EU WARNS BREXIT TRADE TALKS UNDER THREAT IF UK BACKSLIDES ON DEAL

The European Union told Britain on Monday that there would be no trade deal

if it tried to tinker with the Brexit divorce treaty, raising the prospect

of a tumultuous end-of-year finale to the saga.

In yet another twist to the four-year saga since Britain voted to quit the

EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government was reported to be planning

new legislation to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement it

signed in January.

That could jeopardize the whole treaty and create frictions in British-ruled

Northern Ireland, where special arrangements had been made to avoid a hard

border with Ireland to the south that could be detrimental to the 1998 peace

agreement which ended three decades of conflict in the province.

"I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an

obligation under international law & prerequisite for any future

partnership," said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU executive.

"Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and

stability on the island & integrity of the single market."

Britain said it would honour the deal and was simply offering clarifications

to avoid any future legal difficulties.

But the Financial Times newspaper cited three people as saying the proposed

internal market bill was expected to "eliminate the legal force of parts of

the withdrawal agreement" in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland

customs.

EU diplomats were aghast, cautioning that such a step, leaked on the eve of

new talks in London, would tarnish Britain's global prestige and heighten

chances of a tumultuous final disentangling from the bloc on Dec. 31.

Sterling fell against the dollar and euro.

Britain said it was committed to the divorce deal.

TRUMP ATTACKS DEMS, KAMALA FOR CHINA TIES

US President Donald Trump faced the humiliation of having his tweets flagged

on Monday after relaying a series of incendiary, race-baiting messages from

an account that was eventually suspended by Twitter. The embarrassment came

even as he launched an all-out attack on Democrats, blaming them for

everything from stray violence in some cities to wars and economic woes,

while singling out vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris for Chinese ties

through her husband.

Some of Trump's tweets were so dubiously-sourced, so lacking in credibility,

and so inflammatory that Twitter suspended the account @alwaysactions that

he generously relayed from. The President's angry outburst on Labor Day came

after polls showed him uniformly trailing Democrat challenger Joe Biden, and

he was excoriated in the media which, with the exception of toxic right-wing

propaganda tools such as Breitbart News and OANN, broadly confirmed that he

has consistently belittled US war heroes and men in uniform who have served

the country. Trump has furiously denied this in the face of overwhelming

accounts that he has done so many times.

On Monday, Trump trained his guns on Democratic vice-presidential nominee

Kamala Harris, retweeting a sketchy story from a right-wing outlet that she

could be vulnerable because DLA Piper, a law firm her husband Doug Emhoff

worked for "boasts nearly 30 years of experience in China and over 140

lawyers dedicated to its 'China Investment Services' branch."

"DLA Piper boasts of having long-established and embedded 'China Desks' in

both the US and Europe" to assist their China-focused consulting, prompting

questions about the firm's potential proximity to the White House could be

leveraged by DLA Piper, exploited by the Chinese Communist Party, or

represent a financial conflict of interest for the Vice Presidential

candidate," story written by an Alt-Right commentator claimed.

The story invited ridicule on Trump because not only do many major law firms

and lobbying groups have China (and for that matter India) Desks, but also

because of Trump's own ties with China, which were strong, over-the-top, and

public before the coronavirus debacle. Liberals critics reminded the

President on social media of his own repeated certification of and shilling

for China, including (according to former NSA John Bolton) asking Beijing

for help in winning a second term.

But Trump continued to batter Democrats with the China hammer, tweeting "Of

course they want Biden. I have taken $Billions from China and given it to

our Farmers and US Treasury. China would own theUSif Biden & Hunter got in!"

SAUDI SCRAPS DEATH SENTENCES OVER KHASHOGGI MURDER, JAILS 8

A Saudi court on Monday overturned five death sentences over journalist

Jamal Khashoggi's murder in a final ruling that jailed eight defendants to

between seven and 20 years, state media reported.

The ruling comes after Khashoggi's sons announced in May that they had

"pardoned" the killers, paving the way for a less severe punishment in a

case that triggered an international outcry.

The verdict, which drew fresh condemnation from campaigners, underscores

Saudi efforts to draw a line under the October 2018 murder as the kingdom

seeks to reboot its international image ahead of November's G20 summit in

Riyadh.

"Five of the convicts were given 20 years in prison and another three were

jailed for 7-10 years," the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing a

spokesman for the public prosecutor.

None of the defendants were named in what was described as the final court

ruling on the murder, which tarnished the global reputation of Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman.

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or

arbitrary executions, slammed Monday's ruling as "one more act today in this

parody of justice".

