25/12/2015 BBC World News

The battle for the key Afghan town of Sangin continues.

The government says it's captured part of the town from the Taliban.

11 people are killed and scores more injured after

a devastating storm hits the south and midwest of the United States.

A deal in Syria could see several thousand rebel fighters pull out

of the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus as early as Christmas Day.

And Christians around the world are celebrating

Christmas, with Pope Francis holding a midnight mass at the Vatican

In Afghanistan government forces say they've killed 50 Taliban fighters -

including a senior commander - in the battle for the town of Sangin in

The Taliban, however, maintain that Sangin is still under their control.

The town is on a key transport route linking Lashkar Gah,

the capital of Helmand, to the province's northern districts.

With fighting ongoing, more Afghan forces have arrived to

British forces are also on the ground in an advisory capacity, and

American planes have carried out air strikes against Taliban positions.

Fighting is also taking place in other parts of Helmand.

NATO formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan

Since then the Taliban has been gaining ground.

This included capturing, albeit briefly,

Siddiq Siddiqi is a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry.

He says government forces are making good progress in the battle for

There is fighting ongoing in Helmand, particularly Sangin.

We have had a special operation by our special forces.

There were special operations last night in Sangin, which had

a good result, killing a lot of Taliban including a key leader.

At the moment we are also focusing on our operations.

Yesterday we were able to reinforce and send reinforcements to Sangin,

where our forces were for the past three or four days.

Right now, the only focus is to make sure that

those Taliban attacks could be repelled, and we are trying to focus

Eventually, the help was there for them before they had to face

tough challenges or threats by the Taliban, but yes, Sangin has

We have had a lot of challenges in the past as well,

it is not the first time that Sangin came under attack.

The Taliban were always trying to launch massive attacks on Sangin.

But yesterday, we were able to provide ammunition and help to

That was a great step after two or three days.

It is always like, it was not only this area.

According to the resources we have, in provinces such as Helmand, which

is a vast area, making sure that our people at the right support.

With fighting ongoing in Sangin, and other parts of Helmand province,

what is the mood like in Lashkar Gah - the provincial capital?

Our reporter Orlea Atrafi is there and sent this report.

I am in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand Province.

This is a province where millions of dollars were spent on foreign aid.

Recently, this city has been shaken by Taliban attacks, and even now,

ten kilometres that way is the frontline, where almost every

And two hours' drive to the north is Sangin, where until last night

Settle down! and bustle here, happy children,

The storms raged across several states.

I think that is a tornado brewing up!

One is thought to have travelled 100 miles across land in Mississippi,

where at least six people have been killed,

As some fled, others hid in shelters,

The roof came off and I had my dog, I was holding my dog, and it was

Emergency services search through the rubble for those missing.

In the worst hit areas, some towns were completely destroyed.

It is heartbreaking to see their families that have lost their loved

ones, lost their homes, this is a bad time of year to do that anyway.

It is never a good time, but it is certainly a bad time right now.

Storms at this time of year in the South are not unusual, but the

The Christmas tree was still standing.

There's been a large explosion at an industrial gas plant

The accident happened when a truck exploded as it was discharging

butane cooking gas at a plant in the industrial town of Nnewi

in Anambra State, where people were queueing to refill their bottles.

Media reports say dozens of people were burnt to death,

with some reports putting the number of dead at a hundred.

Factory workers and passersby also caught up in the fire.

Saudi fire investigators are examining the burnt out remains

of part of a hospital where at least twenty five people were

killed and more than one hundred injured early on Thursday.

The fire broke out on the first floor of the general hospital

The fire ripped through the hospital in the middle of the night, taking

the maternity and intensive care units.

Witnesses say it happened quickly, giving little time

TRANSLATION: A nurse came to me and informed me of the smell of

I took several people with me and headed towards the area.

At the foot of the stairs we were met with loud

We were unable to control the situation.

Inside, the signs of devastation are clear.

Fire investigators are already working to establish exactly what

happened and how the blaze went on to claim so many lives.

TRANSLATION: We know when the fire started but we don't know if it was

Following instructions from his Highness,

the governor of the province, a commissioning enquiry has been

set up and results will be announced as soon as they are available.

This year, Saudi Arabia has seen a string of deadly public

It was also a crane collapse at Mecca's Grand Mosque,

Saudis have taken to social media to criticise the government

Criticism of the ruling family is frowned upon, but accidents like

this can only increase the pressure on them to improve safety standards.

