Energy-starved Ukraine said on Tuesday it had received the first Russian natural gas shipments since a politically charged price dispute saw Moscow cut off supplies to its Westward-leaning neighbor in June.

The announcement means that the war-torn nation of 45 million people should have enough power to heat homes through the bitter winter months.

Shares in Australian energy companies were hammered Tuesday by plunging oil and commodity prices, with BHP hitting a five-year low and Santos at levels not seen for a decade.

Oil and gas companies were among the biggest losers on Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 index as the energy sector shed 4.81 percent. It is down 22.24 percent over the past month.

Greek stocks lost over 6.5 percent on Tuesday after the government unexpectedly brought forward a high-stakes presidential election, sparking fears of a political stalemate.

The Athens general index fell to 967 points an hour after opening, as analysts warned that the uncertainty could stall Greece's fiscal reforms.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce on Tuesday defended the airline after it was forced to divert or turn around three planes in one day, saying its record was better than most.

Three Qantas flights made unscheduled landings on Monday, including an A380 that was put into a controlled descent and requested a priority landing in Perth after its air-conditioning system malfunctioned.

A strike against austerity measures by Belgium's new government on Monday paralyzed public transport and caused havoc with international flights and train services in the capital.

All underground trains, buses and trams were halted in Brussels while high-speed train links to cities in France, the Netherlands and Germany were also suspended, officials said.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Monday it would honor hundreds of business-class tickets sold wrongly at economy fares to ensure travelers' plans are not disrupted.

The airline said in a statement it was investigating the cause of the erroneous sales which saw "business-class booking able to be made at an outdated economy-class fare level".

China's stuttering economy suffered another blow in November as export growth slowed sharply and imports surprisingly contracted, government data showed Monday, resulting in a record monthly trade surplus.

Exports from the world's second-largest economy expanded 4.7 percent year-on-year to $211.66 billion in November, while imports dropped 6.7 percent to $157.19 billion, the General Administration of Customs said.

Embattled Australian carrier Qantas said Monday it had turned the corner after a major shake-up to stem losses, forecasting a swing back into the black in upbeat half-year profit guidance that sent its shares soaring.

Record fuel costs and fierce competition saw the carrier post an underlying loss before tax -- its preferred measure of financial performance -- of Aus$252 million (U.S.$209 million) in the six months to December 31, 2013.

The Greek parliament early Monday adopted a budget for 2015 that was a victory for politicians ready to celebrate the glimmer of returned growth over warnings from international creditors that such a move may be premature.

The budget, which forecast 2.9 percent growth and a deficit of 0.2 percent, was passed by 155 votes for and 134 against after a late-night session.

The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday it would dispatch a team to Ukraine to determine how much extra aid the war-wrecked and energy-starved nation will need to make it through winter.

The nine-day visit due to start on Tuesday comes as Ukraine suffers rolling blackouts and resentment grows over severe IMF-prescribed austerity measures.