UPDATE 1-Northern Irish party drops some EU objections, opening door to Brexit deal -The Times

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has agreed to accept Northern Ireland abiding by some European Union rules after Brexit as part of a deal to replace the Irish backstop, potentially opening the door to a withdrawal agreement, The Times newspaper reported.

The Northern Ireland party that props up British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has also said it would drop its objection to regulatory checks in the Irish Sea, the newspaper reported in its Friday edition, without citing sources. Brussels would in return have to drop its insistence on Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union with the European Union, according to the report.

Instead, they would need to seek "alternative arrangements" to ensure that the right level of duty was paid on exports without the need for physical infrastructure at the border, the report added. With Johnson vowing to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 - deal or no deal - the bloc has focused in recent days on a Northern Ireland-only backstop as the best chance of getting a deal before the deadline lapses. That would involve applying different border rules to Northern Ireland from the rest of the country to help keep goods flowing across the Irish border.

But Johnson told his Northern Ireland allies that he was opposed to the idea of a Northern Ireland-only backstop, DUP leader Arlene Foster said this week.

Also Read: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffers major defeat in Parliament as rebels seize control of Brexit agenda. (AP) TIRTIR TIR