President Putin has announced that Russia will build a series

of nuclear plants in India over the next two decades.

Mr Putin was speaking at a joint press briefing during

talks with the visiting Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

About seven billion dollars worth of deals are being signed during

Mr Modi's trip, many of them defence-related.

Police in China have issued a security warning over

The US and British embassies are also issuing warnings to

their nationals to exercise heightened vigilance because

The British Embassy has information suggesting that Westerners in

the Sanlitun area could be targeted on or around Christmas Day.

Italian authorities in Rome and Milan are banning car travel from

city centres at the beginning of next week because of air pollution.

Both cities have also ordered public transport to cut ticket prices.

Experts blame the smog on the unusually calm, dry weather.

In Iraq, government forces are still trying

to drive out the last Islamic State fightersfrom the city of Ramadi.

Military units and Sunni tribal fighters have taken

control of several districts but are making slow progress.

American planes have been striking targets in the city

but the ground troops' advance is being hampered by suicide bombers,

In Syria, a UN-brokered initiative could see

several thousand rebel fighters and their families, including members

of IS, pull out of a district in the south of Damascus in and

The deal, which is still at a delicate stage,

involves agreement between rebel fighters and the government.

Our Middle East Regional Editor Sebastian Usher has more.

Well, what I understand is it could start as early as Christmas Day, as

tomorrow. It's a deal that will involve some ISIS fighters in the

intricacy and complexity of what's going on in Syria, but in

particularly in this camp, Yarmouk. Some of the fighters there pledged

allegiance to the ISIS. There was a big battle about eight or nine

months ago. Conditions became almost unlivable for the people trapped.

Ban Ki-Moon described it as the time as the deepest circle of hell. From

the UN's perspective, this deal is essentially about making the camp

safe again for the people that are still there, estimated maybe

15-18,000 people. That's what they're getting out of it. The

Syrian Government has one of the big threats on its doorstep removed.

This is the closest that IS got to Bashar al-Assad and his palace in

the centre of Damascus. And for from the fighters as we have seen in

other several deals, which has happened in the last couple of

years, they reached a point of stalemate, looks like they don't

feel there's anything left for them to fight for there. They get their

wounded out, they get their families out. Some of them, as I say, will go

to Raqqa, but majority will go north in the province of Idlib. We're

seeing a new push of a peace effort. In January we're seeing a big

conference. This will be looked back on if it happens, as a small

positive sign. Stay with us because we have more on

the impact of the war in Syria. We'll be following the incredible

journey of a Syrian girl by boat, buses and a wheelchair across Europe

in search of sanctuary. We saw this enormous tidal wave

approaching the beach, and people started to run,

and suddenly it was complete chaos. United States troops have been

trying to overthrow the dictatorship The Pentagon said the operation had

been 90% successful, but it's failed in its principal

objective, to capture General Noreiga and take him to the United

States to face drugs charges. The hammer

and sickle was hastily taken away. The Russian flag was hoisted over

what is now no longer the Soviet Union, but the Commonwealth

of Independent States. Day broke slowly over Lockerbie,

over the cockpit of the Pan-Am's Maid of the Seas,

nose-down in the soft earth. You could see what happens when a

plane eight storeys high, a football Christmas has returned to Albania

after a Communist ban lasting more Thousands went to midnight mass

in the town where there were The latest headlines: The battle

for the key Afghan town of Sangin The government says it's captured

part of the town from the Taliban. At least 11 people have been killed

and scores more injured after a "particularly dangerous"

