u.s. and russia agree to a deal on ending hostilities in syria, will they put down weapons you're watching al jazeera live from london supporters pull out of a district in helmand province leaving control to the taliban

people confirmed dead after cyclone winds of more man 300 kilometres per hour hit fiji russia and the u.s. reached an agreement on a cessation of hostility in syria. they have set saturday as a date fighting should stop. for it to work. both sides need to sign up to the agreement. deadtar james bays has more. >> reporter: for all the five years, the death toll mounted. every day there has been atrocities. now the latest, a document released by the u.s. and russia. they have been working on plans for a lull in the violence meeting in munich this month.

russian foreign minister sergey lavrov wanted a ceasefire from the 1s. secretary of state john kerry wanted to challenge the situation on the ground. since that meeting there has been delay. in the end russia got its way. the deal done by the u.s. and russia calls on all the warring syrian parties, with the exception of i.s.i.l. and the al nusra front, both on the security council's terrorism list, to commit to a cessation of host its by this friday at midday damascus time. it is to start on saturday, a ceasefire. if it holds, documents tell me that the possibility of peace talks that collapsed could resume within 7 days. a spokesman from the

secretary-general welcomed news of cessation of hostilities, but everyone is aware how hard it will be to make it happen. >> it is the implementation of the international community, support group and the syrian families - they must be steadfast in their resolve. >> reporter: an added complication in damascus, a statement announcing bashar al-assad and elections in april. >> given everything that happened. there's not a great deal of optimism. observers fear there'll be an increase in violence with the warring sides trying to make gains in the days before it's due to start. well, as diplomats try to stop the conflict the syrian government is fighting in france and aleppo. activists show planes dropping barrel bombs to the north of

aleppo. russians air strikes targeted rebels in the rural areas of thousands are fleeing from the border. thousands of civilian flee to the north, near the border of turkey, putting hospitals and services been pressure. one of the last opposition strongholds in the north is the crucial town of azas. zeina khodr has the latest on that. >> reporter: it is key to the opposition survival, in a town that gained international attention. it could be an irreversible setback to rebels who have lost much territory in aleppo province. a few kilometres to the border crossing, it's a much-needed gate way. they are surrounded by two enemies. the syrian government. the kurdish group, ypg, and allies. >> the military situation is better.

we are receiving reinforcements from iblib. we glorify the presence. we are no longer weak. in a few days we care about our victories, and the way it was. >> last week's air strike put a message that things could change. a number of locations were targeted, including a hospital. aid agencies warned that the devastated health system is close to collapse. >> it's as close to the border. people think it's a safe place. a lot of internally displaced people are here. there are more patients to provide care. all hospitals in the north countryside no longer operate further south, inside syria's largest city, rebels say they will not be besieged by government forces. from their positions inside the city, they have access to strongholds in western syria. >> they want to be seen over the -- besiege all our city.

we are using our strength to prevent this. the fact that the regime is using foreign relations to fight for it shows that we are strong, they are weak. what we are saying, we narrate the city with our blood. >> the opposition feels the same. it's now the opposition last line of defense. they use it to receive supplies from turkey and could be used as a base to launch counteroffensives. >> the kurdish armed group and its allies, the syrian democratic forces are not far away. they had threatened to advance into aziza rahimzada. there has been no movement on that front. there was a risk of wider areas. that battle has been but on hold, at least temporarily. >> the town is important to all sides, for those fighting against the opposition, aziza against the opposition, aziza lost military importance.

since rebel supply routes have been cut. that would jeopardise u.n. and russian efforts to negotiate ceasefires. uganda's opposition group rejected police accusations some of its members were planning violent action directed at the country's electoral mission. police again arrested groups on monday. betajay criticized the running of the presidential race. al jazeera's malcolm webb is in the ugandan parliament. >> betajay and his supporters want to protest against the

elections. supporters say they'll be peaceful. police say they placed him under preventative arrest, saying he'll be charged. betajay wanted to go to the electoral commission to get some of the better work to do that. he was event allowed to go. they said it would turn into a procession and cause it in the city center. they'll deliver the results that they need to his home instead the commonwealth observer group monitoring uganda's action was chaired by the former president of nigeria. >> fix, we had a preliminary statement which was made two days ago for the election.

