chinese stocks plunge. trading is halted as the world's second largest economy continues to slow. the world news from al jazeera. also to come. >> we are determined not to allow iran to undermine our security saudi arabia cuts diplomatic ties with iran after protesters storm the embassy in tehran. a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits north-eastern india. there are reports that glesh has also

been-- bangladesh has also been affected. the u.s. gun lobby prepares for battle as p obama plans to bring in stronger control measures. first chinese stock markets have plunged by as much as 8% automatically triggering a suspension in trading. investigators reacted to these latest signs of economic slow down in china by selling off shares. those concerns have begun to spread globally and have already dragged european stocks sharply lower. going to adrian brown our correspondent. this mechanism is meant to prevent the panic from spreading, but it doesn't seem to be working because the european market are sharply down as well. >> reporter: absolutely right. it has been a big day for the blue chip index here in china, in shenzhen and shanghai but for

all the wrong reasons. the shanghai index felling by 4%. that was enough for the mechanism to kick in. it brought a halt and then it continued. it then felt by 7% so that was enough for the market to shet down for the rest-- shut down for the rest of the day. the mechanism was brought in to try to contain market volatility but it appears to have the reverse effect. why is this happening? i think the market is still being spooked by the same things that were spooking it in the summer when we had a lot of market volatility. there is dern that manufacturing-- concern that manufacturing output is continuing to contract. it has contracted for the 10th consecutive month. also the currency is continuing

to weaken. there is concern about deepening tensions between saudi arabia and iran. let us also remember that this is an economy where some strange things are happening. it is burdened by local government debt on the one hand and also by currency flight, chinese that can get their money out of the country are doing so, billions of dollars are leaving this country every day. chinese are voting with their feet when it comes to what they think of china's economy right now and they're getting their money out of the country as quickly as they can of course, the world is watching with a great deal of wariness because this is the second largest economy. this has amazing impact, doesn't it, upon the global economy. >> reporter: yes. because right in the middle of all this china is trying to transform its economy. it wants to transition away from heavy industries like coal and steel. it wants an economy that ask

service-- is service led. that is a huge balancing act and it is one of the reasons why in his new year's eve address just a few days ago president xi jinping said fruitful gains come by persistent efforts. i think he is saying there has to be more pain before we get some gain in the chinese economy. it is going to be, i think, another rocky year thank you for that. saudi arabia has cut diplomatic ties with iran after demonstrators set fire to its embassy in tehran. they were protesting against the execution of a shia kri particular. nimr al-nimr was among 47 men convicted the terrorist offences. >> reporter: the saudi embassy ablaze in tehran. iranians lash out after leading shia cleric was among 47 men

exclude on terrorism charges. the government said it made repeated arrests for iran to protect its embassy, but they were ignored. in response the kingdom has cut ties with tehran. >> we are determined not to allow iran to undermine our security. we are determined not to let iran mobilise or create or establish establish terrorist cells in our country or in the countries of our allies. >> reporter: the execution of the nimr al-nimr has prompted protests among shia communities across the middle east. nimr al-nimr and the other men, including al-qaeda preacher faris al-zahrani, were charged with plotting and carrying out terrorist attack targeting civilians and security forces. nimr al-nimr was sentenced for death for sedition, bearing

arms. he said he never carried weapons nor called for violence. the country is adamant he got a fair trial based on facts and which followed a judicial process. iran supreme leader is warning of what he calls devine revenge. >> translation: it is a wrong deed because this blood will trouble them without a doubt. i have no doubt about it. policy makers executed them. the saudi arabia government's decision makers should not under estimate that this blood will trouble them. it will torment them. >> reporter: iran and saudi arabia have often engaged in a war of words and it's not the first time they've cut diplomatic relations. >> 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 are die met ringally opposed.

>> reporter: the concern now is that the widening rift between these these two regional powers will have a broader impact across the middle east. gerald tan a spokesman for iran's foreign ministry said relations will continue to be strained with saudi arabia. >> from one crisis to another, and this indicates its intention to a policy to create tension after tension and crisis after crisis a professor of middle east policy says it could spread to other countries in the middle east >> you have war by proxies in syria, iraq, in yemen, bahrain. saudi arabia and iran are waging wars by proxies throughout the

region. with the ruptured relations, we see the relationship is at the lowest point. we believe we could witness further escalation. what has happened could be causing gasoline on the raging fire. particularly as the struggle between the two gulf giants could easily basically aggravate and exacerbate regional tensions. what is going to happen, the international community was hoping for a diplomatic solution in syria in the effects few weeks at the end of january. forget about it. people were hoping for a deescalation and a ceasefire in yemen. forget it. i am in beirut. the situation is intense. the hezbollah is now up in arms trying to rally the lebanese and the muslim population against

