this is bbc news. the headlines.... officials say 120 people have been killed in a stampede in the south korean capital seoul during halloween celebrations. it was very clear that there was just so many people here, probably the most i have ever seen in itaewon, and the crowds were just gathering more and more. russia pulls out from a crucial deal to export grain from ukrainian ports. the united nations say they're seeking explanation from moscow. the move follows russia blaming ukraine for a wave of drone attacks on the russian black sea fleet in occupied crimea. the household energy supplier octopus energy has reached a deal to buy bulb, one of the companies which collapsed

last year amid soaring wholesale gas and electricity prices. hello and welcome to bbc world news. we begin with developing news from south korea. it's reported that 120 people have been killed in a stampede and crush in the capital, seoul. 100 have been injured. the incident happened as huge crowds gathered for halloween festivities in a busy bar district. up to 100,000 people are said to have been celebrating in the popular night spot. many of those out during the evening were young party—goers. it's feared the number of dead could rise. videos show medical teams giving cpr treatment to rows of people lying in the middle of crowded streets.

earlier on the programme, my colleague david eades spoke to an eyewitness — a freelance journalist raphael rashid. let's hear what he said. it's a night out for a lot of people including myself. i was in the area. when i arrived towards 7pm it was very clear that there was just so many people here, probably the most i've ever seen in itaewon. and the crowds were just gathering more and more. towards 10pm, 10:30pm, it was clear that there were far too many people and something was unravelling at that moment.— at that moment. when you say unravelling. — at that moment. when you say unravelling, i— at that moment. when you say unravelling, i appreciate - at that moment. when you say unravelling, i appreciate it- at that moment. when you say i unravelling, i appreciate it wasn't obvious what had happened at the time but you could actually feel something emerging?— time but you could actually feel something emerging? yeah, so, when isa a lot of people, _ something emerging? yeah, so, when isa a lot of people, there's _ something emerging? yeah, so, when isa a lot of people, there's tens - something emerging? yeah, so, when isa a lot of people, there's tens of- isa a lot of people, there's tens of thousands of people. it's the most

i've ever seen. so many people to the point we were being crushed on the point we were being crushed on the pavement, where we had to spill onto the road where there were cars. at that moment we could hear the fire brigade and police and ambulances trying to get through the crowd. no one really understood what was going on but there were already several police cars and the scene in front of itaewon station and police standing on top of their police cars, desperately trying to tell people to leave the area as soon as. so we didn't really understand what was going on but we knew that something was unravelling at that moment, especially near the hamilton hotel, which is kind of a landmark hotel, which is kind of a landmark hotel near itaewon station. people didn't really know what was happening, theyjust thought it didn't really know what was happening, they just thought it was

maybe another small, you know, incident or accident, which happens, of course, on these big nights out but i don't think anyone could understand the magnitude of what's going on right now. even since, i mean, i couldn't stay in the area because the police were telling us to leave quickly, so i went into the subway and even the subway, we couldn't even move in. so many people were trying to enter the subway station. 0ur correspondent anj—anna gadgil is here fire departments detailsrespomse pf govmpore abot the area. what's the latest? at least 120 people have been killed and 100 injured in the stampede but the figures are unclear, many people have been treated at the scene. a morgue has been set up at a nearby building. 0fficials morgue has been set up at a nearby building. officials have been summoned, medicalteams

building. officials have been summoned, medical teams are there, so the number of injured and dead could still rise. so the number of in'ured and dead could still rise.— could still rise. what about officials? _ could still rise. what about officials? what _ could still rise. what about officials? what have - could still rise. what about officials? what have they l could still rise. what about - officials? what have they been telling us about what's happened and what have they been doing? a lot of emergency services and fire officials turning up quickly to the scene. ., ., ., scene. the fire defeat two of the fire department _ scene. the fire defeat two of the fire department said _ scene. the fire defeat two of the fire department said that - scene. the fire defeat two of the fire department said that the . fire department said that the stampede took place at 10pm, one o'clock in the uk, with many victims trampled to death. he said the high number of casualties was a result of many being trampled during the halloween event. he added that 7a bodies were sent to local hospitals and 46 have been put in a nearby gym. 0fficials and 46 have been put in a nearby gym. officials said earlier that 50 people were in cardiac arrest and that more than 140 ambulances had been dispatched to the scene to aid the victims. however in south korea, until they can confirm death, they describe things as being in cardiac

