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MOSCOW (Mineweb.com) -- It is almost forty years since those fine falsettos, the Bee Gees, put their pop classic, “Massachusetts”, on the top of the charts. They had no idea that their lyrics might become the alleged plot of a scheme by a trio of Ukrainian metal men to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds from the processing of manganese ore, and the sale of ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and silicomanganese to steelmakers around the world. “And the lights all went out in Massachusetts,” sang Robin and Barry Gibb. “They brought me back to see my way with you.” On...

Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-friendly politician defeated by the pro-Western Orange Revolution five years ago, was on course for a big win in the first round of Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday. By Andrew Osborn in Kiev Published: 6:44PM GMT 17 Jan 2010 Early exit polls suggested Mr Yanukovych , 59, would claim almost a third of the vote and be anything up to ten percentage points ahead of his nearest rival Yulia Tymoshenko, the current prime minister. The result underscores the failure of a revolution meant to pull Ukraine out of Russia's orbit and set it on a firmly Western...

Ukraine's pro-Western government has collapsed after the Russian invasion of Georgia triggered a political struggle between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko over whether the country's destiny lies with the West or Moscow. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, speaker of the Ukraine's parliament, told MPs on Tuesday that the governing coalition linked to the popular "Orange Revolution" of 2004 was over. "I officially declare the coalition of democratic forces in Ukraine's parliament dissolved," he said. "This has been long expected, but for me it is extremely sad." Ukraine's MPs now have 30 days to try and form a new ruling government...

Ukraine's prime minister has sharply criticised the country's president for restoring displays of military hardware to Sunday's independence day parade amid fears of provoking Russia. ... Grigory Nemyria, vice-prime minister and Miss Timoshenko's closest advisor, told The Daily Telegraph that differences over the parade formed part of a much wider divergence between the two leaders. "The prime minister thinks the military parade is inappropriate because of the cost at a time when Ukraine has to cope with severe flooding but also because this flexing of muscles is a provocation," he said. Preparations for the parade have given Kiev the feel...

A city jail guard may have betrayed his badge to help an accused cop-killer, slipping the ex-con a handcuff key in a foiled escape plot, sources told the Daily News. The unidentified Rikers Island officer is under investigation for conspiring with Lee Woods, one of three men charged with killing Brooklyn police officer Russel Timoshenko, the sources said. Lee Woods, accused of killing Officer Russel Timoshenko The murder suspect swallowed the key - believed to have come from the correction officer - but never had a chance to use it. A jailhouse metal detector picked up the key in his...

· 'Lame duck' Ukraine president plans to appeal · Former orange revolution ally votes with opposition The man who led Ukraine's orange revolution two years ago has been transformed into a lame-duck president following a humiliating parliamentary vote that effectively strips him of all powers. Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's opposition leader turned president, no longer has the power to veto the choice of prime minister or foreign minister. Lawyers for President Yushchenko said yesterday that they were preparing to appeal, describing the move as "unconstitutional". However, Mr Yushchenko appears to be the big loser in Ukraine's latest constitutional battle, which has...

An "orange coalition" is still the most likely outcome of a Ukrainian election won by the revolution's opponent, says Taras Kuzio. ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: By Taras Kuzio Open Democracy, London, UK, Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Ukraine held its fourth parliamentary elections on 26 March in an atmosphere totally different to earlier elections. President Viktor Yushchenko can be credited with ensuring that it has been Ukraine's first free and fair poll since the country became an independent state in January 1992. The democratic breakthrough initiated by the orange revolution of November 2004-January 2005 has been consolidated. This is in stark contrast...

Ex-Chief of State Committee of Entrepreneurship reckons that Ukraine needs to get rid of nonprofessionals and populists of the power. Inna Bogoslovskaya states it during online conference which is going on right now on ForUm. In response to the question "how can Ukraine overcome a crisis" she named the steps which would benefit the situation in the country: "the first one is to make a revision of new appointees and to get rid of nonprofessionals and populists and then to appoint real professionals to their posts; the second one is to make the power consistence more homogeneous by dismissal of...

President Viktor Yushchenko met Feb. 11 with a U.S. congressional delegation that included two prominent U.S. senators who have nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. The 11-member delegation that included Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain discussed ways to strengthen U.S.-Ukrainian relations, develop democratic values in this ex-Soviet state and the new government's plans to attract foreign investment, Yushchenko's office said. In meetings with parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, McCain said they also discussed assistance in the clean-up of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster and U.S. assistance to Ukraine in its efforts to join the World Trade Organization and the European...

One day after he was inaugurated as Ukraine's third president, Viktor Yushchenko appointed a powerful and radical triumvirate. Yulia Tymoshenko, of the eponymous bloc, was named prime minister; businessman Petro Poroshenko secretary of the National Security Council; and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the head of the Yushchenko election campaign, became state secretary. Zinchenko's position replaces that of head of the presidential administration. Of the three positions, only Tymoshenko's requires parliamentary approval, and parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn expects her to obtain a large majority when she is proposed this coming week. Why Tymoshenko? One reason is that a secret agreement between Yushchenko and...

UKRAINE'S new prime minister, Yulia Timoshenko, has begun a battle to clear her fugitive husband of corruption allegations and punish his accusers' allies in the regime ousted in Kiev's Orange Revolution. She has protested to the Supreme Court about a criminal case brought by allies of the former president, Leonid Kuchma, against Alexander Timoshenko, her husband, who is now in hiding abroad. The action is the first shot in what is likely to be a passionate campaign by the fiery politician against Kuchma and his cronies to avenge their attempts to have her, her husband and her father-in-law imprisoned on...

KIEV -- Ukrainian prosecutors said Friday that they have closed a case against Prime Minister-designate Yulia Tymoshenko and her family members due to lack of evidence. "We are ending all proceedings because there are no elements of any wrongdoing," Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun told reporters. "One cannot live a life under investigation." He said prosecutors ended their probe into Tymoshenko's alleged attempted bribery "five or six days ago," shortly after she was named acting prime minister. Last May, prosecutors accused Tymoshenko of trying to bribe a judge to end court proceedings against a former associate from the gas distribution company...