>> we will attend the next syria talks and we are not going to boycott them because of iran or anybody else for that matter despite ending ties with iran, saudi arabia says it is committed to talks on regional conflicts. you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up the chinese government intervenes to pop up a stock market.

bomb's efforts to-- obama's efforts to gun laws. the technology show where everything is going digital 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 to the united nations has called on the security council to condemn saturday's attack on its embassy in iran. he also said normal relations can resume when iran stops interfering in the internal affairs of the countries of the region including saudi arabia. tensions rose after the kingdom executed a dissident vee acleric. >> reporter: diplomats are concerned because you have these two heavy wait nation $of the

middle east which have always had strained relations. they're now at alall time low. they would have been slightly heart end by the words of the saudi arabia alwas dor's words that there would be no interference with the peace between syria and yemen >> the break in relations to the countries on the efforts in syria and yemen? >> from our side it will have no effect because we will continue to work very hard towards supporting the peace efforts in syria, in 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 iranians on that. they, even before the break of diplomatic relations, have not been very supportive, have not been very positive in 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 united nations knows that both iran and saudi arabia are key players in both these conflicts and that's why the u.n. envoy for syria is now in riyadh. he will be going on to tehran and in the next few days the u.n. envoy for yemen will also be visiting the region now the white house is also calling for restraints from both sides >> we do continue to be concerned about the need for both the iranians and the saudis to de-escalate the situation in the middle east, that we're urging all sides to show some restraint and to not further

inflame tensions that are on quite vivid display in the region turkey also urging iran and saudi arabia to end their disputes. >> 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 encircled by fire t can bear no more crisis. we believe that both country countries should show restraint the chinese government has intervened heavily to support its stock markets and extended a ban on selling by big company share holders. selling continued on tuesday, a day after the shares plunged and triggered an aument halt in trading. over to our china correspondent, adrian brown.

just talk to us about the second day of what seems to be panic selling. what is causing the drop in the share prices? >> reporter: well, it has, as you rightly say, been another volatile day on asian stock markets. they have been struggling to recover from yesterday's losses when, of course, the markets here dropped by more than 7% causing that automatic lock-down system to kick in. today it hasn't been as bad, but it hasn't been good either. the shanghai index and the hong kong index are all down. the reason for that is that it was that new data showed that manufacturing output in china was continuing to contract. today there is lingering concern about the fact that the restrictions on selling shares are due to end on friday, january 8. that would lead to a lot of cheap stock in the market, making shares even cheaper, but a short time ago a spokesman for

the china regulatory section were going to take steps to stop sales of blue chip companies. a lot of these companies that have been losing value, the management of these companies are trying to sell their shares to other investmentors because they have no faith in their own company. that's a serious issue and it is something the government is now clearly addressing. it remains to be seen what people, who will be allowed to sell their shares on friday and what impact that would have on the market at the moment how jitery are the analysts and the investors feeling about all of this? >> reporter: well, i think looking at this from a sort of global perspective, it tells us that china's economy is certainly beginning to slow down, perhaps slowing down more than we had imagined. the chinese government now

believes we will have economic growth this year of around about 6%. last year it was talking about 7%. of course, there are all these other external factors that are at play. some of china's biggest customers, the economies of brazil and europe are not doing very well at the moment, and because they're not buying chinese goods, not buying chinese goods in the way they used to, that in turn is also bringing down china's economy. so it has become, in a sense, almost a sort of vicious circle for the time being, thank you for that update from beijing. u.s. president obama is issuing a set of executive orders later on tuesday aimed at reducing gun violence in the u.s. obama wants more people to process background checks. the defense in homeland security departments will be required to do more research on smart gun technology. obama will also request new funding for 200 law enforcement

agents as well as better access to mental health care for people who might commit gun-related crimes. >> reporter: dozens of american deaths each day from gun shots. now the president has his attorney-general readying his options to narrowing access to firearms. >> this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country, or prevent every mass shooting or keep every gun out of the hands of a criminal. it will potentially save lives in this country. >> reporter: congress has refused to close loopholes in the law which allows unlicensed gun dealers to sell guns without background checks. obama says he will invoke his authority to tighten the regulations. >> a lot of the work that has gone on is 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 reach "a dangerous level of executive overreach and the country will not stand for it". one of the republican conditioneders to succeed obama says he is acting like a petulant child after his defeats. >> you're going to try and impose them? >> reporter: the nation rifle association, the powerful pressure groups which opposes any new gun controls says the obama administration is violating the rights of honest gun owners. >> untold secret in washington is that he has all the laws that needs to stop the blood shed now. take violent criminals off the street. prosecute them under the 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 federal authorities in the state of oregon are weighing what actions

