>> saudi arabia's allies cut or cool their relations with iran as the differences between the two countries grow. hello there, i'm barbara serra. you're watching al jazeera live from london. the u.s. and european markets fall after chinese stocks collapse on the first day of trading this year. europe's password free zone under threat has been introduced at border checks. and puerto rico warns it only has one month of food supplies as it prepares to default on its debt.

>> hello there, thank you for joining us. three of saudi arabia's allies have joined this diplomatic dispute with iran. bahrain said it has cut ties with tehran. and u.a.e. has downgraded relations. and saudi arabia has now announced it is ending air traffic and commercial ties with iran. it is already cut diplomatic links with iran. >> the saudi diplomats on the way home from iran with their families transiting at the dubai airport. as they evacuated came similar action from some of the kingdom's allies. among them neighboring bahrain. after two days of protesters

from shia muslim majority. the gulf state that is closely allied with saudi arabia accused iran of blatant and dangerous interference in support for terrorism. the actions follow the attack at the saudi embassy in tehran and accused iran of doing nothing to prevent it. a war of words is escalating. >> we're determined not to allow iran to undermine our security. we're determined not to let iran mobilize or create or establish terrorist cells in our country or in the countries of our allies. >> unfortunately, the government of iran is creating clashes and escalating tensions. it has taken measures in policies in line with that.

>> demonstrating after the execution of nimr al-nimr. he and 46 others were charged with plotting and carrying out terrorist attacks targeting civilians and security forces. saudi arabia adamant he got a fair trial. it is not the first time that diplomatic relations have been cut, but there are fears it could cause more violence. >> the sunni-dominated saudi arabia and shia-dominated iran could create damage to the relation. >> people are mourning nimr al-nimr's death and one man had been killed and a child injured. al nimr's brother has been told that the cleric will be buried in an undisclosed location. a move that could cause more protests. andrew simmons, al jazeera.

>> the stand off between saudi arabia and iran comes as they and other major powers try to end two of the middle east major conflicts. in syria and in yemen. the saudis and iranians are on opposite sides in both of these wars. what impact will the current situation have on peace efforts? let's go live now to the united nations in new york where the diplomatic editor james bays joins us. these negotiation in syria and yemen, these are going to be difficult in the best of times, and these are not the best of times. what is being said at the u.n. to try to salvage the situation? >> well, there is serious concern i think at the united nations. that both of these peace tracks were always going to be difficult, as you say, but there was new hope with the new year that perhaps there could be some progress in both of these conflicts are so many ordinary people both in yemen and syria, have been suffering for such a long time. we now know that the u.n.'s

envoy in syria is currently in riyadh, where he's meeting with officials. and we're told in the next few days he'll go on to tehran and then damascus. this was a pre-planned trip. he was supposed to be convening syrian peace talks, face-to-face peace talks with members of the option, with rebel fighting groups and with the syrian government. that, of courses is going to be much more difficult now. the focus of his negotiations, which were to make sure that this happens on the 25th of january in geneva is just to keep this on track trying to get everyone still invested in the process because remember what was different this time around in trying to get peace talks going was for the first time they're bringing the whole regional community and regional

actors to the table. and you saw all the foreign ministers from the key countries here in new york a couple of weeks ago with iran and saudi sitting around the same table. i think future efforts like that are going to be much, much more difficult. then you turn to yemen. there they had some peace talks in switzerland. they didn't go particularly well. there was a truce in place and they were hoping to reconvene in the coming weeks. well, that truss has now ended as well. it had been broken on both sides by a number of occasions. but now the saudi-led coalition said that it doesn't believe there is a truce any more and it's resuming operations. >> there has been enormous pressure from western powers to get the saudis and russianens at the same table and then later for these talks. what about the key actors themselves. how keen were they to really participate in these talks?

>> well certainly they have been doing what they've been told to do, which is attend the meetings of the international groupings. and the saudis had been performing another role, which is in riyadh getting members of the opposition together, trying to get one group who could negotiate on behalf of the various fighting groups and the opposition with the syrian government. that was always going to be difficult to get those elements of the opposition to agree to go to talks in geneva without any cease-fire or concessions from the assad side. and you're always going to have that central issue of the future role of president assad. it was always going to be very, very tricky. now i think it makes it very hard, indeed, and it's a very difficult job for them as they go to riyadh and then tehran to keep this process on track. >> james with the latest from the u.n. james, thank you.

at least two--south of the iraqi capital of baghdad, several walls of a mosque has been destroyed. it's been reported that the attacks are in retaliation of the execution of the senior shia cleric in saudi arabia. >> the security source did not elaborate, but they said one of the mosques inside the capital, and one of them to the north of the neighborhood. the iraqi prime minister condemned today in a brief statement and put a page on his facebook said that these groups are criminal groups, and he said in his statement that he made an order to iraqi security forces in the province to chase those people, describing them, they're

trying to hit the iraqi national unity. also, iraqi interior minister condemned what happened, and in a statement put on his website what happened was a desperate attempt, saying that some groups are trying to provoke iraqi sectarian groups against each other. >> u.s. and other world stock markets are down following a massive loss on china's market. it plunged 7% before trading was suspended for the day. the fall is a reflection before the slow economic growth. monday was the first test of a new stock market circuit between china, which is supposed to stock trade when losses hit the 5% mark. adrian brown is in beijing, and he has more for us.

