–

A photograph taken on February 16, 2009 shows gas flares off under heavy snowfall at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on Sakhalin island outside the town Korsakov. The EU executive said on February 3, 2012 that gas deliveries have fallen in eight countries, despite Russian insistence that volumes had increased amid a sudden drop in temperatures. As temperatures plunged to fresh lows in a week-long cold snap that has claimed more than 220 lives, the European Commission said Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Slovakia had each registered drops in gas supplies. AFP PHOTO / NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA