chinese stocks rise despite official figures showing the slowest economic growth in 25 years. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. coming up in the next half hour, there are questions of who should be at the round table in the syria talks as the u.n. special envoy addresses the security council. in northern iraq falling oil prices is hurting the kurdish region and its fight against i.s.i.l. u.s. film maker leads a boy cost

of the oscars saying he cannot support an lily white awards show. -- boycott new data out of china suggests the country's economy is growing at its slowest rate since 1990. the 6.9 gdp growth is still on line with the government's target. it is a target that most western countries can only dream of. it's far lower than the double digit growth of recent years with plunging oil prices and stuttering stock markets around the world it will see that the global economy will be in a difficult time ahead. to our correspondent. we have got this low gdp figures. that negativity is not being reflected on the chinese markets though. >> reporter: that's right. the markets here have just

closed and after an uncertain start this morning, they have closed in positive territory. there have been big gains this afternoon. the honoring coining index has closed oh 2%. shanghai has closed over 3%. thee markets have gotten used to a cooling china economy. these were in line with expectations. there were no nasty surprises. there is also the possibility that we are in that strangely bizarre financial area of the bad news being good news. these figures seem to confirm that the slowing of the chinese economy, that leads to expectations that possibly there will be government intervention, that there has to be government stimulus sooner rather than later and that leads to excitement on the market. they like nothing better than a big dose of cash liquidity going

into the market and that's what we could be seeing here with this positive response. this slowing of the economy at 6.8% in the last quarter, leading into what's going to happen in 2016. people are predicting the that economy could be growing at a slower rate of 6.5%. the big question is what level will the chinese government feel comfort at lowing the economy to grow at because it has big plans for the economy, it's restructuring. the double digit growth that we saw in the past may have been unsustainable and it was unhealthy. the chinese economics needs a substantial growth rate to sustain all of the growths it is going through paint for us a picture for the rest of the world. what does a cooling chinese economy mean for the rest of us?

>> reporter: it highlights just how important the chinese economy is at the moment because this is everybody's business. we have seen the immediate effects of this cooling economy, of course, in commodities. it is not bringing in the same types of raw materials that it has in the past, the effect on the oil price. this is all as a result of the contractions in these main sectors of growth. it had been the drivers, construction, for example, and manufacturing. to compensate for that the chinese government when released these figures they were quick to point out how quick the industry is changes. the service industries are growing in importance and that is allowing to take up some of the slack of other areas of the economy. we are seeing, for example, the fact today that more than half of the government's tax revenues now come from the service sector. so that is their big hope, that

the economy can soak up the workers that will come from these other areas of the economy. of course, that is the big hope for the rest of the world, that maybe the commodities in other parts of the world are suffering, but those countries and economies that are big on their service sectors, service industries, are still eyeing china with great eagerness thank you for that. at least ten people have been killed and 20 others have been injured after an explosion in pakistan. a bomb detonated at a check point dividing two areas near the border with afghanistan. it is thought the explosives were attached to a motorbike in what may have been a suicide attack. pakistan's prime minister is in saudi arabia in an effort to bridge a growing divide between the gulf states and iran. he met with the king earlier this year.

this month a prominent cleric was executed. iran had cut ties with iran. the u.n. special envoy for syria had briefed the security council ahead of proposed talks on syria, but delays look likely. there is still no agreement on who will be invited to take part in the discussions in geneva next week. our diplomatic editor says more >> reporter: this u.n. envoy who is supposed to mediate talks between the syrian government and opposition in a week's time. it's touch and go whether they will now go ahead. according to the french foreign minister. >> obviously, we hope that the negotiation will take place, but there are some questions which have to be dealt with. >> reporter: the u in new york, ambassadors arrive to hear a

briefing by video conference from his office in geneva, all still expressing a determination the talks must start on time. >> what we're going to hear is what progress he has made on this. >> reporter: does it look like the talks on the 25th are going to take place? >> i hope so. they must, after all the work that has been done. >> reporter: the ambassador knows his own government malls problems with the plan. putin was meeting in months could you on talks that focused on syria, he would have made it clear that he believes the list for the delegation drawn up in saudi arabia should have more secular figures and representations from kurdish groups. there is another problem. even those on the opposition list are not yet committed to attend geneva. they want reassurances that what happened last time there were syrian negotiations two years ago won't be repeated.

they claim the syrian government was deliberately obstructiontive and derailed those talks. they want to guarantee if that happens again, the u.s. and its allies has a plan b. it is thought this time around the format will begin with days of what are known as proximity talks in the u.n.'s headquarters in geneva the two sides will be kept in separate rooms with demestora shuttling between them. he said the parties taking place will not be allowed to be part of the transitional government that the talks are supposed to create. so there are rules in place, but for talks that for now look far from certain a final raid of aid has been delivered to besieged towns across syria. aid agencies have been given access to the towns near the

border with lebanon. they have delivered fuel and medical supplies. iraq's oil rubbish kurdish province is starting to feel the impact of the falling price of crude. the regional government is facing dwindling revenue which is hampering its fight against i.s.i.l. >> reporter: flames like these represent the engine of the kurdish economy, providing jobs and revenue. the regional government in northern iraq exports over half a million barrels of oil a day. the government hasn't paid salaries for over four months. it owes billions of the dollars to oil firms and financial institutions and has stopped more than 600 public projects, including schools, hospitals and roads. in addition to helping the nearly two million displaced people in the area, it needs to find money for its fight against i.s.i.l. >> the biggest problem they're facing is the low oil prices.

