Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko mocked the president’s nearly fatal 2004 dioxin poisoning, saying on Thursday that Viktor Yushchenko’s main problem was being poisoned by unlimited power.
Tymoshenko is locked in a bitter feud with Yushchenko that has ruined their coalition and put the county on the brink of its third parliamentary elections in as many years.
INVESTIGATION
PHOTO: AFP
She spoke before she was questioned again in a probe into the dioxin poisoning four years ago. No evidence that she was involved has been made public and many see her questioning as part of the political infighting.
“The main poisoning is the poisoning with unlimited power, a serious intoxication in the presidential secretariat,” Tymoshenko told reporters.
The pro-Western coalition of Tymoshenko’s and Yushchenko’s parties fell apart this week because of the two leaders’ rivalry ahead of the 2010 presidential vote and disagreement over how to deal with Russia following its war with Georgia last month.
Yushchenko has strongly condemned Russia’s actions and accused Tymoshenko of kowtowing to the Kremlin by taking a cautious stance on the conflict.
Tymoshenko, while saying she does not support Russia’s recognition of two Georgian separatist regions, stressed that Ukraine needs good relations with its eastern neighbor.
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were the heroes of the 2004 Orange Revolution that catapulted Yushchenko to the presidency.
FRIENDS OF MOSCOW
Experts say a new government is likely to include the Moscow-friendly Party of Regions and could turn Ukraine toward Russia and away from the West.
The poisoning incident came at the height of the 2004 election campaign and left Yushchenko’s face badly disfigured. He has suggested the poisoning may have been orchestrated by Russia.
In a sign that a tough political struggle loomed ahead, lawmakers on Thursday gave an initial approval to a bill that could make disbanding parliament a criminal offense in some cases.
The bill, which was supported by Tymoshenko’s faction in parliament, was a clear warning to Yushchenko, who has threatened to call a new vote if no coalition is formed within the next month.
Yushchenko’s dissolution of parliament last year led to early elections.
Tymoshenko has hinted that she may not want to resign even though the coalition has collapsed.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese