Walking into a diplomatic minefield pope francis touches down in myanmar and meets military leaders accused of ethnic cleansing. Hello im Maryam Namazie this is al jazeera life from london coming up. Flights canceled one hundred thousand people evacuated denises mount maybe about. Celebrating victory in pakistan protest leaders called off sam massive. Top level resignation. On the United Kingdom prepares for another Royal Wedding as prince harry announces his engagement to the american actress make and model. The man in charge of mammals military crackdown against muslims has denied that religious discrimination exists in his country seen a general men ally made the comments in a Facebook Post off the holding a last minute meeting with pope francis whos on his first visit to myanmar a Catholic Leader is known to be sympathetic to the ranger but has been advised to avoid even using the term scott hyde has more from young. Word coming out late on monday here the first day of the popes visit to myanmar that he met with the commander in chief gentlemen now this is a meeting that was supposed to take place on thursday caught some people off guard because this word came out late on monday that was originally described as a rest day for the pope now. The general posted a statement on his Facebook Page say they met for about fifteen minutes now he said also in that meeting he got across the idea he said to the pope that there wasnt religious discrimination in the country but that it in press office said that the discussed several issues and that the pope got across to the general that there is great responsibility for the authorities here in myanmar during this transition period no theres no word from either side if the issue was brought up now obviously thats a very sensitive topic during the popes visit here now on tuesday the pope will travel to the capital where hell meet with the civilian leader and other members of the government and other members of the religious affiliations now itll be interesting to see how those meetings go and if theyll be any mention of but this first high level meeting that the pope had unexpected high level meeting the pope had with the commander in chief of the military no mention of well see if that changes when the pope goes the neighborhood or on tuesday. Father thomas. Foundation. With the vatican as has his assessment of how francis will handle the issue. He goes as a peace maker and is a Bridge Builder he never goes to burn bridges hes been well informed and advised by those on the scene by cardinal boll by the bishops by other people not to use language that would provoke and burn bridges he is certainly aware of the refugee crisis hes referred to it several times over the past year and i think it would be unfair for you or for anyone to simply reduce the visit to myanmar as whether or not hes going to say the r word hes going to build peace hes going to encourage people to change the schedule already this morning rather than meeting with the military leaders later on he chose to do that right in the beginning its also important to realize that he will be meeting when he gets to bangladesh with some of the hundreds of thousands of refugees and so hes listening hes coming as a peacemaker hes coming to build bridges hes certainly not coming to provoke. And then asia has raised its. Volcano to the highest level warning that its first major eruption in fifty four years could be imminent hundred thousand people have been ordered to evacuate an expanded danger zone in the Main International airport has been closed well homage on june has well it could lead to a major eruption at any moment thats what indonesian officials are saying about the volcano on the island of bali agung has been rumbling and spewing ash into the atmosphere since the weekend on monday a Mass Evacuation was ordered and the danger zone was expanded on the jetty the possibility of a large eruption is very high some indications show they will indeed be an eruption since yesterday the eruption that happened has been accompanied by the sound of explosions and vibrations that can be heard and felt within a distance of twelve kilometers. Indonesian Officials Say they will continue to search all the villages in the area and force residents to evacuate if need be. Until now based on incoming reports that eruptions and trim is continuous and the love is filling the crater the lava will flow down the slopes after the crater is full. Balis International Airport was closed hundreds of flights were canceled and tens of thousands of travelers were stranded after tests indicated ash had reached its airspace. Everything up there and you can get right back to. Bali is the top Tourist Destination in indonesia and plays host to millions of visitors each year the volcano last erupted in one thousand nine hundred sixty three when more than one thousand people were killed mohamed and does either. But just as in pakistan of officially ended the capital is often the law minister. And resigned theyve been demanding i mean step down over the winding of a parliamentary bill which they describe as blasphemous. After more than three weeks this sit in has turned into a celebration. Supporters of pakistans blasphemy laws were able to force the government into giving in to their demands. Not only has the federal law minister step down but the government of pakistan muslim noon has also agreed to investigate itself. A crowd of just thousands brought cities of millions to a standstill here by choking a main artery in and out of the capital city and this really is becoming a common way and all too common a way of achieving any kind of power here in pakistan by being a