russia and the u.s. have agreed to a pause in the fighting in syria while government troops advance towards i.s.i.l.'s strong holds in idlib hello there. i'm peter dobbie. you're watching al jazeera from our headquarters here in doha. a standoff continues between students and police at a university in india. two of the students say they're ready to surrender if their safety is assured

macedonian border where afghan refugees demand a way through to europe. plus. >> reporter: this is called a traditional instrument. my parents can't play this, but neither can i. find out how people are trying to get children to learn the planned ceasefire for syria should come into effect in theory on saturday. the warring sides have to work out the so-called modalities. all sides are applying their longstanding preconditions. >> reporter: for almost five years the death toll has mounted. every day there has been bloodshed and atrocities. now the latest attempt to end all that. this document released jointly by the u.s. and russia. the two countries have been

working on plans for a lull in the violence since a meeting in munich earlier this month. russian foreign minister had wanted a ceasefire from march 1. john kerry argued that would allow russia more time for bombing to change the situation on the ground, but ever since that meeting there has been delay and so in the end russia has got its way. >> translation: russia will work with damascus. the legitimate government the syria. we expect that the u.s. will do the same with its allies and groups supported by them. >> reporter: 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 which are both on the u.n. security council's terrorism list to commit to a cessation of has tolts by-- hostilities by this friday. 12 hours later that cessation is

supposed to start on saturday. diplomats tell me, that if it holds there's the possibility of peace talks which collapsed in jeopardy-- geneva last month could commence in seven days. the news were glad to receive the news but everyone knows how hard it is to make it happen. >> the agreement is urged to be abide by the agreement. much work ahead is for the international community, the support group and the syrian parties must remain steadfast in their resolve. >> reporter: an added conflicts came from damascus, a statement announcing bashar al-assad wanted elections for his rubber-stamp parliament in april. giving everything that has happened in syria, there's not opt tichl about the proposed cessation of hostilities--

optimism-- with the warring sides trying to make gains in the days before it is due to start egyptian military says the sentencing of a four year old boy for life in prison for murder was a mistake. the army says a 16-year-old should have been sentenced instead. the child was convicted along with 115 others in connection with protests in 2014. the boy's father spent four months in jail for refusing to hand him over. fiji has started receiving humanitarian aid as the death toll has risen to 29 after cyclone winston. 8,000 people are living in shelters and aid agencies are handing out supplies. >> reporter: the big issue in the aftermath of this cyclones is communication. the government simply doesn't have it with big parts of its own country. phone lines have been cut, air strips are blocked so they can't fly in. all they can do is aerial

surveys and that doesn't tell you very much from a big height. so boats are now leaving suva full of military people, people with logistic people, surveyors as well. they shall establish if anybody has been killed, what supplies are needed most where. two boats, the first two, left suva on monday. further ones will follow on tuesday and into wednesday going to all these outlying islands. it is a slow process. just to get a picture of where help is needed most. on the main island where i am, infrastructure is getting back up and running. you can see this build site behind me is many, but the north part has been badly affected. thatfully not the big cities, both two dodgeed the worst. it is those outlying islands where news is beginning to filter through and what is known so far isn't that good two students accused of sedition in india have asked for

the authorities to secure their safety so they can surrender. they're holed up in a university in new delhi. the police have not been allowed in. the president of the student union is already in custody. the arrest sparks protests across india saying the government wants to silence descent. our correspondent is live for us. why is there now this apparent break in the ranks of the students? >> reporter: these students that are holed up at the university were the ones that had absconded around the time the police had barged in and arrested their student leader whom you mentioned is in jail at the moment. his bail hearing was meant to happen about an hour ago, but that has now been moved to tomorrow and wednesday.

so now these two students out of the five have decided that they will face the high court, but they are concerned about their security. so they have put a plea to the high court saying that they will come and surrender, give in if they are given added security. many of their lives have been under threat. police have been standing outside the university waiting to enter it and arrest them. the high court is due to discuss this in the next couple of hours staying in india, a deal has been reached to end days of process by the jat farming caste seeking more state benefits. the government has agreed to some concessions, but leaders want a written assurance. they want to be added to a list of caste benefitting from actions. they blocked many areas. at least 19 people have died. back to our correspondent live for us again. this is a problem, another

problem for the government. they seem to be playing catch up with this particular issue. >> reporter: indeed, and today the budgetary parliamentary session has begun, but it seems to be over shadowed by both the previous issues of the student and this one in particular because closures of shops and businesses have cost them nearly 3 billion dollars in damages. the government has summoned the chief minister and the union minister to talk about this to try and find a come proposalize. -- compromise. at the heart of this problem is that the people have been promised reservation status during this government's campaign and now they have won and a lot of this particularly in the state of hariana was because of the vote. they are trying to work out a deal, but many of the jat