that has wreekd havoc on budgets. even if a deal was in place from last year, all sides would be having trouble paying the bills >> reporter: the economy is almost exclusively dependent on the energy sector. besides oil there is gas. it is estimated they have 3% of the world's total gas reserves. given the nature of the conflicts around the borders, many see it as more of a challenge than an opportunity. infrastructure to export gas is still being built. the pipeline is scheduled to come into operation in 2017. it is planned to transport national gas from kurdistan region to turkey and then to the international market. top of the financial and regional issues, there is corruption. >> translation: it's true that we have a problem with corruption. we don't have national institutions. many of the politicians are oil

dealers and they own companies that transport, import and export oil. >> reporter: much like the plans for gas, the government transports its oil from turkey to where it is sold to kilometers who sell to other countries. the kurdish region continues to struggle for its people the u.n.'s world food program is worning that 14 million people are at risk of starvation in southern africa. a poor harvest has been blamed on a particularly strong nin weather pattern. the worst affected countries are these. david is the world food program spokesman for africa says the region needs urgent assistance. >> the situation we have got in the region as a whole is mainly as a result of the drought affecting last year's april harvest.

on the back of that we now have continued drought produced by the nin weather phenomenon which basically means reduced rainfall for this season, and that unfortunately coincides with the planting season in this eregion. so we expect that the numbers could increase substantially later this year and, indeed, into next year. all our problems are seasonal assistance programs in this region facing huge funding challenges. in the countries you mentioned, we have so-called relief programs for the most vulnerable, either food assistance or where market conditions allow cash-based assistance for these mainly subsistence farmers whose food stocks at this stage is pretty

well depleted, so sher very much dependent on some form of assistance, but otherwise beyond that we're also working with governments and other partners to provide technical assistance so that their preparedness measures, their response plans are as effective as they can under the conditions much more ahead on al jazeera, including why businesses in the occupied west bank are being accused of contributing to the violation of palestinian rights. calls for justice. thousands of argentinians demands answers over the mysterious death of the state prosecutor. prosecutor.

you're watching al jazeera. china's economy is growing at its slowest rate in 25 years. that's according to official data. growth was officially 6.9%. the u.n. special envoy for syria has briefed the security council ahead of proposed talks on syria, but delays look likely. no agreement on who will be invited to take part in the discussions in geneva next week. the u.n. world's food program is warning that 14 million people are at risk of starvation in southern africa. 2015 was the region's driest year since records began.

businesses in the occupied west bank are being accused to contributing to the violation of palestinian rights. the campaign group human rights watch looked at various economic sectors, including non-palestinian quarrys fond found that the companies developed so to 12 million pounds of tonne annually. israel hasn't issued new permits to palestinians since 1994. >> reporter: an israeli company quarrying stone in the occupied west bank. no-one wanted to talk to us on camera here. the quarry ownerings r, his palestinian workers and the businessmen buying stone all said the issue is too complicated. the owner says he pays his workers well appeared they of benefits. they all agree. the palestinians told us that

israeli companies get preferential treatment obtaining licences more quickly and in better locations. the human rights watch report uses quarrys as one example of how settlement businesses benefit from israeli policies that discriminate against palestinians. these are not new findings, but the report comes at a time of growing international pressure on israel. the european union is labelling products from israeli settlements the e.u. wants to distinguish between israel and the occupied territory. israel is having spats with sweden and brazil. the israeli government denies international pressure on israel is growing >> when we look, the horizon is bright and we see very good relations with many countries. this is a way it will keep on being. i think there is a negative spin inspired by the workers and does not correspond to the truth >> reporter: this man disagrees.

he resigned from the israeli government a few years ago because he didn't agree with the policies. >> they appear to be add hearing to a peace process, to the two-state solution, to the creation of the state of palestine long side israel. people believed israel and were prepared to leave any form of pressure aside. not any more. we are seeing the pressure coming in. >> reporter: the human rights watch report criticism. the patience over policies appears to be running out argentina's new president is promising justice will be done over the suspicious death of a former state prosecutor. the body of nisman was found in his apartment a year ago.

