Arseniy Yatsenyuk approved as new Ukraine PM

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's parliament has approved Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the country's new prime minister.

The vote was held today amid the sharp rise in tensions in the southern Crimea region, where gunmen seized local government buildings and raised a Russian flag.

The 39-year-old Yatsenyuk has previously served as the economy minister and foreign minister, and a Speaker of parliament.

He was approved by 371 votes in the 450-member parliament.

• 

  New Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk speaks to lawmakers during a session at the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014. (AP / Sergei Chuzavkov)

• 

  A Pro-Russian demonstrator holds up a Russian flag during a protest in front of a local government building in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

• 

  A Crimean Tatar shouts slogans and waves the ethnic flag of the Crimean Tatars during a protest in front of a local government building in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)