only on al jazeera america. [ ♪ ] . >> i voted voters head to the polls in central african republic, with hopes of stability after years of violence. hello there, you are watching al jazeera, live from our hours in doha. i'm laura kyle. also ahead. tightening the grip on ramadi. iraqi forces carry out operations to rid the country of i.s.i.l. >> the top advisor to the north

korean leader is killed in a car crash we begin the newshour in the central african republic, where voting is under way in much delayed presidential and legislative elections. voters began to cast their ballots. 1.8 million are expected to vote. with the armed forces and u.n. peacekeepers ensuring everything goes smoothly. the governor of car for a decade has been barred from standing. he is the subject of u.n. sanctions. michelle is snable to run, put in power in 2003 by the fighters. and the interim president is not allowed to run.

but that could change if george dalgela wins, a former prime minister to whom the party pledged support. if elected, he could return to car. the other leading candidate is martin, a former prime minister accused by some of having ties to the seleka fighters. and the former foreign minister and prominent muslim candidate. our correspondent is outside a polling station in the capital bangui with more. >> there has been a number of concerns, polling stations opened late. some did not have their voting material. that was in bangui, where they should be best organized. there has been voters turned away. we were talking to the head of the african union observer mission, saying there was confusion between voters not issued cards, but had been told they could turn up with receipt

and another form of idea, yet they've been turned away. a bit of a breakdown between people looking to take part in the election and some running the election on the whom, things are moving relatively smoothly in bangui, there are gus forming -- queues forming. many are pleased that it is happening after delays on the security front. this is a volatile company speaking to the head the united nations. they said they have an early warning system in place, and are prepared to act swiftly and aggressively if trouble flares. >> 10 i.s.i.l. leaders have been killed. some are linked to the paris attackers. the iraqi prime minister emphasised that the recap was an iraqi provision. and baghdad differing with

washington on how long it there take to complete. >> this is an alleged i.s.i.l. leader with ties an abdul hamid. a mastermind of recent power attacks. and with plans to attack other targets. the u.s. military says it killed him in an air strike in syria. and that he was just one of 10 i.s.i.l. leaders targeted this month. our ability to dismantle the facilitation networks, and the ground command and control, the ability to take away enforcers and executioners and extortionists. that agents away at the ability to instill fear. >> the obama administration long talked about the need to attack i.s.i.l. on many fronts. financially and through social media. it's the military campaign

capturing the most attention. need, the oust spent most of the past few days traysing the success. military leaders applauded the fight to retake baiji, and sinjar. home to minority yazidi and sunni. >> whel chase i.s.i.l., and go after them. we'll lies the flag and purchase the land. >> we tell the people that we are coming to liberate them. and i.s.i.l. will be defeated. >> analysts say a body's fail tour to mention the u.s. was not an oversight. >> the prime minister is trying to say this is iraqis taking control of their own destiny, because it looked like this was more a u.s. operation than an

iraqi operation, it would fade into the narrative that it is the west that is struggling with groups like i.s.i.s. >> while iraq and the u.s. are celebrating progress against i.s.i.l., there's a split on the way forward. haider al-abadi says 2016 will be the year iraq kicks i.s.i.l. out of mosul. >> in the u.s.'s few, it may take longer. >> iraqi forces and tribal fighters are tightening their grip. there's reports of fighting in fallujah. this report from erbil. >> according to reports, 500 fighters came to the front line to consolidate and carry out the clean and sweep. these are the two areas which are key in order for the iraqi

forces to cross the euphrates river into ramadi. forces are confident they cannot just take on ramadi and other areas like fallujah. the fighting offense, and iraqi forces say it will take days to complete the u.s. criticized the killing of the leader of the syrian rebel group saying they were ready to take part in u.n. mediated talks. there's concerns over what it calls indiscriminate russian air strikes, something russia denies. >> n.g.o.s reported the air strikes killed hundreds of civilians, including first responders, schools and markets,

and led to the displacement of 130,000 syrians in october, and the first half of november. we are deeply concerned about reports of casualties, we have seen a marked increase. >> meanwhile, this is the aftermath from the shelling. it's not clear whether russian forces carried out the attack a court has thrown out a case against a plantation giant for contributing to the smoke in the region. due to burning plantation to make way for crops. >> reporter: ahead of the

verdict, an environmental group staged a protest, to remind everyone what is at stake. indonesian people and forests. a company was accused of starting fires last year. affecting 20 heck tors of land in the western island of sumatra. they brought the lawsuit, seeking 570 million in damages. the court found the evidence lagging, and ruled in favour of the company. >> translation: why would the company need to find its practices, if it was proven in court that they had done everything, it would be a set back. >> the court suspended the licences of several companies, over this year's forest fires. >> translation: we are going to appeal the decision, not only to bring justice to the peach of indonesia forest fires and the

resulting haze that blankets indonesia and neighbouring countries have become an annual occurrence, straining regulations. this year's fire causes flight cancellations and school closures. more than a dozen died and half a million fell sick from respiratory illnesses. the the world bank estimates that fires will cost $15 billion. some say farmers use slash and burn methods to clear land are to blame. others believe it is plantation owners who are responsible. many agree it is lax enforcement of the law, and corruption in indonesia that allows the problem to continue. because of this, the company and also the people say we can burn them. they give us permission. it's not a good idea.

