>> confronting isil, the u.s. expanding special forces on the ground in iraq and potentially in syria. >> i'm julie mcdonald. also coming up, 16 lebanese soldiers freed in a prisoner exchange with the al nusra front rebels return home. burkina faso elects its first leader in four decades. >> anand the whale hunt that

japan calls scientific research. welcome to the program. the u.s. defense secretary said's prepared to expand the role of special forces combating scientists from the islamic state in iraq and the levant. ash carter told the committee in congress the u.s. is to send a specialized expeditionary force to iraq. it would help kurdish peshmerg peshmerga forces to retake ground and it would be position to launch operations in syria. in the last half hour, iraqi prime minister hyder al abadi said that it does not need foreign troops to enforce the laws of his land. anyone foreign forces would need the coordination of iraqi

government. white house correspondent patty culhane reports now. >> the united states is intensifying the war in iraq and syria in the hope that it will eventually lead to talk of peace. >> next in full coordination with the government of iraq we're deploying a targeting force to assist peshmerga forces and put even more pressure on isil. these special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence, and capture isil leaders. that creates a virtua virtuous cycle of more targets, more raids, more momentum. >> the middle said that when they find an isil leader, the teams will go into syria to get them, and then get out adding that even more special forces will be sent into the region as they find local forces capable of fighting and more military

hardware is moving into the syrian conflict, and they'll come painted with many more flags. they'll send in reconnaissance planes, and in the u.k. the parliament is set to vote to send their fighter jets into syria for bombing missions. before leaving the climate talks in paris, united states barack obama describes how he sees this ending. >> a cease-fire between the groups and forces loyal to syrian president bashar al-assad. >> it's possible given the existing accord that the parties are agreed to that we start seeing at least pockets of cease fires in and around syria. that may mean, then, that certain opposition groups no longer find themselves subject

to syrian or russian bombing. they are then in a conversation about politics. >> but there is a problem with that conversation. the u.s. coalition said that it has to end with assad out of power. russia doesn't want that. president obama thinks that could change in the coming months, and it could be especially true if the balance of power shifts on the ground in syria. patty culhane, al jazeera, par paris. >> nato has announced plans to send patrol air craft on the border with syria. the measures are likely to include more nato ships in the eastern mediterranean. we have this update from brussels. >> the person who sums it best was again the german foreign minister saying that there will

be no military solution to the syrian conflict. and he's been talking about his hopes that the opposition groups various opposition groups from syria can get an united line. but he's also said--he's referred to his own cabinet agreeing to back france in the fight against isil in syria. german troops won't be involved in any combat, but there is a frigit that will help th the reconnaissance planes and so forth. the u.k. will decide whether they will start bombing in syria. but many are quite aware that russia plays a crucial war. it says it is bombing isil. some accuse it of bombing many other groups other than isil. so that's why the de-escalation

of the argument between russia and turkey is crucial right now. >> staying with syria now, long awaited prisoner swap has taken place between the lebanese army and the al nusra front. >> back in the arms of their families. 61 lebanese soldiers freed by al nusra front. the result of an edition kate prisoner exchange that took a year to negotiate. they were captured after fierce fighting broke out between the group and the lebanese army in august of last year.

>> we thank those who negotiated our release. >> 13 prisoners associated with al nusra front, the syrian group linked with al-qaeda has now been released by the lebanese government. it's not only al nusra who had taken hostages. 30 were captured in the summer of 2014. four were execute: one subsequently died of injuries. nine others remain in captivity. but they're being held by isil, a groupal war with al nusra. the lebanese government said it's doing all it can so secure the release of the remaining hostages. >> we have a target, a big target that is a real challenge. i mean, the military personnel being captive by isil, and we need to free them and liberate them for the sake of lebanon for

the sake of our nation. >> among those released was the former wife of isil leaders al baghdadi. she insists, though, she had nothing to do with him. >> they said i am the wife of al baghdadi. i have been divorced for seven years. he was not baghdadi at that time. i want to go to turkey. i will go once i get my passport issued. i will go. >> the families of those released some of whom have been kept in central beirut for months spoke to al jazeera about their release. >> i can't recall my happiness. what i have to say, thanks to god for their safe return, and we hope to see them soon. >> they return with a dream for us, and thank got it happened. we thank everyone who works to secure their release. >> tuesday's release will ease pressure on the lebanese

government which has come increased criticism since oranges and policemen were captured. it may boost the standing offal nusra front as a group wh who groups could strike deals with. >> controlled by opposition fighters. homs was one of the first cit ies to rise against president bashar al-assad. vote necessary burkina faso has elected a new president in almost half a century. roch marc kabore.

