I have lived in the city for years, but hong kong still makes me fall in love with it time and again. And now, bbc world news america. Anchor this is bbc world news america. Reporting from washington, im jane obrien. A deliveries to desperate syrians could resume after world powers agreed to a pause in the fighting, but president assad faustian fight on until the whole countries back in his control. Pope francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox church have historic talks in cuba. Band has been nominated for a grammy. But dont expect to see them in l. A. They are in prison. Anchor welcome to our viewers on Public Television in america and around the globe. Rebel groups have told the bbc they wont put down their weapons. After talks in munich, russia and the United States said they would push for a halt to hostilities in a week, a move that would allow aid into desperately needed areas. But in a newly released interview, president assad has vowed to keep fighting until he takes the whole country back. Reporter in syria today, it was business as usual. A ceasefire is moving closer here. But there is no sign of it on the streets. In the northern countryside, the rebels continued their fight and continued to lose ground. Russian airpower, strike after strike, is hitting them hard. It has given president assad the advantage and a new confidence on display in his first interview in months. If we negotiate, it does not mean we will stop fighting terrorism. Two tracks are inevitable in syria. First, negotiation, and second, fighting terrorism. The two are separate from each other. Reporter before the war, this was syrias largest city. The radio reassures the regime was back in control in september. This is what the control now. The city is being encircled. The population from rebel held areas is fleeing in the thousands. Sprawling camps on the northern border with turkey are already full. The scale of the exodus has prompted international action. We have agreed to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities. Reporter with his russian counterpart at his side, mr. Kerry warned the plan is fragile. While our work today has produced commitments on paper, i want to restate the real test is clearly whether or not all parties honor those commitments and implement them in reality. Reporter syrias need is desperate. West of damascus, they are starving. I need medicine. I need everything. We are starving to death. Please open the road for us. Reporter the new agreement will bring u. N. Aid trucks here, but only if all sides agree to lay down their weapons. Syrias rebels hold out little hope. This is why we joined the revolution. The army will help getting humanitarian aid to the besieged areas. But we should ask the russians if they will stop bombing during the aid getting to the besieged areas. Until now, the answer is no. Reporter none of the rebel groups bbc has spoken to are prepared to put down the guns. They will only do if the russians stop the bombing campaign. Commanders tell us this was a plan cooked up by international power, not by syrians. Theres little trust on the ground now in syria. Renewed International Pressure may be the only hope this plan has of any kind of success. Bbc news, istanbul. Anchor as that agreement was reached in munich, u. S. Defense secretary ash carter was participating in defense talks in brussels. After the discussions, he said he expected saudi arabia and the United Arab Emirates to provide special Operation Forces to help Syrian Opposition fighters battling socalled islamic state. Secretary carter sat down exclusively with the bbc. What was your reaction to what happened in geneva, this agreement in principle for cessation of hostilities . Secretary carter secretary kerry has done great work to try to ease the suffering, the terrible suffering, of the Syrian People and ultimately to put a political end to the civil war in syria. I want to make clear there is no secession of hostilities in the war against isil. All the countries here are agreed to step up their efforts, to accelerate their efforts. We want to get isil defeated, especially initially in iraq and syria, as soon as possible. You had 50 countries there, all saying they would do more, just like the United States. President barack obama has pledged to do more and accelerate the defeat against isil. That goes on at the same time important diplomatic efforts led by secretary kerry go on. Do you talk to russians . This is an agreement with the same russians who have been bombing moderate rebels when they say theyre bombing extremists, who have killed extremists. The russians are way off track in syria. They have been from the beginning. One you trust them on that . Secretary carter we will see whether they implement the agreement they signed. We will see in a week. But that is what they said they will do. We will see whether they do it. More broadly in syria, they said they would fight isil and they didnt. Instead, they joined the civil war and fueled the civil war. Lets hope they can contribute in a humanitarian and positive way. You can understand people being skeptical. The russians have not said they will stop bombing, have they . Secretary carter it does not go into effect for a week. We are going to have to see whether the russians abide by it or not. But secretary kerry got them to make that commitment. They need to meet that commitment. We will have to see, as in all things, with russians. You have been trying to get that coalition to do more. What concrete have you achieved in brussels . Secretary carter two things. They all agreed unanimously to the Coalition MilitaryCampaign Plan the United States devised that specifically calls out the objectives. Taking them from isil, fighting the metastases of isil around the world, and protecting of and protecting our homeland. We went through all the capabilities needed and what each country could do to increase its contribution. The United States is doing more. We will do more as we find more opportunities. We want to accelerate the campaign. Those are our instructions from president obama. We are looking to help and enable the iraqi army. The iraqi army took back the ramadi from isil. With our help with the help of , our excellent u. K. Partners and other coalition partners, that is the way we do things. Your Defense Intelligence chief said it will be 2017 before you contemplate going for mosul. Secretary carter our timeline is as soon as we can do it. The iraqi Prime Minister has said he would like to get this done this year. We are going to do everything we can to help him do that as soon as possible. We need to defeat isil as quickly as possible in iraq and syria and other places it has spread. What are you going to do about libya . I. S. Is building a stronghold. Secretary carter we are watching libya with great concern because of the civil strife. It provides the kind of territory into which isil can move. The good thing is the libyan people are fiercely proud. They dont agree among themselves. But one thing they do agree on is they do not like foreign radicals coming in stealing their oil. As we find a political settlement there, i am confident the libyans will be asking us, and the italians have indicated they would lead this effort, but the United States and United Kingdom have indicated strong support to help them expel isil from their territory. In the meantime, we protect ourselves. We have taken action in libya against terrorists threatening our countries and will continue to do that. More airstrikes . Secretary carter we always keep open the option to do things unilaterally. But we are coordinating closely with libyan authorities. And ultimately what needs to happen is a settlement to the civil strife. And then im confident the libyans, with our help, will expel isil. They dont want them there either. Anchor u. S. Defense secretary ash carter speaking with the bbc. A quick look at other news now. South korea says it could begin talks as early as next week about deploying a controversial u. S. Missiledefense system. Seoul has been reluctant. But changed his mind after north korea carried out a rocket launch last sunday. Both china and russia have objected to the deployment. The former fifa secretarygeneral has been banned from all football related activity for 12 years. He was found guilty by the range committee of a wide of offenses including taking private jets for personal use, destroying evidence, and trying to force through an undervalued sale of World Cup Television rights. He has denied any wrongdoing. European scientists have decided to give up trying to contact the first craft to touch down on the comet more than a year ago. Mission control has now given up hope of further communication as the comet heads toward a much colder part of its orbit. The World Health Organization says it will be at least 18 months before a vaccine is developed for the zika virus, which is feared to have affected thousands of babies in brazil and other parts of south america. Tomorrow, 200,000 brazilian troops will be on the streets helping to combat the virus which is spread by mosquitoes. We have this report from rio de janeiro. Reporter one of the worlds biggest armies is getting ready to mobilize because brazil has declared war. Not on a belligerent neighbor, but against the smallest enemy of all the mosquito. Hundreds of thousands of troops preparing to hand out leaflets and warning citizens about the dangers of zika. What good will it do . When the people see soldiers walking the streets giving to them information, i think they will realize the situation is really difficult. Reporter there is now evidence the outbreak may be more serious than first thought. Already suspected of causing birth defects in babies, it has also been linked to Guillan Barre syndrome, where the bodys immune system attacks nerves causing weakness and paralysis. He had to learn to walk again after becoming partially paralyzed. At the hospital where he was treated, there has been a fivefold increase in cases of guillanbarre. Now back running his bakery, he says he put his faith in god. I thought i would be a quadriplegic for life. The whole town prayed for me. Reporter he almost lost the ability to breathe and could have died. I cannot bear to think about it. Reporter it is a rare but worrying condition says this leading neurologist. Theres a lot we still need to discover. It seems zika has a more intense reaction or connection with the nervous system, central and peripheral nervous systems. Reporter as the officers told their troops, the battle against zika is being fought on many fronts. Although some members of government have admitted brazil is losing the war against the mosquito, it is not something you will hear from the general. 200,000 troops on the streets may be good for morale but other approaches will be needed in the months ahead. Bbc news, rio. Anchor a troubling time for brazil in the runup to deal ethics which are less than six months away. You are watching bbc world news america. Still to come on tonights program, a historic meeting in cuba. Pope francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox church sit down for talks after a 1000year schism. After ana warning just attack rocked the heart of the indonesian capital. Police and security analysts fear it could happen again. Eight people including quarter militants were killed in the assault. Islamic state claimed responsibility. Eating lunch in the starbucks cafe near our office when the bomb exploded. Everything went dark and the air was filled with dust. My hands, legs, and body were covered in blood. Reporter outside, another bomb exploded near a police post at this busy intersection. The officer arrived believing the attack was over. Two gunmen were waiting in the crowd. He came at me. He looked at me with a cold expression and shot me. He shot me twice in the stomach. Reporter it took Security Forces around three hours to get the situation under control. She says her psychological scars are taking longer to heal. I am scared to leave the house. I only go out to see my doctors. Im scared of the dark now. I am stressed and paranoid. Im worried there will be another bombing. Orter we have suffered several different groups wanting to outdo one another. One way of demonstrating your superiority over another group is to show you can do a bigger and better and more wellplanned and probably more lethal attack. Says when she gets flashbacks of the attack, she prays. She says there is nothing in her religion that justifies the attack. Bbc news, jakarta. Perhaps never before has an airport encounter held as much significance as todays meeting between pope francis and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox church. They held talks in havana and signed a joint declaration that calls on the International Community to take urgent action to prevent christians from being driven out of the middle east. It is an historic step which comes 1000 years after the eastern and western branches of christianity split apart. For more on the significance of this meeting, i was joined a short time ago by a father from the Catholic University of america. The popes first words to the patriarch were apparently finally. Why has it taken 1000 years for this meeting . Patriarch in moscow was established in 1586. The 1000year rift has to do with constantinople. We also have to remember this was a religion that was under soviet repression and domination for so long. Beginning to come out of the underground, beginning to come out of a world that was so controlled that there are suspicions, especially suspicions to the west. Finally to have a point where the pope and patriarch of moscow can meet is a great and wonderful occasion. I think it is a sign of moving forward of life. Anchor they are also there to discuss very real issues both churches are confronting today. That is the persecution, and in the popes words, the terrorism facing christians in syria and iraq. The terrorism in the middle east is horrible. The decimation of churches, especially in iraq and syria. Hundreds of thousands of our faithful fleeing. I use our faithful as all christians. We have to keep in mind that unity and brotherhood. One thing i thought was significant was they also spoke about the duty of the pastors to speak about interreligious dialogue and how we need to build a world, build a place where people of all faiths can live in freedom, freedom to worship as they please and love one another. Anchor this is the sort of topic the pope does not shy away from. He is very much a statesman as well as a religious leader. Will his words have any real impact . I certainly think the impact that occurs first of all is on the persontoperson level, at the grassroots level. Just getting those people to meet. It is significant what he said about ukraine, when he calls for cessation of hostilities. These two World Leaders begging political leaders to Work Together to bring peace, to bring healing, to look at what can be done in north africa as well. When our brothers and sisters are suffering, it calls out to each of us to respond, to give voice. So i do think this meeting will have an impact, will make people think again, why are we doing this . What is the aim . What is the hope . Anchor and of course, the pope is now off to mexico where he is tackling pressing issues there, crime, poverty, drugs. What impact will his visit have . I think the pope visiting mexico will be much the same as happened here. People are riveted to listen to him, to hear his voice. Little by little, to challenge their own way of thinking and see what is it this holy man is saying . How can we change our minds . How can we change our lives . What can we do better . I am not advocating it is going to disappear the cartels or make life entirely different. But it will bring change to some people, and they will affect greater change. That is the way we can bring about a more stable world. Anchor father, thank you for joining me. Of course, we will have full coverage of pope francis trip to mexico, including the openair mass along the u. S. Border. Now, on monday, the Music Industry will gather to give out some of its most prestigious awards. This year for the first time, a band from malawi is nominated. The artist will not be attending the ceremony. It is not the long flight holding them back. It is because they are in prison. Reporter this is home to one of africas oldest prisons. Miserable and overcrowded, it feels like a place devoid of any hope. Inmates are not just serving time, they are keeping time. Meet the prison project band. Reporter guards and prisoners sidebyside, now with an album to their name and nominated for a prestigious grammy award. On vocals he is serving life for , murder. James on guitar sentenced to 12 years. And he faces an eightyear jail term. For many, their musical talent only surfaced in jail. Now they are competing with the best in the world. Im very humbled considering i am a prisoner, he says. I never expected we could achieve Something Like this. When i get out of prison, i want to continue with my musical career. Their success is partly down to an american producer who spotted their talent, record of their songs in jail, and gave them a record deal. Everybody is musical. You have 2000 plus people in a prison designed to hold 340. Theres going to be music. Reporter the songs they sing touch on challenges of life on the outside. Hivaids, the fate of their children, and raw emotions such as jealousy. Universal themes which may move the judges thousands of miles from here. Reporter their music may help to ease the tedium of daily life in jail. But far from glorifying prison, the convicted murderer reflects on his crime and has this warning to youngsters. My message to the people is they should stay away from trouble, he says. They should think before they act. Bad decisions get you into jail. Reporter high walls and barbed wire separate the women prisoners in this maximumsecurity jail. Some also appear on the album, their voices the only instrument they have got. While some have been released since the album was made, at least one of the artists has died. Life is tough on the inside. Reporter i have no everything here is the title of their album. It suggests a heavy sense of loss. They say they have discovered musical talent behind bars they never knew they had. Karen allen, bbc news, malawi. Anchor lovely. We will have full coverage of the grammys on monday. That brings todays show to a close. You can find much more news on our website. To reach us, you can go to twitter. For all of us here on world is america, thank you for watching and have a very good weekend. Make sense of International News at bbc. Com news. Funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newmans own foundation, giving all profits from newmans own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs, and hong kong tourism board. Want to know hong kongs most romantic spots . I will show you. I love heading to repulse bay for an evening stroll. Its the perfect, stunning backdrop for making romantic moments utterly unforgettable. I have lived in the city for years, but hong kong still makes me fall in love with it time and again. Bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc woodruff good evening. Im judy woodruff. On the newshour tonight after hosting last nights democratic debate, we review the candidates answers and talk with mark shields and david brooks about the state of the race for president. Then, pope francis and Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox church meet an historic moment 1,000 years in the making, since the two churches split. Plus, repairing the violins played by jewish musicians in the holocaust. Today, this violin is alive and going to talk to all the world. Each time you play it, its for millions of people who are dead. That is victory. And each concert i