i'm rich preston. our top stories: at least 149 people have been killed in a crush in the south korean capital, seoul, during halloween celebrations. it was very clear that there was just to 70 people here, properly the most i've ever seenin properly the most i've ever seen in itaewon, and the crowds were just gathering more and more. ——so many people. city officlas say they've launched an urgent investigation into the cause of the chaotic scenes ahead of the incident. this is the current scene at the site of the acident in the itaewon, district of seoul. in other news: russia pulls out from a un—brokered deal to allow grain exports from ukrainian ports. 0pposition parties urge the british government to invesigate claims the former prime minister, liz truss, had her phone hacked while she was foreign

secretary. and a new zulu king has been crowned in south africa in the first such ceremony since apartheid. hello, welcome to the programme. we begin in east asia. almost 150 people have died, and dozens of others have been injured in a crush in the south korean capital, seoul. huge crowds had jammed into the narrow streets of the itaewon district to celebrate halloween. the area is known for its busy nightlife. a fire service spokesman said that most of those who died were in their teens or early 20s. earlier on social media, people had spoken of the streets being so busy, that they felt unsafe. 0ur seoul correspondent, jean mackenzie, has this report. and a warning — you may find

some of the images distressing. young people out to party, having fun, until things suddenly change. 0h, oh, my god! by the end of the night, bodies lined the street, some in costume. others were carried into ambulances lifeless and barefoot. the chilling sign of people who have tried to run but not been able to. the crush started in a small alleyway — it was so packed, people were stuck, elbow to elbow, they had barely an inch to move when the crowd surged forward. translation: the incident happened as large numbers of people fell down during the halloween festival, which caused serious injuries. this area of seoul is one of the most popular places for a night out for locals and tourists. it's the place to celebrate halloween — it's estimated

100,000 had come tonight. there were so many people to the point we were being crushed on the pavement, to the point where we had to spill onto the road where there were cars. no—one really understood what was going on. but there were already several police cars at 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 possible. hundreds of ambulances and fire engines lined the streets. desperate people alongside emergency workers, trying to perform cpr. and there will likely be more, as the injured are treated in hospital. something has gone horrifically wrong here in seoul tonight. working out what is an important next step. but tonight, this city is numb, still trying to track

down its lost. jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. earlier, we heard from a bbc videojournalist, hosu lee, who was at the scene in seoul. i arrived a couple of hours ago and when i arrived there were still a lot of what seemed to be still bodies, roads of steel bodies, at least more than a dozen, carried one by one into ambulances. we have seen other people on social media, footage showing masses of people, emergency personnel doing cpr. so far the fire department briefed thatjust happened now, we don't know the exact cause, i have talked to a few injured victims, slightly injured, who are approaching the main clubbing party area, and they saw a huge crowd rushing back in, they were caught in and one

of the person's legs were broken and they are all very shocked, but they also don't know exactly what happened. halloween celebration wise, this is doubly one of the biggest ones because the past couple of years because of covid wasn't able to expand this much. this year seem to be particularly big, halloween isn't necessarily elevated nationwide but in this district as a foreigner, more party, clubbing restaurant bars and district and a lot of young people would gather to celebrate halloween in costumes. some kind of cause somewhere in the main area, had people floating out. anthony kuhn is the seoul correspondent for npr — he joins us now from seoul. anthony, thank you for being with us. it'sjust anthony, thank you for being with us. it's just after nine in the morning with you in south korea. these are horrendous pictures we are seen dominic seeing. what's the mood like in seoul this morning? find

like in seoul this morning? and criticall , like in seoul this morning? and critically. i _ like in seoul this morning? and critically, i was _ like in seoul this morning? and critically, i was in _ like in seoul this morning? fific critically, i was in itaewon and as the sun was coming up, you had media staked out in front of this alleyway where people were crushed to death. you had an emergency medical centre stood up. incredibly, on the side streets, there were still revellers in their costumes eating and drinking and carousing. so it was quite incredible. another thing to mention is that seoul has come roaring back to life after the pandemic in just the past month, there have been to market very large and well—managed international festivals. first, there was a fireworks festival where you had people lining the city to watch fireworks. the menu had the itaewon local village festival, which is a celebration of the multicultural nature of the neighbourhood. it's a bit like the notting hill carnival. all

