. >> i think the challenge we have is representation. what you present with is nothing anybody can do. what we have resolved to do is use the money well, invest it where it matters, spend less on meetings and conferences and put money where people benefit. >> reporter: that could be one

reason why the cancer survival rates are so allow. out of 100,000 people diagnosed, 80,000 will die. the pho is helping the government reduce that figure >> we have seen what the government has been doing. >> reporter: back in her home, she says investments need to come faster. people spend 200 million dollars annually overseas. she feels she will die if she can't get the treatment at home thousands of people in shan'ty towns don't have much to smile about. a foundation is working on the

problem. >> reporter: this girl does smile when things goes well. she has been attending a clinic for her teeth since eight. she knows how to look after her teeth. many in her town don't know how to do that. >> translation: i think that a smile is one of the most important things a person has when looking for a job or going out. >> reporter: this lady founded these clinics 10 years ago funded by donations. she says the state has never prioritised dentistry for the towns and government run services are underfunded. 90% of the children suffer tootdz decay. i opened a second clinic and then a third. we can't support more than three clinics right now. >> reporter: as well as free treatment at the clinics,

dentists provide education on diet and oral hygiene. he says his teeth won't have bacteria. >> translation: i see 15 year olds who have never brushed their teeth. their mouths are terrible. >> reporter: parents who never had access to dental treatment recognise the benefits of their own children. >> translation: yes. they brush their teeth in the morning, after lunch and at night-time as well. >> reporter: loving care and attention constructive advice and the promise of a small donated gift for bravery encourage patients to continue their treatment. >> translation: they often don't know how to brush their teeth and good diet. >> reporter: poor living conditions, a bad diet often a lack of running water, no tootdz

brushes or paste all contribute to bad dental hygiene. the reluctance of many especially young people to smile. >> reporter: this lady with a baby of her own encourages her eight siblings to look after their teeth. with the right diets and brushing their teeth they will have something to smile about the cherry blossoms which bring thousands of visitors to washington dc is now in full bloom. >> reporter: each year this area is transformed. it's cherry blossom time. a legacy of a gift of trees from japan to the u.s. in 1912. metropolitan to symbolize lasting friendship to the two nation

nations. >> there say sense of serinity to it. it is very peaceful >> very good. >> it's beautiful. we were really lucky to get this beautiful day. it's not too whoed. easter weekend. it is a great time to see them. >> they make me really refresh. >> reporter: today the annual blossom festival draws more than a million people to soak up their beauty and snop selfies. for photographers seeking that perfect view, the u.s. national park service has a message. washington is a no drone zone >> flying a drone within these areas at any time, including the national cherry blos am festival is against the law-- blossom. >> reporter: in traditional japanese poetry the cherry blossoms are a metaphor for life. beautiful but fleeting. that's a notion that everyone in this capital from the poorest to

most powerful might do well to upon dor lots more news, of course, whenever you want it on our website. aljazeera.com. more on our top story there, the syrian army retaking the city of palmyra from i.s.i.l. [ ♪ ] hello. i'm richard gizbert and you're at the listening post. it's paris all over again in brussels, both