Ukrainians elected billionaire Petro Poroshenko as president, two exit polls showed, handing him the task of stemming deadly separatist violence that’s threatening to rip the former Soviet republic apart. Poroshenko garnered 55.9 percent of the vote, exceeding the 50 percent threshold needed for outright victory, according to the survey by three polling companies e-mailed today. A second poll by four television stations gave him 57.3 percent. Ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko came second out of 21 candidates with 12-13 percent support, the polls showed. “The first-round victory shortens the period of uncertainty and ... (full story)