Disruptive Force on the streets and effectively laying siege to islamabad and then making political demands but the threat of force leaders of this fringe group have been bolstered by their newfound influence on the countrys Political Affairs pakistan was great on the basis of the belief that there is no god but allah and mohammed is the messenger of allah we know that for seventy years food has been committed against their religion so now we should place religion on the thriving. Is the man at the center of all this a one time preacher at a mosque in lahore he was removed by that citys governing religious body for his hardline views hes built his support base by being a staunch advocate for the countrys blasphemy laws hes even run for a seat in parliament so whats next for this fledgling Political Party asked the crowd and the answer is more or less stay the same. They are the latest whatever guidelines like your best we will follow accordingly. Whatever all the just tell us to do we are completely out of this paramilitary. Units were on standby to prevent any more unrest and while protest leaders agreed to end their sit in hours later people here were still not ready to leave and more demonstrators were arriving. Its the kind of do or die loyalty that Political Parties campaigned for decades to achieve something rizvi has been able to accomplish in a few months just ahead of next years elections zain bus ravi aljazeera islam a bad. One thousand people have been killed by russian airstrikes in the east and go to the syrian capital the latest casualties come as russia denies responsibility for the deaths of dozens of civilians in strikes targeting the weekend meanwhile attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict have stalled because the Syrian Government delegation has yet to arrive in geneva and diplomatic editor james bays reports. Peace talks in geneva were supposed to stop this bloodshed. But as weve seen many times before the timetable of failed diplomacy is actually crossing the agony of the people of syria. Parts of aleppo province. And the outskirts of damascus bombarded the Assad Government has been intensifying its onslaught in the days and hours before talks due to start. Assad didnt leave a single corner that hasnt been destroyed if you want to fight it dont target civilians instead take on the armed groups at the front lines god willing theyll teach you a lesson briefing the u. N. Security council in new york the man whos supposed to lead the talks on tuesday stefan de mistura condemned the violence he noted that the Syrian Government had perspire its travel to geneva but he said they needed to attend naturally we hope indeed expect that the government will be on its way shortly but to get an idea president the third of men to prove that in putting when they met in sochi that meeting part of intense diplomacy in recent weeks the russians who turned things around on the battlefield for assad are supposed to bring the Syrian Government to the geneva table but the saudis created a new Opposition Group ing to go to the talks out are Key Players Like former leader riyadh his job in a figures closer to moscow some of which were previously even. Well you did as a side stitches a number of western diplomats have told me theyre concerned about the way stuff. Is handling this process they fear its becoming russian flavored with a focus on a new constitution and elections rather than old political transition. Now early results have given honduras as Opposition Leader a short lead in the president ial election supporters of salvadoran are celebrating after the announcement from the Electoral Court with more than half of the votes counted as a lead of forty five percent to forty percent the current president one arlanda one and as was expected to comfortably win a second time with more than twelve hours since polls closed a still no final results arianna sanchezs following events in the capital officials of the electoral tribunal have said that. That around seventy percent of what has been counted is urban vote mainly and they want to have a better projection of how the country voted so they want to wait for more rules to come in now theres been trucks throughout the morning coming from very different areas of the country but feel there are many remote areas you know so we are basically waiting for those ballots to come in however this is something very unusual and thats why the political opposition has the alliance has tried to started to get nervous and they said that in a few hours they will be protesting in front of the tribunals because they are getting suspicious theyve been seen in the past few weeks that the election would be rigged however that hasnt happened according to observers so well have to wait and see until those ballots come in. Still to come for you on aljazeera what continues in ethiopia on what will be africas biggest hydroelectric dam can it hold off a challenge from egypt. And online retailer amazon goes shopping for a new head forces on missing jobs and investment but how much any action. Hello and welcome back now across europe weve got some really cold air taking down weve got snow in many areas this area across hungry remaining crossed into the black sea region is going to cause some problems weve got snow further north into parts of russia some snow over the alps good for the ski season and cold air taking down across the u. K. With some snow showers in the east and west coasts and as we head down into appearing put into the area of rain the snow is going to become heavier with time this is frontal system across southern areas too so all in all is looking pretty unsettled cross many parts of