>> from the prime minister roch marc kabore will become the first civilian leader in five decades. he promised to follow through on his campaign promises. >> we owe to those who sacrificed their lives to our country. peaceful governance of peaceful democracy and reconciliation. >> the citizens of burkina faso celebrating the end of political turmoil in their country. it is the hope of many here that the election of a new president will usher in a new era of fiscal democracy. >> kabore was president of the national assembly. his split with compaore last year, but not everyone is happy with his victory.

>> he was not my candidate, and never will be. >> the elections also bring to an end a transition administration in a popular up rising last year. compaore was toppled when he tried to extend his rule even further. >> no political party will for now come in with the ideas and practice of government. this is the biggest achievement since the insurrection of 2014. >> the people of burkina faso continue to celebrate their

country's new status. al jazeera. >> the total number of refugees arriving in southern europe by sea is four times already as last year. according' to the united nations refugee agency. almost 900,000 people have cost the mediterranean in the past 11 months. that's just the ones who arrive safely. however, they do say that the number dropped in november mainly due to bad weather and increased action from the turkish coast guard. china's president xi jinping is in zimbabwe in the start of a five-day visit. he's expected to announce more investment in the african nation. china is zimbabwe's largers foreign i a investor.

an expose in istanbul, passengers were evacuated and some trains were stopped from running. the district's mayor said it was a pipe bomb, but the police say they're still investigating the cause. israeli forces have shot and killed two palestinians teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied west bank. a 16-year-old was shot dead south of jerusalem on tuesday. reportedly tried to stab a pedestrian at a road junction. a 19-year-old woman was killed after she tried to stab a soldier at a settlement. chicago's mayor has found the police chief gary mccarty dismissed a week after release of dash cam footage that shows a white officer fatally shooting a black teenager 16 times. the officer jason van dyke has been charged with first-degree

murder. they had said it was an undeniable fact that the public had lost trust in the police force. you're watching al jazeera. still to come, investigators say caused last year's airasia crash that killed 162 people. plus... [applause] step forward for women in saudi arabia's next elections.

>> every monday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. "talk to al jazeera". monday, 6:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> welcome back. a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera.

defense secretary ash carter announce troops will be deployed to iraq to fight against isil. he said he's ready to expands forces in syria. welcoming home 16 soldiers released in a prisoner swap deal. and voters in burkina faso have elected roch marc kabore as their new president. demonstrators tear gassed. 200 people took to the streets of nairobi demanding the ends of corruption. >> in kenya police investigation is underway after security drill at a nairobi university ended in chaos. one person died and 30 were injured at the university on

monday. catherine soi has the details. >> one student died on monday. she sustained head injuries while fleeing what she thought was gunmen. another student recovering from jumping from the first-floor window. he fractured his legs. >> i see four men advancing, wearing white, something red. and they had a gun. now it is kicked in. >> but the university was not under attack. it was a security drill gone wrong. the this student's legs and hands are broken. she jumped off the second-floor

balcony, and she's still too traumatized to talk to us. in all, more than 30 people are injured. many of the students said they were not informed. they panicked, and some of them jumped off the window ledges. >> the university administrators said that they told local police about the drills, but these police spokesman said that they did not inform the relevant security forces. >> the responsibilities of sending in specialized movements and they find in awkward position where they're fighting on their own, yet it was a drill. that's why we're saying that the highest level of protocol musten followed. >> kenya is on high alert following a series of attacks of al-shabab fighters.

fighters killed 30 people at an attack at an university earlier this year. >> when you're doing a drill you inform people. well, not the details and the timing, but what is actually bound to happen. i saw students hanging on rooftops. they were scared it was a real situation. it ended up looking like a real terrorist attack. >> martin said he's lucky to be alive, but he's also angry that they were not warned, someone died, and another may not be able to walk again. catherine soi, al jazeera, nairobi. >> japan's whaling ships are returning to the southern ocean after 2013 international court of justice ruling forced them to halt their hunt. four vessels have left southwest japan for the end of the year in march. the fleet is preparing to kill 300 whales. japan says it is for scientific

reasons and not commercial purposes. >> two vessels left the southwestern town on tuesday. they'll meet up with two other vessels including the mother ship and patrol boat as they head towards the antarctic ocean. it will resume and carry on through. they told the crew that they are happy for this day. it marks the resumption of jap japan's whaling after last season where they took no whales whatsoever because of the march 2014 ruling by the international court of justice ruling that japan's scientific whaling had no scientific basis whatsoever. there was no need to kill the whales to monitor their population, eating habits and reproduction. japan said it always wanted to resume its commercial whaling, and it will continue to take a