it disagree. the court's verdict is not the only thing concerning environmental groups. >> environmentalists say satellite pictures showed hot spots in some parts of sumatra. once the dry season starts in march. they could grow bigger. >> the yearly phenomenon growing into an environmental disaster is unlikely to go away soon more to come on the programme. including they may feel unwanted. but refugees are helping to boost the economy of one of the biggest cities. plus... >> i'm daniel lack in saskatchewan. this is called the dead sea of canada because its waters are extremely salty. i'll be reporting on new research showing how salt lakes like this one can help the

country cope with climate

change. you're watching al jazeera, here is a reminder of the top stories. voters in central african republic are at the polls for a long delayed presidential election. the country is marred by violence. iraqi forces and sunni trible fighters tighten their grip on ramadi. sweeping and clearing operations are under way on the northern

front an indonesian court has found a county guilty for burning thousands of hectares to make room for its crop we are joined from southern turkey by hashem ahelbarra. tell us more about the - the intention of the two men well we don't the nationality of the two. the bomber said they came all the way from syria, planning the attacks in the capital. that's where they were arrested. it was a major concern for the government in the group

launching attacks on the border where dozens were killed by i.s.i.l. and the government is arresting over the last four are few months, dozens of operatives and people affiliated with them. responsible for launching attacks. and with a top command in syria. on another front. tensions rising. between the government and p.k.k. reccels: there's mounting tension. the government is launching a clampdown against fighters in the south of the country, and particularly those considered by the government to be a stronghold of p.k.k. fighters. activists on the ground say that

many civilians were targeted in the attacks launched by the turkish government. there were explosions, heavy fighting yesterday in jisra. and reports of a blast in and near the armenian church. the government imposed a curfew in the areas, we don't know what happened. what was the target, and whether there are casualties. relations between the government and kurdish groups and pro-kurdish parties was strained over the last few weeks in the south-east of the country. the government says it will not tolerate talks of separatism or autonomy of those areas, and that a deal should be part of a comprehensive settlement between the government and the different components of the kurdish society. but the government accuses p.k.k. of trying to expand further into the areas, taking advantage of the instability in

syria, acquire more weapons, and stage counter attacks inside turkey, and this is why we have seen instability and further violence in the areas. thanks very much, hashem ahelbarra north korea's state newsagencies says a top advisor died in a car crash. he was involved in negotiations with neighbouring rival south korea. very few details have been released about the circumstances surrounding the car crash that killed kim yang gong. north korea's state newsagency announced his death in a brief statement. >> translation: member of the political bureau. deputy to the supreme people's assembly died sadly in a traffic accident at 6:15, december 29th, at the age of 73.

>> reporter: as secretary of the ruling workers party, he was a senior official, an experienced negotiator playing an important role in talks with south korea. in august he helped to diffuse tensions between the two sides after an explosion injured two seen soldiers at the border with north korea. the south korean government paid frib ute to skill and hard work during the talks. >> we offer our condolences. working to achieve an agreement between high level talks. he was, according to state media, the closest comrade, and the solid partner. his death is raiding questions about what is happening in the secretive government. south korean officials said kim

jong un executed several officials, including his uncle since becoming the leader four years ago. this time the supreme leader came out. and we see signed that there is surprise on their sides. and unlike other cases where we have serious speck uinglation. i don't think it deserves much. but it looks and sounds like a traffic accident. the state funeral will take place on thursday. it's not clear what the death of an advisor means for north korea korean women used as war-time sex slaves gathered in seoul to denounce a compensation deal. hundreds of demonstrators joined the women at a first weakly rally since an agreement was reached between south korea and japan. monday japan's prime minister

appeal guised and promised $8 million -- apologised and promised $8 million compensation. >> we ask for official and direct apology, and pay legal examination instead of apologising by proxy. >> let's cue workers have been trapped with blin horts for five days. they are trying to send food and water to men 250 meters underground. they are finding their way through the rubble, trying to bring them out. >> india's capital city introduces a new scheme. private cars will only be allowed into new delhi, denialeding on whether the licence plate ends in odd or even numbers. it's hoped to stem the huge amount of vehicles on the road. they said that the citizens needs to take responsibility to clean up the city.

>> translation: this scheme will only be successful when it becomes is big movement. when people want to do this from their hearts. we do not have to do it because i say it or it's been forced upon us as a government. we have to do it because we feel that it is important for our lives or health david says despite best intentions, india is not tackling the source of the problem. >> if you talk about the regular sources - diesel trucks and buses, they have 50% of the inventory share. other than that, you have - capital city surrounded by so many industries in the surrounding towns. there are many operating in the residential complex around the city of delhi. there is open burning happening in the rural areas surrounding

the city. they contribute to the problem. and other than that, there are others that run on coal. so in order - the situation here is complex. it's not so simply that you put them on and you get rid of the problem. >> as carbon levels climb in the earth's atmosphere, scientists and government are looking for ways to reduce emissions. researchers may have found a process soaking up the carbon from the air. >> reporter: they call this the dead sea of canada, lit the manito lake, it's so salty only microscopic creatures can live in it. rivers flow in, not out of the evap hags nation it salty -- evaporation mace it salty. farmers know not to plant near

the store. there's a spar. >> in the '20s and '30s people came from all over. bathing in the water. putting the mud on themselves. it was very much a health place. >> salt water lakes are well-known in this part of the world. aside from this one, where tourism and taking the waters is popular. they are seen as a nuisance. research is showing that a lake lake this with celine waters may perform a valuable service. >> researchers at the university of regina say such lakes, and there are hundreds here absorb atmospheric carbon. the complex chemistry stores it in mud. more than 100 times a year. up to a third of the output of the farms. >> it's a natural process. >> we don't have to do anything other than make sure we don't

drain them. lakes have been under appreciated in the carbon budget because total surface area are not huge. but the rates at which they are processing them is far faster than the open ocean. >> as oceans are more acidic, they sop up less carbon. the bodies of water are crucial, and not just here. the caspian sea, the largest salty lake has similar chemistry, environmental activists say it's the science that should transform our approach to the world's carbon problem. >> we need good applied science to figure out how to achieve this. if we use the applied science to set out what we need to achieve. we can hand it out to the economists and figure out the detail. >> reporter: so far governments are not doing much.

but excitement is building on how it may be applied. if canada draws up a mission on how to deal with it. the salt lates could be part of it. george pataki drops out of the race for republican nomination. he told reporters that he'd end his captain on tuesday. and ranked the least favourite of republicans in recent pollses. people in cleveland ohio ended a peaceful protest over a grand jury's decision not to indict two police officers that killed a 12-year-old black boy. the mayor frank jackson said the grand jury's proceedings will be reviewed. tamir rice was waving a toy gun in a playground when fatally shot by a policeman. refugees in a town could be

banned from buying and selling firearms. they were worried about the risk of firearms in the refugee shelters, and it was feared loud bangs could stir up memories of those that fled from war zones. >> hundreds of thousands arrived from greece. tourist numbers declined. some businesses say they are getting a boost from the arrivals. we have this report it is greece's second-largest city, with a population of more than a million people. the city's coastline is a major tourist attraction. but it's an hour's drive to the border with macedonia, which is the main crossing point for refugees for the rest of europe. over a million refugees past through greece in 2015. many went through the city. and that has brought much-needed cash to the economy. >> some of the refugees came

here with money to spend and get by. all experiments and shops had a positive boost. >> the hotel association says more than 25,500 syrian refugees booked a room for a night tore two. the number is expected to rise because there are others staying in cheep hotels. the cheapest room in the street costs about 20 euros. the city's mayor says greece is not after the refugees money. >> people, mainly syrians, which had some economic ability. they said in the ceremony, for one, two, three, four days. this was just a passing point. some people make money.

i understand in the same way that they make money, the turks make money when they are busting through. who knows how much money? >> at this petrol station near the border of macedonia, refugees are stranded. they can wait days before police allow them to continue the journey. that means they spend more money to east and drink, boosting trade for shop answerers. it's very -- shop owners, it's very big. they ask for biscuits, sweet and sugar, and basic stuff like socks and scarves. >> demand for transport picked up through the quiet winter months. buses bring refugees from athens to the border for 25 euros per person. business is good. the driver tells me he transports about 200 people a week. greece says the refugee crisis

in 2015 is costing hundreds of millions of dollars. the refugees are helping some greeks and their businesses flourish and, of course, you can keep up to date with all the very latest news and more on the website. there it is on the screen. aljazeera.com. ali velshi. the human growth hormones shipped to peyton manning's. red like cameras. some are rigged in chicago apparently controversy continues to swirl three days after al jazeera