Briefs

• Truce sought amid chaos

Ukraine opposition urges protesters to simmer down

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - A top Ukrainian opposition leader on Thursday urged protesters to maintain a shaky truce with police after at least two demonstrators were killed in clashes this week, but some in the crowd appeared defiant, jeering and chanting "revolution" and "shame."

Emerging from hours-long talks with President Viktor Yanukovych, opposition leader Oleh Tyahnybok asked demonstrators in Kiev for several more days of a truce, saying the president has agreed to ensure the release of dozens of detained protesters and stop further detentions.

But other opposition leaders offered mixed reports on the outcome of the meeting, with Vitali Klitschko saying negotiations had achieved little.

He and Tyanhnybok were booed at the barricades by angry demonstrators and the atmosphere appeared tense.

"We are not going to sit and wait for nobody-knows-what," said Andriy Pilkevich, a ski mask-wearing protester who was building barricades near police lines from giant bags of ice. "Those who want to win must fight."

Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko issued a statement guaranteeing that police would not take action against the large protest camp on Independence Square, known as the Maidan. He also called on the police to exercise calm and not react to provocations.

The developments came as hundreds of enraged protesters in several regions in western Ukraine, where Yanukovych has little support, seized government offices and forced one governor loyal to Yanukovych to resign.

At least two people were killed by gunfire Wednesday at the site of clashes in Kiev. Demonstrators had pelted riot police with barrages of stones and set police buses on fire, while the officers responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.

Opposition leaders had set a Thursday evening deadline for the government to make concessions or face renewed clashes. Protesters had quenched barricades that had been set on fire, but lit them again during the evening.

Although one opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said after the talks that "there is a really good chance" of stopping the bloodshed, Klitschko was more downbeat.

"The only thing we were able to achieve was not much," a grim Klitschko told the crowd.

He urged protesters to refrain from violence and continue peaceful protests to avoid further bloodshed.

"I am afraid, yes, I am afraid of human losses," Klitschko said. "We will be widening the territory of the Maidan further until these guys start reckoning with us."

Michigan seeks visas to lure immigrants to Detroit

DETROIT (AP) - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder asked the federal government Thursday to set aside thousands of work visas for bankrupt Detroit, a bid to revive the decaying city by attracting talented immigrants who are willing to move there and stay for five years.

The Republican governor has routinely touted immigration as a powerful potential force for increasing Detroit's economy, saying immigrant entrepreneurs start many small businesses and file patents at twice the rate of U.S.-born citizens.

"Let's send a message to the entire world: Detroit, Michigan, is open to the world," Snyder said at a news conference.

The proposal involves EB-2 visas, which are offered every year to legal immigrants who have advanced degrees or show exceptional ability in certain fields.

But the governor's ambitious plan faces significant hurdles: The visas are not currently allocated by region or state. And the number he is seeking - 50,000 over five years - would be a quarter of the total EB-2 visas offered.

The program would require no federal financial bailout, the governor said, only the easing of immigration rules and visa limits to help fill jobs in automotive engineering, information technology, health care and life sciences.

"It's really taking up the offer of the federal government to say they want to help more," Snyder said. "Isn't this a great way that doesn't involve large-scale financial contributions from the federal government to do something dramatic in Detroit?"

He said the Obama administration has "been receptive to us bringing significant ideas to them, and this would be near the top of the list."

Snyder, a first-term governor who made millions as a computer industry executive and venture capitalist, said it's not clear whether the White House could act administratively or if such a change would require legislative action.

He said he's talking about the proposal with Michigan's congressional delegation and plans private meetings Friday with administration officials while in Washington for a panel discussion about the economic benefits of an immigration overhaul.

The governor's proposal seemed to take officials by surprise at the State Department, which works with the Homeland Security Department to decide on visa requests.

In Washington, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters Thursday that she was aware of the governor's comments but had no immediate response.

Snyder's office has said immigrants created nearly one-third of the high-tech businesses in Michigan in the last decade, and he cited a study that found for every job that goes to an immigrant, 2.5 are created for U.S.-born citizens.

Being more welcoming to immigrants would also make the city more attractive to employers.