Outcome unclear in Dutch referendum on EU-Ukraine pact:
By RFE/RL
An early exit poll for a Dutch referendum on a European Union pact with Ukraine says it is unclear whether enough voters turned out to cast ballots, leaving the vote's validity up in the air.
Reuters and the Associated Press cited a poll showing voters who cast ballots rejecting the proposed agreement 64 percent to 32 percent.
But the poll showed turnout hovering just under the 30 percent minimum required for it to be legally valid.
The referendum concerned a proposed agreement between the bloc and Ukraine, something that would give Ukraine's battered economy a potential boost.
All 27 EU members have ratified the pact, except for the Netherlands.
The results of the April 6 referendum were nonbinding, but were still being closely watched across the continent for initial hints of what British voters might do in June when they vote on whether to leave the European Union altogether.
LATEST: Polling has ended in the Netherlands, where a referendum was held on an EU-Ukraine treaty. Exit polls say turnout is too close to call whether the vote will be valid due to a 30 percent minimum.
Yatsenyuk says oil to be added to list of banned Russian goods:
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says he will introduce a ban on oil products from Russia.
Ukraine has put up stiff barriers against goods from Russia over Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has responded with its own trade ban on Ukrainian goods.
Yatsenyuk told a government meeting in Kyiv on April 6 that "we have introduced a number of sanctions against Russia. But for some reason, one of the key elements -- the purchase of Russian oil products -- did not make this list."
He asked the economy minister to "develop a mechanism for banning the purchase of oil products from the aggressor, which Russia is."
Ukraine and several Western countries accuse Russia of providing money, troops, and weapons to the separatists, a charge Moscow denies.
Yatsenyuk added that he wanted to exclude Russia from proposed legislation eliminating import tariffs on used automobiles. (AFP, Interfax)
Poroshenko defends himself over "Panama Papers" leak:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has defended himself in the massive leak of records on offshore accounts that has named political officials, business and celebrities from around the world.
Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo on April 6, Poroshenko said that an offshore holding company set up for his candy business was a necessary step to put his assets into a blind trust when he became president in 2014.
Commentators say the leaks have raised suspicion that such offshore entities were set up to avoid taxes. Iceland's prime minister resigned as the scandal deepened on April 5.
Poroshenko insisted that his case is different than Iceland's or Russia's, and that the company was not set up to minimize taxes.
He is in Japan this week to meet the Japanese prime minister and business leaders. (AP, Interfax)