10 things you need to know today: January 4, 2016

1. Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Iran

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties to Iran on Sunday after protesters, angry at the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, stormed and ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Adel al-Jubeir, foreign minister in predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia, said his country had given Iran's diplomatic mission 48 hours to leave. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian responded by saying severing diplomatic ties cannot "cover up (the) mistake of executing a religious figure."

NBC News

2. Chinese stock prices drop, sparking worldwide declines

Chinese shares fell sharply on Monday, triggering a global sell-off in the first day of trading in 2016 as investors reacted to weak manufacturing data from China and the depreciation of the country's currency, the renminbi. The CSI 300 index of blue-chip stocks dropped by five percent, triggering a new market circuit breaker that automatically stopped trading in all of mainland China's markets for 15 minutes. Shares dropped further after the break, with the Shanghai composite index ending the day down 6.9 percent.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The New York Times

3. Ranchers at center of antigovernment protest to report to prison

The Oregon ranchers whose plight sparked antigovernment protests were scheduled to report to prison Monday to serve sentences for starting fires on federal property. Dwight Hammond Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Hammond, 46, were expected to report peacefully to start their four-year terms. Armed antigovernment militia members who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters said they would stay indefinitely. Oregon police said the men occupying the building aimed to overthrow the government, not help the ranchers.

USA Today The New York Times

4. Mexican mayor killed 1 day after taking office

The mayor of the Mexican city of Temixco, Gisela Mota, was killed over the weekend a day after taking office. Police said Sunday that two suspects were killed by police, and three others, including a minor, were arrested. Mota was ambushed by four gunmen in her home, and Morelos Gov. Graco Ramirez blamed organized crime for her death. In 2015, several mayors were killed across Mexico, where many cities are under the control of drug gangs.

The Associated Press

5. ISIS threatens Britain in video showing killings

An online video posted Sunday purportedly showed Islamic State militants killing five men accused of spying for Great Britain in Syria. The footage shows the victims "confessing" to taking videos and photos of sites in Raqqa, ISIS' headquarters city. The men said in Arabic that they were given hidden cameras to get footage for a contact in Turkey. An ISIS operative speaking with a British accent says ISIS will one day invade the U.K. and impose Islamic law.

CBS News The Wall Street Journal

6. Militants attack Indian consulate in Afghanistan

Gunman attacked the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday. Security forces repelled the attack, preventing the assailants from entering the compound and forcing them to take refuge in a house across the street, which Afghan troops are trying to clear on Monday. At least one civilian was injured. Indian ambassador Amar Sinha said via Twitter that all consular staff were safe. The incident occurred a day after another group of militants attacked an Indian air base near the Pakistan border.

Reuters The Associated Press

7. Mississippi River flood threat flows south

The Mississippi River is continuing to rise in Louisiana. Residents expected the swollen river to peak on Sunday. Nearly a foot of rain pushed the Mississippi and other rivers over their banks, killing at least 31 people in Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

The Associated Press Reuters

8. Obama to meet with attorney general ahead of executive action on guns

President Obama is scheduled to meet Monday with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to go over executive action he is set to release early this week expanding background checks for gun purchasers. Obama also is set to host a televised town hall about guns Thursday on CNN, the network announced Sunday. Anderson Cooper will host the hour-long Guns in America at 8 p.m. ET. Obama will also take audience questions.

CNN

9. At least 8 dead after 6.7-magnitude earthquake in India

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit northeastern India early Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding at least 100. The epicenter was 18 miles west of Imphal, the capital of India's Manipur state, where local police said at least four people had died. The tremors were felt from Bhutan to Myanmar. Rescue teams were rushing to the hardest hit areas. Local residents said the death toll was not expected to rise sharply, because no large buildings had collapsed.

Los Angeles Times

10. Williams withdraws from first Hopman Cup match due to knee inflammation

Serena Williams withdrew on Monday from her opening match in the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, due to inflammation in her left knee. Williams, ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association, said she hoped she would be able to resume play in the international mixed team tennis competition on Tuesday, when the U.S., now playing Ukraine, meets the Australia Gold team. The injury, though minor, marks an early setback in Williams' preparations for defense of her Australian Open title.

ESPN