arrest. we describe things as being in cardiac arrest. ~ ., , describe things as being in cardiac arrest. ~ . , , . , arrest. we are seeing pictures here of what happened _ arrest. we are seeing pictures here of what happened and _ arrest. we are seeing pictures here of what happened and you - arrest. we are seeing pictures here of what happened and you sense i arrest. we are seeing pictures here i of what happened and you sense from the crowds that there was a lot of confusion straight off the bat. let me ask, has there been any international reaction? yes, rishi sunak, the _ international reaction? yes, rishi sunak, the uk — international reaction? yes, rishi sunak, the uk pm _ international reaction? yes, rishi sunak, the uk pm has _ international reaction? yes, rishi sunak, the uk pm has released i international reaction? yes, rishi sunak, the uk pm has released a| sunak, the uk pm has released a statement saying all of our thoughts are with those currently responding and with all south koreans at this very distressing time. that is a tweet by the uk prime minister, rishi sunak. the male of —— the mayor of seoul is abroad and is returning. there was an emergency medical team meeting and messages were sent to mobile phones. partygoers were arriving, unaware what happened, and mobile phone messages were sent to everyone telling them to go home so officials

could continue their work.— could continue their work. thanks for aaivin could continue their work. thanks for giving us _ could continue their work. thanks for giving us that _ could continue their work. thanks for giving us that update. - earlier i spoke to bbc video journalist hosu lee, who was at the scene in seoul. i arrived a couple of hours ago and when i arrived there were what a lot of what seems to be bodies by the dozen, being taken to cabinet is. we've seen social media showing masses of emergency personnel doing cpr. so far the fire department briefed. we don't know what the cause was. i encountered a few injured victims who were approaching the main clubbing party area and then they saw a huge crowd rushing, they were caught and one person's legs were broken and they were very shocked. they also don't know

exactly what happened. you mentioned that this is an — exactly what happened. you mentioned that this is an area _ exactly what happened. you mentioned that this is an area where _ exactly what happened. you mentioned that this is an area where many - that this is an area where many people had congregated, had come for a celebration. what was happening in the area this evening? this a celebration. what was happening in the area this evening?— the area this evening? this is not necessarily _ the area this evening? this is not necessarily the _ the area this evening? this is not necessarily the first _ the area this evening? this is not necessarily the first time - the area this evening? this is not necessarily the first time south i necessarily the first time south korea has eased restrictions. restrictions overall have been eased this year however the halloween celebration, this is one of the bigger ones because over the last couple of years because of covid it couldn't happen as much. this year was particularly big. halloween isn't always celebrated but in this district, as a foreigner, more clubbing and restaurants and bars, young people would gather to enjoy halloween. a lot of people gathered. people flooded out. you halloween. a lot of people gathered. people flooded out.— halloween. a lot of people gathered. people flooded out. you talked about seeint people flooded out. you talked about seeing peeple — people flooded out. you talked about seeing peeple being _ people flooded out. you talked about seeing people being resuscitated - people flooded out. you talked about seeing people being resuscitated on i

seeing people being resuscitated on the straight earlier and i saw pictures of so many emergency crews there. can you give us an idea of what the response has been to this? the response has been very massive, the president has been on watch and there have been so many dozens and dozens of police, ambulances and hundreds of police people. initially there were many crowds but the police have cleared most of them out. police and emergency personnel and reporters. most of the injured so far have been moved out and right now the scene is of police and medical personnel. you now the scene is of police and medical personnel. you talked about halloween not _ medical personnel. you talked about halloween not normally _ medical personnel. you talked about halloween not normally being - halloween not normally being celebrated in south korea but specifically it is in this area. why is it so popular with these kind of celebrations?—

