The world in focus, as seen by Canadian leading global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw in a quick review of the biggest news in international media today.

U.S. officials announced on Friday that they had closed the flight path along the Potomac River that an Army helicopter had been using when it collided with a passenger jet. The corridor was designed to keep helicopters below plane traffic near Reagan National Airport, where nearby close calls between helicopters and planes have been reported in recent years. As divers pulled bodies from the Potomac, investigators sought to determine whether the UH-60 Black Hawk had been flying outside of its designated path, a well as whether a late-night staffing at the airport’s air traffic control tower, described as “not normal” in a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report, played a role. The collision killed 67 people, making it the deadliest U.S. air crash in 20 years. By Friday afternoon, divers plumbing the dark depths of the icy Potomac had recovered at least 41 bodies. Of those remains, 28 had been identified and 18 family members notified. The divers are facing difficult conditions — cold rain and wind gusts of up to 24 miles per hour – NYT

Hamas hands over three Israeli hostages as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that began on 19 January. Yarden Bibas, 34, and Ofer Kalderon, 53, were released in a ceremony in southern Gaza, US-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel, 65, has been freed in a separate ceremony in Gaza City. It is the fourth release of hostages since the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas began on 19 January. In Tel Aviv, BBC’s Alice Cuddy says the orderly scenes are in “stark contrast” to the chaotic handover on Thursday. Israel will later release more than 180 Palestinians who have been held in Israeli prisons

After the attack, the assailant seized the soldier’s assault rifle and fled with a conscript. Both were later detained during a special operation.

A Ukrainian soldier from the Poltava Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) was shot at a gas station in the town of Pyriatyn while escorting conscripts to a training center, the Land Forces of Ukraine and National Police reported.

According to the Land Forces Command, the attack occurred on Feb. 1 when an unidentified man wearing a gray balaclava and pixelated pants approached the soldier, threatened him with a hunting rifle, and demanded his weapon.

The head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate said on Friday that media reports that Pyongyang’s men have not been seen on the front lines for weeks are just plain “wrong.”

Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov,  head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) told the military issues website The War Zone (TWZ) that recent media reports of the almost total withdrawal of North Korean (DPRK) troops from the front line were simply wrong.

He said that there are still as many as 8,000 fighting on the front lines in Kursk, even though the heavy casualties they have experienced since being deployed to the Russian region have impacted on their operations and redeployment from some parts of the combat zone. Budanov is quoted as saying the reasons for this are unclear:

A top international economic analyst responds to reports that Europe could renew buying gas from Russia.

Interesting to wake up to an FT report saying that Europe is considering a return to Russian gas supply as part of a Ukraine peace deal.

God give me strength, surely Europe, and the EU particularly cannot be this stupid.

Police attorney said no evidence had been found linking the ship to the act, adding that while the investigation would continue, there was no reason for the vessel to remain in Tromsø any longer.

Police in Norway said Friday they had released a Russian-crewed cargo ship seized over suspected involvement in damage to a fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea, having found no evidence linking it to the incident.

It was the latest development in a series of suspected acts of sabotage that many officials believe form part of a Russian “hybrid war” against Western allies of Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.

Alexandra Brzozowski’s opinion piece for Euractiv on Jan 31, 2025, arguing that this may not be the Donald J. Trump Viktor Orbán signed up for.

After relations between Washington and Budapest hit rock bottom during the Biden administration, Trump’s return promised to mark the dawn of what the Hungarians predicted would be a ‘new golden age’ of cracking down on illegal migration, defending conservative family values, and bringing a rapid end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Guess again.

With gas supplies from Russia cut off, the breakaway Transnistrian region of Moldova, supported by Moscow, has been forced to accept energy supplies from its political adversary.

Moldova is sending on Saturday 3 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas to its separatist enclave Transnistria, the first fuel supply to the area since the end of December, when gas transit through Ukraine was halted, a Moldovan industry official said on Friday.

The delivery was due to start in the morning and it is intended to fill the Transnistrian gas system, which is experiencing a shortage of gas to maintain pressure.

Among the targets of the Russian missile attack was a five-story building in Poltava, which killed 5 people.

[Updated at 14:35]: The Sumy Regional Military Administration has reported the death of three police officers in the Sumy region due to a Russian attack on Feb. 1. President Zelensky had previously confirmed two fatalities in the region.

The OVA’s report details that two patrol officers on duty in the Yunakivska territorial community were killed in a Russian airstrike. The body of a third officer was later found under the rubble.

Ukraine braces for an expected major Russian missile strike.

Ukrainian authorities issued air raid alerts for the entire country on Saturday, as the air force warned of missile and drone threats in multiple regions.

“Missile threat to Mykolaiv and Kherson regions,” the air force said on Telegram, adding that missiles were moving toward the Sumy and Poltava regions as well.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia called for the film to be removed from the festival’s program, adding that it is not a work of artistic expression but rather propaganda.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, has strongly condemned the screening of the film “Russians at War,” a documentary by Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova, at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival, accusing its organizers of poor judgment and insensitivity.

In a press statement, Myroshnychenko described the decision to screen the film as deeply offensive, saying that it attempts to humanize individuals responsible for crimes against humanity as part of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including murder, rape, and kidnapping.

Donald Trump has been president of the United States for just over a week and everything points to far-reaching changes in domestic and global politics.

Washington is selecting its dialogue partners

Czech Hospodářské noviny analyses Trump’s behaviour towards Europe:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned what he called an “absolutely deliberate attack by Russian terrorists”, saying it was fortunate that it caused no deaths.

A Russian missile attack struck the center of the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Friday evening, Jan. 31, wounding at least seven people and damaging historic buildings, officials said.

The Black Sea city known for its picturesque streets of 19th-century buildings is regularly targeted by Russian strikes, often on its port area.

Since their arrival on the battlefield, DPRK soldiers have been largely left to fend for themselves, advancing with minimal armored support and rarely stopping to regroup or retreat.

North Korean (DPRK) soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine in Kursk have disappeared from the front line after suffering severe casualties, The New York Times (NYT) reports, citing Ukrainian and US officials.

Deployed in November to bolster Russia’s efforts to recover territory within its own borders, the numbers of the original 11,000 North Korean troops have been almost halved in just three months, according to Ukraine’s top commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky. He acknowledged their discipline but said they often advance in human waves through minefields without proper armored support.