more than a hundred people die in bombings in damascus and homs on the day that the u.s. claims progress on a potential syria ceasefire. you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program. india deploys thousands of troops to come caste protests. fijians are told to stay inside for a second night after officials assess the damage

after the cyclone. venezuelans are encouraged to grow their own food to combat shortages. syria has suffered two devastating sets of explosions in just 24 hours. in the first homs was hit. at least 46 people were killed and more than 100 injured in one of the deadliest attacks to date in government-held city. hours later a southern suburb of damascus was hit by a number of explosions killing at least 83 and injuring dozens. it came as government forces captured 31 villages in the aleppo province in the north from the islamic state in iraq and the levant. there has been an agreement reached on russia in terms of a

ceasefire. our correspondent more from the turkish border with syria and some of the images in her report might be upsetting. >> reporter: two separate attacks, both involving multiple explosions and just hours apart in two government-controlled districts in syria. one in both incidents simultaneous explosions left civilians killed and injured and in both nashdz communities who are considered supporters of the government have been targeted. both districts have seen similar attacks in the past. the multiple explosions coincides with what appears to be progress towards a truce. >> we have reached a provisional

agreement in principle on the terms of cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days. it is not yet done and i anticipate that our presidents, president obama and putin may well speak somewhere in the next days or so in order to try to complete this task. >> reporter: me was speaking in jordan which is also a member of the syrian support group. it is also the country of giving the task of putting together an internationally agreed list of who is a terrorist in syria and who isn't. there was no mention of whether a consensus has been reached. john kerr sisi-- kerry says a deal is closer than ever. the government doesn't want the rebels to exploit a truce to

re-arm appeared regroup and the opposition wants russian air strikes to stop and sieges to be lifted. they made their positions clear, but it is the u.s. and russia who are the main players. >> reporter: one of those details is the presence of the al-nusra front, fighters who are linked to al-qaeda. the u.n. designates it a terrorist organization but it fights beside some in the political process. excluding al-nusra on any deal will give russia the excuse of targeting rebel positions. a pause in the fighting the bring relief to the millions of people trapped in battleground but will not mean an end to the district. there are deep issues between the warring sides. >> the answer to the syrian civil war will not be found in any military alliance with bashar al-assad. let me make that clear.

i am convinced it can be found in a broadly supported diplomatic initiative aimed at a negotiated political settlement with a transitional governing council. >> reporter: on the ground the syrian-led alliances changed the balance in its favor particularly following its offensive in northern syria. the general thought is that the government cannot win this war militarily. a truce would silence the guns, but peace still needs to be fought around the negotiating table our correspondent has more on the border. >> reporter: another deadly day in syria, not only in the battle field but also bombs exploding in the heart of the capital damascus.

four explosions detonating in a very busy area of the capital. the death toll continues to rise. a reminder that it is not only on the front line of the battle between the rebel forces, between i.s.i.l., between the russian air force and the syrian regime that death and destruction continues to plague syria but also in the heart of damascus. significantly in the words of john kerry who had said that a provisional agreement for a ceasefire had been reached and he was hopeful that the ceasefire would come into effect in the coming days. hour on the military front the bashar al-assad regime backed and covered by the russian air force from the sky has managed to recapture several towns and villages. they are on the offensive trying to gain more and more ground reaching the northern parts of syria to try and close off the border between turkey and syria,

cutting off supply routes to the armed rebel groups. cutting supplies routes which cut towns and cities. john kerry are accusing the bashar al-assad regime of using food as a weapon in this war which would amount to war crimes. people will be hopeful that this ceasefire does come into effect sooner rather than later, that it is not another shallow promise, as we've seen in the past few weeks and months, but only the coming hours and day will be able to tell us whether this will be the case or not in an interview with a spanish newspaper, al-assad said national leaders cannot be removed from power through force. >> if you want to change the president or prime minister or any assistant in any country, you only have the political process to move through, not -

you cannot use argument as an excuse to say you want to change the system. it wouldn't happen through the armament thousands of troops have been deployed in india to calm protests by the jaat community. at least people have died in the unrest. the protesters have also cut off water supplies leading to a crisis in the capital. >> reporter: these protesters are trying to cause as much disruption as possible. strategically placed on a road they say it's the only way to get their message heard. >> translation: our first and only demand is to give us

reservation. >> reporter: they're traditionally an agricultural community and make up 30% of the population. protesters have burnt down buildings, looted shops and torched vehicles despite thousands of troops on patrol and curfews. the plan is to bring the kay owes as tows enclose-- chaos as close to the city as possible. trains have been stopped. antecedent report is a gateway into northern india and all trains have to travel through the state. it is not just travel disruption. it is facing a water crisis aspro testers shut down the city's main water source, 60% of the country's water supply comes from here. this man has had no become a

farmer because the jaat community is not involved in the reservation system >> translation: if i had reservation status, i wouldn't be standing in front of you. i'm a gradual but i can't get a low level local police job. how can we become successful? this system defeats us. >> reporter: since the 1990s indian supreme court has had several attempts to provide a reservation status. this time they're determined to get it. >> translation: all people from our community, from children to the elderly are prepared to die for this. this no-one can take our demands and our rights. >> reporter: it has put government leaders in a tough spot. they have been promised reservations many time.

