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Beijing (AFP) – Responding to a Pentagon claim that corruption in China’s military could hamper its modernisation, Beijing urges the US to “abandon its Cold War mentality”. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian says the report “ignores facts, is full of bias and spreads the theory of the China threat”. According to the US report, at least 15 high-ranking military officers and defence industry figures were removed from their posts between July and December after “a new wave of corruption-related investigations.”

Banda Aceh (Indonesia) (AFP) – Djafaruddin still breaks down when thinking about the children orphaned by the world’s deadliest tsunami two decades ago. At least 225,000 people were killed when waves unleashed by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake ravaged coastal communities in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Djafaruddin was in one of the worst hit areas, Banda Aceh, and shifted dozens of dead bodies.

Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) (AFP) – Texas authorities attempt to disperse dozens of migrants who are gathered by the Rio Grande on the Mexico-US border in Ciudad Juarez after hearing rumours that US authorities would let them cross to mark International Migrants Day. IMAGES

Guna Yala Archipelago (Panama) (AFP) – In the clear blue, pristine waters off Panama’s coast, several ships are rusting under the Central American country’s sun, raising concerns about their impact on the environment. Local advocates are now seeking innovative solutions to turn these derelict ships into artificial reefs.

(AFP) – Residents of French overseas territory Mayotte share their experiences as access to water and electricity remains difficult. Cyclone Chido, which hit Mayotte on 14 December before barrelling on to Mozambique, was the latest in a string of storms worldwide fuelled by climate change. A preliminary toll from France’s interior ministry shows that 22 people were confirmed killed and 1,373 injured but officials are warning that the toll could rise exponentially.

Vatikanstadt (AFP) – Pope Francis expresses his support “for all the inhabitants of the Mayotte archipelago, which has been devastated by a cyclone”.

Damaskus (AFP) – The first flight since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad takes off from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country’s north. Forty-three people including journalists are on board. Earlier this week, airport staff were painting on planes the three-star independence flag that became a symbol of the 2011 uprising and which the country’s new rulers have adopted.

Golanhöhen (AFP) – “Syria is tired of war,” says Murhaf Abu Qasra, military chief of victorious Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as Israel steps up its military presence in the Golan Heights.

Hargeisa (AFP) – At the Hargeisa Cultural Centre Library in Somaliland, Somalia’s breakaway region, cassettes archive manager Hafsa Omer is meticulously archiving and digitising a collection of 14,000 cassettes. The tapes contain more than half a century of the music, poetry, political discussions of the self-proclaimed nation which has no global recognition.

Kushimoto (Japan) (AFP) – A start-up aiming to become Japan’s first private firm to put a satellite into orbit says that the second launch attempt of its Kairos rocket failed shortly after lift-off.

Porlamar (Venezuela) (AFP) – Venezuela’s Margarita island, once dubbed the “Pearl of the Caribbean”, is now littered with abandoned hotels, many shops stand empty, and there are regular power outages. The country’s economic collapse, high crime rates and growing international isolation in the wake of bitterly disputed elections have caught up with the island of 500,000 people.

Saydnaya (Syria) (AFP) – Outside Syria’s notorious Saydnaya prison, relatives leaf desperately through abandoned ledgers looking for news of the missing, clinging to the dream of seeing missing sons, husbands and sisters again. Desperate Syrians say they were systematically shaken down for bribes to receive news of detainees that together amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. Ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s vast network of prisons was not simply a tool of his brutal crackdown on opposition to his rule, it was a money-making machine for his supporters.