hello and welcome to bbc news. south korea's president, yoon suk—yeol, has declared a period of national mourning following a crush in the capital, seoul, that killed at least 150 people and injured dozens more. huge crowds had jammed into the narrow streets of the itaewon district to celebrate halloween. our correspondent in seoul, 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. 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 — and 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. sirens wail 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. still trying to track down its lost. jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. 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. aruna iyengar has this report. sevastopol and the latest salvo between ukraine and russia. russia says the drone attacks on the crimean port, early on saturday, were targeted against russian vessels employed for the security of ships carrying grain the to countries desperate for food. sevastopol is strategically important to russia. it serves as the headquarters for russia's black sea fleet, a logistical hub for operations in ukraine. ukraine has been swift to respond, saying russia is using the attack as a pretext to withdraw from the grain agreement. translation: how can russia be among others in the 620 if it - deliberately works to create famine on several continents. this is nonsense. russia has no place in the 620. russia's un envoy tweeted a statement saying russia intended to suspend participation in the grain deal. he also alleged the attack took

place with support from the uk — something the uk's ministry of defence has denied. washington in tern has accuse russia of weaponising food and in so doing, directly impacting nations in need. the un grain deal, struck injuly, was a diplomatic coup, it allows ukraine to reopen ukrainian black sea ports for grain exports. already, it has allowed nearly 9 million tons of ukrainian grain to be exported and was due to be renewed in november. ukraine is the world's fifth largest exporter of wheat, many countries, from lebanon to ethiopian, are suffering many countries, from lebanon to ethiopia, are suffering from the effects of higher grain prices as a result of the war. if russia does stop the grain flow, it will be a blow to these people and to resolving the russia—ukraine crisis. the deal had been viewed as the first step on the way to a possible ceasefire.

the un has called for the preservation of the grain corridor, saying all parties must refrain from any action which would imperil it. aruna iyengar, bbc news. more now on the crush in seoul which has left at least 150 people dead. it has just it hasjust gone it has just gone 11am in seoul. our corespondentjean mackenzie has just sent this update from the scene. we do not know exactly what caused the crush here, but we are starting to get a better picture of how things unfolded. if you see the alleyway just behind me, which is were it happened, it is very narrow, and we know that thousands of people were packed into that space. it's also got quite a steep hill up and there are reports that people at the top of the hill fell, slipped, and because there was such little room to move, they then pushed people down the alleyway. we know that the area was far too overcrowded. this is such a popular area, itaewon, in seoul,

it is when people love to go out on the weekend. it's popular with the locals and it's popular with foreigners and tourists, and halloween is one of the busiest nights of the year here. i was speaking to people in the run—up to last night who were telling me how they were planning to avoid this area on saturday because they knew how busy it was going to be, so these crowds were expected. now, all this will i am sure come out in the post—mortem but at the moment, what people are dealing with here, is still trying to identify those who have died because the death toll is absolutely enormous and it keeps climbing up and there are also hundreds of people who are reported to be injured so that death toll is expected to get even higher, with people questioning when you look at the amount of people who've been injured, how high is that death toll going to get? we have had people be moved, the bodies that were on the streets, they have been moved into a gymnasium where people have been asked to go and try and identify them

and this is going to be a hugejob because of the number of victims. because so many people have died, we have not learned an awful lot about those who have died yet. we just know that because of the area, because it was a saturday night, most of them are young. earlier i spoke to anthony kuhn, the seoul correspondent for npr, and i asked him about the mood in seoul. incredibly, 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, in 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, and just in the past month, there have been two very

large and well—managed international festivals. first, there was a fireworks festival where you had people lining the river that goes through the city to watch fireworks. then you had the taiwan 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. but the scene of the accident is still very much alive, with emergency responders and police and bystanders. anthony, what more are we learning about what happened last night? it's very hard to know exactly what triggered it. there is a lot of speculation on social media but it helps to understand the area where it happened, itaewon.

as mentioned, it is a very multicultural neighbourhood, you've got a mosque surrounded by halal food 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 a stampede, with people trying to get through these tiny passageways. but the exact cause of it, what got people running, is not clear. it was certainly too crowded and i was on the streets in several parts of seoul and notjust itaewon but other areas too were jammed with people celebrating halloween.

and anthony, city officials now say they have launched an investigation, is that right? yes, that's right. i saw police on the scene going through the alley, the alleyways where this happened. 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 there. this is a very serious accident. i don't think we seen anything like it since the sinking of the sewol ferry in 2014 where 300 people were killed, many of them students. that incident dealt a very heavy blow to the then administration of park guen—hye, and a lot of introspection in how such a thing could happen in a nation that has become advanced economically, affluent, technically advanced, and yet such accidents which remind people

of an earlier era. we have seen that people 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 but they were packed. i was surprised to see just the numbers of trick—or—treaters out 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 of 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. within the past hour south korea's president yoon suk—yeol visited the site of the stampede. as we heard earlier he declared

a period of national mourning. he said that such an accident should not have happened and that it will be investigated thoroughly. he also said the government would pay for the medical care of those injured and the funerals of those who died. the mayor of seoul, oh se—hoon, who was on a visit to europe, has decided to return home in the wake of the disaster. world leaders have been expressing their condolences. amongst them, president biden said the us grieved with the people of south korea. the new uk prime minister, rishi sunak, said his thoughts were with all south koreans. french president, emmanuel macron, tweeted to say that he is thinking of the people of seoul, adding, "france is at your side". canada's prime minister justin trudeau also tweeted his support, saying "on behalf of canadians, "i'm sending my deepest condolences to the people "of south korea today. "i'm thinking of everyone affected by this tragedy, "and wishing a fast and full recovery "to those who were injured."

