Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

Brussels, London back at Brexit table

The chief negotiators of Britain and the European Union met on Friday for intensive negotiations on a last-minute trade deal that would stave off a tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis. The United Kingdom left the EU in January but the two sides are trying to clinch a deal that would govern nearly a trillion dollars in annual trade before informal membership－known as the transition period－ends on Dec 31."It's very important to be back at the table," EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on arrival in London on Thursday."We have a huge common responsibility." After some progress on competition guarantees including state aid rules, the hardest issue remains fish: London has insisted on taking back control over its waters while the EU wants access to the fishing waters.

TURKEY

Erdogan confirms test of S-400 missiles

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Friday that Turkey had been testing the S-400 air defense system it bought from Russia, adding that the objection from NATO ally United States on the issue did not matter. Washington says Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 systems compromise NATO defenses, and has threatened sanctions. An apparent firing test of S-400s test last week prompted a furious response from the US State Department and the Pentagon.

UNITED STATES

Goldman to pay $2.9b over 1MDB scandal

Goldman Sachs Group on Thursday said it was clawing back $174 million in executive compensation and had agreed to pay $2.9 billion over its role in Malaysia's 1MDB corruption scandal, lifting a cloud that has hung over the bank for years. The settlement with the US Department of Justice and other US and overseas regulators resolves a probe into the role Goldman Sachs bankers played in helping to steal cash, which Goldman helped raise, from the Malaysian state fund. The scandal has proved a humbling and costly saga for the Wall Street giant.

THE PHILIPPINES

81,000 inmates freed to decongest prisons

The Philippines has released a total of 81,888 prisoners as part of its efforts to decongest the country's crowded prisons and prevent the contamination of coronavirus disease among inmates, Philippine Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said on Friday. In an online media briefing, Peralta said the 81,888 prisoners were released from March 17 to Oct 16. He said those released, either through the posting of bail or through recognizance, had served the minimum period of their penalty or granted probation. Overcrowding is rampant in almost all jails in the country. The New Bilibid Prison, for example, can only accommodate 6,435 convicts, but it now houses 28,885 inmates.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

'Minimal' risk for oil tanker to sink

A damaged Venezuelan oil tanker recently tilting to one side in the Caribbean after taking on water poses no significant risk of spilling and causing an environmental catastrophe, officials of Trinidad and Tobago said on Thursday. Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Franklin Khan said a team of experts from his country inspected the FSO Nabarima on Tuesday, allaying previous fears it was on the brink of sinking and spewing 1.3 million barrels of oil. The double-hulled tanker is "intact and poses a minimum risk of any oil spills at this time", Khan said. He said Venezuela had started the slow process of unloading oil to further avoid disaster, an operation expected to take up to 35 days.

Agencies - Xinhua