welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. damage to russia's nordstream 1 pipeline — the president of the european commission says it was sabotage. international condemnation as moscow—backed occupied regions of ukraine claim victory in their self—styled referendums on joining russia. the international monetary fund warns that the new fiscal plans in the uk could increase inequality across the country. and florida braces for the arrival of hurricane ian, after the storm system devastates cuba.

welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. the president of the european commission says sabotage was the cause of rare gas leaks in two major pipelines connecting russia and europe. ursula von der leyen warned of the "strongest possible response" if active european energy insfrastructure is attacked. seismologists reported underwater explosions just before the leaks. nordstream 1 is leaking at two points, a day after a similar leak affected its sister pipeline, nordstream 2. the danish authorities have warned ships to avoid the area near the island of bornholm. i just want to show you these pictures from denmark's defence command, which show bubbles on the surface of the baltic sea above the pipelines —

they report the largest patch of sea disturbance is 1km wide. well, earlier, the polish prime minister went a step further and linked the incidents to the situation in ukraine. translation: we do not yet know the details of what happened - but we clearly see that this is an act of sabotage. this is an act that probably signals a new phase in the escalation of the situation in ukraine. earlier, i spoke to kristine berzina, seniorfellow at the german marshall fund of the united states. i started by asking her whether it was possible to establish whether this is sabotage or malfunction. it is sabotage or malfunction. looks right now that it not it looks right now that it is not an accident or a malfunction. we have seen the leaders of poland, denmark and sweden say it is, and we have also heard the german economy minister reinforced this point. it looks like there was a deliberate act on these pipelines. and when you look at

a deliberate act, the question is, who would have wanted to do something like this to this pipeline that connects russia and europe? with so many european investors as well as russian investors. just picking u . russian investors. just picking u - on russian investors. just picking up on that. — russian investors. just picking up on that, who _ russian investors. just picking up on that, who would - russian investors. just picking up on that, who would have i up on that, who would have wanted to do something like that? we know what denmark and poland think, but what's the sense in terms of what you are seeing right now? we sense in terms of what you are seeing right now?— sense in terms of what you are seeing right now? we don't have all the answers _ seeing right now? we don't have all the answers right _ seeing right now? we don't have all the answers right now- seeing right now? we don't have all the answers right now about. all the answers right now about who could be behind this, but there is a lot of speculation that russia could have reasons for wanting to attack this particular pipeline. in many ways, it seems counterintuitive. after all, it is their pipeline too, but it is their pipeline too, but it is a pipeline they have been refusing to use since september, and nordstream two hours been operational... so

it's not currently making them money or being valuable, so it could have a different kind of role for the russians. again, we do not know this is what has happened, but there could be reasons why russia might want to demonstrate its power at sabotaging undersea infrastructure. there is a lot of that in europe, and also between our continents. to escalate the conflict, as we had the polish government saying today. or also to detract and deflect attention from the battlefield losses that the russians have been having in ukraine, as well as the not especially smooth mobilization effort in russia this past week. figs mobilization effort in russia this past week.— mobilization effort in russia this past week. as you point out, we don't _ this past week. as you point out, we don't know- this past week. as you point out, we don't know who - this past week. as you point out, we don't know who or. this past week. as you point - out, we don't know who or what might have caused this damage, but how much can you speak to the kind of impact it's going to have on energy prices, given the fact they are already

elevated and europe is looking at a cold, dark and increasingly expensive winter? the effect here is largely one of potentially causing panic. again, these were not pipeline is currently bringing gas to europe and there was no anticipation that they would be any time soon. so we are not seeing a contraction of supplies in the short—term, and many people thought these pipelines would potentially never come online anyway. so any price implication is one of concerned about could there be any other disturbances in the supply rather than a lack of gas through these particular pipelines. but what we need to look at next is what is the vulnerability of our energy infrastructure across europe, across the world? how do we patrol and protect our pipelines and then the lng terminals, because we are not looking at the pipeline so we

