Six railcars carrying dozens of South Korean officials and engineers will inspect 1,200km (745 miles) of track over 18 days, according to the South’s unification ministry. The survey required special permission from the United Nations to take prohibited goods into the North, which remains under heavy economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme. South Korean officials will use the study to draw up plans for modernising the North’s ageing rail lines, most of which date from the early 20th century. South China Morning Post
Serbia has raised the combat readiness of its troops on the border with Kosovo as a four-day flare-up over mutual recognition of state authority bedevils the Balkan neighbors, with Serbia’s president suggesting there are limits to what Belgrade will “tolerate.” Source Radio Free Europe
Pipeline gas supplies from Russia to Europe in 2021 reached historic highs, Gazprom increased gas production year-on-year by 18.4%. The accusations that Gazprom is not supplying gas to Europe are absurd, Head of Contract Structuring and Price Formation Directorate for Gazprom Export Sergey Komlev said in his article for Gazprom corporate magazine. Source TASS
Sweden’s government and Public Health Agency confirmed that it will definitely go ahead with the fourth and penultimate stage of its re-opening plan next week, with a firm warning for unvaccinated people. Source The Local
