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International Briefs

Ukraine halts transit of Russian gas to Europe after a prewar deal expired

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network, almost three years into Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. A prewar transit deal expired at the end of 2024. Both Ukraine’s energy minister and Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom confirmed on Wednesday morning that the gas flows had stopped. Until now, Russian natural gas had kept flowing through the country’s pipeline network to Europe under a five-year agreement — even after Russia’s 2022 invasion. Before the war, Russia supplied nearly 40% of Europe’s natural gas through pipelines. By 2023, that figure was around 8% as users switched to liquefied natural gas from the United States and Norway.

South Korea air crash investigators extract black box data

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Grieving relatives of the victims of the South Korean plane disaster have visited the crash site to pay respects to their loved ones on New Year’s Day. All but two of the 181 people on board the Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air died when it crashed in Muan International Airport in southern South Korea on Sunday. Bereaved families visited the site on Wednesday for the first time since the crash, taking turns to lay white flowers. A memorial table was set up with food, including “ddeokguk,” a Korean rice cake soup eaten on New Year’s Day.

At least 4 people are killed in a shooting in Montenegro, 4 others wounded

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — An armed man has killed at least four people and wounded four others in the Montenegrin city of Cetinje. Police and local media said the shooter was on the run following Wednesday’s shooting. Police dispatched special troops to search for the man in Cetinje, some 18 miles northwest of the capital of Podgorica. A statement said the man opened fire in a bar and left armed. Police identified the shooter only by his initials A.M. and said he was 45 years old. The state RTCG television and other local media said seven people were killed.

Protesters in Syria demand justice for disappeared activists

DOUMA, Syria (AP) — Protesters in Syria have held a sit-in demanding justice for four activists who were forcibly disappeared in 2013 and whose fate remains one of the most haunting mysteries of the country’s 13-year civil war. Among them was one of Syria’s most well-known human rights activists. There has been no sign of life nor proof of death since she and her colleagues were abducted. Now their families and others across Syria are taking advantage of last month’s ouster of Bashar Assad to hold protests across the country demanding information about the many people who were forcibly disappeared under his rule.

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