genie: you are watching "france 24." i'm genie godula in paris. these are the headlines. saudi arabia cuts diplomatic ties with iran after its embassy in tyrone is firebombed by -- in tehran is firebombed by an angry mob protesting the killing of a shiite cleric. --di arabia says it is also

the neighboring country says it is also cutting ties with iran. sweden is trying to control the unprecedented number of migrants coming in. it slapped new id checks on trains, buses, and fairies erries coming- f from denmark. the worst start to the year for the chinese markets. trading had to be suspended after shares plunged. the details coming up in our business update. a trial in paris today that is like something out of a soap opera is linked to multigenerational inheritance squabble in one of the biggest art-dealing dynasties in the world. that and more on the way, but first, our top story. first, saudi arabia has cut

diplomatic ties with its long-standing regional rival, iran, over the storming of the saudi embassy some 24 hours earlier. the last time diplomatic ties between the two was cut was back in 1988. the announcement comes amid rising tensions between the two following the execution in saudi arabia of a prominent shiite cleric. catherine clifford explains. catherine: relations between tehran and iran have sunk to a new low. decided to cut ties with its regional rival. >> it is a self-inflicted wound for both parties. when diplomatic relations are broken, it creates a larger information gap, more miscommunication, misperception, this calculation, in a region where it is already deeply dangerous. catherine: tensions soared.

lost.ds of lives were iran blamed saudi arabia for mismanaging the most important event in the muslim calendar. 1979s during iran's revolution that tensions between the two states took hold. it deteriorated following saudi support for iraq's invasion of iran in 1980, which led to a war. they have both supported different sides of conflicts in the region. saudis sent troops to support the sunni monarchy against the shiite opposition. supported thedh government with airstrikes and accused tehran of backing the rebels. president husson rabbani took office in -- president hassan effortstook office and

for dialogue have largely been rebuffed by saudi arabia. the twotion is whether nations will continue to hold back from direct confrontation. genie: there has been more. we have heard that bahrain is also cutting diplomatic ties with iran. >> no big surprise here. bahrain is a tiny state of the persian gulf, 1.2 billion people, over half of which are foreign nationals. of those who are nationals of bahrain, the majority are shia, but the ruling royal family is sunni and almost entirely dependent for its position on saudi arabia. 2011, when there were demonstrations in bahrain against the ruling family by the predominantly shia population, the government turned to saudi arabia for help and saudi forces helped put down the demonstrators.

no surprise that bahrain is falling -- following in saudi arabia's footsteps. bahrain has pulled back its ambassador from tehran before, accusing them of interfering in iranian politics -- in bob brady and -- in bahrainian politics. genie: does this lead to an even bigger divide in the region? rob: efforts have been made to bring iran and saudi arabia together on the issue of syria and the fight against islamic state organization. major hoax had been placed on the two states coming together as part of a coalition -- major had been placed on the two states coming together as part of a coalition. people will be worried that this will undermine all the efforts and progress there has been up

till now. there are big fears that heightened sectarianism will create problems specifically in syria, but to a lesser degree in iran, and also throughout the region. genie: we are hearing the united arab emirates is also downgrading its diplomatic ties with iran. that is from the state-run news agency there. the execution of that prominent shiite cleric also sparked outrage in iraq. at least two mosques were attacked in what looked to be retaliation for that execution. those attackers are still unknown, but the iraqi prime minister has vowed to track them down. the government in iraq has called the recapture of the key aty of remedy -- ramadi turning point in its war against the islamic state group, but hundreds of militants are still holed up across the city. >> iraqi special forces try to

take out the remnants of militants. ramadi was in the hands of islamic state group until last week, when troops took control. willing, we -- god will be tomorrow in -- it does not matter how cold or rainy it is. morale iso is -- high, but claims that they had ousted the jihadists were premature. i.s. fighters in hiding have planted bombs, booby-trapped homes, and stepped up suicide attacks. iraqi forces have been rescuing civilians who were used by

militants as human shields in an effort to frustrate the bobby -- bombing by the u.s.-led coalition. >> we gave them first aid and food. we thank god we freed them. now we are transferring them to superior locations -- secure locations. ramadi fromtaken demoralized iraqi troops last debate. -- last may. genie: fighting has broken out in libya and islamic state forces guarding the wheel port -- guarding an oil port. --e enjoyed by wasim russert wassim nasr. >> it looks like a full-scale

assault. they took over accounting in between the city and this oil crescent. their oil facilities. so, yes, it looks like full-scale attack. there are rumors that they are trying to attack another town just next to eight -- it. it was kind of predictable. they announced a while ago by the voice of their earlier -- emir that they are willing to fight anybody. maybe they are trying to take over this facility. because of the origins of this region. genie: how strong is the islamic state group here now?

