r. r. o. w. rising tensions. outrage as a shia cleric raises concerns in the middle east. >> deadly attack >> a u.s. service member killed, two injured. a u.s. afghan special operations mission comes under fire as the taliban continues to gain ground in afghanistan.

>> power struggle. a new opposition controlled national assembly is sworn in in venezuela, but not all members are allowed to take their seats deadly journey. dozens of refugees drowned trying to reach greece when two boats sank in rough sees. -- rough seas. good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america's international news your. we begin with a deepening diplomatic divide between saudi arabia and iran. the saudi arabia foreign minister says the severing of diplomatic ties with iran will not affect the peace talks in syria. the two nations opposing sides in the negotiations. saudi arabia wants the syrian president and iranian ally bashar al-assad to have no future role in syria. more of saudi arabia's allies

are following the kingdom's lead. kuwait recalling the ambassador for iran, and bahrain stopped flights there police fired shotgun and pellets at protesters in the tiny gulf state of bahrain. day four of protests following saudi arabia's execution of 47 people, including the shia cleric. >> fall out from the execution spread first from sunni saudi arabia to shia iran. where the saudi arabia embassy was ransacked, forces saudis to cut diplomatic ties. now to center of excellence of brain aging, u.a.e. and sudan, all of which tore up diplomatic relations complaining of possess interference.

r riyadh has been accused of trying to shift the real crime, the execution of a cleric. and calling it names will not hurt it. >> for more than 30 years after the iranian resolution, great powers have severed ties with iran. saudi arabia is taking measures based on immature policies and inexperience. at the heart of the spat, saudi arabia is under pressure in its region, since its ally, the united states, struck a nuclear deal with iran. add to that the saudi military coalition fighting iranian supported houthi forces to the south of saudi in yemen, and iranian military involvement to the war in syria, and you have a recipe for the saudis to feel isolated in their desert kingdom. >> saudi arabia can sustain this for some time. the issue here is that at least for riyadh, the iranians have to

understand that saudi arabia is going to combat a lot of the negativity that we see in the region. u.s. officials say tensions between saudi arabia and iran will not have an impact on the coalition efforts in defeating i.s.i.l. >> as we know, the secretary was on the phone all day yesterday. we are encouraging de-escalation. any time you have region app polarization and escalation, it can cause difficulties, it opens up streams on the far side. >> residence are speaking out about the rift between the two middle eastern giants. the saudis should know it will not take corition for threat. they will not allow saudi rainions to threaten us. >> they have the right to be upset and angry because of the attack on the embassy. we should not forget the stampede at mecca. >> so the war of words goes on,

with little hope either side will back down soon joining us now from beirut is joseph, a middle east analyst and senior fellow at the research for islamic studies in riyadh. it's good to see you. we have iran's president hassan rouhani saying saudi arabia can't hide its crime by severing diplomatic ties. the saudis seem to have little interest in de-escalating allies, and are jumpening on board and weakening ties with iran. to this making a dangerous region more dangerous? >> not really. i think that president hassan rouhani had to say what he has to say today, what he said today, simply because he confronts at home opposition from the extremists who essentially are against him. or opposed to him. remember a couple of days ago when the iranians torched the

saudi embassy, the president came out and said this was wrong. it was not the right thing to do, and that iran has got to learn how to report international law. but, of course, he had to reverse his position because at home in iran, there are a lot of people who are opposed to his policies. >> talking about the iranians, a lot of analysts thought that the nuclear deal would strengthen the moderates there and weaken the extremists, the hardliners. has the opposite happened? >> probably. we don't know much of what goes on inside of iran because it is a mysterious and closed society. they like to give the impression that it is open. it's not. >> the debates that take place are convoluted. and the divisions that exist surfaced from time to time in parliament when there are open debates, when people can follow this. make no speak about the fact that the supreme leader of islam

revolution, ayatollah khamenei has the last word. it is not up to the president to opine what he thinks should be done or not. >> do you believe the saudis knew what the consequences of the execution of the shi'ite cleric would be? >> i think the soughties knew, but it was not important simply because they were applying the law as sharia courts have done. they have arrested this man for a variety of crimes and they have put this in front of judgments. >> couldn't the government decide to give him an amnesty because in moving forward with this, clearly it has a series of affects. some of which are positive for the saudi government. because it manages to take attention away from serious internal problems because the

economy is a mess. they had to take perks away from saudi citizens because of the falling oil prices. >> we have to put this in perspective. we are not talking about a monastery cleric involved in scholar equities. >> we are talking about a fire brand cleric who is interested in bringing down the government. and no surprise there that government rejects and refuses to go along. >> could it be a message to washington that the saudis will not depend on the u.s. any longer and will act independently because the saudis were not worried about the nuclear deal. a trust that has grown weaker after hard line challenges by iran with testing ballistic missiles and contravention of u.n. resolutions that the u.s. talked about sanctions for, and then backed off on?

>> there may be truth to this. but no one really knows. the fact is they have been an ally. there are certain saudis who are certainly disappointed with the positions that the united states took in the last several years vis-a-vis iraq. the message is not just to the iranians and the shia population, but to the sunni population of the world, and perhaps, also, western powers saying to everyone concerned, we are the will to power, we have knocksal security interests, and we will protect them. >> it's a complicated situation on many levels, and raising questions about what it will mean for the fight against terrorism in the region. >> good to have you with us and have your insights. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> iranian television broadcast images of an underground missile

bumper. it was the same time time in three months that similar footage was prepared. the bunker houses missiles equipped with nuclear war heads. the video features the speaker of the iranian parliament, led on a tour by members of the revolutionary guard. the video's release came as iran faces sanctions for testing the same missiles in october. today the u.s. state department is discussing possible punishments with other u.s. agency. the white house believes the test launches violated u.s. security council resolutions. iran says the missile programme is for defense and not subject to resolutions an earthquake your appeared to have been caused by human activity has been reported in north korea, reported near a nuclear testing site and has been measured at 5.1. several international mont ris agencies report signs of what they believe is an artificial

quake. north korea conducted a third nuclear test in february of 2013 in that region, recording an earthquake of similar size to the one reported tonight. a north korean spokesperson said they'll make an important announcement within the hour and we'll keep you updated. >> syrians have been exposed to sanaa, coaccording to a top report. the watchdog group was looking into allegations that chemical agents had been used in 11 incidents, and said further investigation is needed to determine when or how the possible sarin exposure took place. the syrian government and opposition accused each other of using chemical weapons. >> an american soldiers was killed and two others wounded when they came under fire in moving. accompanying afghan forces fighting the taliban in marja a

town in helmand province. two medivac helicopters like the ones in these file pictures were sent in to help. one was waved off after it came under fire. the other landed, struck a wall, damaged blades and was forced to stay on the ground. >> this is an ongoing situation. there is still a fight going on in the immediate surroundings, and we'll provide details as they become available. because of the situation now, we don't have the details surrounding what is taking place. >> afghan forces battled the taliban for more than six months. >> british officials suspect a londoner who sold bounce houses may be the new executioner, unnamed sources named siddharthu dh ark r, born a hindu, before becoming radicalized. he was freed on bail and since

disappeared in 2014. authorities believe he's lily in syria. his -- he's believed to be in syria. his sister is not sure it is him. >> a second round of attacks home to the biggest i will ports in sidra. there has been a plea for help, saying it is powerless against i.s.i.l.'s destruction. libya has been in chaos since muammar gaddafi was overthrown in 2011. i.s.i.l. has been losing territory held in iraq and syria. colonel steve warren says the group is in a defensive crouch. >> in iraq it's about 40%, in syria, harder to get a number, always around 30%. taken together, iraq and syria. >> brad taylor is a retired special forces colonel and

defense analyst and a best-selling novelist whose recent book is "the forgotten soldiers", and he joins us from houston. the event in your new book is triggered by violence in afghanistan. how concerned are you that the taliban is staging a come back threatening progress since the 2001 war. >> i'm concerned about if. the progress we are making is basically the drug trade, like the sanaa lowa area in mexico. it's a powerhouse. in 2010 people forget there's a huge battle for marja, and it's the battle after the battle. we are talking about how we defeated i.s.i.s. in ramadi. i don't consider it a defeat until you see what happened six months from now. >> i.s.i.l. is increasing presence from afghanistan. what do the u.s. or n.a.t.o. need to do to secure the gains

made over the past 14 years? >> the hardest thing is to get governance down there. helmand province is one of the biggest opium producing places in the universe. it's an economic power house. you want to put a government in there, you can't put in a government saying it's okay to make heroin. if you don't have a government in there that doesn't say that, the taliban is saying get rid of that guy. >> in the broader fight against i.s.i.l., do you see reason for optimism. iraqi forces retook ramadi. and colonel steve warren talked about how they could have lost 30% of territory it controlled in syria and iraq. >> i think there is signs of optimism. i.s.i.l. is more like a kids balloon, when you squeeze it, they leave this area and go to another. you mentioned crouch. i was nod be surprised if i.s.i.l. would take on another

town to prove their venketed. >> it's not clear whether american casualties in afghanistan were special operations forces. they were in an area where the u.s. special forces were active. the poach has been to increase the role of special forces. as a former colonel in this world, is it a good strategist. >> i see it as a good opponent of a strategy. i'm 99.9% positive of the special forces doing train and assist. i heard about it from a conference, image capable helicopters, i can't imagine anyone bar special forces are down there. >> are you concerned that a large number could delude them in their effectiveness. >> sorry, say that again.

>> could that delude them. now that so many people are accepted to -- special forces. >> it shrunk a little bit. it's maintained steady. >> you and other top authors in the thriller espionage genre created groups that performed secret missions in the united states, and you mentioned that the c.i.a. does not have the capability for paramilitary operations and the pentagon can't keep the operations secret, and that's the reason for the groups. do you think that in reality groups similar to your task force are needed? >> no, i don't. the thing with this book. when we operated for real, we had extensive oversight for a renaling an. we thought we needed an organization to run free. i created the task force. as i wrote it, they do things,

going off the reservation, but i'm writing a book it ends perfectly. but i thought it has a potential to go bad, if there's one guy in here. that's what i explored in the book. >> many of your books bring up issues that happen around the world and the new back "forgotten soldiers", brad taylor, good to talk to you. >> thanks, appreciate it. >> in france, the government honoured the vic sims -- is victims of the "charlie hebdo" shooting. a plaque was unveiled, and another near where a policeman was killed. the name of a victim was misspelled. authorities said they would correct the mistake. 17 were killed in attacks that week. >> a journalist gaoled in turkey for four months is free. he was arrested inform august

while covering confrontations between the kurdish opposition and police. his two british colleagues were deported, turkey said the iraqi rasul was held as a protective measure he is tree on bail, but cannot leave the country. venezuela's knew national assembly is sworn in, changing the balance of power. supports of the government and of the opposition take to the street in dualling rallies. >> a proposal to ban donald trump from the u.k.

peace talks in booururundi,e to a halt. there's no word on whether they'd resume. opposition and government leaders have been meeting in uganda for a week. a top burundi official said the government would not attend because of the inclusion of groups supporting violence. a spokesman later said negotiators need more time to prepare. more than 400 have been killed in clashes since april, when the president announced he'd run for an unconstitutional third term. >> security was heavy on the streets of caracas when the opposition took control for the first type of. today's swearing in ceremony comes at a time of the rising tensions between the opposition

and president madura. >> reporter: songs about change and new beginnings. jubilant supporters of the venezuela opposition joined the 112 legislators as they made their way to the capital assembly. >> last december a sweeping victory gave them a two-thirds major city. -- majority. >> translation: venezuela needed a change. we are fed up with violence and shortages and violence. we want our children to grow outline without violence. >> reporter: a few miles a way is a rally supports nicolas maduro. >> the opposition hates this country, they defended chavez. we have to dell them to respect the revolution and leaders. >> reporter: street clashes

