Russia will wait until Ukraine forms a new government before honoring agreements to reduce natural gas prices and channeling the remainder of a $15 billion rescue package to its neighbor, President Vladimir Putin said.

Ukraines request to defer payments for gas its importing at a discount this year seriously changes the situation and should be taken into account as relations are built with a new government, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a cabinet meeting attended by Putin outside Moscow today. Even at reduced prices, they tell us that they cant pay.

The stance leaves Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in suspense over Russias assistance as he struggles to contain nationwide street protests that led to yesterdays departure of his loyalist prime minister, Mykola Azarov. Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov is acting as premier, while the cabinet will stay on until Yanukovych names a replacement.

Ukraine sealed $15 billion of Russian financing and a one-third gas-price discount after talks last month between Yanukovych and Putin. Russia, which agreed to cut the price it charges for natural gas to $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters, hasnt added to the $3 billion it plowed into Ukraines government debt last year from its National Wellbeing Fund, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

Unrest in Ukraine was ignited by Yanukovychs decision in November to snub an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. Anti-protest legislation passed this month also backfired by triggering violence at a Jan. 19 rally, before being repealed yesterday.

Ukraine serves as a key transit route for Russian gas shipments to the EU and also depends its neighbor for the fuel. Deliveries to Europe, which buys a quarter of its gas from Russia, were halted twice in freezing weather in the past decade over disputes with Ukraine about prices and transit terms.

State energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy missed the most recent deadline to repay debt for gas supplies in 2013, OAO Gazprom (GAZP) Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said in an interview broadcast on Russian national television.

Ukraine owes state-run Gazprom $2.7 billion for gas shipped in 2013, with the payment due date on Jan. 25, according to the Russian gas exporter. Talks with Ukrainian officials fell through after the governments resignation, Medvedev said.

Naftogazs spokeswoman Olena Yuriyeva declined to comment.

The yield on Ukraines dollar-denominated government debt due 2023 rose 55 basis points to 9.58 percent as of 7:49 p.m. in Kiev, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The hryvnia appreciated 0.1 percent to 8.4750 per dollar.

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Putin Agrees to Pause on Ukraine Rescue as Medvedev Warns on Gas

Officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet say a contract for the long-awaited replacement of the Eggners Ferry Bridge could be a step closer to completion.

KYTC Spokesman Keith Todd said a reviewal committee in Frankfort has indicated that it would like to award the contract for the main bridge and demolition of the existing structure this month, which may leave room for an announcement sometime this week.

Meanwhile, Todd said work continues on a smaller lagoon bridge on the western shore of the lake just yards north the U.S. 68/KY 80 corridor. Construction there began almost a year ago on what will be the first leg for future journeyers across Kentucky Lake. Jim Smith Construction was awarded that contract, and Todd said work is still on schedule, pending any unforeseen setbacks.

Todd said while the committee deliberates in Frankfort, he has been in contact with individuals at the headquarters to determine exactly when the final bridge and demolition contract will be announced.

Theres a lot on the line for interested contractors, he said.

In October, the cabinet hosted an information session for builders interested in the $130-150 million project.

Dozens of contractors showed up for the meeting to submit bids and to tour the existing construction site just east of Aurora.

Since then, its been a waiting game.

They have to review the contract and make sure it meets the technical requitements, which are extensive considering the size.

Once construction begins on the piers crossing Kentucky Lake, the KYTC will shift its attention to replacing the aging Lawrence Memorial Bridge over Lake Barkley less than 10 miles down the road.

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Eggners Ferry Bridge contract could come this week

By | Paul Kunert 28th January 2014 22:21 Cabinet Office extends CITHS, suppliers claim

The Crown Commercial Service that oversees how the UK public sector buys stuff has apparently granted an eight-month stay of execution to the Commodity IT Hardware & Software (CITHS) framework, through which Blighty's technology supply deals are brokered.