is it so popular with these kind of celebrations? this area is itaewon. there are many — celebrations? this area is itaewon. there are many foreigners - celebrations? this area is itaewon. there are many foreigners who - celebrations? this area is itaewon. l there are many foreigners who come to visit, to go clubbing and partying. it makes sense why halloween is celebrated here. halloween is celebrated here. halloween is celebrated here. halloween is considered a western holiday and not really celebrated overall outside of the youth in south korea.— overall outside of the youth in south korea. , ., ., south korea. tell us more about the kind of peeple _ south korea. tell us more about the kind of people who _ south korea. tell us more about the kind of people who come _ south korea. tell us more about the kind of people who come to - south korea. tell us more about the kind of people who come to this - kind of people who come to this area. we were talking earlier about young people, people wearing fancy dress, who wanted to celebrate an evening with air france. mast dress, who wanted to celebrate an evening with air france.— dress, who wanted to celebrate an evening with air france. most of the eo - le i evening with air france. most of the peeple i see — evening with air france. most of the peeple i see here — evening with air france. most of the people i see here are _ evening with air france. most of the people i see here are young, - evening with air france. most of the people i see here are young, in - people i see here are young, in their 20s, people i see here are young, in their20s, people people i see here are young, in their 20s, people who wear costumes, to party and have fun. also people who just live in south korea and wanted to party on a saturday night.

we saw pictures early people trying to climb lamp posts come onto billboards to try and get away from the crowd and from what i've been reading a large number of these people fell when they were trying to go through a very narrow alley during the halloween events. what more can you tell us about that? i wasn't there when it was happening but i came after and i saw the main street, there are two alleyways leading to the main street. i think they are the alleyways where the stampede happened. i seen some bloodied shoes left on the street. it seems like they were the main points where people tripped and then people behind tripped over them and crushed them. i’ge people behind tripped over them and crushed them-— crushed them. i've been reading that earlier on there _ crushed them. i've been reading that earlier on there were _ crushed them. i've been reading that earlier on there were reports - crushed them. i've been reading that earlier on there were reports of- earlier on there were reports of 100,000 revellers in the area and social media posts apparently in the evening before the event, people

remarking that it was so crowded that people felt unsafe. have people been telling you this? hat that people felt unsafe. have people been telling you this?— been telling you this? not the --eole been telling you this? not the peeple i've — been telling you this? not the people i've spoken _ been telling you this? not the people i've spoken to. - been telling you this? not the people i've spoken to. it - been telling you this? not the people i've spoken to. it is - been telling you this? not the - people i've spoken to. it is always crowded at night and people expect especially at halloween for the area to be very crowded. i think we need to be very crowded. i think we need to wait to see what caused it exactly, to know why. i’ge to wait to see what caused it exactly, to know why. i've heard there's been _ exactly, to know why. i've heard there's been an _ exactly, to know why. i've heard there's been an emergency - exactly, to know why. i've heard - there's been an emergency broadcast sent to every mobile phone in the district telling residents to return home. ruc people on the streets or people just home. ruc people on the streets or peoplejust going back home. ruc people on the streets or people just going back to their homes now? —— are you seeing people on the streets? homes now? -- are you seeing people on the streets?— on the streets? most of the citizens are out of the _ on the streets? most of the citizens are out of the area. _ on the streets? most of the citizens are out of the area. many _ are out of the area. many journalists and reporters. it is mostly cleared out. it is mostly police and ambience personnel. the police and ambience personnel. the police tried to clear a lot of people out. there are still many