it was formally declared. we printed out a number of anomalies, or, if you like, in the process related to the election. something that should not have happened. on the day of the election, both in the cities, and other areas, as we observed them. and confidence on the part, assuring that they were fully prepared, and that when it came to the crunch. they were not prepared at all. this is inexcusable what

happened afghan government forces pulled out leaving the government in vol of most of the northern part of the province. the retreat game. the afghan military insists it's a strategic position. it was the fiercest battle since 2001. >> translation: we have decided to pull troops up from the defensive role. the new move is part of a new strategy. they are pulled from the district, and are on the ground. they have not gone somewhere else. we are providing them with training and equipping them to get them ready for a spring offensive. we have more. >> it's a development that doesn't bode well for the afghan

government and forces in the fight against taliban. according to senior military officials and asked not to be named. they pulled out of a critical district, an important province of helmand. it means that within the past three days two districts have seen african troops pull out which would seem to suggest they gain momentum and territory, and the army is on its heels. we should point out that a spokesperson for the government of helmand confirmed that they had different versions. the spokesperson for the defence ministry telling al jazeera that it did pull out, but it was part of a planned re-organisation in preparation for an offensive against the taliban coming up in the days and weeks ahead.

this development comes a day before governments of the united states, pakistan, afghanistan and china are set to discuss the framework of peace talks. it will add more uncertainty to the peace talks, if they happen. >> a deal has been reached in india to end days of protest by a farm community. a demonstration cut ties to millions, and blocked roads leading to capital new delhi. as reported, some demonstrators are still angry. it's an attempt by the government, nor for the troops sent to confront them. the protestsor want residential status, and they want it now. >> the young generation is in danger of moving out. we are demanding this for a young generation.

the government should renounce reservation status. >> reporter: 80 million members of the community live trees northern india. looking for opportunities in towns and cities. they are not part of the government affirmative access, giving lower cost quotas. >> the government told them it would give them the status they want. protesters say it's not enough. at the heart of the matter is trust. the community has promised this many times before, and this time they won't have confirmation. until then, they will carry on the blockades. attacks across the state and further. trucks remain. they are not getting paid and unable to leave their cargo. i have been stuck here for four days. i can't go out and get food or a cup of tea.

people rob and burn vehicles. many have had tires slashed. many had to shut down. hundreds of factories closed. economic losses are expected to be close to 3 billion. this family runs a tire shop but hasn't had any customers for days. >> i make a small profit. this is important. how do i pay my suppliers. my debt is growing. india's supreme court botched the proposal. now government world are concerned that if they are granted resident status, the neighbouring says will have to fight for it. >> well, there is more to come

for you on al jazeera. we'll look at protests in macedonia, at the greece borders. showing off products.

welcome back. let's take you through the top stories. a cessation of hostilities in syria. they set this seat as a day fighting should stop.

the main body representing the syrian opposition agreed to cooperate. uganda's main opposition denies members causing violent. now, aid workers are warning the health crisis in fiji as the south pacific nation clears up. cyclone winston killed at least 21, and wiped out cost. andrew thomas has that update from nadi in fiji. >> the big issue is airstrips are blocked and can't fly in. all they can do it aerial surveillance. a boat is leaving with surveyors, logistics people, and they should establish how many

have been injured, if anyone has been killed, and what supplies are needed most, where. the first two boats left suva on monday, further on tuesday. it's a long laborious process. on the main island. it is up and running. this is one of many. north to the ilted have been badly affected. thank flyboth of them dodged the worst of the cyclone, the north of the island is bad, and the outlaying islands in an international mission has been set up in honduras to stamp out corruption and impunity. it establishes public outrage after a scandallinged the president. more from guatemala.

>> reporter: in 2015 hondurans took to the streets in record numbers. their demands, an intergovernment corruption and unity. opposition groups called for the creation of international groups to tight corruption. on monday, after months of negotiation, the mission to fight against corruption in honduras will start work. >> the idea is to have a special mission that is going to be very close to the honduran authorities. they fight corruption and immunity. the two problems are extremely important, not only to the honduras but the americas in general. but the idea is to give assistance to join the efforts of the government, the institutional forces within the government. and to communicate with society. >> it's rumoured that international missions, a 200 million corruption scandal,

