let's go it zeina khodr who is monitoring the story for us from there. zeina, what else do we know?rter: well, peter, like you have been mentioning, according reports the -- there is one highjacker involved, and he is wearing an explosive belt. he they wanted to detonate his explosive belt. we still do not know who is responsible, whether this highjacker belongs to a certain group. we still do not know if he has made any demands to the authorities on the ground, but definitely this is going to raise a lot of questions about the security at egypt's airport. this plane took off from alexandria, a domestic slight supposed to have land ed in sigh put. the plane diverted by the armed map on board as we understand. just a few months ago, you remember peter a plane blew up in midair egyptian authorities called it an act of terrorism and really a lot of questions were raised about security at that airport. we do know that the egyptian security forces are at war with an isil affiliated group in sinai and there has been instability in cairo itself. but as far as we know now, we are getting re

zeina, just get us right up to speed. so we've got at least five passengers still on board. plus the cabin crew. plus the flight crew, and we are assuming here that the negotiators are talking to the hostage taker. >> reporter: yes, peter, what we understand from cypriot officials is that negotiations have led to to the release of 56 people. 56 people were seen leaving the aircraft. like you mentioned, four foreigners still inside the plane as well as the crew. the suspected highjacker identified by egyptian authorities as ibrahim. they didn't mention the nationality and we do not know his nationality, we do not have confirmation on his demands but cypriot state television is reporting that he is asking for a translator and political asylum. again, this is cypriot state television reports it's very difficult at this moment to know what his demands are. at the end of the day the biggest question is if he indeed has explosives and we understand from the pilot he had explosives and threatened to use a suicide belt and that's why he was forced to land in larnaca but of course au

zeina khodr reports. >> this time the government in greece has been able to convince migrants and refugees to move from idomeni. explained to them that the evacuation is voluntary and the conditions in government run camps are better but the majority of people are still refusing to go. they prefer to stay hire where they have been for weeks. for now they are blocking the railway traction leadin tracks s the border. they hope to persuade authorities toet them about in. >> people have come here to cross not to stay in camps. i have two people in germany, what if the relocation program sends me somewhere else? what do i do? >> the refugees are losing patience, they feel the relocation program will take months. we are human beings they say, as they make an appeal to the world to end their suffering. >> there are some challenges in the relocation program. they are due to logistic issues. the progress of the procession is not rapid. we know they are recruiting more people and so we know for sure in the next days the capacity will increase. >> greece is now home to 50,000 migrants and revolution

zeina khodr, al jazeera, idomeni. >> be newspaper editor in chief leaves the istanbul chorus. last may their paper released pictures claiming to prove that be turkey was smuggling arms to turkmen fighters in syria. simply carrying aid. the case was adjourned because occupation fighters refused to leave the hearing, failing to believe that the trial should be held behind closed doors. >> translator: there is a catch 22 situation and there is a political power that is caught in front of the world. they tried and did everything to discover up their situation and to date, the trial we said we came here to judge not to be judged. and they didn't want this judgment to be seen and they decided to make it a closed session. >> translator: the decision of the constitutional court is clear and obvious. this is an act of yo journalism. we will come here on the 1st of april and defend the decision of the constitutional court together. which is turkey's highest court. we will defend our freedoms. >> italian student in january was tortured. italy is denying this claim, admitting security for

zeina khodr, al jazeera. >> turkey's about the has vowed to crack down on what he calls terrorism after sunday's bombing iin ankara. recep tayyip erdogan, explained, more than 100 other people were also injured. state media is reportin reporti. mohammed jamjoom sends us this report in ankara. >> reporter: there's still a sense of shock from the residents, a palpable worry that we've been perceiving all day. people have tried to come to terms with this very frightening new reality that they have been faced with in the past six months. this isn't just the second bomb attack that has targeted ankara in less than a month. it is the third attack to target ankara in six months. in october there was an attack. in february there was an attack. last night there was an attack. and at a time when the government has repeatedly said, they are pulling out all the stops to protect the citizens of this country. heightened security measures, stepped up security checks ought across the country. the facts that these attacks have happened in the heart of the capital at this time, really raising fears. one