have to look at how else we get the gas, import and export terminals across europe, also in the uk, in asia, north america... is there enough attention on that? if pipelines can be blown up underneath the sea, what about electricity cables and data cables that connect so many of our countries and continents? critical questions about critical infrastructure. the united states says it will introduce a resolution at the un security council condemning russia's self—styled referendums in four regions of ukraine. voting has ended in the discredited referendums in four ukrainian regions, partly or largely occupied by russian forces, on whether they should join russia. according to russian state media, luhansk and donetsk in the east, and kherson and zaporizhzhia in the south, all apparently strongly favour annexation. ukraine and its allies say

the result had already been decided by the kremlin, and will be used as an excuse for an illegal landgrab. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, told us what steps the kremlin is expected to take now. first, i want to stress the key point here that these so—called referendums were not real referendums, they were hastily arranged, kremlin created and controlled events designed to pave the way to russian annexation of huge swathes of ukrainian territory. we may well see this happen later this week. i expect at some point this week, russia will come out and say, right, this land is now ours, even in the absence of international recognition. the question is, what happens then? the kremlin has made it pretty clear that if kyiv attacks and tries to get back these territories, then russia will view that as an attack against its territorial integrity, and it will respond with all means

available to it, including, potentially, nuclear weapons. we know that washington has warned moscow that if russia uses nuclear weapons, that would have catastrophic consequences for russia. what we don't know is whether that american warning will influence vladimir putin's next move. steve rosenberg. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. iranian riot police and security forces have clashed with demonstrators in dozens of cities, as protests rage on over the death of young woman in police custody. state media puts the number of dead at 41, though activists say the true figure is far higher. hundreds of people have also been arrested, including 20 journalists. the saudi arabian crown prince mohammed bin salman has been made prime minister in a cabinet reshuffle. the post is traditionally

held by the king. mohammed bin salman has in effect been running the country for several years, bringing in social and cultural changes, but also overseeing widespread repression of dissident voices. rescue teams are working after a boat sank in bangladesh. it is the country's deadliest maritime disaster in years. the colombian singer shakira has been ordered to stand trial in spain, in a tax evasion case. prosecutors in barcelona said in july that they would seek a prison sentence of more than eight years against the singer after she rejected a plea deal over accusations of tax evasion. in an interview last week, shakira said she was confident she did not owe the spanish tax office anything. this the international monetary

fund has publicly criticised the financial plans unveiled on friday by the uk chancellor kwasi kwarteng, which caused the pound and bonds to plunge. in an unusually outspoken statement, it also says "given elevated inflation pressures in many countries, including the uk, we do not recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages at this juncture as it is important that fiscal policy does not work at cross purposes to monetary policy." cushioned

global products, plastics, etc, they are global products, plastics, the etc, they are global products, plastics, the etc, �*any are in in the dollar, so any drop in the pound directly in the dollar, so any drop in the costsi directly over in the dollar, so any drop in the lastsi directly over in the dollar, so any drop in the last 20 iirectly over in the dollar, so any drop in the last 20 years/ over in the dollar, so any drop in the last 20 years we over in the dollar, so any drop in the last 20 years we have )ver in the dollar, so any drop in the last 20 years we have been running, our the last 20 years we have been rur our , our �* products =:- remains close to histerjclews. a trading where credibility of britain's the credibility of britain's finances is up for question. i have never seen a budget move the pound like this in my entire career. essentially with interest rates rising in the uk, it's more expensive to fund the deficit, which keeps getting wider, especially with the announcements we had in the budget. the only way out of this doom loop, we have to tame inflation and get interest rates back down.-