>> well, this was the worst start ever to the trading year on the shanghai and shenzhen stock markets, the blue chip index which measures the performance of china's top 300 companies. a new system was being used on monday which was supposed to contain market volatility. so when the markets fell by 5%, trading was temporarily halted by 15 minutes. trading resumed, but then the index fell by 7%. it seems that a system that was brought in to try to calm things down actually had the reverse affect. why is the market down? a number of factors. data shows that manufacturing output had contracted for the tenth consecutive month. also china's currency is continuing to weaken, and there is another important reason. a lot of what china is produc ing simply isn't being bought by the rest of the world. demand is slipping because the economies elsewhere in the world are also slowing. why are they slowing?

because china's economy is slowing. it is a vicious circle, and then in the middle of all of this, china is carrying out a vast experiment with its economy right now. it's trying to shift away from heavy industries to an economy that is service-led, but it is going to be a painful transition, and monday's performance on shanghai and shenzhen's stock markets shows why. >> let's go live to kristen saloomey. she joins us live from new york. so the u.s. and other world markets are down. how bad is it in new york? >> well, the economic slowdown are weighing on u.s. markets as well, although a rise in oil prices do seem to be preventing the kind of steep declines we've seen in shanghai and shenzhen. the dow jones industrial average and s&p are down 2.5% with the

dow jones going below 17,000 for the first time in several months. it's been a very rough start to the day here. you're seeing that weaker manufacturing data in china and the falling currency there is having an affect there, and it's the world's second largest economy, so any problems there are going to be felt here in new york's stock exchange as well o. on oil we have seen changes in the start up of the new year. tensions between iran and saudi arabia seems to be driving prices up here. saudi arabia and some of its gulf allies have downgraded their diplomatic relations with iran over the execution of saudi--in saudi arabia of iranian shia cleric. all of that adding to tensions

and security. that has analysts thinking that the supply of oil could be going down. that could push these prices up, but not enough to make up for the losses that we're seeing from china. so a down start to 2016 here in the united states for the markets. after what was a very flat 2015. >> kristen saloomey with the latest in new york. thank you. pro democracpro-democracy leaders investigate the disappearance of a boob publisher. he's the fifth employee from the publisher to go missing. hong kong's leader said there is no indication so far that chinese agents are involved in the disappearances, and that authorities there have no jurisdiction over hong kong. >> the prohibition under the basic law namely only legal enforcement agencies in hong

kong have the legal authority to enforce laws in hong kong. no other law enforcement agencies outside of hong kong has such authority. >> we'll speak with the actor who is have taken on dangerous roles filming a drama in syria. and fresh from his holidays barack obama said tha will curb gun violence using executive powers. wers.

>> knew a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. in the latest move in the deepening diplomatic crisis between saudi arabia an iran, the saudi government has announced that it is cutting commercial and air traffic links with iran. at least two sunni mosques have been attacked south of the iraqi capital of baghdad. it is reported that the incidents are retaliation for the execution of a senior shia cleric in saudi arabia. and global financial markets are in turmoil after mainland chinese shares dropped 7% before trading was suspended for the day. members of syria's opposition are meeting in the capital of riyadh. the u.n.'s envoy for syria is also attending the talks. and in a new tv production season is underway in the syrian capital of damascus.

2 "t" includes several actors in neighboring lebanon. >> sometimes during the scene i lose focus because i'll be listening to the sound of the mortars waiting to hear where it lands. it is painful. syria does not deserve this. >> enduring winter conditions. snow has begun following in the region and temperatures have plummeted. the united nations estimate 200,000 families around lebanon are at risk in the cold weeks and months ahead. yemeni government forces have announced the curfew in the southern city of aiden. airstrikes have resumed following an end to a cease-fire in place since mid december. the coalition has been bombing

the shia-houthi movement in the country for nine months. >> first they hit the gas station with two missiles that burned the entire station. the windows from the homes nearby were blown out and the home was destroyed. after a half hour the plane came back and hit the home and what seemed to be the largest missile ever to hit yemen. >> two civilians are among the latest people killed. according to president erdogan, government forces killed 2,000 pkk fighters here. recent violence has forced many local residents to flee their homes. denmark has imposed

temporary identity checks on its border with germany following a similar move by sweden. it's a double blow to europe's schengen area with the influx of refugees and migrants. the schengen region includes several countries and their borders. but denmark said its country has no choice but to clamp down. >> the european union check of the internal borders you'll see more and more countries which will be forced to introducing temporary internal border control. this is something that we need to take very seriously. i'm a true believer on the freedom of movement. this is not at a happy moment at all. >> a powerful explosion has

rocked downtown kabul. the interior ministry said it was caused by a car bomb but could not confirm the exact location. it was the second attack of the day. earlier a suicide-bomber threw himself up close to kabul airport. there were no injuries as police spotted the vehicle as it approached the checkpoint, causing the attack for detonate the explosives early. the blast follows a serious of attacks in the afghan capital in recent days including a suicide-bombing of a restaurant popular with foreigners, which left two people dead. gunmen have attacked an indian con sue late in northern afghanistan. this tried to storm the building in the city but were stopped by security and overtook a neighboring house. this coincided with an attack on an indian air force base near the pakistani border. efforts to regain control has ended the third day with the indian territory.