europe as was done in greece the best the weather but nothing special there with highs of fourteen degrees on the other side the mediterranean the circulation of low pressure is just increasing the winds along the coast of both libya and through into egypt but caro should get away with a fairly nice day temperatures of twenty three degrees celsius now as you head into central parts of africa looking fairly quiet here at the moment has to be said some showers across the congo gabon but otherwise largely dry thing for many areas and i stand Lagos Nigeria and ghana should be dry and fine with plenty of sunshine same goes through into wednesday for southern portions of the continent weve got to find weather in many areas highs of twenty two in sunny cape town. We will maintain the finest fighting force the world has ever known United States army was so reliant on the private sector i would call it a dependency we have a mismatch between the way we. Work to be and the reality of the twenty First Century you know. How many of the persons that youre something of child soldiers. Child soldiers reloaded at this time. Thats update on the top stories this hour the man in charge of myanmar as military crackdown against their henge as told pope francis says no religious discrimination in his country. In tunisia has raised its body is not going to the highest level warning a major eruption could be imminent. And protest leaders in islamabad of called off a sit in of thousands of demonstrators after the resignation of pakistans law minister they accuse of blasphemy. Now zimbabwes new president. Is expected to form his cabinet this week all eyes are on whether hell break with the past and name a broad based government or select old guard ficus from Robert Mugabes era are we talking to reports from harare. Nearly two weeks says the military takeover Zimbabwe Security forces say the situation is getting back to normal the police who havent been seen on the streets of iraq for days. For now that means doing joint patrols with soldiers to try and maintain law and order Law Enforcement agents are already receiving reports of looting and illegal congressional other Peoples Properties particularly farms in houses because beer. Is criminal in the arguments the spirit of man. And it will be made by the fall of the law the announcement comes days after innocent men and the new president urged citizens not to take matters into their own hands by punishing allies of the former president Robert Mugabe there are reports that Robert Mugabe and his wife grace have been given immunity from prosecution the police wont say how many of mugabes allies have been arrested so far the most high profile is a gracious the former finance minister hes accused of corruption going back at least ten years and. Some say selective punishment could be a sign not much is going to change under the new administration we might have had one person removed but the higher. Remains in place so for me the more things change the more they remain the same and you know if im against you and i think you are challenging me. You become fair game of human rights abuses the high court recently ruled the military takeover which eventually saw Robert Mugabe resign was lawful zimbabweans who are tired of having regarded as their leader for thirty seven years have welcomed the courts decision. But others worry allowing the army to legitimize taking over the functions of the state sets a dangerous precedent. For aljazeera. A turkish goal try to charge with conspiring to evade u. S. Sanctions against iran will not go on trial in new york this week reza dropped out of sight in the two months leading up to a scheduled trial prompting turkeys Prime Minister suggest to suggest a plea deal with u. S. Authorities. And an executive of the turkish state turned out i think a charge with doing deals with the iranian government and entities worth hundreds of millions of dollars but talk insists the case is being instigated by supporters of the us based religious leader for two local land. Javert county has more from washington d. C. Turkish president has tried and failed to lobby the u. S. Government to get this case scraps talking to then Vice President joe biden and twenty sixteen and President Trump in a phone call in september of this year a key question is whether one of the main defendants raise a has flipped and is now a cooperating prosecution witness prosecutors have said in documents they filed with the court that they will show that the turkish government was involved in this Money Laundering scheme there is another element to this case as well the special prosecutor examining allegations of alleged russian meddling in the u. S. President ial election this year has already been looking at the role Michael Flynn the former National Security adviser to dog trouble had with turkish lobbying efforts and theres some question as to whether well get more information about bat as a result of this case as well questions prince harry and his new fiance u. S. Actress Meghan Markle have given their First Television interview following official announcement of their engagement it comes here and a half after they first met and introduction by neutral friends to the shop reports. Prince harry and Meghan Markle together outside Londons Kensington palace the thirty six year old actress brings a touch of the twenty First Century to britains royal family shes an american who describes herself as mixed race which came under scrutiny in Media Coverage of their relationship and some of that scrutiny and you ended up making a very Public Statement about it some of that scrutiny was centered around your ethnicity. When you realize