inflation and get interest rates back down. ., ., ., rates back down. tame inflation and all this _ rates back down. tame inflation and all this goes _ rates back down. tame inflation and all this goes away, - rates back down. tame inflation and all this goes away, the - and all this goes away, the problem is, the budget on friday will add to inflation. the bank of england chief economist made clear today that by november, it would deliver significant interest rate rises. i significant interest rate rises. ~ �* , significant interest rate rises. ~ 3 . significant interest rate rises. ~ �*, ., ., ., rises. i think it's hard not to draw the — rises. i think it's hard not to draw the conclusion - rises. i think it's hard not to draw the conclusion that. rises. i think it's hard not to draw the conclusion that all| draw the conclusion that all this will require a significant monetary policy response. let me leave it there.— me leave it there. those rises from governor _ me leave it there. those rises from governor andrew - me leave it there. those rises from governor andrew bailey | me leave it there. those rises i from governor andrew bailey are dependent onjust how from governor andrew bailey are dependent on just how much borrowing the chancellor does. he told bankers and his mps, he was going to stick to his plan, as the cost of mortgages surges, the markets may not wait until november for answers. one of the most powerful storms to hit vietnam for twenty years has made landfall. these are the latest pictures to come into us showing rain lashing da nang. the government had already ordered hundreds of thousands

of people to leave their homes ahead of typhoon noru, which ripped through the philippines on monday, leaving at least eight people dead. the typhoon is expected to reach thailand on thursday. let's take you to cuba now, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been left without power after hurricane ian slammed into the country's west. the storm made landfall early on tuesday, bringing rain and wind speeds of 205 kilometres an hour. officials cut power to the entire pinar del rio province, a population of 850,000, and evacuated 40,000 from low—lying areas. the impact was so severe it could be seen from space. these satellite images show hurricane ian — the flashes indicating lightning strikes. and this was the aftermath — the category three system left a trail of destruction and flooding in its wake, as it moved onwards towards the gulf of mexico.

hurricane ian is now moving towards the us, and is expected to strengthen before making landfall in florida on wednesday. this is the expected path. residents along parts of florida's west coast have been warned of "catastrophic" storm surges and life—threatening flooding. florida governor ron de santis has already declared a state of emergency for the entire state. residents have been urged to stock up on supplies, and some mandatory evacuations are under way. a short time ago, i got this update from our central america and cuba correspondent will grant in mexico city, and also from our reporter azadeh moshiri in florida. when it hit cuba, the western tip of the island, it barrelled in at over 200 kilometres per hour, winds, a huge dumping of rain across a very rural,

important region of the country for agriculture. the heart of the island's tobacco industry. we have seen images of completely destroyed. and of course lose ripped off homes, power lines are down. it is estimated a million people are still without power at the western end of the island. thankfully the capital havana seems like it has avoided the worst. it was simply rain, lightning, high winds, but the damage has been relatively contained which is important, because so many buildings in havana are in a precarious state in the first. this comes at the very worst time for cuba at the very worst time for cuba at the very worst time for cuba at the moment, in dire straits economically, and this will affect the agricultural sector, and so potentially the distribution of basic foods around the island.- around the island. those pictures _ around the island. those pictures we _ around the island. those pictures we are - around the island. those pictures we are looking l pictures we are looking at, showing the scale of the devastation. i want to turn to

florida now... what is the picture in florida right now? how are the authorities preparing for this? figs how are the authorities preparing for this? as will “ust preparing for this? as will just mentioned, _ preparing for this? as will just mentioned, it - preparing for this? as will just mentioned, it was - preparing for this? as will just mentioned, it was a l just mentioned, it was a category three storm when it made — category three storm when it made landfall in florida, officials are not quite sure what — officials are not quite sure what category it will be in florida _ what category it will be in florida. —— when it made landfall_ florida. —— when it made landfall in cuba. so they have been — landfall in cuba. so they have been making very serious preparations. governor ron desantis has put a state of emergency in place in all 67 counties, _ emergency in place in all 67 counties, he has mobilized up to 5000 — counties, he has mobilized up to 5000 national guard troops. and other preparations are being — and other preparations are being made as well, schools being — being made as well, schools being shutdown, turned into potential shelters. and here in tampa — potential shelters. and here in tampa bay, an extremely low lying — tampa bay, an extremely low lying area, the buildings are extremely vulnerable. mandatory evacuations are in place. will,

ou evacuations are in place. will, you were _ evacuations are in place. will, you were telling _ evacuations are in place. will, you were telling us _ evacuations are in place. will, you were telling us about - evacuations are in place. will, you were telling us about howj you were telling us about how people are coping right now, but are authorities helping out? we have heard about some of the preparations in florida. give us a sense of the scale of existence people are getting in cuba. . . existence people are getting in cuba. ., ., ., cuba. yeah, i mean, dealing with hurricanes _ cuba. yeah, i mean, dealing with hurricanes is _ cuba. yeah, i mean, dealing with hurricanes is ingrained l with hurricanes is ingrained into the dna of the cuban people. into the dna of the cuban eo - le. into the dna of the cuban eo le, , . ., into the dna of the cuban --eole. ., into the dna of the cuban n-eole. ., , ., . people. -- scale of assistance. it is so regular, _ people. -- scale of assistance. it is so regular, getting - people. -- scale of assistance. it is so regular, getting more l it is so regular, getting more stronger, more powerful and more frequent with climate change, so cubans know how to deal with her against. people evacuated from the outer lying islands came onto the mainland. people stayed with families. the authorities are good at mobilizing quickly in times like this. the economics of the situation are dire in cuba at present. they simply don't have many of the basic tools that might be needed to help get things back in line, to help

clear trees and clear paths, shelters, emergency supplies and so on. so it is a very different scenario to cope with. the hope is because it was limited to the western end of the island, that the need is contained and that the authorities, the communist run authorities, the communist run authorities, will be able to get down to the people who need it the most quite quickly. we'll look back at the state funeral for the assassinated former japanese prime minister shinzo abe, and ask why some chose to protest rather than respect the event. in all russia's turmoil, it has never quite come to this. president yeltsin said today would decide the nation's destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act, here. russians are killing

russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility that produced affection from catholics throughout the world. but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. this man, israel's right—winger ariel sharon, visited the religious compound, and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrated the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation. this is newsday on the bbc. the headlines.

the president of the european commission has said sabotage was the cause of rare gas leaks in two major pipelines connecting russia and europe. as moscow—backed occupied regions of ukraine claim victory in their self—styled referendums onjoining russia, the us secretary of state says those areas will never be recognised by the west. to japan now, where the state funeral of assassinated former prime minister shinzo abe has taken place in tokyo. world leaders attending included the us vice president kamala harris. but the decision to hold a state funeral proved divisive. rupert wingfield hayes reports from tokyo. it is hard to imagine what this must have been like for akie abe, shinzo abe's widow. amid her own private grief, with so many looking on,

it was her lonely task to carry her husband's ashes into his state funeral. among the many eulogies that followed, perhaps the most heartfelt came from mr abe's closest political ally and successor yoshihide suga. translation: | spent- all those years with you in the prime minister office. i was so happy through good times and bad, i will say this repeatedly prime minister shinzo abe you were a true leader of our country japan. this funeral was not without controversy. opinion polls show around 60% of japanese people did not want it to happen. but as the dignitaries gathered inside, on the streets outside, long lines began to form. of ordinary japanese people wanting to be part of it. wanting to show their feelings. he is a big icon in japan and i love him. i want to show respect, love, everything. ilove him. all of these people in this

line love him too i guess. the state funeral for shinzo abe is deeply dividing japanese society. you can see this queue, we understand is 3km long. many thousands of people have turned out today to pay their respects and expressed their sorrow at his death. but equally, not far away, there are many thousands of others who were gathering to protest, to show their anger that mr abe has been given this rare honour. at the national parliament, a very different scene. a very different mood. japanese are not a people easily driven to anger. but you could feel it here. a sense that these people's feelings about mr abe have been completely ignored. translation: i am angry. they are holding the state funeral completely without the consent of the people. that's why young people like me need to speak out more. translation: | could not stay | at home when they are spending so much on this funeral, with so many ordinaryjapanese

people suffering. inside the budokan, the great and the good were now paying their respects. us vice president kamala harris, former british prime minister theresa may, and india's narendra modi. abroad, shinzo abe was admired as is truly significant politician, but one who was never fully embraced by his own people. president biden will host a summit with leaders and representatives from pacific island nations on wednesday, as the us looks to strengthen relations in the region. washington is keen to counter china's ambitions in the pacific. the summit will also focus on climate change. anna powles is a senior lecturer in international security at massey university in new zealand. i asked her what president biden hopes to achieve from this summit.