According to its original tender published in the Official Journal of the European Union where all public-sector business has to be touted CITHS was launched on 1 March, 2010, as a three-and-a-half-year legal agreement with an option to extend it by six months.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS), a professional buying group acting on behalf of the Cabinet Office, organises the framework and triggered the six-month extension late last summer because its successor, the IT Products, Associated Software and Services (IT PASS) framework, was not ready to go live. And as the CITHS expiry date looms, IT PASS has yet to reach its tendering stage.

Multiple suppliers contacted by El Chan told us that CCS has pushed the shutdown of CITHS to October to accommodate its dilly dallying.

"CCS has applied for and been granted an extraordinary extension," said a well-placed IT distribution channel source. "This is the first time I can remember this [type of extension] happening."

IT PASS was due to be in place by September, but a Prior Information Notice (PIN) was only issued last month, along with PINs for two associated frameworks. A PIN is simply a warning that a contract, or similar, is about to be advertised.

Suppliers accepted into the IT PASS system, via a tendering process, will be able to bid on UK public-sector tech contracts valued between 4bn to 6bn over its lifetime; the scheme was due to be up and running by mid-March slap bang in the middle of the busy public-sector year-end.

But one company reckons negative feedback on the timing encouraged CCS to postpone its launch to April Fool's Day yes, really meaning that without the CITHS extension, there would have been no official vehicle for public-sector buyers to flush year-end budgets.

Further slippage on the timing of the IT PASS tendering stage is, of course, not impossible, and lest we forget CCS has form in this respect. Contracts are not expected to be awarded until the summer.

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You shall not IT PASS! UK gov fishes tech catalogue out of bin as replacement stalls

As Ukraine's political classes began horse trading for a new prime minister, speculation focussed on an activist chocolate billionaire dubbed by one commentator as "a cross between Willy Wonka and Che Guevara".

Petro Poroshenko, an MP and former cabinet minister known as the "Chocolate King" for his confectionary empire, commands widespread respect amongst the public on Independence Square but is also seen as a man whom embattled Viktor Yanukovych could do business with.

A staunch advocate of European integration, Mr Poroshenko is regularly seen handing out chocolate on Independence Square and at the occupied trade union building where the opposition has established its headquarters.

But he also has experience of working with both sides of Ukraine's political divide, having served as foreign minister under former president Viktor Yushchenko and then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and more recently as trade and economic development minister for Mr Yanukovych.

The 48-year-old has not publicly addressed whether he would be interested in the job.

But in conversations with protesters on Independence Square, Mr Poroshenko's name often comes up as a candidate who would be preferable to any of the three official opposition leaders - if only because his estimated $1.6 billion fortune means he would have no need to enrich himself through corruption.

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The 'Chocolate King' who protesters hope could be new Ukraine prime minister

FAIRFAX NZ

Prime minister John Key has expressed his preference to change the NZ flag to the silver fern.

Prime Minister John Key has floated the possibility of having a referendum to change New Zealand's flag.

He has confirmed the Government was considering putting the issue to the vote, and would discuss with Cabinet the possibility of holding a referendum.

While technically it was as simple as changing the legislation governing the flag, Key believed it should be voted on by New Zealanders.

"It's constitutional in my view, and constitutional matters have to be taken to the people," he said.

"So in principle, it'd have to be part of a referendum just like it was for MMP.

"Probably what we'll do is have a discussion with our senior ministers and say is there any appetite to progress that. If the answer is 'no' at this point then we'll park it up."

The prime minister said the public was "50/50" on the idea of a new flag.

"And I think it depends when you do it. If you asked the question right after the [rugby] World Cup, it might have been closer to 60/40 in favour."

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Time to change the flag. To what?

PTI Jan 25, 2014, 04.53PM IST

(The Chief Minister is returning)

NAGPUR: Amid ongoing stir by AICC Secretary Sanjay Nirupam demanding reduction of power tariff in Mumbai, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar today said that the government may take a final call on the issue in its state Cabinet meet scheduled on January 29.

"The government is aware of the agitation in Mumbai by Congress MPs over reduction of power tariff and a decision is soon expected when Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan returns from World Economic Forum meeting in Davos," Pawar, who also holds the Power portfolio, told reporters here.

