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         Egypt, Britain Call for 'Tightest' Security at Sharm El-Sheikh

   by VOA News

   Egypt's president and Britain's prime minister have agreed on the need
   for tighter security at the Egyptian resort Sharm El-Sheikh, the
   starting point for a Russian jetliner that crashed over the Sinai
   Peninsula on Saturday.

   According to the British prime minister's office, David Cameron and
   President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi spoke by telephone ahead of Sissi's
   visit to London.

   In a statement, Cameron's office said the two leaders agreed on the
   need for "the tightest possible security" at the resort airport.

   Sissi is en route to Britain Wednesday; he and Cameron are set to meet
   Thursday at the prime minister's London residence.

   ''The reason for Saturday's crash, which killed 224 people, is still
   unclear.

   Heat flash detected

   A U.S. military satellite detected a heat flash at the time a Russian
   jetliner crashed over the Sinai Peninsula last weekend, authorities
   said Tuesday.

   Authorities have ruled out the possibility that a missile hit the
   aircraft before it broke into pieces and plunged 9,400 meters to the
   Sinai desert. Neither a missile launch nor engine burn has been
   detected.

   ''But experts told U.S. media outlets that the heat flash could point
   to a catastrophic event aboard the aircraft, such as an exploding bomb,
   the explosion of an aircraft engine, or a fire aboard the Metrojet
   A-321, or even just the aircraft parts hitting the ground.

   In Egypt, investigators began their examination of the flight recorders
   recovered from the wreckage strewn over a wide area and Russian
   families began the process of identifying 140 bodies that were
   transported to St. Petersburg.

   In addition, more than 100 parts of bodies, personal belongings and
   documents have been recovered from the desert crash site.

   ''A Russian emergency official said 10 of the crash victims had been
   identified.

   IS claims dismissed

   Sissi has dismissed as "propaganda" claims by Islamic State insurgents
   they brought down the jetliner.

   "When there is propaganda that it crashed because of ISIS, this is one
   way to damage the stability and security of Egypt and the image of
   Egypt," Sissi told the BBC Tuesday, using an acronym for the Islamic
   State group.

   "Believe me, the situation in Sinai, especially in this limited area,
   is under our full control," he said.

   The plane went down Saturday over the Sinai about 20 minutes after
   takeoff from the airport at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh
   on a flight to St. Petersburg. Three Ukrainians and a Belarusian were
   among the fatalities.

   Russian transportation officials say the cockpit voice and flight data
   recorders recovered from the jetliner sustained only "minor" damage and
   have undergone a preliminary inspection.

   ''One investigator said the initial analysis showed the plane was not
   struck from the outside and the pilot did not make a distress call
   before the plane disappeared from flight controllers' radar.

   Black boxes examined

   Cairo said Egyptian and Russian investigators are examining the
   so-called black boxes.

   German and French specialists from Airbus, the plane's manufacturer,
   and from Ireland, where the plane was registered, are also looking at
   the flight recorders for clues to the cause of the accident.

   Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crash was a tragedy.

   "Without any doubt everything should be done so that an objective
   picture of what happened is created, so that we know what happened,"
   Putin said.

   Several airlines, including Air France, Lufthansa, Dubai-based Emirates
   and Qatar Airways have said they will stop flying over the Sinai
   Peninsula for safety reasons.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt-britain-call-for-tightest-possible-security-at-sharm-el-sheikh/3036209.html