chinese stocks plunge as the world's second largest economy continues to slow. hello. we have the world news. also to come. >> we are determined not to allow iran to undermine our security saudi arabia cuts diplomatic ties with iran after protesters storm its embalances ee in tehran. -- embassy in tehran. an earthquake hits north-eastern india. there are reports that bangladesh has been affected.

the u.s. gun lobby prepares for battle as obama p president obama tries to bring in stronger control measures.strongercontcrr control measures. chinese stock markets of plunged as much as 8% and trading has been stopped for the day. ininvestmentors reacted to the latest signs of economic slow down in china by selling off shares. those worries appear to have spread to other markets. the prices in market and hong kong has also fallen. our correspondent in beijing. why do we think, then, that this plunge has occurred in the chinese market? >> reporter: well, most analysts you speak to say that they believe it's more poor factory activity data. in other words, china is making stuff the rest of the world seems to no longer wants.

manufacturing output has continued to contract for the fifth consecutive month. also the chinese currency is continuing to weaken. it is the symbolism of it all today that really matters because this was the full day of trading in 2016. the government had put in place a new sort of circumstance breaker system that would-- circuit-breaker system that would halt the blue chip index if it dropped by more 5%. that happened. it was suspended for 15 minutes. it reopened and it fell below 7% and that meant the market had to shut down for the rest of the day. the market has fallen like this before. particularly last summer, which was a very turbulent time on the stock market here in china, but this was the first big drop of the year. it is another reminder that the economy here is continuing to spluter. it is an committee really weighted down by two problems at

the moment. excessive local government debt and also currency flight. chinese who can get their money out of the country are continuing to do so because they no longer have faith in the stock market or the property market. they are voting with their feet it's an economy in transition, isn't it, which has got implications for the wider region. >> reporter: you're absolutely right. china wants to transition its economy away from big heavy industries like coal and steel towards service industries. now, there was some good news for the government today because new data shows that actually the service sector has been performing quite well. so that will encourage the government. xing ping seemed to hint there would be more pain before more prosperity. they're anticipating the fact that there's going to be a rocky

year of china's economy and we got acknowledgment of that today thank you. saudi arabia has cut diplomatic ties with iran after demonstrators set fire to the saudi embassy in tehran. they were protesting against the shia cleric ex-execution. nimr al-nimr was among 47 men executed. >> reporter: the saudi embassy ablaze in tehran. iranians lash out after leading shia cleric was among 47 men executed in saudi arabia on terrorism charges. the vau degovernment says it-- saudi government made repeated requests for tehran to protect the embassy. they were ignored. in response they have cut diplomatic ties with tehran. >> we are determined not to allow iran to undermine our

security. we were determined not to let iran mobilize or create or establish terrorist cells in our country or in the countries of awe allies. -- our allies. >> reporter: the execution of nimr al-nimr has prompted protests amongst shia communities across the middle east. nimr al-nimr and the other man, including al-qaeda preacher faris al-zahrani, were charged with terrorist attacks, targeting civilians and security forces. nimr al-nimr was sentenced to death for sedition, bearing arms. he denied the charges in relation to carrying arms and violence. the country say he got a fair trial following a judicial process. the death penalties in saudi arabia fell under islamic law and applied to both sunni and

shia. iran supreme leader is warning of what he calls kdivine revenge. >> this blood will trouble them without a doubt. i have no doubt about it. policy makers executed them. the saudi arabia should know it will torment them. >> reporter: iran and saudi arabia have often engaged in a war of words of it is not the first diplomatic relations cut. >> i think that the ties between iranians and saudis were bound to clash at one point because there are so many challenges facing these two countries. the points of views die metrically opposed. >> reporter: the concern now is that the widening wrist between these two regional powers will have a broader impact across the

middle east east a professor of middle east politics at the london school of economics, he believes this stand off could spread to other countries in the region. >> you have war by proxies. syria and iraq, saudi arabia and iran are waging wars by proxies. the rupture of the relations today, we are seeing now the relationship between the sunni dominated saudi arabia and the shia dominated iran is at the lowest point. we could witness further escalation, but what has happened in the last 24 hours is bad, particularly as the struggle between the two gulf giants could easily be exacerbate tensions.

the international community hoping for a diplomatic solution in the next few weeks at the end of january. people were hoping for a deescalation and a ceasefire. forget about it. in beirut is intense. they are up in arms trying to rally the lebanese and the muslim population against saudi arabia. the situation is bahrain is very tense. you have sizeable shia communities throughout the gulf. remember, even though saudi arabia and iran are waging a war by proxies for power, for geopolitics, for influence. the particular struggle has taken on sectarian connotations because you have sunni, saudi arabia and shia dominated iran and it is poisoning the politics. i fear that the current crisis,

the ruptured diplomatic relations could easily bring about an escalation in other areas, not just syria and iraq and yemen, in bay rain and lebanon countries as well they're meeting in riyadh to try and agree who should attend the upcoming talks in two weeks. the u.n.'s envoy for syria is also expected to meet opposition members. reports are coming of an explosion near the afghan capital kabul. the airport, in particular. the blasts are apparently from a taliban suicide bomber. we are just getting information about and we will keep you up-to-date on it. security forces have been fighting gunmen.

the fighters are tried to storm the consulate and then they took over the compound. police reports say one civilian has been wounded so far in this gun battle. a gun fight is ongoing at an indian air force base. it is reported that at least one gunman is still holed up inside the case. seven indian soldiers and six fighters have died in the assault which started on saturday. a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in india has killed at least nine people. the quake struck just north -- near mooen. three people died and dozens more were injured in neighbouring bangladesh. we get the latest from our correspondent. >> reporter: reports are still

coming in, but the earthquake struck about 30 kilometers west of the capital. it happened in the middle of the night. people say they were jolted right out of their beds. people running out of their homes screaming, crying. one person we spoke to this morning have said that the bell from a temple nearby started ringing just because of the amount of shaking. there hasn't been a lot of damage. getting information from the areas is only trickling in. the capital itself which has about a quarter of a million people as residents has reported at least one building collapse. there are reports that there may be workers underneath. the rescue teams are still on their way to the area as we speak

for now thank you very much. we're going to be following that situation as we get following. an employee from a hong kong publisher specializing in books that are banned in mainland china goes missing. we take a look at a century's old tradition in indonesia's capital. capital. like. >> can affect and surprise us. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> awesome! >> techknow - where technology meets humanity.

>> half a million fields will lie fallow. >> if we had another year of this severe drought, i'd say all bets are off. hello again.

looking at the top stories here. the chinese stock market have plunged as much as 8% and trading has been halled for the day. -- at that timed for the day. saudi arabia has cut diplomatic ties with iran after demonstrators set fire to the embassy. they were protesting against the execution of a prominent shia cler cleric nimr al-nimr. at least 6 people have been killed in an earthquake just north of the city of infal. proceed democracy leaders in hong kong are urging officials to investigate the fifth employee from a company to go missing. the publisher specializes in political books that are banned

on the mainland. we can talk to steven vines who is a journalist based in hong kong. thank you for talking to us here. the fifth employee from the same company goes missing. what do you think is going on? >> the overwhelming evidence is that the four other employees have been taken across the border to mainland china and mr lee bor is also there. this is very, very chilling, indeed, because the assumption always was that in hong kong you could publish what you like and that there would be problems if you were on the other side of the border, but if you were here, nobody would come over here, nobody would arrest you. the hong kong authorities are keeping very silent. they say they're investigating what is going to. it's not clear. the popular reaction here is one of quite krshl disquiet it does appear that at least

mr lee-- considerable disquiet he didn't take any travel documents which suggests he wasn't going to travel and it wasn't voluntary. >> yes. we know this because of a phone call made to his wife who is still in hong kong in which he sort of indicated that he was on the other side of the border. she says she had no idea that he was leaving. he has been missing since wednesday. the other colleagues of his have been missing for a much longer period of time. why are they on the other side of the border, unless there was some kind of operation launched by the chew niece authorities-- chinese authorities. if there is another explanation, we certainly haven't heard about it tell us about the book store which has gained repute for publishing the kinds of literature that would never be allowed to be published on the

mainland. >> this is a book store that is quite well-known, particularly among travellers from the make-up land who want to read material that is banned on the mainland side of the border. they're mainly political books. the books that really worry the chinese authorities, and they are to be found in this bookshop, dealing with the personal lives of the leaders, books dealing with corruption and in this particular incidence the rumour is that this publisher was threatening to bring out a book that concerned the affairs of an alleged miss tremendouses of the chinese-- mistress of the leaders mountain president xi jinping thank you. we have to leave it there for now. thank you very much for talking to us live from hong kong. leaders wanting to stay in power beyond their term of office is nothing particularly new, is it. africa has seen a number of its

presidents changing the country's constitution in order to stay on, but this can lead to protests and violence. as our correspondent reports now from burkina faso. >> reporter: moments after results of elections last november were announced. the first civilian leader was appointed in almost five decades. it's when citizens broke into song and dance not just to celebrate the new president but the hard won victory that they see as dictatorship. the man who had ruled the country with an armed fist decided to change the constitution. a man, a civil society

organization that planned uprising that toppled compaore. we met him out front of the office that was burned down during the protests. >> we knew if he changed the constitution, it would be forever. after him, his son, his little brother and all the family are going to be in the power in this country. >> reporter: presidents tinkering with constitution for their other purposes is nothing new. the problem of africa in general and uganda, in particular, is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power. yet in 2005 there was a change in the law allowing him a third term. i met him in 2011. do you ever see yourself retiring soon? >> certainly i will retire. i wouldn't say soon, but i am