of these were very well—managed with emergency crew standing by in case of emergencies. this was clearly not the case here. the scene of the accident is still very much alive, with emergency responders and police and bystanders.— and bystanders. anthony, what more learning _ and bystanders. anthony, what more learning about _ and bystanders. anthony, what more learning about what - and bystanders. anthony, what more learning about what lastl more learning about what last night? more learning about what last niuht? �* , , more learning about what last niuht? �*, , ., more learning about what last niuht? h ., more learning about what last niuht? h , ., ., ~ ., night? it's very hard to know exactly what _ night? it's very hard to know exactly what triggered - night? it's very hard to know exactly what triggered it. - exactly what triggered it. there is a lot of speculation on social media but it helps to understand the area where it happened. as mentioned, itaewon is a very multicultural neighbourhood, you've got a mosque surrounded by halal food restaurants, you've got restau ra nts from restaurants, you've got restaurants from every part of the world, you have international schools. it's also a very hilly district and where the accident took place was not on the main street. a

lot of the bars are off the main street, up the hill in these tiny little alleys, and clearly, they were too packed and clearly something triggered and clearly something triggered a stampede with people trying to get through these tiny passageways. but the exact cause of it, what got people running was not clear. it was certainly too crowded and i was on the streets in several parts of seoul and notjust itaewon but other areas as well where it was jammed with people celebrate halloween. since the officials now — celebrate halloween. since the officials now say _ celebrate halloween. since the officials now say they - celebrate halloween. since the officials now say they have - officials now say they have launched an investigation, is that right?— that right? yes, that's right. i saw police _ that right? yes, that's right. i saw police on _ that right? yes, that's right. i saw police on the - that right? yes, that's right. i saw police on the scene - that right? yes, that's right. i i saw police on the scene going through the alley, the alleyways where this happened. they were looking for evidence, examining the buildings on either side, you could still see costumes trampled on the ground. they had ambulances and emergency crews from around the

nation working. this is a very serious accident. i don't think we seen anything like it since the sinking of a ferry in 2014 where 300 people were killed, many of them students. that incident built a very heavy blow to the then administration and a lot of introspection and how such a thing could happen in a nation that has become advanced economically, affluent technically advanced and yet such accidents which remind people. such accidents which remind --eole. ~ ., , such accidents which remind --eole.~ . , , people. we have seen the people were posting _ people. we have seen the people were posting in — people. we have seen the people were posting in the _ people. we have seen the people were posting in the run-up - people. we have seen the people were posting in the run-up to - were posting in the run—up to the incident on social media, saying they felt unsafe because the streets were so busy. yes. it is surprising _ the streets were so busy. yes. it is surprising but _ the streets were so busy. yes. it is surprising but they - the streets were so busy. yes. it is surprising but they were l it is surprising but they were parked. i was surprised to see just the numbers of trick on the street, there were events all over the place. there was something at the national

museum last night but itaewon is the focus of partying in the city because all the bars and restaurants and the international atmosphere, but again, the place was a bit of a ghost town during the pandemic because there were some cases there and the place was emptied. but it really has come roaring back. emptied. but it really has come roaring back-— emptied. but it really has come roaring back. anthony kuhn, npr seoul corresponded, _ roaring back. anthony kuhn, npr seoul corresponded, thank- roaring back. anthony kuhn, npr seoul corresponded, thank you . seoul corresponded, thank you for joining seoul corresponded, thank you forjoining us. seoul corresponded, thank you forjoining oe— forjoining us. thank you, rich. world leaders have been sending messages of support. president biden said: the new uk prime minister, rishi sunak, said: french president, emmanuel macron, tweeted to say: canada's president trudeau has also tweeted his support:

