the mainly shia district in damascus.he other the mainly alawite neighborhood in the city of homs in central syria. in both areas nearly simultaneous explosions left many people injured and members of the government were targeted. both districts have seen similar attacks in the past and a clear challenge to the government to secure territory under its control. the multiple explosions impact the negotiations towards a truce. >> we have reached an agreement on the cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days. it's not yet done, and i anticipate that president obama and president putin may speak somewhere in the next days or so in order to try to complete this task. >> kerry was speaking in jordan, which is also a member of the international syrian support group. it is also the country given the task of putting together an international lift of who is a terrorist in syria and who isn't. there was no mention of whether a consensus has been reached. u.s. secretary of state john kerry said a deal of cessation of

>> reporter: we are just in damascus, just left the downtown damascus area. they are out salting the roads, and i will tell you, i measured a couple of minutes ago, believe it or not, 2 inches of the fluffy, wet snow. it's beautiful snowfall, and while 270 or 27 from anywhere west they snow cover here. the folks in bethesda wondering why there's a delay, but we are in the northern part of the county. it's just a big county. this is why, the snow covered road here on 27th, north of damascus, going northbound, and this is why they went for the 2- hour delay. who knows if they will upgrade that or not. for the most at least in the northern part of montgomery county, light to moderate snow, and again, measuring 2-inches in damascus. you are going to need to give yourself extra time. live from storm tracker 9, i'm howard bernstein. back to you. >> makia turner is tracking conditions in howard county. sticking on the surfaces but not the roads yet, makia? >> reporter: you got it, andrea. since we first brought you the live shot an hour ago, the snow has not stopped

. >> translator: russia will work with damascus, the legitimate government of syria and we expect thed states will do the same with its allies and group supported by them. >> the deal done by the u.s. and russia calls on all the warring syrian parties with the exception of i.s.i.l. and the al-nusra front which are both on the u.n. security council's terrorism list to commit to a cessation of hostilities by this friday midday damascus time, 12 hours later that cessation is supposed to start on saturday. diplomates tell me that if it holds there is the 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 strongly 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 stead fast

hours later, a southern suburb of damascus was hit by a number of explosions, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens. the attacks came as government forces captured 31 villages in aleppo in the north from the so-called islamic state of iraq and the levant. u.s. secretary of state john kerry said he has reached a provisional agreement with russia object terms of a ceasefire in syria. we have more from the turkish border. you may find some of the images in the report upsetting. >> it was an attack in the heart of homs, the government held city in central syria. two near simultaneous explosions killed and injured dozens of civilians, many of them women and children. the neighborhood is where the same sect lives as bashar al assad. sunday's bombing is described as the worst bombing. over the years, the government has managed to regain control from the opposition but these bombings are a reminder that a military solution won't end the war. there seems to be progress towards a truce. >> we have reached a provisional agreement in principle on the terms of the cessation of hostilities th

in those areas in and around damascus, there has been no recorded evidence that ice i will was there. it's mainly the other armed opposition groups operating there. that is the closest that the armed opposition has been able to get to the seat of power in the syrian regime in the capital and this is just another example of how there is conflicts reports as to what these russian airstrikes are targeting. at least from the video we've seen, there have been homes destroyed and as i mentioned, a lot of distress expressed by the children in those videos. >> one wonders how much this cessation of hostilities, if it takes hold will impact the russian airstrikes, because of course russia says it's only targeting isil and targeting isil is allowed under the agreement. >> if you justify your airstrikes or your military campaigns or actions by saying they were targeting isil, then ultimately at least going by the book, you are not breaching the cessation of hostilities and that's creating a lot of skepticism amongst people inside syria particularly those opposed to bashar al asses regime and his

