else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. i'm peter dobbie you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters here in doha. also in the next 30 minutes. a stand-off continues between students and police at an indian university. desperate scenes at the macedonian border as afghan

refugees demand a way through to northern europe. plus. >> reporter: i'm in l.a., a world away from west africa and yet a lot of people here are talking about ebola at the moment. find out why shortly our top story this our, a ceasefire has been agreed for syria which should come into effect on saturday. they now have three days to finalise the practicalities. it follows a conversation between obama and putin. all sides are standing by their preconditions. >> reporter: for almost five years the death toll has mounded. every day there has been blood shet and atrocities. now the latest attempt to-- bloodshed-- end all of that. 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 lavrov had wanted a ceasefire from march 1. u.s. secretary of state john kerry argued that will 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. 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 terrorist list to examine commit to a cessation of hostilities this friday. the cessation is supposed to start on saturday. diplomats tell me that if it holds there is a possibility

that peace talks which collapsed in geneva last month could resume within seven days. the spokesman for the u.n. secretary general welcomed the news of the announcement of the cessation of hostilities, but everyone is well aware how hard it will be to make it actually happen. >> the secretary general urges the parties to abide by the terms of this agreement. much work now lies ahead to ensure the implementation of the international community, the international support group and the syrian parties must remain steadfast in their resolve. >> reporter: an added complication, though, came from damascus, a statement announcing president bashar al-assad wanted elections for his rubber-stamp parliament in april. given everything that has happened in syria, there is not a great deal of optimism about the proposed cessation of hostilities, particularly as many observers believe there

will be an flees in violence in the days before it starts -- an increase over to our correspondent who is on the turkey-syria border. what we're talking about here in the run-up to friday in the very early hours of saturday must be pretty fragile, even if it does lead to something much more durable. >> reporter: absolutely. with the fact that that cessation of hostility or the agreement excluding al-nusra front and i.s.i.l., which are the most powerful and biggest forces in syria tells you a lot. there is a significant loophole. there are details that need to be ironed out between russia and america. they need to call on the other rebel groups to accept the truce. those groups have three days to do that.

the syrian opposition is very sceptical about this whole truce idea. it says that because there is disagreement between russia and america about who is a terrorist group and who is not, that leaves the two sides the ability or the russian side and the government forces to attack at will saying they're under the pretext that those groups are terrorists and represent terrorist organizations and, therefore, they are a legitimate force. not everybody is optimistic about it since the geneva talks fell to bits three or four weeks ago now, when we have seen or heard about the peace process picking upping we see the conflict on the ground happening as well. is that how we can explain what is happening inside syria particularly when it comes to i.s.i.l. and raqqa? jud

judge-- yes, absolutely. >> reporter: there seems to be a strat tea followed-- strategy followed by all the groups. bashar al-assad angered russians when he said he wasn't very interested in a truce in the first place and that his forces are continuing to clear all of syria, then he will talk peace and join a political peace process. that, of course, angered the russians. we heard reports from within syria that the aim of syrian forces is to send their forces to raqqa. so now we have advancement on raqqa front and we have advancement from the regime on to idlib. there is fighting in aleppo this morning and also last night. there are russian jets targeting a number of targets. there is heavy fighting within aleppo itself between rebel groups there as well as the democratic syrian forces which

are led by the kurdish forces in aleppo. so the situation on the ground is very, very fragile. if the fighting continues, and i think it will continue ahead of the talks or ahead of the truce interesting you talk about the talks. despite or, perhaps, because of what the hnc said historically,? of this or most of it come down to what the russians say to the bashar al-assad, because they seem to be so key in this process >> reporter: absolutely. i think president bashar al-assad has no other choice but to adhere to what the russians are telling them. i think at some point the russians could be fed up with what the syrian regime is doing. at least not publicly, perhaps privately. remember that this conflict hosts a number of local regional, international players

and all sides have an impact and influence over the other. i'm not sure probably russia has some influence on president bashar al-assad. however, i don't think they have influence on the shia militias or the allies of president bashar al-assad who are fighting on the ground. you have hezbollah, you have iraqi shia militias, also pakistani and afghan militias. so it is very complicated. when it comes to the opposition side. the same applies for national and international powers. they will try to influence the opposition groups who adhere to their cause, however the more extreme or the more international community designate as terrorist, they will not adhere to the cause of truce or peace. not everybody is interested in a political process. it is interesting to see what now is complicates that ask what president bashar al-assad has also called for a new election in april regardless of what's happening. you have also the syrian appear was dor to the u.n. describing

