united nations sets a new date for talks on syria as the conditional ceasefire comes into effect. i'm jane dutton live from al jazeera headquarters in doha. also ahead tens of millions of votes have been counted following elections in iran. a birthday during one of the country's worst ever droughts, we will be live in zimbabwe. >> reporter: i'm in l.a. home to a film industry where women are still routinely paid less than their male counterparts, but how

does that reflect life as a whole in the u.s.? activists in syria are reporting that a conditional ceasefire is being honoured. there has been some artille rr y and guns fire, but nothing fire. almost 100 rebel factions agreed to respect the truce, but it doesn't include one of the most powerful armed groups in the country, al-nusra front and i.s.i.l. al-nusra is calling on rebels to ignore the truce. the damascus suburb is excluded from the truce. the syrian government says it will continue to bomb the area. the u.n. secure council voted unanimously to back the truce. the talks will resume on march

7. james bays has more. >> reporter: just over 40 minutes before the cessation of hostilities was due to come into effect, a vote by the u.n. security council to endorse it. it was nonsense. ambassadors were addressed by video link by the u.n. special envoy for syria who said this was a crucial moment. >> doubted, there will be no shortage of attempts to undermine this process. we are ready for it. we should not be impressed, we should not be overly concerned. we should address it and realise that this is part of any ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. >> reporter: in the hours before the cessation of hostilities came into effect, there was an increase in violence: many of the towns being hit by syrian and russian bombers are towns

like deraya, a suburb of damascus that is being pummelled up to this very day, a town that is not held by i.s.i.l. or the al-nusra front. it is hard to seem serious and sincere about ceasing 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 agreement 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 al-assad. they deserve our wholehearted support which was regrettably not reflected in this resolution.

>> reporter: everyone knows there are bound to be violations of this cessation of hostilities. diplomats says the best they can hope for is a lull in the violence and perhaps persuade the warring parties to resume those talks in geneva. a new date has been set for 7 march our correspondent joins us live near the syrian border. tell us about the ceasefire first. >> reporter: what we are hearing, the picture is pretty calm. however, there are increasing numbers of violations. i have to say they are smaller compared to previous days in the war in syria. we do have in the last hour or so activists told us in aleppo there were a number of ar till re-- artillery shells fired on

positions on areas under the control of the regime. that's in laechlt we have some surrounding the capital of damascus. there's also another near the turkman mountain. a rebel group there said the forces attacked them about 4am this morning and killed at least 3 people. according to the syrian state television saying there was a car bomb attack south-east of hama and that attack killed at least two people spasmodic i guess at best. what sort of impact do you think this will have on aid and also the fact that we know not enough aid is getting into the country politically? >> reporter: there was a

statement from the syrian opposition and its high committee for negotiations. it says basically that - it warns that there will be political consequences if aid is not continuous and regular as per the u.n. security council resolution 2254 which calls on all sides to allow uninterrupted access, aid access, to besieged areas. what that means, the consequences, in my interpretation, i think they will probably call off the truce, perhaps. maybe this is some sort of a warning or they're trying to put pressure on the u.n., but the other interesting fact is that in the statement from the opposition, it is basically calling on the u.n. to give more aid because they say, for instance, in the last operation where they gave aid to the city of madaya, they calculated the

people living there to be about 20,000 or 25,000 people, but according to the local council in madaya, they say the number of people inside is actually about 45,000 people. so basically they want more aid to come in thank you for that. the suicide attack in kunar, east earn afghanistan has killed 11 people and injured 40 others. >> reporter: these groups are still active in parts of afghanistan and they're going after some significant targets. the suicide attack took place a couple of hours ago in the town of assad and kunar province. this is a province that sits right next to the border of pakistan. according to police the target of this attack was a very powerful and influential leader of a local militia by the name of hahn john.

police say he was in front of police headquarters this morning along with several bodyguards when a suicide attacker approached on motorbike and detonated his explosives. 11 people killed, 40 people injured. that number could go up in the coming hours. nobody has claimed responsibility for this attack, but kunar province is an area where the taliban have long fought government forces as well aspro government-- as pro-government forces. this comes as afghan continues to push hard for peace talks with the taliban. they say the first round of peace talks will resume within the first week of march. however, it is these types of attacks that indicate that at least some factions of the insurgency have no plans to stop fighting iran has started counting votes. friday's twin election was for members of parliament in the assembly of experts, the body

which appoints the supreme leader. it has been seen as a test for the gianni infantino who helped no secure the nuclear deal last year >> reporter: the queue of voters stretched around the block. turn out at this election has been high and in the capital at least that should favor the list of moderate $and reformists. a former conservative is on that list. >> translation: definitely the next parliament should reform the law on foreign investment, banking, social security as well as the labor laws. in my opinion, these major laws need to be modified very past. >> reporter: this mosque serves as a polling station. no order mosque. it was here that the revolutionarys spread their message over monarchy 30 years

ago. get to the back of the queue they cry. in tehran reformist and not ratist $are expected to hold sway. i would like to have a better life, friendship all over the world. >> reporter: kefsh stif sport-- conservative support remains strong elsewhere. the choices being made here broadly between conservatives and the moderate reformist block can determine whether iran moves towards greater tolerance, openness and much needed economic reform, but in a system geared towards the ultimate power of religious conservatisc, old thinking and the status quo remain deeply entrenched. they say the u.s. could not be trusted. >> translation: they keep

insulting us. we came forward with honesty and negotiated and came to an agreement. they keep threatening us. we are not afraid of threats. >> reporter: this election is a test of the policies of moderate president. he settled the nuclear issue and had sanctions listed and he is likely to get a show of support for that, but no-one is expecting a country wide landslide. jonah hull memorial protests are planned in russia after the first an ver vee where the former deputy prime minister was shot. a minute's silence was snabd in the you lower parliament. lots more to come on al jazeera. the soup kitchens in syria that are struggling to feed the thousands of people forced from

their homes plus. beef and pretend poultry that should but aren't obtaining the usual ingredients. >> are miners across this region affected by the dodd-frank law? >> sourced from illegal mines. >> this is a serious problem. >> an undercover investigation reveals the real cost. >> there's no way of knowing what minerals are coming in. >> "faultlines". >> what do we want? >> al jazeera america's hard-hitting... >> today they will be arrested. >> ground-breaking... >> they're firing canisters of gas at us. >> emmy award-winning, investigative series.

hello again. the top stories on al jazeera. reports from syria suggest post of the fighting has stopped-- suggesting most of the fighting has stopped to allow delivery of aid to civilians. 11 people have been killed in eastern afghanistan.

more than 40 people were injured in the incident in kunar. counting of tens of millions of votes are underway in iran for members of parliament and assembly of experts, the baed which appoints the supreme leader. people in besieged towns are struggling to have enough food to eat in syria. aborigine rob matdz son reports, the soup kitchens are over whelmed. >> reporter: fad for thousands prepared by a handful of exhausted volunteers. they cook r ice, potatos and meat and provide fruit if they can get it. they buy what this they can and rely on donations but they're struggling to cope. >> translation: we are preparing between 4,000 and 5,000 meals every day. the numbers are rising on a daily basis. yesterday alone we cooked 500 kilograms of r ice about five

thousand meals. >> reporter: the city is under siege. it is in a key supply route close to syria's border with turkey. syrian kurdish forces lie to the west. yet tens of thousands have sought safety here as bombings have pounded aleppo to the south. >> reporter: the russian air bombardment forced residents to flee towards the border area. people could not carry this with them and run for their lives. >> reporter: this man is one of those who fled after his home was bombarded. he, his wife and their two young daughter trekked dozens of kilometers to get here, much of it across rough terrain. like many others he says they often have a loaf of bred and a small piece of cheese to last an entire day.

