boots on the ground. the u.s. will send more special forces to fight i.s.i.l. in iraq and syria. this is al jazeera. also ahead. don't bomb syria thousands rally in london ahead of a parliamentary vote on whether to approve launching air strikes in syria. plus. >> reporter: in baghdad violence rises across iraq and the price of oil plum ets and

civilians are going into poverty government intervention clears a hazardous fog choking china's capital. obama says the u.s. is stepping up the fight against i.s.i.l. more special forces will be sent to fight the armed group in both iraq an syria. obama has expressed that the ground troop mission will be carried out alongside continued diplomatic efforts. >> reporter: 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 special targeting force to assist iraqi and peshmerga forces and putting more pressure on i.s.i.l. these special operators will over time be able to conduct

raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture i.s.i.l. leaders. that creates a virtuous cycle of better intelligence, which generates more targets, more raids, more momentum. >> reporter: the military says when they find an i.s.i.l. leader the teams will go into syria to get him and get out. 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 will come painted with a new flag. germany's cabinet has agreed to send in planes, ships and up to 1200 troops with a promise they won't be used for combat. in the u.k. they're voting on sending their jets. before reaching the climate talks, obama is describing how he sees this conflict ending. it begins with all of the parties, including russia agreeing on the list of

opposition fighters. the next step, a cease fire between those groups and forces loyal to syrian president bashar al-assad. it's possible, given the existing accord that the parties have already 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 either syrian or russian bombing. they are then in a conversation about politics. >> reporter: but there's a problem with that conversation. the u.s. coalition says it has to end with bashar al-assad out of power. russia doesn't want that. obama thinks that could change in the coming months and there could be an especially true if the balance of power shifts on the ground in syria from mark, the former

assistant secretary for political fares under george w bush. he says the ground troops will be necessary if the west is serious about defeating i.s.i.l. i think the real difference is going to be the frequency of open operations and the pace of operations. up to this point in the last couple of years special forces have been used for single hits on single high-value targets as the intelligence comes in. with secretary carter today referred to the virtuous cycle where more raids means more intelligence which leads to more raids which leads to more intelligence, that is something that was done in the 04 to 06 time period and characterised by the operations of general crystal ran with the special command. our air forces have run out of targets. what this operation does is it gets more intelligence which leads you to more targets and can cause a quicker collapse of i.s.i.l. as was seen in al-qaeda

in iraq in 2006 time period leading up to the ultimate death of the leader. i think most experts agree that what we put into iraq is insufficient to the task at hand and what we put into syria, quick frankly, is virtually no more than a token force. if we are serious about defeating i.s.i.l. in both iraq and syria, and quite frankly, it as moves beyond iraq and syria, we can't rely on air strikes alone to court the threat the parliament in britain is deciding on whether to join the bombing of i.s.i.l. in syria. it is divide public opinion. thousands are rallying in the city. >> reporter: an emergency demonstration calling for mps to vote no to joining air strikes against i.s.i.l. in syria.

though passionate they're unlikely to sway the decision. the prime minister was would not have a vote unless it is insured that it is western australian of sol dart. we will will be act willing with our allies. it is right to do this to help to keep our country safe. the action we are taking is part of a strategy. >> reporter: the debate is dividing the nation and the opposition labor party whose leader has made the action his life's work that military action is going to kill civilians in raqqa. it is going to create maybe some martyrs as a result of it. that military action, where does it lead to? >> reporter: since august last year coalition forces have dropped thousands of bombs in syria but i.s.i.l. is still in place. the u.k. is also effectively

bombing i.s.i.l. targets in iraq and could make a difference in syria. it's aircraft can deliver highly accurate missiles that other allies don't have, but if the aim is to remove i.s.i.l., air strikes alone won't achieve that. only ground troops can. prime minister cameron says there's 70,000 piters who can retake territory but knows numbers are disputed. britain has been here before. in 2003 when mps approved military action in iraq. this time protestors are demanding to the heard don't make the mistake that you've made so many times before and take us into another bombing campaign which will only make the situation worse and which will lead to the death says of civilians. it may make it more dangerous here. >> reporter: there is no end game and like many mps, it is

best to channel the energy into solving the civil war it syria. >> reporter: two years ago, a vote was defeated. this time the target has changed, it is expected to pass and bombing could start within days the u.s. steps up the fight against i.s.i.l., there has been a new development in the conflict between government forces and opposition rebels in syria. they've agreed to a cease fire in the city of homs. it applies to a neighborhood the only district controlled by the opposition. the city's governor says the deal will take effect next week and could apply for two months. >> reporter: the goal of this visit is to implement the plan that was called for after the vienna talk.