>>> more than a hundred people die in bombings in damascus and homs on the day that the u.s. claims progress on a potential syria ceasefire. you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program. india deploys thousands of troops to come caste protests. fijians are told to stay inside for a second night after officials assess the damage after the cyclone. venezuelans are encouraged to grow their own food to combat shortages. syria has suffered two devastating sets of explosions in just 24 hours. in the first homs was hit. at least 46 people were killed and more than 100 injured in one of the deadliest attacks to date in government-held city. hours later a southern suburb of damascus was hit by a number of explosions killing at least 83 and injuring dozens. it came as government forces captured 31 villages in the aleppo province in the north from the islamic state in iraq and the levant. there has been an agreement reached on russia in terms of a ceasefire. our correspondent more from the turkish border with syria and some of the images in her report might

it's a series in damascus. it hit the area of homs. the southern suburb of damascus, killing 83 people. in aleppo province, taking the village from i.s.i.l. un-secretary of state john kerry says he has reached a professional agreement with russia on the terms of a ceasefire. zeina khodr has more from the turkish border from syria, and a warning you may find some of the images in her report upsetting. >> two separate attacks, both involving multiple explosions and hours apart. in two government-controlled districts in syria. the mainly shi'a district in damascus, the other the mainly alawite neighbourhood in the city of homs in central syria. in both incidents near simultaneous explosions left civilians killed and injured and in both neighbour ads communities were -- neighbourhoods communities were targeted by the government. both have been attacked in the past, with the ability to seize territories under their control. it coincides with what appears to be progress towards truth. >> we have reached a professional agreement in principal

that is in damascus that has not been treated. it's all snow-covered and it's been posted on facebook and twitter, instagram, you may find your parking lots and your sidewalks looking like that. meanwhile, here in the storm team 4x4, we're traveling along, 355 in gaithersburg to the south. aaron, happy to report drive pavement on 355. and most of the rain roads and most of the side streets are in great condition here in montgomery county. they've been well treated overnight. after we had a dusting of light snow around 2:00 to 4:00 this morning. that did put down about a quarter inch in some parts of the northern part of the county. now, all around most of montgomery county, no travel problems on the road. everything is driving out. we're in great condition here now. back to you. >> all right, tom. thank you. we're following some breaking news in northwest washington. police have shut down part of m street for a deadly shooting investigation. news4's molette green is live there with the latest. what's happening? >> reporter: aaron,

three blasts near damascus left 70 dead.the explosions striking near shia's holy effort shrine, isil taking responsibility. >>> voters in iowa finally get their say today. they head to caucuses across the state. it is the first official contest of the 2000 syncom pain. one of the biggest questions, what is it about iowa. >> the state carries an oversized influence on politics. >> it's well known that iowa is the first in the nation to weigh in on the presidential race. less well known are the quirks behind it's caucuses. in 1972, it was only by chance at a departments in iowa scheduled their caucuses earlier than everybody else. 1976, republicans in the state joined it. >> i'm running for president. >> jimmy carter did well that year in iowa and went on to win the white house, iowa cemented its first in the nation status. drake university's dennis goldberg said with it comes a process which is unlike ballots. >> you've got to be at your caucus caucuses site on a monday night, be prepared to spend possibly a couple of hours t

later in the week it's aiming to get aid west of damascus area.espite the pause in fighting there have been airstrikes in homs and idlib. in a letter u.n. chief ban ki-moon said continued breaches would make new talks unattainable. it says government forces have attacked several rebel-held areas using heavy artillery and barrel bombs. we're on the turkey-syrian border. maybe an hour ago the international support group began meeting to discuss this whole probable of violations and counter claims. what sort of solutions, if any, are they coming up with? >> it was the monitoring process to try to get some cessation of hostilities agreed. and it was largely due to the fact that they managed to reduce that problem. but they were able to, that is russia, u.s. and the warring factions inside syria that they were able to agree to this latest deal that came in to effect just over 48 hours ago. now, the problem is like you say, without having somebody on the ground in terms of the united nations, peace keepers, other kinds of independence or internationally

