the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, in the hope that it would discuss the accusations of fraud and come to a solution. Thousands of people travelled to the capital from across Ukraine, though their journeys were disrupted by government closures of major roads and airports. Similar gatherings of protesters took place in other major cities, especially L'viv. In a session of parliament boycotted by supporters of Yanukovych, Yushchenko took the presidential oath although the parliament lacked the quorum to do this legally. The oath-swearing was thus of purely symbolic value. 24 November Rumours circulated that Yanukovych and Yushchenko had agreed to hold talks to negotiate over the disputed election results; this was later denied, with the government opposition refusing to meet Yanukovych. Protests continued into a third day in Kyiv after an appeal by Yushchenko for their continuation. More supporters of both sides arrived at the city from outlying areas of the country. Riot police were called to protect the election commission building. Yushchenko urged his supporters to engage in a series of nationwide general strikes – an "Orange Revolution", after his campaign color – with the intent of crippling the government and forcing Yanukovych to concede defeat. Hundreds of tents were erected in Kyiv's Independence Square and the nearby Lenin Library was taken over to serve as the protesters' headquarters. The protesters also blockaded the Council of Ministers in Kyiv, paralysing the government. 25 November The Ukrainian Supreme Court ordered the Central Election Commission not to publish the election results until the opposition's charges of electoral fraud had been addressed. This was seen as a major victory for the opposition, as it effectively suspended official recognition of the results. 26 November Round table talks organized by the out-going President Leonid Kuchma began between Yanukovych and Yushchenko. At Kuchma's request high-level foreign mediators also took part in the talks. These were: Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, Russian Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana and OSCE Secretary General Ján Kubiš. Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Volodymyr Lytvyn, was also present at the round table. (ABC News) Television coverage of the opposition rallies, which had hitherto been patchy, was now greatly increased and opposition statements were widely reported for the first time. However, local television stations in Yanukovych's heartland of eastern Ukraine continued to toe the government line by not screening images of the demonstrations.