for the moment james bays, thank you. now at least 20 people have been killed and many others injured by a suicide bomber outside a police building in the afghan capital kabul. the afghan taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, days after talks for laying the groundwork for peace talks between the government and taliban fighters. jennifer london has thjennifer . >> after the explosion i saw three or four wounded people, do i not know any more. >> reporter: dozens were wounded and killed. security forces raced to the scene and sealed off the area, a mainmainlymain thoroughfare in . doctors say there were superficial wounds as well as grave ones. family members gather outside waiting for news. >> translator: i was in the area when suddenly, an explosion happened, and some 20 people received injuries and were lying on the ground. the type of explosion was unclear. >> reporter: a nato statement said the attack shows the acontementd the talibacontempt r the government in the area. on saturday officials from afghanis

. >> diplomatic editor james bays has been following the talks, james what do you think the main points are that come out of the meeting between the opposition and staffan de mistura? >> well he is certainly trying to get this process going and give it some momentum. the opposition all along are argue, we are not joining until various things are hatching and certain concrete things are taking place. he has come out and said, the process is underway we are negotiating. that's not how the opposition are taking it. they say they're not there yet and they want to see some concrete action on the ground. this is how an opposition spokesman put it. >> we came here to discuss with the special envoy the resolution 2254, you know, lifting the siege and stopping the crimes done by russian air strikes in syria. and i believe we received, in fact received very positive messages from the special envoy, and tomorrow he will have a meeting with the regime side and we will wait for reply from him. >> so back to james in geneva. it would be silly to be optimistic at this stage but there does seem to be s

marcus: but for every james bay, , there are talented artists who never seem to hit the big time. >> there are some really, really good bands here in des moines and even in iowa, so i am surprised. marcus: one of those bands, the nadas, has been together for 23 years. there have been frustrations with a lack of critical success but they are at peace with their lack of award nominations. >> it really doesn't bother me any more. i am actually happy with what we have done and where we've gone over the years and the success we've had. i don't anticipate ever being nominated for a grammy. marcus: walsmith admits the music industry is tough and says keep the band going. >> it is a wonderfull career. it's a pretty amazing job when you can have thousands of people pat you on your back everytime you do your job. marcus: next month, the nadas are releasing their greatest hits cd titled, "in case you , missed it." their cd release party and performance is march 4 at wooly's. steve: it's a do-or-die week for some bills in the iowa legislature. most proposed legislation that doesn't pass out of c

diplomatic editor james bays joins us live now. james, as you're hearing from the representatives of the different members of the council, i suppose two things really came out. one was how much of this depends on the actions of armed groups, fighting on the ground in syria, and of course the second part is the backers regionally and internationally, and how they influence those parties. >> yes, you can have a cessation of hostilities on paper. you can have, as you now do in the last hour an u.n. security council backing it, but right now this is the crucial moment in terms of actions rather than words. is there going to be a lull in the violence that cessation of hostilities cechcally has come into force just moments ago as it's past now in saturday in syria. when he addressed the u.n. security council the u.n. special envoy described this moment. >> saturday will be critical tomorrow, in fact, from midnight. no doubt there would be no shortage of attempts to undermine this process. we're ready for it. we should not be impressed. we

. >> james bays is in gen. some position groups are struggling on the battlefield, how are they doing on the negotiating table. >> there are no negotiations now. they have stalled because of the escalation, because of that current offensive by the syrian government backed by russian air strikes. the u.n. said that the talks process started. the u.n. special envoy had a meeting with the deposit and the syrian opposition. last meeting was with the government. and after that the syrian opposition said they were not coming for another meeting because of what happened on the ground in syria and no meetings were planned today. the focus is on the opposition camp, what will they do, and they find themselves in a difficult position. they feel they are totally undermined by what happened militarily. they would like them to pull out. but it doesn't change the situation on the ground. a serious military situation having an effect on the talks, and no talking taking place. . >> what options are left for the u.n., james? >>

james bays has the latest. >> they also say that they have delineated--that's the word they used, the territory that is controlled by isil andly al nusra--but i think jabht al nusra are spread out in minars and they're fighting on side. some along side. some of the oregon rebel groups. i think one of the problems here is that the russian air force may say its still targeting jabhat al nusra and could hit other opposition groups on the ground. i think there is potential for problems here, but certainly we now have a timeline likely to be announced in the coming hours for a cessation of hostile glitz that is our james bays reporting. most of the republicans are in geoff stay except for ohio governor john kasich. he's vehicle to go voters in virginia who will be holding their super vote next week. >> a number of the pundits said well, if a couple of the other candidates dropped out, if you add their scores together, it's going to equal trump. right? these geniuses. they don't understand that as people drop out i'm going to get a lot of those votes also. you don't just add them together.