between the groups was fierce, especially after three opposition deputies were prevented from being sworn in by a spoourt ruling. it was at the ceremony that the tensions were evident. >> a sign of the challenges legislators faced as they prepared to share power over the coming five years. >> a particularly sore subject has been efforts by the opposition to free political prisoners. the government blames them for the death of more than 40 people during a month-long wave of violence in 2014. >> the assassins, the perpetrators, they can't pardon themselves, only the victims could forgive them. >> in the end pro-government legislators walked out. their frustration over the changing political landscape in venezuela, too greats for them to stay. >> the government passed a series of laws that seemed to undermine the super majority that the opposition gained.

analysts here warn that the continuing of the political gridlock would exacerbate social conflict the u.s. is responding favourably to the event in caracas. state department spokesman said the swearing in was an important and necessary step for venezuela. the obama is asking those on all sides to respect the authority and independence of the national assembly and is calling for the release of political prisoners held in venezuela. >> britain's parliament set a date to hear a petition that calls for a travel ban on republican presidential candidate donald trump. nearly 570,000 britains signed an online petition calling for trump to be denied entry into the u.k. coming after remarks targetting muslims more than two dozen asylum

seekers were killed when two boats capsized off the turkish coast. we look at the dangers survivors face after making it ashore germany opened the doors to refugees hoping to solve a population problem. the role that could be played in helping the economy.

. >> welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm antonio mora, coming up in this half hour of international news on what is

wednesday in asia, we look at how markets are responding after the terrible beginning over the first two trading days of 2016. first a look at the stories making headlines across the u.s. in the american minute. president obama unveiled new gun control measures at the white house. the executive actions strengthened background checks and closed loopholes for unlicensed firearms sales. the occupation of a federal building of wildlife refuge is four days on. organizers saying they are vowing to stay until managements of land it turned over to ranchers. no law enforcement agency has tried to remove them. showing for now a willingness to wait them out a governor of michigan declared a state of emergency where the city of flint is located and the u.s. attorney-general office is investigating lead contamination

in the drinking water. in summer corrosive river water was found to cause home plumbing systems to leach led. a study showing high levels of led. >> palestinians protested demanding the return of family members' bodies. about 140 palestinians have been killed in clashes with israeli forces over the last three months, most of the bodies have been released. and as nts ty ab tells us, another palestinian was killed as the west back violence continues. >> he has been shot dead by israeli forces. that soldiers has been taken to hospital with like injuries, the incident took place near the

junction in the occupied west bank. it is near a settlement. this is an area, a flashpoint in recent months. since october there has been a wave of violence involving palestinians and israelis. at last counselled 20 israelis have been killed and over 140 palestinians have been killed in the latest unrest. depending on who you talked to, the reason behind the upsurge in violence is different. israelis say the reason we see the violence is because of palestinian incitement. saying that palestinian leaders is fuelling this kind of violence that we have been seeing and inflamed the street. the palestinian leaders, young palestinians. they say that that is nonsense. they say the current unrest is

tied to the fact of occupation and see no hope imtiaz tyab reporting from the west bank in turkey, a reminder about the european refugee crisis. 36 died after two boats capsized in the agean sea, a launching point for many fleeing war-torn syria, escaping to europe. today the turkish coast guard rescued 12 people. the search offense for more. as jonah hull reports, dozens did not make it. it's the first week of a new year, the warm summer gone, and the refugee journey getting harder. off the turkish coast a rubber dingy capsized. the passengers tied to their fate. many braving the agean sea.

