Britain is to begin repatriating thousands of its nationals stranded in Egypt today. It follows the British government's decision to suspend flights to and from the resort of Sharm El-sheikh after a Russian passenger aircraft crashed. Mark Lowen is in Sharm El-sheikh. Those flying will be subject to additional security measures, allowed to carry only hand luggage with bigger bags checked in on separate flights. It is part of a review by British security officials, who have been here assessing the airport in the light of the government's view that last week's crash of a Russian jet from Sharm El-sheikh to St. Petersburg may have been caused by a bomb on board. This Red Sea resort worries its popularity could be shattered if the allegations prove true.
The BBC has learned that the British investigators in Sinai believe a bomb was put in the hold. They based their assessment on intercepted messages. Here is Ran Gardener. Investigators at the government’s joint terrorism analysis center have spent several days assessing what could have caused the plane to fall out of the sky. The working assumption is that someone with access to the aircraft's baggage compartment was able to insert an explosive device inside or on top of the luggage shortly before the plane took off for St. Petersburg. The British defense secretary Michael Fallon says that if Islamic State militants are found to have brought down the plane in Egypt, it will strengthen the case for carrying out British airstrikes in Syria where the group controls large swathes of territory. The government has deferred plans to call a voting parliament fearing that it does not yet have enough support.
A final day of campaigning is under way in Myanmar. The opposition National League for Democracy led by the Nobel peace prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to make major gains on Sunday. She is barred from the presidency, but she has told supporters she will run the government if the party wins. As Jonah Fisher now reports. Yesterday, she gave a press conference here in Yangon where she said she would be above the presidency because she cannot become president, of course due to the constitution that is potentially problematic because the constitution stipulates the president as the highest authority in the land. What she was trying to do is deliver a message to her supporters that if they vote for the NLD, they are gonna get Ms. Suu Kyi in charge. So it was a rally in calling her supporters. But I think there may be those certainly amongs opponents who look and then say, what do you mean more powerful that the president, that does not really fitting with the way the constitution is set up here.
A dam holding toxic sludge from an iron ore mine has burst near the town of Mariana in southeastern Brazil and gulfing villages down stream. Aerial pictures show rivers of fake red mud and houses destroyed are buried to their roof tops. Officials say at least one person has died. But a local fire chief said as many as 40 people may have been killed. World news from the BBC.
An investigation has been launched into whether the American oil and gas company Exxon Mobil misled the public and share holders about the risks to the business from climate change. The New York attorney general has demanded to see public statements made by the company as well as emails and financial records to establish whether investors were deceived. Laura Becca is in Washington DC. Environmentalists claimed that Exxon's own scientists raised worries about global warming decades ago, but were ignored by company executives. They say Exxon, also known as Esso, has acted like the tobacco industry in obscuring data that would be dangerous to its business. Exxon said it had included information on the business risk of climate change in reports to shareholders for many years. The New York Times claims investigation could be expanded to include other oil companies.
The Prime minister of Ethiopia has said the international community must press for change in Eritrea if it wants to prevent Europe's migrant crisis from worsening. Hailemariam Desalegn said the Eritrean government’s policies were causing large numbers of young people to flee. It is the misguided policy of Eritrea regime that makes the youths to flow out. It is simply because their regime is putting all the young people into concentration camps and military camps in the name of military service. This has to stop. Europe has to be very sensitively work, help to change the policies in Eritrea.
A rare Picasso painting has sold at auction in New York for more than 67 million dollars. The canvas, a nude portrait of a cabaret performer is unusual because it has another painting on the reverse, a body depiction of Picasso's art dealer, which was only discovered during restoration work in the year 2000.That's the latest from BBC world news.