only on al jazeera america. north korea launches a long range rocket. now the u.s. and south korea say they will meet about the growing threats. the world news from al jazeera. also ahead, signs of life in eight rubble of an apartment that collapsed in an earthquake in taiwan. marco rubio and other presidential hopefuls go head to

head. ringing in the chinese new year. will year of the monkey bring good fortune for business. north korea has defind international warnings and launched a long-rang rocket. it was fired from a base in the north-west. there has been condemnation from south korea, japan and u.s. they say it is a coverage for filing new missile technology. a rocket carrying an earth observation satellite was launched in orbit was announced on north korean tv. ban ki-moon has called pyongyang's action be plorable. he says it's a violation of security council resolutions. -- deplorable. the security council needs to responds quickly with what she

calls strong punitive measures. seoul says it will have talks with the u.s. on a new defense system. harry, how significant is it that the americans and south koreans are talking about the possibility of deploying an anti missile system? >> reporter: certainly they're looking for ways to respond to this latest what they call provocation by north korea. we're still waiting for the u.n. security council sanctions resulting from the january 6 fourth nuclear test carried out by north korea. they're trying to respond militarily in a defense posture terms to what north korea is doing and so they have this potential deployment of the fad system, the high altitude defense system here. they haven't committed to it, but they are now publicly entering consultations about it.

that is a signal both to north korea that they are taking the situation seriously and potentially increasing their defensive capabilities, but also to china because china is very much opposed to having this high tech missile system on the korean pen inches lar. they are-- pen insular how is this going to play out this latest launch in terms of the longer term tensions on the peninsula? >> reporter: it does nothing to improve relations. there have been various attempts by the current administrative station of the president park geun-hye park to hold a hard line against the north korean pipe life. most of those efforts seem to have failed.

there doesn't seem to be much progress in that kind of engagement policy, that twin-track policy because north korea continues to prize so dearly its nuclear program and its concomitant missile program. north korea will simultaneously pursue economic progress and nuclear progress in becoming a nuclear weapons capable state. all efforts to try and intervene, trying to pressure north korea from the outside have so far failed thank you for that. here now is al jazeera's adrian brown with reaction from beijing. >> reporter: china, of course, is the only real friend, the only real ally that north korea has. it provides a vital economic life line to the country. just a few days ago china

dispatched. it will be a cause of anger an embarrassment to the leadership here. on sunday the ministry of foreign affairs issued a terse statement saying that they-- that north korea tested its technology. it urged calm and restraint saying the only way to bring about a lasting peace on the pen ensue pla was through-- peninsula was dialogue. china says in the past it doesn't believe that sanctions are an end to themselves the u.n. secure council will hold an emergency meeting later on north korea's rocket launch. an update from the u.n. headquarters. >> reporter: u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon calling the

missile launch deeply deplorable. that was the first statement coming out of u.n. headquarters here in new york. the u.n. security council will be holding this emergency meeting on sunday. it will be at 16 g.m. t, around 11am local time here in new york. i can tell you that the secretary general ban ki-moon had told north korea or warned them even before this launch not to go forward with it, also diplomats here at the u.n. told al jazeera that they also warned north korea as well not to pursue this missile launch. clearly those warnings fell on deaf ears. what we can expect at the secure council is really the first chance that the security council members can all get together in one room to discuss where they go from here, what new measures or resolutions they might pursue, but i can tell you that it is slow moving here

oftentimes at the u.n. already china and the u.s. had been discussing new security council resolution based on a north korea nuclear test last month, but those resolutions were moving very slowly, but now the security council is faced with this new issue that has fallen right in their lap that they now have to deal with. on sunday it will be very interesting to see how all sides position themselves, especially china. historically north korea's strongest ally in our world news, rescue workers in taiwan have found life under the debris of a high-rise building after an earthquake. more than 130 people are still considered to be trapped. 18 people have been killed. our correspondent is there with an up date >> reporter: rescue teams are working deeper into this mlt of rubble in the continuing search for survivors. it is thought most of the people found so far have been from the

upper reaches, more accessible parts of the building. those still missing are thought to be down in the more damaged ground level part of this level where it is inaccessible, difficult to reach the small spaces. we have seen teams going in with equipment to cut through masonry and steel, but it is only smaller hand-held equipment. they have to work very carefully so they don't dislodge any of this rubble and lose the people that they're trying to find. it is thought that most of the people who are in the building will have died, but they are still finding survivors giving rescuers hope for others presidential hopefuls have squared off ahead of the new hampshire primary. donald trump was back on stage. he skipped the iowa debate after a dispute with the host. seven candidates took part.

>> reporter: the big story coming into this debate was marco rubio and the momentum he generated from his third place finish in iowa. that made him the focus on early attacks particularly from chris christie. donald trump was back on stage. he is ahead in the polls here in new hampshire and believes he will top the polls come tuesday. ted cruz is trying to build on the momentum of his win in iowa. jeb bush, john kasich they did well. chris christie had a goodnight but the story will be marco rubio and how badly he was. all of them believe that their campaigns will do welcome tuesday, but if you don't finish in the top four, then you're in trouble. marco rubio will be watching the polls over the next 72 hours to see how much damage was done here coming up after the break on

al jazeera. >> it has been dryer than ever disaster zones declared as south africa remains in the grip of a severe draught. staying the course, why greek farmers protesting against austerity measures are refusing to back down. k down.

welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. north korea has defied international warnings and launched a long range rock. south korea has condemned the action and says it will begin talks with the u.s. on a new missile defense system.

the u.n. security council will hold an emergency meeting later sunday. in southern taiwan government officials say at least 24 people have died in the earthquake. more than 130 are still feared trapped. rescue workers say they have found signs of life in the collapsed building. presidential hopefuls have squared off in another debate before vote years choose their preferred candidate on tuesday. marco rubio faced the strongest attacks from rivals trying to deplete his growing popularity. in north korea's widely condemned launch, daniel pinkstno says north korea's miss tile tests are increasing tensions in the region >> most of us in the west and the rest of the world think of these programs as having an opportunity cost. it puts north korea under economic sanctions. we see the condemnation, but

from the ideological perspective in north korea they believe that this enhances the power of the state and it will enable them to achieve greater economic prosperity. the state has tight control over the economy. they can squeeze resources and allocate it to sectors of their choice. we see the choices that are made there. in terms of consumer economy, food security and elsewhere they have shortages and a number of problems. they've been dedicated to developing missiles, nuclear weapons for decades now and the most important resource is your human resources. so they have a core of scientists and engineers, they're provided with the materials, the finances to work on these programs over a long period of time. as far as the technology, materials and components, some of that they produce themselves, some of it they import, some of it they smuggle. they have a very advanced worldwide networks to get

components, many of which they're due use items, they can be used for civilian applications as well as military applications. i think what we see going on in the region, this instability and insecurity on a number of sides, from a number of different sources. there is an overall disqualification. so it's moving into more of this arms racing, security dilemma, dynamics, whereby everyone is responding to the actions of the other and we all end up less secure in haiti the outgoing president has struck a deal with parliament to form an interim government. me will leave office after parliament choose is an interim president for a four-month term. it has come after protests for him to step down. parliament was dissolved last year. >> reporter: the president and

the parliament may have come to an agreement in 911th hour, but the crisis here is far from over. a couple of blocks away what you're looking at is the remnant of a massive protest today in the central portion of the city. thousands of people took to the streets to voice their opposition, not only to him but to the entire political process underway. police at one point fired a water cannon to disperse the crowd. -- dispurse the crowd. at least one person was injured. on april 24 there will be a presidential run off and that president will take power in may. before that happens, though, the parliament in the meantime will elect an interim president. the opposition is completely opposed to this. they believe that martelli is corrupt and his allies in the parliament were elected in a fraudulent manner. one of the ideas being bandied about by the opposition is that

the supreme court president would, in fact, become the interim president. we've been speaking to these young men who have a lot of pent up frustration. they're saying there is very little progress that trickled down to them. they say there's still no jobs, lack of basic services and they're fed up. on sunday he is expected to appear in the parliament to make this announcement of this agreement. also happening on sundays is carnival. you can see behind me are big grandstands set up. there will be a big float on his last day in office. what remains unknown is what will happen on sunday when so many people disagree with this agreement colombia's president says his country has diagnosed more than 3,000 pregnant women with the zika virus.

on friday, three deaths were caused by a link to the virus. >> reporter: the president says that there are no signs so far that more than 3,000 women who are pregnant are going to give birth to children with microcephaly. the key work here is so far. this syndrome is often not detected until the seventh month, sometimes not until being born, and the epidemic is newer in colombia than brazil. on the other hand colombia is saying that three people who died from a syndrome, an auto imnun neurological-- immune neurological decease was caused by-- disease was caused by zika.

there is still a lot to be investigated, a lot of things we don't know. one thing we do know is that brazilian researchers have found zika virus in urine and also in saliva. there is a lot of concern during carnival here in brazil that the people could pass on the virus through saliva by kissing. there are thousands and thousands of people out on the streets now drinking beer and kissing strangers, which is customary during karen natural but this year it is not safe greece are still protesting against the government's attention in relation to tax. 100 tractors blocked the border. >> reporter: the tractors maneuver in position. for two weeks farmers have been taking over greek highways, stopping produce from moving

along the roads. now they're stepping up their protests. it's their latest tactic to put more pressure on the government. they say they won't back down. >> we will stand our grounds. if they stand their ground, we will strand ours. >> reporter: many farm dwrers believe that if they give in now, they will be out of business in a few years as proposed austerity measures are phased in. farmers are being asked to pay 26 packages income tax and another 27% of their income for health care coverage and pension contributions. these and a slew of other taxes would deprive them of roughly 60% of their income. this is three times than what they faced two years ago. farming is high risk and they're only ever one bad crop away from

