ever more foreign fighters head to syria. the u.s. announces plans for an intimate national conference to end the fight. ♪ ♪ hello there, i am julie mcdonald, this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. >> donald j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. >> donald trump calls for all muslims to be banned from entering the united states. therthere is a furious reaction across the political divide. palestinian teenager is killed in clash with his the

israeli army in the occupied weighs bank. cameroon identifies hundreds of freed boko haram hostages but are the chibok school girls amongst them? ♪ ♪ hello there, and good to have your company. the united states has announced plans for an international meeting on the war in syria. it will be held in new york next week. the u.s. secretary of state announced the meeting alongside united nations secretary general ban ki-moon in paris. >> we have typically talked about the process taking place now and depending on the outcome of both the saudi-led conference of the opposition that's taking place in the neck days, as well as a few other issues, it's our plan to try to have a meeting in

new york on the 18th of december. >> as john kerry mentioned, syrian opposition groups are gathering in saud saudi arabia's capital riyadh and trying to unify syria's a fractioned people. the talks could shape the bases for those u.s.-backed talks in new york next week and comes as the number of foreign fighters travel to go syria has more than doubled there were 12,000 in june and 31,000 today. and there is tension between turkey and iraq. baghdad has given turkey two days to remove its troops from the northern area of mosul which is held by isil fighters. turkey says it will stop deploying troops to the area but won't remove those already there. imran kahn is in the northern iraqi city of you are bill and l is says iraq is suspicion us. >> reporter: there has been no

official reaction to the spat between turkey and baghdad over the troops come across the border. we have heard there is a real fear of what is happening in iraq, the war against isil is becoming a proxy war that the edge knowledge powers are using iraq to fight against each other. we are hearing a lot of sunni fear about the eye ryne vinnie role here and that's been going for a long time and now hearing from certain shia m.p.s about this turkish role, one of the more extreme reactions coming out of the shia camp is we should bomb these troops, these turkish troops because they violated our sovereignty. and lots of people are very worried here about the russian and the american role also in this country. it's likely the reason that prime minister has known about these turkish troops for over a year now the he's owe angry she's trying to take control of what is happening to his own country. that's certainly the view i have

heard from several people that i have spoken to during the day here in iraq. but what we are also hearing is that we need -- iraq needs to get itself together and to formulate a coalition that's really talking to each other. the moment you have a lot of very disparate interests trying to fight against isil and what iraq would see -- and they have said this for a very long time now is they would like the coalition to be much more unified. >> imran kahn reporting there. kristen sloo saloomey joins me m new york. kerry announced meeting in new york alongside ban ki-moon, what is it that they are hoping to achieve? >> reporter: well, they are hoping to get all sides together on the issue of syria. and plot a way forward with -- plot away forward in terms of a political deal. government transition in syria.

we are there are issues being worked out in terms of who represents the opposition, that's why they are talking in syria right now. the international players have agreed that there needs to be some form of a transition with or without assad. that is still a sticking point as well. but the hope is they can finally hammer out these agreements once they have an opposition to work with here in new york. >> our belief is that just as we operate in close coordination with and with the consent of the iraqi government, that all countries should do that. and our understanding of the original iraqi -- excuse me, turkish deployment is that that was something that was negotiated with the government of iraq and so we are hopeful that this additional deployment is something, too, that can be done, you know in, that manner that where a sovereign government is making judgments

about which capabilities are deployed and make sure that it has visibility in to everything going on in its country. >> and kristen there, has been more discussion today, hasn't there, about these turkish troops in iraq. what has happened there? and is the u.s. watching and listening in to these discussions? >> reporter: absolutely. today russia has asked the security council to discuss the situation in iraq can and the presence of turkish troops there. this is going to be discussed behind closed doors. not a formal meeting on the subject but under other matters of the security council. the united states, as we just heard ambassador samantha powers says, of course, turkey should have permission before it operates within iraq's borders, but it is of the belief that turkey had that permission. but they say that thurman touring the situation and the entire council will discuss the situation. russia, interestingly, asked for this meeting not iraq.