saudi arabia. the situation 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's really poisoning the veins the muslim politics. i fear that the current crisis, the ruptured diplomatic relations could easily bring about an escalation in other theatres, not just in syria and iraq and yemen, in bay ran and lebanon and other gulf countries as well meanwhile members of syria's opposition are meeting in the saudi capital. they're trying to agree on who should attend the upcoming talks with the president's government which is due to take place in two weeks. the u.n. envoy for syria is also

expected to meet opposition members. in afghanistan a suicide bottomer in a car blew himself up near kabul's airport. it happened close to where a taliban bomber killed a person person and wounded 33 others just last week. the gunmen have attacked the indian consulate in northern afghanistan. they tried to storm the building but was stopped by afghan security forces. the incident coincided with an attack at an indian air force base close to the pakistani border. >> reporter: afghan special forces target armed fighters near the indian consulate in the northern city. gunmen tried to enter the compound but failed. afghan army commanders say the fighters are now hiding in a house in a nearby street and at

least one civilian has been wounded. >> translation: our special forces in commandos have been deployed in the area. i assure our country men will eliminate all the insurgence. >> reporter: india has long supported afghanistan in its struggles to became a stable democracy. both so p signed a partnership agreement in 2011. since then india has given more than 300,000 dollars in aid. it has been made a target for armed fighters with links to the taliban. in may 2014 gunmen attacked the indian consulate. in august 2013 nine civilians died when the indian consulate was targeted. the indian emwas see in kabul was attacked in 2008 and 2009. this latest attack coincides with a raid by gunmen on an indiian air force base with the

border on pakistan. last week the head of pakistan's army was in kabul for a meeting with afghan president. attacks like this show armed fighters remain capable of causing chaos a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in north-eastern india has killed at least nine people. the quake struck just north of the city close to the border. six people were killed there. three people died and dozens more injured in bangladesh. more from new delhi. >> reporter: the earthquake struck about 30 kilometers west of the capital. it happened in the middle of the night. people say they were jolted out of their beds, people running out of their homes screaming, crying. one person we spoke to this morning had said that a bell started ringing just because of

the amount of shaking that was going on at a church. there hasn't been a lot of reports of damage. the real parts of the state have poor connectivity to begin with even before the earthquake happened. so getting information from those areas is still only now trickling in. the capital itself, which has about a quarter million people as residents, has reported at least one building collapse. there are reports that there may be workers underneath. the local teams are checking that. rescue teams from the region are still on the way to the area area still to come here at al jazeera, fears that beijing could have had had a hand in the disappearance of a fifth employee from a hong kong publisher specializing in books banned in china. we look at a century's old tradition in the capital.

>> new moms forced to choose. >> the united states does lag behind other countries on this. >> now a revolution in workers' rights... >> my story is so many peoples' story. >> that could decide the election. >> it can be different. a look at the top stories here. chinese stock markets have plunged as much as 8% and trading has been halted for the day. in reacti saudi arabia has cut diplomatic ties with iran after demonstrators set fire to its embassy in tehran. they were protesting against the execution of nimr al-nimr and being critical of saudi arabia.

an earthquake in north-eastern india. it hit a city close to the border with myanmar. yemeni government forces announced a curfew on the southern sydney of aden. it is expected to start at 1700 hours on monday and will last until early tuesday morning. it follows an urgent meeting. the army backed by saudi deled coalition recently captured aden from houthi rebels. the israeli army says a fire. since october there has been an essalation of the al-aqsa mosque compound. armed protesters are continue to go occupy a government building

in the u.s. state of oregon. the militia group is demonstrating against an order for two farmers to go back to jail. the farmers, a father and son, were convicted of arson on public land in 2012 and served time, but a court ruled that their sentences were too lenient and they were ordered back to jail. the group says it also wants the federal government to stop interfering with the rights of landowners. americans are rushing to buy guns and ammunition before an expected crack down is announced. president obama says it is too easy for criminals to get a gun and he want to use his presidential power to impose new restrictions, but gun enthusiasts are voupg to protest any change to the rights to bear arms. >> reporter: with so many gun stores in the u.s., the gun range in virginia, sales are up

as americans rush to buy firearms before strict new gun regulations are put in place >> not having, not being able to get - make people want to get stuff before their ability is taken away >> reporter: many are concerned about president obama's announcement that the meeting with his attorney-general meeting on monday to discuss 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 even one. >> reporter: he says executive actions are necessary after efforts to work with congress stalled following the school shooting in 2012 which killed 26 people. obama proposed measures to tighten gun laws but that effort failed in congress. stores like this one are required to conduct a background check before a customer buys a gun. some firearms sold privately at

gun shows do not have the same scrutiny. it is a loophole which the white house seeks to close. >> reporter: the increased background checks will do little to increase public safety the gun group says. the presidential candidate donald trump says that the right to bear arms in the u.s. a constitutionally protected right >> i don't like anything having to do with changing our second amendment. we have plenty of rules and regulations. there's plenty of things that they can do right now that are already there. they don't do them >> reporter: it's a view shared by many would see possible action sz nothing more than a power grab of people that violates u.s. law >> as a veteran i raise my hand to support and defend the constitution. i do find it an affront that some people would choose to shut that. >> there's a lot of people who

do feel passionate about it. it's not as much the firearms but the government telling them what they can and cannot do and what they can and cannot have. >> reporter: it is too ease yr for someone to commit a crime to acquire a gun. that's why presidential action to make it more difficult. it is expected to come as early as this week a massive mopping up operation across the mid-west of the u.s., but more floods are expected. missouri was one of the hardest hit areas. residents are only now returning home a week after the floods first hit. 31 people died across the states. venezuela's opposition coalition has spoken an outspoken leader as the next president of the national assembly. he is due to be sworn in on tuesday. the other coalition won a two-third majority of congress in december.