our diplomatic editor james bays reports. >> ambassadorsed were addressed by the u.n. special envoy for syria who said this was a crucial element. >> no doubt 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 realize that this is part of any ceasefire and certainly 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 along 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 place he like daria, a town not held by i.s.i.l. or the el 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 disagreement between countries that are usually allies. the start of me

our diplomatic editor james bays with the latest developments. >> as a meeting of the u.n. security council to discuss the humanitarian situation in syria, there was stinging criticism of the syrian government for delaying and blocking aid to we seened areas. from the u.n.'s humanitarian chief stephen o'brien. they said they were putting bureaucratic obstacles in the way. there was a rare bit of good news about the town in syria. >> earlier this morning a plane dropped the first cargo of 21 tons of items. we have received initial reports from the team on the ground that pallets have landed in the target area as planned. >> the main reason for these aid deliveries, of course, is to help the desperate people in those we seened areas in syria. but it is also worth noting this was part of a plan drawn up in munich earlier on this month to try and get the peace talks in geneva back on track. those peace talks collapsed earlier this month. the other part of the plan is the asses cessation of hostilities due on saturday. in order to support that the u.n. security council, i'm told

best new artist nominee james bay caught many ears here in central iowa. at star 102.5. jimmy wright has worked at star for 25 years. he says he loves when up-an-coming stars stop by the -- wright says for every james bay there are hundreds of artists and bands who never reach star status. >> it is a tough business to be in but you have to stick to your , guns and plug away and never give up. stacey: by the way, andy grammer performed at star 102.5 before he got popular, too. and that was back when he was , living out of his car. >> in my head, i see you're the one for me, in my head you fufill my fantasy. steve: new at 10:00 pop star , jason derulo will perform at the iowa state fair this summer. he'll play at the main granstand on august 14 at 8:00 p.m. tickets go on sale saturday march 5 at 10:00 a.m. some wild severe weather across the country tonight. there are downed trees and power lines in louisiana after some strong winds ripped through. on the east coast they're , dealing with record cold forecasters say nearly 90 million americans should see snow or freezing r

al jazeera's diplomatic editor james bays reports from new york. >> reporter: at the security council there was stinging criticism of the syrian regime. the u.n.'s humanitarian chief told ambassadors the government had delayed aid deliveries to and blocked assistance in the country. >> the number scope and complex ultimately of bureaucratic and/or obstacle thaz was placed in the path of simple aid deliveries is staggering. earlier this morning a wfp plane dropped the first cargo of 21 tons of items into the area. >> reporter: the world food program later released a statement saying there had been technical difficulties and they would try the air drop in a few days. it's not clear if any aid reached those in need. the issue of aid deliveries is sxreemly important. obviously, to get supplies to those in desperate need in besieged communities in syria but also because it's part of the plan drawn up earlier this month in munich to restart the political process. the other part of that plan is the cessation of hostilities due to start in syria on saturday. had will there be any resolution t

james bays has more from geneva. >> both sides are here in geneva and there are talks taking place. there are no actual negotiations. the formal proximity talks with both talks at the same time here in the united nations, they haven't started. from the opposition side, i think there's a little bit of a fudge here. initially they said they wouldn't come unless certain conditions that are in the u.n. security council resolution that created this process were met, the lifting of sieges, stopping of bombardment and the release of prisoners. none of those things have happened. some in the opposition want to keep this process going, they don't want to walk away, and so for now, they're having meetings but saying those meetings are about addressing their concerns rather than actually negotiating. i think they can keep this fudge going for a few days but as i say, there are some in the opposition delegation, particularly the armed groups that say we really need to see something concrete on the ground in syria or we will walk away, so i think a few more days of this slight confusion and then

james bays >>> our correspondent joins us live from southern turkey. how much confidence is there on the ground that this ceasefire is going to hold amid all the issues and concerns? we seem to have lost our connection there. awe will come back to him in a little bit though. we go to another hot spot. yemen's government has accused a group hezbollah of training houthi fighters and says they will complain to the u.n. they had a video which shows a hepz operative inside yemen. it is fighting houthis across the country. both iran and hezbollah support the houthis but reject accusations they provided military aid. the television has been showing an adviser telling houthi rebels how to carry out an attack. it is said the training took place inside yemen but did not say where >> translation: we have a unique operation. i just told you what you have to do. don't ask about the details. just carry out the attack. it is up to me to tell you what to do and how to do it >>> the latest gulf countries to issue a warning a travel to lebanon, saudi arabia has advised