population do not trust the government. they have been told many times before. there are still pockets of protests. a lot of the blockades have been opened, there's still thousands of troops on the ground there ready to maintain or try to maintain some kind of calm thousands of migrants and refugees facie victims from the camp near the french city of calais known as the jungle. officials have given them until friday to move their homes. many don't want to move and they're hopeful of a court intervention. hundreds of after gangs are stranded on the greece-macedonia border. new laws enter people from entering, but syrians and iraqis are allowed to enter. those involved are at a sit-in

near the border. >> reporter: they raised their national flag and calling for the border to stay open. frustration was high among afghan officials. many had been here for several days pleading to get into macedonia. only syrian and iraqis are allowed to continue their journey. some took desperate measures only to be sent back into greece. afghans have become the latest victims of tougher border controls imposed over the weekend by the balkan states. they were restricting the daily number streaming through the country. about 600 afghan refugees are also stranded on the northern border. those waiting here say they've been forced to take drastic action. >> the afghans first blocked the refugee crossing point here and tore through the fence and

decided to have the sit-in here on the rail tracks hoping this will put enough pressure for the borders to open again. they have set up their tent to stay here as long as it takes >> our aim is not just to open this gate. our aim is to open all borders that we are facing. >> reporter: greek officials say they're using diplomatic channels to urge macedonia to reconsider its decision. in the meantime no-one is going through. still resillant as ever to the twists and turns of a refugee, they're ready for the long wait live to kabul and our correspondent. we know what the syrians and the iraqis are trying to escape, but what is the afghans, what is it they're running away from? >> reporter: i think in a nutshell there's two reasons why

you continue to see after gangs leave this country. one is a very poor economy that is showing no sign of progress and one is a deteriorating security situation. if you look back at 2014 when most international forces left afghanistan, a lot of international organizations and aid groups left with them, a lot of after gangs depended on those organizations for jobs, they depended on international efforts to boost the economy and that simply hasn't happened. joblessness is still a serious concern here in afghanistan. then you look at the security situation. growing indications of the taliban are continuing to gain momentum and territory. afghan security forces on their heels and if you talk to afghan families, they say when we send our children to school, we want to feel safe, we want to feel that our children have a future. we're not confident that this is the case. so they're taking desperate

measures and you see some of the outcomes of the desperation in places like greece for so long we've seen this river of humanity trying to get through. is that picture mirrored almost exactly where you are? >> reporter: yeah. i think so. i think with the international focus shifting in many ways over the past couple of years, to places like syria and iraq. there hasn't been much focus on the flight of the afghans, and the fact remains that many after gangs are desperate for better lives, better security, jobs, better future and that's why you see many of them try to leave, try to take desperate measures, some illegally and, again, you see some of that in greece, in surrounding places thank you for that.

still to come on this program for you, we look at whether a new tax on plastic bags will help reduce waste piled up on indonesian streets. >> reporter: i'm in l.a., a world away from west africa. people here are talking about ebola. find out why shortly. acisation cessation =

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welcome back. the top stories. a ceasefire for syria. there are three days to work out

about the modalities. syrian forces say they're advancing on rebel groups in idlib and the i.s.i.l. stronghold of raqqa. two students accused of sedition in india say they're willing to surrender if their safety is guaranteed. they have been holed up in the university. police have not been allowed in. fiji has been sent boats carrying aid to islands days after one of the biggest storm systems to hit the southern hemisphere swept over the country. the death toll from cyclone winston has risen to 29. with oil prices staying low industry leaders gathering in texas today to find a solution. however, many analysts are sceptical that they will succeed. >> reporter: the storm clouds however houston are a fitting backdrop for the brain trust gathered here. the world oil leaders all agree

that there is no quick fix for oil prices. a new forecast said prices won't return to the $80 barrel range until 2018. >> i think we will see the prices being reached but with 17 we can seeing a balancing and starting in the markets and 17/18 a rebounding of prices >> reporter: it has plunged from $145 a barrel in 2008 to the $30 range now, leading to 300,000 layoffs worldwide and something near panic in the industry >> dozens of countries are on the brink of bankruptcy, little companies. you're looking at - the venezuelan government at 180% inflation and 6% proceed tracks in the-- pro tracks-- prtract

ooshgs ion in the company. we're in a bad moment in the oil industry. >> reporter: low prices have hit the mexico company hard. like the other oil companies of the world it has challenges driven by international low oil prices and it will have to overcome them through smart decisions. it will have to prioritise investments gentleman houston has lost at least 60,000 jobs since prices began to crash. the best that oil producers and leaders can hope for is a long-term plan to return oil prices from the $30 a barrel range to something nearing $100. prices are predicted to fall further into the $20 range. the perfect storm that caused prices to plunge, high production from american shal oil producers, a surge on the