the socialist party has dominated congress for the past 16 years. the opposition is vowing to go ahead with the inauguration of all new mps despite a supreme court ban on some of them. our correspondent has more now. >> reporter: today the opposition coalition elected the new president of the national assembly. for many here he is a decent politician and one that they consider that venezuela needs at the moment. this is the first time in 16 years that the opposition here in venezuela will have control of the national assembly. despite being formed by several different factions, the opposition has vowed to stay together, which is particularly relevant also because the supreme court has just ruled that four of the legislators that were scheduled to be sworn in on tuesday might be blocked from aassuming their posts. the opposition said that they will remain defiant and that all

112 of the ledge slighters will be-- legislators will, in fact, be sworn in. both sides have called on their supporters to join them on tuesday when they go to be sworn in which has reawoken fears that the streets could be the stage of the violent clashes that in 2014 saw many people dead puerto rico is in desperate financial trouble. the island is expected to default on some of its 70 billion dollars worth of debt. there is a looming food crisis. farmers are urging the government to help them increase production. from the capital, robert ray reports. >> reporter: four years ago terra opened this small organic restaurant in san juan. today her kitchen is busy creating food grown locally, mostly by her sister's farm. people are packing the tables.

a sustainable farm to table member menu and a boost for the local economy. >> what i have seen in the past few years, on one end we became aa poster child, something that everybody wants on this island, which is to have good food and good farming practices. >> reporter: now we're heading up to the mountains where terra's sister daniella is farming. daniella is growing organic produce for the restaurant. >> time is running out and it is either now or never, you know. >> reporter: time is running out because is there really a food crisis on the island? >> in terms of self-sustainablity, yes. studies show that we have enough food to last us two weeks if ships were to stop coming >> reporter: two weeks? >> two weeks, and that's including canned food, probably even including dog food. >> reporter: seafood, meats and staples mostly come from the

u.s. mainland. neighbouring latin american countries and even china. puerto rico's agricultural sector is stumbling along, representing less than 1% of the island's gross domestic product. puerto rico's agriculture secretary says they're working towards more local foods being produced >> we develop an ambitious, a plan where we understand that we can increase the local production from 50% of our consumption to nearly 25%. >> reporter: while the government has implemented a plan to redevelop the island's agricultural sector, that includes providing farmers with subsidies and new equipment. people like terra and daniella say things are promising, but they need more collaboration from the government. the two sisters are trying to revitalise the agriculture of the ireland, farming and providing organic food for the residents hope that people

become less dependent on imported goods aung san suu kyi says building lasting peace in myanmar is a priority for her newly elected government. she has been speaking at celebrations marking 68 years of independence from british rule. myanmar is struggling to reach peace agreements with various minority groups which are demanding greater recognition. por democracy leaders in hong kong are urging the government to investigate the disappearance of a book publisher. he bo is the fifth employee of a company to go missing. steven vine says his disappearance has raised concerns. >> 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's going on. it's not clear, but the popular reaction here is one of quite considerable disquiet. the only reason we know about this is because of a phone call made to his wife 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. i mean, he has been missing since wednesday. the other colleagues of his have been missing for a much longer period of time. so why are they on the other side of the border some in unless there was some kind--? unless there was some kind of operation launched by the chinese authorities. if there is another explanation we certainly haven't heard about it puppets are a centuries old tradition in indonesia. they're no longer used to ward of evil but are thriving in other areas.

>> reporter: these puppets are a tradition belonging to people on this island. the 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 who could ward off evil spirits, but the puppets have evolved to mere decorate roles in the muslim-majority country. they're still extremely popular and sought after at weddings, circumcision ceremonies and inauguration of buildings. children get a kick of seeing the puppets walking around the streets. >> translation: there's lots of laughter. it's entertaining. >> reporter: on weekends and public holidays, he and his puppets are usually here in 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, and alternative to a day out at a mall. there are at least another five pairs of puppets in the square, but there's enough curiosity and interest 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 10 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 that the puppets will keep dancing,

entertaining generations to comcome and don't forget you can keep right up-to-date with all the developing stories, get background information and analysis on the al jazeera website, al jazeera.com >> [ ♪ ] buried. >> right next to her. >> mm-hmm six years ago his wife died after overdosing on prescription pain-killers. she was 60. >> it should have nevap