let's go to ukraine now. russia says it's suspending its participation in an agreement, brokered by the un, that allows grain exports from ukraine. moscow claims it's taken the decision after a drone attack on russian ships in occupied crimea. the kremlin called it a terrorist attack, but ukraine says that's a false pretext for blocking the grain corridors. 0ur ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, has more from the city of dnipro. you will have to forgive the sirens in the background, like so many cities across ukraine, dnipro is dark tonight as russia continues to target the country's infrastructure. but nevertheless, russia has said it is suspending its participation in the landmark grain deal in this war. it is a diplomatic blow. because the grain deal was the only diplomatic breakthrough

we've had. it allowed ukraine to export nine million tonnes of its agricultural produce sincejuly. it has helped the damaged economy, but it's also helped tens of millions of people around the world that rely on ukrainian grain to be able to eat and prevent starvation. so it is a blow, but this is something russia has been hinting at for quite a long time. they have been accused of using the deal as leverage as it continues to be frustrated on the battlefield. why do it today? its black sea naval fleet next to occupied crimea was hit today in a significant drone strike. it blames ukraine and this is why it says it has taken the action it has. this is why we are now in a sort of cycle. whenever crimea is targeted, somewhere russia tries to portray as a fortress, it targets ukrainian infrastructure in

cities like dnipro, and they suffer the consequences. kyiv hasn't commented, it has been very careful not to do that. it's neither confirmed or denied being behind the attack. but you can be sure that president zelensky will have taken a lot of satisfaction from the scenes we saw in crimea today. he has questioned russia's membership of the g20, the group of countries with the most advanced economies, given that they are weaponising food in this way, but it will be seen as a blow because the deal was seen as a template for a future ceasefire. 0pposition parties in the uk are calling for an investigation into claims that former prime minister liz truss's phone was hacked while she was foreign secretary. a british sunday newspaper reported that the hack was discovered

during the conservative leadership campaign over the summer but wasn't made public. 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake, told us more. she was foreign secretary at the time and it was also when the conservative leadership contest was playing out that 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 in the civil service, simon case. unnamed sources told the paper that access to private messages was obtained to the former chancellor kwasi kwarteng, as well as possibly 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. but opposition parties in the uk have seized on this. the shadow home secretary from the labour party, yvette cooper, has said 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, a smaller opposition party, 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 conservative leadership contest. perhaps more likely there was a consideration in government that to have any suggestion that the russians or anyone else had accessed foreign secretary's phone as being embarrassing, and not reflecting well on the security services in the uk. the government's not commenting on any of the detail of the reports. they say they don't comment on individual security arrangements but they say the government has robust measures in place against security threats, including advice on protecting personal data and mitigating cyber threats. that includes regular security briefings for ministers and advisers are protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats. this is bbc news. the headlines: at least 149 people have been killed in a crush in the south korean capital seoul during halloween

celebrations. russia has pulled out of a un—brokered deal to allow grain exports from ukrainian ports. the husband of the speaker of the us house of representatives nancy pelosi is said to be improving after he was attacked at the couple's home in san francisco. mr pelosi was beaten with a hammer by an intruder, who demanded to see his wife. president biden described the attack as "despicable" and denounced a corrosive political climate for contributing to violence in american society. 0ur west coast correspondent sophie long gave us this update from outside the pelosis' house. well the fact that paul pelosi was subject to such a brutal attack on the house behind me when a man broke into the rear of the building and sheltered where is nancy before striking him with a hammer has really brought home the vulnerabilities surrounding the security provision for members of congress and their families and the fact that it could happen to the husband of

someone as wealthy and as powerful as nancy pelosi, she is a close second in line to both residency and has a right security detail, caused real alarm amongst other congress members and their families. just to give you a sense of the level of threat that they are facing, this attack happened on the same day as the department for homeland security issued a warning that the united states was facing an increased threat from domestic violent extremists in the run—up to the midterm elections which will take just ten days from now and in the months after the violent insurrection on the capitol building onjanuary insurrection on the capitol building on january the insurrection on the capitol building onjanuary the sixth of 2021, police recorded more than 9000, 9500 threats against members of congress and it's notjust members of congress, election workers, federal law enforcement officers and supreme courtjudges have all had threats issued against them. the man suspected of carrying out the attack on paul policy has been arrested. he is 42—year—old david depape e. he is being investigated at the