one of those places is damascus in upper montgomery county. that's where our scott broom is monitoring conditions for us. scott, what are you seeing? >> here's the number 1 condition. it's already below freezing here. it's pretty chilly outside. here in montgomery county, they started school two hours late because of the morning snow. and school officials undo you recollected -- undoubtedly will have to keep an eye on officials because of this refreezing and the potential for more snow tonight. >>> three inches of wet snow today in upper montgomery county. the smart one, scraping the slush away, before it freezes in place tonight. damascus high school tonight, starting two hours late and dismissing this afternoon, with heavy, wet snow still falling. >> i think that it was a waste of my time. >> we shouldn't have gone to school. i had to walk. >> it wasn't too bad. the roads were a little slipper. but not too bad. >> comes down and it melts. >> i'll be glad when everything is over and i can go back to fishing. >> now, plummeting temperatures an

it it >>> scores of people die in bombings in damascus and homs on the day the u.s. reports progress on a potential syria cease-fire. hello. you are watchingays live from london. also coming up, after the cyclone's, fijians are told to stay inside. cars in normal earn india. ten are dead. water supplies are cut and roads are blocked. tight security 40 elections in ni 1y6789 er. 21 arrests after accusationsj e 21 arrests after accusations investors are alleged to have been ripped off by peer to peer lending services. syria has suffered two devastating sets of ex mroesz in the past 24 hours. in the first, the city of homs was hit by a double car bombing. at least 46 people were killed and more than 100 others injured. the car bombs targeted the zara area of the city home to many members of the assad's allowhite section section: 30 people were killed and injuring dozens. government forces captured 31 villages in the north from isil. the u.s. secretary of state john kerrrk is saying he has reached an agreement with russia on the terms of a cease-fire in syria. zeina has

special envoy has been talking with syria's foreign minister in damascus. >>> the u.n.ian affairs chief is urging the u.n. to act on what he has described as a dire situation in yemen. he said 7.6 million people are food insecure. >>> uganda's main opposition leader has again warned that elections there will not be free and fair. he was detained and released twice during rallies on monday. he is mounting his fourth challenge against the president. >>> a one-day strike called by opposition parties has paralyzed most economic activity in the capitol of the democratic republic of the congo. the constitution bars heads of state from running through a third term, thu beopthe the opposition fears the president is delaying elections to stay in power. >>> an attorney general is accused of ordering the release of who activists who were allegedly plotting to bomb a dairy farm owned by the president's wife. >> reporter: inside the magistrate's court, one of the most intriguing cases being heard. it involves sichl bob way's top prosecutor. he is being accused of obstructing justice

let's get more on syria and we have abraham a syrian political analyst based in damascus and mr.t is the syrian government prepared to do to make sure that this ceasefire starts when it is supposed to start and that it lasts? >> i think a few minutes ago they read a statement from the foreign minister for foreign affairs that they announce that their exception to a ceasefire and i think they are preparing for a long ceasefire to remain and not so sure but the syrian government is sure with i.s.i.s. and other terroristic groups and everything is ready and in damascus we can make a decision in a few minutes if the problem is not there and the syrian government side it's on the other side and we hope as syrians that our own parties can be committed to the ceasefire agreement. >> okay so you are telling us now sir here on the news hour the syrian president is prepared to go with the ceasefire but you want in built in exemptions and wants to carry on the fight against al-nusra and carry on the fight against i.s.i.l. that does not sound particularly like and across the board ceasefire.

i think we have lost communications there with our guest in damascus. we will go back to that story when we can. a top adviser to pope francis has admitted the catholic church made many mistakes allowing children to be raped and abused by priests. it is in relation to a commission hearing in australia. >> reporter: taking the witness stand on the other side of the world, on sunday night cardinal george pell answered questions by a sex abuse commission in sydney from rome via video link. now in charge of the vatican economy, he was a senior priest in his native ballarat and later the arch bishop of nearby melbourne from the 1970s to 90s when tons of children were abused by priests. the commission wants to know whether he knew and why he didn't do anything about it. he said he was too unwell to travel to australia to face the commission in person, a claim that sparked weighed spread outrage in a crowd funding campaign that raised more than $150,000 in a week to cover travel expenses to rome for 15 survivors. >> we're not here to intimidate him or anything

