Main news of January 1

WORLD

* Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine after last-ditch talks on a 2009 contract failed late on Wednesday, but increased shipments to other European states, gas monopoly Gazprom said

* At least 59 people died and 212 others were injured as a fire engulfed an up market nightclub during New Year celebrations in the Thai capital, Bangkok

* The husband of a Russian national living in the Gaza Strip has become one of the latest victims to be killed by an Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian enclave, local health officials said

* Israel continued its aerial bombardment of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip bringing the death toll in the six-day military campaign to over 400, Israeli and Palestinian sources said

* Foreign radio stations are not allowed to broadcast on local frequencies in Azerbaijan as of January 1, the oil-rich state's communication ministry said

* Israel airstrikes killed one of the leaders of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Nizar Ravyan, along with at least nine family members, Hamas said

RUSSIA

* A staggering 35 people were killed and more than 90 injured in fires and traffic accidents on New Year's Eve in the Russian Volga Federal District, the regional emergencies ministry said

* Armed gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle in Khasavyurt in Russia's volatile North Caucasus republic of Daghestan injuring an officer, a police source said