Top Story: AirAsia QZ8501: Search teams find more bodies at sea (BBC)

MIDDLE EAST

US-led coalition jets pound IS stronghold in Syria .

Iraqi general warns of military woes in fighting extremists .

Iraqi Kurds recapture key village from ISIL .

Sunni tribes: Baghdad handed over its military to Iran .

Lebanon army clashes with militants in Arsal .

Seven killed in clashes between Yemen's army and tribesmen: local officials .

Saudi Arabia executes 'drug smugglers' .

Israeli settlers stone U.S. diplomatic cars: police .

ASIA

Indian Coast Guard intercepts explosives-filled boat from Pakistan . India says Pakistani boat exploded off coast .

Pakistan, India swap lists of nuclear facilities, prisoners .

Report: Kim Jong-Un’s sister marries son of dictator’s right-hand man .

Rescuers discover 22 bodies from Malaysian AirAsia jet . Indonesian Navy vessel detects tail of crashed AirAsia plane: reports.

Afghanistan faces economic timebomb as NATO war ends .

Afghan authorities investigate army attack that killed 28 at wedding .

China sacks senior diplomat for alleged corruption .

Families of Shanghai victims grieve, seek answers .

Slaves endure 'a living hell' on remote South Korean islands .

AFRICA

Al-Shabab attack on military base in Somalia leaves seven dead .

Rebels in Congo face military action after missing arms deadline .

Dozens arrested in Gambia after military coup attempt . Gambian soldiers clamp down in capital after failed coup .

Kenya High Court suspends parts of new terror law .

Uganda: Rebel Gen. under house arrest .

Libya extinguishes fire at biggest oil terminal: officials .

Tunisia PM sees main threat from chaotic Libya .

Ebola outbreak will end in 2015 - UN's Anthony Banbury .

EUROPE

Ukraine reports first military death of 2015 .

Ukrainian army, rebels trade blame amid warning of hard 2015 .

Kerry seeks to shore up Russian cooperation .

Russians worried, defiant amid financial crisis .

Moscow-led trade bloc begins in troubled time s.

Icelandic coast guard ship tows stranded migrant vessel toward Italian coast . Abandoned ship Ezadeen with 450 migrants on board being towed to Italy.

France sees fall in New Year's Eve car-burnings .

AMERICAS

H3N2 viruses fuel 'epidemic' levels of U.S. flu season deaths, CDC says .

US Congress allows terrorism protection to expire .

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff sworn in for a second term . Brazil's Rousseff vows to tackle graft, boost economy . Brazil's Rousseff vows budget cuts, anti-corruption push in second term .

Failure to stop Petrobras scandal could haunt Brazil's Rousseff .

Biden seeks to repair relations with Brazil .

Despite U.S. opposition, Venezuela assumes seat on U.N. Security Council .

Argentina and UK Falklands spat spiced up by Russian jets.

Mario Cuomo, former New York Governor, dies at 82 .

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Terror trial of Brit accused of plotting attack on UK and U.S. to consider documents seized from Bin Laden's Pakistan hideout .

Syrian journalists say Islamic State changed the rules in Aleppo .

Taliban vs IS vs al Qaeda: In competitive jihad, brand names matter (commentary) .

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Oil hits new five-year low below $56 as supply glut persists .

Russia and Iraq supply most oil in decades amid 2015 glut .

Apple sued over 'shrinking' gadget storage .