Europe

LONDON, November 27. /TASS/: Trade between Russia and the UK may grow to $15 bln by the end of the year mainly thanks to the growth of Russian non-oil-and gas exports to the UK, Boris Abramov, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the United Kingdom, said at the opening the 5th Russian-British Business Forum (RBBF) in London.

"This year our bilateral trade is growing faster than in the previous year and by the end of 2019 we expect the trade to reach $15 bln," he said.

MINSK, November 27. / TASS /: The Belarus' government has planned the price of Russian gas in the 2020 budget at the level of last year — $127 per 1000 cubic meters, the country’s Minister of Finance Maxim Ermolovich told reporters on Wednesday.

"We formed the macro-forecast based on the basic scenario of economic development. The gas price is set at the current year level," Ermolovich said.

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/: As information continues to pour in on the aftermath of yesterday’s earthquake that devastated Albania, its domestic newspaper Koha Jone reported that the death toll has now risen to 27 people.

Earlier reports stated that the catastrophe had taken 21 lives. Albania’s Ministry of Defense reported that the quake left more than 650 injured. The Albanian Telegraph Agency stated that 45 people had been rescued from surrounding rubble.

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/: Two Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers have performed a scheduled 10-hour flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea escorted by Sukhoi Su-35S fighters and an A-50 long-range radar surveillance plane, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Wednesday.

ST. PETERSBURG, November 27. /TASS/: The Kremlin is concerned about proposals for more sanctions against Russian sports, but at the same time believes it is too early to comment on them before a final decision has been made.

"Let’s stay soberly-minded. This news is worrisome. We express regret in this connection," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn offered on Wednesday what he described as evidence that access to Britain’s health service was being discussed in trade talks with the United States, handing reporters hundreds of pages of documents.

Johnson has repeatedly denied that Britain’s National Health Service is on the table in such talks, but Corbyn said he had copies of leaked documents from UK-US Trade and Investment working groups that proved otherwise.

STRASBOURG (Reuters) - Germany conservative Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Wednesday to fight the threat of climate change while expanding economic growth as EU lawmakers’ granted final approval for the bloc’s new executive she will lead from Dec. 1.

EU lawmakers confirmed von der Leyen and her new European Commission in Strasbourg, with 461 voting in favor and 157 against.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil steadied above $64 a barrel on Wednesday as an industry report showing a surprise boost in U.S. crude inventories was offset by optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal being agreed soon.

Oil industry group the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday said U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.6 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease. The U.S. government’s supply report is due later on Wednesday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump poses one of the biggest challenges for the European Union because he is “praying” for the breakup of the bloc, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

Trump has welcomed Britain’s decision to leave the EU, labeling Europe a trade “foe” and questioning the value of the transantlantic defense alliance NATO.

PARIS (Reuters) - French farmers angered by government policies that they say threaten their livelihoods drove convoys of tractors into Paris on Wednesday, obstructing commuter traffic and adding to the social unrest facing President Emmanuel Macron.

Up to a thousand tractors rolled into the city from the north and south, at times blocking motorways and the inner ring-road, honking horns and flying the flags of the two main farm unions staging the protest.