more than 20 never arriving. the bodies washing assure the beaches of turkey. >> translation: we came an hour ago, we heard the boat sank. i think these people died when they tried to swim for the rocks. we tried to help. there wasn't much to be done. the turkish coast guard dispatched three boats and a helicopter to search for survivors. eight were rescued, including one man that emerged from the freezing water. it's submitted a million entered grease through the outlying islands in in 2015, travelling to central and northern europe as part of a humanitarian crisis on the continent in two decades. >> migrants and refugees enter greece at a rate of 2500 a day from turkey, close to the

observing through december. you see the migrant flows continue through the are winter, and the fatalities are continuing as well. >> this is where most are heading, the greek island of lesbos, gateway to the european union, 10km off the coast. despite efforts to improve conditions here, international volunteers say the refugees welcome can be a harsh one. wedgen and young children are not safe at night. as are the men and women. they are stealing. there is raping. there is death there are knives and guns here. many will find safe harbour in european countries like germany.

here on the greek shore the ordeal has just begun germany is taking in refugees, that could help them deal with the growing population, it has the lowest rate in the world, the topic of in context segment. >> nestling at the foot of the heart's mountains, this is an affluent town home to 22,000 people. despite the apparent prosperity, one group is increasingly missing. young people. in the past 15 years, the population of the town has fallen 20%. the decline is blamed on a combination of a sweeping birth rate and net immigration. >> the schools ran out of children. we have regular schools in our area, in the first four years. has about, let's say, 150 to 200

children. that is normal. we ran out of children, down to 50 children. if you are under 50 children, you are not able to manage good school any longer. >> it's a similar story in many german towns and cities. fewer births and an ever increasing pensioner population, a leading academic says it's creating a serious skills shortages, and the professionally qualified refugees could be part of the solution. >> the big expectation is that the migrants would also be a remedy to the labour market shortage that we have in germany, we have a shortage of high school labour, and a shortage of youngsters starting vocational training positions. >> perhaps the initiative at a foundry in berlin could be a template for the future.

it helps refugees that want to help by teaching them vocational courses and german language skills. people like hasan from ghana are benefitting from the trading. >> we need to forget about what has been done in the past and focus on the future. >> i'd like to stay for the future. they are kind, so good. that is our dream. i want to give a little bit of opportunity to start from. >> back here, many people want to give refugees like hasan that opportunity, the local mayor says the refugees with professional experience could help provide an answer to the shortage of jobs in the german workforce. >> joining us from berlin to discuss the decline in the birth rate is daniella schwarzer, a senior director of research. >> good to have you with us.

germany has the dubious honour of surpassing japan, and having the lowest birth rate. some described what is happening there as a perfect demographic storm imperilling economic growth. has this become a priority for the german government. >> the low german birth rate has been an issue over years, and there has been readjustment in the way child care is organized in jeremy, the way families get financial support but the sermans have a pessimistic view of their future, and the numbers of birth have not been going up. there has been a slight recovering of the rate. it never exceeded 1.5 children per couple, and, indeed, it's a recurrent political issue in germany, mostly because (a), we have a shrinking population and germany is facing labour market problems. >> why is the birth rate so bad.

if you look at the united states it's 1.9 per woman, in germany it's 1.4 over the past few years. >> i guess the germans have a tradition of women choosing a job or choosing to be a housewife and a mother. this is a cultural issue, and an issue related to family policy, and it's slowly changing that actually women feel i could have to make the choice, or i can have children and work at the same time. >> i know scandinavia has the same birth rate. they managed to improve actions. >> they started earlier. it is perfectly normal for fathers or mothers to leave the office to pick up their children. and mostly men work long hours and long days and women are the ones that pick up the children from childcare. that is slowly changing.