but russia, of course, in an increasingly tense situation with turkey wants to bring up the fact of the presence there, has labeled the presence there illegal. and, of course, this comes on the backdrop of the downing of the russian fighter jet in turkey not too long ago in, which case turkey accused russia of violating its sovereignty and its territory. so something that the international community is closely monitoring in the run up to these talks which are hoped to bring about peace in syria. this could be a factor in affecting those discussions moving forward. >> kristen saloomey joining me there live from the u.n., kristen, thank you. so as we heard there, there has been more talks between turkey and iraq to try to resolve the crisis. al jazeera's omar al saleh is in istanbul. >> reporter: turkish officials said turkey will respect iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity. now, the foreign minister says

he spoke with his iraqi counterpart to try to de-escalate the cries i.. however turkey said very clearly it will not withdraw its soldiers from iraq, but also promised it will not send more troops. now, as far as the iraqis are concerned, they want all turkish troops out of iraq, and turkey said those troops there are to help train and equip the iraqi forces in the area to fight isil which took control over mosul over a year ago. >> turkey's president is insisting on the creation of what he calls safe zones in syria. president erdogan has been pushing the idea for years but says a plan is needed now more than ever. >> translator: we are working on creating a safe passage which we will cleanse of terrorists whereby the moderate syrian opposition can be redeployed. this is a must at the earliest possible time.

only at this time can the syrian crisis be resolved. now, a cameraman working for the al jazeera news network has died. six days after being hit by shrapnel in syria. he was wounded last wednesday whilst covering what was meant to be a ceasefire in the town near the city of homs. ♪ ♪ to the u.s. where the white house has joined condemnation of comments made by donald trump on monday night. the republican presidential hopeful told supporters at a rally that muslims should be banned from the u.s. >> we could be politically correct and we can be stupid, but it's going to get worse and worse. until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses our country cannot be the victim of horrendous attacks by people

that believe only in jihad. >> this is the response to those comments from the white house. >> now, i know that each of the republican candidate has already taken an oath pledging to support donald trump for president of the united states in he wins the nomination. but the fact is, the first thing a president does when he or she takes the oath of office is to swear an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. and the fact is that what donald trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president. and for republican candidate for president to stand by their pledge to support mr. trump, that in and of itself is disqualifying. >> while the critics of trump's comments include hillary clinton who tweeted that the comments

are reprehensibly, prejudice and divisive and say they make the u.s. less safe. even members of trump's only party hit out republican presidential hopeful jeb bush says donald trump is unhinged and his policy proposals are not serious. the former new york governor said his comments are idiotic and said the next things to be banned will loud mouth racist billionaires. >> reporter: donald trump may be standing by his statements to ban all muslims from entering the united states, but his fellow republicans and conservatives are certainly distancing themselves from those comments. it's not the first time they have had to do that. but it seems that there is a new level of backlash that seems to be emerging as a result of statements which many in the republican party say has simply gone too far. paul ryan, top republican in the u.s. house of representatives the speaker of the house said -- held a press conference to speak to reporters and reminded

americans that there are many prominent muss in the u.s. congress who are working to combat radicalism or extremism, the very things that donald trump is suggest this is policy of banning muslims from the united states is designed to do. he also pointed out, paul ryan said many muslims working to meet the security goals in the united states in the armed forces and what donald trump has spoken about and his statements simply are not reflective of conservative values and the republican party. >> normally i do not comment on what is going on in the presidential election. i will take an exception today. this is not conservatism. what was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for and more importantly, it's not what this country stands for. >> reporter: now, donald trump is the republican presidential front runner in terms of the republicans that are running to become the nominee in 2016.

but at the same time, while these comments may work for donald trump in the short-term, there is a feeling that they won't play well in the long-term. when he spoke and said that there should be a ban on muslims entering the united states, those comments were met with a standing ovation. but they speak to a very small subset of conservative voters who are concerned about the shootings that have taken place in paris and san bernardino, california and are looking for a quick fix and a solution to a very complex problem. and may not understand the nuances that are involved in combating extremism. however, in the wider party base of the republican party, there is concern that these comments are hurting u.s. interests outside of the united states. that, in fact, this is dangerous and reckless type behavior that is certainly not presidential from someone like donald trump who is running to be the president of the united states. there also, you have to remember, another subset within the republican party of

evangelical christians who are eager to preserve religious freedom and are concerned about these statements because they want to see people of all faiths free to practice their religion in the united states. so as a result these comments may work well for donald trump in the short-term, in terms of getting the applause and the media coverage that he is looking fork but long-term when it come to casting those ballots for the republican presidential nominee, the expectation is that this will hurt him in the long-term. kimberly halkett there. still to come on al jazeera. the tiny caribbean island that's making giant leaps to become completely self sufficient for energy. and why a country with vast water resources is still experiencing severe drought.