>> afghan special forces target armed fighters near the indian consulate. the government tried to enter the compound but failed. afghan army commanders said that they're hiding in a house on a nearby street and one civilian has been wounded. >> our special forces and commandos have been deployed in the area and i assure our countrymen that they'll eliminate all insurgents. >> india has long supported afghanistan in its struggles to become a stable democracy. both countries signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2011. since then india has given more than $300 million in aid. it's support for afghanistan has made it a target for armed fighters with links to the taliban. in may 2014 done men attacked the indian consul late.

in august 2013, nine civilians died when a consulate was targeted. and in the indian embassy in kabul was attacked in 2008 an and 2009. this latest attack coincides with the raid by gunmen on an indian air force base near the border with pakistan and it's efforts to restart talks with the afghan taliban are being made. last week in kabul with president ashraf ghani, but attacks show that armed fighters are capable of causing chaos. >> a powerful earthquake in northeast india and bangladesh has killed 11 people and injured hundreds. rescue workers are working in areas where people may still be trapped.

the quake could be felt as far away as nepal and myanmar. now in a few hours the u.s. president barack obama is scheduled to meet with his attorney general to discuss how to limit the number of guns on america's streets. but as al jazeera's kimberly halkett reports, gun enthusiasts are pushing back against any proposed restrictions on the sale of firearms. >> with so many gun stores in the united states at the blue ridge arsenal gun range in virginia, gun and ammunition sales are up as americans rush to buy firearms before strict new gun restrictions are put in place. >> not having, not being able to get, it's making people want to get stuff before their ability rats taken away. >> many are concerned about president barack obama's announcement that he's meeting with his attorney general loretta lynch to discuss power to impose new restrictions on

gun sales. >> we know we can't stop every gun violence, but what if we stop one. >> following the sandy hook shooting in 2012, which killed 26 people, president obama proposed an effort, but it failed in congress. licensed gun stores are required to conduct a background check before a customer bias gun. but guns sold at gun shows does not require the same scrutiny. it's called the gun show loophole and it's a gap that the white house now seeks to close. >> the country's largest gun rights group says that increased background checks will do little to increase public safety. >> all they want to do is blame the guns. >> donald trump says that owning a gun or the right to bear arms in the u.s. is a constitutionally protected right. >> i don't like anything halving to do with changing our second

amendment. we have plenty of rules and regulations there are present of things that they can do right now that they don't do. >> many see it president obama's executive action is nothing more than a power grab. >> i don't want to dismantle the constitution. yes, i find it an affront that some people would choose to circumvent that. >> there are some people who feel passionate about it. it's not just as much firearms but it's the government telling them what they can and cannot do or what they can and cannot have. >> as far as the white house says it is far too ease to acquire a gun. kimberly halkett, virginia. >> puerto rico is in desperate financial trouble. the island in the caribbean is

expected to default on some of its $70 billion worth of debt on monday. and to make matters worse a food crisis is looming. farmers on the island are urging the government to help them boost food production in a country where 85% of food stuff are imported. robert ray has more details from san juan. >> four years ago a they opened this restaurant in san juan. today her kitchen is busy creating food grown locally mostly by her sister's farm. people are packing the tables pap sustainable farm to table menu and a boost to the local economy. >> on one end we've become a poster child. something that everybody wants on this island, which is to have good food and good farming practices. >> now leaving san juan and heading up to the mountains, the second highest elevation in

puerto rico where tara's sister daniella is farming. she's growing organic produce for san juan. >> time is running out. it's either now or never. >> and time is running out because is there really a food crisis on the island? >> in terms of self sustainability, yes. studies show that we have enough food to last us two weeks if the ships were to stop coming. >> two weeks. >> two weeks. that's including canned food, and probably included dog food. >> seafood, meats and staples like rice, beans and coffee mostly come from the u.s. mainland, neighboring latin american countries and even china. puerto rico's agriculture sector is stumbling along. puerto rico's agriculture secretary say they're working towards more local foods being produced. >> we developed an ambitious

plan where we understand that we can increase the local production from 50% to near 25%. >> while the government has implemented a plan to redevelop the agriculture sector, that includes providing farmers with subsidies and new equipment. entrepreneurs like tara and daniella are trying to revita revitalize th the island's farming hoping that people become less dependent on imports and more on the ambitious soils of puerto rico. >> mark zuckerberg has announced he wants to build an artificially intelligent assistance. it would be his personal

challenge for the year ahead. he said that the robot would be like jarvis from the comic ironman. he would be able to recognize friends, let them in the door and keep an eye on his daughter's room. more on the website at www.aljazeera.com. >> getting tough, president bush's announcement putting him in the g.o.p.'s line of fire. allies of saudi arabia back efforts to cut diplomatic ties with iran. and markets falling on the first trading day of the new year.