cost of heating their homes because of the price rises. the chancellor today has got to match his fiscal responsibility with a bit of moral responsibility. in the last few days, loads of stuff about today s budget been already been announced. nhs england will get £5.9 billion to tackle the backlog of people waiting for tests and scans. £6.9 billion has been allocated to transport projects, including in west yorkshire, the west midlands and greater manchester. and the minimum pay rate for those aged 23 and over, known as the national living wage, will go up to £9.50 per hourfrom april. but even though plenty has been announced, what we will get from the chancellor later still really matters because it will be the detail about the state of the economy and the state of the government s finances, and so crucially, where our money will be spent and where it won t. now, then, it s over to the chancellor and his big moment at lunchtime.
from russia, so what do you do if moscow turns off the tap? it s threatening to if moldova doesn t sign a new contract at a higher price. the russians have already cut supplies by a third. just business, or is it? basically, russia is trying to punish moldovan citizens because they decided to vote against the pro russian party at the parliamentary elections, so it is pure politics and nothing more. that s pure fantasy, thinks gazprom. russia s state energy giant says it will gladly pump gas if there s a deal and if moldova settles its debt. but is the kremlin using energy as a weapon? vladimir putin recently called that accusation nonsense and tittle tattle.
russia says it never mixes pipelines and politics, but if you ve got a lot of gas, that gives you a lot of influence and a lot of power. and if you re a country like moldova, which has been getting all of its gas from russia but now wants a closer relationship with europe, that can give you a lot of trouble. moldova has declared a state of emergency. this crisis centre is making sure the gas keeps flowing. the country is seeking alternative sources in europe, but it s bad timing. well, it s the worst time to have a gas crisis. at home, the prices are higher than ever. can moldova get all the gas that it needs at a price you can afford to pay if you don t get a deal with russia? well, you see the gas prices today. we don t know how high or how low they will be in two months or in five months, right? so i cannot tell you whether these prices are affordable.
this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. it s budget day in the uk and the chancellor rishi sunak is preparing to deliver his big speech to the house of commons. measures announced so far include a rise in the national living wage and an end to the public sector pay freeze. but the uk government s under pressure to do more to help with the rising costs of living in other news a new report says the government s coronavirus test and trace programme in england failed to break chains of transmission despite costing an eye watering amount of money. pipeline politics. the gas crisis intensifies in moldova, europe s poorest state,
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