wassim: they started to look toward libya the end of 2013. the most prominent religious leader was sent to search -- s irt. they sent one of their most prominent emirs to libya. conducted implementing their forces there. they went towards sirt one more time. the plan of gaddafi was kicked out of the new political system in libya. to go back to what's happening officialere are some libyan sources saying that the

brother of the head of the faction that holds this town vows allegiance to the islamic state. it might explain this fast taking over of the town. we know that a few days ago there was allegiance from a small group. we know they are getting stronger and stronger in libya, as they did this year in iraq because of the situation of the failed state there. genie: wassim, thank you for that. a former in central african republic has taken an early lead. counted,of the votes he is 120,000 votes ahead of his closest rival. there are hopes that this will end the violence between muslims and christians. sweden has made a drastic change

in its border policies to try to control the unprecedented number of migrants coming in. all train, bus, and ferry passengers will have to show picture id to get through border control. sweden takes in more asylum-seekers per capita than any other european nation. it says it can no longer cope. it is a reversal for a country long known for its open-door policy. interposed idden checks on all train, rail, and ferry passengers traveling from denmark. >> they will remain on one side of the fence. passengers traveling from denmark will end up on the other side. police have to make the control. anyone who fails to provide the necessary documents

will be turned back. controls are placed at copenhagen airport also. >> it means i have to travel one hour earlier than previously. in total, that is two hours in advance. >> it is very negative, of course. i feel sad about it. reporter: the swedish move is part of an effort to stem the flow of undocumented migrants into the country. last year, one million migrants crossed the mediterranean. 100,000, second only to germany. controls arethese likely to be extended if europe's migrant crisis continues. genie: also today, denmark announced new controls on its border with germany to try and stem the flow of migrants. next to a case being heard in paris today that is like something out of a soap opera. other -- a franco-american art

on trial for art fraud. reporter: this scramble over the great art dynasty began with the death of its patriarch in 2001. the fortune bequeathed by the wealthy art dealer included artwork potentially worth billions. at the time, his sons declared the french tax authorities a legacy of just 40 million euros. his widow accused them of hiding much of their father's wealth. >> he is one of the richest men in europe and suddenly you are told he has nothing at all. me.took everything from the immense fortune of my husband stashed in tax havens by his sons.

authoritiesench have accused him of invading as many as 550 million euros. he has held he is not responsible. the trial would never have taken place if the women of his family had not testified against him. provided decisive evidence. the late widow declared in her final interview that she had been betrayed by her family. genie: this is "france 24." diplomatica has cut ties with iran after its embassy in tehran was firebombed by an angry mob protesting the execution of a prominent shiite cleric. iran has followed suit --

followed suit, saying it is also cutting diplomatic ties with iran. the uae has also downgraded those ties. new id checkspped on train, bus, and ferry passengers traveling in from denmark. time for business news with stephen carroll. markets,with the stock which are having a particularly bad day in china. stephen: trading had to be suspended after shares slumped by more than 7%. the shanghai and shenzhen indices saw even bigger falls. suspended from trading. the market shutdown was triggered by the csi 300 index falling by more than 7%. that operates the new circuit breaker of the exchange, a major put in place after a crash that stopped trading.

