Ukraine appoints new central bank chief

Ukrainian Parliament Friday voted to approve Igor Sorkin, former acting head of the country's central bank, as the new chairman of the bank. Sorkin, who served as the deputy governor of the National Bank (NBU) -- the central bank of Ukraine in 2010-2012, won 231 votes cast in the 450-seat parliament. Sorkin, 45, will replace Sergey Arbuzov, who resigned last month to become the deputy prime minister. The new central bank head, who will serve a 7-year term, said he would focus on the reduction of interest rates and raising public confidence in the national currency hryvnia.