Communists fail to oust Yeltsin

A long-shot Communist bid to oust President Boris Yeltsin for being ill failed in parliament yesterday. The Communists could not muster enough support to pass the resolution.

Such a resolution would have declared Yeltsin's presidency "terminated"; the Prime Minister, Victor Chernomyrdin, would have been placed in charge, and a presidential election called. But the resolution's sponsor vowed to continue his battle to get rid of Mr Yeltsin and claimed that procedural errors marred the vote.

The move came only hours after Mr Yeltsin showed up at the Kremlin for the first time since falling ill on 6 January. The surprise trip was clearly timed to quell claims that he is too sick to handle government affairs. AP - Moscow