05/03/2016 Reporters

From here in the world's newsroom, we send out correspondents

to bring you the best stories from across the globe.

Steve Rosenberg joins Russian forces in North

Syria as they come under fire. As we have seen, it is only partial. It's

only in some places. This is no ceasefire. On the front line of

America's war against the Zika by -- virus. We report from platter

recode, where there are hundreds of thousands of cases.

They've been spreading dengue for many centuries importer recode.

After this year, Zika came along. And, Dawn of the age of humans. We

go on a geological journey into a new Epoque. Your hand is sitting on

the boundary... I'm touching the boundary? Yes, of two technological

periods of time. -- ecological. It may be largely holding her now,

but the temporary truce in Syria brokered by the United States is

plagued with fault lines. The so-called Islamic State is excluded

from it, as is the Al-Qaeda leader linked Al-Nusra front. The role of

Russian forces that support the Assad regime is unclear.

A commander has accused Russia of helping the Syria government creates

the migrant crisis as a result of war.

Our correspondent has been in northern Syria, this is his report.

The Russian army is taking us into the hills of western Syria. The

Russians say that they are using a pause in the fighting to encourage

peace and reconciliation. Judging by the armoured vehicle that we are in,

progress is slow. First stop, this town. Five years of civil war left

the village empty. Now we are told people are starting to return home.

Like this lady. Do you believe that there will be peace? In your

country? We hope, we hope from God. We hope so. It was Russian air power

that helped the Syrian army retake this village from rebels. Today, the

Russian military has brought aid, not air strikes. We drove to this

town, Turkey is just over the hills. Moscow accused Turkey of allowing

weapons to be smuggled into Syria for rebel fighters, and of a

provocative military build-up that could damage Syria's fragile peace.

What happens next fits the Kremlin's narrative. There is an explosion.

And another. A Russian general radios for an

armoured personnel carrier. It is supposed to provide cover for us as

we and the other journalists retreat.

Now, run for it, shouted the general.

After five years of civil war, you can understand why many people here

are sceptical about the chances of peace. As we've seen, the halt in

fighting is only partial. It's only in some places.

This is no ceasefire. Later, the general claims the blasts were

artillery shells, fired by terrorists from close to the Turkish

border. We cannot confirm though what those

explosions were, or where they came from.

Syria's president accused rebels of violating the agreement to halt

hostilities. The Syrian army are freeing themselves of retaliations

to survive. But everything has a limit. It depends on the other side.

Syria's are tired of war. But real peace seems a long way out --

Syrian's. It is America's new health

nightmare. The Centre for disease control is warning hundreds of

thousands of people in the US territory of Puerto Rico could

becoming affected with the Zika virus in the coming months.

It means the possible spread of the virus within America itself has

become a very real threat for the US authorities.

Our correspondent has been given rare access to the CDC's situation

room in Atlanta and two side contests battling the Zika virus in

Puerto Rico. It may not look like it, but this

tropical island is in a state of emergency. Welcome to the front line

of the US's fight against the Zika virus. Millions of American tourists

come here every year, a major concern though is what they are

taking back with them. These are the Zika transmitting mosquitoes. It is

feeding time. On the menu is pigs blood, at skin temperature. They are

being bred in this laboratory for research intellect -- into

insecticides. They've been here in Puerto Rico

spreading dengue fever for many centuries, but a couple of years ago

they began to transmit a new virus. After that, at the start of this

year, Zika came along, with a link to baby's being born brain damage.

Worryingly, the insecticides being used to kill these mosquitoes are no

longer working as well as they used to. The mosquitoes are resistant to

one of the most commonly used insecticides. It is an insecticide

that has been used in Puerto Rico and the rest of the Americas for

many years. Scientists are racing to find other chemicals that can kill

musky toes. The insects can breed and pride in just a few drops of

water. -- musky toes. 1500 miles away at the Centre for

disease control headquarters in Atlanta, the man advising the

president on this global health emergency is preparing for the

worst. In Puerto Rico, we expect that there will likely be hundreds

of thousands of infections, and potentially hundreds of thousands of

women who are pregnant to become infected. What is new and different

and frightening is the rate of birth defects. There is a lot we don't

know. Back at the lab, scientists continue the fight against these

blood thirsty insects. They need answers fast, to stop the spread of

this potentially devastating virus. We don't often talk must about

geology but there is a geological debate going on at the moment that

could be as important as the meaning of life, it represents the Epoque we

are in. For the last several hundred years, we've been languishing in the

Holocene period, but many geologists believe that the Earth has entered a

new Epoque, the age of humans. But they cannot work out exactly when it

started. Confused? Rebecca morale explains exactly what is being seen

as a turning point in history. If only it were this easy to define

where one bit of the Earth's history ends and another begins.

Traditionally this is done with hindsight. Now, scientists are

itching to declare that we are in a new Epoque. Geologists love to do

the uptime, they've done that the entire history of the Earth. From

the year dot to now, 5.4 billion years later, that is divided into

units of time called aeons, then into errors, then periods, and

finally into Epoque 's and ages. They mark turning points in the

Earth's history, one of those can be found here, Dobbs Lane in the

Southern uplands of Scotland. We've arrived at this boundary. Your hand

is sitting on the boundary. I'm touching it? You are, the mark

between two geological periods of time. The rocks here record a

colossal change in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans that triggered

a transition between two periods of time or than hundred -- 400 million

years ago. Fast forward through time, scientists think there is

reason to agree that we are in the age of humans. What we see at

present, the degree of change to the Earth's system that is being

conducted by humans is a significant -- as significant to some of the

major changes in the geological record. If we define this period of

time and say that humanity is a geological superpower, on the same

league as plate tectonics or meteorite impacts, it means the

environmental distantly manacled destiny of the planet is down to us.

-- destiny of the planet is down to us. What is needed is a moment in

human history that leaves a long lasting signal for future

geologists. Some say nuclear tests leave that, with the legacy of

radioactive elements. Some say the dawn of the proper scene should

further back. Ultimately, the real birth of this new Epoque will be

marked by a show of hands. It is due to go to a vote later this year.

That's all from Reporters this week. From me, goodbye for now.