"These verdicts carry no legal or moral legitimacy," Callamard wrote on

Twitter. "They came at the end of a process which was neither fair, nor

just, or transparent."

That view was echoed by other human rights campaigners.

SAUDI ARABIA WANTS 'FAIR' SOLUTION FOR PALESTINIANS

Saudi Arabia supports a "fair" solution for the Palestinian cause, King

Salman has told Donald Trump in a phone call, as the U.S. President praised

the kingdom for opening its airspace to Israel-UAE flights.

Saudi Arabia has said it will not follow the United Arab Emirates, which

announced last month it would establish diplomatic ties with Israel, until

the Jewish state has signed a peace accord with the Palestinians.

In a phone call to Mr. Trump on Sunday, King Salman affirmed the "kingdom's

keenness to reach a lasting and fair solution to the Palestinian cause to

bring peace", the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Last week, Saudi Arabia agreed to permit UAE flights to "all countries" to

overfly the kingdom.

UNICEF TO LEAD GLOBAL PROCUREMENT, SUPPLY OF COVID VACCINES

In what could possibly be the world's largest and fastest ever operation of

its kind, the UNICEF will be leading the procurement and supply of

coronavirus vaccines to ensure that all countries have safe, fast and

equitable access to initial doses when they are available, it has said.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the world's largest single

vaccine buyer, procuring more than 2 billion doses of various vaccines

annually for routine immunisation and outbreak response on behalf of nearly

100 countries.

With several vaccine candidates showing promise, the UNICEF, in

collaboration with the Revolving Fund of the Pan American Health

Organization (PAHO), will lead efforts to procure and supply doses of

COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility for 92 low

and lower middle-income countries, whose vaccine purchases will be supported

by the mechanism.

The UNICEF will also serve as procurement coordinator to support purchases

by 80 higher-income economies, which have expressed their intent to

participate in the COVAX Facility and would finance the vaccines from their

own budgets, it said.

The vaccine procurement and distribution effort, involving over 170

economies, has the potential to become the world's largest and fastest ever

operation of its kind.

"In our collective pursuit of a vaccine, UNICEF is leveraging its unique

strengths in vaccine supply to make sure that all countries have safe, fast

and equitable access to the initial doses when they are available," UNICEF

executive director Henrietta Fore said.

The COVAX Facility is open to all countries to ensure that no country is

left without access to a future COVID-19 vaccine.

RUSSIA RELEASES FIRST BATCH OF COVID-19 VACCINE SPUTNIK V INTO PUBLIC

The first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19, developed by

Russia's Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology

and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has been released into civil

circulation, regional deliveries are planned in the nearest future, the

Russian health ministry informs.

"The first batch of the 'Gam-COVID-Vac' [Sputnik V] vaccine for the

prevention of the new coronavirus infection, developed by the Gamaleya

National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of

Health of Russia, has passed the necessary quality tests in the laboratories

of Roszdravnadzor [medical device regulator] and has been released into

civil circulation," the ministry said in a statement.

The Russian health ministry registered the first vaccine against Covid-19,

named Sputnik V, on August 11.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin expressed hope on Sunday that the majority of

the Russian capital's residents would be vaccinated against the coronavirus

within several months.

According to the health ministry, the delivery of the first batches of the

Russian vaccine to the country's regions is planned in the nearest future.

NAVALNY OUT OF COMA: BERLIN HOSPITAL

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who Germany says was poisoned by a

weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent, is now out of a medically induced coma

and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation, the Berlin hospital treating

him said Monday.

"He is responding to verbal stimuli," Charite hospital said in a statement,

reporting that the 44-year-old's condition "has improved".

However, the hospital said it was too early to determine the long-term

impact of the poisoning.

Meanwhile, Britain's foreign Minister Dominic Raab said he had summoned

Russia's ambassador to the UK to express his concern at the poisoning of

Alexei Navalny.

AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISTS FLOWN OUT OF CHINA 'AMID DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF'

Two Australian news outlets have removed their reporters from China over

what they say is a diplomatic standoff.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Bill Birtles and the Australian

Financial Review's Mike Smith landed in Sydney on Tuesday.

Chinese authorities questioned both men before their departure. The ABC

reported Birtles was "not asked about his reporting or conduct in China".

Relations between Australia and China have deteriorated in recent years.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said consular officials had

provided support to the journalists.

"Our embassy in Beijing and consulate-general in Shanghai engaged with

Chinese government authorities to ensure their wellbeing and return to

Australia," she said in a statement on Tuesday.

The AFR reported that Chinese authorities had questioned the journalists

about Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist for Chinese state media who has

been detained since last month.