♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris. temporary truce, the u.s. and russia agree to a cessation of hostilities in sir ja, except for isil targets. six counts of murder, the suspected kalamazoo gunman makes his first court appearance. and keeping it curlily, why that is a problem for some black women in the dominican republic.

♪ after five years of fighting and more than 250,000 deaths, the u.s. and russia have agreed on terms for what both sides are calling a cessation of hostilities. >> reporter: tony after more than a week of negotiations, the deal was sealed in a phone call between president obama, and russian president vladimir putin, but the final word on whether the fighting really stops, lies with the syrian government forces and the fighters on the ground who oppose them. the agreement gives syrian forces another week to press their advantage over opposition

fighters, and another week for russia to back the government with punishing air strikes that have laid waste to the city of aleppo. in a broadcast address, russian president putin hailed the agreement as a break through that could radically transform the situation in syria, and launch a genuine political process. president obama by contrast did not mention the accord in remarks to the nation's governors, instead later issuing a low-key statement, saying that he welcomed that an understanding was reached. and a white house spokesman emphasized the difficulties of making even a temporary halt stick. >> we know there are a lot of obstacles, and there are sure to be setbacks. after all for years, we have been trying to reach a -- a diplomatic resolution to the many problems that playing that

nation that has broken apart. but this is a moment of opportunity. >> reporter: the primary and immediate objective of the agreement is alleviating the massive suffering of syrian citizens, the result of four years of war. under the terms all parties must agree to cease attacks with any weapon, including rockets, mortars and anti-tank missiles. all sides must facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid, and if attacked, only proportionate response is permitted in self-defense. but the state department admitted almost none of the details have been worked out. >> obviously there are still pieces that need to be flushed out. and that's what is going to happen. >> reporter: despite the lack of detail, all parties must agree to the plan by friday. it was not apply to isil or the

al-qaeda al-nusra front. the united states and russia are to rule on any violations, and all sides are to work towards releasing detainees. the syrian president who's grip on power has been solidified by his russian allies, says he is on board with the ceasefire, and that he wants syrians to return to their homes. >> of course, they can come -- i mean this is their right to come back, unless somebody who is a terrorist or a killer, and some of them, and i think a good number of them are a government supporter. >> reporter: so the success of these short-term pause, and whether it leads to full scale peace talks lies with the forces on the ground. already some opposition forces have indicated what they call conditional approval. but will russia stop bombing what it calls terrorists and the u.s. government insists are

syrian opposition fighters and in some cases innocent civilians. >> jamie thank you. thousands more -- syrian civilians are now fleeing north to the border with turkey. opposition forces are fighting to keep control of one of their final strong holds in the north that is the border town of azaz, but as zana hoda reports now, they have found themselves surrounded. >> reporter: it is a battle front that is key to the opposition survival in a town that has gained international attention. just a few kilometers from the border crossing with turkey, it is a much-needed gateway, the rebels are surrounded by two enemies, the syrian-government-lead alliance, and the ypg and its allies. >> the millation situation is now better after he received

reinforcements from idlib. god willing we will advance. in a few days you'll hear about your victories. >> reporter: last week's air strike was a message that things could change. a number of locations in azaz were targeted including a hospital. aid agencies have already warned that the devastating health system is close to collapse. >> reporter: azaz is close to the border, so people think it's a safe place. that's why a lot of internally displaced people are here. this means we have more patients. all hospitals in the northern countryside no longer operate. we also lack staff. >> reporter: further south, rebels say they will not wait to be besieged by syrian-al lied forces. but they still have access to strong holds in western syria. >> translator: they want to besiege aleppo city, but we are

using all of our strength to prevent this. the fact that the assad regime is using foreign militias to fight for it, shows that we are strong and they are weak. >> reporter: the opposition feels the same about azaz. it's not just home to thousands of syrians. it's now the last line of defense. they use it to receive supplies from turkey, and it could be used as a base to launch further offenses. the syrian democratic forces and other allies are not far away. for over a week there has been no movement on that front. there was a risk of a wider global conflict, and it seems that battle has now been put on hold, at least temporarily. the town is important to all sides, including international and regional stakeholders such

as turkey. for those fighting against the opposition, azaz -- [ technical difficulties ] -- >> reporter: to negotiate a ceasefire. isil released a group of 43 assyrian christians for millions of dollars of russians. according to the associated press, their release comes after mediation lead by a top assyrian priest. this is a vigil for the attack on saturday. the michigan uber driver accused on going on that random killing spree between picking up fairs, made his first court appearance today. the 45 year old was arra

arrain -- arraigned. but that does not come close to answering one of the most basic questions. the question of motive. >> are you jason brian dalton. >> yes. >> reporter: it was the first we have heard from an alleged mass murder in kalamazoo. >> is there anything you wish to tell the court at this time, concerning your connections with the community? >> i would prefer just to remain silent. >> reporter: 45-year-old jason dalton spent seven minutes in court where a judge denied him bail. investigators are still wondering what lead to the rampage on saturday night in which eight people were gunned down ranging in age from 14 to 74. >> no, we don't know. he has been non-emotional in the context that i'm aware of.

>> reporter: dalton shot a woman on saturday night, but she survived and was able to give police a decryption of the gunman and his car. but before they could find him, he ran damly gunned down a teenager and his dad. then it was on to a restaurant parking lot, where police say dalton walked up to the weeks that four women, ages 60 to 74 were sitting in, and killed them all, and critically hurt a 14-year-old girl with them. the husband of one of the victims talked about their loss. >> i can't do anything about it now. there's nothing i can do to change it. so, you know, i just have to live with it. and deal with it. >> reporter: in between the shootings, police say dalton was still picking up fairs as an

uber driver and driving recklessly. >> we were driving through medians, and finally, once he came to a stop, i jumped out of the car and ran away. pretty scary ordeal. but just happy i'm safe. >> reporter: about seven hours after the first shooting, police pulled over dalton's car and made a peaceful arrees. police said that he admitted that he, quote, took people's lives. the victims were remembered in a catholic mass on monday and at a high school where 17-year-old tyler smith was a student, his classmates tried to make sense of it all. >> there is an underlying feeling of fear, and there's kids who don't want to go outside, and are just really fearful, because it was just so unexpected and there's no reasoning or logic to it. and it was a random thing. and are they next? and this was in our town.

>> his neighbors describe him as quiet, but friendly. in the wake of the shooting, president obama is once again calling for more action on gun control. >> earlier this year i took some steps that will make it harder for dangerous people like this individual to buy a gun, but clearly we're going to need to do more if we're going to keep innocent americans safe. and i have to assume all of you are just as tired as i am of seeing this in your states. the republican presidential candidates are heading west to try their luck in nevada. donald trump leads polls in the state on the heels of his big win in south carolina over the weekend. michael shure has more for us. all right. break this down for us, michael. >> reporter: where do i start? donald trump goes in, in the lead, coming out of south

carolina with a big win, following the new hampshire win, and says he won in iowa as matter of fact. he knows his audience there. he has been on top, and he is happy to sitback and watch marco rubio and ted cruz fight amongs themselves. but all five gentlemen are still on the ballot in nevada, and they are going to be fighting it out tomorrow in those caucuses. the always traveling and ever-shrinking group of republican presidential candidates flooding nevada ahead of the republican caucuses tuesday. this will mark the first time that the often incendiary, donald trump -- >> believe me walls work. you can ask. walls work. >> reporter: be face voters in a state with a significant latino population. >> he has that sort of populous

message that i think plays with a lot of voters who are fed up with the establishment politics. >> reporter: nevada polling is imprecise, but has recently suggested trump as a lead of as much as 26 points over his nearest rival. this is also the first time the 2016 field is without jeb bush. rubio was proud to welcome another endorsement. rubio is attempting to follow the mormon model of getting out the vote. the state boasts more than 100,000 mormons who tend to be reliable voters. >> we know they can exert

disproporti disproportionate amount of influence. >> he was asked what state can you win? and the answer is, he said, i think we would win florida. now that's a fairly amazing admission that they don't believe they will win here. >> ben carson and john kasich have not campaigned heavily in nevada. so even though donald trump doesn't say nevada the way they like it -- >> we're now off to nevada. >> reporter: he seems to be saying the right things. >> we got just over 48 hours. >> reporter: and that's why these two are pushing so hard for the silver medal in the silver state. >> tony that is exactly right. these candidates are vying to be

able to say that they only lost to trump by just a little bit. and that's a very odd place to find presidential candidates sitting. >> that's crazy. the fight for second, and the headlines around being second. okay. talk to mitch about john kasich. where does this end for him? or is it -- is it possible for him to pick up some momentum when these races move to the midwest? >> reporter: it's not going to be hard for him to pick up momentum now. he is the governor of ohio. there are reports that the g.o.p. establishment, quote unquote, is trying to push him out of the race to pave the way for marco rubio. he is not going to do that. his people said he is in the race. ohio is on march 15th, and he'll running well in michigan now tony. >> and for the democrats it is full steam ahead. we'll get to that in just a

moment. but michael shure thank you. we have a documentary to talk about later this week. let's do that. >> all right. for the democrats it is full steam ahead to south carolina. hillary clinton has an advantage there. african american voters. john terrett joins us now from charleston. john? >> reporter: good evening, tony. pulling out all of the stops. that's the order of the day. for the hilary campaign that means building on the success of nevada for the weekend. for the sanders campaign, and this is their headquarters here? charleston, south carolina. they were told that they have less than a week now to do what they say in this state is get her done. >> thank you, nevada! thank you so much. >> reporter: fresh off of her win in nevada, hillary clinton is preparing to come to south carolina. the democrats first in the primary. at her campaign office,

volunteers are working the phones and encouraging supporters to get out and vote. >> nevada put out the burn, and hilary has all of the momentum going forward. >> reporter: and in south carolina that message is no different. build on o's progress not burn it. brandon lewis is clinton's campaign field organizers. >> we have got to get our skroeters out. and if we keep doing what i'm out here doing today with our people putting their feet -- their mouths and new yorking on doors, i think we will win. >> reporter: over at sander's headquarters, volunteers are workin working too. >> we have come a long way in

nine months. the wind is at our backs. we have the momentum. >> reporter: one of the major battles will be over the black vote. african americans usually make up more than half of south carolina population. the former president has spent mren -- plenty of time here, urging voters to show up to vote for his wife. >> something is just foreign ministerially broken when african americans are more likely to be arrested by police, and sentenced to longer prison terms for doing the same thing that whites do. >> the daughter of eric garner, the unarmed black man who died after a new york city police officer put him in a choke hold, came out in this ad. >> people are dying.

we need a president that is going to talk about it. >> reporter: and last week hillary clinton was joined by the mother of sandra bland. bland died last year in a texas jail cell after a traffic stop. at bernie sanders headquarters, the actor and civil rights activist, danny glover was on hand to rally the troops. >> he is for working people white and black. bernie is the real deal, and i'll say it again, bernie is the real deal. >> reporter: there you go. you see. it is very unlethal weapon there too. he knows only too well the importance of the african american vote in this case. african americans make up 50% of the democratic vote here, so he has been ramming home the message, get out and vote for bernie, and in doing that, he has been cross crossing the state to help his favorite

candidate. >> all right. still ahead on the program, apple versus the fbi. the latest show of defiance, and why the victims of the san bernardino shooting are now getting involved. and plus, how the island of fiji plans to rebuild after this mess. ♪

♪ >> the cleanup is underway in

the fiji islands after a powerful cyclone destroyed entire willages. storm winds as high as 200 miles an hour battered the islands. >> reporter: these were villages on remote islands, on fijis main island the damage is bad enough, but no news has come from some of the more remote islands. the prime minister warned people to expect bad news. >> this is the most devastating storm on record in the southern hemisphere, category 5. when it reached our shores in the last couple of days, the damage has been widespread. homes have been destroyed.

many low-lying areas are flooded, and many people have been left stunned and confused about what to do. >> reporter: two cities escaped the full force of the cyclone, but still an hour north of the tourist hub, there's wide-spread destructi destruction. this is nothing compared to how it was when the cyclone was at its peak. this was a restaurant. half of the roof is gone. it's destroyed inside. and there is debris everywhere. the same story is true right down the valley, debris everywhere. and there a guest house totally destroyed. nearby houses have been strewn down the hillside. this person's house did survive, but only just. she and her hands are now cleaning up. grateful to be alive. >> i was terror. we have been through so many

hurricanes, but this one was -- it was really terrible. it was horrible. >> reporter: in this part of fiji, already crews are at work restoring fallen power lines, and repairing mobile phone masts. but the fear is of what news will emerge once parts of the country currently cut off, restore communication. andrew thomas, al jazeera. kevin there's still more to understand about the power and strength of this cyclone. >> that's right. we know it is the most powerful in the southern hemisphere. out is now number 2 strongest storm to make landfall. and for fiji they don't build for hurricanes like this.