times a group of rebel fighters in indian administered cashmere have been engaged in a standoff with security forces for a second day. they took control of a government building. three soldiers and a civilian have been killed officials in fiji are trying to restore power and communications after their strongest storm are record. it brought 320 kilometer an hour winds. >> reporter: a glimpse at the damage in fiji after the strongest cyclone on record there. the town on the main island escaped a direct hit but the storm left its mark. it brought rain and 300 kilometer per hour winds which

flattened homes, electricity cables. >> translation: it is vital that everyone remain in their homes while the government teams and officials carries out the important work of repairing and restoring our critical infrastructure. there is a great deal of debris on our roads and in our communities. power lines have gone down all over the country. materials pose serious threats. >> reporter: the cyclone did pass closer to some of fiji's other 300 islands. phone and power lines are down, so it has been difficult to contact people living there. some deaths and injuries have been confirmed. relief workers are finding it difficult to get around because of trees strewn across the roads >> i have offered australia's support and we have in place prepositioned supplies in suva

that are available. i have also offered the adf to send a p3 orion so we can carry out aerial surveillance particularly in the outer islands to do a needs assessment. >> reporter: the country reliance relies on the tourist industry. getting home will be difficult for airports will be closed. many of the low lying islands are flooded and more flash floods and mud slides are feared. rescuers are trying to supply drinking water. the government has declared a 30-day state of the emergency. because many of the islands are remote, it may be some time before the full extent of the natural disaster is known still ahead on the program will a scandal with annex-girlfriend hurt the

bolivian's president to run for eye term. also an investigation into what makes a legitimate refugee. e refugee.

a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. more than a hundred people have been killed in attacks in homs and damascus. at least 46 died in a double car bombing in homs. more than 83 others were killed in the syrian capital. u.s. secretary of state john kerry says he has reached a provisional syrian ceasefire deal with russia, but he has warned that not all parties may

comply. protesters from india's jaat caste has continued to protest for reservation for their community polls have closed in bolivia where citizens were deciding on whether to vote mr morales for another term. the campaigners say the extension which could potentially see him staying in power until 2025 would actually end up damaging the country's democracy. a speaker who has been following the vote, is it just an endorsement of the president? >> i think for many people it certainly is just that. he has been in power for 10

years, the longest serving leader in latin america by far and he could conceivably be in power until 2025. he has done a lot for the country there's no doubt about that. he has given a voice to the indigenous community and the women and he has got the economy up and running. he has more work to do and needs time to do it, but he has been hit by several allegations of corruption coming from the opposition in recent weeks and that has seriously damaged his standing, certainly in the opinion polls. we should be getting the first partial results from the vote any minute now coming out of this electoral center behind me, but we don't know which way it's going to go with that vote how popular is he after 10 years in power? you were mentioning that, obviously, he has achieved a great deal for the country, but

is he still as loved as, perhaps, he was before? >> if you asked me three or four weeks ago, i would have said almost certainly he would be allowed to p stands again in 2019. because of the scandals that have been emerging, his popularity has suffered a blow. one that was mentioned earlier, a former girlfriend of his now runs a large company and it is alleged that that company has received self-government contracts-- several government contracts. they have denied those and they haven't been dwinsing to the people. he is losing touch with the population after so long in office, it is said, and it is time for a change. even if he loses the vote, he will still be in power until

2018/19. so he will have time to get the job done but he wants to stay longer we will check in with you again as soon as you get those. for the moment, thank you, live for us. with millions of people from war zones arriving in europe in recent years, the question has arisen as to what makes a legitimate refugee. al jazeera recently visited a migration center in southern germany where asylum seekers await the deportation because the government says their home countries are safe. dominic kane has more. >> reporter: this is the ing ooshgs lstadt center in bavaria. it was opened last september. more than a thousand people have come and goning. germany says their countries are safe, so they cannot claim

refuge here. meaning this woman is resigned to return soon drn-- man. >> translation: after ten months living here, i got a piece of paper saying twans fer. my baby was born here. the problem is i do not work. >> reporter: the children's classrooms are well-equipped but frequently empty, a test meant to their transitional experience here. checking of identities have been stream lined. every day officials check 200 documents. you >> this is a fake id size. it is different to the size of the real. on average we find as many as ten fake ids every day. >> reporter: because of the number of people have placed a strain on facilities like these, the authorities will keep this

