TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuters) – 
Taiwan said on Friday it would buy military helicopters from a European manufacturer, a move that could ignite China’s anger toward Europe following a storm over U.S. arms sales to the island that Beijing claims as its own.
The air force will buy EC-225 search-and-rescue helicopters, defense ministry spokesman Martin Yu said without offering details.
With half the votes tallied in Ukraine’s presidential election held on Sunday, opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich is ahead with 37 percent of the ballots to current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s 24 percent, according to the Central Election Committee.
However, since Yanukovich has seemingly failed to gain a majority vote in the first round, the election process will continue on to a second round which will be held on February 7th.
While Yanukovich is ahead by 13 points after the first round of voting, experts predict Tymoshenko will garner a large percentage of the votes that previously went to the 16 other defeated presidential candidates in Sunday’s election.
The result being a potentially nail-biting finish to an election already wrought with accusations, smear campaigns, and name-calling.
“Yanukovich, who represents criminal circles, has no chance (in the second round),” said Ms. Tymoshenko at a post-election news conference.
Mr. Yanukovich retorted that Ukrainians are evidently ready for a change and said Tymoshenko was, “in despair.”
Although the two presidential hopefuls disagree on several important issues, many are quick to simply distinguish Ms. Tymoshenko as pro-Europe and Mr. Yanukovich as pro-Russia.
That may be due to the fact that Tymoshenko, a former comrade of current president Viktor Yushchenko and of the Orange Revolution, is largely supported in the western, pro-Europe area of the country
In contrast, Yanukovich, a former CPSU member and the man accused of voter fraud in the 2004 election, is against NATO membership and seems to have the support of Russian speaking Ukrainians east of the Dnieper River.
The result of the election may be a key indicator of which direction the country is heading in the future.
Ukraine’s economy has been one of the worst hit by the recent economic crisis with GDP dropping 14 percent in 2009 and its currency, the hryvnia, having a tumultuous year.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich is close to realizing a political comeback after his controversial loss to Viktor Yushchenko in the 2004 presidential election, which was marred with charges of corruption and fraud.
Riding a wave of widespread discontent with the Orange Revolution, recent polls show Yanukovich leading in the presidential polls ahead of current Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko going into the first round of voting this Sunday.
“Together, we have suffered through this Orange nightmare,” Mr. Yanukovich said at a recent rally in Dneprodzerzhinsk. “Let us consign this history to the black pages of our lives.”
Recent opinion polls have Mr. Yanukovich between 25 to 33 percent, Ms. Tymoshenko between 15 to 18 percent, and incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko at a mere three percent.
Yanukovich, whose image as a Kremlin lackey cost him votes in 2006, hopes to repair relations with Russia if elected, which have been strained of late as a result of President Yushchenko’s attempt to gain NATO membership.
“We do not want to join any military bloc,” Mr. Yanukovich has said regarding NATO membership.
“Relations should be natural, as they are between the Ukrainian people and the Russian people. They must be friendly, they must be pragmatic, they must be strategic.”