Today and always. The freeman foundation. By judand Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. We will start with more detail on the u. K. Brexit strategy. We will work through the ramifications of the u. K. Government admitting it may need to break International Law. The belarusian president hints at an early election. We will hear about how the Opposition Leader ripped up a passport and threw it out the window in an act of defiance. Remember donald trump saying this . The vaccine will be safe and effective and delivered very soon it could have a very big surprise. That was yesterday. Toy, Drug Companies have vowed not to bow to political pressure. We will hear from them. There have been many dramatic moments in the brexit. The u. K. Government has vowed to walk away from the commitments it made. Specifically on the issue of Northern Ireland. Is is the Northern Ireland secretary. We are taking the power concept of direct effect in a certain tightly find circumstance. It would be breaking International Law but in tightly defined circumstances. The argument is that this is the backup. It doesnt have to happen, but it is there in case the u. K. And eu failed to cut a new trade de. The protocol was specifically drawn up in case these talks went wrong. It was a very deliberately constructed insurance policy one rights. Attempts to rewrite it, para back is like an Insurance Company ying to get out of a policy. Teresa has also got involved. The u. K. Government signed the Withdrawal Agreement with Northern Ireland protocol. This parliament voted that into u. K. Legislation. The government is not changing the operation of that agreement. Given that, how can the government reassure future International Partners that the u. K. Can be trusted to abide by the legal obligations of the agreements it signs . Other governments have been playing down the significance of these plans and it also hopes thhe trade deal will happen. Northern ireland was the signal bid this single biggest obstacle to this getting done. Northern ireland shares a border with the republic of ireland. Because of the past and successful Peace Process process, the status of that border has always been important. To try to resolve this, the u. K. Agreed to some checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It agreed that Northern Ireland would continue to follow some eu customs rules. That would mean extra paperwork, checks and tariffs for goods moving between Great Britain and northern ire. Now, the government is introducing its own law saying the ministers can decide how to apply the rules without the s agreement. The problem is if the u. K. Were to renege on the obligations, then we come back to the same question everyone has been wrestling with for years. How to avoid the customs checks on the border with the republic of ireland. Having initially heard brexiteers say they would not agree to checks, the u. K. Government did agree to dohat but it is now sayingt do it after all. The Opposition Leader has been speaking to the bbc. They are reopening old arguments that have been settled. A deal is there to be had. Lets negotiate and get the deal. Thats what the public wants and move on. Important con is the latest round of trade talks between the u. K. And eu are beginning this week. The u. K. Government wants to persuade voters in the u. K. But also persuade the eu negotiators the it is prepared to walk away and it has a plan. It strikes me what were hearing is related to that because essentially, what ministers are saying is that if there is a dispute over what is going into Northern Ireland and whether its going to end up in the eu and should face tariffs, if they cant agree that with the eu, the u. K. Will make a unilateral decision. The argument that is being made is that is that the most sensible thing to do because they will avoid a default where everything moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain needs tariffs. There is real concern at westminster that this is potentially undermining the uks place especially after the astonishing admission from the Northern Ireland secretary that yes it could mean some circumstances breaking International Law. Thats one big familiar issue. Another is level playing field. If the u. K. Wants a trade deal with the eu, and needs to agree to regulations. Where are we on that one . They dont want to be tied to european rule. Some want the freedom for cash grants were struggling businesses or to put money into struggling industries that they think are important. They dont want to feel constrained by european rules. They seem pretty adamant that they are not going to sign up to anything that would allow them to do that. Its not totally clear why that is such a Sticking Point. There is a debate going out inside the u. K. Government about how in sport and how important state aid is. It is probably the main Sticking Point in the talks between brussels and london at the moment. The other is fishing quotas. Back at the referendum, fishing was a big issue. They are firming holding firm on that. Th been the two main things for a few weeks. These talks are stuck. The big question is, is anyone going to blink . Much more on brexit on our website. Now lets turn to belarus. One of the Opposition Leaders was seen being bundled into a van on monday. We now have this footage that shows three Opposition Leaders including her at the border with ukraine. We also have this account from Ukraines Deputy interior minister. Yesterday, three members of the opposition called a council were cap kidnapped by men in plain clothes allegedly special. Afterward, though citizens were driven to the border with