at the country's social security institute. the president admitted his presidential campaign accepted $150,000 from companies linked to the scandal. >> it's a high profile case. without the power to carry out negotiations, max will have to rely on local prosecutors and judges. the question is whether honduras jobs have the political will to work independently. >> it's important to stay and determine that the mission is autonomous in terms of funding and goals, and working in an independent way. so i guess that the first year. we will have to look for this establishing of this nation. >> reporter: last year a united nations-backed commission led an investigation that took down dozens of politicians, including

the country's president. >> experience shows that international missions can succeed. with a term of four years. they may have a similar opportunity for change. thousands of refugees are stranded in northern greece near the border with macedonia, hundreds of refugees decided to block the entry as macedonia stopped letting them through. the greek government rejected a number of people. we go to the border for the latest. >> translation: there's just a few people inside the official stop. i'll move out against here. what happened is that the border has been closing down for internationals.

but also the border between macedonia and serbia. >> we were in macedonia earlier in the day, and macedonian officials said it's not our fault. now, this caused panic everyone left the reception center and walked all the way here. pictures were reminiscent of the summer. now they are stranded here, and the afghans making sure that no one goes through government charity and organizations gather in relation to the humanitarian crisis. pro-government forces gathered in sanaa. conflict caused serious food shortages, with millions needed help reports emerged that some chinese banks are freezing accounts after international

calls called for tougher sanctions. the south korean pain reported the commercial bank of china suspended transactions since september. there were strained relations between the two countries u.n. official exit poles and results show president e.v.o. morales lost a resolution to change the constitution so he can challenge for a fourth term. daniel schweimler has this update from lopez. >> reporter: a day after the referendum, it looks like a no vote. things are not clear. figures are not impoverished. some are talking about a few days time or a week from now. the exit polls gave a victory to the no vote and results are

backed up. the government says it wants to wait until all the results are in, official results from 280,000 living a broad. those that have been enabled. >> translation: i have arrived social groups, those that take part in the yes and no campaigns to show responsibility, awaiting results from the electoral tribunal. i have heard some people thinking that my time has ended. they are mistaken. life goes on. the fight goes on. there is no need to despair, no matter what the results. >> reporter: until this is clarified we have speculation, accusations flying around and a great deal of uncertainty about

which direction bolivia is going in, whether morales will we able to stand for a fourth term. there's uncertainty while we decide whether it's a no vote or a yes vote u.s. government arrived to reform the way it deals with poverty, as the families of victims of the san bernardino shooters will challenge apple in court u.k. prime minister david cameron warned that if the public voted from a brex it, it could hurt working people for years to come. well, it's that time of year when the titans of the tech industry gather in barcelona at

the world mobile congress to show off newest and flashiest phones. gadgets rather than devices are creating a buzz. our technology editor. >> reporter: this is the first an destroyed smartphone... >> it's a hard sell these days. for years, mobile phone makers enjoyed golden times. year on year increases in sales, billions around the world bought smarter and smarter phones, now the industry is under pressure. . >> we went through a decade of innovation from candy bar fans to slips and slides. if there was a reason to upgrade. that means you can get updates on your devices. they last longer. the reasons are getting tougher. >> it is the issue. dozens that all in all are

indistinguishable. they are unable to come up with smartphones with better features. customers are willing to hold on to the ones they have, rather than upgrading. the phone sales - if they are down, why not the technology to other uses. if your dog attempts to run off, this allows you to track your animals locations all the time. >> the ability to tag and follow is relevant. for instance, for your animals - you can put them with a collar, you can follow them. this technology can last for 10 years. >> mobile operators are wanting for the phone number to be the main way you are identified online. it is installed at bus, metros and let's you shop on the way and let's you shop on the way home from work. >> a bit of tea. and you have them in your basket. you check it out. by putting your mobile phone

number in the device, it verifies your order. you type the passcode in, and the server knows your address and where to deliver it many are packing more into less. that one has a high powered video. there's endless innovation around gadgets and personalized innovation. it breathes new and existing models. a 106 birthdays - sharing a chance with the u.s. president and the first lady at the white house. >> you are not 106. >> you need to slow down that is guinea mclaren who after a lengthy social media

campaign got her wish to meet the first african-american president. and says the secret to a long and happy life is to keep moving. you can find more on everything we have been covering in the programme here. the address aljazeera.com. genetic modification, incredible science in the lab usually means this. it can be controversial, it can also be extremely beneficial. >> just like that, i'm genetically modified the mosquitos that carry two