The Ukrainian parliament has voted overwhelmingly to temporarily hand Presidental powers to parliamentary speaker Oleksandr Turchinov.

Turchinov is an ally of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is set to visit Ukraine later on this Monday.

On top of President Viktor Yanukovych being ousted from power, MP's have also voted on Sunday to remove a string of government ministers.

This comes on the heels of a vote by parliament on Friday to return to a 10-year-old constitution that grants parliament greater powers. 

Yanukovych, whose whereabouts remain unknown, has insisted he still remains in power, despite fleeing Kiev on Saturday.

He has been since accused by his ruling Party of being responsible for the deadly violence in the country which has left close to 100-dead since last week.

 

Russia to delay promised Ukraine bailout

The Russian government has decided to delay a promised bailout for Ukraine following the dramatic collapse of the government in Kiev over the weekend.

The revelation has been made on the sidelines of G20 meeting in Sydney.

Russia's finance minister says Russia is going to wait until a new government is formed before a decision can be made about the promised financing.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde says her organization is ready to help Ukraine.

However, she says the IMF needs to see the formation of an interim government before it can restart bailout talks.

Russia has previously promised to buy 15 billion US dollar worth of Ukrainian bonds.

It also promised to float a loan of some 2-billion US dollars until Presidental elections were slated to be held next year.

 

Chinese FM comments on UN resolution on Syria

The Chinese government is welcoming a new UN Security Council resolution on Syria.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the UN resolution, which was passed this weekend, shows important progress towards a political solution of the Syrian crisis. 

The UN Security Council resolution demands President Bashar Assad's government and the opposition provide immediate access across the country for the delivery of aide.

The Syrian government has reportedly voiced support for the resolution.

Wang Yi's comments have come following a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad.

The Chinese foreign minister has arrived in the Iraqi capital following a stop in Afghanistan.

 

Local elections start in Ecuador

Local elections are underway in Ecuador.

Close to 28-thousand candidates are vying for over 56-hundred local electoral seats.

Among the top prizes in the election are the Mayoral seats in the capital, Quito, as well as the country's largest city of Guayaquil.

Voting is compulsory for Ecuadorians between the ages of 18 and 65.

Around 70-thousand police and military officers have been dispatched across the South American country to ensure the vote goes off smoothly.

 

Estonia's PM to resign: media

Estonia's long-serving Prime Minister has announced his plans to step down from his post.

Andrus Ansip, who has been the head of government for the last 9-years, says he will officially submit his resignation to the country's President on March 4th.

Ansip's decision has been widely expected, as he has already announced he will not seek re-election in the forthcoming national election, which is slated in March of next year.

It's widely expected Ansip is going to lobby to become Estonia's EU Commissioner when he steps down.

He's expected to be replaced by Siim Kallas.

The 65-year old Kallas is currently the European Union vice president.

 

China's giant pandas arrive at Belgian airport

A pair of giant pandas from southwest China's Sichuan Province arrived at a Belgian airport on Sunday before leaving for their new home in the Pairi Daiza zoo, some 60 km to the southwest of Brussels.

The pandas, Xing Hui, the male and Hao Hao, the female, are both 4 years old and are on lease from a breeding center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. 

Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Liao Liqiang are among the welcoming group at the Brussels Airport. The pair arrived by charted DHL aircraft. 

The lease term for Xinghui and Hao Hao is 15 years.

 

253 mln holiday trips on China's trains

China's railways have sped passengers to their destinations 253 million times since this year's "chunyun" began 38 days ago according to China Railway Corporation.

On Saturday, more than 7.7 million journeys were made on Chinese railways, and 7.5 million are expected for Sunday. The corporation says it would run 487 extra trains on Sunday to cope.

 

Samsung Electronics Reveals Samsung Gear 2 Smartwatch

Samsung is rolling out its Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch to help kick start the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The smartwatch runs on a Samsung-backed operating system called Tizen.

Samsung says the new smartwatch will come in two models, including a lower-priced version with no camera function.

The second generation of its smartwatch sees the camera being moved onto the main body of the wristwatch.

The camera on the first-generation of the watch is embedded in the watch strap.

The new watch will feature a slightly faster processor and a more powerful battery that Samsung says will allow for two to three days of typical use.