The Chief Minister is returning tonight and after the Republic Day celebrations, the government will look into the demand for reduction in tariff and take a decision in the next cabinet, he added. Pawar said the state government has no direct role in fixing the power tariff and the responsibility lies with Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC).

The state government is already reeling under financial burden upto Rs 15,000 crore on various subsidies in power bills, he said. In some parts of Mumbai, where electricity is supplied by Tatas, the tariff between 0 to 100 unit is less than the electricity supplied to backward Gadchiroli district, the minister said. To a query, Pawar said the state government will have to shoulder an additional burden of Rs 8,400 crore annually on account of power tariff reduction upto to 20 per cent.

The Maharashtra Cabinet had last week decided that the concession of 20 pc power tariff cut would be applicable to consumers with consumption of less than 300 units. The reduction in power tariff will not be applicable in the metropolis where players are other than MahaVitaran supply power. Mumbai consumers get power supply from Tata Power, Reliance Infrastructure and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking.

Continued here:
Final decision on power tariff may be taken in next cabinet: Ajit Pawar

Responding to Republican legislative leaders' request for transparency the selection of a replacement to U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said state law leaves the decision to him and that the appointee "will represent the interests of all Montanans."

Bullock has kept silent on the candidates he is considering and the selection process he will undertake in finding a replacement since President Barack Obama nominated Baucus to be the next U.S. ambassador to China.

A confirmation hearing for Baucus is scheduled for Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the Montana Democrat also must be confirmed by the entire Senate.

If he is confirmed and resigns his Senate seat to take the post, Bullock will select an interim senator to fill Baucus' term until January 2015.

Republican leaders earlier this month sent Bullock a letter asking the Democratic governor how he intends to identify and select a person, when the process will begin and how he plans to include the public.

Bullock responded by letter Thursday, saying state law gives the responsibility of a temporary appointment to him and that he takes the responsibility seriously.

"You may be assured that all legal and constitutional requirements will be met, and that the appointee will represent the interests of all Montanans during the term of the appointment," Bullock wrote.

Senate President Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, one of the authors of the original letter, called Bullock's response a "non-answer."

There are no requirements in law laying out how the appointment will be filled, Essmann said.

"The people deserve way better than that," he said.

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Bullock responds to GOP on Baucus replacement

With a fragile cease fire in place, South Sudanese look at how to salvage their delicate democracy

South Sudanese refugees walk at a border gate in Joda, in the Jableen locality in Sudan's White Nile State, after arriving from the South Sudanese war zones of Malakal and al-Rank, January 16, 2014.

The temporary truce signed on Thursday by South Sudanese politicians may have halted hostilities that, according to United Nations and humanitarianestimates, have resulted in the deaths of more than 10,000 people and displaced half a million more since fighting began in December, but asustainable peace remains far off, diplomats andexperts say. The country can fallapart; its sort of half unglued now. Even if theres a ceasefire, whoknows if thats going to stick as it doesnt resolve any the underliningproblems, said Tom McDonald, who worked on Sudan issues as U.S.ambassador to Zimbabwe during the Clinton presidency. A lot is at stake because we have invested time anddiplomatic capital and lots of money there to stand up this country.

Two and a half years ago, the world celebrated the birth of the new nationin the hope that dividing Sudan would end the violence in the war-torncountry. The U.S. poured billions of dollars into helping build South Sudans government and ministries. So how, in such ashort amount of time and with so much support from the internationalcommunity, could things fall apart?

Some, like Eric Reeves, a professor of Englishat Smith College, and an expert on Sudan and South Sudan, say the U.S. and the West expected too much too quickly from the South Sudanese and that the UN should have overseen a period of transition while a constitution was written. John Prendergast of the Enough Project, a nonprofitanti-genocide organization that works in South Sudan, lays the blame more squarely on the Obama Administration. There was a gulffrom the last special envoy last spring until the new special envoy [was appointed]in the fall, Prendergast says. During that period, already existingproblems were incubating and exploding to the surface. The U.S. didnthave that envoy and team to work that issue as diligently as needed.

The last U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Princeton Lyman,stepped down on March 22, 2013, and his replacement, Donald Booth, wasntnamed until August 28. During that five-month lag, South SudanesePresident Salva Kiir made what his opponents call an authoritarian powergrab, firing and imprisoning 11 members of his cabinet. Kiir accused themof attempting to orchestrate a coup with his then Vice President Riek Machar, who escaped arrest in July.

National Security Council spokesman Caitlin Hayden disputes both Reeves and Prendergasts assessments, arguing that the U.S. is by far the biggest presence and donor in South Sudan. The U.S. Government, up to and including President Obama, has remained deeply engaged throughout 2013, even as we worked to identify a new special envoy, Hayden said. President Obama sent Kiir a letter of concern in March, and senior U.S. officials met with their South Sudanese counterparts in April and May in Washington andin the South Sudanese capitol of Juba. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Kiir in Ethiopia in May and spoke with him by phone in July.

Moreover,whilethe country is young, it has ancient prejudices that burst to the surface at every turn. Although only two of the 11 cabinet detainees were ethnically Nuer,Machars Nuer tribe rallied against Kiirs Dinka tribe in response to the arrests. Some Dinka soldiers killed civilians who couldnt identifythemselves in the Dinka language, according to U.N. reports. Nuer rebels killedtwo U.N. peacekeepers who were protecting Dinka refugees. Thatprompted the U.N. Security Council to send in an additional 5,500 peacekeepers, bringing its total force in South Sudan to 12,500, the largest in the world after the peacekeeping mission in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. This began as a political struggle, but it becameethnic within the first day or two, Reeves says. After decadesof war [with Sudan], there is a simmering tribalism that bursts throughfor almost any reason.

For the past month, Machar has resisted reconciliation, insisting that Kiir first release his cabinet allies. The ceasefire doesnt determine what will happen withthe detainees, though the South Sudanese government says it envisions amnesty for them after they go through trials. Our position is there should be no preconditions to cessation of hostilities, a State Department official told TIME, speaking on condition of anonymity. But at the same time Machar has a point that any long-term agreement relies on a meaningful political dialogue and they cant have that unless those detainees are at the table.

Reeves says that with so much mistrust between Machar, Kiir and the rest of thecabinet, reforming the government and writing a constitution protectingminorities is going to be a challenge. The question is if were seeing acrescendo or descendo, Reeves says. The rebels are people with a lot ofgrievances with the government. They are not looking to Machar forleadership. I doubt he can control even a third of the rebels. This is thebeginning of the really hard part and that is to get a wider militarystand-down by all groups.

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S. Sudan Faces Bigger Obstacle

Prime Minister Shinzo Abes central government has dismissed Sundays Nago mayoral election results as meaning little, and vows plans for a replacement airfield in northern Okinawa will continue as designed.

Despite threats from newly re-elected Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine that he will make every effort to block landfill operations that will lead to creation of the Futenma Replacement Facility at Camp Schwab in his citys Henoko district, both the Tokyo government and Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima say theres really little that the mayor can do to stop progress. Inamine, a longtime opponent of moving Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to his city, Sunday defeated pro-base challenger and former Okinawa Assemblyman Bunshin Suematsu 19,839 votes to 15,684 in an election that brought a high 76.1% voter turnout.

Japans Defense Minister, Itsunori Onodera, has brushed aside the election results, saying this is a local election, so I dont think this will directly influence the issue. Yoshihide Suga, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, called the Nago result very regrettable but insisted the central government will continue working to patiently change Inamines mind. Suga explains there will be no change in going ahead, because Japan is a country ruled by law and we will carry this out based on legal procedures.

Inamine says thats simply not going to happen, insisting hes got the power to stop the project by blocking and refusing to sign documents needed for construction of the airfield and the military port. I will reject all procedures that are premised on the landfill project. Without the mayors approval and consent, this process cannot go forward, he says, noting in order to protect the future for our children, I will not allow a new base to be built. Inamine says Futenma should be moved outside Okinawa, and not to his neighborhood.

Government officials concede Inamine could hamper use of roads and other facilities, but cannot shut down the project. Governor Nakaima last month approved the project, after wrangling that lasted several prefectural administrations over a 17 years period.