as you can see, huge differences between urban germany and rural germany. the discussion changed and the necessity to do something from a national perspective, looking at the economy, and the way the german population is shrinking in european comparisons. it is a big political issue, and women started to think about their own future, and it looks like less of a choice to be made between family or work. but there are no more models to make. >> looking at democracy, the numbers show that germans of working age will decline by 10 percentage points and you need half a million migrants and refugees coming into germany to sustain what you need for a workforce. did that make germany more willing than other european

countries. >> the question of solicited labour is going on, or the discussion about that issue is going on for a long time. the refugee crisis will not solve that problem. as one sees now, the refugees coming in, some of the them, indeed, are qualified. they need to learn the german language and get integrated into the labour market. that can happen for a small share of them. the reality is that many refugees that are coming in have had no professional training, university degrees, and will not be the kind of skilled labour that the german labour market needs in the next year to come. there's growing issues with a backlash against the refugees. >> public opinion has not turned hostile. there's criticism towards the policy that the government is conducting. the feeling is that the numbers are high. the population sees that may be another million will come in

2016. this is, after all a substantial sum of people to host properly, to, you know, to support financially, to integrate children into schools. there's a feeling now that may be on the local level, the structures are overburdened. it's not that the germans question the right to asylum, it's the speed and the high numbers that come in daniella swartser, good to have you with us. >> cologne germany was the scene of a mass protest. the demonstration was held in the square. on new year's eve, as many as 100 women reported being assaulted in the area, one said she was raped. the victims said they were attacked by young men working in groups. >> it's important to show a reaction, that we do not accept

the atmosphere in the country, changes that women can't go on the streets or at night. we do not want to give 'em away. the mayor denounced the police, and called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. no arrests have been made. >> american officials at the expense of volkswagen. they are being sued for fitting 600,000 diesel vehicles with missions cheating software. a maximum penalty costing 48 million. in addition, volkswagen are struggling to agree with the e.p.a. on how to fix the vehicles. the deadline to reach a solution is mid january. >> stocks opened mixed in china after a sell off in monday and tuesday. the shensen market are up. hong kong's hang seng is down.

according to reports, chinese regulators are going to extend stock sales to shareholders that were set to expire on friday. >> north korean nuclear testing site. north korea says it has conducted its first successful test of a hydrogen bomb. the announcement coming after the international monitoring agency reported signs of an earthquake, similar to one in the same reason in 2013, when north korea conducted a nuclear test. >> a mexican lawyer for the so-called affluenza teenager will not say that his client will drag out the extradition process. ethan couch met with his lawyer. he and his mother left texas in november. couch would receive probation for a 2013 drunk-driving crash killing four. a defense psychologist suggested that his wealthy upbringing

prevented him from knowing right from wrong. tonya was deported to the u.s. and will soon be sent back to texas. >> taking hot-air ballooning to new heights. how a spanish company is making flights efficient and safer. >> and towers and buildings created out of ice and snow. >> tomorrow night, the largest refugee camp in the world is home to half a million people. why some see it as a humanitarian crisis. others worry it's a breeding ground for terrorists.

a towering gold coloured statue has been raised in rural china, honouring mao tse tung. it is said to have been funded by local villages. it's where tens of millions died during a push for industrialization. china's great leap forward. saudi arabia coalition forces ramped up air strikes in sanaa. military and civilian flights have been hit. amid the violence something rare happened. an art exhibition opened. >> al jazeera's maryhahn had the

story. >> at first glance, this could be a gallery in london or new york. this is the capital of war-torn yemen, a city at the heart of the rebellion. >> it is apparent with a closer look through the vibrant colours and brush strokes, you can see the fighting, turmoil and the loss. >> it reflects the fear that people fear across yemen, those trying to get away from death and destruction. >> the conflict plagued yemen since september 2014 when houthi fighters backed by troops loyal to the former president, and supported by iran launched a rebellion and took control of sanaa, they are up against forces of yemen's president which had the backing of saudi-led coalition air strikes. in the 10 months the united nations says more than 6,000 have been killed. half civilians. the exhibition is the first of

its kind since the bombag campaign began. he was once an advisor to the ministry of tourism. now he is an artist. >> it reflects the shelling and bombardment over these months. women and children have been the main victims. >> u.n.-brokered talks to end the fighting suffered a set back. the saudi-led coalition announced it was pulling out of the ceasefire beginning in mid-december. without a clear pass to peeth, they are determined to express themselves and the turmoil they see our global view segment, a look at how the news outlets are reacting to fairs events. the independent says the conflict between iraq and saudi arabia is a pretext for the two countries to continue a battle for regional dominance.