about an inch of snow coming down in damascus.have to work the windshield wipers this morning. tom kierein saying it is as slick as vaseline in spots. route 1 after fairfax county parkway, a crash being reported. 95 south near the beltway, also another accident. allow extra time. you will need it. more live pictures coming up. >>> it is now 5:53. montgomery college students are fighting plans to close two of the child care centers. the college has announced it will shut down its takoma park and rockville centers. some students say they're angry because those centers are offered as a discount and it makes it affordable for some students to go to school. germantown location say it will remain open, but students say it's inconvenience with their class schedules. >> it was not are something that considered the student. >> tuition was way under market. and that's part of the reason it's lost a lot of money over the years. >> montgomery college officials say they won't reverse the decision, but plan to work with families to find them ne

live in damascus, paul wagner, fox5 local news. >> everything's destroyed. unbelievable. i mean, unbelievable.iebl >> absolutely unbelievable.va the damage is widespre people in waverly, virginia, vir are countering up their losseshe after an ef1 tornado ripped through that town. town. this twister turned deadlywistee killing at least three people po at a mobile home site.at mike thomas joining us now as js with more on this unusual unu winter twister, mike.nt what else have we found outut today? >> reporter: hey, sarah. s very surprising for february.eb. these types of scenarios don't d happen very often this time of the year. the pictures have been pouringeo in nonstop on social mediasoci a since yesterday afternoon and the images are absolutelyutely heartbreaking.tb you can see some behind mesesomb here and some of the strongest n storms of the day tour through t the town of waverly, virginia. i a small town just about 50 miles to the southeast of richmond at about 2:30 p.m. 2:3 wednesday afternoon. now, the national weather service storm assessment teamt t did visit t

so what is the timeline is that by midday on friday damascus time any party to the conflict, any group must by mid day friday damascus time say they're prepared to take part in this cessation of hostilities and then 12 hours later the actual cessation is supposed to start that's midnight friday night going into saturday morning. the time they're giving is damascus time if. >> in what sense is it at all enforceable. >> you have to get on the ground to agree. what they're asking for is that they come up with a focal point. someone who is responsible, someone who could contact in the event, and it's very likely this would happen across syria given the intensity of fighting and the number of groups involved of the agreement. they also say that they have delineated the isil territory that is clearly marked on the map, and most of us know where that is if we look at the map of the current battlefield. al nusra is spread over many areas, and they're fighting along side some of the other rebel groups. one of the problems here is that the russian air force may say it's till targeting al nusra a

the mainly shia district in duh damascus.the mainly alawite neighborhood in the city of homs in central syria. in both incident, near same tale train justice explosions left civilians killed and injured and in both neighborhoods communities who are considered supporters of the government were targeted. both districts have seen similar attacks in the past. in a clear challenge for the government and its ability to secure territories under its control. the multiple explosions coincide with what appears to be progress towards a truce. >> we have reached a professional agreement in principle, on the terms of the cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days. it is not yet done. and i anticipate that our presidents, president obama and president putin, may well speak somewhere in the next days or so in order to try to complete this task. >> reporter: kerry was speaking in jordan which is also a member of the international support group. it is also the county given the task of putting together an internationally agre

we know it is snowing in damascus because bob told us that. elevation in damascus and temperatures above freezing. the accumulation will be down. one to two inches and a trace inch in southern maryland. probably 80% will be rain. the bull's-eye will be frederick to baltimore storm, four to six there. one burst of snow overnight an temperatures above freezing. that's good. slick roads north and west because there you will see a couple of inches with temperatures closer to freezing and another burst is possible tuesday afternoon and the problems will be slick roads tomorrow night and wednesday morning even downtown as temperatures get to freezing or below. we will put this futurecast into motion. by 5:30, 6:00 snow and temperatures above freezing and by 9:00, good snow in dc and prince county and george county. >>> 37 by one p.m. now, leftover snow showers or flurries possible on wednesday. 37 and then artic air in the 20s on thursday. maybe a flurry then and maybe a snow shower on saturday and temperatures do not make it above freezing for four