♪ ♪ welcome back. a reminder of our top stories here on al jazeera. the united states has announced plans for all the countries involved in the syrian peace process to meet next friday in new york. turkey is to stop deploying troops to northern iraq but is refusing to withdraw forces that are there are there, despite an ultimatum by iraq. and the u.s. republican supprespresidential hopeful dond trump has sparked fey after calling for a complete ban on muslims entering the u.s. republicans say it disqualifies him from running for president.

an attack on the airport in kandahar. a spokesman for the region's governor says several fighters have based themselves at a nearby school and are firing at the airport. we are kabul and have the latest. >> reporter: we have just spoken with one afghan security official at the scene. he told us that they believe there are nine taliban attackers, five of them stormed the school building in that compound and four others could manage to enter the residential building for the afghan military officers and they could manage to take hostages, some families of the military officers. let me describe to you the specific location. it is inside the kandahar airport compound, kandahar airport compound is a huge compound one side is an afghan military base, the other side is the military airport, and also a base for nato and american

forces. it's the main military base for the southern afghanistan, for nato and also for afghan forces. and getting in to this residential compound, residential for the afghan military any has to cross a couple of checkpoints to get in there. it's now a big question how come nine taliban fighters, if we believe there are nine, with that much gun and ammunition could enter through this compound and take hostage the family member of the afghan security forces. a 19-year-old palestinian man has been shot dead during a raid by the israeli army in the west bank. residents say he was amongst a group of protesters demonstrating against soldiers as they arrived to arrest two men at a refugees camp in bethlehem. clashes have erupted since his funeral. from west jerusalem here is stefanie dekker. >> reporter: the confrontations that ensued in bethlehem between the israeli army and palestinian youth followed the funeral of

the 19-year-old. this is a young man who was killed in an overnight raid by the israeli army in a refugees camp close to bethlehem following his funeral 10s of palestinians marched towards the tomb in bethlehem and confrontations ensued. this street has become a flash point over the last few months of these kind of confrontations where palestinian youth vent their anger, their frustration at the occupation. now, when you speak to them, many will tell you that the world has forgotten them. that nothing seems to be on the table to try to push israel to end its occupation of the occupied west bank and okay pride east jerusalem. so there is this simmering frustration here that is becoming the norm. the protests certainly something we see almost on a daily basis, also incidents of stabbings, alleged stabbings, car rammings, all becoming something that is happening on a day-to-day basis. so certainly a very tense street, a lot of frustration, even in the words of the u.s. secretary of state john kerr why

had been very much involved in trying to get both sides to the table over last few years, to try to find a solution to this conflict said he hadn't seen the mist trust as high it is as now between both sides. >> oscar pistorius has been granted bail while he awaits sentencing for murder he faces up to 15 years in jail for killing his girlfriend receive a steenkamp in 2013, last week the supreme court changed his conviction from culpable homicide to murder. nigerian troops have begun what they call a final push against boko haram. they attacked the strong hold in the forest. coming days after 900 hostages were freed in cameroon. ahmad idris reports from a bodg. >> reporter: after months in cab test, they are finally free. these are some of the 900 hostages being mainly women and children who have been freed

after days of fighting between boko haram and regional forces near ra cool cameroon option ba. >> i come nigeria i was taken on the way to my village. i was then put in a prison. >> reporter: soon he and others will be on their way home. >> translator: we have received strict instructions from those above to support them, to reparticipate them to their countries. what you see now is humanitarian support, there is already a place for get rest and get the necessary support. including food. >> reporter: the government has deported thousands of refugees, saying it's concernedded about potential boko haram fighters hiding among them, dozens of its citizens have been called in attacks blamed on the arm group. thousands of young men and women have been taken by boko haram over the last five years, many have been forced to join the armed group. there has been a growing sense

of frustration that after 19 months there has been no news of the more than 200 school girls kidnapped in ch chi box, an attk that drew global news. but for them the freedom could take longer. he's related to 23 of the missing girls and campaigns for government action to rescue them. he says they are not giving up home. >> i have not seen anything not seen anything. i am hopeful bus it's not just possible to have over 276 girls taken at a government school and then disappear in to the thin air. >> reporter: nigerian troops are under pressure to end the boko haram violence by the end the year. as the righting intensifies emergency relief agencies are preparing another wave of displaced persons.

