shaky >> trucesaturday will be critic, tomorrow. in fact, from midnight. no doubt, there will be no shortage of attempts to undermine this process. >> a cessation of hostilities in syria has just begun and a new date for peace talks have been set. polls are closed and the turnout in iran is high. >> this is an indication the

people are present in the political situation in iran. >> moderate tests of the president hassan rouhani, and major endorsement. >> i'm proud to be here to endorse donald trump for president of the united states. >> chris christie endorses donald trump. and the new president of soccer's international governing body promises to restore trust in the scandal-plagued fifa. good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america's international news hour. we begin in syria where it appears the guns have mostly fallen silent for the first time

in nearly five years. a monitor being group and the united nations are reporting only scattered fighting since a truce took effect five hours ago. the syrian government and nearly a hundred rebel groups agreed to abide by the ceasefir ceasefiree heavy fighting rained up until deadline. i.s.i.l. and the al qaed qaeda-affiliate el new nusra frt is not included. our diplomatic editor james bays has the story. >> boarambassadors said this waa

critical attempt. >> we are ready for it we should not be impressed, we should fotd be overly concerned we should address it and realize this is part of any ceasefire and certainly a cessation of hostilities. >> reporter: in the hours before the cessation of hostilities came into effect there was an increase in violence including fresh bombardment by the air force of russia which, with the u.s. is supposed to be one of the main sponsors of this process. >> many of the towns being hit by syrian and russian bombers are the city of dar inka, being pickup eled by this very day, a town not held by i.s.i.l. or the el nusra front. it is hard to seem serious and sincere about assessing hostilities when you ramp up fighting right up to the minute the cessation of hostilities is to take effect. >> reporter: behind the scenes

there was also disagreement between countries that are usually allies. the start of the meeting was delayed after the u.s. changed the text of the draft resolution at the last minute. the new version removed mention of the main opposition block, the high negotiations committee. >> the hnc represents a broad sweep of the opposition forces fighting in syria against the tyranny of assad. they deserve our wholehearted support. which regrettably was not reflected in this resolution. >> reporter: everyone knows there are bound to be violations of this cessation of hostilities. diplomats tell me the best they can hope for is a lull in the violence, and then perhaps, they can persuade the warring parties to resume those talks in geneva. a new date has been set, the 7th of march. jacobs, al jazeera, at the united nations. >> things appear to be calm in syria there is plenty of

skepticism that the truce will hold. jamal el shell shaelel has the . >> for a number of reasons primary, becausprimarily, it doe i.s.i.l. or el nusra front. a few hours they said they would not be abiding by it even though they weren't invited to participate anyway. they said this agreement didn't amount to anything other than a spirnconspiracy.a right to use h

begs the question if there is indeed a cessation of hostilities why there would be a need for self defense. obviously added to this this cessation of hostilities does not include i.s.i.l. i.s.i.l. is present in several parts of syria and opportunity pretext of of fighting i.s.i.l. that the bombard maniment of many participants of syria. using that same pretext as they have been in the past and target noni.s.i.l. targets. we have seen video evidence of that in several places recently in azaz and other places. in the leadup to that midnight time thi there was an increase n several areas in and around damascus and in and around aleppo, as informs loyal to bashar al-assad tried oregape or recapture as much ground or as much territory as possible. again people questioned if there

was genuine intention to stop the violence why the last gasp had to happen. putting the violence aside there is hope at least among the civilian population particularly in the besieged areas of syria that there would be a lull in violence allowing for much needed aid to reach the areas, that have not seen water food electricity, food for months on end. cessation of hostilities ait has been called and a lot of people will be counting the hour by hour as its goes on hoping that the guns will indeed go silence. >> al jazeera's jamal el shael. joining us, colonel very good to have you with us. even though almost 100 groups signed on to this pause in the fighting, dozens of others didn't including i.s.i.l. and el

nusra, as i said earlier el nusra urged its supporters to intensify attacks against assad regime. all brings into question how solid this cessation of hostilities is. >> it's not very strong at all and the term used was fragile. one of many steps of having a cessation of hostilities before we get one that really holds. these type of conflicts usually ends when one side wins or all sides are exhausted. we are not at appoint in this conflict. >> earlier this week top intelligence officials questioned whether russia would abide by the truce. by all accounts they were bombing until the last minute today. do you think russia will respect it? >> we know the russians have had a pattern of behavior not just in syria but in crimea, in chechnya and in ukraine.