so that's why the devastation is so powerful. it's going to feel a little bit more like springtime because of the severe weather that is now beginning to pop up. here in new mexico and texas, just in the last several hours we have begun to see those thunderstorms pop up. tonight we are going to have a problem in parts of texas. you can see the thunderstorms popping up quite quickly. those are going to move towards the southeast. for west and central parts of texas, tonight your problem is going to be hail as well as damaging winds. we're talking about parts of san antonio, down to possibly corpus christi. but tomorrow we're talking about a different story. we are looking at a very extended area of severe weather outbreak tomorrow. starting tomorrow afternoon, going through the evening. the biggest areas of concerns are from parts of louisiana towards georgia, tornados,

damaging winds, as well as hail. this will continue. if you are traveling highway 10, highway 20, that is going to be the concern there. then the next couple of days we're still not out of the woods. we're going to be seeing the severe weather switch over to more gusty winds as an area of low-pressure really begins to deepen, and those ice bars begin to tighten across this area. so the severe weather switching over to a rain event, a snow event, as well as a wind event, across this area. so it will be a rough couple of days, and not really getting a break until thursday. >> kevin appreciate it. thank you, sir. up next on the program, getting back to work after a week of mourning their colleague. eight supreme court justices were back on the bench. what it was like inside the courtroom. and the slumping price of crude, the world's biggest

producers meet in texas to talk about the future of energy. ♪

>> our american story is written everyday. it's not always pretty, but it's real... and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. poignant moments today as the supreme court went back to work for the first time since the death of justice antonin scalia. none of the remaining eight had ever heard a case without him on the bench. his passing leaves the bench

with four conservatives and four liberals. a critical factor as the court hears arguments for pretty controversial cases. more now from lisa stark who has been in the court, well, for boast of the moment. lisa good to see you. what was the atmosphere like in the court this morning? >> reporter: tony it's always very formal in the supreme court, but it seemed more somber than usual, because his chair is draped in black, so is the bench right in front of his chair. a vivid reminder, obviously that he is not there. john roberts did open the session with some remarks about his long-term colleague. he said: now the chief justice also joked a little bit that scalia had a

perfect record before the case. he always authored 292 majority opinions during his nearly 30 years on the bench, and the chief justice said, and he wrote an occasional minority opinion. and that brought lawful, because he wrote a lot of minority opinions. >> oh, yes. lisa what are you hearing from the white house today about possible nominees, someone to fill the vacancy? >> reporter: well, we're hearing about a really thick binder of information that the president is supposedly pouring over. josh earnst says he has been looking through it, trying to pick out the best candidate for the job. earnst was asked whether the president was going to try to increase diversity on the court

even further. >> he'll cast a wide net. he'll consider individuals with a range of experiences, but ultimately he is focused on setting aside politics, focusing on his responsibility, and appointing the best person for the job. >> setting aside politics, of course not easy. the president has made phone calls to the republican leadership, and democratic senators, as he tries to encourage the senate to at least take up whoever he nominates. the republicans want to wait until a new president is the white house. and josh earnest said he will continue to make those calls this week. >> lisa as always. great to see you. thank you. several survivors of the san bernardino attack are joining the fight to have apple unlock the encrypted iphone of one of the shooters. a lawyer says the information on

the phone extends far beyond the california killings. he says the employees were targeted by terrorists, and the country needs to know why and how this happened. >> reporter: the fbi director is calling for calm and defending his agency's demand that apple help investigators break into one of the san bernardino sho shooter's phones: apple's ceo was quick to reply on monday. he writes:

former nsa director says he agr agrees with the government on this specific case. >> jim would like a back door available to american law enforcement in all devices globally, and frankly, i think on balance that actually harms american's safety and security. right? even though it might make jim's job a bit easier. >> reporter: the fbi needs apple's help, because the security settings lock the device if pass word is entered incorrectly too many times. the fbi wants apple to up load software that lets its analysts get around security features and take as many shots as the pass word as necessary. but with 24 million of these phones in use around the world, until millions more earlier models may affected.

>> it's about human rights workers in syria. it's about lbgt activists here in the middle east, you name it. privacy is not just a human right but a social good. >> reporter: the white house insists there is no privacy threat. >> they are not asking apple to redesign its product or create a new back door to one of their products. they are simply asking for something that would have age pact on this one device. >> reporter: apples encryption scheme on newer devises has no back door. >> the shooter's phone was owned by its employer, but apple says the county reset the pass word on farook's i-cloud backup account, if they had not, apple says it could have easily gone in and grabbed the data without

creating any sort of back door. it is a biproduct of the digital era, criminals hacking hospitals, and it has become increasingly profitable, but it can always be deadly. >> reporter: a hollywood hospital is the scene of a crime that once would have only been a thing of the movies. >> all of the signs said, do not use the computers. i'm like what is going on here? and they said we got hacked. >> reporter: hackers took control of the center's network, infecting its files with what is called ransomware. >> once they infect the system it's contagious. >> reporter: the antidote, a series of key strokes the hospital would receive only after paying a $17,000 bitcoin ransom. they paid up to get control back. but as "america tonight"

learned, hospital hacks don't just compromise your data. they can cause your death. >> every gaming console you can buy, they have all gone through cyber security reviews. the device you are about to be hooked up to in a hospital more than likely has not gone through security at all. the nintendo wii has better security devices. they have identified problems. do you think hospital equipment is vulnerable? or do you know? >> we know it's vulnerable. >> reporter: on any given day,

he says there can be tens of thousands of devices connected to a network in the hospital. any number of which, he says can with be hacked and made lethal. >> that's not a think we're thinking about could happen. we know it can happen. and we have demonstrated it. >> reporter: here is the hicker, rios says not only can the devices be hacked and turned against the very patients they are supposed to be helping, but when hackers access the equipment, they are also accessing all of your data. so they would change your blood type, dosage level, and the doctor wouldn't know the difference. >> yeah. a doctor is going to use that data to make decisions about the care you need to receive, or will receive in the future.

right? that is very dangerous. >> lisa fletcher, al jazeera. you can see more of that report tonight on "america tonight." japanese air bag maker takata may face another massive recall here in the united states. it would almost quadruple the number of air bags recalled so far. regulators say they can still pose a risk to passengers. for the first time in months oil prices are above $30 a barrel. now a new forecast, a new forecast, says production here in the u.s. will fall into next year. now for consumers that could mean more money at the pump. john hendren explains. >> reporter: low prices for gas here in the u.s., it's consumer heaven.

prices haven't been this low since the global economic crash of 2009. people are enjoying everything from bigger cars to cheaper plane travel. there is a global glut of oil on the market, so it languishes in tanks like these. producers are trying to fix that. opec has tried to limit production, but with sanctions lifted, iran is adding oil on the market, and cash-poor producers in the u.s. and elsewhere just can't afford to stop pumping. that can hurt economies dependant on oil like houston and that can mean jobs, eve -- event yulely that can because problems. the price has fluctuated wildly

in recent weeks from $27 a barrel, to 36. oil prices peaked at $145 a barrel. it's not likely to rise above the 40 to $50 range for 2016. >> john hendren reporting for us. british prime minister david cameron went after london mayor boris johnson today after he called for britain to pull out of the european union. johnson are among those who support the break. >> in exactly what way this deal returns sovereignty over field of law making to these houses of parliament. >> because it carves us forever

out of ever-closer union. it means the ratchet of the european court taking power away from this country cannot happen in future. >> we got better. shucks. okay. the british e.u. referendum is set for june 23rdrd. the heritage of hair, why it is a touchy conversation for dominicans.

the people on the island of haiti and the dominican republic

speak proudly with their kinship with african americans. just don't make the mistake of calling them black. one young businesswoman is challenging what that really means >> i am dominican, but i spent 18 years in the states. >> reporter: she is the owner of a hair salon. she is part of a new wave of dominic dominicans, raised or educated abroad, and coming home with a new sense of identity. she does not straighten hair here. >> i wasn't allowed entry at restaurant. and as we approached the bouncer, we are like we're going in. and he is like you are not allowed to come in.

it is your hair. it was hurtful, because someone gave him that message to not allow people who look like him enter the space. >> that space is significant, because like her shop, the restaurant is located in the colonial zone, a 500-year-old world heritage sight known as the first european settlement in the new world. >> my hair is considered informal, unpromotional. ugly. it's considered dirty. you are not allowed to wear your house like this in several public and private institutions, and that's one of the things we're trying to change. >> reporter: this processor is a social psychologist teaching in the dominican republic. she studies race in latin america, where she says almost nobody actually claims to be black. >> and when i say i'm black. i'm patted on the back as though i just said i have an illness, a

cancer or something like that. and they try to comfort me and try to educate me that i'm not black. oh, no, no, no, no. you are not black. oh, you will never be black. i love your light skin, you have straight hair. >> reporter: dominicans separate themselves into six groups. defined by appearance, including hair. in a country where income inequality is amongst the highest in the world. she says there is real economic pressure to appear as white as possible. >> translator: over here the firms say you have to have straight hair just to work. >> literally if you have any resemblance that you might have a non-black member in your family, way, way back in generations, you are non-black.