storm has hit the south A court in Thailand has sentenced

two Burmese migrant workers to death, for the murder of two British

tourists. They were killed on the holiday

island of Koh Tao last September. The BBC's Jonathan Head reports

from nearby Koh Samui. Arriving

at court to hear their fate. Two young Burmese men,

charged with a horrific crime They had been doing what so many

young British people do at their Their bodies were found last year

on this beach early one morning. The crime scene was never sealed,

evidence was poorly handled, But when they detained

the two suspects, they were put through a bizarre re-enactment

and they both also retracted their earlier confessions, saying they had

been threatened and beaten. There were many doubts expressed

about the prosecution case, not just by defence lawyers but

by international forensic experts, in particular

about the central piece of evidence, the police DNA test, which

the defence said was unreliable. None of that was enough to sway

the judges, who insisted they were up to international standards,

and enough to justify a guilty The emphatic outcome

of this drawnout trial that some -- The emphatic outcome

of this drawnout trial gave some satisfaction to the family of David

Miller, who attended the hearing. We believe that

the result today represents justice It is our opinion that

the evidence against these two is They raped to satisfy

their selfish desires They have shown no remorse

during the trial. It was a very different experience

for the mothers of the two convicted In court, defence lawyers had failed

to convince the judges of the flaws they said riddle

the prosecution's case. Now they plan to appeal

against the verdict, The president of Nigeria,

Mohammadu Buhari, has told the BBC that, technically, the security

forces have won the war against Mr Buhari, who came to power

in April on a pledge to defeat the group by the end of the year,

says the militants could no longer mount conventional attacks and had

been reduced to suicide bombings. But Boko Haram is reported to

have killed more than 1,000 Well, you can put it in a nasty

way, as you want, but I assure you, we haven't failed. The states are

free from Boko Haram. I think there are two or three local governments.

Boko Haram has used IEDs, in Doctor and eight at young girls to explode

in mosques and marketplaces, they have been reduced to that --

indoctrinated. Conventional attacks on centres of communication and

populations in towns and so on, they are no longer capable of doing that

effectively, so I think technically we have won the war. Because people

are going back into their neighbourhoods. We have a committee

on the ground liaising with local governments and so on. People are

going back. The major problem now is rehabilitation. Over 1.5 million

people internally displaced persons. Repairing infrastructure,

schools, health centres. The number of bridges that were bombed. We have

dealt with Boko Haram. Your critics say you are playing the blame game,

spending time leaving the previous administration instead of thinking

of how to take Nigeria out of its present situation. What have you to

say about that? I think they have been unfair. I have just been

telling you and Nigerians know that Boko Haram was effectively over 16

local governments before in the city states. These states are absolutely

free. There are three or four local governments maximum in their hands.

And I have told you that they cannot now marshal forces and attack towns

or attack military installations and so on as they used to. I don't think

this is bad. We reorganise the military, we have got some hardware

for them, and we have got to retrain with the British and Americans, with

the French. A lot has been done. And I think people in those states where

there used to be the fighting, they know what has been happening.

Across the world, Christians have begun marking

Christmas with services, including at the Vatican where Pope

The Pontiff led the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics into

He's warned against what he called society's intoxication with

should be inspired by the simplicity of the life of Jesus.

About 10,000 people attended the service.

In the holy city of Bethlehem, the West Bank town where it is believed

that Jesus was born, events have been overshadowed by recent violence

But large crowds turned out there to mark the occasion.

It was attended by dignitaries including the Palestinian President

Mahmoud Abbas. They had been called to it turn off Christmas tree lights

in solidarity for victims of violence and terrorism -- to turn

off. The Bethlehem mass was dedicated

to victims of violence and their families, including the millions

affected by the fighting in Syria. More than half

the refugees that have fled to Europe this year are from Syria,

escaping the war back home. Some countries have welcomed

the new arrivals, including Germany, where one young

Syrian girl has found sanctuary. Najeen Mustaffa was pushed

across Europe in a wheelchair. The BBC's Fergal Keane has

been following her story. In a new country it is a season

of change. Three months after reaching Europe,

Najeen has found a new life. Germany is as I expected

her to be, beautiful. My life is regular

as I wanted it to be, and I can wake up and go to school

everyday, and it is kind of nice. This is how she arrived,

suffering from cerebral palsy, her epic journey from the Middle

East made in a wheelchair with her I first met her in September,

stranded on the closed Hungarian I would like to be an astronaut,

to go out and find an alien! And on she travelled,

across European borders. Najeen,

do you know where you are going? No, they said to some

camp or something. Of where they are going

to send you after this? Until Germany,

and a reunion with a beloved brother Najeen shares this flat with her

older sister, and dreams of walking, But her parents are still living

as refugees in Turkey, where they If I asked you what your Christmas

wish is, what is it? To have a family reunion,

if they could arrive. Nujeen has come this far by force

of her own personality, the love of family

and the kindness of strangers. There's no telling what she may

achieve in the years to come. Radars and anti-missile systems

usually deployed against places like North Korea, Russia and China are

assisting in the search for Santa Claus.

According to the experts at NORAD he's already visited countries

in Asia and the Middle East and he's now bound for Africa,

Updates of his location can be found on the NORAD website

The Santa tracker has its origins in the 1950s when a child misdialed

a telephone number hoping to speak to Father Christmas and ended up

It then developed into an annual event.

You're watching BBC News. Stay with us throughout.

It could be a white Christmas over some northern hills today.