they used cessation of hostilities their proxies to start conflict again, they have plausible deniability and then they take the fight into another stage. so they use these peace talks as a point of leverage to advance their interests. i don't see that we're going to see anything very different in this situation in syria. i expect russians will drive the conflict again. they'll have deniability and when they will do is they will say that they are attacking terrorists. and they define terrorists quite broadly to include many of the moderate or so-called moderate elements that are part of the high national council. >> and the question is of course then, will we see what's happened in ukraine, that if russia doesn't stick to the terms of these agreements, will there be any consequences? >> well, that is one of the problems here. there is no monitoring mechanism in place in this agreement, and

there is no enforcement mechanism. and you have soful groups, you have so many coalitions on each side that it's going to be very hard to hold any armistice or cessation of activities possible. we may be closer to the beginning of this conflict than at the end and that's what i actually worry about. >> you mention an armistice, peace talks didn't get close to getting off the ground earlier this month. now they've been set for march 7th. do you think we'll see progress on that front? >> well, that's hard to say. i don't think we're going to see progress because there's just too big a gap between all the groups. and even on the opposition to the assad side of things there is no unanimity of purpose here.

there is a realization that we cannot hold syria toal together and that's probably the next step. >> on the assad side, with the russian aid, we have talked about how we are seeing a much more confident bashar al-assad. but secretary kerry says the peace process will require bashar al-assad's removal. do you see that happen? >> i think that's a talk points of secretary kerry. he has to say that in order to keep members of the coalition, saudi arabia, turkey and others, on side with this deal, as well as those that are fighting assad on the ground. they just cannot accept that assad will be allowed to stay. so they're hoping to punt that issue for down the road. and i expect that the united states will in fact stab these people in the back to use a very ungracious term. because at the end of the day, we're probably going to

recognize that assad's going to stay with russian and iranian support. >> colonel derrick harvey good to talk to you. thank you. >> thank you. >> now to somalia where there's been a second attack in two days. police say al shabaab gunmen stormed the area, 14 people died including nine civilians and five gunmen. a suicide bomb are rammed his car into the hotel's entrance clearing the way for the gunman. somali league youth hotel is often frequented by government officials and business executives. in the u.s. presidential race a major endorsement for donald trump. new jersey governor croichts announced he ichrischristie anng the republican front run person. >> i'm here to endorse donald trump for president of the united states. >> reporter: for the first

time, a former presidential rival is throwing his support behind dprumple. >> i've gotten to know all the people on the stage. and there's no one who is prepared to provide america with the leadership that it needs both home and abroad than donald trump. >> this is a very different chris christie than christie the presidential candidate. >> this is not the negotiation of a real estate deal, this is international diplomacy and it's different. >> that was christie last fall. in november christie said trump is not the right plan for the job. >> this does not play to your skill set, if the speaker of the house doesn't play to your bills you can't fire him. >> christie harshly criticized trump for skipping a debate. >> what if that happens in the white house? do you go to the residence and

say i'm not playing? >> reporter: but one month later, a completely different tone from the governor of new jersey. >> because he's providing strong leadership that's not dependent on the status quo. >> christie's endorsement comes on the final business day before super tuesday. >> you are going to be starting a trade war against your own ties and clothes. >> reporter: and rubio kept hitting fighting for his political life. >> because you're lousy businessman. >> i know nothing about brupght four companies. >> senator ted cruz also went on the offense. is. >> it is interesting thousand that donald says he will appoint justices who will uphold religious liberty, but this man has given money to hillary

clinton, joe biden, harry reid -- >> an event known for its cutting humor lindsay graham joked that his own party will be responsible for electing hillary clinton. >> the most dishonest person in america is a woman. (laughing). who is about to be president. how can that be? my party is going bat (bleep) crazy. >> it is my honor and my privilege to introduce the next president of the united states, donald trump! >> reporter: at a rally friday in fort worth donald trump hugged his new supporter and thanked the cheering crowd. >> we love you. it's a movement. it's a movement. >> with super tuesday fast approaching and trump well ahead in the polls the republican party may have another kind of nominees to stand behind. heidi zhou-castro, al jazeera,

fort worth, texas. >> the centers for disease control has confirmed that thing people have contracted the zika virus during overseas travel. one case of a baby born with severe microcephaly has been reported and the cdc urges pregnant women to skip the u upcoming summer loiks i olympicn brazil. fifa elects a new president, what it means for the future of soccer. and germany officially loses track of 100,000 asylum seekers. letting go a makeshift camp flown as the jungle.