zeina khodr traveled to lesbos. this is what she saw. >> reporter: salina's requests for asylum, he hopes will be accepted. but now, there is an agreement that will make it even more harder for migrants and refugees to stay. >> at 3:00 a.m. march 20th they took us and registered. we can't go back to syria because of the war and in turkey we couldn't make ends meet. >> saliem with was taken to the camp. and monitors are there to help negotiate the deal. >> there is a lot of confusion for the refugees that arrive, there are people that still think after the registrations rn they can have a permit to travel in greece and to try to cross the border with macedonia, so on. that is absolutely not the case anymore. the hot spot has been emptied of the ancient population, the refugees that arrived before. >> these people are being sent to mainland greece. authorities are clearly trying to separate the old from the new arrivals. wait to see if they are eligible for the relocation program. but for now, they are stuck in greece

zeina khodr, al jazeera. >>> coming up here on al jazeera.ll look at how the nigerian government's latest efforts to fight boko haram mean there is less food on the table. >>> an expanded role for japan's military divides the nation. nation. ♪ ♪ >>> welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. the iraqi shia cleric is on day two of a sit in protest in baghdad's green zona long with his supporters he's frustrated with what they are calling government inaction about the issue of corruption. >>> funerals are being held in pakistan following a suicide blast in the city of lahore which left at least 70 people dealt. a sprinter group from pakistan's taliban said it carried out the bomb attack. >>> syrian government forces say say they have won full control of palmyra with russian support. president paoutd inning has offered help to restore the saint chen city. >>> police in bell yum used water cannon to break up a crowd of pr protesters. paul brennan was there. >> reporter: sunday's intended memorial rally was already postponed but security wa

zeina khodr report now from the islands of lesbos. >> reporter: this was supposed to have stopped. boats keep coming in. europe's refugee crisis is far from over. the latest arrivals are refugees from syria. many of them from the war-torn city of aleppo. they are still making the dangerous journey across the aegean sea to reach the greek islands. the european union was hoping that a yes rent agreement with turkey would discourage asylum seekers. but people who managed to reach europe' shores are still hopeful they won't be turned back. >> translator: i don't think they will reject us because we are coming from a destroyed city. we are asking for asylum on humanitarian grounds not only is there war in our country but the situation in turkey is bad for us. >> reporter: these people want to mack their way to mainland europe. some in search of a better life. others to be reunited with their family members who made the journey before them. >> translator: the situation is very bad in aleppo. we endured four years of war, bombardment and rocket attacks, i don't want to be sent back to tur

zeina khodr, al jazeera. >>> in japan, a new opposition party has been formed ahead of elections this merging of smaller opposition groups looking to put pressure on the ruling conservative party ran by prime minister abe. rob mcbride reports from tokyo. >> reporter: this merger is deemed by many in the fragmented opposition as being the best chance of trying to derail the ruling conservative coalition government of prime minister shinzo abe ahead of upper house elections this summer. abe still has a lot of forward momentum, that's in spite of sandals involving cabinet members and a faltering economic strategy. he has majorities in both houses of the japanese parliament. if he can extend that to 2/3 of the seats in both. he has an unprecedented opportunity to change the country's pacifist constitution, given the military a -- giving the military a more assertive role. the opposition has promise today prevents that. this merger sees a further sad demise of the main opposition democratic party of japan. they spectacularly swept to power no 2009 but equally spectacularly were dumped by t

zeina khodr, al jazeera, athens. >>> senegal has vote today reduce the length of its presidential termive years. provisional referendum results show around 62% vote today amend the pros. constitution. in february the constitutional report rejected the president's efforts to shorten his currents term. >>> jeb bush has endorsed ted cruz for his party's nomination in statements publish odd social media. bush says cruz represents the best chance for republican to his take the white house. cruz is currently in second place behind donald trump but still possible the for the senator from texas to win the republican ticket. does that enforcement make a difference do you think? >> reporter: it's important for a couple of reasons. first of all it doesn't mean a huge swath of voters will move to the ted cruz campaign. if you are in this stage of the election cycle and you are endorsing someone else means doesn't win a lot of voters yourself. jeb bush dislikes donald trump, he thinks he's rude, vulgar new york the a conservative. no not really a republican and would make a terrible president. he c

