we will attend the next syria talks and are not going to boycott them because of iran or anybody else for that matter tension between saudi arabia and iran, but peace stays on the table when addressing regional conflicts. the world news. u.s. president obama moves to curb gun violence. we tell you why some people are not happy with his plan. a militia group stands its grounds in oregon and remains holed up in a federal building.

if you're a first-time home buyer it is become more difficult to buy within a city center. i will tell you why housing projects like this are becoming more and more popular with the first home buyer saudi arabia says its decision to break off ties with iran will not affect its efforts to negotiate peace in syria and yemen. the saudi ambassador has called on and said normal relations can resume when iran stops interfering. tensions rhodes after the kingdom executed a prominent shia cleric. diplomatic editor is reporting joochlt dip low mats are concerned because you have these two heavy weight nations of the middle east which have always had strained relations.

they're now at a new low. having said that, i suspect they would have been slightly heartened by the words of the saudi ambassador saying there would be no effect to peace efforts in regard to syria and yemen. >> the break in relations between saudi and iran, what effect will it have on peace efforts in syria and in yemen. >> from other side we sh have no effect because we will continue to work very hard to supporting the peace efforts in syria and yemen, wherever there might be a need for that. how is that going to affect the behaviour of iran we do not know. you would need to ask the eye anians on this-- iranians on that, but even before the break of relations they have not been very supportive or positive in this peace efforts. they have been taking

provocative and negative positions and as such i don't think that the break in relations is going to dissuade them from such behaviour >> reporter: despite those comments, the u.n. knows that both iran and saudi arabia are key players in both these conflicts and that's why the u.n. envoy for syria ask now in-- is now in riyadh. he will be going on to tehran meanwhile the white house has been giving its reaction >> we do continue to be concerned about the need for both the iranians and the saudis to december escalate the situation is the middle-- de-escalate the situation in the middle east. we're urging both sides to show some constraint. into turkey is also urging iran

and saudi arabia to end their dispute. >> translation: we hope that tensions between saudi arabia and iran that would apparently exacerbate the situation in the middle east will diminish as soon as possible. the region already sits on a powder keg, the region is already engulfed by a circle of fire. as a country which has friendly relations with iran and saudi arabia, we believe that both countries should show restraint meanwhile demonstrators have been back on streets for a third day in tehran. about 3,000 people gathered in imam square. the saudi consulate was also attacked. in baghdad thousands of shia protesters are demanding the government cuts ties saudi arabia. they called on officials to

reconsider the recent reopening of a saudi embassy. in the u.s. state of oregon two farmers have turned themselves into the police and they have been moved to a federal facility in california. the father and son who were convicted of arson in 2012 have been ordered to go back to jail. their polite have encouraged proceed testers-- protesters. >> reporter: a spokesman for the protesters told us specifically not to expect a lot of guns and any questions about how many protesters were here were left unanswered during our 45-minute tour of the nation wildlife refuge property that this group walked into and fook over. >> it's up and down, an emotional roller-coaster. it is going great. there is no blood shed. this is not a violent or hostile

situation. >> reporter: there are 15 or so buildings here, dozens of idle government trucks, swamp boats and heavy equipment. the spokesman told us this is one of the sleeping areas. we took video through a window of people prepping food but were not allowed into this kitchen. we didn't visit every building but we were allowed to roam on our own and saw no signs of damage or van damnism >> we want to be polite, neighborly, we want to be citizens and respectful of one another. >> reporter: this is an arizona rancher who is one of the group's main spoengs man. where do you see this ending? >> i believe it shall spread from here. this grievance that they're dealing with here is wide spret throughout the west. this is not going away. >> reporter: we saw nobody carrying a weapon but, again, didn't see every room. we asked this man if people here were armed.