>> the end of an era for fifa, the governing body for world soccer. after 17 years with sepp blatter at the helm, the organize being body voted today to elect a influence president. now it's up to the former secretary general of european football, gianni infantina to elevate the organization from the depths. >> reporter: chosen by the governing body, dwvmentiafi

infantingiafi infantino.his lobe countries worked. in the first vote to go to a second round for over 40 years. it was that tense. >> we will restore the image of fifa and the respect for fifa and everyone in the world will applaud us and we'll applaud you for what we will do for fifa in the future. we have to be proud of fifa everyone last to be proud of fifa and we have to be proud of everything we do together. >> an extraordinary job for one man in fifa for the man who was secretary general of fifa. but he had to be able to stabilize, and his election

pledge of $5 million for federation raises questions how an organization $550 million under their financial target for year can afford it. disappointment and some bee musement from bahraini sheik salman. some of his pledges didn't come through. some african delegates broke ranks and defied their delegations directing them to vote for him. human rights record brought protesters to congress left another ashadow over fifa it can barely afford. 207 came to zurich and realized they had to get this right. 89% of them agreed to do so. they hope it will be enough to satisfy the u.s. and swiss authorities who wanted fifa radically overlawld. afteoverhawd.

afteoverhauled. after the glory, infantina has to prove. >> we're joined by dave zyron. dave good to see you. is infantino the best of the alternatives not fully an outsider but not fully an insider? >> he is actually the best representative of what they want fifa to be. if sepp blatter was a bond villain, johnny-baby is sorts of the side kick of austin powers. he is somebody who is much more comfortable in front of a tv camera like hosting the draw or cutting a new ribbon at a new

field that opens. according to the internal memos they want the new president to be someone like a ceo but intorrial anambassadorial and c. the reforms that are passed are really what matters here and the fact that they have been transparent about the fact that they want 12 year term limits that they want more executive roles for women, more money put into women's soccer and audits that are public so that people can know that it's on the up and unthere's less bribery, less corruption, you aren't going to have the person on the top of the pyramid, which can set the limits of corruption which sepp

blatter did again and again. >> do you think that's fluff? >> whether fans talk about that they're talking about they want to know that the matches are on the up and up. none of these reforms are really going to reflect the federations themselves, the asian, concacaf and the others, are going to be generally, we see fifa as a general body especially with a defanged executive how they are going to control though feif.coms in the whole. >> in charge of marketing the sport that sounds ideal but is it realistic, olympics, the nfl, nba is any sport organized that way? >> no, but with a difference that organizations in the united

states, nfl, nb aferlt nba, areo regulation. i'll tell you a good thing about the reforms that were passed they reflect the lois the logice talked about. as opposed to everything flowing up to a sepp blatter type authority. and johnny baby wants to pick up ribbons on a tile, look it's soccer-baby, that's the kind of thing he does. i like the fact that they're at least accepting the logic that you need a separation of powers between overcast and the building of powers. i do think we're on the path to better more transparent less corrupt international soccer. >> infantino or johnny baby has

already promised to restore the image of football. for the first time it lost hundreds of millions of dollars last year. can he lure sponsors back to the support? >> that's going to be one of his main powers, meeting with these sponsors. russia and qatar, a lot of them are concerned about sponsors in areas of human rights abuses, prejudices against lgbt people, there was no indications nor did anyone expect that those world cups would in any way be moved. it is going to take a lot to get fifa's business in order. >> dave s zyron, thank you sir.