you are not white necessarily, but you are not black. and that is the point. not to be black. >> discomfort with natural hair is part of a deeper struggle of identity here in the dominican republic. and it has its roots in haiti. haiti used to control the dominican republic. and dominicans are the only people in all of the americas to have liberated themselves from a black nation. they have been trying to distance the country away from blackness, ever since. but not contreras, she is a black culture activist, and has launched a spanish language blog on natural hair. >> he is the one who sends all of the curlily haired people to the shop. if they walk by and seem lost, he says it's over there. i chose this space because of this huge window, right? so people come by, and you see

little girls just staring and reading. >> reporter: that means i love my big afro. >> and the fact that that image is ingrained in them, it will have an impact. >> reporter: for her the movement is less about black lives mattering as it in the united states, because black blood flows in almost every vain in this country, instead she says that black culture matters. coming up, we look ahead to this week's election to replace the soccer's governing body's former president. and the greatest cell phone technology on displace in spain.

this week's soccer's world governing body, fifa will elect a new president. the former president was forced to resign last year. on friday member states will pick his replacement from these five candidates. the italian is considered one of the front runners. andy richardson reports from africa. >> reporter: africa isn't just home to some of the world's m t most -- impassioned football fans, it's also where fifa presidential elections can be won or lost. almost a quarter of the associations are in the

continent, and every country gets a vote. something sepp blatter was always very aware of. >> when blatter's predecessor came to power in 1974, he did so on the back of african votes. he made sure the continent got more places and there was greater fifa investment here. blatter brought the world cup to africa, and oversaw the contribution of billions in cash. this facility offers free access to sport and education. >> for the kids who have been hopeless, now with the center, they know that tomorrow is the future. in africa, where we have centers like this, it's a gift from fifa. >> reporter: rwanda's national

team also train at a facility funded by fifa. >> mr. blatter did a lot for africa, and especially for rwanda, and the deliver we have, it's not the same level we had a long time -- few years ago, but we hope that the new one will be followed with some relationship between africa and the people. >> blatter's long-term ally, and presidential candidate is promising just that, and the confederation of african football has named him as their prepared candidate, but that doesn't mean that all of the candidate's countries will back him. his rival is supported by uefa, the governing body of european football, which has been hugely critical of blatter. but he is more diplomatic.

>> first of all, i need to recognize, and i do that very openly, the huge work and benefits that mr. blatter has brought, in particular as well to africa, not only with the world cup, but like you said with the development programs. and i think these development programs need not to be maintained but to be increased. >> reporter: with the race almost over, africa is again poised to play a match-winning role. andy richardson, al jazeera. leaders from the tech industry are gathering in barcelona to show off their latest products at the world mobile congress, but things are a little different this year. this time around it's the accessories, and not the devices that are creating a buzz. >> i'm going to introduce the next best mobile. >> it's the first android that has -- >> a bno -- >> reporter: it's a hard sell

these days. for years mobile phone makers have enjoyed golden times. year on year increases in sales as billions around the world bought smarter and smarter phones. but now the city is under pressure. >> we went through a decade of innovation. there was always a reason to upgrade. now that is starting to diminish. so therefore the reason to upgrade is getting tougher. >> reporter: and it's these that are the issue. dozens of new handsets, but they are largely indistinguishable from last year's models, and phone makers are unable to come up with smartphones with significantly new and better features, it appears that customers are willing to hold on to the phones they already have rather than upgrading. if your dog has a tendency to run off, this high-tech collar

allows you to track your animal at all times. >> for instance, your animals, you are fit them with a collar. you can follow them. the latest technology allows the batteries to last for up to ten years. >> reporter: mobile operators are also eager for your phone number to become the main way you are identified online. there is a virtual shopping screen that lets you shop on your own home from work. >> a bit of tea. and you have them in your basket. you check out here. simply by putting your mobile phone number into the device. it will verify your address. you type the pass code in, and the service knows your address and where to deliver it. some of the smaller companies are still trying to pack more into less. there is also seemingly endless

innovation around accessories, gadgets and personalization. with sales down, breathing new life and functionality into existing models, seems to be the focus. tarek bazley. that's all of our time. john siegenthaler is next. >> tony. thanks. we begin with the war in syria and a possible break in the fighting. the u.s. and russia announced an agreement set to begin on saturday. the white house hopes it could lead to a more permanent ceasefire and political change in syria. jamie mcintyre has the latest. >> reporter: john, after more than a week of negotiations, the deal was sealed in a phone call, between president obama and russian president, vladimir putin, but the final word on whether the fighting really stops lies with the syrian government forces on the ground and the fighters who app pose