bankruptcy. new taxs mean they wouldn't have enough capital to invest in the next year's harvest. this man and his wife quit their city jobs and invested all their savings in organic olive and citrus trees. to maximise their earnings they built a cottage with vegetables processing. they have lost hope in the e.u. >> translation: i think austerity is now a reason for greece to consider leaving the european union. no matter how hard we fight, the numbers don't add up. we should consider a different strategy to stand on our two feet. if we can feed and educate our children we can talk about e.u. membership again. >> reporter: the government says it can't backed down. it has promised creditors it will save 2 million a year on

pensions. farmers are continuing with their blockade. it is a war of nerves thousands of supporters of the anti islam group pegida have had rallies in several countries. they're protesting against refugees coming to europe. the biggest rally was in germany where nearly 10,000 people protested >> reporter: this was their opportunity to show strength in numbers, to link up with supporters from across europe. this is where the anti-islamic movement sprang from. its followers are fearful of the future. >> translation: we will be a minority. in the end i'm here for my grandchildren. it cannot be that i am a minority in my own country. this is the way it will end up being. >> reporter: the people at this

demonstration have come here to show their extreme unhappiness with the refugee policies of the coalition government. they say they represent a growing sentiment in german society and they say they want those policies radically changed now. >> reporter: the group's organisers had called for a series of realise in five other european countries. this was the french northern port city of calais which has long been a designation for refugees and migrants trying to reach the u.k. around on 150 supporters were involved in disturbances with the police. ten people were arrested. across the channel hundreds of people mashed through the english - are marched through birmingham but the numbers were lower than in dresden. pagida had struggled with

support. one leading local academic told me all that changed late last year. >> they have been reinverying rated over - reinvigorated because everything they forecasted came through. the statement that they would talk about problems which were not really problems, turned out to be wrong. >> reporter: but that analysis was not shared by several thousand opponents who also rallied on saturday. germany's coalition government is broadly committed to its refugee policy despite the hardening in public opinion. but that policy will soon face a series examination when three key states hold parliamentary

elections next month five of south africa's nine provinces have been declared disaster areas because of severe drought. farmers have been the worst effected. close to half of the country's maise crop is grown. >> reporter: it is the worst drought in more than 20 years. this man has been growing maise here for more than five decades, as his father and grandfather did before him. >> translation: there has never been a time that there has not been maise in december. it has been dryer than ever gentleman he said dry spells are not unusual, but he hasn't seen conditions this bad. it is estimated the drought is costing south africa farmers more than 600 million dollars in low cost. the production has dropped by a third. south africa will have to import

3 million tons of maize to feed the country this year. >> translation: everyone will have a shortage of maze. due to the exchange range, it will be very expensive to import. we supply on this as a staple food. >> reporter: the government is spending 19 wril i don't know dollars of-- million dollars on aid and they say they will have to use different methods >> we cannot keep relying on this. we need to put more funding so we can build our capacity to put most of the production on-- on new infrastructure. >> reporter: dry rivers and dams mean entire communities are

affected by the drought. not far from the farm is people from senegal. they have not had water fall for four months. they have had no other way of sur vooifrg. >> the water is not enough. especially for schools, because kids are there at schools, drinking water, clean water. it is a bit difficult. >> translation: it is very painful because we don't have water, but i'm comforted by the fact that there has been a little rain >> reporter: water campaigns hope to bring some relief to those affected by the drought. there is concern that if there is another season of low yields, many farmers will see their livelihoods disappear chinese communities across the world are getting ready to mark the lunar new year on monday. people are hoping that the year

of the monkey will bring better fortune after a year of economic turmoil. predictions from the fortune tellers are not looking good. >> reporter: the chinese new year market is a good indicator of how bad things are. the school that rents this stall every year so people can learn about business is playing 30% less for it, and people have less money to spend. >> actually, lower priced items sell much better. >> reporter: for masters of the chinese art of predicting the future, it is time to take stock. this past year, the year of the goat, was predicted to be good for negotiations. some point to the nuclear deal with iran, but a troubled year in the west. >> the worst spot is europe. you have refugee problem, you have economic crisis and terrorist attacks. >> reporter: for hong kong and china the past year will be

remembered for its economic woes. many will be glad to see the bad of the goat. an economic downturn in china had a big impact on hong kong, but investors should expect that the monkey will be better behaved. >> on the one hand we love this animal because it has human antics, but on the other hand they have mischievous acts and they can be uncontrollable. we think because of that the year of the monkey will also be a little bit uncontrollable. >> reporter: better get as much luck as fortune sticks and incense will provide. all of hong kong's temples are doing good business as people are seeking good health and prosperitity for the year coming >> i need a good job, decent job >> translation: don't invest too much in the coming year. that's my opinion. >> reporter: economicallial battered, people are braced for

what the monkey will throw at them a reminder that you can keep up-to-date with the news on aljazeera.com. everything is on there. ♪ in war torn afghanistan it's not the conflict but taliban that women fear most. it's their own families. a shocking majority of afghan women are abused, they are beaten, raped, or even coerced into marriage by the people they love the most. help. i'm steve cho on this episode the women are ri