In the weeks leading up to the Nago election, the central government had committed billions of yen at least 300 billion per year through 2021 to help Okinawa develop its infrastructure for the future, as well as billions more to pay for a second runway at Naha International Airport and expansion of the islands light rail. That pledge came shortly before Nakaima agreed to support the landfill project and construction of the new airfield in Oura Bay adjacent to the Marines Camp Schwab.

On top of that, the central government only days before the election promised Nago City more than a half-billion U.S. dollars to improve its future. That works out to more than $8,000 per Nago City resident. Inamine blasted that government move, calling it bribery and noting only Nago residents would decide the future of their city.

Observers say Abes government is not going to give up on the Futenma Replacement Facility project, or go away, either. The central government says the project is necessary in order to fulfill promises to Okinawa which will lead to a reduction in the number of U.S. troops on the island, and thus, reduce the burdens Okinawans face. We will steadily proceed, taking seriously the approval for our application for the reclamation, says Defense Minister Onodera, who stresses The Futenma base remaining in the current site cannot be accepted. We dont think the local election will directly affect the relocation to Henoko.

The alternative, a scholar notes, would be for Tokyo to sit back and wait four years for the next election in Nago, in hopes a more conservative administration will win. That wont happen, he says, because Futenmas a dangerous airbase in densely populated Ginowan City. At the same time, he explains, the world situation, with China flexing its military might in southern Okinawa, has Japan and other countries concerned about security, much of which is provided by the U.S. presence on the island. A government source echoes that, pointing out We have no choice but to unemotionally proceed with the relocation.

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Base relocation plan to continue despite Nago election

Bulgaria and Romania need to do more to strengthen their legal systems and fight high-level corruption and organized crime, the European Union said in a report on the European Unions poorest states.

Romania has made progress in many areas and long-awaited legislative changes have remained on track, though concerns about judicial independence remain, European Commission spokesman Mark Gray told reporters in Brussels today. Bulgarias judicial reform progress has not been sufficient and remains fragile, he said.

The two countries that joined the 28-nation bloc in 2007 are judged to be among the EUs most corrupt along with Greece and Italy, according to Berlin-based research organization Transparency International. The Black Sea nations have had with repeated warnings to fight corruption harder to ensure a fair distribution of EU aid. Romania, the bigger of the two, stood to receive 32 billion euros ($43 billion) in EU aid through 2013. Bulgaria got less than 11 billion euros.

For reform to succeed, it needs a consistent and coherent approach based on a broad consensus in Bulgarian society, Gray said about Bulgaria, which was last the subject of a report 18 months ago. The fact that this period included three different governments has not helped to build this consensus, though events have also illustrated a widespread public aspiration for reform.

Bulgaria has been gripped by political turmoil since February, when anti-austerity protests that echoed unrest across Europe forced out Boyko Borissovs administration.

Premier Plamen Oresharskis minority cabinet took power after a May snap election. It survived two no-confidence votes and recurring protests against what demonstrators say is a corrupt political system.

In Bulgaria repeated controversies such as appointments having to be aborted due to integrity issues, the escape from justice of convicted organized crime figures and a succession of revelations about political influence on the judicial system have affected public confidence, the EU said in a statement. There remain very few cases where crimes of corruption or organized crime have been brought to conclusion in court.

Romania is scheduled to hold a presidential election at the end of this year and has been embroiled in a feud between President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta in the past two years over judiciary and taxes.

Pontas coalition, which now holds a two-thirds parliamentary majority, tried unsuccessfully to oust Basescu in 2012. The bickering between Ponta and Basescu was rekindled in late 2013 over changes to a criminal code and some fuel taxes.

Concerns about judicial independence remain in Romania and there are many examples of resistance to integrity and anti-corruption measures, Gray said. The rushed and intransparent amendment of the Criminal Code in December 2013 sparked widespread concern as a challenge to the regime for tackling corruption and promoting integrity.

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EU Urges Romania, Bulgaria to Strengthen Fight Against Graft