Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ukraine

Ukrainian Parliament Fails To Appoint New Premier

Yuriy Yekhanurov (file photo)

20 September 2005 -- The Verkhovna Rada has failed to approve Yuriy Yekhanurov as Ukraine's new prime minister.

TEXT SIZE - +

September 20, 2005

Ukrainian media reported that with 226 votes required for approval, his candidacy was supported by 223 deputies.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko appointed Yekhanurov as acting prime minister after he fired Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko's government amid allegations of high-level corruption.

Yushchenko earlier held meetings today with lawmakers in a bid to gather support for Yekhanurov before today's vote.

Tymoshenko, who joined the opposition after being dismissed, had also been meeting lawmakers in a bid to defeat Yekhanurov.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian media reported today that investigators have opened criminal cases against leading officials from the country's security service.

Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun confirmed the investigation was under way but did not specify whether former National Security Council chief Petro Poroshenko was being investigated.

Poroshenko was dismissed along with the rest of Ukraine's government earlier this month.

President Yushchenko ordered a special commission be formed to investigate corruption allegations after his former chief-of-staff Oleksandr Zinchenko resigned two weeks ago and accused Poroshenko and other top aides of corruption.

Poroshenko said last night that he was "shocked" when he heard about the investigations.

Piskun said that Tymoshenko was not among those being investigated.

(Agencies)

See also:

More news and analysis on Ukraine

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

'Police Detain Stuffed Animals' In Minsk Toy Protest

Belarusian youth activists say police have "detained" some stuffed animals used in an antigovernment protest in Minsk, in an echo of similar recent protests in Russia. More

There are frequent reports in the Bulgarian and Ukrainian media about Romanian “pirates” robbing passing transport ships on the Danube. (file photo)

Reports Of 'Pirates Of The Danube' Get The Old Heave-Ho

An attack last month on a Ukrainian barge on the Romanian sector of the Danube River has caused a diplomatic tussle between Bucharest and Kyiv, sparking media reports of possible acts of piracy on Europe's second-largest river. But do “Danube pirates” actually exist? More