that is if damascus behaves. the islamic state and the al nusra fronts have vowed to continue their campaigns in turkey will continue after kurdish rebels across the border. reporter: for now, the fighting continues. smoke still billows from piles of rubble in damascus and homes, but the countdown to the cease-fire has begun, and much now hangs on the agreement. -- damascus and homs. >> tomorrow i would like to see the agreement change the situation in syria. that it brings a moment of peace. the yrian people want to its. -- the syrian people want it. reporter: his russian counterpart, sergei lavrov, was >> of course, no one can guarantee the success of the agreement 100%, but there are grounds for taking this forward and making it firm. reporter: with airstrikes continuing in syria, the turkish spokesman expressed his skepticism the cease-fire would work. >> so far, the syrian regime has used these negotiations, such as the talks in vienna and geneva, as the pretext to gain time. we hope this time the outcome wi

and surrounding damascus have had a few hours of calm. the military base, the air base in latakia where the russians use it for their strikes was very calm as well. we also have the u.n. envoy saying that if this really holds the u.n.'s aim is to deliver much needed aid to about 100,000 people in -- held in besieged areas in syria. so the situation is pretty calm adrian. >> omar, many thanks. >>> initial results from iran's preliminary elections are held on friday to elect members of parliament and the assembly of experts the body which appoints the country's supreme leader, the election is a test for hassan rouhani, who secured the nuclear deal last year. >>> al shabaab attack in mogadishu. armed fighters tried storm the building but were stopped at a checkpoint. mohammed ali hasan says corruption is at the root of the unrest in somalia. >> somalia has some problems. the problem first is a lot of corruption is taking place, and the people from the international community trusted and using people like ngos or the neighboring countries whi

>> while in damascus few people the fighting will stop. >> do you believe there will be peace now. >> i don't think so. i think nobody -- nobody knows when the peace is gone. >> 6-year-old aya's lex were broken while in an air raid while she was out buying cookies. she's one of tens of thousands who have fled. those still here losing hope. keir simmons, nbc news, damascus. >>> a major announcement from three federal agencies about a possible danger that nbc news first reported on nearly a year and a half. the government will investigate the potential health risks from a type of turf that children play on nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: these soccer players, all goalies, all diagnosed with cancer, sparked a battle over the use of foam rubber, ground up car and truck tires in tens of thousands of turf field around the country. today three federal agencies, including the epa, announced a new research plan to analyze the safety of crumb rubber. the existing studies do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns. nbc news first reported on crumb rubber in october 2014. >> this is

a very important part of damascus. who was targeted in these attacks?> with regards to the first one, 346789 ariam as we heard, that targeted a mainly allowhite or in homms. it is a minority community which assad comes from. we understand the number there, the there were at least 40-odd people were killed. in damascus, it is a busy area with lots of shops and markets and other places with a lot of people flocking to it. we are hearing up to four explosions were detonated there. and that bringing the number, the total number, more than 60 or close to 70 people killed all togeth together. another example of just how violent the situation is, that it's not just the war, the battles that are taking place or fought by the militaries, by russian air force and by the syrian army as well as the opposition fighters, but, also, these explosions, individual explosions that take place here and there that make this conflict so deadly. >> we know that u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been speaking with the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. he mentioned a

we have the view from damascus.i: it is a rundown and dangerous place to play, a stone's throw from a war battered neighborhood in eastern damascus. these children take us into the unfinished building that they call home. we are told there are 25 families living here. have been displaced several times. they have to pay rent to live here, even though conditions are very bad. electricity is a luxury, three hours a day if they are lucky. i followed um mohammed into her flat. she is lighting a candle because they have no electricity. the place is infested with mice and rats. um mohammed lives with her husband and five children. we used to live in dignity and our own houses. now, we are running after charity, because we lost everything. we escaped only with the clothing we were wearing. .ami: not all live like this we went to the western side of the city to a government-run shelter. before the war, this was going to be a school. as soon as the displacement crisis began, the government turned it into a temporary shelter.