market and it shows no sign of ending soon sea levels are rising several times faster than they have in the past and we are primarily to blame according to a new study to a team of international scientists. levels went up by 14 centimetres in the last two centuries. it is bad news for low-lying island nations. the authors of the study led by the institute for climate impact reach, it could see between 50 and 130 increases. victoria mckenzimclarke says in in areas people are already being forced from their homes because of the effects of global warming. >> reporter: many of our closest

pacific island neighbors are at risk. they're very-- their very existence is at risk. we are already seeing climate refugees evacuating many of those islands and the predictions that follow from the impacts of global warming is that we could see up to 200 million climate refugees by the middle of the century. these are significant numbers. in our region, those impact are being felt. there's a lot of debate around tipping points. we are seeing the sea level rise because of the melting of mountain glaser-- glaciers, melting caps. there's a lot that we don't yet understand about the melting caps and there is an enormous risk of that. the sudden event of melting is significant. i think regardless of what those future scenarios hold, what we're already living with is seeing sea level rise in many

countries around the world. in australia we're already seeing an increase in flooding because of that. as i mentioned, many of our island neighbors are facing a threat. we need to see action now to cut pollution, to limit the impacts of global warming immediately and try and create a healthy and safe community indonesian is one of the biggest producer of plastic items. in particular plastic bags are an issue >> reporter: researchers have found that nearly 10 million plastic bags are being handed out for indonesian shoppers every day and they find their ways to places like this. cler clogging up the rivers, the streets, the parks, the forests.

187.2 million tons of plastic waste is being produced in independent is that every year. that makes it the second biggest polluter in the world after china. plastic waste has become a trap to marine life, to tourism and also to people's health. to reduce all this plastic waste the government has started a pilot project where people have to pay for their plastic bags. it is only 200 rupees, or 1 cent. people don't agree >> translation: i think they should give me a plastic bag every time i go shopping. i don't agree. i don't agree. >> people take money. wicked people. >> you are creating a society that can be rotten to the core. >> anas risked his life to report the truth. >> to save his people.

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where few others would dare. but there is hope he too. >> liberia is a country in war. it is a shell of a nation. here these brave people were fighting for their nation, fighting for their families and fighting for the rest of us, the wholole world. >> reporter: the film has already won an award. it is essential that tales like these are shared >> it is a super hero story, about bravery, people did something at a time when the whole world was afraid. if we didn't capture this moment, people wouldn't be remembered >> reporter: the epidemic is over. without these people, the question is how much longer would that have taken and how many more victims could have died. >> reporter: what did we do to help liberia in zimbabwe the government

has greenhoused into the school curriculum lessons on playing traditional instruments. this is hoped children learn about their ancient cultures some of which are fading away >> reporter: nine year old recently started playing a traditional african musical instrument, a thumb piano. each key say different note. zimbabwe's government is making these lessons part of the school curriculum. officials say many children either don't know or don't want to understand their culture. >> they like the other english instrument like guitars and the other things. this is nice because it is from our country and it has a very beautiful sound. >> reporter: some are fitted

with a resonator to amplify the sound. the bright colors appear to children. it has been part of culture for centuries played at ceremonies and weddings. the government wants to have at least 14 of these in every school. the problem is not many teachers know how to play the instrument. that is partly because of colonel onnisation. during white minority rule some traditions were banned and in other cases eventually forgotten. artists and the manufacturer hopes with time more people will fall in love with the sootdzing sound. -- soothing sound >> they say it's their instrument, about you if you ask them realistically have they ever touched. mbira or play a song, their

marnts might remember. they are in this strange situation where everybody knows about it, but factually they're not exposed on to it >> reporter: that could be a challenge. some parent don't want their children playing this instrument. >> the instrument has been associated with atrocities, religious tradition. they say when a child plays the instrument, he gets possessed. >> reporter: that could change as more historians and musicians expose children at a young age to the most unique instrument of the country and it's beautiful sound time for winter sports in northern europe and l.a. some of the world's best snow boarders have been showing after their tricks in l.a. the event is in its second year. a front side 1440 triple cork

and i don't, i don't know what it means. that's what it looks like. it sound and looks impressive at the very least. you can get more at aljazeera.com. you can talk to us on facebook and twitter as well. the headlines are next. and thanks for joining us on "america tonight." i'm joie chen. imagine your health held hospital contaminate. what would it be worth to free your medical records or to protect them from more malicious attacks? a top medical center in