people out. there are still many people at least for the first few hours of staying and lingering. people trying to come into the initial area because they didn't know this had happened and they wanted to enjoy the party but they had to go home immediately. a bbc videojournalist a bbc video journalist at the scene a time after the event. some lines we are getting. according to officials, according to a fire official, the death toll from the crash has now risen to 146 people killed, with 150 people injured in that seoul halloween crush. we were talking earlier about the fact that another fire official had warned that there are many, many seriously injured people amongst those injured. so, likely that the death toll could tragically rise even further. the event happened a few hours ago in a very popular area in

seoul with young people, a lot of people partying, there are clubs and bars in the area. it happened at about 10:30pm local time, bars in the area. it happened at about10:30pm localtime, in bars in the area. it happened at about 10:30pm local time, in the evening. as we were hearing their about 100,000 people are thought to have congregated to the district to celebrate halloween. there has been some international reaction over the last few minutes. the uk prime minister has tweeted. we of course we'll bring you more on this story. it is developing, we are getting new lines in every few minutes. we'll take you back to south korea as and when we get more

information. russia says it is suspending participation in a un—brokered agreement that allows grain exports to leave ukraine. this comes after ukraine appeared to carry out a large scale drone attack on the russian black sea fleet in the crimean port city of sevastapol. earlier, i spoke to our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. russia says that ukraine carried out a multiple aerial and maritime drone attack. they said that slight damage was caused to one of their minesweepers but that all of the drones had been destroyed. but in the course of the day, various videos have been emerging, including one from a ukrainian journalist, parts of which we have been able to verify, is clearly showing the waters around the port of sebastopol. they appear to show what really is a swarm of maritime drones, unmanned boats moving around

in those waters off sevastopol, apparently at will, able to move around at one or two points, apparently close to being in contact with large russian warships. we don't know whether they blew up, whether there were significant explosions. there are other videos that do show explosions in the port, and what we have been able to piece together is a really widespread attack across a very substantial part of the seafront in sebastopol. if it is that, then this would be one of the most audacious things the ukrainians have done, and let's face it, we are getting almost used to extraordinary stories of military ingenuity. but a drone attack involving vessels on the water and aerial drones in the sky, that is almost frankly unheard of in the history of warfare, and does suggest that something fairly innovative, to say the least, happened.

we don't know, crucially, what the damage was. there have been videos of explosions, some reports that major russian warships were damaged, possibly even sunk, may be the truth of that will emerge over time, but clearly something significant happened in the early hours of this morning. and whatever happened, it has pushed the russians to now suspend cooperation. yes, they said they'd can no longer guarantee the security of vessels passing through that corridor, that corridor that has been operating now since august, conveying ukrainian grain to the world market. they say that ukraine used that corridor as kind of cover to launch the attack. it seems implausible, that corridor is a lot further west. they are also saying that britain was involved in some way leading this attack, something that has drawn a fairly stern response from the british ministry of defence. russia has been unhappy with this deal for some time.

it says that it has not been able to export its own agricultural products, in particularfertiliser, and that it has been really exercised about that for some time. vladimir putin has been railing against the wholegrain deal for some months now, saying it is not providing food to the world plaque starving people, it is mostly going to wealthy european countries, and so forth, so it has been clear that russia is looking for some kind of excuse to end this deal early for some time. it was supposed to run for 120 days, we are not even close to that yet, but now it seems as though the russians are suspending their cooperation. it has drawn a sharp riposte from the ukrainian foreign minister dmytro kuleba, who says that "we have warned of russia's plans to ruin the black sea grain initiative for some time, now moscow uses a false pretext to block the crane corridor which ensures food security for millions of people." 0pposition parties are calling for an investigation into claims that liz truss's phone was hacked

while she was foreign secretary. the mail on sunday's reported that the hack was discovered during the conservative leadership campaign over the summer but wasn't made public. let's get more on this with our political correspondent jonathan blake. the mail on sunday newspaper in the uk is reporting that liz truss's phone was hacked in the summer. she was foreign secretary at the time and it was when the convervative leadership contest was playing out. she went on to win. the details of what was accessed on her phone and fell into foreign hands, according to the paper, were kept out of the public domain, a decision they say that was taken by the prime minister and cabinet secretary, the most senior official, simon case. access to private messages was obtained to the former chancellor kwasi kwarteng as well as possible communications with foreign ministers around the world about the war in ukraine. it isn't clear how the alleged hack

happened or that the foreign secretary did anything wrong. 0pposition parties have seized on this. the shadow home secretary from the labour party yvette cooper have said that these are immensely important national—security issues raised by an attack like this by a hostile state that will have to be taken very seriously. the liberal democrats say that an urgent independent investigation is needed to uncover the truth. there are questions about whether the decision to keep the information out of the public domain was to do with the convervative leadership contest. more likely there was a consideration in government to have any suggestion that the russians or anyone else had access to foreign secretary's phone is being embarrassing, not reflecting well on the security services in the uk. the government not commentating on the detail of the reports. they say they don't comment on security arrangements but they say the

government has robust measures in place including advice for protecting personal data and mitigating cyber threats. the household energy supplier 0ctopus is to buy its competitor bulb, the largest energy company to collapse amid soaring wholesale gas and electricity prices last year. the government has spent billions of pounds keeping bulb afloat since then. now, 0ctopus has agreed a deal to take on the company's 1.5 million customers. our business reporter ramzan kamali has the details. the energy market was in disarray this time last year. dozens of firms went bust as energy prices soared. the regulator, 0fgem, increased what was then known as the energy price cap. the biggest victim was bulb, put in a special administration, kept going by a huge government bailout. today 0ctopus are confident the takeover of bulb's customers would be a smooth one.

0ctopus has a great track record of bringing large numbers of customers across, so for example when avro failed — it was the largest company to date — we were able to look after those customers, and staff, pretty seamlessly. and i think with bulb the experience we've got means we're probably the natural choice. in total, 1.5 million bulb customers will move across to 0ctopus. last november the government had to bail out the firm with a £1.7 billion loan. but earlier this year the independent 0ffice for budget responsibility predicted the total bailout package would be £2.2 billion. this deal could save taxpayers millions. i think it'd be good, you know, for octopus to take over bulb and relieve the taxpayer of the burden of running it for the moment. it also will make bulb customers... obviously give them a comfort that someone is actually running their business and looking after them in the best way possible. additionally, octopus has agreed to share profits if any are made from its new bulb customers

with the government for up to four years. octopus will become one of the country's biggest suppliers, and the company were keen to reassure customers. no one's going to see prices going up as a result of this agreement. people should just sit tight. for now the service will carry on exactly as it does, provided by the same people. since the war in ukraine, energy bills are much higher, despite the government's energy price guarantee. that's due to end next april, so even though there's been some certainty provided with this deal, for consumers what they pay in the future remains unclear. ramzan kamali, bbc news. let's cross now to our top story, a developing story coming out of the south korean capital, seoul, we are reporting 146 people have died and that seoul halloween celebration crush. 150 people injured. many of

those injured have been taken to hospital and we are hearing now from local officials that many of those injured have been seriously injured. earlier on, as you can see, there was confusion, there was chaos leading up to the event, during and after the event. it is said that 100,000 people gathered in a small district of seoul. the area is very popular with seoul's young people. halloween apparently is one of the busiest weekends of the year in the south korean capital. we were talking to a localjournalist earlier who said the emergency broadcast had been sent to every mobile phone in the area urging people to return home as soon as possible. this happened in the itaewon district, a busy bar area in the yongsan area. we have been

hearing that there were rows of people being given cpr by emergency workers and by bystanders during the event. now, the crash, it is unclear how it happened. we know that there were many people who had come to the area to celebrate. there was a narrow alleyway through which the crowd tried to enter and go through. the only thing we know so far, information is so scarce and confusing to say with certainty but we believe a number of people in the dense crowd fell and that precipitated what then became a stampede. to reiterate what we know so far, tragically 146 people have lost their lives and 150 people have been injured. there is a live page on the bbc website with the latest on the bbc website with the latest on this developing story. stay with

us. optionally mild today across—the—board but especially the south—east where we saw 23 degrees in saintjames park in london. tomorrow, mild but maybe not as warm as today. a mixture of sunshine and showers. the showers will be blustery across the west because they are close to the area of low pressure. more isobars meaning stronger wind. pressure. more isobars meaning strongerwind. in pressure. more isobars meaning stronger wind. in the subtree overnight, the rain will clearfrom scotland, turning drierfor many. cloud and rain pushing into east anglia and the south—east, blustery showers across northern ireland

around some irish sea coasts. a mild night to come, lows of 10—14 across the uk. don't forget that the clocks go back and our in the early hours of sunday so hopefully an extra hour in bed for many of us before sunday morning. low pressure will be nearby meaning and unsettled day, blustery for all areas with wind reaching gale force across the irish coasts and south—west england. when clearing from the south—east. some good spells of sunshine this afternoon. quite windy, especially in the north and west. gust of 40 or 50 mph. mild forthe in the north and west. gust of 40 or 50 mph. mild for the time of year but not as warm as it was on saturday afternoon. showers clearing north and then quieter for a time before the next system starts making inroads in the far west during the

early hours of monday. temperatures, 10-13, early hours of monday. temperatures, 10—13, so staying very mild indeed. monday and tuesday, low pressure takes over, going to be quite windy, wet at times and that's the theme for the rest of the week. weather systems coming from the atlantic meaning it stays unsettled, windy with gales and heavy rain interspersed by sunshine and showers. it will turn cooler as we move through the week. we can see that with temperatures returning closer to the seasonal norm.

while now on bbc news, political thinking with nick robinson. hello and welcome to political thinking, thinking that politics is easy these days because we seem to live in an era of permanent revolution and constant chaos. i was due to interview _ revolution and constant chaos. i was due to interview angela _ revolution and constant chaos. i was due to interview angela raynerjust seven weeks ago, it was the day after liz truss first pmqs it was the day of liz truss energy price guarantee. it turned out to be the

day that her majesty the queen died, and so much changed. seven weeks later, we are now in a week of rishi sunak�*s first premises questions and angela rayner is back on political thinking. angela rayner is back on political thinkina. . .., angela rayner is back on political thinkina. ~ .., . ,, angela rayner is back on political thinkin~.~ | angela rayner is back on political thinking._ i made l angela rayner is back on political. thinking._ i made it. thinking. welcome back. i made it. how are you _ thinking. welcome back. i made it. how are you finding _ thinking. welcome back. i made it. how are you finding this _ how are you finding this roller—coaster, because that is what it is. i roller-coaster, because that is what it is. ., ., , . it is. i thought when i was elected in 2015 that _ it is. i thought when i was elected in 2015 that the _ it is. i thought when i was elected in 2015 that the wheels _ it is. i thought when i was elected in 2015 that the wheels fell - it is. i thought when i was elected in 2015 that the wheels fell off - in 2015 that the wheels fell off politics then we had the eu referendum, we had ourfront bench suddenly became the backbench mf backbench became the front bench, we had numerous challenges in the labour party, it was an incredibly surreal fast paced time and of course the last seven weeks, as you say, have been a roller—coaster in itself. say, have been a roller-coaster in itself. ., ., ., , itself. he valued in the commons since 2015, _ itself. he valued in the commons since 2015. you — itself. he valued in the commons since 2015, you have _ itself. he valued in the commons since 2015, you have had - itself. he valued in the commons since 2015, you have had five - itself. he valued in the commons i since 2015, you have had five prime minister is, all tory, i might say. yes, and a lot has happened. i wouldn't predict the next month, the way things are, we have had three

prime in three months, i thought it would slow down but it