the-- ambassador-- staffan de mistura not doing his job. all of that is complicating the situation thanks very much. two students accused of sedition in india have asked authorities to secure their safety so they can surrender in court. they are among five students holed up in a university in new delhi. police have not been allowed inside. the president of the students union is already in police custody. the government alleges they chanted anti india chants at an event. live now to our correspondent in new delhi. are the authorities still obviously trying to handle this in a very careful way? >> reporter: indeed. as you said it's an issue that has divided the nation. many people are seeing this as a

clamp down on free speech, but, in particular, with these students, they say they fear for their lives and have received threats. they feel they have been unfairly treated. the five students that have been holed up at their university had conducted their raid which had arrested their student leader. his hearing was supposed to be today but it is now going to be tomorrow. at least two of the students that are holed up have told the high court that they will surrender themselves provided they're guaranteed security. police are waiting outside the university trying to get a petition to go in the university and arrest them. in a very strange play of words, the police commissioner has said that they have evidence and the students are guilty until they prove their innocence, turning the law on its head. many people here see it as almost a manhunt, although there

are groups in society, and a large part of the population, who believe that anti anti slow gones shouldn't be said staying with india, there has been protest by the jat community who want to be added to a list of caste to receive special privileges. at least 19 people have died in the protests. how long until they see progress here, how long do we think until they see real change? >> reporter: indeed, that is the real question there. it's not-- the chief minister has been summoned to talk about the issue. there is a session taking place

and a lot of the talk over there will be dominated by the issue and giving them status as reservation status. the chief minister had previously or just this morning visited the main area of violence, and he was heckled by protesters there. this is the area where shops have been burnt down, looting and vehicles torched. there is mistrust amongst the protesters and they feel the government may not follow through on the promises that they're making. the situation has calmed down, although the people are saying they're afraid to leave their homes. they things that things could break out again at any moment. many of the blockades have been dismantled. a lot of the railway line has opened and in delhi where there was a water shortage because more than 50% of the water comes from one particular canal which was taken over by mobs and many

parts have been damaged. water is slowly coming back. supply is being renewed in certain areas, although there is still a water shortage thousands of migrants and refugees facie victims from the camp near the french city of calais. it is known as the jungle. french officials have given them until tuesday to leave their makeshift homes. they could be forced to nearby shipping containers. many don't want to move and they're hopeful of a court intervention. hundreds of afghan refugees are straned on the border. those refused entry are participating in a sit-in >> reporter: they staged a peaceful protest raising their national flag and calling for

the border to stay open. frustration was high among afghan officials. many have 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 weaponed by the balkan states. the move comes after austria was restricting the daily number of migrants streaming through the country. around 600 refugees are stranded on the northern border with serbia. those waiting here say they've been forced to take drastic action. the afghans first blocked the refugee blocking here and started to hold a sit-in here hoping that this will put enough

pressure for the borders to open again. these people have set up their tent and plan to stay here for 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 the life of a refugee, they're ready for a long wait that's the picture from france and the picture from agrees and mass don't dan-- greece and macedonia. just explain to us, there seems to be a direct correlation here between the conflict in helmand province. when that deteriorates more people seem to be thinking enough is enough, we must get

out. >> reporter: yes. i think most people would agree. it doesn't matter where you live in this world, if you want to build a life, you look for two things. you look for security and you look for an economy that gives you a chance for a better life, and in a nutshell afghans haven't had that and that's why you're seeing them continue to leave afghanistan at a time when many people were hoping that that wouldn't be the case. when you look back at 2014 when most international forces that started pulling out international organizations and aid groups went with them, a lot of afghans were depending on those international organizations for jobs. they were depending on international efforts to boost the economy, but that simply hasn't happened. then you look at the security situation. a recent report indicates that in 2015 more civilians died in afghanistan than at any time in

201. that's when u.s. and international forces first occupied afghanistan. you have growing signs in places like helmand provinces that the taliban are stepping up efforts and the afghan security forces are on their heels. when you talk to afghan families you can understand when you say, look-- when they say, when i send my kids to feel, i want to feel that they're safe and going to have a better opportunity of a better life, with dignity, and when that is not the case, the afghans take desperate measures and you're seeing some of the ruts of that desperation in places like greece for the past two or three years, we've been told by the afghan government in kabul that their forces on the grown had, in effect, i guess, upped their game. why are they now on the back foot? >> reporter: i think when you talk to many analysts, they point to the fact that

international forces are no longer here and they question whether afghan forces have the capacity to fend off the taliban and the insurgency. they continue to insist that they're fighting them, that they're making progress, they're continuing to insist that a key to finding a solution is peace talks with the taliban. that hasn't happened yet, but growing indications that afghan security forces are struggling and afghans are giving up and leaving and you see that with the refugee crisis that involves a lot of after gangs thank you very much. -- afghans fiji has started receiving humanitarian aid as the death toll has risen to 29 people following cyclone winston. nearly 8,000 people are living in shelters. aid agencies are handing out vital supplies.

andrew thomas from nandy. >> reporter: the big issue in the aftermath of this sky clone 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 much from a big height. boats are now loovg full of military people, people with logistics, surveyors as well. they should establish how many people are injured and what supplies are needed where. the first two boats left suva on monday. further ones will follow tuesday and into wednesday, going to all the islands. it is a very slow process just to get a picture of where help is needed most. on the main island infrastructure is getting back up and running. this building site behind me is one of many. the north part of the island

have been badly affected. it is the out lying islands where news is filtering through still to come here on al jazeera, how smart phone makers are trying to adapt to continuing falling sales. we will take to the world phone congress in spain. ngress in spain.

welcome back. these are the top stories. the syrian opposition hnc says

it is concerned russia and the syrian governments are not serious about a ceasefire. the spokesman says the al-nusra front must be included in any peace deal to stop the fighting. a ceasefire has been agreed and it should come into effect on saturday. two students accused of sedition are willing to give themselves up if their safety is guaranteed. they're among five students holidayed up in a university in new delhi. fiji has been sent boats carrying aids for the country. lebanon's prime minister says he will visit the gulf state soon after saudi arabia stopped a plan to give 4 billion dollars in aid to the lebanese military. the prime minister says lebanon is standing by its arab

neighbours. the country will continue to stay out of regional conflicts. saudi arabia also condemned what it called hostile political and media positions of the shia lebanese group hezbollah. egyptian military says the sentencing of a four year old boy to life in prison was a mistake. a 16-year-old should have been sentenced instead. the child was convicted along with 115 others next with muslim brotherhood fighters. the father spent four months in jail for refusing to hand him over there is a lot of talk about ebola this year because of a documentary that might do well at the oscars. >> reporter: 11,000 people were killed by ebola.

the illness took hold across west africa just over two years ago. there is still no cure. guinea, sierra leone and liberia were hit by what was described as an epidemic. this is a world away from that horror that we saw in 2013 and beyond. there is actually a link between liberia and l.a. this year because a film about ee bol ais up for-- ebola is up for an award and could take an oscar in a few days time. this is it, the tale of the red cross workers who collected dead bodies as that outbreak took hold. it is up for best documentary at sunday's awards. this is the side of the oscars without celebrity. this is real life and death as raw as it comes >> every day i feared the worst,

could i be next. that played on my head during this production. i got a small glimmer of what it was like for these teams day in and out. the level of anxiety that they were working under was intense. it is really a tribute. >> reporter: it tells the story of a nurse ons tra sighsd by her community because she went to work at a place where few others would dare. >> liberia had gone through a civil war not long ago. it is a shell of a nation. here they were fighting for the nation, fighting for the families and ultimately fighting for the relevant of us, the whole world. >> reporter: the film has won big award, documentary at the film festival. it is essential that tales like these are shared >> it is a super hero story, about bravery. about people who did something

when the whole world was really afraid. if we didn't capture this moment people wouldn't be remembered. >> reporter: the epidemic is now officially over. without these people, how much longer would that have taken and how many more victims could have died. >> what did we do to help liberia? if you've decided to stay with your current smart phone because there's no point changing, this story is for you. some of the world's tech people today at the world mobile congress. it's all about the app, not the device. >> reporter: i'm going to introduce you to the next mobile. it is the first one to have. >> this is the best >> reporter: it's a hard paracel these days. >> that's what makes this fantastic. >> reporter: for years mobile phone makers have enjoyed golden times. increasing sales as people

becausing smarter and smarter diabetes - bought phones. >> there was always a reason to upgrade. that is starting to diminish. you can get software apps on your devices. the reason to upgrade is getting tougher and it is these that are the issues. dozens new handsets that are largely indefensible from last-- indistinguishable from last year's model. if they don't have new and better features, customers are willing to hold on to the ones they already have rather than upgrading. why not put the technology other uses. if your dog has an opportunity to run off, this collar allows you to track your dog's location at all times u >> the ability to tag and follow becomes relevant. your animals, you can put them with a collar, follow them. the latest technology allows the

batteries in tows devices to-- those devices to last up to 10 years. >> reporter: also your phone number to be identified. this shocking screen which is installed at bus and metro stops lets you shop on your way home from work >> maybe a couple of pear and tea. you have them in your basket. you checkout here simply by putting your mobile phone number in to the device here. it will verify your order. you give - it sends you a pass code, you type it in and the service knows your address and knows where to deliver it >> reporter: some smaller companies are trying to pack more into less. this one has a high powder video projector into the handset. also around aaccessories gadgets and personalisation. doctor-- gadgets. breathing new life into models

seems to be the focus lots more news for you, of course, on our website at 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