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| Russia Demands Ukraine Prepay for Gas from June--Energy Minister - Wall Street Journal Posted: 08 May 2014 10:01 AM PDT By Alexander Kolyandr MOSCOW--Russia will demand that Ukraine prepay for June natural gas imports, and the first bill will be delivered to Kiev on May 16, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Thursday. Mr. Novak said the deadline that Ukraine had to settle its gas bill for earlier deliveries expired Wednesday and, according to the contract between Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and its Ukraine counterpart Naftogaz, Ukraine will have to pay for future deliveries in advance. The minister said starting in June Ukraine will receive only the volume of gas it had paid for by the end of May. Ukraine has run up a bill for Russian gas, which Gazprom said has reached $3.5 billion. Naftogaz confirmed earlier Thursday that no payment has been made to cover the debt. On Tuesday, Ukraine received a first installment, $3.19 billion, from a rescue package approved by the International Monetary Fund. Part of the money is aimed at paying off gas bills to Russia as well as future energy costs. However, Naftogaz said it is ready to pay off the debt only if Russia retains old prices. Last month Russia nearly doubled what it charges Ukraine, to $485.50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Kiev has described the increase as an act of "economic war" and declined to accept them, threatening to fight the hike in an international arbitrage court. People familiar with the matter said the two sides still have time to find a compromise on price. Gazprom supplies about 30% of Europe's gas. Around half of those supplies transit through Ukraine. The country is one Gazprom's largest markets but, in buying gas from Europe rather than from Russia, Kiev is aiming at reducing its dependence on its neighbor. Ukraine is in talks with Slovakia and other neighboring countries to reverse the gas flow so that it can buy Russian gas destined for Europe from the end buyers Write to Alexander Kolyandr at Alexander.Kolyandr@wsj.com |
| Nigeria abducted schoolgirls: Malala Yousafzai urges action - BBC News Posted: 08 May 2014 10:02 AM PDT
7 May 2014
Last updated at 23:33
Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai: "If we remain silent then this will spread" Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived a shooting by Taliban insurgents, has said the world must not stay silent over the abduction of more than 200 girls in Nigeria. She told the BBC that "if we remain silent then this will spread, this will happen more and more and more". The girls were kidnapped more than three weeks ago by Islamist Boko Haram militants in north-east Borno state. Malala was shot in the head in 2012 for campaigning for girls' education. The 16-year-old survived after months of surgery and rehabilitation in the UK, and is now a vocal campaigner for girls' access to education worldwide. Former UN chief Kofi Annan, also appealed for action. He criticised both the Nigerian government and other African nations for not reacting faster to the kidnapping, and called on them to use whatever was at their disposal to help free the girls. The abduction of the girls has overshadowed the World Economic Forum which opened in the Nigerian city of Abuja on Wednesday evening. The US, UK and France have despatched teams of experts to Nigeria to help recover the girls. Boko Haram has been accused of carrying out another attack in Borno state on Monday, in which some 300 people are reported to have died. Residents said that gunmen went on the rampage in Gamboru Ngala after spreading a rumour that the abducted girls had been spotted elsewhere, prompting security forces to leave the town.  This still is from footage taken as relatives of the schoolgirls visited the burnt-out remains of the school from where they were taken on 14 April
 For the past week there have been daily protests countrywide calling for more to be done to find the girls
Describing the Nigerian girls as her "sisters" who are "in a prison", Malala said that the only way to stop similar abductions happening in future was to speak out. She described Boko Haram as a group of extremists who did not understand that Islam said believers had a duty to educate themselves, and be tolerant and kind towards others. Boko Haram's leader admitted earlier this week that his fighters had abducted the girls - who are mostly aged between 16 and 18 and were taking their final year exams - from their school in the town of Chibok on 14 April. Abubakar Shekau threatened to "sell" the students, saying they should not have been in school in the first place, but rather should get married. Another 11 girls were kidnapped on Sunday night after two villages were attacked near the militants' forest hideout. The abductions have prompted widespread criticism of the Nigerian government and demonstrations countrywide.  US First Lady Michelle Obama tweets a picture of herself highlighting the #BringBackOurGirls campaign
 Boko Haram's leader has threatened to "sell" the students
US President Barack Obama has condemned the abductions as "outrageous" and "heartbreaking" and First Lady Michelle Obama joined a social media campaign, tweeting a picture of herself holding a piece of paper with the message #BringBackOurGirls. 
Former UN chief Kofi Annan says security forces should be used to free the kidnapped girls Nigeria's police on Wednesday offered a $300,000 (£180,000) reward to anyone who can help locate and rescue the schoolgirls, but some are asking why it has taken this long for such a move to be taken. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, in Nigeria for the World Economic Forum, offered to provide help from his country's satellite and intelligence services. Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, began its insurgency in 2009. An estimated 1,000 people have died in the violence and security crackdown this year alone.  |
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