moment by the authorities here and that of course is ongoing. 0nline of good news of course welcomed by both sides of the party divide is that paul policy who is now 82 years old is expected to make a full recovery having undergone successful surgery yesterday —— paul pelosi. president biden has been speaking about the attack again. here's what he said. you know, it's one thing to condemn the violence. but you cannot condemn the violence unless you condemn those people continuing to argue the election was not real, that it's been stolen, that all the malarkey that has been put out there to undermine democracy. you cannotjust democracy. you cannot just apologise democracy. you cannotjust apologise and say the violence. it affects peoples mentalities, it affects how people think, particular people who are not may be as stable as other people. so the talk has to stop. it's just a few weeks since some of the world's fastest drivers raced around the streets of singapore as formula 1 returned to the city—state.

well, this weekend, for the first time ever, it's the turn of bike riders. star names including chris froome and 2022 tour winnerjonas vingegaard will be among those competing in a tour de france—style event on sunday in the heart of singapore. i'm joined now by baptiste kern, from tour de france organisers amaury sport 0rganisation. thank you for being with us. please tell us more about the event and what is involved. hello. as you may know, tour de france is the annual events taking place every year in france, three weeks in the heart of the summer, and the idea of our tour de france criterium series in singapore and next week insight, japan is to bring the tour de france riders and the atmosphere to asia it's where graduate of the distance and we have devised an an action—packed format, is looking from a to b which the

tour de france does, we are actually doing a city circuit loop ——in saitama. it is way more action—packed for fans who do not have many opportunities to watch the best riders in the world so they will be doing 20 loops over three kilometres within the city circuit and we are doing a mix of actually the tour de france best riders coming, so you have 30 of the best of the peloton, jonas vingegaard, chris froome like you said, vincenzo nibali, cavendish, recordholderfor state wins in tour de france, and we are mixing them with asian riders because the whole purpose of the event is to inspire so we have teams from malaysia, singapore, thailand, south korea blending with the tour de france riders who have an amazing celebration of cycling, the best of all purposes. cycling, the best of all purposes-_ cycling, the best of all --uroses. . .., , i. purposes. these countries you have mentioned _ purposes. these countries you have mentioned are _ purposes. these countries you have mentioned are well- purposes. these countries you l have mentioned are well known for amongst other things their heat and humidity, not things you normally associate with france. how will the riders

cope doing these races in southeast asia?- cope doing these races in southeast asia? ., ., southeast asia? the good thing is the riders. — southeast asia? the good thing is the riders, their _ southeast asia? the good thing is the riders, their office - southeast asia? the good thing is the riders, their office is - is the riders, their office is actually being outside, whatever the weather, so they are used to doing it day in day out rides all over the world so whether they be humidity or whether they be humidity or whether it is cold or hot, they can cope with it. hoping the races —— race is set in singapore at 2pm, we have had amazing weather yesterday for the team presentation and really, that's not the big issue for us. the riders are super excited to be here, to enjoy this part of the world, and that's actually really exciting and for us, that's the whole purpose. and singapore for us is a perfect match. we wanted to also bring the tour de france flavour to south east asia and we have seen a huge boom in cycling in singapore since covid. clearly. and what we are really lucky is to have thanks to the support of the

public, the authorities, we designed the loop which is completely amazing around the f1 which are mentioned in your introduction, the same roads around the bay so it'll be a scenic route which is the beauty of cycling, you showcase the arena which other roads we are going to, and this will be broadcast worldwide and happy also to be able to be in such a scenic place. also to be able to be in such a scenic place-— scenic place. certainly lots to look forward _ scenic place. certainly lots to look forward to _ scenic place. certainly lots to look forward to when - scenic place. certainly lots to look forward to when we - scenic place. certainly lots to l look forward to when we watch that. baptiste, thank you for joining us. that. baptiste, thank you for joining us-— joining us. appreciate it. thank you- _ in south africa, a new zulu king has been crowned at an historic event attended by tens of thousands of people. king misuzulu kazwelithini received a certificate of recognition from president cyril ramaphosa. it marked the first zulu coronation since south africa became a democracy in 1994. 0ur correspondent nomsa maseko sent this report. chanting. zulu warriors saluting king misuzulu kazwelithini after taking his oath. the accreditation certificate handed over by president cyril

ramaphosa endorses the 48—year—old as the ninth leader of the zulu nation. king misuzulu acknowledged that he had come to the throne at a difficult time. i understand that history has chosen me at this time, when the zulu and other nations are facing several challenges. among the challenges are poverty, unemployment, a trust deficit in government and traditional leadership structures, climate change disasters, economic meltdown, food insecurity, famine, disease that do not only ravage our people, but also our economies.

president ramaphosa hailed the watershed event and emphasised the role that the king would play in binding together the zulu nation. the coronation took place despite rifts within the zulu royal family. some of its members believe he is not the rightful heir to the throne. those divisions have played out in public and in courtrooms. however, the brother of the new king believes his late parents would have been proud of this moment. the king and queen were people that wanted unity, so with what's happening right now, it is very pleasing to them because all they want is unity. while many have gathered to celebrate the new king, all eyes will be on him as he begins his reign.

he doesn't have political power but he does have influence on the 11 million—strong zulu ethnic group. he is also expected to help in tackling some of south africa's social problems, including drug abuse and gender—based violence. nomsa maseko, bbc news. a reminder of our top story. at least 149 people have died and many dozens of others have been injured in a crush in the south korean capital, seoul. it happened in a busy bar district, itaewon, where the narrow streets were full of people out celebrating halloween. social media messages posted earlier in the evening show some people commenting that the area's streets were so crowded that they felt unsafe. south korea's president, yoon suk—yeol, has called an emergency meeting to monitor the response to the stampede. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @richpreston. and there is much more on that story on our website.— story on our website. goodbye for now.

hello. if the sky is clear sufficiently in northern scotland, there's a pretty good chance of spotting the northern lights. having said that, it has been pretty overcast across many parts of northern britain in the last few hours. let's see where the greatest chance of spotting the aurora borealis is. where you see the red colours, that is the highest probability, but northern scotland is just on the edge so it could well be on the horizon pretty low and if the sky is clear. low pressure is still dominating our weather, it is still pushing in that mild current of air from the south, rather dragging it in, so sunday is going to be another mild day with a few showers. some of them could be heavy, though, perhaps one or two cracks of thunder, and blustery ones, too. here is the forecast. through the early hours, we will have seen showers drifting into some western parts but clearing skies again

in the north and in many eastern areas. the possibility of some showers in the south—east and east anglia as well. and after a mild day, a mild morning on sunday — between ten and 14, 15 degrees. so here is tomorrow's weather forecast. blustery showers out towards the west pushed in from the south—west, moving northwards, carried on that breeze. they could be heavy across northern parts of the uk. further south, i think predominantly sunny spells and actually, it may stay dry along the south coast all through sunday. and, again, a mild day but not quite as warm, so not the 23 degrees that we recorded on saturday in the south — more like 17 in london. and here is the forecast for the evening. you can see showers continuing there in northern scotland. how about monday? a weather front is approaching. ahead of it, you can see some clearer weather there. so, monday is halloween. we are going to see some sunshine to start with but i think through the course of the morning into the afternoon, this weather front will approach and start to bring some rain from western scotland to northern ireland, perhaps the irish sea, and later nudging into wales

and the south—west, but again really mild — the high teens, i think — and it will stay mild, particularly across eastern areas, some clear skies during the course of monday evening. now, let's have a look at the outlook for the next few days. it stays relatively mild until round about wednesday and then from about thursday—friday, we start to see those temperatures returning to the seasonal norm and it will be blustery at times, with frequent showers and spells of rain.