to take against a group of armed protestors who have taken over a public building in a remote wildlife refuge. they've promised no violence but refuse to recognise washington's authority over the lands. >> we have a strong position in this country. >> reporter: obama will follow-up his executive orders later this week with a national broadcast devoted to gun violence. in his last year as president, demonstrating his determination to kerb an epidemic of gunfire expected to claim more american lives than traffic accidents u.s. sheriff is demanding members of a cell styled armed militia end their three-day occupation of a wildlife center. they're protesting what they see as federal mismanagement of public land in oregon. they're also showing support for two farmers who have been ordered to return to jail after they were convicted of arson in 2012. the father and son have now turned themselves into federal

officials. our correspondent has the latest from the city of burns in oregon. >> reporter: a spokesman for the protesters told us not to expect a lot of guns and any questions about how many protesters were here were unanswered. >> it is an emotional roller-coaster. it is up and down and, yeah, 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 for the marshes and heavy equipment. the spokesman told us this is one of the sleeping areas. we took video through a window of people preparing food but we were not allowed into this kitchen. we didn't visit every building but we were allowed no roam on our own and saw no signs of damage or vandalism >> we want to be polite, we want

to be nashly, we want to be-- nashly, we want to be respectful. >> reporter: he is a rancher who is one of the main spokesman. >> reporter: where do you see this ending? >> i believe it shall spread from here. this grievance that they're dealing with is widespread throughout the west. this is not going away. >> reporter: we saw nobody carrying a weapon, but, again, didn't see everyone room. we asked 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. i had a cougar on my porch last aweek. there you go. >> reporter: the leader of the group now calling itself citizens for constitutional freedom held a morning press conference to outline grievances about land use restrictions 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 it take to 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. the hammonds have turned themselves in. it's 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 still ahead on al jazeera we will be talking to the u.n.

special envoy for human rights in the palestinian territory who says he has been forced to resign because of israel. plus. >> reporter: i'm in malaysia. if you're a first-time home buyer it is becoming more and more difficult to buy within a city center. i will be telling you why housing projects like this are becoming more and more popular with the first time home buyer. buyer.

hello again. the top stories. saudi arabia says its decision to break off ties with iran will not affect its efforts to negotiate peace in syria and

yemen. it has called on the u.n. security council to condemn saturday's attack on its embassy in iran. tensions arose after a shia cleric was executed. the chinese government has intervened to support its stock market and imposed a ban on selling shares in top companies. president obama will issue a set of executive orders later on tuesday aimed at reducing gun violence in the u.s. obama wants more background checks done on people trying to guy guns as well as more funding for 200 lawence forcements agents. u.n. special group for human rights in the palestinian territories has resigned. he has been in the role since june 2014 says israel has continually failed to grant him access to the territories he was supposed to monitor. he says his efforts to help

palestinians has been frustrated every step of the way. so let's speak to him who is joining us from jakarta. it's good to have you with us. when you say your efforts were frustrated every step of the way, how so? >> the problem is i got a lot of information by telephone call, by skype and buy video conference and i got indications that the situation on the ground is worsening, so, therefore, i'm interested to see by myself the situation there in order to mitigate it. problems experienced by the palestinian who is the human right was violated so when you would ask for access to the occupied palestinians territories, what would be the response be from israel? >> actually, the response of

israel is there are disappointed of the nature of the mandate, because the nature of the mandate is focusing on monitoring and make determination on the violation on the occupied palestinian territory. so according to him, it should be universal, so it should be to all parties of the conflict, not only the violation of human rights but also to the palestinian violation of human rights, but this is not my responsibility. the mandate is given to me. you know, if they are interested to chase the mandate, maybe they can fight in the human right council. for me, this is a given mandate. i have to fulfil the mandate what is your resignation-- does your resignation mean for

the human rights council when it comes to the palestinian territorie territories? >> it is important for the holders to come to see for yourself the situation on the ground, because if you listen from the other parties, any information from two elements, one, facts, and the other one is interpretation. i'm interested to know by myself the fact because by knowing the facts we can make a good report which ask objective and impartial what you're saying is that you were not able to establish any of the facts because you were not granted access to the occupied palestinian territories via israel? there is the view, however, that you could have entered via egypt. was that not possible? >> it's not possible right now

because gaza is classified like a situation 5, you know, and then according to the u.n. consideration, the situation 5 is not possible for non-humanitarian fitted missions what do you think your legacy is going to be when it comes to this particular position with the u.n. human rights council and also you will be presenting your report in two months time in march 2016, what will you say? >> i say that the situation in the occupied palestinian territory and the human rights perspective is worsening. we have to do something to mitigate the problems there. otherwise the it will be-- otherwise it will be worse on the ground thank you for joining us.