to try to find a solution and to reach a truce in a certain area and to stop the fighting and shelling across syria the united nations has warned that i.s.i.l. is increasing its presence in libya. a report by a u.n. monitoring group says i.s.i.l. sees the country as the best opportunity to expand its territory. it says the group has up to three thousand fighters in libya. nato ministers have joined montenegro to join. it will take a year for the country to go through the process and moscow is referred to as provocation. montenegro was bombed by nato 17 years ago when it was involved in a conflict. live to nato headquarters in brussels. tell us what has been announced exactly and what montenegro brings to the table. >> reporter: as you were

saying, now it's formal. the foreign ministers of the 28-member countries have invited montenegro to start talks and that's the important point. it won't be instant. it could take up to two years. montenegro has already carried out some reforms to its defense minister strew and armed forces to approve its eligible, but already its prime minister has called this a historic moment for his population which has a population of 620,000 people. it's a huge step away from what people might have imagined back in the late 1990s when montenegro was part of yugoslavia was bombed. eventually the country split from serbia in 2006. let's not forget that people here have been looking forward not just to montenegro's possible membership, but the fact that there are other

countries in the balance cans-- balkans who wish to join nato russia, apparently, is not happy? >> reporter: certainly not. one person who is very happy is the nato secretary general who has called this a sign of nato's continued commitment to the western balkans where croatia, albania and slovenia are already members, but moscow sees this in a very different way. foreign minister lavrov in september called the expansion of nato in general a mistake even . the u.s. trying to spin this, trying to say that this was a natural flow of events. it's not to do with russia or any of the tensions over ukraine, for example. even in montenegro, though, not everybody is happy. there are some groups who have asked the government for a referendum on this issue. it's certainly not a country where everybody is happy with

being aligned with the west, as it were. there are still strong trade ties with moscow if not political ties for everybody thanks very much. talks have begun in myanmar to transf transfer power. aung san suu kyi has met with the government for the first time. following decades of military rule, the first democratically government is to be sworn in next year. 20 million people should be breathing easier in china. hazardous smog was been blown away. on monday people were advised to stay in doors. >> reporter: this is the park in the center of bay syringe, the appropriate place to be today because it means some

people and here people can see the sun, they can feel its rains. the skies are much blewer and the air so much cleaner. people here don't take clean air for granted and so they are out in this park making the most of it. this time yesterday the air quality index stood at 560 which is hats ordinarious. today it is-- hazardous. today it is 25 which is good. it means that factories, which have been closed, have now been able to reopen. these people know that the clean air is just a temporary respite because china's government has warned that it could be another 15 years before its greenhouse gas emissions finally peak. environmentalists say it could be another 30 years where days like this are the norm as opposed to the exception sweet poison, a medical journal has released its report

on the dangers of hidden sugar.

the top stories here. the u.s. is spending more special forces to iraq. they will assist in fighting i.s.i.l. they will also conduct missions into syria. three and a half thousand u.s. advisers are already in iraq. thousands of anti war protestors have rallied in london ahead of

a vote in parliament of whether to join the bombing campaign on i.s.i.l. targets in syria. the syrian government and opposition groups have agreed a truce in the city of homs. the cease fire is the only town in control. violence, political instability and a struggling economy have left almost a third of iraq's population without basic services such as water and sanitation. a report on how people are coping in the capital baghdad >> reporter: this man says he feels hopeless. his motorised rick shaw broke down months ago and he can't afford to repair it. he relys on small loans to get by. a move to the slam here a few years ago, he says he came here in the hopes of giving his wife,

daughters and examined children a better life. but it hasn't worked out that way. >> translation: what can i tell you. our lives here are miserable. sometimes we wish we would die than have to live like this. i served as an army reservist for eight years during the war and in the end the government gave us nothing for our service >> reporter: the world bank says 30% of families live below the poverty line. that's more than 10 million people who don't have access to adequate food, water or shelter, leading to mass migration looking for works. it is said that decades of successive wars, the rise of i.s.i.l. and a fragile political situation have all led to what they describe as a crisis. there are other important issues which are driving an increasing number of iraqis into extreme poverty.

iraq's economy is almost solely dependent on revenue from oil production. international lenders have warned successive governments to diverse any its industries, but none did, which is why record low oil prices over the last year have led to a major deficit. government corruption is also a concern. after months of protests, the prime minister announced more reforms to make the government more accountable. >> translation: our politicians just fill their pockets with money and neglect us poor people. they're profiting from their comfortable government positions and stripping us citizens from any wealth. >> reporter: a belief felt by a growing number of iraqis who are struggling to make ends meet the use of torture could return to the united states if former government officials are not prosecuted.

that's the warning from campaign group human rights watch. lisa stark reports. this is too serious a crime to ignore. it's too great to ignore >> reporter: this is the chief author of the human rights watch report and it is clear where she stands on the techniques that the bush administration sanctioned and put in place after the 911 attacks the state sanctioned global program whereby men were abducted from all over the world, put in secret detention and tortured >> reporter: the practices detailed in the heaviliedd ted report released by the snit a year ago, included water boarding, sleep depravation, exposure to extreme temperatures. the c.i.a. program was far more brutal than people were led to believe. >> reporter: california senator fought to make the report public. it shows that the c.i.a.'s actions a decade ago are a stain

on our value and on our history. >> reporter: human rights watch says no-one has been held accountable. it was a criminal investigation into nearly two dozen former bush administration officials including presidential bush, vice president cheney, george ten anti, john ash croft. the group called on president obama to appoint a special prosecutor to look into possible charges. it wants the president to acknowledge u.s. wrongdoing, apologise to victims and offer compensation. in a statement the c.i.a. told jails it has acknowledged the program had shortcomings and the agency made mistakes. the c.i.a. also pointed out that the justice department previously investigated and decided not to initiate criminal charges.

