Europe

MOSCOW, January 1. /TASS/: The outgoing year of 2019 has brought many important scientific discoveries. Astronomers obtained the first images of the shadow cast by the event horizon of a supermassive black hole; genetic studies revealed what the ancient Denisovans (Denisova hominins) looked like; and Russian archaeologists discovered the burial site of four Scythian female warriors in the Middle Don basin. Below is TASS' outlook of the scientific prospects that we can look forward to for 2020.

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: Russia’s oil exports reached 266.106 mln tonnes in 2019, which is 3.3% more than a year earlier, the Central Dispatching Department of Fuel Energy Complex reported.

In December 2019, exports dropped 5.2% to nearly 21.8 mln tonnes.

Russia’s oil supplies to non-CIS countries grew by 3.7% in 2019 to reach 248.5 mln tonnes, while deliveries to CIS countries dropped by 2.4% to 17.6 mln tonnes. Oil transit rose by 7.2% to 19.8 mln tonnes.

TULA, January 2. /TASS/: The Kulikovo Field museum preserve will for the first time publish all information at its disposal about weapons, armor fragments and personal artefacts found on the site of the Battle of Kulikovo. A catalogue of photographs, supplied with dates and detailed description, will be published on the occasion of the battle’s 640th anniversary, to be marked in 2020, the museum preserve’s deputy director for science, Andrei Naumov, told TASS on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, January 1. /TASS/: Russia’s aerospace forces will receive about 100 new and modernized aircraft in 2020, the Russian defense ministry said on Wednesday.

"In 2020, the Russian Aerospace Forces will receive about 100 new and modernized aircraft," the ministry said in a press statement.

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has drafted amendments to the federal law on the protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies to oblige civilian population to be evacuated from endangered areas. The bill was uploaded to the portal of regulatory and legal acts on Thursday.

In accordance with the proposed amendments civilians will be obliged to obey evacuation orders following an official announcement or at the demand of officials responsible for the evacuation operation.

SIMFEROPOL, January 2. /TASS/: Crimea’s Head Sergei Aksyonov has described the torchlight march to mark the 111th birth anniversary of leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, outlawed in Russia) Stepan Bandera held in Kiev on January 1 as an insult to the memories of millions of victims of Nazism.

2 January 2020; AFP: After becoming the world's youngest elected leader in 2017 at age 31, Austria's Sebastian Kurz has pulled off yet another surprise.

After working with the far-right party in a coalition government, which was brought down in a corruption scandal, the "Wunderkind", as he is known by some of his fans, has now formed an alliance with the Greens.

LONDON (Reuters) - British businesses reported a fall in Brexit-related uncertainty last month, according to a Bank of England survey that was conducted before and after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s landslide election victory on Dec. 12.

The BoE said a gauge of Brexit uncertainty in its monthly Decision Makers’ Panel survey fell to a six-month low in December.

However, 42% of respondents said they did not expect Brexit uncertainty to be resolved until 2021 at the earliest, up from 34% in November, the BoE said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Keir Starmer, Brexit spokesman for Britain’s opposition Labour Party, has emerged as the early front runner in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader, according to a poll of members.

The party is expected to elect a new leader in March after the veteran socialist Corbyn said he would step down following his party’s heavy election defeat at the hands of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in December.

Starmer has not yet said whether he will run for the leadership but is expected to launch a campaign in the coming weeks. [nL8N28U33Z]

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to begin the new year on Thursday buoyed by signs of improving trade relations between the United States and China which eased demand concerns and rising tensions in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures rose 25 cents to $66.25 a barrel by 0958 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 13 cents at $61.19 per barrel.