. >>> around 600 people have moved from those makeshift campletiono government shelters but as zeina khodr reports, 50,000 people trapped next to the macedonian border. >> reporter: they've spent weeks in tents close to greece's border with macedonia where life has been a struggle. now waiting to be housed in one of the government accommodation centers. >> translator: the conditions were bad in i.d.omeni especially for my children and my father is blind. we might as welcome here. >> reporter: the greek government is starting to turn empty army bases into relocation centers. refugees are worried, this new found comfort could become permanent. be. >> translator: we don't know our fate. we are ready to apply to the relocation effort, but nobody answers. i wish they would come here and start processing our papers. >> it is a concern of all those here. none have a plan to stay here. people were worried they would be locked upper or deported. now they know that's not the case. persuading people that the migrant trail was not reopening, greece was left alone to deal with the crisis. >> cond

zeina khodr, al jazeera. >>> the i.s.i.l. group still has strongholds and can roam freely mostly in iraq but mostly northern syria. i.s.i.l. has held ground in many areas but it is important to note some of the areas are empty dessert. desert. >> most recent book i.s.i.s. a history scheduled for release in april. he joins us from london. fawaz always good to have you with us. one point you make arab spring following decades of failure in the arab world and the economic popularization of arab societies played a role in the rise of i.s.i.l. >> absolutely antonio. the derailment of the arab spring the hijacking of the arab spring by the old god by the old regimes by counter-revolutionary forces was one of the most important really significant factors in the rise or actually in the resurgence of i.s.i.s. or the so-called islamic state. i.s.i.s. is an extension of al qaeda in iraq. al qaeda in iraq was born as a result of the american-led invasion and occupation of iraq. al qaeda in iraq was defeated in 2010, 2011 when the america

as zeina khodr reports, the plan is facing a series of difficulties. >> reporter: 21-year-old syrianay have arrived too late. he reached the shores of the greek island of lesbos on sunday, the day the new rules came into effect. you are union has been closing one border after another in recent days, but it will make it harder for migrants and refugees to stay. >> we are out 3:00 a.m. on march 20th. they took us to the camp and registered us they told us to wait. we can't go back to syria because of the war, and in turkey, we couldn't make ends meet. >> reporter: salim was taken to camp moria where all those who arrived after the turkey-eu agreement was arranged. >> there is an awful lot of confusion first of all, there are people that feel after registration they can have a permit to travel to places in greece and to try to cross the border with macedonia and so on. that is absolutely not the case anymore. now, the town has been emptied of all the ancient population, those arrived before. >> these people are being sent to mainland greece, authorities are clearly trying to separate th

zeina hodor tells their story. >>> yet again they make their way to greece's border, totaled northern route has reopened. they walked for kilometers in the cold. >> we are going there because they are openings the border. we read it on social media and facebook pages of access. we were celebrating this afternoon night. >> these people were not given the correct information. this i also what they found. dozens preparing to breakthrough greek police lines and push their way forward. >> this is the only hope we have left. they want to take us to military camps and the e.u. relocation program could take months or years. i'm confident we can get through, because we are many people. >> a few dozen gathered, but they changed their minds. >> we won't march, they said. not unless the red cross is with them and there's a decision by the european union to let them in. >> these refugees and migrants know that crossing by force will not change anything. two weeks ago, some of them managed to breakthrough a barbed wire fence only to be arrested by macedonian authorities and sent back. >> instead, t

let's get more from zeina hodor. tell us what the situation is like there for people who have reached that far. >> some 12,000 people stuck living out in the open, very close to the border. some refusing to leave, some of them refusing to move into accommodation centers, because they still have hope the border will open, even though they have been repeatedly told by that authorities here that that is not going to happen. the u.n. calling on richer countries to take in more refugees, the u.n. has criticized the european union for its response to the migrant crisis. the u.n. believe that is closing the borders, erecting fences, that is not the answer. now these people have two choices, to apply for asylum in greece or to the e.u. relocation program. people believe it will take months and sometimes years before their cases will be heard and they can be relocate across the continent and people are losing patience, especially since once the borders close, it separate families. there is one woman who hasn't seen four of he

zeina hodr, al jazeera.he iraqi military says 22 of its soldiers have been killed in an attack by isil. this happened at a military barracks northwest of ramadi. dozens more were injured. >>> iran's foreign minister will meet with his australian counterpart on tuesday. it's part of a tour aimed at nurturing relationships and building trade links with asian countries. australia is trying to push an agreement for iran to take back around 9,000 failed refugees. andrew thomas reports. >> these protesters see it as a case of love denied. needing iran in 20s 12 after she says she was raped by her stepfather. she came to australia by boat and met bari, an iranian refugee who has a visa to stay in australia permanently. the two fell in love and married. last year, australian's government denied her visa. it put her in a detention center, a prison in darwin and wants ton deport her back to iraq. so her husband, who has her photos, her wedding veil and shoes but not his wife, that would be devastating. >> my heart wou