reduced number, a third of what it used to take, 333 whales every year between now and 2027. the australian government said it does not gray at all with the concept of killing whales for research, and it has been examine examining it's legal options. and. >> france has promised to given african countries $8.5 billion over the next five years to invest in renewalible injury. africa is responsible for only mitting small amounts of

emissions. >> president obama said the very existence of some island nations risk, he said the action on climate change is an economic imperative. >> if we let the world keep warning as fast as it is, and sea levels rising as fast as they are. and weather patterns keep shifting in unexpected ways, then we'll have to devote more and more and more of our economic and military resources not for growing opportunity for our people, but to adapting to the various consequences of a changing planet. >> people in china's capital beijing has been told to stay indoors. the second highest orange alert has been issued for air pollution. adrian brown has the latest from beijing. >> well, imagine waking up to this. this is the fourth straight da

day hazardous pollution levels. the air quality index was more than 540. but on monday evening in the south of beijing, the air quality index as measured by one of the government's own monito monitoring stations reached nearly 1,000. that's how serious it was on monday evening. now the government, of course, has pledged by 2030 its emissions of greenhouse gasses will have peakedders, but that means that we'll have many more days like this or perhaps even worse. in the meantime for the moment the government is ordering factories, some 2,000 to slow their output or close. schools are not closed, but many parents are choosing to keep their children at home because of this, and who can blame them? >> and indonesian investigator said that a faulty part and crew

action was the result of killing 260 people. >> more than 11 months after the crash investigators have revealed the final minutes of the flight. when the alarms kept going off for a small technical failure for the commuter system, the pilots took the inconventional decision to turn off the aircraft's protective system. this forced the pilots to fly the plane manually without computer protection, which is where it all went wrong. the airbus started to rolling sharply left and right and almost flew vertically. the co-pilot was flying the plane together with the captain failed to take control during the system failure and control the upset condition. >> the airbus, for all pilots to be trained, and the second recommendation for airbus to

provide some--basically to prevent the pilot and provide something out of procedures. >> very serious message from investigators of the national transport commission. pilots would get more training to fly the plane manually, the commission never points fingers who is to blame for an air crash, but the message to his pilots is clear. it took rescuers more than two months to recover only 106 of the 162 bodies from the remains of the jet at the bottom of the sea. this woman lost they are 24-year-old son who worked as an airasia flight attend. his body was recovered five days after the crash. to her the outcome of the

investigation does not make any difference. >> i cannot blame anyone. no human being would deliberately make this mistake. i'm sure no one wants to fail in his work. he must have done his. >> he is following the accident, airbus has included upset recovery training for pilots and their man yells and technical failure that caused the alarms to sound during the flight has been solved in all airbus planes. and investigators are insisting that airasia should improve the way it's aircraft are maintained. al jazeera, jakarta. >> hundreds of women are running for election in saudi arabia, and it's the first time they've campaigned since the late king gave them the right to run for office. [applause] >> a small celebration of a first in saudi arabia's conservative history. this woman is one of about 900 women running for office. she and the male members of her campaign team are launching her

election ai website. >> we've been waiting to be given this opportunity as ladies to participate in the political and social decision making in the country. since the door opened for us i was one of the first female entrepreneurs actually able to participate in decision making. >> in 2011 the late king abdullah granted women the right to play a part in saudi politics, but women are only allowed t to run for municipal office. activists say any changes are minor at best, and women still face significant restrictions. they're discouraged from driving and have to get the approval of a male guardian to travel abroad, to go to work, or to open a bank account. >> i think there are limitations in being able to meet with the public. so i decided to go to malls so i

could meet with the community. this is what prompted me to focus on social media in my elect actual campaign where everyone can communicate. so i can get the largest number of voters. >> female voters say having women in office will make it easier to raise issues. >> it was difficult in the past to communicate with men, but with the presence of a woman now i can speak to her directly. >> it's a step towards greater freedom in saudi arabia, critics say there is still a way to go. >> researchers in estonia are testing a robot submarine that they believe will revolutionize the way we explore shipwrecks. they use turtle-styl-fins that give far better maneuverability.

the next step is to make it fully autonomous to investigate shipwrecks on its own. for more go to www.aljazeera.com. professor anna deavere smith >> we have lost a generation and we're losing more. and it's-- kind of a moral crisis. can we really afford to just throw people away on the basis of their color. >> smith has been using theatre to examine race relations for decades. her works draw from hundreds of real-life interviews. she then interprets her subjects' words - playing many characters - in one-woman shows.