>> reporter: a year on and there are more questions than answers. these people are still asking how he died. if he was killed, then who killed him. why did those who were supposed to be guarding him the night he died disappear. why is such a high profile case taking so long to investigate and reach conclusions. >> translation: they're trying to cover the sun with their hands, but the hands they're using to block out the sun are covered with gun powder and blood. >> reporter: he was due to present to congress his findings into when the kirchner near was covering up involvement in a bombing in which 85 people died. there are those who say that because this case is so important and conflicted, it needs to be done properly. others say that it is highlighted the inefficiencies

in the country's institutions, the judiciary and the intelligence services. whatever the reason, one year on these people are asking what happened to alberto nisman >> translation: it is worth it to keep looking for answers. argentina is a world power in looking for justice since we've had so much experience and optimistic. >> translation: we all felt his death. it wasn't just him dying. it was the death of all argentinianes. i'm confident we will see change and honor him as he deserved. >> reporter: people here are calling for justice. they believed he was killed to silence his investigation. others say he had no case against president kirchner and killed himself. >> translation: his daughters should be the first to benefit from this investigation, but in second place should be the country because we all need to know what happens to the

investigator who denounceed the president of the nation. >> reporter: many here hope the change of government will bring fresh impetus to the investigation, an investigation that from the beginning has divide argentina along political lines. one year on, those divisions are as strong as ever the mayor of the u.s. city where drinking water has been contaminated is flying to washington to appeal for help. supplies were poisoned with led when the local government tried to save money by taking water from a local river. >> reporter: when the brown water started showing up in people's water supply and people started noticing an odd smell to it, the state and the city insisted then it's safe to drink. of course, it was not. when dangerously high levels of dead was discovered in children. it's only with this past fall, a

well over the year when the water supply was switched to the flint river, it was switched back to where it was originally. the pipes are so damaged, nobody knows when these pipes will be fixed. a lot of people are calling for the resignation of the governor, asking for heads to roll in this city for allowing this to go on, but we've heard nothing from the is it manager who allowed this to go on. in the meantime, people are trying to get their lives back to normal with all this donated water. this is the red cross of flint and normally closed on a light holiday, but it is all hands-on deck today. they have dolled out some 26,000 cases of water in flint just in the last week and they're going door to door, block to block handing out bottles of water. the national guard is involved by handing out bottles of water, cases of water. the goal is now at least in this

city of 100,000 people to get each home a water filter so at least one source of water in the home could be clean. that's at least getting people back to somewhat of a normal life british mps have debated whether donald trump should be barred from entering the u.k. more than half a million people signed a petition calling for the ban. >> reporter: love him or loathe him, donald trump can't stay out of the headlines, but some people in britain are now staying he should stay out of their country pause of comments like this >> donald trump is calling for a total and complete shut down of muslims entering the united states until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. >> reporter: now politicians have debated whether he should be barred from the u.k. after a

pe addition urging the government to do so got more than half a million signatures. >> if we start to ban people because they said things we didn't like, i wonder how long the list would be. for starters, we would have to ban the current prime minister of hungary because he said things equally offensive about muslims >> reporter: the woman who started the petition says donald trump is no different to others who were banned on grounds of hate speech >> 80-odd people have been banned for hate speech. in donald trump's case they some do it. his hate speech has led to actual violence. >> reporter: her long campaign against donald trump's efforts to develop luxury golf courses here. he had his status as a business ambassador for scotland and a degree taken away, but his recent comments on a u.s. show

raised eyebrows here in the capital which prides itself on its diversity: >> reporter: that bold statement was swiftly dismissed by london's mayor who argued that far from being banned, he should be invited to see for himself and that idea was taken up by politicians from across britain on monday. >> i as a member of parliament would give an open invitation to donald trump to visit my area. i will would take him to the church, to the mosque, i would invite him for a curry. >> reporter: the u.k. government has described his remarks relating to muslims as divisive, unhelpful and wrong but it has hinted that they're not enough to ban him. in any event, it is unlikely to

affect his prospects in the election film maker spike lee is leading a boycott of next month's ons are cars. he-- oscars. he cannot support what he calls an lily white ceremony. for the second year in a row, there was no recognition for black actors who gave performed performances. smith's wife has also said that she won't be attending the ceremony. >> begging for an acknowledgment or even asking diminishes dignity and diminishes power and we are a dignified people and we are powerful, and let's not forget it. so let's let the academy do that with all grace and love and let's do us different david a love is executive

editor of black commentator.com and he says it reflects a wider problem. >> it is really disconcerting to see that even those it's 2016, america is still dealing with the same problems of lack of diversity in various institutions. i think the problem really goes to the heart of the fact that the motion picture industry like so many other institutions is very slow to change, not a very diverse institution. you have a situation where essentially white males are dominating the industry, and as a result you don't see diverse voices, black latinos, other people being allowed to express themselves and i think it's an ongoing problem that people should be concerned about. there is no guarantee that if someone appears in a movie that

they should be considered, but when you consider the fact that there were a number of outstanding actors, acttresse sz were considered, none at all have been considered for the oscars, it really makes one wonder exactly what's going on here the academy president has issued a statement and says: in the coming days and weeks we will conduct: the founder of one of the world's best known bands has died. glenn frey helped compose many of the hits. the singer and guitarist passed

away at the age of 67 from suffering complications from pneumon pneumonia. the band was formed in 1971