PTI

New York, November 1

Twitter's new owner billionaire Elon Musk announced that the verification blue tick in front of a user's name that authenticates the account will now be available at a price of eight dollars per month.

Musk blasted the "current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark”, using an expletive.

“Power to the people! Blue for US$ 8 per month,” he tweeted adding that the price is adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity.

With that price, he said, users will also get priority in replies, mentions, and searches, which he said is essential to defeating spam/scams, as well as the ability to post long video and audio, half as many ads, and paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with the social media company.

He said the monthly payments from users for the blue tick “will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators”.

A blue tick signifies that a particular account is verified “because it's notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category”.

 Seoul, 2 Nov (HS): North Korea fired ten missiles towards South Korea, protesting its joint military exercise with the US. The missiles fired one after another, fell near South Korea, which sounded an alert in the small islands in the east.

 AP

Seoul, November 1

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry criticised the United States for expanding joint military exercises with South Korea that it claims are practice for a potential invasion, and it warned on Tuesday of “more powerful follow-up measures” in response.

The statement from the ministry came as the US and South Korea conduct aerial drills involving more than 200 warplanes, including their advanced F-35 fighter jets, as they step up their defence posture in the face of North Korea's increased weapons testing and growing nuclear threat.

North Korea has ramped up its weapons demonstrations to a record pace this year, launching more than 40 ballistic missiles, including developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles and an intermediate-range missile fired over Japan.

The North has punctuated those tests with an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorises pre-emptive nuclear attacks in loosely defined crisis situations.

The US and South Korea have resumed large-scale military drills this year after downsizing or suspending them in past years as part of efforts to create diplomatic space with Pyongyang and because of the pandemic.

The United States and South Korea's “Vigilant Storm” air force drills, which are to continue through Friday, came after South Korea completed its annual 12-day “Hoguk” field exercises that officials say also involved an unspecified number of American troops.

North Korea's latest statement came just days after the country fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, extending a barrage of launches since late September. Some of those launches have been described by the North as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and US targets. 

 Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-origin technology executive, is "helping out" Twitter's new owner Elon Musk as he revamps the social media giant following its acquisition by the billionaire entrepreneur.

 Voters in Brazil on Sunday ousted President Jair Bolsonaro after just one term and elected the Leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to replace him, election officials said, a rebuke to Bolsonaro’s far-Right movement and his divisive four years in office.

PTI

United Nations, November 1

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep sadness over a tragic bridge collapse in Gujarat's Morbi city and expressed condolences to the families of the victims and injured.

At least 134 people lost their lives in the tragedy which took place in Morbi town of the Saurashtra region when the British-era suspension bridge came crashing down on Sunday evening.

“The secretary-general is deeply saddened by the tragic news of the collapse of the Morbi bridge in Gujarat," a statement issued by Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said on Monday.

Guterres expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, as well as the people and government of India, and wished a quick recovery to those injured, the statement said.

President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Korosi said in a tweet “Deep sorrow at the bridge collapse in Gujarat, India. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and with the emergency services.” 

 PTI

London, October 31

Rishi Sunak's decision to skip the upcoming climate summit in Egypt and the government preventing King Charles III from attending it has been criticised by many across the world who have accused the new UK prime minister of washing his hands of Britain's commitment to tackle the climate crisis.

‘COP27’ will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt, from November 6 to November 18 -- finishing the day after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is due to set out the UK's tax and spending plans.

Downing Street in a statement last week has said that Prime Minister Sunak is no longer expected to attend the COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt due to “other pressing commitments, including preparations for the autumn statement”.

The UK will still be represented by other senior ministers as well as by COP26 president Alok Sharma at the climate summit, it said, adding that "the government is absolutely committed to supporting COP27 and leading international action to tackle climate change and protect nature”.

Earlier in October, the UK media had reported that noted environmentalist King Charles III would miss COP27 after then-prime minister Liz Truss advised him to drop his plans to attend.

The Egyptian government, the host of the COP27 Summit, has voiced “disappointment” at Sunak's decision.

Sunak's decision to snub the COP27 talks and to keep King Charles from attending has angered and upset countries around the world, risking the UK's standing on the world stage and raising concerns over his government's commitment to tackling the climate crisis, the Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday.

"As the principal UK policymaker and the Cop26 president, the PM should have led the summit. It seems as if they are washing their hands of leadership,” the report quoted Carlos Fuller, Belize's ambassador to the UN, as saying.

Questioning Sunak's reason for not attending the summit, Mohamed Nasheed, speaker of the Maldives parliament and former president, said, “It's very worrying that the UK thought there was anything more serious than climate change. You can count the pennies but might lose the pounds.”       

Instead of attending COP27, Sunak will speak at a reception for business and environmental leaders to be hosted by the King at Buckingham Palace on Friday, two days before the climate talks begin.

 Seoul, October 31

Singer and actor Lee Jihan is confirmed to have passed away in the crowd crush that occurred during Halloween celebration in Seoul, South Korea over the weekend.

His agency 935 Entertainment confirmed the sad news on Sunday, October 30, "It's true that Lee Ji Han passed away due to the accident in Itaewon on October 29," reports aceshowbiz.com.

The representative of the agency continued: "We also hoped that it wasn't true, and we were very shocked to hear the news." Asking public to respect the family's privacy in this period of mourning, the agency added: "The family is suffering immense grief right now, so we are being very cautious. May he rest in peace." The news of Lee Jihan's passing first reached the public when several of his 'Produce 101' castmates, Park Heeseok, Jo Jinhyung and Kim Dohyun, paid tribute on social media. They wrote on Instagram" "Ji Han has left this world and gone to a comfortable place. We ask that you say goodbye to him on his final path." Lee Jihan first entered the spotlight as a contestant on Mnet's 'Produce 101' season 2 in 2017. He originally auditioned on the show with a cover of EXO's "Overdose" and was eliminated in the fifth episode.

Lee Jihan went on to make his debut as an actor on the web drama 'Today Was Another Nam Hyun Day' in 2019. He was 24 years old (by international reckoning) at the time of his passing. His mortuary will be set up at the funeral hall of Myongji Hospital, and the funeral will be held on November 1.

Lee Jihan was one of 154 people killed in the stampede, which occurred on Saturday in Itaewon, a busy nightlife district in the capital city. Thousands of people assembled in the narrow streets of the district to celebrate Halloween festivities when the crowd size became overwhelming, leading to panic and an eventual fatal crowd surge.

Over 80 people were reported injured and thousands of missing person reports were filed in the days since the tragedy. The Korean government has announced a period of national mourning that will last until November 5. Several K-pop music releases and events have been cancelled or postponed in the wake of the tragedy.

IANS

Islamabad, Oct 31 (PTI) Imran Khan on Monday targeted the chief of the Election Commission of Pakistan and announced that he will file a Rs 10 billion defamation suit against him for destroying his reputation by disqualifying him, as the ousted premier addressed his supporters at the start of the fourth day of his long march.