super operational for 10 years and speed up the process. >> translation: why a faster procedure? to make room for the admission of people who are threatened by persecution from war. also so people can stay longer and not have false-hope. >> reporter: people know that their families will have to go back one day the race for the white house is heating up with two candidates cementing their front runner status in the latest primary and caucus. on the democrat side hillary clinton is breathing a sigh of relief after narrowly beating bernie sanders in nevada. donald trump proved that not even a row with the pope can damage his hopes. he won 32% of the vote by marco rubio and ted cruz were locked in a title battle for second

place. after coming a distant fourth, jeb bush dropped out ending his dream of becoming the third president bush after his father and brother. >> reporter: the political circus moves on from south carolina. the republicans are heading to caucuses in nevada. they leave here with donald trump firmly established as the front runner. he won in new hampshire and also here. given the diversity of this, the campaign believes if he can win here there's nowhere in the u.s. where he cannot fin. ted cruz finished third. the big shock was marco rubio coming in second. he had the support of most of the political establishment here in south carolina and the cruz campaign is saying even with that he couldn't take first place. for jeb bush his race is run. he decided he will drop out of the race. he simply couldn't convince enough people that he would be a

good president. weighed down, perhaps, of the legacy of the last republican president, george w bush. it is now all to play for in nevada and then super tuesday where several states hold their nominating kon terrace. donald trump believes that could be the time when he secures his front runner status and takes a step forward to being the party nom for president the refugee baby is being allowed to stay in australia. doctors from brisbane refuse to discharge the one year old girl known as asha before a suitable home is found. her parents face deportation to nauru. the baby will be moved into community detention in australia. polls have closed in the presidential and parliamentary elections in niger. the outgoing president is hoping to secure a second five-year

term, but he has been criticized for his handling of security an clamping down on dissent. >> reporter: i'm now inside one of the polling stations in the capital. you can see behind me inside in this school they counting the votes on lamp lights because there is no electricity here. there are several cases like this across the town. most of the polling stations have now closed, but a few of them are still open because there were long delays today before they got ballot box epz and papers. the opposition is complaining that that was done on purpose by the governments in areas where the opposition has some strong presence. however, most of the time according to the observers, we have about 250 of them coming from outside niger saying that the situation is under control and that things went smoothly in the garnlgt of cases-- majority

of cases. people are complaining of widespread poverty and unemployment in a country that has a lot of national resources like uranium, gold and oil. also it is about security. this country along with others are leading a war on the armed group of boko haram that has been going on for about two years now without results. there are many complaints and many accusations of the government's policy in this respect, that the sitting president is betting that he will win in this election in the first round, something that has not happened in niger in the past since the democratic process began in 2003. the opposition is saying that if he wins in this first round it means the election has been rigged ewe taliban day's main-- uganda's main opposition leader has continued his intention.

the election was won by the incumbent museveni, but besigye party has rejected the results. the police say they won't allow besigye to leave his house because the protests he could lead may turn violent. venezuelan is in the middle of a food crisis. severe food shortages let the government announce a food emergency last year. the authorities are encouraging self-sufficiency as one solut n solution. >> reporter: >> reporter: among the jungle here, a market loyal to the government learned to grow their own foods. this woman is hoping to replicate what she learns here in her struggling community. >> translation: the price of the basic food items have risen out of control because of

speculators and smugglers. >> reporter: it is an idea the government is taking very seriously with widespread shortages and out of control inflation. so seriously the president maduro announced the creation of a ministry of urban farming saying it is out to set a good example >> translation: the fir. just a few hours outside the capital in one rich agricultural lands people believe the president should focus on the flight of farmers. >> translation: urban gardening is an interesting alternative but not a way to solve such a big issue. >> reporter: we are shown plots of land that are being left idle. >> translation: we import 80% of all food items and the little

we produce here is simply not enough to satisfy national demand. we used to be self-sufficient in some items like r ice but that has gone. >> reporter: they could grow most of its own food due to large expansion of the fertile land. during the years most agriculture have been abandoned and ones like this has been taken over by the government and many have collapsed. production soared at the start, at time people have been left without resources. the little they grow is stolen by hungry neighbours >> translation: there's nothing we can do to farm more. i'm not asking for me t but all of us. we owe it to the president. i think we would die again if he saw how bad it is. it is turning into a full-blown

humanitarian crisis more on all the stories that we have been covering on the program on the website. the address on your screens right now aljazeera.com. ra.com. tonight polls show a plurality that the americans agree with the libatarian point of view. should apple be forced to hack the iphone of a terrorist. my theory over supreme court justice antonin scalalia they thoughthe