let's continue the discussion with james bays. you're covering, of course, the political talks, as we heard from zena, some factors of the opposition fighting for survival. how are they doing on the negotiating table? >> well, in terms of negotiations, it's at a complete stand still. and that is because the opposition side are debating among themselves what to do at this stage. we had a meeting on tuesday with the government side. the opposition would not come to the united nations because of the escalation that has taken place in recent hours around aleppo. they are now deciding how to bomb them, whether to take part in further talks that the opposition blocked. you heard from zeina khodr how important militarily it is. it puts the opposition in a difficult situation. if they continue talks, they are undermined. because of that military operation. if they leave the talks, the military situation does not get better. they face a difficult decision on what to do in the coming hours, the talks stalling, as we speak. >> this is soundi

james bays. al jazeera >>> let's go to an associate professor at the university of denver. he says this agreement isn't a break through >> if russia was serious it could announce a stop of the bombardment. they haven't done so. russia lamed that it was intervening in syria, but all the evidence suggests that it is not bombing i.s.i.s.'s positions but rebel held positions in the western part of syria. why should we take russia's word, its commitment, when it has a clear track record just in the conflict of syria of contradicting its stated claims. so i don't think that there's anything positive. it's interesting to note that they did not use the word "ceasefire". it is cessation of hostilities which is an ambiguous term which means they can do whatever they want and the international community will have to live with it. i think we are headed toward a greater disaster beyond the tragedy that has characterised syria for the last five years >>> the latest on developments inside syria. our correspondent reports near the turkish-syrian border. >> reporter: the syrian opposition h

let's speak with james bays as the u.n. in new york. so the world food program saying they've had technical difficulties. >> we have no idea what the difficulties were. there is statements that they're having meetings on the ground with their partners that they would make a drop. it is clear that they did drop aid in deir al-zour, so we have to speck bait what was the problem. did the aid go to the wrong people, to the wrong place. remember in is a place surrounded by isil. i don't want to speck bait very further because we're getting limited information from the united nations but earlier on we were told this is a rare success, and then something has gone wrong. >> let's talk about that cessation of hostilities. what are you hearing? >> actually these two things are linked about. you might think that humanitarian aid has nothing to do with this, but, in fact, getting humanitarian aid into besieged areas and the cessation of hostilities would be two things that that meeting in munich they would try to get the process of the talks of gen

james bays >>> live to our correspondent. this is about talking to al-nusra or dealing with al-nusra your reading of these comments from the hnc? >> reporter: i think they are quite significant and if you remember a few days ago, they held a meeting in saudi arabia discussing the prospects of an agreement. this is when secretary of state john kerry said that there is a provincial agreement between the u.s. and russia and that there will be some sort of cessation of hostility or a truce. any truce should included al-nusra front and that should be spared from any bombardment or air strikesikes it was said. al-nusra is one of the rebel groups with links to al-qaeda. it has some allies that are called by the russians as terrorists. remember something that harra sham or jaesh. those groups are designated by russia and the russians are pushing to include them as terrorists. that's where they are coming from. the opposition is not very optimistic about this cessation of hostility any ways. >> translation: our main concern in opposit

secretary of state john kerry, diplomatic editor james bays is in geneva with more from the postponed talks. >> the u.n. special envoy came out to announce after only two days, the syrian talks are over. >> i'm making the decision to make a temporary pause, temporary pause, they did not end, it is not failure of the talks, they came and said, both sides insisted in the fact that they are interested in having the political process started. >> reporter: you said nothing about the military escalation by the syrian government and the russian bombardment. haven't they basically bombed your talks? >> i.am not refraining to military activities. >> so he gave me no direct answer to my question. there is no doubt what ended these talks, this onslaught. the main syrian opposition block were finally persuaded to fly to geneva last weekend after given assurances by their allies and the u.n. that measures would be taken to ease the suffering of the communities in syria. but unless things change, the opposition will not be returning next month. >>> the idea of complications negotiations like these

and there's a lot of buzz around courtney barnett and brit james bay, neither are main stream, but then again adele wasn't either when she went main stream back in 1979. and a lot has happened to tori spelling. >> i thought the voice was annoying. >> well, simon cowell's jab obviously didn't phase tori, six years later, she's repped by justin bieber's manager. dear tori kelly, your voice is from best new product, ola there are those who say we cannot defeat a corrupt political system and fix a rigged economy. but i believe we need to lift our vision above the obstacles in place and look to the american horizon. to a nation where every child can not only dream of going to college, but attend one. where quality healthcare will be a birthright of every citizen. where a good job is not a wish, but a reality. where women receive equal pay and a living wage is paid to all. an america where after a lifetime of labor, there is time for rest and grandchildren. a nation that defends our people and our values, but no longer carries so much of that burden alone. if we listen to our conscience and o

james bays, al jazeera, geneva. >> devastating a neighborhood near the himmest shiite shrine. secretary of state john kerry cited the triple bombing as a reason why ongoing peace talks must succeed. >> while battlefield dynamics can affect negotiating leverage, in the end there is no military solution to the conflict. without negotiations, the bloodshed will drag on, until the last city is reduced to rubble and virtually every home, every form of infrastructure and every semblance of civilization is destroyed. >> on the syrian peace talks we want to bring in juan cole, joining you from ann arbor, michigan tonight. thanks for joining us. do you think these peace talks have any chance of success? >> well, the chance he of these talks succeeding are between slim and none, randall. >> and why is that? >> well, the sides are just way too far apart. they still think they can make advance he on the battlefield. my experience, the sears the ses negotiations happen when both sides feel exhausted and blocked from any further advances. you can see the delegation on the rebel side, mohamm

we cross over to james bays who joins us from the united nations to tell us more about what deal has been reached, james? >> well, i'm hearing from diplomats, high level sources from a number of different nations that we have certainly an agreement between the russians and the u.s. i understand that the announcement will come from the secretary of state john kerry in the near future in the next couple of hours. he's i where the two nations have been co-shares to try to get the cease of the violence. it's not quite a cease-fire because it's not part of the peace treaty, but of course it would be a very important development. they've given the timeline from hostilities and they're likely to announce shortly that is by midday on friday damascus time all the parties on the ground, all the syrian parties, the conflict, with the exception of isil they will have to commit by that time that they will part of the cessation of hostilities. then 12 hours later as friday goes into saturday at midnight the cessation of hostilities is supposed to come into effect. this is a deal done with the u.s.

james bay? sam hunt? or megan traynor? >> kevin: this is the holding room where artists come before they hit the stage and behind is mission control where the production team sits. >> o'dell: now i'll be talking to the man who will guide us through entire evening, the host of this year's grammy awards with the fifth year running ll cool j. >> kevin: are there any last-minute preparations or down here? >> i just say a prayer, brush my teeth, wash up, jump on stage, do what i do, bow tie fresh. >> o'dell: you have been in the rehearsals and i know you've said there will be performances tonight on the grammys people will be talking about for weeks to come. >> i think lady gaga's performance is unbelievable. it's going to be a lot of fun. seeing johnny depp rocking guitar is really crazy. this whole show is just, i think, a lot of fun. i want everybody, get your family, get grandma, get the little kids, it's going to be amazing. justin rock, this whole thing is amazing. >> kevin: you have a day job. how are you balancing all t

james bays has more. >> reporter: this is the crucial moment in terms of actions rather than words. is there going to be a lull in the violence and when he addressed the u.n. security council, the u.n. special envoy, staffan de mistura, described this moment. >> saturday will be critical. tomorrow, in fact, from midnight. no doubt there will be no shortage of attempts to undermine this process. we are ready for it. we should not be overly concerned. we should address it and realise that this part of any ceasefire of hostilities. >> reporter: diplomats tell me that they know there will not be a complete quiet enning of guns across syria because two groups are not included in this. they will still be attacked from parties on the ground and on the air and that's i.s.i.l. and al-nusra. what the best diplomats they can hope for they tell me is a significant lull in the violence when the u.s. ambassador sam an that powell-- sam anthah - she said people were right to be sceptical about things. >> many of the towns being hit by syrian and russian bombers are towns like deria. a suburb of da

awards and performing with carrie underwood.there's a lot of buzz around courtney barnett and brit james bay, neither are main stream, but then again either when she went main stream back in 1979. and a lot has happened to tori spelling. >> i thought the voice was annoying. ell's jab obviously didn't phase tori, six years later, she's repped byieber's manager. >>> tomorrow on "e.t," our lionel ritchie exclusive. is he doing a duet with adele at >>> trauma series. at those monitors. >> meredith grey fighting for her life on the operating table. y to bring back "grey's anatomy on the abc soarries. >> what i can tell you is ng this episode, yes, i said denzel, the two-time oscar aps, everybody. >> i need some help in here now! a shot where it's looking down on you and the look in your eye when you're on that table, i was like -- it's good. you have to bring your a-game for him. >> ellen posted his shots of action mts . i mean who wouldn't bring their a-game.y did tell me what was going to happen to meredith. and i said, i don't know if the fans can handle that. and then they hit me with, and de

. >> our diplomatic editor james bays is live in geneva. he's bee been at the talks. they've been saying that thi saying that these negotiations have not failed. but i think people will be saying for now it's a failure unless he can get things going and working in a different way. clearly the things that has caused this problem is the fact that the opposition was persuaded to come here with appearances that there would be positive developments on the ground. and in fact, what happened the exact opposite. remember, russia is supposed to be one of the international players who are the sponsor of this conference, yet they were bombing some of the part other members of the same parties participating in these talks. let's talk a little further about all of this first, you must be disappointed by the way this has all ended? >> yes, we came here with a good-faith to save syria and to save the syrian people after all the assurances and reassurances we have given, the reassurance written and verbal, plus mr. ban ki-moon and others, we really came here with good will with a hop

james bays has this report from switzerland. >> the delegation from the syrian regime arriving at the u.n. they're supposed to be talking peace. instead, the government has launched a major escalation. the man in charge of convenin convene convening the talks has repeatedly called for the lifting of sieges and has asked all the countries that are the sponsors of this process to help a range in nationwide see cease-fir cease-fire. instead they've been doing the exact opposite in recent hours carrying out heavy bombing and support of the syrian government offensive around aleppo. >> we were hoping for a good surprise, by coming to geneva. we have this unbelievable attack of this morning, unprecedented air bombings under the city of aleppo and the city of homs. and aleppo is currently under huge attacks. we have not seen that since the beginning of the revolution. it looks even like aleppo-- >> they decided not to go to the u.n. again to see the special envoy but for now they're staying in geneva. they know very well that their position is being under mined by the russian and syrian gove

and diplomatic editor james bays is at the united nations in new york. given what he has described an unorthodox briefing, james, he was talking about whether or not the parties who have signed up to this deal will now abide by this deal. >> also talking about how the international community will monitor the deal. there is actually very close to where he's speaking a coordination remember where we see all the reports coming in. he says he'll be making periodic statements about the state of that cessation of hostilities due to come into force in about an hour's time. the purpose of the security council meet something to endorse all of this, and give an extra portion and give it the legitimacy of the u.n. security council, which is effectively the highest court in international law. i think it's worth telling you that behind the scenes there has been a little bit of a dispute going on here at the united nations security council. remember, it was the u.s. and russia who came up with this draft resolution that we're going to be seeing voted on in the near fut

that's james bays in new york, the united states united state at the united nations. they say that the cessation of hostilities would an good idea. what is the take on how this is going to work, and why this coming friday? >> well, it seems at the moment that all the information is coming from where james is. the russians are not saying much at all. but what we do no from the foreign ministry over the last couple of days that sergei lavrov and john kerry were having huge phone conversations on saturday and sunday. and it was fed back to their respective president, and the foreign i ministries were in complete agreement of how the cessation of hostilities might take place in syria. but it is worth pointing out there are a couple of things worth poisoning over. one has said they'll keep on their complain in campaign an . the other thing to remember here is that in the last few weeks or so there have been comments coming from bashar al-assad which suggests that maybe he might not be on board with this totally. he has said recently he would like to keep push to go retake

and there's a lot of buzz around courtney barnett and brit james bay, neither are main stream, but thengain adele wasn't either when she went main stream back in 1979. and a lot has happened to tori spelling. >> i tug >> well, simon cowell's jab obviously didn't phase tori, six years later, she's repped by justin bieber's manager. dear tori kelly, your voice is unreal. from best new product, olay >>> tomorrow on "e.t," our lionel ritchie exclusive. is he doing a duet with adele at e gr >>> trauma series. lo at those monitors. >> meredith grey fighting for her life on the operating table. the most dramatic way to bring back "grey's anatomy on the abc soarries. >> what i can tell you is denzel washington is directing this episode, yes, i said denzel, the two-time oscar winner, so hold on to your caps, everybody. >> i need soelme hp in here now! >> there's a shot where it's looking down on you and the look in your eye when you're on that table, i was like -- it's good. >> i was so inspired by denzel, you have to bring your a-game for him. >> ellen posted his shots of denzel in action m. me

. >>> james bays joins us live from the unit nations in new york. james, more information on what went wrong in that air drop, really highlighting the difficulties in delivering aid in syria. >> yes, this is something that humanitarian agencies don't want to do an air drop. they'd rather bring food, medical supplies, other supplies in by road. one of the reasons is that this air drop that failed, the items that were on there, 21 tons, that's only equivalent to a medium sides truck so shows how little you can deliver by air. there are various problems that were demonstrated by this air drop. it was done at a very high altitude. the crew practiced outside syria and it's not something the u.n. had done before. it appears they misjudged the weather and the parachutes that were supposed to guide down the pallets, some detached because of the gusts of wind. it shows the difficulty of delivering things by air. >>> they will find out whether the cessation of has tilts will actually happened. >> he described it as a crucial day. i think it will be, because th

deadtar james bays has more. >> reporter: for all the five years, the death toll mounted. every day there has been atrocities. now the latest, a document released by the u.s. and russia. they have been working on plans for a lull in the violence meeting in munich this month. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov wanted a ceasefire from the 1s. secretary of state john kerry wanted to challenge the situation on the ground. since that meeting there has been delay. in the end russia got its way. 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, both on the security council's terrorism list, to commit to a cessation of host its by this friday at midday damascus time. it is to start on saturday, a ceasefire. if it holds, documents tell me that the possibility of peace talks that collapsed could resume within 7 days. a spokesman from the secretary-general welcomed news of cessation of hostilities, but everyone is aware how hard it will be to make it happen. >> it is the implementation of the inter

here is diplomatic editor james bays. >> for almost five years the death toll mounts. this joint document released by the u.s. and russia, the two working on plans for a lull in the violence since a meeting in munich this month. russian foreign minister sergei lavrov wanted a ceasefire. u.s. secretary of state said that would allow russia more time for bombing, to change the situation on the ground. ever since the meeting there has been delays. in the end russia got its way. >> russia will work with damascus. the legitimate government of syria. we expect the united states will do the same with allies and groups supported by them. >> reporter: there are calls for the reyuanation. but i.s.i.l. and al nusra front have been called to commit to a cessation of hostilities by this friday at midday damascus time. 12 hours later that is supposed to start saturday. diplomats tell me if it holds there's the possibility talks that collapsed in brandon jennings could resume within days. >> everyone is aware how hard it will be to make it happen. the secretary-general urges the part

our diplomatic editor james bays is at the united nations in new york. >> he detailed timeline which will be announced from high levels in the coming hours but the u.s. secretary of state john kerry, we assume that sergei lavrov will also be talking about it. midday, that includes the syrian government. it includes all the other armed groups that are fighting there, but it does not include jabhat al nusra, but all other groups must be ready to say they'll take part of the cease-fire and then 12 hours later will begin the cessation of fighting. >> the syrian government is fighting on two fronts in the countryside around aleppo. these pictures show government planes dropping barrel bombs on north of aleppo. the russian airstrikes have targeted rebels in the rural parts of the city. tens of thousands of people are still fleeing. thousands have been displaced in the last few weeks alone as the offensive by government troops intensifies. >> afghan forces has left the taliban in control of helmand. helmand has seen some of the fiercest battle since the u.s.-led invasion 2001. >> you we hav

nats music teri okita: tori kelly and james bay rehearse for their duet at tonight's grammy awards. both are up for best new artist. they'll join a who's who of including adele's first grammy performance since 2012. nats music andra day will perform with british pop singer ellie goulding. day is up for two r&b grammys. she says it's an experience beyond her dreams. andra day: "thought it'd be great to be nominated for a grammy, thought it'd be great to be a doctor maybe some day... it was such a distant idea... something that seemed so unfathomable at the time. so, to be here now, i'm just grateful." teri okita: this year's grammys will also feature tributes to some big music legends that we lost this past year, including eagles guitarist and singer, glenn frey. ten-time grammy winner bonnie raitt will join gary clark junior in honoring her close friend and inspiration, the late b.b. king. (- bonnie raitt/grammy performer) "he was very encouraging and telling me that i had it, and telling me, 'don't let 'em get you down, don't let 'em tell you women can't play' and that kind of stuf

