KIEV, Dec. 13 – Lawmakers will vote Friday whether to approve Yulia Tymoshenko as Ukraine’s new prime minister, three days after a previous vote had failed due to an unexplained computer malfunction, Parliament Speaker Arseniy Yatseniuk said Wednesday.

DONETSK, Dec. 11 - A fall in coal extraction or complete shutdown by the Zasyadko mine, which annually extracts over 3.3 million tons of coking coal, would lead to an increase in coal shortages, which would affect Ukrainian metallurgy, according to director of coal and coke division of Metinvset-Holding Ltd., Volodymyr Husak.

KIEV, Dec. 12 ??“ Groups that for days have been opposing Kiev Mayor Leonid Chernovetskiy??™s plans to hike tariffs on housing and utilities will continue to block the Kiev city council, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said.

KIEV, Dec. 13 ??“ A Ukrainian government team is expected to leave for Geneva on Thursday to report the country has approved all required bills for accession to the World Trade Organization, an official said Wednesday.

KIEV, Dec. 13 ??“ The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that President Viktor Yushchenko??™s demands to increase minimum wages and pensions in 2007 would cost $2 billion, twice as much as has been earlier thought.

KIEV, Dec. 13 ??“ Tensions rose sharply between President Viktor Yushchenko and the government on Wednesday after the Cabinet had warned the presidential veto on the 2007 budget would cause economic instability and political crisis.

KIEV, Dec. 13 ??“ Ukraine??™s economic growth will probably not exceed 3% on the year in 2005 and will be slower than 3.5% that the government has forecast, a central bank official said Tuesday. Ukraine??™s economy has been slowing down since the start of the year, but the slowdown had stopped in September and October

MOSCOW, Dec. 13 ??“ Russia and Ukraine started to draw up contingency plans Tuesday for a possible escalation of natural gas dispute after Gazprom had rejected Ukraine??™s plan for a gradual increase of gas prices.

MOSCOW, Dec. 13 ??“ Russian gas giant Gazprom seeks to get an undisclosed stake in Ukrainian natural gas pipelines as a compromise to end an ongoing natural gas dispute, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said Tuesday.

KIEV, Dec. 13 - An auction to sell a 32.8% stake in Ukrainian oil refinery Galychyna was postponed until Jan. 25, 2006 from Dec. 15 as has been originally planned, Sokrat, a Kiev-based brokerage, said Tuesday.