>> thank you antonio. a vote that's been criticized by international observers.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news the mysterious death of a palestinian fugitive wanted for

murder in israel. but first, there are reports of only scattered fighting in syria after the truce took effect, hundreds of groups have agreed to abide by it but i.s.i.l. and the al qaeda affiliated el nusra group were not included in it. the civil war has forced millions of syrians to flee their country, 2 million of them to turkey. as omar al saleh reports, many of them are skeptical the truce will succeed. is. >> reporter: in northwestern syria not far from turkey a new wave of refugees reaches the towns of azaz. women's and children escape the government's offensive in aleppo province in the recent days. for many, the idea of a truce or ceasefire is meaningless. >> translator: this truce is an open game the world is

conspiring against us. this is a deal between the russians and americans. >> translator: what is this talk of a truce? since when have ceasefires worked? okay so if these people went back and got hit who is going to be responsible? we are going to stay here. we are not going back. >> reporter: the complexities are syria's war are overshadowing the possible pause in fighting. the main rebel group have expressed distrusts of the plan while rebels doubt that it will work. >> the fact that el nusra is not included in there agreement allows russia and the ss forces are attacking the areas controlled by el nusra front. >> life inside syria goes on. people in this markets place are indifferent. five years of heavy bombardment and air raids have hardened

them. >> translator: russia is a war criminal, so is bashar al-assad. who do we rely on, the international community? we don't trust the international community. aleppo is being destroyed, innocent civilians are being killed while the air raids continue. >> there is little hope that cessation of hostilities will take place. objecting to russia being a good afternoon or the of the truce alongside the united states. it says russia is a direct party to the conflict, while turkey warns the plan is not binding if its own security is threatened. omar al saleh, al jazeera. germany says it's lost track of 130,000 refugees, the figure nearly 13% of the nearly 1 million refugees registered last year. a data entry exaggerated the

number, but germany has tightened asylum rules in recent weeks. french officials are prepared to demolish the shanty town known as the jun jungle. al jazeera april nadim baba has the latest from the jungle in calais. >> a day after the gave agree line for part of the jungle to go ahead, local officials have been going around that camp talking to people and trying to persuade them it's in their interest to leave. they say there's not going to be any evacuation by force but once people hear the message that there are better places for them here and in other cities around france they will leave of their own accord. >> translator: the message we're giving migrants is that we have space to take them in. they can't stay in the mud in the hands of people smugglers

and in danger. we have up to 400 spaces in the containers and another 200 places for women and children at the jewel ferry place he, in the next 15 weeks we will have enough places for those who want to leave. >> but one activist we've spoken to says those officials have been putting pressure on people to leave straight away, telling them that the bulldozers were going to move in very soon and not giving them:00 to grab belongings before getting on buses to leave calais. >> even the preeffect has been quoted saying nothing is going to lap for probably around three weeks and they will do it slowly. some people from the government are going around saying bulldozers will come in in two hours. what's happening is a lot of people have been persuaded to go on buses to accommodation centers in france which often are pretty remote and although

maybe suitable for people who wish to stay in france, will not be suitable for some, for a large number of people who intend to go elsewhere in europe. >> for moment, a number of people have actually boarded a bus to go to representation numbers in other parts of france is very small. those buses will be coming here every day but many migrants say they really want to get to britain and they won't leave the area whatever lapse to their shelters here. the belgian authorities have already expressed concern that many will move from here across the border to belgium, hoping to get to the port of zebruge for a ferry bound for britain. they won't be going anywhere soon. >> nadim baba reporting from calais. israeli soldiers shot and killed a palestinian teenager, happened near the town of

ramallah. also held u.s. citizenship. the attack is the latest in a five month long wave of violence. a palestinian activist has ended a five month long hunger strike. mohammed al kek, was in prison without charge indefinitely. the united nations human rights agency has called the situation unconscionable. 1986 murder in israel has died. prosecutors in bulgaria say he fell from a high floor at the palestinian embears in sefea. investigators wonder whether he jumped or pushed.

ssayed. >> use of force and last arrests following the presidential election in uganda, more than 200 memberships of the opposition have been detained including opposition candidate kizza besigye. the opposition is disputing the results. al jazeera's malcolm webb spoke to people who reported voting irregularities. >> wanted to become a member of parliament but said she lost the party's primaries because they were rigged. she decided to run independently. she was cheesed of victory again. she found ruling party officials stuffing in ballot boxes for parliamentary and presidential elections. >> the stuffing was not for my opponent alone.

the stuffing was for my opponent and for the president. and we got out those ballots which were stuffed. and i handed them over as exhibit to the police. >> reporter: when ugandans voted in early february, yoweri museveni was elected. >> regarding the critiquing, there is no such a thing that ever happened. and they always justify their loss on someone else. and most especially the nrm. >> reporter: in another part of the country, this polling station officer said he saw officials changing votes.

