Ukrainian lawmakers on Friday finished passing the series of bills needed to hold early parliamentary elections, a significant step toward resolving the country's political crisis that some had feared would spill over into violence.
"We unblocked the way for elections," said Ksenia Lyapina, a lawmaker allied with Ukranian President Viktor Yushchenko.
Under an agreement between Yushchenko and his rival, Ukranian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the elections are to be held on Sept. 30.
Ukraine's political tensions soared after Yushchenko's April 2 order to dissolve parliament, which he said was necessary because Yanukovych's majority coalition was allegedly trying to usurp power.
Yanukovych and his supporters refused to recognize the order, calling it unconstitutional.
The argument escalated sharply a week ago when the president fired prosecutor-general Svyatoslav Piskun and the Interior Ministry, led by another Yanukovych ally, sent police to Piskun's office to prevent his eviction.
Yushchenko then took command of the Interior Ministry's troops and ordered some squads sent to the capital, raising concerns that an armed confrontation between the factions would break out.
Tensions cooled when the president and premier last Sunday reached agreement on calling early elections, but that was followed by days of wrangling in parliament over the enabling legislation.
Although the legislation was finally adopted about an hour before the deadline set by Yushchenko, uncertainty remained about how long the current parliament would exist.
A Yanukovych ally, Oleksandr Peklushenko, said the legislature would continue to work.
But the parliament would be dissolved if 151 of its 450 members resign, and Yushchenko backers say 168 deputies are ready to do that.
The dispute has been closely watched in both the West and Russia. The country of 47 million had long been within Moscow's sphere of influence, but Yushchenko aims to move it West and gain eventual membership in NATO and the EU. Yanukovych is seen as more oriented toward Russia.
Among the bills passed on Friday was one setting the minimum turnout level for valid elections at 50 percent, despite opposition demands not to have a minimum. The parliament also dismissed all members of the central election commission and appointed new ones and allocated 365 million hryvna (US$72.3 million) for the early elections.
Also on Friday, Yushchenko appointed Oleksandr Medvedko as prosecutor-general. He had fired Medvedko from the position this year, but brought him back to replace Piskun.
Yushchenko and Yanukovych were bitter rivals in Ukraine's 2004 presidential election. Yanukovych was declared the winner of a fraud-riddled vote that sparked mass protests.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number