a damascus suburb was hit hard on friday. the syrian government has announced the area will be excluded from the cease-fire deal, insisting al nusra have a presence there. that glue -- that group as well as the self-proclaimed islamic state have not then included in the deal. what groups are included is a convoluted issue. >> the troops who do not participate will not fall under the cease-fire agreement. apart from that, there's no dispute over fighting terrorism. that was not the conversation had and that is not the conversation that will take lace. that means in forcing the truce will be a complicated matter and moderate opposition groups say the al nusra front is not present. for now, the fighting is likely to continue. brent: student protesters torched several buildings at a university in south africa. the campus has been shut down and students evacuated. the incident took place in the city of mighty king. several students were injured after clashing with campus purity who fired rubber bullets and tear gas. cell phone foo

a few hours later in suburban damascus several more bombs went off. and isis says it planted them too. friday's cease-fire deadline proposed by the united states and russia came and went with no pause in the fighting. temporary truce. this weekend, president bashar al-assad said it publicly in an interview. but he doesn't trust the opposition fighters to lay done their arms and they certainly don't trust him. so the war grinds on. around syria's biggest city aleppo, russian planes and the syrian army are battling together in a huge offensive designed to cut off the opposition supply lines. at the moment, they're winning. one more reason the syrian government may be dragging its heels on a truce. but the pressure jeff is building. president obama's expected to speak with russian president vladamir putin in the coming days to hammer out details of some kind of pause in this war. >> liz, thank you. >>> the dalai lama had reassuring words for followers speaking in minneapolis. he said he is in good health despite undergoing treatment for a prostate condit

air strikes are reported to have killed 18 people in homs. 6 people died in air strikes east of damascustwo more were killed in dara. >> translator: we have fully believed in negotiations since the beginning. however, if we negotiate, it does not mean we stop fighting terrorism. first through negotiations, and second, through fighting terrorism. >> zana hoda is in the turkish city on the border with syria, and she filed this report on the situation on the ground in syria. >> reporter: clearly the syrian president speaking from a position of strength. last july he was described as an embattled leader for the first time in a public address, he made have very rare admission that the army is suffering from a lack of manpower, and the army is now forced to concentrate on the core territories meaning damascus, the heartland of the alawite community, as well as homs. now we're hearing the syrian president saying that their aim is to recapture the whole of syria even though it will take a long time. at the time, the government was suffering losses on the ground. they lost the province of idlib,

and dozens of people have been killed in russian air strikes on the damascus countryside.ia's opposition says moscow has increased attacks ahead of a planned cessation of hostilities due to start on saturday. russia's military says it has reduced strikes over the last two days. >>> and 21 tons of food, medicine, and other supplies has been lost. it was air dropped on wednesday, but failed to meet its target. >> pallets were drifting in with their parachutes, so that some missed target, and others of the pallets -- the parachutes did not open, and the food were destroyed. >> reporter: the u.n. special envoy to syria says more aid will reach syrians in need if the planned cessation of hostilities takes place on saturday. >> more needs to be done, more effectively, and certainly, if as we all hope, the cessation of hostilities take hold effectively, they will have an impact on the acceleration of reaching the people in need in syria. >> james bayes is at the united nations in new york, and joins us live now. james quite a lot of talk about lots of developments. let's start wi

look at damascus, too. up toward montgomery county. definitely enough to cover the v roads up there. here's what we're worried about overnight, the possibility of aa lot of those when the spots freezing again.fr it will be much colder tonight than it was last night. really dropped to 36 at reagan national last night. tonight will be in the 20s. he wanted to see that we have h some snow showers around the spotsylvania area.ania some of those look pretty intense. you might have some visibility problems. and up towards the mason dixon d line the last of the snow showers. back towards the west there t still could be one more round ii our future. there looks like an especialliee level that will be passing around our area between two and the six in the morning and it could have another round of flurries with it and those will definitely stick and not melt. we want you to have a heads h up for potentially some slick spots and the solid refreeze that weht are expecting. as we look at temperatures righu now we're already down to the freezing ma

some cut-off communities like here in duma, a suburb of damascus. this video shot by an opposition activist group showed bombs dropped on an opposition-held area of the capital. [ explosion ] >> reporter: and the president has so howed ed -- has vowed to take back all of syria. there are slogans, let's rebuild, restore national unity. president assad that will not happen through peace now. people in areas like this 18-year-old law student are with him. >> we are the generation of the future. we will build syria to be the best. >> reporter: you believe your generation will rebuild the country? >> yes. >> reporter: the saudis and their allies opposed to president assad are tells me. others from aleppo are fleeing a looming siege of the city by syrian forces. while this weekend, the saudis and turkey are threatening to enter the ground war after turkey shelled parts of northern syria for a second day. syria broken and divided seems as far as ever from peace. nbc news, damascus. >>> pope francis ventured into a crime-ridden suburb of mexico city today l

madaya is just outside of damascus and has been surrounded by government troops since december.madaya at least 26 people have died from mall knew tries this year, and hundreds of people need immediate evacuation. about 200,000 people living under isil imposed siege where fighters have reportedly executed people who are trying to smuggle in food. and despite recent aid deliveries to these two villages, the situation remains grim for 20,000 people under siege by armed groups, including al-nusra front. >>> let's get more now on what is happening on the ground in syria, joining us live via skype is the person who runs northern syrian aid operations. if you could start by explaining what the situation is like now on the ground in northern syria, especially in aleppo. >> the situation is very grim in aleppo. we have seen tens of thousands of people displaced, people leaving their homes to -- in pursuit of safety, so people living in northern aleppo -- or moving, sorry to northern aleppo, towards the turkish boarder, leaving everything they have, and settling primarily in preexisting c

police and five students facing sedition charges >>> more than 120 people are killed after attacks in damascus and hydrogen bombs. i.s.i.l. claimed responsibility. 21 lives claimed after the cyclone in fiji. a fourth term appears to be running for defeat for moralis >>> the presidential of the student union there was arrested earlier and charged with sedition. that arrest sparked anger and outrage over freedom of expression >> reporter: they were accused at the same time of chanting anti national slogans. they managed to escape as they stormed the campus that night and took their student leader in jail and is awaiting bail right at this moment. students were in hiding and saying they came back about because they believed the application will go through and the lawyers are trying to get them all off citizen charges. they stay they will stay in campus and allow themselves to be arrested if police come into campus. this is a problem because when the police stormed the campus before they received permission from the vice chancellor. you always need that permission for police to go in. the voice ch

dan rivers is on the ground for us in damascus. >> reporter: here in damascus, things have been calmer than they have been for a very long time. yesterday, we witnessed this intense bombardment from jets circling the skies above the capital. today, we haven't seen or heard any aircraft. both sides are claiming there have been some low level breaches of the cease-fire. the syrian army is claiming that the square, a notorious square where a lot of mortar attacks have happened, was mortared at 8:00 a.m. this morning. they claim in breach of the cease-fire. we went down there. we spoke to one local man who says his house was hit by mortar fire early this morning. in fact, while we were there we heard one mortar explosion going off. on the other side, the rebels claim there breaches of the cease-fire by the syrian government. something the syrian government denies. they say there has been shelling of rebel-held areas in breach of the cease-fire. overall, things are still much calmer and much quieter than anyone dared to hope. the aid agencies are hoping this will last, it will give them a c

bomb attacks have killed more than 60 people in damascus. it happened after the opposition met the u.n. special envoy in geneva. both sides have described things positive. yemen will investigate civilian deaths during their air strikes against houthi rebels. it says it will appoint a committee to ensure civilians are not targeted. hundreds of politicians in myanmar have been sworn into parliament >>> french and belgium leaders are held to hold an anti terrorism summit in brussels. there are concerns the meeting will not address the underlying social issues. our correspondent reports from brussels. >> reporter: on the surface life in brussels is deceptively normal. this popular market draws tourists and locals just as it has always done. the military patrols are never far away, a reminder of an active manhunt for the suspects linked to the paris attacks. security levels have been relaxed but an attack is still possible and probable. but for many people life goes on >> if there is anything going to happen, it will. we see more police but that'

