There has been a large explosion at an industrial gas plant in southern Nigeria. Media reports say dozens of people have been burnt to death with some reports putting the number of dead at 100. Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar reports from Abuja. It's not clear what triggered the blast at the factory making gas for cooking and heating. But eyewitnesses say the explosion caused a huge fire that took firefighters and residents several hours to put out. Police authorities have confirmed the incident but are yet to give the number of those affected.

Afghan officials say the military has recaptured key government buildings in Sangin town in an operation backed by US air strikes. But the officials said that they were still fighting Taliban militants in other parts of the district. There has been no response from the Taliban on the government's latest claims. The group had earlier said it was still in the control of Sangin. The district of southern Helmand province is one of the main centers of cultivation of opium poppies, the chief source of revenue for the Taliban.

President Putin has announced that Russian will built a series of nuclear plants in India over the next two decades. He said work on the first two reactors was now in preparation. Mr Putin was speaking at a joint press briefing during talks with the visiting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. About 7 billion dollars worth of deals are being signed during Mr Modi's trip, many of them defense-related.

The US victims of the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 will finally receive compensation. Youssef Taha has the details. A US bill passed last week awards each of the 53 hostages or their estates up to 4.4 million dollars. That's equivalent to 10,000 dollars for each of 444 days kept in captivity. The money will come in part from a 9 billion dollar penalty paid by the French bank BNP Paribas for breaking sanctions against Iran. It follows a controversial deal between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program. But the agreement that secures their release barred them from making such claims.

For the first time, the leaders of Greek and Turkish communities of the ethnically divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have issued a joint televised holiday message. Metter Zerica reports.The Greek-Cyprus president Nicos Anastasiades said he hoped the New Year would allow the Turkeys and Greek-Cyprus to live peacefully in a very united country. For his part, the Turkey-Cyprus leader Mustafa Akinci wished peace, serenity, prosperity to all Cyprus in 2016. Since his election in April, Mr Akinci, an independent leftist, has made it a priority to find a peace deal after four decades of division. The uNPRecedented message in which they both repeated their wishes in each other's language comes before resumption of peace talks next month. World news from the BBC.

US plans have carried out further air strikes on the Iraqi city of Ramadi where government forces are trying to dislodge the remaining IS militants from the center. Security officials said the bombing was intended to help clear the streets of unexploded munitions planted by the extremists. One person compared the streets of Ramadi to a mine field.

A UN-brokered deal in Syria could see several thousand rebel fighters in their families including members of IS, pull out a district in the south of Damascus and around the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp. The deal involves agreement between rebel fighters and the government. It aims to make the camps safe again so that thousands of refugees still trapped there can receive aid.

Flooding in Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay has left 5 people dead and driven more than 150,000 people from their homes. In Paraguay which has been the most badly affected, president Mauricio Macri declared a state of emergence to free up 3.5 million dollars in relief funds.

Several tornadoes have ripped through the southern US killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens more. Here's Laura Becca. A fierce spring-like storm mixed with unseasonably warm weather created a line of tornadoes across the south and midwest. The worst hit communities are still searching for missing people and volunteers have spent the day cleaning debris which has destroyed dozens of cars, homes and business. The threat has eased for now but thousands of homes are still without power.

The governor of California has pardoned the Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr for drugs and weapons offenses in 1996 following a request for clemency. Mr Downey was convicted after he was arrested on a LA highway with heroine, cocaine and a pistol in his car. Mr Downey who stars as Iron Man in Disney films is among 91 people granted pardons for exemplary behavior. BBC news.