>> reporter: security agencies say their role is neutral and they only intervene to keep the peace. near some polling stations near the capital they fire tear gas to disperse the crowds. such change of results was not reported. >> i never saw that, i never heard that. we have not received that, i feel there are fluff checks and balance to ensure that nothing is done. >> reporter: meanwhile, opposition leader kizza besigye says he won. after fighting a civil war that began after a rigged election.

the party was seen as osavior. joy says things have changed. >> what is happening in our district if it has happened elsewhere, then they have lost track. and i feel so sad that i lost my brothers fighting for justice, fighting for a better uganda, fighting for a uganda where i would vote freely for the leaders we want, and i'm here, their sister, being treated the way i've been treated in this election. i'm not happy. i'm not happy with the situation. >> malcolm webb, al jazeera, kampala, uganda. clear win are sun likely, voters are torn between fears of political instability and the urge for change after years of austerity. al jazeera's navy barker

reports. >> the government's prom continued economic recovery but not everyone is convinced they can finish the job. the prime minister is hoping for enough support to be the first president to fill two terms. the main opposition party and its leader are hoping for an election recovery. the party was once among the most powerful in europe but was swept from office soon after the country's financial crash. >> i work in the financial industry myself so i know the corporation tax the way it's important to keep the companies in the country. >> there are people outside dublin who have not seen the recovery yet and they're wondering why not.

>> six years since ireland on the verge ever bankruptcy secured a multibillion dollar bailout. but now the island's economy is the fastest growing, while some want to remain on this road map to recovery, others are desperate for change. thousands of people have demonstrated against the introduction of water charges, a condition imposed by ireland's bailout lenders. the outgoing government say that austerity is over but the after-shocks of the crisis are still being felt. many angry voters are expected to turn on those in power, make it harder than ever to form a strong coalition. >> i think it's going to be really difficult oform a stable government and i certainly wouldn't be shocked if we had another election over the coming months. the greatest risk and challenge to ireland's recovery store in

the short and medium term is poor responsibility and policy make. >> the job of coalition building begins. it may be the smaller parties and independent candidates who are called upon to share power. ireland's political landscape is changing. to avoid a stalemate, the next government could be a coalition of the many. neave barker, al jazeera, london. voting in iran's parliamentary election, the balance of power between hard liners and moderates and reformists. tens of thousands came out to vote, forcing the election officials to extend the elections five times. jonah hull has the story. >> that should favor the list of moderates and reformists.

husseini mosque serves as a polling place. watch what happens now when a conservative candidate turns up to vote. get to the back of the queue they cry. in tehran, reformists and moderates are expected to hold sway. >> i would like to have a better economy, a better life with friendship all over the world. >> reporter: yet conservative support remains strong wrels. this was supreme leader ayatollah khamenei. placing list vote. could determine whether iran moves towards greater tolerant and complek reform. but in a system geared to the ultimate power of religious conservatism, old thinking and

the status quo remain deeply entrenched. this election is a test of the policies of plod rat president hassan rouhani. he settled the nuclear issue and had sanctions lifted and likely to get a show of support for that but no one is expecting a country wide landslide. jonah hull, al jazeera, tehran. with the essentials lifted, iran's pistachios are already a big sell ear broad and despite a banner year for that crop here in the u.s., some farmers are finding the increased competition a bit lard to swallow. al jazeera's rob reynolds has the story. >> the busines pistachio trees e san joaquin valley are winter-bare now. >> each one of the clusters can have anywhere from two to 25 nuts open them. >> what you are seeing here

looks good right? >> looks very good. >> after years of punishing drought farm pler manager foreca bumper crop. with 1.2 million electric tars ohectare oftrees. complicating things for u.s. pistachio growers. sunlt they arsuddenly three ares competition. iran is the a strong producer, u.s. is in second place. iranians are free to export therapist tash yoas ttheir thet.