neither has a history of making foreign policy decisions based on the shia sunni divide. the saudis are right fully worried about iran's resurgence because of its nuclear deal. a greek paper says 2015 was tough for europe with the migrant crisis, terror attacks, economic woes and the resurgence of nationalism. all of these things are primed to get worse in 2016. the paper says twice as many refugees are expected this year, that spain could split in two and britain might leave the e.u. international cooperation is the only way to make it better than the last, and the e.u. must sold the refugee crisis. russia and the u.s. must address international terrorism. and china needs to play a bigger role on the world stage. the largest manufacture of hot hair balloons is looking to make

the sport greener, using it to cut propose an use in half. tarek bazely reports. >> it's dawn near the hills of barcelona. a newly completed hot-air balloon is inflated for the first time. the team inspects the rigging and stitching on the seams, a standard check before new booms or shipped to customers, the spanish company is the largest maker of hot hair balloons, producing 200 each year. the design, colour scheme and branding of each balloon is customized and stitched together by hand, from thousands of pieces of lightweight fabric. >> it needs to pass the stress test to double-check. the supplier checks it is good, but we check it when we purchase

it. >> reporter: hot air balloons use prop an gas. a typical flight can use up to 100 litres, enough to drive a car 1,000 kilometres. hot-air ballooning is a gas-guzzling sport. that's why the government has prevented an eco-friendly model. using two players of fabric makes the balloon stronger and longer lasting. it's cheaper to fly and uses half as much gas. it gives you options it spend less fuel so you fly cheaper, and you have more capacity for a flag, you cannot land, for example, you can have extra to go to another place to land.

>> the company has been working on technology to make hot hair ballooning safer. it developed an asset to alert a pilot if it comes too close to powerlines. for some. it's the sim admissibilitiy of the sport that makes it attractive. >> you see the world in a different way. when you have been there, and it's quiet. you can relax and feel yourself, as you need to fly, following the winds. it gives you a feeling that you are alone to the nation, and you can enjoy it the eco balloon is more expensive to make. because it lasts longer and is cheaper to fly, it's a cost effective alternative. and one that proves that hot hair ballooning would be a sustainable sport in the future

in spain, madrid held its annual three kings parade. only this young one of the kings was a queen. this year local councils decided to make the change in an effort to make it more diverse. that angered conservative politicians. the left-wing mayor ended the tradition of having a local politician appear, for the role of dink baltizar china's ice special is off to a start. turning 400 million pounds of ice into enormous sculptures making up an highs and snow world in a city, where the average temperatures is barely more than zero. the festival runs until february and is expected to attract 1.5 million visitors. >> robert stig wood died. he was the drying force behind

many musical hits in the 1980s. he bruised many films. john travolta did the strutting, bee gees the music, buts stig wood put it together. he produced "saturday night fever", a defining film for the disco generation. his musical roster was legendary, creen, the who, rod stewart. david bowie. [ sings ] . >> and, of course, the bee gees. [ sings ] . >> helping stickwood's rso label sell tens of millions offal bums. in theatres he staged ground

breakers, there was "hair." "jesus christ superstar." [ singing ] and "sweeney todd", and on the big screen he was the force behind "tommy", "grease", but it was the story of a young man in brooklyn that he found his biggest success. farewell belove robert tweeted andrew lloyd weber, the great showman who taught me so much that's it for this international news hour on al jazeera. in our next hour, the latest on north korea's announcement on testing the hydrogen bomb. i'll be back with more news in 2 minutes. 2 minutes.

good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america until we have a congress in line with the majority of americans, there are actions within my legal authority that we can take. >> president obama's emotional plea and executive actions to stop gun violence, tonight republican anger and how easy it is to buy guns and ammunition. also... >> earlier today