more than 8 million people in ethiopia are in need of emergency aid. that's according to the u.n. parts of the country are experiencing one of the worst droughts in 30 years, al jazeera's charles stratford reports. >> reporter: she and her children struggle and it's perhaps proof that climate change hits the world's poorest people the hardest. she says she and her eight children are waiting to receive humanitarian aid. the hot winds of el nino generated over the pacific ocean the affects of which scientists say are being made worse by global warming have destroyed this year's harvest in parts of ethiopia. the u.n. says there are 8.2 million people like this who need emergency aid. it says that figure could rise to 15 million in coming months. >> translator: we have nothing this year. we have no plan. it's up to god. after the harvest failed the men and children who are strong enough left to try to find work.

>> reporter: the ethiopian government has allocated $192 million but the u.n. says $600 million may be needed. international donors have been slow to respond. the u.n. says around 350,000 children are expected to require treatment for malnutrition. but ethiopia has plenty of water. this is the worst drought to hit some areas of ethiopia since the 1980s. but it's important to recognize that this country has vast water resources. this is a lake, now the surface area of that water covers around 440 square kilometers. the problem is the lack of irrigation infrastructure to get that water to some of the affected areas close by. farmers lucky enough to be near the lake pump water from a stream in to their fields. >> translator: it's difficult for us because the pump is so small and the pipes keep

breaking. >> reporter: there is virtually no irrigation infra view, to get water from lakes and rivers to some of the remote areas hit hardest by the drought. aid agencies say irrigation investment has been slow because projects such as drilling bore holes are so expensive. the government says it's trying to get water to some of the worst affected areas. >> translator: we are trying to reach every farmer, the giving them access to water for irrigation by using different methods such as rain water harvesting. the government is investing heavily. some of the projects are supported by donors. >> reporter: around 80% of ethiopia's approximately 96 million people work in agriculture. farming generates around 40% of the country's g.d.p. with such limited access to water, millions of people like this can only hope that next year there is a lot more rain. charles stratford, al jazeera. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon is warning of serious

consequence fist a deal isn't done in the remaining three days of the united nations climate change conference that's happening in paris. a draft text signed on saturday needs to be finalized by 195 nations at the conference. the aim is to reduce global warming by cutting the dependence on fossil fuels which produce greenhouse gas. now, the ultimate aim of many nations is to become energy independent, totally self sufficient in all of their energy needs. the tiny caribbean island of aruba is leading the way hoping for energy independence within five years. andy gallagher followed the to aruba to find out more. >> reporter: they call aruba the happy island. for a place that depends entirely almost on tourism it's an apt nickname. but it's also getting a reputation for something that most visitors here are unaware of. if all goes well, this tiny nation will be energy independent in just five years. >> we have a whole section here that takes care of all of the water. >> reporter: it's a goal that

environmental assists have been promoting for years. his hotel on the edge of aruba's pristine beaches is as eco friendly as they come. a philosophy he says helps both his business and the environment. >> i always say to my customers, feel good because you probably are wasting lessen i didn't in coming on vacation to aruba than probably spending it at home. >> reporter: but aruba's path to energy independence hasn't been easy. energy prices here were rising steeply. thousands o of thes of of thes f diesel daily were being imported and the oil refinery closed its doors in 2012. aruba has more than its fair share of potential power sources. the sun is an obvious one, but officials say by the end of 2016, almost half of the electricity to this island will be supplied by wind power. and that, say the government,

makes them a leader in green technology. the aruban government says the changes, such as scrapping old steam turbines and embracing solar power cost $300 million but they say it's their global partner that his made all the difference. >> how they have come together in support of what aruba does but also basically adding their message to an effort that is not only important for aruba but also say for the world. >> reporter: since the move to greener technology electricity prices have dropped 25%. inflation has been reversed and aruba is close to paying off the money it borrowed to make the changes. by 2020, it may just be the nation others turn to as an example of what green really meanses. andy gallagher, al jazeera, aruba. pope francis has ushered in the catholic church's year of mercy by opening the holy door of st. peter's basilica. 10s of thousands attended a

mass. there was tightened security with soldiers deployed. you can find out much more on our website all the top story that his we are following out there, you can find all our analysis and lots of extra bits and pieces there, we'll have the headlines in just a second.