KREMLIN ACCUSES U.K. OF ‘DIRECTING’ NORD STREAM BLASTS

Russia has accused Britain of coordinating attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipes, media reported.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said on Monday that Kremlin intelligence agents "have data indicating British military specialists were directing and coordinating the attack" which destroyed two gas lines running from Russia to Germany in September, Daily Mail reported.

It comes after Kim Dotcom, who ran site Megaupload before he was convicted of fraud, began circulating a conspiracy theory that Liz Truss had texted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken immediately after the attack saying "it's done."

Kim claimed to have learned of the message from Truss's iCloud, after it was revealed that Russia hacked her phone while she was foreign secretary. Neither Kim nor Peskov have released the evidence they claim to have seen.

Nonetheless, the accusation does represent a new line of attack from Russia at the US and Britain which have led support for Ukraine in resisting Putin's invasion.

Western leaders have stopped short of publicly blaming Russia for the attack - which blew two holes in each pipeline and may have permanently disabled them - but have been privately briefing their suspicions that Putin was behind it.

Kim's claim about Truss's iPhone also picked up and parroted by Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, who demanded answers, Daily Mail reported.

"Frankly, I don't care who got this information or how," she said. "I am interested in London's response to the following question: "Did British Prime Minister Liz Truss send a message to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline saying 'It's done?"

3 GRAIN SHIPS LEAVE UKRAINE, A SIGN THAT A SAFE PASSAGE DEAL ON

Three outbound vessels left Ukrainian ports by midday on Tuesday under the Black Sea grain export deal, the United Nations-led coordination centre said, the second day of sailings after Russia suspended participation in the initiative.

The statement said the ships' movement was agreed by the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations at the Istanbul-based centre and the Russian delegation had been informed.

It said the UN coordinator for the grain initiative, Amir Abdulla, continued discussions with all three member state parties in an effort to resume full participation at the centre that oversees safe passage of vessels.

ISRAEL ELECTIONS: NETANYAHU IN LEAD, EXIT POLLS SAY

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on course for victory in Tuesday's elections, according to exit polls.

The polls, which forecast the outcome before official results, give his right-wing bloc a slim majority of seats over his opponents.

Such a result would mark a dramatic comeback for Mr Netanyahu, toppled last year after 12 straight years in power.

"We are close to a big victory," he told his supporters in Jerusalem.

The election was widely seen as a vote for or against Mr Netanyahu's return.

Official results, which could still produce a different outcome, are expected in the coming hours.

His main rival, current Prime Minister Yair Lapid, said "nothing" was yet decided.

But as the polls were announced at 22:00 (20:00 GMT), upbeat music burst from loud speakers at the central venue of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party in Jerusalem.

S KOREA OFFICIALS APOLOGISE, ADMIT RESPONSIBILITY

Seoul : South Korean officials admitted responsibility and apologised on Tuesday for failures in preventing and responding to a Halloween crowd surge that killed over 150 people.

The government is facing growing public scrutiny over whether the crush on Saturday in Seoul’s Itaewon district could have been prevented. National police chief Yoon Hee-keun said an initial probe found there were many urgent calls from citizens notifying authorities about the potential danger of the crowd gathering in Itaewon. He said officers who received the calls failed to handle them effectively. “I feel a heavy responsibility (for the disaster),” Yoon said. He said police have launched a probe into the officers’ handling of the urgent calls that night. South Korea’s interior minister, emergency office chief and Seoul mayor all offered public apologies.

PAK PM IN BEIJING TO DISCUSS ECONOMY, DEBT

Islamabad : Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to meet Chinese leaders and discuss plans for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in the South Asian nation.

The major investment in development and energy projects in Pakistan is part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Islamabad and Beijing are considered longtime close allies, and Sharif is also expected to discuss security issues while on his visit. On his two-day maiden visit to Beijing sincetaking office in April, Sharif will also seek some debt relief from China, in particular the rolling over of bilateral debt, an aide travelling with the prime minister said.

Chinese loans — around $23billion — make up the largest chunk of Pakistan’s $27 billion of bilateral debt. Sharifwill be one of the first leaders to meet President Xi since he secured a third term in power.

Pakistan had been struggling with a balance of payments crisis even before devastating floods hit the country over the summer, causing it an estimated $30 billion or more in losses. “My discussions with the Chinese leadership will focus on revitalisation of CPEC among many other things,” Sharif said adding that he will be meeting President Xi and other Chinese executives while there. Sharif’s govt allege that the CPEC project was slowed down during the tenure of ousted former premier Imran Khan, a charge the latter denies.

BOLSONARO TO BREAK SILENCE AND ACCEPT DEFEAT, SAYS MINISTER

Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro will not contest his electoral defeat and plans to address the nation later, his communications minister Fabio Faria told Reuters, as a growing number of political allies advised him to concede. Some of Bolsonaro’s hardline supporters have called for military intervention to keep Bolsonaro in power and stop leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office. Pro-Bolsonaro truck drivers blocked federal highways. The presidential address may defuse the protests across Brazil by small groups of his supporters, which have begun to cause economic disruptions, drawing calls from farm and retail groups for Bolsonaro to accept defeat and begin a transition. Bolsonaro has not made public remarks or spoken with Lula since the race was decided on Sunday evening.

100-YR-OLD TO FIGHT NEPAL POLLS AGAINST FORMER PM

A centenarian freedom fighter, Tika Dutta Pokharel , will be the oldest candidate in Nepal’s parliamentary election to be held on November 20, contesting against former PM Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and aims to turn the nation into a Hindu state again. Pokharel turned 100 on Monday. His health is sound, can walk and talk very well and is active in politics, said Sushil Man Serchan, president of Nepali Congress (BP), a breakaway faction of the governing Nepali Congress. “There is no real leader in the country and those who claim themselves as leaders have come just to earn money,” Serchan quoted Pokharel as saying. “I have filed my candidacy to give rights to the people and to turn our country into a Hindu state again,” said Pokharel, who is contesting the polls for the first time. Nepal abolished its 239-year-old Hindu monarchy in 2008.

TOKYO STARTS RECOGNIZING SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS

TOKYO, Japan - Tokyo began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples who live and work in the capital on Tuesday, a long-awaited move in a country without marriage equality.

The certificates allow LGBTQ partners to be treated as married couples for some public services in areas such as housing, medicine and welfare.

More than 200 smaller local authorities in Japan have already made moves to recognize same-sex partnerships since Tokyo's Shibuya district pioneered the system in 2015.

The status does not carry the same rights as marriage under the law but represents a welcome change.

As of Friday morning, 137 couples had applied for a certificate, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said last week.

Hopes are high that the introduction of the same-sex partnership certificates, which cover both Tokyo residents and commuters, will help fight anti-LGBTQ discrimination in Japan.

Recent years have seen Japan -- run by a conservative ruling party that espouses traditional family values -- take small steps towards embracing sexual diversity.

More firms are now proclaiming support for same-sex marriage, and gay characters feature in TV shows with greater openness.

EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD MAKING SCARY SOUND, SAYS ESA

Scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) have released an audio that revealed how the Earth’s magnetic field, which provides protection to humans from cosmic radiation and solar flares, is making hauntingsounds. Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have taken magnetic signals measured by ESA’s Swarm satellites and converted them into sound. It might sound like the stuff of nightmares, but, the audio represents the magnetic field generated by the Earth’s core and its interaction with a solar storm, ESA said. The five-minute audio includes crackling sounds and deep-breathing sounds. It was a quirky way of reminding us that the magnetic field exists and that the existence of life on Earth is dependent on it, it said.

ELON MUSK SAYS $8 MONTHLY FEE FOR TWITTER BLUE TICK

Elon Musk has said Twitter will charge $8 (£7) monthly to Twitter users who want a blue tick by their name indicating a verified account.

As part of changes after a $44bn (£38bn) takeover of the social media site, Mr Musk said it was "essential to defeat spam/scam".

A blue tick mark next to a username - normally for high-profile figures - is currently free.

The move could make it harder to identify reliable sources, say critics.

Mr Musk, the world's richest person, added that paid users would have priority in replies and searches, and half as many advertisements.

"Power to the people! Blue for $8/month," the billionaire said on Twitter, criticising the old method of blue tick verification as a "lords and peasants system".

Twitter's former method of verifying users for a blue tick included a short online application form, and was reserved for those whose identities were targets for impersonation, such as celebrities, politicians and journalists.