Ukraine's parliament has passed a bill making it easier to form a coalition government. MPs will now be able to enter a coalition as an individual rather than as a member of their political party. Under previous rules, they could only join a coalition if a majority of their party voted to join as a bloc.

The new bill offers recently elected President Viktor Yanukovich the chance to ally with individual members of the party led by departing head of state Viktor Yushchenko. With a parliamentary majority, Mr Yanukovich could then form a new government and start taking action to tackle his country's crippling economic problems.

The Ukrainian parliament is currently locked in a stalemate, with power split between President Yanukovich's followers and the alliance led by former president Yulia Tymoshenko, who last month narrowly lost the election to her rival.