EU will not ban Huawei, but impose

The EU will not ban Chinese telecom giant Huawei or any other company in Europe, a top official said, despite intense pressure from Washington to shun the firm over spying fears. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, will officially unveil recommendations to member states on Wednesday, but commissioner Thierry Breton told MEPs that Brussels will choose tight scrutiny over any blanket ban.

"It is not a question of discrimination, it is a question of laying down rules. They will be strict, they will be demanding and of course we will welcome in Europe all operators who are willing to apply them," he said. The EU, while never explicitly naming the Chinese giant, is struggling to find a middle way to balance Huawei's huge dominance in the 5G sector with security concerns pressed by Washington.

The proposal is part of a so-called "toolbox" of recommendations that will guide the EU's 27 post-Brexit member states as they build crucial 5G networks.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also expected to risk Washington's anger with a similar decision to trust strict rules instead of a ban on Huawei. A ban on Huawei would ultimately be up to an individual member state, but the commission's middle road recommendation gives cover to European capitals to resist pleas from Washington. Huawei is one of the world's leading network technology suppliers, and one of the few-along with European telecom companies Nokia and Ericsson-capable of building 5G networks.

The United States sees the company as a potential threat to cybersecurity and fears it would facilitate cyber espionage by the Chinese government, to which it is said to have close links. Malawi's Constitutional Court will on Monday hand down a ruling on the contested presidential election narrowly won by President Peter Mutharika. Alleging rigging, the main opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), petitioned the court claiming he was robbed of victory at the May 21 vote.

He asked the court to annul the results. His legal challenge was supported by another opposition party the United Transformation Movement (UTM).

Mutharika secured his second term in office with just 38.5 percent of the ballots cast, and 159,000 votes more than his closest rival Chakwera. That victory unleashed nationwide demonstrations demanding the sacking of the electoral commission chief and a marathon court case.

For close to six months, the court sat in Lilongwe hearing evidence from more than a dozen witnesses. But the case was marred by allegations of attempts to bribe judges hearing the legal challenge.

A prominent businessman and banker was last week briefly arrested allegedly trying to bribe the judges. A notice from the court said the ruling will be delivered on February 3 at nine am (0700 GMT) in the capital Lilongwe.

Presidential election results have never been challenged in court in the aiddependent country since independence from Britain in 1964.

Experts say if the judges uphold the fraud allegations, fresh polls could be called. Brussels' two top officials, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, signed off on Britain's EU divorce agreement Friday.

With Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel's formal endorsement, the text will now go to the European Parliament on Wednesday, January 29 for ratification. On Thursday, diplomats from the EU member states will approve the deal in writing. Then, on Friday, January 31, Britain spends its last day in the EU before leaving the bloc at 2300 GMT as clocks strike midnight in Brussels.

Then, on Thursday, diplomats from the EU member states will approve the deal in writing, ensuring Britain's orderly departure at 2300 GMT Friday as clocks tick into Saturday in Brussels.

"Charles Michel and I have just signed the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU, opening the way for its