>> reporter: president obama as one of his first actions in office banned these interrogation techniques, but some of the g.o.p. candidates have defended the practices and even embraced them. would i approve water boarding? you bet your arse i would approve it. in a heart beat. in a heart beat. >> reporter: that concerns human rights watch which says accountability is critical to send a message to other countries and future u.s. presidents. without clear signal that what happened was criminal, there's a real danger this could happen again >> reporter: lisa stark francois hollande has told the u.n. climate conference in parity that the poorer countries should be helped by wealthy

ones. he has planeload money. more than 150 world leaders are attending and hope to reach an agreement on global warming at the end of the 12 days. the country's most vulnerable to climate change are low lying ones that are already starting feeling the effects of global warming. nick clerk. >> reporter: from above it's evident how this island is. it has a population density similar to tokyo and hong kong and it is growing fast. whenever you look there's children and you can only wonder what the future holds for them. from the war you can really see how low lying the island is. there is practical no elevation at all. there's just a lagoon this side and a narrow strip of land and some over there and open ocean. nowhere to go up or sideways.

nowhere to go at all. >> reporter: we put to shore at the village where the sea wall has been destroyed by ever more powerful and persistent storms. where they were once homes is now open water. people are being forced to abandon houses, relocating to already crowded areas. there's still some stuff here, shoes in there. still some stuff here. they will come back. >> reporter: there's books. village elder shoulder me a house vacated just a month ago. they moved away. they won't come back. >> reporter: they finally had enough. yes. too much trouble. too much because of this. >> reporter: while we were on the island, the president hosted a conference on the trouble some issue of climate induced

migration. other challenges were highlighted that they face. no-one has ever faced this situation we are facing in our nation. >> reporter: the president has long campaigned for urgent global action. he invited me to join him at home where he enjoys time with his grandchildren, a generation he says whose future depends on our actions now. i've always referred to the climate change as the greatest moral change for humanity because if these people knew that this is happening to us, why do they continue to do it. i cannot understand it. how can you pretend to be a moral person if you know that what you're doing is hurting people on the other side of the world. >> reporter: there is no doubt that rising sea levels threaten the very existence of these communities. perhaps with massive investment, the islands can be built up to

defend themselves against the encroaching ocean, but time is running out. this disused ship lost its moorings in a recent storm and it smashed into a sea wall near the port. the ship's name translates as good luck. something i'm afraid these children desperately need new research says that too much sugar is killing us. it can lead to diabetes, heart attacks and cancer. a public health report says that sugar hidden in packaged foods is contributing to a global health crisis. >> reporter: soft drinks, sweets and packaged desserts held sugar. some brands of tomato sauce have the equivalent 30 grams of sugar. 74% of pack appled food and drinks in the u.s. have added

sweeteners. -- packaged. it is merely one kind of negative adverse way that the global food companies are hurting our health. the sugar in our food supply is very subtle. they use hundreds of different names of it and we're not aware of it >> reporter: glucose syrup or nectar, whatever it is called, we should be eating less of it. we should cap our sugar intake to 5% of our diets not including those in fruit vegetables or milk. people consume more sugar than that particular in sports drinks, fruit juice and flavoured water. the highest consumption of drinks in terms of calories a day or volume sold per person in northern and western africa, western europe. governments are not taking this on board.

we're going to see this large rapid increase in diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular death and a number of cancers. 13 of the top 16 cancers are related to obesity. the world health federation number two is cutting sugar out of our diet. >> reporter: introducing a sugar tax of 20% or more could have a noticeable effect of decrease in drinks, which is having a positive impact in countries more on this from al jazeera scholte heidler in bangkok where sugar is a main statement. >> reporter: it is the second largest exporter of sugar but

also a big consumer. sugar has been a main stay of thigh food for centuries-- thai foods. with the introduction of drinks, that untake of sugar has increased even more. the average thai consumes 104 grams of sugar each day. that's four times the amount that's recommended by the world health organisation. this country has the second highest obese iterate. the government is going to go after top offender number one saying that they're going to start limit advertisements and promotions of sugary drinks the boss of facebook is celebrating father hood by pledging to give away billions of dollars to charity. they made the announcement following the birth of their first baby, a girl named max. the couple say they will give 99% of the social media giant's shares that they own to charity

during their lifetime. facebook shares are currently worth 45 billion dollars. more news from al jazeera along with analysis, comment and plenty of video at our website at aljazeera.com. >> the us is now the world's largest oil and gas producer, in part because of what's happening here in north dakota, where advances in fracking have unlocked crude oil in the bakken shale formation in the western part of the state. north dakota is now producing more than a million barrels of oil a day. ten years ago there were fewer than 200 oil-producing wells in the bakken. now there are more than 8,000. >> they call it boomtown usa this is where all the money is. it's crazy the amount of money you can make here. >> this rapid pace of development and the flood of workers coming here, has given north dakota the lowest ump