teri: tori kelly and james bay rehearse for their duet at tonight's grammy awards. both are up for best new artist. they'll join a who's who of performers for music's biggest night, including adele's first grammy performance since 2012. teri: andra day will perform with british pop singer ellie goulding. day is up for two r&b grammys. she says it's an experience beyond her dreams. >> thought it'd be great to be nominated for a grammy, thought maybe some day, it was such a distant idea, something that seemed so unfathomable at the time. so, to be here now, i'm just grateful. teri: this year's grammys will also feature tributes to some big music legends that we lost this past year, including eagles guitarist and singer, glenn frey. ten-time grammy winner bonnie raitt will join gary clark junior in honoring her close friend and inspiration, the late b.b. king. bonnie raitt: he was very encouraging and telling me that i had it, and telling me, 'don't let 'em get you down, don't let 'em tell you women can't play' and that kind of stuff. teri: and one of the highlights of

. >> james bays with the latest oh from geneva, thank you. >> let's go to yemen now where al-qaeda fighters say they've reclaimed a town. the group had controlled the area until 2012. according to tribal chiefs, most fighters who seeds the town come from surrounding areas. fighting has expanded in the civil war exploiting a security vacuum in the south. in sanna, dozens of houthi rebels and supporters of the former president al saleh have been killed in the east of the stiff. it's after an attack by the popular resistance, backed by the national them knee army. >>> hundreds of politicians have been sworn into parliaments in myanmar, heralding in a new era of politics. they won election ins november, ending more than 50 years of military rule. as rob mcbright reports, the military will still have a significant influence. >> members of parliament from myanmar's nld finally take power, but it is a power shared. after half a century in control, the military will still retain a firm hold. it can block constitutional change. analysts say that will make it difficult for the n.l.d. to govern. the g

our diplomatic editor james bays is in the united nations now. take through the terms of the agreement. >> reporter: well, there is a time line set out now for start of the cessation of hostilities. by friday midday, the timing is all damascus time, the parties on the ground have to commit to the taking place of cessation of hospital kilts many with reception of el nusra front and i.s.i.l, which are not considered to be parties to take part because they are designated by the u.n. security council as terrorist organization he. another 12 hours before cessation is supposed to start. if it holds then within about seven days there could be a resumption of those stalled peace talks that were held last month in geneva and collapsed. we have had a welcome of this, u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon, said he hoped it could become a more robust ceasefire. we have also been listening in the last couple of hours at the u.n. to latest report on the commission of inquiry of human rights in syria, another are grim catalog of atrotion advertise. aatrocities. we

al jazeera's diplomatic editor james bays has this report from switzer. >> and the delegation from the syrian regime arriving at the u.n. they're supposed to be talking peace. instead, the government has launched a major escalation. the man in charge of convening the talks has repeatedly called for the lifting of sieges and has asked all the the countries who are in the sponsor of this process however, opposition members say th they've carried out heavy bombing in support of the defense around aleppo. >> we're hoping for a good surprise and nice surprise that would have give us some oxygen to hope and to reassure our people that we made the right decision by coming to geneva. instead, we had this unbelievable attack of this morning, unprecedented air bombing on the city of aleppo and on the city of homs. aleppo is currently under huge attacks. we have not seen that since the beginning of the revolution. it looks even like aleppo might be besieged. >> members of the main opposition block have been having almost continuous meetings in this hotel. they decided not to go to the u.n. again

al jazeera's diplomatic editor james bays reports from u.n. headquarters in new york. >> reporter: at the security council there was stinging criticism of the syrian regime. the u.n.'s humanitarian chief told ambassadors the government had delayed deliveries to the besieged town and blacked until now assistance. >> the number, scope and complexity of euro accuratic and other obstacles is in the path of aid delivers, it's staggering. >> he appeared to have one rare bit of good news. >> earlier this morning a w.f.p. plane dropped the first cargo of 21 seconds of its into deir az zor. >> reporter: the world food program said there'd been technical difficulties and they tried to drop again. it's not clear if aid reached those in need. the issue of aid deliveries is important. obviously to get supplies to need in besieged communities in syria, but because it's part of the plan drawn up earlier this month in munich to restart the political process. the other part of that plan is the cessation of hostilities due to start in syria on saturday. >> will