ukraine where there forcible expulsion was planned with an intention to use this as if Opposition Leaders betrayed hundreds of thousands of followers and stopped fighting against the shingle regime. Those two members of the council have been given giving a press conference. Our reporter has been speaking with one of them. That moment, she was forced put in the car, she tore her passport into small pieces. As they were giving her back her passport yes she took it immediately and tore it up. This was in no mans land. Yes. I think its a road. It is fantastic what she did. She was clear within the she did not want to be forced. Yes if one tears their passport up, you would seem absolutely clear. Do we know where she is now . Know this is a big problem. When she is detained, we dont know where she is. She was in kgb but we dont know where she is now and this is really a problem. The other Important Development concerns president ill not step dn. He has not ruled out an early election. He says i willve just like that. If i go, msupporters will be slaughtered. He also had this warning for russia. If belarus falls, russia will be next. The u. S. U. N. Special ash she says there are signs that mr. Lukashenkos administration is unhinged. There has never been any respect for rule of law and belarus. What we have been experiencing is more like lawlessness. A sense of anarchy when estate trieso expel its own citizen, it is unacceptable from the perspective of International Human rights watch. The main candidate has been speaking again today. She was forced to flee after she complained that the election was rigged. She has been calling for sanctions against mr. Lukashenkos government. Hundreds of people are jailed, beaten, raped. This should not be the norm in europe. This cant be the norm in the civilized world. Whether sanctions are brought in or not, their ability to influence the situation appears limited. Mr. Lukashenko has been in power since the 1990s. The only things that would change that are police turning against him or Vladimir Putin despite pressure, those things have not happened. Absolutely. We need to be engaged, the International Community, more actively in diplomacy and trying to engineer a transition. We know ultimately the ukrainian transition did not work because the leader who had been discredited and forced by his people from his position lost his nerve and fled to russia. Before that happened, the u. S. And russia brokered a transition for the ukrainian so they could go to elections. In the case of belarus, they did just hold elections. The question is whether the elections are going to be recognized by the opposition. They were largely discredited by eyewitnesses who saw the ballots and understood that the victor was not lukashenko. We need to have the International Community involved in brokering transmission. If that doesnt work, sanctions need to be a threat. To push for fundamental change, you have to be confident that that country can take the opportunity and create something longterm and solid. Libya and iraq are two examples. Evenhen the west does push for change and support change, its not necessarily what the west wants. The west was not pushing in this case for change. This is something that the belarusian people decided amongst themselves. That is a reality that has nothing to do with the west. However, we want to protect the freedom of these people to pick their form of government. Freedom for them do not be abused by their government. That is where the International Community has an interest. Its switch to more tension in the himalaya its. Both sides are accusing the other of firing shots in t air. It runs between kashmir and a administered region. Back in june, 20 indian soldiers were killed in clashes. That took week took placin the galvin river valley. While it was highly unusual, ministry patrols often get closed because there is no marked border. The significance of monday night is that it involved firearms. For decades, the opposite sides have stuck to an agreement to avoid using guns. Both sides are now blaming each other. On the seventh of september, indian troops crossed the line of actual control and entered the southbank at the western sector of the border. The indian troops fired threatening shots. The chinese border troops to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation. The indian side denies entering the terrier church roi they shouldnt have and they deny firing shots. Border conflic lng to the indian sides misjudgment and repeated provocations. If they open fire on the chinese army, its troops will be feated. I have been talking to our south asia editor on where these clashes may be headed. If you look at the Chinese Military statement on monday night, it was blunt. They said they had to take countermeasures and they strongly criticized india. China would be forced to take other steps so the troops would not invade their territory. For months, the Indian Defense ministry kept quiet but the indian army was very swift issuing a statement that they did n fire a shot, it was the chinese who fired in the air. Both sides are now they want to dislodge each other. You have to understand, this is a punishing territory. We are talking about 1015,000 feet high. Nobody can live there during winter. This is where two of the worlds biggest armies are locked and they are eyeball to eyeball. That is dangerous because anyone wrong step to the other side can lead to escalation. On a few minutes, we will hear from our australia correspondent after two australian journalists were forced to leave china. Tighter coronavirus restrictions have come into parts of the