Across Europe, governments have been grappling with ways of protecting their consumers from rising energy bills, because the market has been hit by Russia's war in Ukraine. The recent explosions in Germany's Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea were a clear illustration of how little European countries can now rely on Russian gas imports. Fifteen of the EU's 27 countries want a Europe-wide cap that would limit the wholesale price of gas, but ahead of a summit in Prague on Friday there is little prospect of unity. Germany opposes the plan and has forged ahead with a €200bn (£174bn) package to shield its businesses ... (full story)