>> you are most welcome one of five missing book sellers in hong kong has reportedly written a letter to his family saying he is in mainland china. hong kong police say lee's wife has filed a missing person's report but they will continue investigating other cases. lee and four our people have disappeared in recent months. it specialises in books critical of the china's communist party leaders. u.s. territory of puerto rico are preparing for legal action from their creditors after defaulting on its debt. they have to pay about 174 million dollars and it is 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 adebt payments. >> the debt is unpayable. some of us here in the senate,

we're saying that since 2014. >> reporter: the local senator says puerto rico cannot stop the crisis until washington helps. >> in order for us to pay for debt service, we will have no sacrifice-- to sacrifice essential services for the people of puerto rico >> reporter: trying to pay down debt the island has slashed health and children's services, let go of 30,000 sector workers, closed over 100 schools and increased the sales tax by more than 50%. no matter what side a politician is on here, if you talk to them and asked them what is the reason for the recession and the massive debt, almost all of them will point to a 1996 act of congress that cut corporate tax incentives, and by the time 2006 came along, most of those big companies left the island. puerto rico's governor speaking

exclusively to 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 in 2006. what happened in 2006? 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 developed, that took decades to develop, will not be solved from one day to the next one. so for them, i know what they are feeling and with them, and

it is because of them i'm trying too hard to fix these crisis that we have. >> reporter: the debt load has been building for over a decade and the long-term outlook appears bleak with more payments due in the coming months. the only hope, say officials, if congress allows the money to be reinstructed and start from scratch. -- reconstructed indian troops are still searching an air base near the pakistan border for more gunmen involved in an attack. no gunfire has been heard since late monday night but at least one attacker remains at large on the base. seven indian soldiers and firefighters were killed in that assault which began on saturday. no group has claimed responsibility for that attack. police have launched a man hunt for a suspect in an apparent arson attack in a bus in northern china. the blaze r bliz killed 14 people and injured others. the police are looking for i man

thought to have started the fire. a jet fighter mass crashed in libya where there are conflicting reports of the cause. it came down near benghazi. some witnesses say it was targeted by fighters from the benghazi council. a group linked to i.s.i.l. is claiming responsibility. saudi media says the jet had a mechanical failure and that the pilot ejected safely. ukraine says it will introduce a wide-ranging ban on food imports from russia. the move is in response to russia's ban on food product from ukraine. russia has also banned turkish fruit, vegetables and poultry. it is hurting their industry. >> reporter: the sanctions were imposed on turkey following the shooting down of the russian aircraft that was alleged to have gone into turkish airspace. that happened in mid-november. they believe that the sanctions are going to cost turkey well over 700 million dollars.

turkey supplies 20% of moscow's fresh fruit, tomatos, apples, oranges. that will have to be replaced. if that wasn't enough, russia is now engaged in a total trade war with ukraine. this is in retaliation for kiev backing western sanctions against russia. russia has now scrapped the fair trade agreement with ukraine and that has pushed the cost of imports up by 6%. bilateral trade has fallen from 50 billion just to 12.5 billion. there have been 23 separate rounds of trilateral talks between russia, ukraine and brussels. still as far away as ever in reaching any sort of compromise or agreement technology in digital sensors is in judge about everything. that's what is on show in the fair in l.a.

it is where everyone from tech giants to tiny start ups compete to market their latest digital designs. rob reynolds with the story. >> reporter: the world's biggest consumer technology showcase is getting underway with 150,000 attendees from 150 countries. among the top trends for 2016, the expansion of digital technologies in sensors into more and more areas of everyday life. >> we still live almost completely in an analogue world. we're surrounded by digital devices, but we haven't yet started to integrate some of those digital attributes and aspects into our daily lives. i think that is one of the big steps that we will see take place at the 2016 ces. >> reporter: experts say that the trend toward including technology in just about everything from door bells to dishwashers will affect millions of people's jobs, lifestyles and family time. >> it is going to be a major

change in how we live our lives. basically, technology is going to be everywhere, everything we do from when we wake up and go to sleep and while we're asleep technology is going to affect our lives >> reporter: there could be a down side to such ubiquitous technology. >> once everything is connected, all your life is digital. somebody can hack into your system somehow and learn where you are and what you're doing and know everying. >> reporter: another trend wearable technology, a five billion dollar business, and wearable tech is now moving well beyond telling you how well your work out went >> i think what you will see is not just products focused on fitness as we have seen in the past, but you will see that more holistic approach to wearable clothing, smart clothing, which is an area that we will see growth mere. >> reporter: the first consumer electronics show was held back in 1967. since then technology has

changed almost beyond recognition. who can say what the next 49 years will bring. rob reynolds you can read much more about that on our website al jazeera.com and you will find the day's top stories there as well. 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