. >> that is al jazeera's james bays for us in geneva. >>> 17 people are dead following a suicide bombing in afghanistan. officials say a man got in line with police recruits in kabul. he then set off his explosives near the gate of a police building. twenty others have been injured. the taliban has claimed responsibility for that attack. >>> new details emerging this morning in a series of deadly attacks in nigeria. witnesses say gunmen fire bombed huts and opened fire on civilians in a northeastern village saturday. at least 86 people were killed and dozens more badly burned. the attackers are believed to be members of boko haram and also tried to storm a refugee camp but were fought off by troops. >>> a diverse cast of characters. >> change is inevitable, so might as well wrap your mind around it and let's go. >> the screen actors guild celebrates diversity on the heels of actors so white controversy. >>> federal investigators are expect to release more details today about a fatal train crash that happened last year. it was on may 12 when an amtrak train derailed near philadelphia kill

james bays has this report. >> reporter: there's no doubt the conference in london was somewhat over shadowed. as well as the business of raising money for the dire humanitarian situation, diplomats were dealing with another crisis. the first attempt at talks between the syrian government and the opposition for two years lasted just a few days. the talks put on hold after being undermined by a massive military operation by the syrian government backed by aerial bombardment by russia. opposition members are not just incensed by that. they can't understand why u.s. secretary of state john kerry isn't being stronger in his condemnation. here just quoting the relevant u.n. security council resolution. >> paragraph 13 demands that all parties immediately cease any attacks against civilians and civilian objects as such, including attacks against medical facilities and personnel in any indiscriminate use of weapons, including through shelling and aerial bombardment. russia voted for that, russia has responsibility as do all parties to live up to it. >> reporter: his comments are very differ

james bays has more from the u.n. headquarters in new york >> 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 unanimous. ambassadors were addressed by video link by staffan de mistura who said it would be an important moment advertisement we are ready for this, we should not be impressed, overly concerned. we should address it. and realise that this is part of any ceasefire. >> 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 russian which with the u.s. is posed to be one of the main sponsors of this process. >> many of the towns being hit by syrian and russian bombers are towns like derayaa. a suburb of damascus that is pummelled up to this very day. a town 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

first we go to james bays.are expecting a news conference this evening from the three -- from lavrov, carey and stefan de mistura, do you have any inkling of what they might be saying this evening? >> reporter: well, it's been long meetings taking place here in munich. the meeting underway right now coming up towards four hours is the international syria support group. that is the international and middle eastern regional players who are trying, all of these countries, to get back on track. the process that was underway until last week in geneva that barely started in geneva, of trying to get the two sides around the table to start talks on peace in syria. obviously, that process ended because of the russian bombardment and the syrian military advance. and it doesn't look very hopeful here, certainly on the ground grounds of a ceasefire which everyone says they want, but the russians say we'll do a ceasefire from the first of march. that will give them three more weeks of bombardment and that's why the u.s. is

. >> let's talk now to our diplomatic editor james bays who is in at the united nations in new york. >> that was a very short clip, but how significant is it that he has been saying? >> i think it's very significant. it's not a change of the u.s. administration's policy, but it is an admission that there is a possibility out there that no one is wanted to talk about. the at any time over the last five years. no one from the u.n. no one from the u.s. administration, no one really from anywhere in the international community. all their statements over five years have been about the unity and territorial he integrity of syria. now john kerry is making it clear that there may be another possibility. syria may break up. and isil mass declared part of syria and iraq. but it's something that he's mentioning for the first time and something that worries very many people given the tensions right now in the arab world and the wider middle east. the idea of redrawing borders is something that i think really concerns people. >> yes, and he's mentioned it for the first time just days before the c

james bays >>> our correspondent joins us live from turkey on the border with syria. let's start with the latest on fighting. we hear that a strategic town has fallen to syrian forces. tell us more about that. >> reporter: that is the town which lies to the south aleppo. what is significant about that town is it is essentially linked between aleppo down south towards damascus and also south-west towards ham ma, both strong holds of regime. that town had been taken over by i.s.i.l. fighters less an week ago. now it appears that the regime has recaptured it. although the main route is still not fully secured. parts of that area is under control of rebel groups and other parts have remnants of i.s.i.l. fighters. that's information we're getting from inside syria. it goes to show how quickly territory exchanges hands in this wars. while the skies are are control bed by the syrian regime, on the ground if terms of being actually able to maintain positions and holding them, that's what has proven difficult for all sides involved in this civil war. that's why the territories