>> there is probably a weapon in every pick-up truck within a 100 miles of here. you know, everybody says they're armed, but each rancher i know has a weapon, you know. so i had a cougar on my porch last week. there you go. >> reporter: the leader of the group now calling its citizens for constitutional freedom held a morning press conference to outline grievances about land use and federal regulations in an area where ranching and conservation have collided since the refuge was formed in 1908. he was asked what it will take to-- will it take top end this protest peacefully? >> i wouldn't say words would do it. i would say action would. that would be for the federal government to remove its unconstitutional presence here in the county. >> i want to talk directly to the people at the wildlife refuge. you said you were here to help the citizens.

that help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed occupation. they have turned themselves in. it is time for you to leave our community. go home to your families and end this peacefully. >> reporter: so far lots of talking but no serious action as the protest that started saturday continues sunshine says there is a double standard in the way the media has been covering the story. >> it is rather complicated in which the farmers that are supposedly stood up for, not interested in having these militarys occupying this federal wildlife refugee headquarters. the people who are here are looking for a fight. they're from out of state. they're not rooted in the community. they were not invited by the community to come there. they are looking for media attention. i think that the more attention

they receive, the worse it is. to extent that they have received attention, i think there is definitely a double standard going on. i think for sure if this was a group of muslims who had taken over a federal building with weapons, this would be a national crisis. it is even more egregi oushgs s because one of the protesters there has used anti islam rhetoric. they're being treated in a different way. i think the media treats them in a different way. i think less attention for them is better, but the cat is in some ways out of the bag. there is a lot of double standards that go on in america depending where you are in the political spectrum the u.s. president obama issued a set of executive orders aimed at reducing gun violence in the u.s. he wants more staff hired to process gun background checks. the defense homeland securities departments will be required to do more research on smart gun

technology. obama will also request new funding for more agents and better access to mental health care for people that might commit gun crimes. >> reporter: dozens of american deaths each day from gun shots. now the president has the attorney-general readying his actions. >> this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country, it is not going to prevent every mass shooting. it won't keep every gurn out of the hands of a criminal. it will potentially save lives in this country. >> reporter: congress has refused to close loop holidays in the law which allows gun dealers to sell guns out checks. he wants to tighten the regulations. >> a lot of the work that has gone on has been to ensure that we would have confidence in the legal basis of these actions. >> reporter: the top republican in congress, speaker of the

house paul ryan, says obama's plan to "a dangerous level of executive overreach", and the country will not stand for it. one of the republican contenders to succeed obama says he is acting like a petulant child after his defeat >> because they reject your ideas repeatedly and now you're going to try to impose them anyway. >> reporter: the national rifle association the group which opposes any new gun controls says the obama administration is violating the rights of honest gun owners while ignoring the roots of the violence. >> untold secret in washington is that he has all the laws that he needs to stop the blood pressured sthed now. take violent criminals off the street. prosecutor them. underment current federal gun laws and make sure they don't get to their next crime scene. that's the way to save lives. >> reporter: meanwhile felled ral authorities in the state of

oregon are weighing what actions to take against a group of armed protesters who have taken over a public building in a remote wildlife refuge. they promised no violence but refused to recognise washington's authority over the land >> we have a strong traditional gun ownership in this country >> reporter: obama will follow-up his orders later this week with a national broadcast devoted to gun violence. in the last year as president, demonstrating his determination to curb an especially democratingic of gunfire expected to claim more american lives than traffic accidents time for a short break. when we come back, the tides have changed for home owners in a part of senegal. al jazeera gains access to the largest container vessel ever to visit the united states. more on that. stay with us.

welcome back. a reminder of the top stories here. saudi arabia says its decision to break off ties with iran will not affect its efforts to negotiate peace in syria and yemen. earlier this week protests esescalated after the kingdom executed a prominent shia cleric. in tehran protesters took to the streets again. in the u.s. state of oregon members of cell styled armed militias continue to occupy a federal building and are refusing to leave. they're demonstrating in support of two farmers who have been ordered to go back to jail. the father and son were convicted of arson in 2012 have

since turned themselves into police. u.s. president obama is issuing a selt of executive orders aimed at reducing gun violence in the u.s. he will announce them on tuesday. he is requiring all gun dealers to request criminal background checks on their customers. the u.s. territory of puerto rico has defaulted on about $174 million dollars of debt payments. people on the island are now looking to washington for help. robert ray reports from the capital. >> reporter: the island paradise of puerto rico is kicking off the new year defaulting on debt payments. >> the debt ask unpayable. some of us here in the senate were saying that since 2014. >> reporter: local senator says puerto rico cannot stop the crisis until washington helps >> in order for us to pay for debt service, we will have to

sacrifice essential services for the people of puerto rico. >> reporter: trying to pay down debt, the island has slashed health care and public transportation services. they have let go of 30,000 public sector workers, closed over 100 schools and increased the sales tax by more than 50%. no matter what side the politician is on here, if you talk to them and ask what is the reason for the recession and massive debt, almost all of them would point to an act of congress that kupt corporate tax incentives. by the time 2006 came along, most of the big companies left the island. the governor speaking exclusively no al jazeera described what happened next. >> there was a tool that puerto rico had to bring investors to the island, to bring factories, to bring manufacturing to the

island. they shut down that with the ten-year period that end in 2006. what happened then? we get into recessions. >> reporter: puerto rico's jobless rate is 12.5%, more than double the national average of 5%. last year 84,000 people left the island and one thousand more join them each week most headed to the u.s. mainland. then there is the 45% poverty rate clouding the future of the working class. >> so a crisis that dropped, that-- dropped, developed that took a decade to develop, will not be solved quickly. i know what they are feeling. it is because of them that i'm trying too hard to fix these crisis that we are having. >> reporter: the load has been building for over a decade and the long-term outlook looks bleak with more payments in the

come months. the only hope is if congress allows the island to restructure the money owed and start from scratch the u.s. justice department is suing vw over emissions cheating software found in nearly 600,000 vehicles sold in the company. the car maker is accused of installing software designed to make its diesel engines pass emissions test. chinese stock seem to be boupsing back after a shaky start on tuesday. chinese stocks triggered a blownal fall on monday after a 7% slide in its stocks. in north-west china 14 people are dead after a bus caught fire early on tuesday. more than 30 others were wounded by the flames and were taken to hospital. the police are investigating the cause of the fire. buying a property for the first time is difficult no matter where you are in the world.

urban centers like malaysia's capital are seeing a huge rise in property prices. some residents are being priced out of the market and having to look outside the city. >> reporter: this woman is a woman looking for six months for her first home. though she works in a bank, it has taken time to get a mortgage. >> it is hard to find land within our budget. we need to find a house out of the town. some houses, the condition is not good, so we need to invest a lot of money to repair and renovate it. >> reporter: she has a $90,000 budget to work with. the annual salary for professionals like her in malaysia is around $10,000. malaysia's economy has been under pressure. there has been less consumer spending because of new tax epz which has affected potential

house buyers despite a small property tax being removed in the recent budget. analysts say houses fell by 15% in 2015 and will fall again in 2016. with 50% of mortgage applications rejected there are few who have the finances to buy any sort of property in the city. some analysts say the government needs to tackle this >> i think the private sector has got the expertise, more market knowledge, so they can come in and devise strategies so the government can work on them to make affordable housing more easier and accessible to those who have not been able to achieve that at that point in time >> reporter: that's what this developer has done. these affordable homes will be complete in 2017. a few kilometers outside the city, housing projects like these are springing up. developers believe this is the solution for first time home buyers and mortgage lenders. they believe that this is a viable and affordable solution for those that work in the city.

>> reporter: there is a niche in the market and this property developer knows it. homes like this can cost up to $70,000. the >> the fundamental of proper growth have not changed. we are offering homes that are best affordable, meeting what the market needs as well as offering a luxury that they don't have to pay at a very high price. >> reporter: it is the type of property she hopes she can find, but may have to wait until projects like this are completed over a dozen people have been injured in a truck bomb attack in the afghan capital kabul. nine children were among those hurt. a check point near the airport was the target. the attack came hours after a taliban suicide bomber blew himself up close to the airport. yemeni government forces have announced a curfew in the so

southern city of aden. it comes as the troops celebrated after regaining full control of the port. the army backed by the saudi-led coalition recaptured the area. a plane has been shot down near benghazi. there are reports about what brought it down. it was targeted by fighters from the benghazi council armed group. thousands of syrian refugees are facing harsh winter conditions in lebanon's beqaa valley. snow has begun falling in the region and temperatures have mrumentd. many are at risk in the winter season and are of need of special help. >> translation: we stayed up all night removing snow off the tent. we cleaned snow from the roof so it won't cave in. what shall we do? god help us from this