. >> zeina hodor has been monitoring the situation from the greek city. zeina, tell us whether we have anymore clarity on what his motivations were. >> well, no, doreen, we do not. hours of negotiations, a seven hour standoff, a peaceful resolution to the crisis, the highjacker surrendering, he is now in custody, undoubtedly being questioned by sip press authorities. cypress authorities saying that he's an unstable man. we understand his name is seif, eldin, mustafa. earlier he was identified with a name of a person that was a apparently on the flight. there were no explosives on the plane. the man was not carrying any explosives, but they are searching the aircraft as we speak, so really a lot of questions. early are we heard reports that every requested political asylum that he requested to speak to his former wife, a greek woman from cyprus. these are all unconfirmed reports. we are waiting for cypress and egyptian authorities to give more on what happened. >> cypress authorities seem to be quite sure that his motivations were personal, rather than ido

al jazeera's zeina harder has more on relocating those already in greece. >> reporter: some refugeesigrants who have been stuck along the border with macedonia for weeks now have decided to move to government-run camps. according to the unhcr. 40450 people boarded buses and they are hoping to relocate more people but they are facing another problem it's not just persuading people to leave here but the fact that there is not enough space, these accommodation centers cannot hawes all these people. greek authorities are struggling to deal with this crisis. there are now 50,000 migrants and refugee as cross the country. but, of course, there are those who no 'do not want to leave. they still have hope that the border will hope, even though many people you talk to are now resigned to the fact that they may being stuck here. but they believe that by staying here they can pressure the macedonian authorities, pressure the e.u., keep their knight in the international -- polite in the international media so they will not be forgotten of the right now they have to apply to sigh lum and the relo

zeina hodor, al jazeera. >> still to come: >> in the first hospital, there was no qualified doctor, the second no drugs and constant power outages. >> why the death rate for cancer in nigeria is so high. >>> christians around the world celebrating easter. >> welcome back, the top story here with al jazeera, isil said it was behind two saturday attacks close to palmyra. it comes as the syrian army says it has taken fill control of the ancient city of palmyra. government forces have been advancing into isil held territory over the last few days. >>> marching for the victims of tuesday's attacks, riot police surrounded protestors and used water cannons to disperse them. a vigil was canceled today due to an overstretched police force. >>> ref jeers at the greek-macedonian border held a protest in hopes it will be reopened to them. thousands remain stranded and refused to be transported to government shelters for fear of being deported. returning to the top story on the syrian military taking over palmyra, despite the victory, the fighting in the area with isil is far from over. >> shortly a

zeina khodr, al jazeera. >>> know, the leaders of maybe 50 countries are in washington, d.c.uclear issues. the goal is for country to his lockdown as much in the way of vulnerable atomic material as possible. let's go to patty culhane, who will tell us i am sure exactly what is on the agenda. but i suppose particularly pertinent right now given the fact that those people who carried out the attacks in brussels, we now think may well have been looking at a nuclear plant there and perhaps figuring if that in to their plans. >> reporter: actually there will be a long session starting on friday on exactly the isil campaign. but i can tell you senior administration officials tell me that was they were going to focus isil, they decided that in january. it just happens that the brussel attack happened and we now know therthere was some consideration look agent belgium's nuclear program. we have been see speaking to ser white house officials peak particularly ben rhodes and he says they weren't actually worried about what could coup have happen ed in belgian, they have good security

zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: this man may have arrived too late, reaching the shores of lebos on sunday, the day new rules came effect. europe has been closing one boarder after another, now there's an great making it harder for migrants and refugees to stay. >> we are yout 3:00a.m. on march 20th. they took us to the camp and registered us. we don't know what happened to us. they are separating syrians and iraqis from pakistanis and others. we can't go back to syria because of the war. >> he was taken to camp, where those that arrived after the e.u. turkey deal that came into force are staying. others are in lesbos to help with the implementation of that deal. interpreters are arriving as well. >> there are people that still think after the registration they can have a permit to travel to greece, and then to try to across the boarder with macedonia, that is not the case any more. knew now it's been emptied by refugees that arrived before. >> reporter: these people have been sent to mainland greece. once they reach the main lant the asylum seekers will be placed in shelters, for n