>> iran has taken control of certain markets worldwide. china would be a good example because of their proximity to china. they are able to ship there at a cost much more competitive than what we would be able to sell into that same marketplace. >> he's confident iranian pistachios won't put a dent in the u.s. market, iran urch fairly subsidizes its growers. >> we are not concerned. >> but in one part of california people go fluty for iran's nuts. so many people of iranian descent live in this section of los angeles, it is nicknamed tehrangeles. owner todd says it's a matter of taste.

>> obviously the persian is the best, the persian pistachio is well-known in the world. there's only one problem on that persian pistachios, you start eating you have to finish. >> and that's the story in a nutshell. rob reynolds, al jazeera, los angeles. angry students torch buildings in a university in south africa. coming up the issue that has students outraged and the creaks is of the officials. and the change of the molecular foundation of fruits and vegetables. and the trial of a 95-year-old form he flat city medic who worked add auschwitz, accused of the murder of over 3600 people.

>> the university in searchg hah africa has been closed indefinitely after students burned down parts of the campus. students were protesting the school's decision to dissolve the student council. al jazeera's famida miller has more. >> this university should be filled with students but classes were suspended and students evacuated after one building was

set alight. one appointed by university management whatever their grievances their actions here have been widely condemned. >> we discourage our students to desist from engaging in such acts of criminality. because of our institutions cannot pretend into this is a science of teaching and learning. >> the university of the northwest is just one of many campuses across south africa that has seen massive demonstrations ownership recent months. students have raised a number of issues, ranging from racial inequality to student fees as well as the outsourcing of campus workers. the suspension of classes at at least three universities has got authorities worried. this university will remain closed for at least a month. >> famida miller reporting from south africa.

now to our global view segment with a look at how news outlets across the world are reacting to various events. the south china morning post, apart each country will be less powerful. the paper says uncertainty surrounding the so-called brexit has caused the cost of european currency to drop, potentially putting tens of thousands out of work. the yap news says china's activity in south china sea, paper says washington and tokyo must cooperate closely with the other countries concerned to continue to pressure beijing. if not china may be impossible to stop. and the moscow times says true peace in syria may never happen and if it does it probably won't last but still a mistake to write off cessation of hostilities. grounds for hope and there is at

least a chance for real dialogue. with so many groups involved it will be hard to keep everyone on the same page. a warning that population of wild bees are shrinking, threatening the world's foot supply. the report found that 20,000 specious of pollinators are shrinking, the report cites several causes including changes in farming, pesticides and global warning. a influence way to grow food could eliminate meat and good for the environment. al jazeera's lucia newman reports from santiago. >> some say we are what we eat but what if what we eat changed radically? state-of-the-art technology a chilean tech startup, copies

their molecular structure. >> what is this? >> this is actually not milk. >> what is this not milk made out of? >> shoomushroom species. >> biochemist isadora silva insists it has the same molecular structure of milk. a computer naples giuseppe. >> trained to learn patterns happening in this molecular components, that create the specialty perception of flavor and texture on every different product.

>> vegetable based version of meat products are not new. they argue that plants use less land less water and fewer resources than livestock. which according to the united is unitednations, is a major contre oarto greenhouse gas. >> if we were to start from crash anscratch and we wanted te out the best way to deliver nutrition to the people on the planet the answer would not be animals. >> but what about the no small matter of taste? our own taste test determined that the not-milk will will sell for half the price of almond or other milks tasted like dairy milk but with fewer calories. i'm going to have you work on the cheese a little bit more.

>> the not company's products which will soon include not hot dogs should be on supermarket shelves in chile next month. along with the food of the future. >> improve climate change, climate change will determine our lives from here to 30 years from now. >> perhaps but in the short term the determining factor will likely be the taste of consumers. lucia newman, al jazeera, santiago. >> that's it for this international news hour in al jazeera america, in our next hour a surprise endorsement and another day of insults. we'll have more on the run-up to super tuesday in the presidential runoff race. i'll be back with more influences in two minutes. minutes. news intwo minutes.

>> good evening, i'm antonio mora. this is al jazeera america. >> i would like to introduce him because he's going to say something that i think you'll find very, very interesting. >> about face. new jersey governor chris christie endorses donald trump as president months after saying he was unfit for the job. truce in syria. the ceasefire takes effect. and flood much controversy, why a move meant to protect homes from rising waters has some people outraged. we begin with the presidential