the u.n. special group for human rights has resigned. he has been in the role since june 2014 says israel has failed to grant him access to the territories he was supposed to monitor. rising sea levels are causing low-living islands in senegal to disappear. homes and livelihoods are also sinking fast. >> reporter: pots and pans, all belongings that were once safe inside a home before it was destroyed by rising water. it has become a daily ritual, finding out what the tide will swallow and what she can save before it rises again. standing in what was her living room, the memories are confronting. her children once played in a cot here. this is what remains of a kitchen where her mother shared her recipes.

>> translation: i am scared that more lives will disappear, washed away in this water that just won't stop rising. >> reporter: it is a slow and quiet disaster unfolding in the low-lying delta here. barely one metre above sea level, these islands are gradually being submerged. the brakish water has destroyed paddy fields. villagers thought it was an unusual tide from a far away storm but then someone gave it a name: climate change. since then government officials, international aid agencies and environmentalists have come to the island offering solutions. the government built a small wall along the edge of the island to stop water coming in, but it wasn't high or strong enough. the united nations is spending millions of dollars replanting mangroves here and in other low-lying deltas in the world.

they're not match for the tide. most are unaware of the efforts for climate change. those who do say it is too late. people are leaving this lands. most of the men have moved to the capital or further afield to europe to find work. according to the red cross there are more climate refugees than political refugees in the world. the united nations at this particular time their number will rise to 50 million people by 2020. among them this woman and other women from the island. they're already on the move searching for a better place to live. nicholas hawk it is being hailed as the biggest ship in history to dock in a u.s. port, but the rival of the giant vessel packed with containers also shows how the united states is lagging behind

the worldwide shipping industry t melissa chan has been aboard in california. >> reporter: it is called the benjamin franklin owned by a french shipping company. it is called a mega ship because it can hold 18,000 20 foot long ship possessing contain yergs at maximum capacity. the usual ships that dock here hold about 5,000. >> it is important to demonstrate that this port is able to receive these. >> reporter: this is the c macen benjamin franklin and this is a boeking 747, or as compared to the aircraft carrier, the u.s. s george hw bush. it is the may deny voyage and this is one of the few countries at the moment that can handle something like this side. it has been dredged to accommodate ships and raised the height of eight of its cranes.

what port officials herald as the biggest cargo ship to ever visit the united states will mostly stulgts containers. mega ships already dock regularly at ports in asia and have for years, in the u.s. major ports are just starting to make upgrades needed to accommodate mega ships, bringing in bigger cranes and dredging to deeper waters. >> the federal government needs to develop a comprehensive international strategy. the rival of these vessels is a stimulus to have these particularly parts of infrastructure get their act together. >> reporter: oakland and l.a. may have welcomed the benjamin franklin this time, but if doesn't mean they can handle many more such calls. they save fuel and it means less pollution.

>> it puts less stress on ships, where they're repacked for onward movement. >> reporter: even eight heavy tea $150 million price tag, some shipping companies believes it makes economic sense. west coast ports also recognise the far-reaching economic benefits of mega ships >> they employ 450 people, but it influences 73,000 jobs. that many jobs depend on the port. with increased cargo comes more jobs yet. so we see a true economic benefit to the region as these big ships arrive. >> reporter: that is the hope, but as mega ships dock with greater frequency, the question will be how quickly american ports can keep up. melissa chan a reminder you can keep up-to-date with all the news on our website.

there it is on your screen, all the lateliest on the diplomatic row between saudi arabia and iran over the execution of a president xi jinping acleric. -- - of a sympathy that cleric. al jazeera.com children with autism and the impulses that can lead them to bottle toward danger. but first the refugee crisis in europe and the big issue now on the forefront: unaccompanied miles an hour. >> do yo minors. >> do you think about your family? >> yes. >> does your family know where >> no. >> sheila macvicar on athe road ahead for refugees. good evening and thank you for