>> holding for the most part, the u.n. said fight something largely halted in syria, but the battle against isil goes on. hello, i'm maryam nemazee. you're watching live from london. also coming up. iran's president hails a new future for his country as early election results show strong backing for a performance candidate. thousands march in moscow in memory of an opposition politician shot dead near the kremlin. and thousands of prostitutes are evicted as the government

begins the job of demolishing jakarta's oldest red light district. >> the united states and russia has welcomed a cessation of hostilities in syria that at the end of the first day appears to be largely holding. the united nations said that major fighting has ceased, but there have been isolated reports of artillery and gunfire. almost 100 rebel factions agreed to respect the truce. that does not al nusra front oillets. they record them as terror groups saying they were not part of the deal. they have stopped airstrikes but the u.s. is continuing to parking lot imwit--is

continuing to strike isil. >> the sky above aleppo is usually buzzing with syrian war plains. the city has not had become morning probably in years. but fighters here are under no illusion. >> the regime is not trust worthy. but we are here and we'll prevent the regime from advancing in our areas. >> there is a cautious sense of calm and a desire to end the bloodbath. >> we want the truss to last. >> we want to live in peace and freedom. nothing else. but do understand that we won't be slayed again.

>> in the city of idlib, another unusual day of crime. it's been a place of daily carnage and destruction. but many are suspicious. their rebel groups al nusra front have links to al-qaeda. they are not part of the truce. >> they're benefiting the regime. >> there is hope that this could bring about peace. >> we're optimistic in the cease-fire and this is the first step towards a political solution that satisfies everyone. the war is not over and it's scarce remain fresh. >> u.s. fighter jets have bombed

isil targets. violence has dropped significantly. the question now is how long this truce will last. al jazeera. >> with an increase in fighting in the lead up to the cessation of hostilities, tens of thousands of syrians have been trying to reach the turkish border. camps have been set up close to the crossing. they have gained exclusive access to one of those camps. >> just a few weeks ago this was empty land but within days thousands of tents were set up to shelter the tens of thousands of people fleeing russian and syrian government airstrikes as they move towards the northern part of the country. everybody we've spoken to here blames the russian airstrikes for the misery saying that the russians were not targeting isil. they were not targeting so-called terrorists and they were targeting civilian population centers. this place as you can see was

set up very quickly. there isn't proper sanitation here. nor is there electricity. it has been a bit of winter. that winter is still not over. and people are hoping that the cessation of hostilities may allow for aid to come in, and may allow for better shelter, but they're not hopeful that it will last. >> jamal is back on the turkish side of the border from where he joins us. jamal, can you tell us more about what people at the camp had to say to you, and the overall situation there? >> the more striking things we saw as soon as we entered was the sheer amount of children who were around in these tiny alleys and pathways made up after thousands of tents were set up many of them had not eaten in a long time. and sanitation is not great.

that's something that strikes you how brutal this war has become. not only in the sense of the immediate impact it has had in terms of destruction, and so forth. but the long term effect it's going to have if with future generations going up. the other thing very noticeable here although some of the turkish aid agencies who have been working have managed to set up these tents. they're not by any means capable of with standing the sheer cold. it has been raining over the last few days, and that's something else that has been difficult. many have walked to escape the russian airstrikes prior to the cessation of hostilities. there is one story of a mother who was nine months pregnant and gave birth just a few days after she reached that camp. there are a lot of heart-wrenches stories to be told, maryam. >> in terms of their

expectations, jamal, we know that many syrians have been heading to the north of the country because of the bombardment of aleppo. are they expecting to be there more permanently? >> well, i mean, you speak to them obviously. they aren't that hopeful because they say there have been other agreements. the main umbrella opposition group, they accuse syrian assad's regime of reaching the sensation of hostilities at least 15 times. they list incidents of barrel bombs being dropped, of heavy machine gunfire, and not all the way up to latakia in the north as well. that's why a lot of people aren't that hopeful. but the thing is also regional

elements to this. turkey does not want to allow these people inside turkey because they accuse the russians of ethnically cleansing parts of northern syria. if you don't want them to come in, they'll set up something more long term than what is their present because this is not enough for them. >> thank you very much. >> iran's president hassan rouhani has won strong support in the influential council of experts. the candidates are doing well there. it is believed 3. million people voted in these parallel elections. the vote was seen as a major test for rouhani who helped to secure the nuclear deal last year. jonah hull is in the capital for us. what are the early indications of these results?

>> well, he's looking as if the moderate reformists have been well. two elections. you indicated it there. the assembly of experts. more powerful than the president. more powerful than parliament, but has the power to appoint the next supreme leader of the islamic republic. president hassan rouhani remind you in his reformist and moderate allies were looking to this election to try and make as big of a dent as possible into the ultra conservative control of both of those bodies. it's looking like they have done that rather well. preliminary indications, and we're close to the end of the assembly of expertser efforts who say here in they've won 13 of the 16 possible seats they could have had.

with president rouhani coming out on top. that's huge victory. and parliament, a similar picture coming through. as many as 29 of the 30 available seats in the tehran district appear to have gone to moderates and reformists. not to jump to conclusions, ultra conservatives support is very strong elsewhere in the country. this is not to say that the moderates and reformists will win the majority on either body. but they will have eroded significantly the power and analysts suggesting they'll have the greatest share of power they've had since 2004. >> so the results of both these elections are striking. what will a strong showing of moderates potentially mean for

the country? >> well, this has been billed all along as a crucial election because it comes hot on the heels of that nuclear deal struck between iran and the world powers. hot on the heels of the lifting of international sanctions. president rouhani in particular was looking to this election as a sort of referendum of his policies, his onward policies beyond those two goals. those were his location goals to now enliven the ailing economy of this country to bring growth and jobs back by allowing foreign investment and to properly reingauge iran with the international community. a strong showing gives him that show of support. but crucially he needs support in parliament to be able to incrementally make changes and reforms that he wants to be able to make. he is also look for re-election in 2017 when his term ends. a strong showing now will do him no harm in his prospect there. in short a good showing here

means--well, indicates the likely direction of travel for this country in the coming years and possibly far longer than that. >> thank you very much, jonah hull bringing us all the latest from tehran. >> at least 30 people have been killed in airstrikes and the yemeni capital of sanaa. security officials say saudi-led airstrikes hit a popular market killing several civilians. it's estimated more than 6,000 people have been killed in fighting in yemen in the past year. a suicide-bomber has killed 12 people in the afghan capital. police say another 13 people were wounded by the blast that the defense ministry. there has been another suicide-bombing in the east of the country where 13 people were killed. >> still ahead for you on al jazeera, we'll take you to the irish capital where the campaign is underway in the

general election. >> home to a film industry where women are paid routinely less than their male counterparts. how does that reflect as a whole the united states? >> hunted to the brink of extinction. >> we need an urgent method that stops the killing. >> now fighting back with a revolutionary new science. >> this radiocarbon dating method can tell us if trade of ivory is legal. >> it could save a species. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> techknows team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> i'm standing in a tropical windstorm. >>...can affect and surprise us. >> wow, these are amazing. >> techknow, where technology meets humanity. >> only on al jazeera america.

>> welcome back. you're watching al jazeera. a recap of the top stories.

early results show iranian reformists have won 29 of the 30 seeds resolved for tehran in parliamentary elections. and at least 25 people have been killed in two suicide attacks in afghanistan. now thousands of people have gathered in moscow on the first anniversary of the shooting of boris nemtsov. the foreign deputy prime minister was a critic of vladimir putin and demonstrators want his killer punished. rory challands reports. >> there are countries where an act of protest and an act of mourning is one and the same. the murder of boris nemtsov a year ago is still a source of grief and anger for many. >> this atrocious crime which happened a year ago, made boris nemtsov a political icon in our

country. >> now there is no real opposition in russia. nor parliamentary opposition. you can buy a party membership, and the future of russia can only depend on the ordinary people who come out to riots and looting lies like this one. >> russia without putin is one of the chants, and also russia will be free. reminders that the former deputy prime minister was a tireless thorn in the kremlin's side was a beacon for those who don't like the road their country has taken. for the many thousands of people who come here today, boris nemtsov represent a russia that might have been. that begs the question, can that dream survive with his death? there are a good many people who are trying to keep it alive five chechen men have been charged

with the murder. a sixth is being hunted. the man believe ultimately responsible has never been questioned. nemtsov's friend said that this has had serious implications for russia. >> of course, vladimir putin should be worried because it is impossible to control. it is endangers not only the opposition, not only the russian special services but the national security of the whole country. >> the their political rallies rarely draw this many numbers. only a loss like this would draw this many people. >> the counting is still under way in ireland's general election.

it looks increasingly like the outgoing coalition has not secured another votes for a second term in office. they might be forced to seek new allegiances to remain in power. >> as the arduous task of count began, they face the prospects of a bruising final result. early polls show a drop in support despite huge improvements in the country's economy. the fine gael party may have to seek support from other parties to stay in congress. >> they thought they would be with regarded for a recovery that still has not reached most households. >> anger at spending cuts, and

mistrust of established politicians have all played a role in the loss of support for ireland's ruling coalition. the irish election follows this similar pattern to other european countries, spain, portugal and greece which have also been through periods of austerity. of course, ireland's austerity is officially almost over, and as votes come in, it looks like people have gone out to punish the government in the polls. if the outgoing government wants to hold on to power they'll have to build new alliances. but that easy task. ireland's main political parties were forged in the fire and blood of the eye issue civil war a hundred years ago. there are fierce differences that date back generations that could have serious implications for the country's future. >> there are talks that nobody

would be elected prime minister. that is extremely scary for people to think about perhaps it will take a little bit of soul searching but in the end perhaps the unthinkable will happen and traditional enemies will decide to do business. >> it may be the smaller parties and independent candidates who are called upon first to share power. but whether it will give ireland the stability that it needs to keep it's fragile recovery going. >> the u.n. is worried about the use of force and arrest in uganda following the presidential election. at least two people have been killed and more than 200 detained including opposition candidates. >> she wanted to become a member of parliament for her rural constituency, but she said she lost because they were rigged.

so she decided to run independently. she said she found ruling party officials stuffing ballot boxes with pre-ticked ballots. >> the stuffing was for the parliament and the president. i handed these over to the police. >> when ugandans voted on the 18th of february observers were critical. the ruling party said its victory was fair and opposition parties were beaten because they're weak. >> they were always justified their loss on someone else, and most especially.

they saw senior polling officials changing results. >> security agencies say their role is mutual and they only intervene to keep the peace. in some polling stations they fire tear gas to disperse angry crowds. such changing of results was not reported. >> i never saw that. i never heard of that. i thought there were enough checks and balances to make sure nothing was done. >> meanwhile, supporters say that he won.

he has been detained several times and held at his home or police stations. police say he has not been under arrest and that he wants to cause violent protests. 30 years ago the ruling party came to powerrer after the civil war that began the rigged election. things have changed. >> what is happening in our district, if it has happened elsewhere, i feel so sad, i look at my brothers fighting for justice, fighting for a better uganda. fighting for the uganda way. and their sister being treated the way we're being treated in this election. i'm not happy. i'm not happy. >> malcolm webb, uganda. >> jakarta's oldest red-light

district is about to be demolished. it's part of the government clamp down. thousands of privates have been evicted. >> a popular destination for salers and traders as long as people can remember. but not any more. tasex works, bar owners and those who have sold food to customers every night have now out of work. this woman lived here for 50 years, this is where she raised her children and grandchildren. she would make money doing laundry. >> i don't have the money to buy food now. i feel sad my grandchildren will have to go through this. >> this is when they would make a living for decades. for them this means the end of an era. now they're forced to pack up

their lives. >> only 200 of the 1300 evicted families have been given a low cost apartment. most sex workers return to their villages. >> hour country has failed to provide proper jobs. these sex workers are citizen who is simply need money to survive. the government should treat them more hue manl--humanely. >> the government said they need t to do evictions to turn the area into a park. >> if you want to sell your body at hotels or your own home. that's your business if you want to be arrested by police. >> they plan to close all red-light districts. >> prostitution has always been a part of our culture. you can destroy their places,

but they'll always be here. the sex workers do this since they see no other options because they are poor. >> some stay and face the prospect of bulldozers february 29th. >> now, as hollywood prepares for the oscars, campaigners are highlighting how the male-dominated industry still is, actress patricia arquette said there is a lot that still needs to be done if women are going to be truly equal in the united states. >> the oscar goes to patricia arquette. >> that was expected but maybe hollywood was not prepared for the next bit. >> for every woman who gave bit, to every taxpayer of this nation, it is our time to have

wage equality once and for all. >> everyone knows patricia arquette. hollywood's women are all too familiar with her position. women do not make as much as men and art is imitating life here. >> we have to make a radical shift. >> patricia has spent the last year producing this documentary highlighting how that pay gap effects women across the united states. she has launched a change up.org petition and hit 40,000 signatures in the first few hours alone. >> because of pay inequality there are 33 million women and children who live in poverty in the united states even though the mom is working full time. if we make sure that women pay their full dollar we could really address a lot of child hunger in the united states. >> in terms of hollywood robert downey jr. is the highest paid actor. he took home $80 million in one

year. and the highest paid actress, jennifer lawrence, she made $52 million. this is a lot of women versus men. let's take the top 100 films in 2014. in that year how many of those have female characters. >> 28%. >> and of that 28% how much had a female lead or colead. >> 21. >> we're looking at 15% producers, 11% writers and 2% directors are female. >> mandy moved to l.a. to pursue her acting career. she has been in commercials and movies and knows sexism exists, but she said it is not to blame. >> hollywood is just tough. i know so many writers and directors who don't get those opportunities as well. it's not because of sexism. >> diversity in general is the

talk of this town at moment as hollywood prepares for its big night. for a place that deals in stories it's having to face some uncomfortable truths as well. >> well, you can find more on everything that we're covering right here. the address, www.aljazeera.com. >> this week on talk to al jazeera - actor, playwright and professor anna deavere smith >> we have lost a generation and we're losing more. and it's-- kind of a moral crisis. can we really afford to just throw people away on the basis of their color. >> smith has been using theatre to examine race relations for decades. her works draw from hundreds of real-life interviews. she then interprets her