that is, if bred is available. the soup kitchens try to provide more, but prices for cooking gas, food and heating oil go up all the time. water is scarce. >> translation: we are suffering sharp shortages of basic raw materials in azzaz as a result of the siege in the city. we are forced to bring sources from turkey. price is are high because the dollar exchange rate is going up >> reporter: the stoves continue to burn, but if the so-called cessation of hostilities brokered by the u.s. and russia holds and if there is eventually peace in syria, the soup kitchen could close because it simply won't be needed any more birthday celebration are being held for the zimbabwe president who turns 92. the country is in one of the

worst every droughts, despite that there has been lavish birthday plans. >> reporter: it is the only maisee this woman has left. she will add these vegetables when she makes dinner. the only meal her family will eat today. >> translation: the drought is severe. we are hungry. we haven't been able to grow anything in the field. the rains haven't come. we have nothing. we will die of hunger. >> reporter: this province is one of the areas worst affected by drought. across the country a quarter of people don't have enough to eat. the president has declared a state of disaster. the government says around three million people need assistance. aid agencies are already handing out food aid, but many families say it hasn't arrived yet. the president's 92nd bird celebrations are being held in this province on saturday.

>> translation: the average income in rural areas with 7.5 million people are 50 cents a day. they cannot afford the very basics of life. to throw a celebration for a 92-year-old who is clearly no longer in full control of the state is just bizarre. it is completely sending the wrong signal to the international community. >> reporter: the party's fish say why the celebrations are important >> we're celebrating the life of a person that has brought so much good to his country. these problems are not unique to zimbabwe. drought is not unique, to the world of southern africa. it is with others. are they not celebrating the lives of their heros. >> reporter: this woman lives a few kilometers away from where the celebrations are taking

place. she says he is not attending. she has more immediate concerns like making sure the children have something to eat our correspondent is in the city where celebrations are being held. let me ask you about the infighting that we're hearing about in the party. how serious is it? >> reporter: it is getting serious and here the people are trying to down play matters. they're ready to party. we've got the balloons behind me and the massive birthday cake for the president. a few years ago people wouldn't dare talk about the party, about a life after the president, but that has changed. we are not sure how many factions are here but we know the main one seems to be one led by one led by the younger, the one who oppose the struggle. there is also an element of

[indistinct] we know that all these factions seem to agree on one thing. they say they respect the president. we also know that they are divided on who should succeed him one day when he does leave office i should imagine at the celebrations he is not going to be there. the form of vice president has formed their own party. how big a threat could she be? >> reporter: some people say it could be more of the same. she comes from the same mother ship. even though she formed her own party called the people first. she could come with the same policies. some are saying this could be a big threat. the presidential elections in 2018 and in zimbabwe normally when you declare your intentions too soon it can be dangerous. ? are saying as we get closer to the 2018, the elections, we will

see which influential leaders are backing her and we can see how much power she could have, but certainly behind the scenes official say they are worried about her move and her party thank you for that. the united nations is concerned by the use of force and arrests in uganda following the presidential election. at least two people were reportedly killed during fighting in kampala. more than 200 members of the opposition have been detained including opposition besigye. donald trump received a boost in his bid to win the u.s. presidential nomination. chris christie is backing the billionaire front runner. he dropped out of the race for the white house a few weeks ago. counting is underway following voting in ireland. the first exit poll from

friday's parliamentary election indicates the coalition has failed to get votes to secure a second time. the gale party and labor coalition partner may seek support to continue on. scientists have teamed up with a computer to make plant-based foods which taste just like meat products. our correspondent has been vetsing on the potential food revelation >> reporter: some say we are what we eat, but what if what we ate changed rapidly. using artificial intelligence is making plant based food that replicates the taste, text ur and even smell of animal-based structure by copying their molecular structure. >> reporter: what is this?

>> not million. at the time made out of mushroom species. a couple of seeds, tia, you're going to see linseed, you're going to see sesam e seeds as well >> reporter: as a chemist he insists it has the same knew traditional value as dairy milk. this harvard educated scientist is responsible for the team's most important silent partner, a computer nicknamed giuseppe that construct the molecular structure of food. >> it is trying to learn patterns happening in this molecular components that create the special perception of flavour and texture on every different product >> reporter: vegetable-based versions of meat products are not knew, but this software as no registered match. they argue that plants use less land, less water and fewer

resources than livestock. which according to united nations is a major contributor to greenhouse gasses. >> if we were to start from scratch and we wanted to figure out the best way or the most efficient way to deliver nutrition to the 7.1 billion people in this planet, the answer wouldn't be animals. science would tell you to do something different. >> reporter: but what about the no small matter of taste? our own taste test determined that the not milk, which will paracel for half the price of almond or other alternative milks, taste like a slighty sweeter, cream ier milk but with lesser calories. i think you can work on the not cheese a bit more. >> reporter: these products should be on the shelves in

chile next month. an example of what they believe is the food of the future. >> it will improve climate change. climate change will determine our lives from here to 30 years from now. >> reporter: perhaps, but in the short-term the determining factor will likely be the taste of consumers the new president of f.i.f.a. is promising to restore trust in the world governing body of football. gianni infantino he transcribed his election as a new era. he is swiss, a lawyer turned sports administrator. he joined uefa in 2009 and became secretary general in 2009.

he vowed to make changes. >> we will change and everyone in the world will applaud f.i.f.a. and all of you for what we will do in f.i.f.a. in the future. we have to be proud of f.i.f.a. and everyone has to be proud of f.i.f.a. and we have to be proud of what we will do together fight for equality in hollywood. patricia arquette gave a speech last year and her fight for equal pay for women has been stepped up. >> the coulds cargoes to patricia arquette >> reporter: that was expected, but maybe holly wasn't prepared for the next bit >> to every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, it is our time to have wage equality once and for all. >> reporter: everyone here knows this woman.

hollywood's women are familiar with her message. they are used to being paid less than men and art is imitating life here. >> we have to make a radical shift. >> reporter: she has spent the last year producing this documentary highlighting how that pay gap extends beyond film to women across the united states. alongside that she has launched a change.org petition and it hit 40,000 signatures in its first few hours along >> there's 33 women and children in the united states living in pofrt even though the mom is working full-time. if we made sure that they were paid their full dollar, we could really address a lot of child hunger in the u.s. >> reporter: in terms of hollywood, robert downy junior is the highest paid actor who took home 80 million dollars. the highest act tremendouses jennifer lawrence made 52 million dollars.

part of this is the opportunity. the top 100 films of 2014. in that year how many had female characters? 28%. how many had a fee lead or co lead. 21%. that is in front of the camera. behind 18% of producers being women, 11% writers, and when it comes to directors only 2% of directors here are female >> you see more men than you do women. >> reporter: mandy moved to l.a. to pursue her acting dream. she has been in commercials and movies. >> hollywood is just tough. like, it's not fair. i know so many male actors, writers, directors that don't give us opportunities as well and it's not because of sexism. >> reporter: diversity in general is the talk of this town at the moment as hollywood prepares for its big night.

it is having to face some uncomfortable truths from the oscars to hard facts on the ground when it comes to faces like syria, which are short of aid. you can find all of that on our website at aljazeera.com >> this week on talk to al jazeera--lawyer and executive director of the equal justice initiative, bryan stevenson. >> we have to stop telling the lies that we tell about who we are. we celebrate our history of slavery. we celebrate our era of terrorism. >> stevenson has spent his career fighting racism in the criminal justice system--the legacy of slavery and times of "racial terror" continue to impact the lives of african americans today. >> what we did to african americans between the end of