u. K. Reported deaths remain low compared to early in the pandemic. Ministers are concerned that although its not inevitable they will go up because we have seen more cases, they might do based on what is happening in spain people inadvertently infecting members of their families or those who are vulnerable. That is why we have seen these tough new rules imposed. That is why the scottish and welsh governments have brought in the restrictions. That is why the government at westminster is not ruling out the possibility of tighter rules on those who can visit other peoples houses. Today is all abt brexit. The chief executives of the worlds biggest Drug Companies have signed a pledge agreeing to uphold the integrity of the scientific process for obtaining a covid19 bactine vaccine. It says they will only approve for use after establishing safety and at risk efficacy through a phase three vaccine test. Astrazeneca and pfizer, which both have candidates for the vaccine in phase three trials. Given the huge him andost, the race to find a vaccine is paramount and there are signs that some governments may be willing to cut corners or fasttrack the process. Russia has already licensed its vaccine. Before test results were published, it was given the goahead. Experts say it wasnt large or regular rigorous enough to meet standards. In the u. S. , the president ial election in november is giving President Trump an incentive to get a vaccine out quickly. He is not shy about acknowledging that. Is going to be done in a short time. We could have it during the month of october. The vaccine will be very safe and effective and it will be delivered soon. You could have a very big surprise coming up. The head of the u. S. Fda says he would be willing to bypass the normal approval process for licensing a vaccine. Dr. Hahn said the leading standard is that the benefit outweighs the risk in a Public Health emergency. Thomas cooney is the director of pharmaceutical manufacturers that represents the companies that signed this pledge. The mesh the message is clear. To push a vaccine approval faster than might be good for the testing. They dont want that to happen. Can you be clear with me . We heard donald trump saying he thinks a vaccine could be possible by october. That would raise the expectations of americans and those around the world. Is he wrong to suggest that is possible . It is challenging. We can expect some results of this large Clinical Trial maybe by the end of october, but then you need to look at the data. You need to validate the data. I think it is unlikely we will have a vaccine approved or distributed at largescale before the end of this year. We may be surprised, but clearly, the manufacturers do not want speed above quality. Here on outside source, we distill the most important information. Next, relations between australia and china have been getting worse. Two journalists have fled because they have fear of being detained. They spoke to the press and they arrived in sydney. It is so good to be home. So happy. Did you feel threatened when you were there . A little bit yes. Its disappointing to leave under the circumstances. Its a relief to be back in a country with general rule of law. This is a significant moment. These were to working for australian media organizations in china. It was a whirlwind week where to make, it came out of nowhere last monday. I got a call advising me that i needed to leave china immediately. This was the australian officials and they received a warning. They never specified what, but they said our advice is that you get out. He was preparing to take that advice when things escalated. Sure enough at midnight on wednesday, six security a were at my door in beijing not to detain me but to inform me that i am involved in a National Security investigation and there is an exit band placed on me. The case he references involves thijournalist. She is a respected reporter for chinas state owned tv network. In august, she was suddenly she suddenly stopped peering on screen and ceased all contact with friends and family. Now, the Chinese Government has confirmed that she has been detained and she is being accused of spying. The relevant departments recently took compulsory measures in accordance with the law against the Australian National who was suspected of criminal activity endangering chinas nati security. We are conducting an investigation. Her rights and interests are all receiving full legal protection. The treatment of her prompted australias government to warn the two australian reporters to leave. They were not allowed to leave china without submitting to police interviews. During those interviews, they were asked about the chinese journalist. And didnt seem like i would be the most logical person to interrogate if you wanted evidence about her case. They did ask me about that. They also asked me about hong kong National Security law and what sort of channels do i go to to get my information when i report on that. There was also backandforth about China Australia relationship. You got the whole sense that this was part of a bigger political game and myself and the other journalist, we were small ponds and a bigger dispute. The context is the deterioration of australia and chinas relatns since australia called for an investigation about how the china the covid19 pandemic again in china. Narrator funding for this presentation of this program is provided by. Language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. Raymond james. The freeman foundation. By judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Nat the height of the conflict. Into vietnam he became a single parent of