this is the first ever presidential summit with pacific island leaders. it marks the culmination of several years of increased us engagement and policy in the pacific, and really embedding us engagement in the pacific within the broader indo—pacific strategy. and what president biden is probably hoping to achieve out of this summit is, firstly, an 11 point declaration signed with pacific leaders attending the summit. and a deeper partnership between the united states and the pacific. figs between the united states and the pacifie— the pacific. as you are talking throu~h the pacific. as you are talking through some _ the pacific. as you are talking through some of _ the pacific. as you are talking through some of those - the pacific. as you are talking through some of those issues there, the priorities of course for the biden administration, it strikes me that one country

that will be watching this very closely, and not invited to the party, so to speak, is of course china. do you think we will get a response from beijing? what might the strategy be there? there certainly _ strategy be there? there certainly may _ strategy be there? there certainly may be - strategy be there? there certainly may be a - strategy be there? there i certainly may be a response from beijing. they are obviously very concerned about any architecture in the pacific which potentially excludes, which potentially excludes, which does exclude china and reduces their space in which they can operate. but there is also concern among pacific leaders too that partners do not engage with the pacific purely to counter china as a zero—sum geopolitical plan. they welcome us engagement in the region but they are concerned that the engagement be consistent, that it reflects

pacific values and priorities, and that it isn't exclusionary. that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. hello there. there's been quite an autumnal flavour to our weather story both by day and at nightjust recently. there's more sunshine and showers to come. plenty of rainbows potentially in the sky, but the wind strength will ease through wednesday, still coming from the north, so still a coolish source. now it's this weather front here that could be a key player as we go through wednesday. it's going to enhance some showers in off the north seas. it's these here, they'll gradually drift their way towards newcastle and down to hull area, some of them heavy and thundery. ahead of it, largely fine with some sunshine, a few scattered showers running down through perhaps the west facing coasts of wales and south west england. we will see temperatures struggling for the time

of year, around 13—16 celsius, and some of these showers could turn heavy and thundery. now, they are likely to drift their way steadily southwards through wednesday night into the early hours of thursday morning. so still there to clear first thing on thursday. but on the whole, this little ridge of high pressure builds and quietens things down for many on thursday. so some early showers clearing south of the m4 corridor. a few showers still coming in off the north sea for northeast england, but generally fine and settling with a little more sunshine and lighter winds. temperatures will be a degree or so higher back to where they should be really for this time of year. however, it's all change into friday. we're likely to see some pretty wet and windy weather. so, useful rain for all of us at some point on friday. ahead of it, it is going to be largely fine and dry, in so not a bad start. if you've got plans for outside, get out and do it first thing in the morning. that rain turning into western scotland, northern ireland, northwest england as we go

through lunchtime and then gradually drifting its way southeast. so probably not arriving into east anglia and southeast england until the end of the day. top temperatures of around 17 celsius. now, as we move into the weekend, that weather front could be a bit of a nuisance for some of us. it's going to continue to push its way steadily south and east. and as you can see, we trail it all the way back out into the atlantic. so for central and southern england, we could see some rain persisting for the start of the weekend, but, eventually, sunday will see somewhat drier, brighter and once again, warmer conditions returning. take care.

this is bbc news. we will help the headlines and all of the main news stories at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. this week, we're back in berlin as europe's largest tech show powers up. yeah, we �*ll glide through the halls to see what's big, what's new and what's bonkers. what are you doing? multitasking. meanwhile, lara has been to the british seaside.