josh vardey has more details. 7% ofstocks slumped past the csi shared 300 index. it halted trading for the rest of the day. two separate reports show that china's manufacturing industries continue to shrink. about -- were nervous that, along with the circuit breaker system that was brought in following last year's market meltdown, which at one point saw the shanghai stock exchange lose 45% of its value. trading is suspended for 15 minutes after a drop of more than 5%. at the 7% benchmark, trading is halted for the rest of the day. the idea is to stabilize the market, but some say it could increase pressure to sell. >> circuit breakers will not

change the supply and demand of the market. the new mechanism will not change overall trading trends. josh: china is not the only country to use such circuit breakers. the u.s. introduced a similar system in 1987. beijing's two-tier method is one of the strictest. allhen: massive falls on the main indices here. ,ermany's dax down by over 4% representing germany's position as china's biggest trading partner in europe. a significant fall of the paris and london markets as well. in london, mining companies particularly badly hit. on the oil markets, we have seen the effects of the tension in

iran and saudi arabia. the price of oil is up over 10%. greece, whereo to the government is facing another battle over pension cuts. stephen: athens has to send its plans for reforming its pension system to its international creditors today. date needs to -- prime minister alexis tsipras is trying to avoid further cuts to pensioners by increasing employer contributions by 1% and employee contributions by 0.5%. greek governments may have to introduce a tax on bank transactions to raise the needed funds. genie: in france, the president has new plans to tackle unemployment. saiden: francois hollande in his new year's address that unemployment was his top priority this year. new measures will include

increasing the number of jobless people who benefit from new training programs, from 150,000 to 500,000 people. also trying to introduce payments to companies who hire new staff. more business headlines. sales of volkswagen's cars fell by almost 9% in france in december. roses all brands, sales slightly. the german carmaker was hitched by the emissions scandal. up almostsales were 27%. hyundai listed sales targets in 2015, the first time that has happened since the financial itsis -- hyundai missed sales targets in 2015, the first time that has happened since the financial crisis.

the price of an iphone has gone out for german consumers. the iphone 6s will cost almost six euros more. apple, samsung, and others have agreed to pay the tax import. genie: thank you so much for that look at the business news. it's time now for the press review. nicholas rushworth is here for a look at today's papers. storiescus on our top -- story, the tension between saudi arabia and iran. nicholas: this image in "the guardian" is not how you want to start out your year. it is a bleak picture. barack obama and david cameron

are looking on forlornly, hands on their ears as the two giants of the middle east confront each other. saudi arabia has broken off ties with tehran over the execution of the shia clerics, a mere doll nimrr -- shia cleric, al-nimr. genie: what have the other papers said about this? khamenei ayatollah ali is urging others to react as what he describes a "crime." he insists that nimmer on liver al-nimr was not part of any crime. the white house and westerns

rights groups -- western records are not in a place to give a full reaction. let's take a look at al jazeera, not the tv station. it is a paper which says the protesters who stormed the saudi arabian embassy in tehran were told to do so by authorities. establish innt i the piece with my colleague, who says that iran, in this piece, is depicted as a rogue state, a state that sponsors terrorism. the behavior of tehran, it says, has taken place in the backdrop of global -- very critical. still in the region, let's take a look at this in beirut, lebanon. it is a continuation of the cold war we have seen between the two countries.

phase two of the cold war could actually threaten any kind of peaceful solution in syria or yemen. a lot at stake here. it says that -- this dance is being taken very hard-line -- the stances being taken are very hard-line. the winner in all of this is the islamic state organization. -- you took a look at some papers outside the region as well, starting with "the economist." rights activist a human rights activist asking people not to fall into the tit-for-tat. -- this iss that their narrative to deal with their issues at home. let's go to the cartoon in "the economist," which takes the --

the two foes in the boxing ring. the teedo countries at loggerheads -- the two countries at loggerheads. battle already region on the ground by proxy -- already raging on the ground by proxy. genie: we are. up for a solid anniversary, -- olemne gearing up for a s anniversary, charlie hebdo. revealed "le mond" has the front page to the world in its coverage, saying that the paper will be issuing one million copies of this print run. tens of thousands will go abroad. the cartoon shows a killer on the run, carrying a kalashnikov,

paris attacks of november 13. a bleak week ahead for france in terms of the commemoration of that event 12 months ago. genie: you can check out our press review at france24.com. coming up after the break, the tricky dilemma of wishing a happy new year to your colleagues here in france. more on whether it should be a shake or a kiss on the way. >> "the 51%." >> a program about the women making headlines in international news. from paris to new delhi, washington to tunis, every week,

"the 51%" highlights the women who are striving to change the world largely dominated by men. ññóóóóawúwóóóóó

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