Ljutic makes it back-to-back World Cup wins in women’s slalom for standings lead

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) —

Croatian skier Zrinka Ljutic made it back-to-back World Cup wins in women’s slalom to take the lead in the standings on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Ljutic won her first title at Semmering, Austria last week and quickly followed up with her second at Kranjska Gora. Ljutic was joint-fastest with Wendy Holdener in their first run, then 0.16 seconds faster than the Swiss skier in the second.

“I didn’t know how Wendy, how well she skied," Ljutic said. "I just had my own sort of idea and I was really focusing on myself. I kind of decided the tempo of the course of the run, how I want to ski. And I really tried to stick to that vision and I made it, it was enough. So that’s even better."

Anna Swenn-Larsson of Sweden was third, 1.19 behind Ljutic.

With injured star Mikaela Shiffrin not racing, Ljutic seized the lead in the discipline standings on 309 points, four ahead of former leader Camille Rast, who was fourth, 1.36 behind.

Rast maintained her record of not finishing outside the top five slalom placings this season. The Swiss skier won her debut World Cup race in Killington on Dec. 1.

Ljutic leads the overall standings on 456 points, nine ahead of Sweden’s Sara Hector, who was sixth after winning the giant slalom the day before.

Ljutic, who will turn 21 later this month, said her success seven days earlier spurred her on again.

“Especially now after this nice result in Semmingen, I really had a big appetite, I obviously wanted to repeat that and I felt in some sense powerful and dominant,” Ljutic said. “But again, I knew that I cannot now focus on just like the time and the win, I have to do my things before that in order to make possible that it happens. And it happened. So I’m just grateful.”

Defending champion Shiffrin, who triumphed in the first two races in the discipline this season, is recovering from abdominal surgery to clean out a deep wound she suffered in a giant slalom crash on Nov. 30 in Killington.

In Shiffrin’s absence, Katie Hensien was the highest placed American skier in 12th.

From left, second placed Switzerland's Wendy Holdener, the winner Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic and third placed Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson celebrate after an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

The winner Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic celebrates after an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

From left, second placed Switzerland's Wendy Holdener, the winner Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic and third placed Sweden's Anna Swenn Larsson celebrate after an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

The winner Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic celebrates with her team after an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic reacts after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic reacts after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank on Monday, killing two 70-year-old women and a 35-year-old policeman, Israel's military said. Israeli soldiers have launched widespread operations in the northern West Bank looking for the attackers.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians seek all three territories for their future state.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza is raging with no end in sight, although there has reportedly been recent progress in long-running talks aimed at a ceasefire and release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 45,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who say women and children make up more than half of those killed. They do not say how many of the dead were militants.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in a massive surprise attack nearly 15 months ago, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM - Militants in Gaza fired three projectiles into Israel on Monday, one of which was intercepted, the Israeli military said.

There were no reports of casualties, but the rockets damaged a home in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, which is located near Gaza.

Israeli media reported it was the third time the same home had sustained damage from rockets from Gaza.

After a long pause, militants in northern Gaza have launched near-daily rockets in recent weeks despite the ongoing Israeli military operations in the area. The launches highlighted that although Hamas has suffered major losses, they seem to repeatedly regroup after Israeli operations.

Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets and missiles towards Israel since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel’s military offensive has turned vast swathes of Gaza into an uninhabitable wasteland, erasing whole neighborhoods.

CAIRO — Israeli soldiers opened fire on a United Nations aid convoy in central Gaza, according to a World Food Program, which provides desperately needed food and aid. None of the eight staff members were injured, the WFP said Monday.

The WFP said the Israeli military shot at least 16 bullets toward their convoy of three vehicles on Sunday, despite receiving necessary clearance from the military.

The WFP said shooting at a clearly-marked U.N. aid convoy was “unacceptable” and called on all sides to allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid.

The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the episode.

In November, the military struck a car belonging to the charity World Central Kitchen, killing five employees, after claiming that one of the employees had ties to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.

The strike highlighted the dangerous work of delivering aid in Gaza, where the war has displaced much of the 2.3 million population and caused widespread hunger.

BEIRUT — The Lebanese army began deploying to the southern coastal city of Naqoura as the Israeli army withdrew, the U.S. and Lebanon said Monday.

Israel has already pulled out of two other southern towns, Khiam and Shamaa, since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect over a month ago. Both Israel and Hezbollah agreed to pull their forces out of southern Lebanon before the end of January, which will be secured by the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers.

The phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon is “going according to the plan,” said U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, but he did not confirm whether the pullout would be completed within the 60-day limit under the ceasefire conditions.

“We have 20 days left to reach the 60 days. We are going to continue the same work that has led to the successful withdrawal and deployment that we saw today,” Hochstein said.

The Israeli military said it “is committed to the understanding in regards to the ceasefire conditions.”

The deployment coincided with a meeting of the committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement in Ras al-Naqoura, which is home to the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission. The meeting was attended by Hochstein, who arrived in Beirut on Monday. Hochstein helped broker the ceasefire that ended the 14-month war.

After the deployment is completed in Naqoura, the Lebanese army said specialized units will survey the area to remove unexploded ordnance, and urged residents to avoid the area.

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. special envoy for Yemen has arrived in the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

Hans Grundberg's “visit is part of the ongoing efforts to de-escalate the current tensions that have engulfed the region and Yemen,” U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Monday. "In addition, his efforts will focus on advancing the peace process.”

The Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up their missile attacks against Israel, and have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor for over a year — attacks they say won't stop until there's a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly bombarded Yemen's ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away.

“We’ll also be pushing for the release of the arbitrarily detained U.N. personnel and also from other NGOs and civil society,” the U.N. spokesman said.

The Houthis claim the detainees, most of them held since June, are part of an “American-Israeli spy network,” an allegation vehemently denied by the U.N., NGO organizations, governments and others.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s rescue service said gunmen attacked a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank, killing at least three people and wounding eight others.

The attack occurred Monday in the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, on one of the main east-west roads crossing the territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “settle accounts” with the attackers “and with everyone who assisted them.” Hamas praised the attack in a statement, but did not claim responsibility for it.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October 2023.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 838 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. Most appear to have been militants killed in battles with Israeli troops, but the dead also include participants in violent protests — and civilian bystanders.

At least 46 Israelis, including 19 soldiers, have been killed in violent attacks by Palestinian militants, according to the U.N.

Israeli military armored vehicles block a road leading to the town of Quneitra, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A boy carrying bread cycles home as Israeli military armored vehicles block a road leading to the town of Quneitra, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A lone Christmas tree is seen in the Church of the Nativity complex, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Orthodox Christmas Eve mass in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Anton Nakle carries his three year-old son, David, dressed in a tiny Santa Claus suit, into the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on Christmas Eve for Orthodox Christians, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A Greek Orthodox altar boy pauses in Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, to walk in a procession ahead of Christmas Eve mass in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Mourners carry the bodies of three members of Imad Al-deen family who were killed in the Israeli bombardment in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners attend the funeral of three members of Imad Al-deen family who were killed in the Israeli bombardment in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot, southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli policemen block a main road after gunmen opened fire on cars and a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank, killing at least three people, near the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A man surveys a damaged home after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza Strip hit in the town of Sderot, southern Israel Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)