let's come to the uk now. opposition parties in britain are calling for an investigation into reports that the mobile phone of the former prime minister, liz truss, was hacked while she was foreign secretary. a sunday newspaper, here in the uk, says messages stolen included private conversations with other foreign ministers about the war in ukraine. it's thought the breach was discovered several months ago. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, explained more about the situation. 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 taken, they say, 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 all will otherforeign ministers from countries around the world about the war in ukraine. now, it isn't clear how the alleged hack happened or that the foreign secretary did anything wrong but opposition parties here in the uk, as you say, have seized on this. the shadow home secretary from the labour party, yvette cooper, has said "these are immensely important like this "national security issues raised by an attack "by a hostile state, that will have to be "taken very seriously". the liberal democrats, a smaller opposition party, saying that "an urgent independent investigation "is needed to uncover the truth". now, there are questions about whether the decision to keep the information out of the public domain was to do with the conservative leadership contest. i think perhaps more likely, there was a consideration in government that to have any suggestion that the russians or anyone else had accessed the foreign secretary's phone would be embarrassing and not reflect well on the security services in the uk. the government tonight not commenting on any of the detail of these reports, simply saying in a statement 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. this is bbc news. a very good morning to you. the top stories as our: the south korean president has declared a national period of mourning, after at least 150 people were killed in a crush in the capital, seoul, during halloween celebrations. russia has pulled out of a un—brokered deal which enabled key grain exports from ukrainian ports. let's stay with that story now and our 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. let's go to the united states now. 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. paul pelosi was beaten with a hammer by an intruder, who demanded to see his wife. in the last few moments mrs pelosi has spoken about the attack, saying she is heartbroken and traumatised by it. president biden described the attack as "despicable", and denounced a corrosive political climate for contributing to violence in american society. our west coast correspondent, sophie long, gave us this update from outside the pelosi's house. well, the fact that paul pelosi was subjected to such a brutal attack in the house behind me, when a man broke into the rear of the building and shouted, "where is nancy?" before striking him with a hammer, has really brought home the vulnerabilities in surrounding the security provision for members of congress and theirfamilies, and the fact that it could happen to the husband of someone as wealthy and as powerful as nancy pelosi — she is, of course, second in line to the presidency and has her own security detail — has caused real alarm amongst other congress members and their families. now, just to give you a sense of the level of threat that they're 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 place just ten days from now. and in the months after the violent insurrection on the capitol building on 6january of 2021, capitol police recorded more than 9,000 — 9,500 threats against members of congress. and it's notjust members of congress — election workers, federal law enforcement officers and supreme court judges have all had threats issued against them. the man suspected of carrying out the attack on paul pelosi has been arrested. he is 42—year—old david depape. he is being investigated at the moment by the authorities here. that, of course, is ongoing. and one line of good news, of course, welcomed by both

sides of the party divide is that paul pelosi, who is now 82 years old, is expected to make a full recovery, having undergone successful surgery yesterday. the household energy supplier octopus is to buy its competitor, bulb, the largest energy company to collapse last year, amid soaring wholesale gas and electricity prices. since then, the government has spent billions of pounds keeping bulb afloat, but now, octopus has agreed a deal to take on the company's one and a half 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, ofgem, 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 octopus are confident the takeover of bulb's customers would be smooth. octopus has a great track record of bringing large numbers of customers across, for example, when avro fell, it was the largest company to date, we were able to look after those customers and staff pretty seamlessly.

with bulb, the experience we've got means we are probably the natural choice. 1.5 million bulb customers will move across to octopus. last november the government had to bail out the firm with a £1.7 billion loan. but early this year, the independent office of budget responsibility predicted the total bailout package would be to £2.2 billion. this deal could save taxpayers millions. i think it'd be good. for octopus to take over bulb and relieve the taxpayer of the burden of running it for the moment. also will make bulb customers, give them more 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 will see prices going up as a result

of the agreement. people should 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 has been some certainty provided with this deal, for consumers, what they pay in the future remains unclear. ramzan kamali, bbc news. in south africa, a new zulu king has been crowned at an historic event attended by tens of thousands of people. king misuzulu ka zwelithini received a certificate of recognition from president cyril ramaphosa. it marked the first zulu coronation since south africa became a democracy in 1994. our correspondent, nomsa maseko, sent this report. chanting zulu warriors saluting king misuzulu ka zwelithini after taking his oath. chanting continues

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 prince, the brother of the new king believes his late parents, queen mantfombi dlamini zulu and king goodwill zwelithini would have been proud of this moment. the king and queen were people that wanted unity, so with what's happening right now, it's very pleasing to them because all they want is unity. while many have gathered to celebrate with 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, durban. this was relevant at work as a record by having the longest passenger train measuring nearly two kilometres, just over a mile. nearly two kilometres, just overa mile. it's nearly two kilometres, just over a mile. it's made up of over a mile. it's made up of over 100 carriages, through the swiss alps, a spectacular 25 kilometre route. it was watched by thousands of peoples on big screens, stage to mark the 175th anniversary of switzerland's releases in. that's it from us for now. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. see you next time. bye—bye!

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's 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 1a, 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. are you