the move follows discussions in damascus with u.n. special envoy to syria, staffan de mistura. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: the battle for aleppo enters its third week. there is no sign that a u.s. russian deal to pause the fighting will happen, but there is a sign of hope for the hundreds of thousands of syrians levying in besieged areas across the country. >> what our understanding is, is that the government has approved access to seven include deir al-zor; foua and kafraya in idlib; and madaya, zabadani, kafr batna and mouadamiya al-sham in rural damascus and . humanitarian agencies and partners are preparing convoys for these areas to deport as soon as possible in the coming days and as the special envoy pointed out, he said in his remarks to the president that the test will be tomorrow. >> reporter: the special envoy discussions with officials in damascus was not just about securing unhindered delivery of aid. the u.n. is trying to stop the fighting as agreed in moneyic last bsh bsh munich last week. they have ruled out any ceasefire until the opponents lay down

bomb attacks have killed more than 60 people in damascus. it happened after the opposition met the u.n. in geneva. the saudi-led coalition in yemen says it will investigate civilian guests during its air strikes against houthi rebels. it says it regrets the deaths and will appoint a committee to ensure civilian are not targeted. hundreds of opposition politicians in myanmar have been sworn in to parliament ushering in the first democratically elected government in more than 50 years. aung san suu kyi's n.l.d. won the election in october. the w.h.o. organization last declared a global health emergency in 2014. the threat then was the ebola outbreak which killed more than 11,000 people. our correspondent takes a look at how the threat of the zika virus compares. >> reporter: ebola and zika are transmitted by person to person contact and is highly contagious for weeks and zika is not. it is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito. people are contagious for a few days. ebola suffers have severe symptoms and about half of those that catch it d

we had a very bloody attack on the neighborhood in damascus, away from damascus. this is an area fully controlled by the regime. we know that it is very difficult to penetrate this area. i.s.i.s. has claimed responsibility for this attack. we don't know where the truth lies exactly, but we know that if civilians have been hit, this is something we condemn categorically because we are the party that is suffering enough from attacks on civilians and we are definitely not the terrorist party mere. there are-- here. there are two terrorist practices by two players, that is the regime andisise. the regime has hit yesterday with over 50 barrel bombs, which is already under siege. with these barrel bombs it can be destroy the city entirely with over three times. that's the loads that it has received yesterday. we have come here to get these kinds of attacks stopped. that is when we can enter negotiations. this is exactly what happened yesterday tells you that the humanitarian request, the implementation of humanitarian law, international humanitarian law, is an absolute

special envoy to syria, has held talks with the syrian foreign minister in damascus. government of bashar al-assad has an obligation to allow the u.n. to deliver aid. >>> the u.n. humanitarian chief has given an update on the situation in yemen. he said 2.7 people have been forced to fee their homes, and 7.6 million are food insecure. >>> uganda's opposition leader has warned elections coming up will again not be fair. he is launching his fourth challenge against the president. >>> france's national assembly is debating on whether to extend the country's state of emergency law by another three months. it's set to expire by the end of next week. but the government is facing resistance from some politicians who question whether the law is necessary. it allows for restrictions to be placed on large gatherings. our correspondent joins us live now from paris. so what is the latest on the debate, and when are we expecting the vote for david? >> reporter: barbara -- barbara you are breaking up at the moment. but the vote is expected within the next hour. there's no question

police say the palestinians opened fire at damascus gate. two israeli police officers were critically injured. >>> syria's government is close to encircling rebel held areas in aleppo province. intense russian airstrikes killed dozens of civilians and the on that pigs at talks in geneva say the offensive is derailing negotiations. >>> japan has put its military on alert to shoot down a north korea's rocket. they insist the rocket is just a satellite. >>> to the united states, a house committee is holding the first congressional hearing on the water contamination crisis in the town of flint in michigan. this comes as the f.b.i. launched an investigation on tuesday into possible lead contamination and determined whether federal laws were brother-in-law, live to al jazeera now on capitol hill for us. the search for answers then about how flint's water crisis was allowed to happen, what are we likely to hear at this hearing? >> i think right now what's most notable is what we are not likely to hear because two key figures will not appear. rick s