Washington - The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday approved a new programme to provide emergency loans to countries facing serious cash shortages in the wake of an ongoing financial crisis.

Countries with a "track record" of solid economic policies can now apply for three-month loans without the usual conditions attached, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said. Typical IMF loans come with certain policy expectations.

Brussels - The European Union on Wednesday launched talks with Ukraine on allowing Ukrainian citizens to travel to the EU without visas, with Kiev targeting a result before 2012.

"This is a very important event in Ukraine-EU relations. ... For us it's absolutely clear that this should be done not in decades but in years: it's essentially important to finish this process before 2012," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ogryzko said.

Kiev - A senior Ukrainian aviation official said Iran intends to purchase and later produce a licensed version of a Ukraine's Antonov 148 mid-range passenger jet, the Interfax news agency reported on Wendesday.

Dmitro Kiva, chairman of the Kiev-headquartered Antonov aerospace factory, said Iran "will fully participate" in the subsequent production of the aircraft.

The An-148 is a twin-engine high-wing passenger plane designed for operation at rough airfields. Ukraine developed the aircraft during the 1990s and certified the single flying prototype in February 2007.

Kiev - Ukraine's parliament must approve a 16.5-billion- dollar assistance package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or the former Soviet republic will face default, the country's national bank head said Tuesday.

Volodymyr Stelmakh, chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), said Kiev desperately needs the low-cost loan, as without it the NBU "almost certainly" would be unable to honour Ukraine's foreign debts.

Stelmakh's statement, made at a Kiev press conference, was Ukraine's clearest warning yet that the world financial crisis had left the country short of cash and on the edge of default on bonds sold in international markets.

Kiev - Ukraine's parliament must approve a 16.5-billion- dollar assistance package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or the former Soviet republic will face default, the country's national bank head said Tuesday.

Volodymyr Stelmakh, chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), said Kiev desperately needs the low-cost loan, as without it the NBU "almost certainly" would be unable to honour Ukraine's foreign debts.

Stelmakh's statement, made at a Kiev press conference, was Ukraine's clearest warning yet that the world financial crisis had left the country short of cash and on the edge of default on bonds sold in international markets.

Kiev/Budapest/Washington - Ukrainians expressed optimism, but still faced a shaky economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will provide financial support to the hard-pressed country.

The IMF on Sunday simultaneously announced a 16.5-billion-dollar credit for Ukraine. Additionally, it said it plans to give Hungary, which is also facing economic problems, a credit of an as-yet- undetermined size.