BREXIT DONE? NOT SO FAST. BRITAIN, EU ENTER NEW TRADE DEAL BATTLEJust three days after their formal parting, Britain and the European Unionwere already at loggerheads Monday over a future trade deal, setting thestage for months of bluster and bickering over how to refashion theireconomic and political ties.With Britain's formal exit from the bloc Friday night, many Britons hadhoped to finally put the Brexit nightmare behind them.But judging by the statements from both sides of the English Channel onMonday, that hope seems likely to be unfulfilled.In remarks in Brussels, Europe's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, adopted asteely tone, insisting that Britain must commit to preventing unfaircompetition if it wants access to the market of 450 million Europeanswithout tariffs and quotas.Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded from London by threatening to walkaway from talks if the EU tries to tie Britain too closely to its rules as aprice for a free-trade agreement. Johnson also called for an end to"hysterical" fears about American food entering Britain - a reminder toEuropeans that he hopes to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the UnitedStates, too.Analysts had expected both sides to adopt tough opening positions on trade,but after decades of membership, Britain is becoming an economic competitorto the EU. If the combative exchanges Monday are any indication, thosediscussions will be hard fought and acrimonious."This is the early phase, and the chest-beating phase of the negotiation,"said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, aresearch institute in London. "In the next couple of months we will see bothsides standing firm and appealing to domestic audiences."On Monday there were few surprises for trade experts, Lowe said, adding thatserious progress in talks is unlikely before the fall. For an agreement tobe struck this year, he added, "the U.K. will have to move a lot and the EUwill have to move a little."AUDIO CAPTURED IRAN PLANE DOWNING: 'THAT SURELY IS THE LIGHT FROM A MISSILE'A leaked air-traffic control audiotape captures the frantic minutes after anIranian Revolutionary Guard unit mistakenly launched a missile that downed aUkrainian airliner that had just taken off from Tehran's internationalairport.After a transcript of the recording was released by a Ukrainian news siteSunday, Iran halted its cooperation with Ukraine's inquiry into thedisaster, already described as reluctant, officials said. The Iranians saidthey expected such evidence would have been kept confidential.On the tape, an Iranian air traffic controller can be heard talking to apilot on an arriving Iranian plane, who appears to be the first to warn oftrouble."Flares on route, as if from a missile," the pilot reported. "Shouldanything like this be happening there?""We were not informed of this," the controller said. "What does this lightlook like?"The reply: "That surely is the light from a missile."When the controller then tried to raise the crew of Ukraine InternationalAirlines Flight 752, there was no response.The Iranian pilot reports seeing an explosion, then sought reassurance: "Isour course OK?""Yes," the controller said. "I don't think there will be any problem foryou.""God forbid!" the pilot responded.Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, verified the audio recording'sauthenticity and said it had been obtained by Ukrainian crash investigators.The Iranians did not dispute its authenticity.Its leak to the news site seemed to reflect frustration among Ukrainiangovernment officials over what they said was Iran's lack of cooperation inthe inquiry, particularly its refusal to hand over the downed plane's blackboxes.CHINA ADMITS 'SHORTCOMINGS' IN VIRUS RESPONSEBEIJING, China - China's top leadership has admitted "shortcomings anddifficulties" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak, as state mediasaid a new hospital built at breakneck pace began receiving patients in theepicenter of the crisis.Sixty-four new deaths were confirmed on Tuesday - surpassing Monday's recordto post the new biggest daily increase since the virus was detected latelast year in the central city of Wuhan.The death toll in China stood at 425, exceeding the 349 mainland fatalitiesfrom the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002-03, whichkilled nearly 800 globally.The government in Beijing nevertheless hit out at the United States forsparking "panic" with its response to the coronavirus, including a ban onforeigners who have recently been to China.As it races to try to contain the spread of the virus, China's elitePolitburo Standing Committee called for improvements to the "nationalemergency management system" following "shortcoming and difficulties exposedin the response to the epidemic," according to the official Xinhua newsagency."It is necessary to strengthen market supervision, resolutely ban andseverely crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade," the Politburosaid in a meeting on Monday, Xinhua reported.The government also said it "urgently" needed medical equipment and surgicalmasks, protective suits, and safety goggles as it battles to control theoutbreak.But factories capable of producing around 20 million masks a day are onlyoperating at 60-70 percent of capacity, industry department spokesman TianYulong said, adding that supply and demand remained in "tight equilibrium"as a result of the Lunar New Year break.Tian said authorities were taking steps to bring in masks from Europe, Japanand the United States.US DEMANDS MORE FROM TALIBAN ON CEASEFIRE BEFORE DEALUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday demanded "demonstrable evidence"from the Taliban that it can and will reduce violence before signing a dealthat would lead to Afghanistan peace talks and a withdrawal of Americantroops from the country.Speaking at a news conference in neighboring Uzbekistan, Pompeo said a dealis close but that they have been close before and failed because the Talibanwas unable to demonstrate its seriousness. He said more work remains to bedone so that peace talks can get started."We're working on a peace and reconciliation plan, putting the commas in theright place, getting the sentences right," he said."We got close once before to having an agreement: a piece of paper that wemutually executed and the Taliban were unable to demonstrate either theirwill or capacity or both to deliver on a reduction in violence.""So, what we are demanding now is demonstrable evidence of their will andcapacity to reduce violence, to take down the threat, so the inter-Afghantalks . will have a less violent context," he said. "We're hopeful we canachieve that but we're not there yet, and work certainly remains."Pompeo's comments came just two days after U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzadarrived in Kabul and told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani there has been "nonotable progress" in talks with the Taliban. However, Khalilzad said he washopeful of reaching an understanding with them on a reduction ofhostilities, without offering any time frame.IOWA DEMOCRATS BEGIN CAUCUS MEETINGS, KICKING OFF SEARCH FOR TRUMP ELECTIONCHALLENGERIowa Democrats began meeting at caucus sites around the state on Monday,kicking off what could be a bruising months-long national nominating fightto choose a November election challenger to Republican U.S. President DonaldTrump.Voters poured into more than 1,600 schools, community centers and otherpublic locations to render judgment on a field of 11 Democratic contendersled by front-runners Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former VicePresident Joe Biden, who have battled for the top in recent Iowa opinionpolls.Long lines and heavy crowds were reported in some locations, but doors tothe caucus sites were supposed to close at 7 p.m. CST (0100 GMT on Tuesday),and results are expected to begin rolling in within an hour or two.Mostly white, rural Iowa is the first test in the state-by-state battle topick a Democratic nominee to face Trump in the Nov. 3 election. After morethan a year of campaigning and more than $800 million in spending, theresults in Iowa could begin to provide answers for a party desperatelytrying to figure out how to beat the businessman-turned-president.IMRAN KHAN LEAVES FOR MALAYSIA TO PLACATE PM MAHATHIR FOR SKIPPING KEYISLAMIC SUMMITPakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 3 embarked on a two-day visitto Malaysia to placate the country's leadership after he skipped a majorsummit of Muslim nations in Kuala Lumpur, solidify the bilateral strategicpartnership and discuss the situation in South Asia.Prime Minister Khan's visit will contribute to further strengthening thehistoric Pakistan-Malaysia ties and taking bilateral cooperation to a higherlevel, the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.Mr. Khan's visit to Malaysia at the invitation of his Malaysian counterpartMahathir Mohamad comes after he skipped the Kuala Lumpur summit of some 20Muslim countries in December attended by leaders from countries like Iran,Turkey and Qatar.Mr. Khan did not attend the summit, reportedly due to pressure exerted bySaudi Arabia, which had extended liberal financial assistance to Mr. Khan'sPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government to stave off the looming economiccrisis, Dawn newspaper reported.The Express Tribune, quoting sources, reported that the visit of PrimeMinister Khan is aimed at removing misgivings Malaysia may have aboutPakistan for skipping the Kuala Lumpur summit.Pakistan initially confirmed its participation at the summit but changed itsmind after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries voiced concerns over it.Riyadh is reported to have viewed the summit as an attempt to create a newIslamic bloc, the reports said.SRI LANKA DROPS TAMIL ANTHEM FROM I-DAY CELEBRATIONSColombo: For the first time since 2016, there will be no Tamil nationalanthem at the 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Sri Lanka and it willonly be rendered in Sinhalese, the government announced on Monday, amplydemonstrating the administration's priority for the majority Sinhalacommunity. The then Sri Lankan government in 2015 started including theTamil national anthem as a means of achieving reconciliation with the Tamilminority community. PtiCANADIANS' NO TO FUNDING HARRY, MEGHAN'S SECURITYMontreal: A clear majority of Canadians feel their country does not have topay for security for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who havesettled in British Columbia. Seventy-seven per cent of people surveyed byNanos Research, for CTV, believe the Candian taxpayer does not have to payfor the Duke and Duchess of Sussex because they are not in Canada asrepresentatives of the Queen. Canada is a parliamentary monarchy and QueenElizabeth II is the reigning head of state. AFPSWEDISH LAWMAKERS NOMINATE GRETA FOR NOBEL PEACECopenhagen: Two Swedish lawmakers have nominated climate activist GretaThunberg, 17, for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. Left Party leaders Jens Holmand Hakan Svenneling on Monday said Thunberg "has worked hard to makepoliticians open their eyes to the climate crisis" and "action for reducingour emissions and complying with the Paris Agreement is also an act ofmaking peace."