zeina hodr. >>> christians have been celebrating easter sunday, the most important day of their religiousalendar. >> hope francis has led the roman catholic mass at the vatican, for christians, the period commemorates the last days of jesus christ. sunday is the days christians celebrate his resurrection. pope francis spoke of refugees and their plight in his arrest. >> jesus, by his resurrection triumphed over evil and sin. may he draw us closer on this eastern feast, the victims of terrorism. that's blind and brutal form of violence which continues to shed blood in different parts of the world as in the recent attacks turkey, nigeria, chad, cameroon, the ivory coast and iraq. >> he invites us. an ever more numerous throng of refugees including many children fleeing from war, hunger, poverty, and social injustice. >> thousands of people in ireland are 40sed to remember those with 00 years ago hundreds died but led to the formation of ireland. fill lavelle reports. >> reporter: 100 years have pass passed. what happened hammed here pointiant whether i remembered to this day. a piper, a dru

around 600 people have moved from the camps, but as zeina khodr reports it's a change for authorities to find places for the 50,000. they spent weeks in tents, where life that is within a struggle. the syrians are waiting to be housed in a government center. the conditions were bad. especially for the children, and my father is lined. the u.s. told them the boarder is not open. the effort has only started. so far a few hundred are given proper shelter and assistance, refugees are worried the new found government could become a problem. >> translation: we don't know our fate. we are ready to apply to the relocation programme. no one answers. i wish they could come here and process our papers. >> it's a concern of all those here, none of them had plans to stay in greece. it was not easy for the authorities in greece to convince migrants in refugees to leave the camps and move to accommodation centers like this. people are worried they'll be locked up and deported. now they know that's not the case. persuading people that the migrant trail was not reopening was not the only challenge. >>

i want to get the latest from zeina hodor live from greece. what else are you hearing? >> like you mentioned, many of the passenger little on that plane were freed a few hours ago and about an hour ago, the egypt transport minister said four remained onboard, seven crew members. in the past few minutes, we saw four people disembark from that plane, which means the highjacker has three hostages inside. we do not know if they are members of the crew or they were the remaining passengers onboard. we now understand that the identity of the highjacker was a mistake. earlier reports said his name was ibrahim, we do not know about him or know his profile. this man was making demands first for political asylum, second to talk to his ex-wife, who is a greek sip rate. authorities are doing their best to try to bring an end to this incident, but it is still not over. >>> do we know more about the passengers that have been released, what's happening with them? >> the passengers, some will be taken back to egypt. the egyptian transport minister saying that they're doing their best t

al jazeera's zeina khodr went there to find out why. >> reporter: this time the government in greece been able to convince refugees to move from idomeni. relief workers explain to them the be evacuatio evacuation is t they prefer to stay here where they have been for weeks. for now they are blocking the railway tracks. they are hoping their blockade will help persuade the authorities on the other side to let them in. >> translator: people have come here to cross not stay in camps. some people have been separated have their families. i have two children in germany. what do i do? >> reporter: they fear the eu program to relocate them across the continent will take months. we are human beings they say, as they make an people to the world to end their suffering. it may take some time. >> there are some challenges in the relocation program. the capacity of procession, of course is limited so even the government is now scaling up, we know for instance that they are recruiting more people and so we know for sure that in the next days, the capacity will increase. >> reporter: greece is now h

zeina khodr is at the idomeni camp. >> some refugees have decided to move to government run camp. according to the u.n. hcr, they are honing they can relocate more people but facing another problem. it's not just persuading people to leave here but the fact that there isn't enough space. these accommodation centers cannot house ail these people. greek authorities are struggling to deal with this crisis. there are now 50,000 migrants across the country. there are some who still don't want to leave. they are still hoping the border will open. hoping that pressuring the macedonian authorities or the eu, so they will not be forgotten. right now they have to apply for asylum relocation program and this is going to take months and people are growing desperate, especially those who want to be reunited with their families. even the u.n. hcr says it will take a long time for these people to get appointments and apply, they are hoping to employ more to take care of this problem. >> 10,000 syrian refugees, the idea is to move the refugees from the old camp into the new one. this camp is tota

zeina khodr has more. this is where the boats had stopped. the latest arrivals are refugees from syria, many from the war torn city of aleppo. they are making the dangerous journey across the agean sea to reach the greek island. the european union hoped an agreement would discourage asylum seeker. people that managed to reach their shores are hopeful they will not turn back. >> i don't think they will reject us. we are coming from a destroyed city. we are asking for asylum on humanitarian grounds. not only as yes warrant the country, but the situation in turkey is bad for us. >> reporter: these people want to make their way to mainland europe. others with their family life, who made the journey before them. >> translation: the situation is bad in aleppo. we endured four years of war and rocket attacks. i don't want to be sent back. my father and two sisters are in turkey and i miss them. >> tighter restrictions and the closure of the ball can root means people will be stuck here. there are now rules in place. according to the new agreement be