Which countries are having talks over gas prices?

Ukrainian politicians claim there are political motives behind the price rise originally demanded by the Russian energy giant Gazprom. They say Russia is offering much more favorable terms to other former Soviet Republics. Russian officials insist it’s a purely commercial matter.

Britain’s Labor government is having a difficult week. The government wants to ban smoking in indoor public places, including restaurants and other places of entertainment. This is partly because it wants to discourage people from smoking, since smoking causes so much illness, but also to protect the health of the staff who work there, and who have no choice about breathing in second hand smoke.