Russia cuts Slovakia's natural gas flows by half

Russia announced more reductions in natural gas to Europe on Friday, including cutting flows by half to Slovakia. Russia told Slovakia's state-controlled gas company SPP that it would reduce deliveries to the country by 50%.

Italy also had its flows slashed by half and France has been completely cut off.  It marks the third day of significant reductions to the fuel that powers industry and generates electricity in Europe, which also have hit Germany and Austria. 

Russia has blamed a technical problem for the cuts to the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline serving Germany and France, saying equipment being refurbished in Canada was stuck there because of Western sanctions.