looking forward to retirement. >> reporter: at the age of 72, he is campaigning for a fifth time in office. that will see his rule of uganda extended to 35 years. this man is in the roll. he told us al jazeera he would not seek the election in 2015. >> translation: i am currently serving an office term and will not step down before it comes to an end. at that point i would have completed 26 years in office. >> reporter: is that not enough? >> translation: more than enough. more than enough. >> reporter: but it wasn't to be. in 2015 he won another five years in office. cameroon's president have both

been in power since 1982. the people of zimbabwe have not known another president since 1980. kagame recently joined the league of african leaders eager to stay on in power. it is in burundi that the fought out has been most pronounced. at least 400 people have been killed and 220,000 displaced since april last year when he announced he would seek a third term in office. this is a protest against the third term bid. it is an indication that burundis and africans at large want a change in leadership following their landslide election, the opposition coalition in venezuela has

chosen the next president. he is to be sworn in on tuesday. the inauguration is to be held despite a supreme court ban on some of them. our correspondent has more now from the capital. >> reporter: today the opposition coalition elected the new president of the national assembly. for many here he is a decent politician. this is the first time that the opposition will have control of the national assembly here in venezuela. despite being formed by several different factions, the opposition has vowed to stay together. this is relevant also because the supreme court has just ruled four of the legislators that were scheduled to be sworn in on

tuesday might be blocked from aassuming their post. the opposition have said they will remain defiant and that all 112 of these legislators will be sworn in. both sides have called on their supporters to join them on tuesday when they go to the assembly to be sworn in, which has reawoken fears that the streets of venezuela could, again, be the stage of violent clashes that in 2014 saw people dead a massive clean up is underway in u.s. after flood waters caused widespread damage in one of the hardest hit areas of saint lewis. the severe weather has triggered large scale evacuations. americans are rushing to buy guns and ammunition before an expected crack down it announced. president obama says it is too easy for criminals to get a gun and he wants to use his

presidential power to impose new restrictions, but gun enthusiasts have vowed to fight any attempt to change the constitutional rights to bear arms. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: with so many guns in the united states, the blue ridge arsenal gun range in virginia, gun and ammunition sales are up as people rush to buy them after strict rules are put in place. >> people want to get their ability is taken away >> reporter: many are concerned about president obama's announcement that he is thesing with attorney-general on monday to discuss using presidential power to impose new restrictions on u.s. gun sales >> we know we can't stop every act of violence, but what if we tried to stop one. >> reporter: he says executive actions are necessary after working with congress stalled.

the shooting in 2012 which killed 26 people, he opposed congressional measures to tighten gun laws but that effort failed in congress. licensed gun stores like this one are required to conduct a background check before a customer buys a gun, but some firearms sold privately at gun shows do not require the same scrutiny. it is called the gun show loophole and it is what some see as a gap that the white house seeks to close. the country's largest guns right groups says increased background checks will do little to increase public safety >> all they want to do is blame the gun. >> reporter: donald trump says owning a gun is a right to bear arms in the u.s. it is a constitutionally protected right >> i don't like anything to do with changing our second amendment. we have plenty of rules and regulations. there's things that they can do right now that are already there. they don't do them >> reporter: it is a view shared

by many. >> i raise my right hand to support and defend the constitution of the united states of america and not dismantle the constitution. i do find it aan affront that people will choose to circumvent that. >> some people are passionate about it. it is not so much the arms but what the governments saying what they can or cannot do. >> reporter: the white house says it is too easy for someone who wants to commit a crime to acquire a gun. a result is expected to come as early as this week to a century's old tradition. jinlt size puppets are no longer used to ward off evil but they are thriving in other ways in the capital of jakarta.

>> reporter: giant puppets are used here. a frame is made of bamboo and hollow, allowing the puppet master to crawl inside and bring his puppet to life. they were originally made to represent an says tores to ward of spirits spirits. they're still popular and sought after at weddings and circumcision ceremonies. children get a kick out of seeing the puppets walk through the streets. >> it is fun and it is entertaining. >> reporter: on weekends and public holidays these are usually at the square in the heart of the old city flanked by

colonial buildings. it is where families come for street entertainment, a slice of color, an alternative to a day out at a mall. they are release five pairs here. there is enough curiosity and interest in this old tradition for the puppet owners to make a living. people pay to pose for photos with the puppets. he says he can earn up to $20 a day. his ambition is to one day make enough money to own at least ten puppets. >> translation: it is a tradition, so i want to take a picture with them. >> translation: i think it is important that we preserve our culture. >> reporter: it is the pride people have for these icons of jakarta that will ensure the puppets keep dancing, entertaining generations to come

you can find out more about the day's top stories on the al jazeera website. al jazeera.com. that's al jazeera.com. jazeera.com. super storms, soaring temperatures, record breaking droughts. tonight understanding climate change how the lack of snow in the high farmers. >> i've got 85 employees that rely on me. >> reporter: everything we know may never be the same. >> a house with running water is a privilege now