This is BBC World News. I’m Tanya Beckett. Here are the headlines.
The 114th US Congress has opened with republicans controlling both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Party leaders are expected to challenge president Obama on issues like approval of the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline.
A female suicide bomber has attacked a police station in Istanbul, killing herself and a Turkish police officer. A second officer was injured in the bombing in the Sultan Ahmet district, which is popular with tourists.
And the price of oil has slipped to its lowest level in almost six years. The drop has spooked financial markets in Asia and Europe as wider concerns are raised over slowing growth across the world, from Europe to China.
And Kurdish forces have claimed they’ve made significant gains against IS militants. They’ve been battling for four months over the border town of Kobani and say they’ve taken a key district and now control 80 percent.