- Carter, Billups among 13 new Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Ravens rip Commanders as Lions lose NFL sacks leader in win
- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
- Stewart leads Liberty past Lynx to level WNBA Finals
- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
- Ravens outlast Commanders while Bucs batter Saints in NFL
- Dozens hurt in Israel as Hezbollah claims drone strike
- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
- Israel fights Hezbollah on the ground, pounds Lebanon from the air
- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
UK denies breaking law with new Northern Ireland plan
Britain said on Thursday it was readying new legislation to rewrite its Brexit commitments on Northern Ireland but denied it was breaking its treaty obligations to the European Union.
The bill is expected next week, possibly on Monday, and would trigger unilateral changes to the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol in the teeth of objections from Brussels and most political parties in Belfast.
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said opposition to Britain's tactics had "hardened" across EU capitals, querying whether it was "serious about a negotiated solution", Irish media reported.
The UK says the bill is needed to fix trade distortions in Northern Ireland, which was left hanging in a unique situation by Brexit, and bring the province's biggest pro-UK party back into power-sharing government.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet has signed off on the plan and only some final drafting remains, his spokesman told reporters.
"Yes, we are confident of that: the bill is lawful under international law," the spokesman added.
Senior minister Michael Gove denied that Johnson was looking to divert attention after he narrowly survived a no-confidence vote within his own party, by placating Brexit hardliners on the Conservative backbenches.
"I don't think it's about picking a fight," Gove said on BBC radio.
"It is absolutely right that we fix the problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol," he said.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refusing to re-enter government in the province unless the protocol is overhauled.
The protocol was agreed as part of Britain's Brexit divorce deal with Brussels, recognising Northern Ireland's status as a fragile, post-conflict territory that shares the UK's new land border with the EU.
It requires checks on goods arriving from England, Scotland and Wales, to prevent them entering the EU's single market via the Republic of Ireland.
That has infuriated the DUP, which says Northern Ireland's status within the UK is in jeopardy.
The UK says it plans to scrap most of the checks, arguing that the higher priority is ensuring no return to a hard border between the north and south of Ireland, in line with a 1998 peace agreement.
Overriding the protocol, the bill would let the UK create a "green channel" for British traders to send goods to Northern Ireland without making any customs declaration to the EU.
The EU would have access to more real-time UK data on the flow of goods, and only businesses intending to trade into the single market via Ireland would be required to make declarations.
Britain has vowed "robust penalties" for any companies seeking to abuse the new system, but would also remove oversight of the protocol by the European Court of Justice -- another red line for Brussels.
Britain also risks antagonising the United States, which helped broker the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
But Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has been briefing the US administration along with officials in Dublin and Brussels, to prepare the ground for the new bill, Johnson's spokesman said.
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN