Europe

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/: Moscow and Minsk keep getting stronger and are capable of handling the most difficult challenges, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Monday.

PARIS, March 27 (Reuters) - Trade union protesters angered by President Emmanuel Macron's move to raise the French retirement age without a final vote in parliament blocked the Louvre museum in Paris on Monday, frustrating crowds of visitors.

Demonstrating peacefully against plans to make most French work an extra two years to 64 to balance the pension budget, a small number of protesters gathered at the foot of the Louvre's glass pyramid. One banner read "Retire at 60 - work less to live longer."

A queue of disappointed tourists snaked through the courtyard.

MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Russian air defences halted a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian town on Sunday in which three people were hurt and apartment blocks were damaged, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously denied Russian assertions that its drones - also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) - have flown into Russian territory and caused damage to civilian infrastructure.

KYIV, March 27 (Reuters) - Ukraine's ground forces commander said on Monday his troops were continuing to repel heavy Russian attacks on the eastern city of Bakhmut and that defending it was a "military necessity".

Ukraine's military said Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi had acted during a visit to the eastern front line to solve "problematic issues that prevent effective execution of combat tasks" and taken "operational decisions aimed at strengthening our capabilities to deter and inflict damage on the enemy."

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, March 27 (Reuters) - Airports and bus and train stations across Germany were at a standstill on Monday, causing disruption for millions at the start of the working week during one of the largest walkouts in decades as Europe's biggest economy reels from inflation.

The 24-hour strikes called by the Verdi trade union and railway and transport union EVG were the latest in months of industrial action which has hit major European economies as higher food and energy prices dent living standards.

LONDON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- A major incident has been declared after around 200 barrels of reservoir fluid leaked into Poole Harbour, in Southern England's Dorset on Sunday, local authorities have said.

"It is estimated that approximately 200 barrels of reservoir fluid has been released into the water column in Poole Harbour," said Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) in a statement.

Typically, there are five main types of reservoir fluids: black oil, volatile oil, condensate (retrograde gas), wet gas, and dry gas.

BUDAPEST, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Hungary welcomed its first group of Chinese tourists at the Budapest airport on Sunday after three years of COVID-19 pandemic-related hiatus.

The group of 22 tourists, scheduled for a nine-day stay in Hungary, was greeted by officials from the Hungarian Tourism Agency and the Budapest Airport upon their arrival.

The Chinese tourists were greeted by a local Hungarian in traditional folklore dress, and were each presented with gifts as a token of appreciation for choosing Hungary as their holiday destination.

AMSTERDAM, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese, Dutch airlines resumed their direct flights from Amsterdam to Beijing on Sunday after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic.

At a boarding gate at Schiphol Airport to a fully-booked China Southern Airlines flight to Beijing, passengers were presented with colorful wooden tulip flowers as gifts to mark the memorable occasion.

The passengers departed from the Schiphol Airport at 8:40 p.m. local time and were scheduled to arrive at Beijing Daxing International Airport after a 10-hour-flight.

ZAGREB, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The second Summit for Democracy, hosted by the United States, is aiming not for democracy but confrontation with countries like Russia as its opponent and China as its competitor, said Davor Gjenero, a Croatian political analyst.

Through the so-called Summit for Democracy, set for March 29-30, the United States, according to its "American democracy" standard, attempts to divide the world into "democratic" and "non-democratic" countries.

BERLIN (AP) — Trains, planes and public transit systems stood still across much of Germany on Monday as labor unions called a major one-day strike over salaries in an effort to win inflation-busting raises for their members.

The 24-hour walkout — one of the biggest in decades — also affected cargo transport by rail and ship, as workers at the country’s ports and waterways joined the strike.

Many commuters opted to drive to work, causing some delays on the roads, while those who could worked from home.