this is bbc world news. the headlines... the leaders of france and germany have attended a ceremony in northern france to mark the end of the first world war 100 years ago. france's president macron and germany's chancellor merkel, the first german leader to visit the sight in 78 years, jointly signed a book of rememberance at compiegne — the spot where the armistice was signed. firefighters in california are battling the most destructive wildfires on record. flames have ripped through the us state, killing at least 11 people and forcing more than 200,000 to flee their homes. turkey says it has shared recordings relating to the murder of the journalist, jamal khashoggi, with saudi arabia and several western countries. at 10pm, carole walker will be here with the latest news. first, though, on bbc news, in the wake of the brutal murder of journalist jamal khashoggi, the future of crown prince mohammed bin salman — saudi arabia's de facto ruler —

is being questioned. our world reveals that close associates of the prince have been involved in torture and murder in the past. the horrific murder of jamal khashoggi shocked the world. the finger of suspicion has been pointed at this man, though he's condemned the killing. but a secret informant inside the kingdom tells the bbc that khashoggi's murder wasn't the first killing to be carried out by people close to the crown prince, mohammed bin salman. and this lawyer, well known within saudi royal circles, says he has evidence supporting that claim. in this programme, we investigate the past behaviour of the crown prince, and we ask — can he survive

the furore overjamal khashoggi? he will forever be shadowed or tarnished in the eyes of the world for this killing. the future of a nation, notjust one man, will be shaped by the battle now on the way. it's very important that a price be paid here. the result could have a huge impact on saudi arabia, the richest and most powerful country in the arab world. jamal khashoggi walked into the saudi consulate in istanbul on the second of october. the blurry images of his killers, and their target, have since been played countless times. lurid accounts of a bloodbath inside the consulate have now been confirmed by the turkish authorities.

they say khashoggi was strangled an his body dismembered and destroyed. they also say the order to kill came from the highest levels of the saudi government. saudi arabia's protestations, first of innocence then ignorance at the top, have prompted confusion... these could have been rogue killers. then condemnation... it's a very serious situation for us and for this white house. it's put long—standing alliances under great pressure. while for those close to khashoggi, it's been devastating. jamal khashoggi's fiance waited outside the consulate for four hours, unaware of the horrific events taking place only a few metres away. his critics say the order to kill

can only have come from the de facto ruler of saudi arabia himself. but is there evidence of the crown prince's complicity? we can reveal new allegations of criminality within his inner circle. the bbc has learned that the murder of jamal khashoggi may not be the first killing alleged to have been carried out by associates of mohammed bin salman. previously, there had been a series of kidnappings and violent incidents. then, 12 months ago, another step. a death in custody. in november, 2017, the saudi elite was gripped by panic. the crown prince ordered

more than 200 princes, businessmen and government officials to be detained at the luxury ritz—carlton hotel in riyadh. it was described as an anticorru ption drive. an audacious move that seemed to play well outside the kingdom, especially in the white house. back then, mohammed bin salman was talked of almost as a saudi robin hood. the bbc interviewed jamal khashoggi about the events. the message from mohammed bin salman to these people seems to be quite simple, we want the money back. yes, and i think the saudis should give him the benefit of the doubt. but, at the same time, shouldn't that be discussed

in a consultative body? yes, we need to crush corruption, but it is being done by i—man rule. khashoggi's concerns seemed to be supported by the allegations emerging from the ritz—carlton, allegations that the detainees hadn'tjust been stripped of their wealth, some had been tortured. a key figure in the interrogations was this man, saud al-qahtani. 12 months later, the saudis themselves would implicate him in the killing of khashoggi. now demoted, he was described as the crown prince's fixer and enforcer. during the interrogations of multibillionaire prince al—waleed bin talal, one of his business contacts was summoned to riyadh. but qahtani believed alan bender could help the prince to co—operate. saud al-qahtani was bragging

about torturing those so—called royals, that's... "they are not real royals," that's what he said. he said, "we will treat them like dogs." al-qahtani questioned prince al—waleed via a video link. once the interrogation was over, a royal visitor arrived. mohammed bin salman showed up minutes after we sat down with a big smile on his face, which led me to believe that he was watching the whole thing. i noticed four cameras in the corners of that suite. so i believe that he was watching the whole thing. after almost three months detention, prince al—waleed was released on. another detainee was treated more harshly, according to mahmoud refaat, a lawyer who's worked for several princes. he's also a long—standing critic of the saudi regime. he says punishment was meted out

to prince miteb bin abdullah, former commander of the national guard, and mohammad bin salman‘s cousin. he says family members told him what happened. a secret informant inside the kingdom has alleged to the bbc that the abuse didn't stop at torture. he says one man was beaten to death. we can't independently verify his story, but it tallies with at least two other accounts of what took place.

using an encrypted messaging system, the source says the victim is this man, major general ali al-qahtani, a senior officer in the saudi national guard and an aide to one of the princes who'd been detained. mahmoud refaat says he's heard about this killing from those close to general al-qahtani. he says the general‘s attackers believed he held damaging information about the crown prince and his circle. refaat describes this secret information as a black box. david kirkpatrick is

a new york times reporter with special knowledge of the middle east. he's investigated what happened at the ritz—carlton. i have a very high degree of confidence that there was torture and physical abuse taking place at the ritz—carlton. at least 17 people were taken to a hospital for treatment for injuries they sustained on their interrogation. at least one person, general al-qahtani, died as a result of that abuse. someone who saw the body and other doctors at the hospital who treated him told us he had a broken neck and his body showed many signs of swelling and other forms of physical abuse, probably through torture. the ritz—carlton victims were all high profile saudis. it's alleged the attacks could only have been authorised at the highest level. saud al-qahtani wouldn't dare to take such steps into a plan of this magnitude without the record of mohammed bin salman,

and he only reports to mohammed bin salman. in connection with a separate incident, a tweet that was posted in 2017 on saud al-qahtani's account, stated he's a loyal servant who follows orders from the top. the bbc asked the crown prince's office whether mohammed bin salman had ever sanctioned torture and killing. they said "we categorically deny these false claims... "the killing ofjamal khashoggi and these allegations have focused

attention on the 33—year—old crown prince. so who exactly is mohammed bin salman? and how does a 30—something come to be running saudi arabia? we have become very good friends over a fairly short period of time. powerful friends are what the crown prince most needs right now. since the murder ofjamal khashoggi, mohammed bin salman has been widely cast as the possible mastermind. his carefully nurtured image as a liberal reformer has been shredded. it is a sudden change of fortune. because, up until now, the world has pretty much conformed to his wishes. he grew up as the favourite son of his father. recently estimated,

the control of a fortunate estimated at $17 billion. the crown prince has an extraordinary family tree. the saudi royal family, though less than a century old, now numbers more than 5000. mohammed bin salman is the grandson of saudi's first king, abdul, but then so are more than 3000 other princes. a wealthy socialite who knows his family well provides a rare personal insight into this secret world. her voice and identity have been disguised. there are also accounts of mohammed bin salman‘s alleged dark side.

a senior prince has told us, on condition of immunity, of an incident when mohammed bin salman wasjust i6. his voice has been altered to protect his identity. the crown prince is a fairly recent arrival on the world stage. in 2016 he gave his first—ever interview to a specialist in middle east economics and left a lasting impression. he filled the room. there were quite senior people amongst them.

it was his voice that dominated. he is vast. he towers over all his courtiers and he has these huge hands, which he uses to make his points. the conversation turned to how, only the day before, more than a0 people, some said to be terrorists were said to be executed in saudi arabia. there was one chilling statement he said at the time, which was "execution is a language that my people understand". if he was going to retain control i think it was clear at that point that death was going to be an instrument of policy. what made jamal khashoggi a candidate for assassination? he was an insider in saudi royal circles, but with a global network of friends and concerts. born in 1958, his grandfather had been in the personal position to the first saudi king.

he uncle, a billionaire arms dealer, in the 1980s was labelled the richest man in the world. jamal khashoggi's first cousin was dodi al fayed, boyfriend of diana, princess of wales. as a young foreign correspondent he gained the trust of 0sama bin laden, interviewing him several times when bin laden was fighting the soviets in afghanistan. he first welcomed what mohammed bin salman might bring to saudi arabia. but by 2017, as he made clear in a bbc interview, he had revised his opinion. today it is ruled by only one man, not even within the family, he has no—one close to him, even within the family, he is the sole leader of saudi arabia. 0ne—man rule is always a problem. it always ends with disaster,

whether in germany or in iraq or saudi arabia. riyadh has now accepted the murder of jamal khashoggi was premeditated. but who authorised it? anybody who takes a decision in the kingdom defers to mohammed bin salman before they act. is it conceivable that there could have been intelligence operatives, members of the security establishment trying to impress their master and miscalculated? possibly. saudi arabia has stated that the operation was carried out by a team acting without the knowledge or authorisation of the royal court. however, the saudis themselves now accuse saud al-qahtani trusted servant of mohammed bin salman, implicated in the ritz carlton abuses, of playing a role in the jamal khashoggi killing. they say he was in charge of the team sent to istanbul.

the bbc has established that saud al-qahtani has not been back to his office since the death of jamal khashoggi. saudi media say he has been fired, along with two other officials. we asked saud al-qahtani to comment on the allegations made in this film. he has not responded. however, the saudi government has told the bbc its investigation into jamal khashoggi's death will be... what now lies in store for mohammed bin salman?

leon panetta served as defence secretary and also director of the cia under president 0bama. he has met the crown prince on several occasions. i think it is very important that a price be paid here for the horrendous murder that took place in that consulate. it's up to the crown prince to make clear what occurred here, the bottom line is his credibility has been damaged. with his reputation badly tarnished overseas, how much support does the crown prince still command at home? right now the royal family is enormously unhappy with crown prince mohammed bin salman. one of the distinctive features of his rise to power is a crackdown on the privileges that the royal family has enjoyed.

so the royal family really hated him before jamal khashoggi with his reputation badly tarnished overseas, how much support and continues to hate him. the question is, do they have any power to do anything about it? in 2017, jamal khashoggi told the bbc that his ambitions were modest. yes, he could influence how people thought, but, after all, he was just a writer. jamal khashoggi's ambition can no longer be fulfilled. but will anybody be held accountable? it's too soon to say

who will be tried in connection with the killing. but in the court of world opinion, a trial is already under way and the defence are on the ropes. despite the tens of millions reportedly spent lobbying in the us, the savagery meted out to jamal khashoggi has wiped away the smiles that used to greet mohammed bin salman. and the man whose interview helped to bring mohammed bin salman to the world's attentions says the brand has lost its lustre.

what you can say at the moment is inside the kingdom he still looks the pre—eminent force. i think he will remain, for the foreseeable future, but he will be a very different ruler, he will be someone who will be very nervous about his position, he won't feel that he enjoys the confidence of the international community. his economic vision is already in doubt, but it will be placed even further in doubt. it relied heavily on foreign investment and it is very hard to see how foreigners are going to take a punt on saudi arabia in the coming months and years. saudi arabia's recent actions have attracted massive global attention. most of it hostile. ironically, jamal khashoggi's death has subjected the saudi government and the man who runs it to the sort of scrutiny nothing he wrote could ever have achieved. you would have been forgiven for thinking it was april and not autumn

on saturday, such were the showers that rattled across the country, some heavy downpours interspersed with spells of sunshine. 0n the satellite you can see the speckled shower clouds that have been feeding in from the west, spiralling around an area of low pressure and this is not going anywhere fast, it will stay to the western side of the british isles over the next couple of days, bringing further showers at times and this is controlled by the jet stream, the winds high in the atmosphere and the jet stream blowing close to the uk, holding low pressure just to the west, bringing further downpours over the next couple of days. sunday, armistice day, will bring further bands of showers northwards across the country interspersed with spells of sunshine and the showers through the afternoon, especially for western and southern 0pen is and if you moving northwards across scotland, temperatures around 10—14d, very breezy and into the evening this

fresh clutch of showers will move into northern ireland and parts of western scotland and pretty heavy downpours to come here. low pressure firmly in charge starting the working week, this weather front bending its way from the near continent will come perilously close to the far south—east of england so we could see persistent rain here for a time we could see persistent rain here fora time and we could see persistent rain here for a time and then we have the sunshine and showers in the showers most plentiful in the west and the south, a better chance of staying dry for the south, a better chance of staying dryforthe —— south, a better chance of staying dry for the —— north and east and relatively mild. a difference on tuesday, but so many showers, original high pressure trying to build and across england and wales the keep sunny spells through the day but a frontal system approaching northern ireland and western scotland, introducing cloud and outbreaks of rain here. as a frontal system approaching northern ireland and western scotland, introducing cloud and outbreaks of rain here. as we move into wednesday, in fronts to the north—west but this area of high pressure will start at this point to have more of an influence on the weather so split fortunes on wednesday, cloud and rain at times

for northern ireland and scotland, breezy here, for the side spells of sunshine and a day again 1a or 15 degrees. as we move into thursday, the frontal system wriggling close to the north—west of the uk this area of high pressure becoming firmly established across a near continent someone of us will see dry weather and spells of sunshine and of the winds fall large enough there could be fog patches in southern areas to start the day but given some sunshine it is going to be mild, 14—17d. some sunshine it is going to be mild, 1a—17d. later next week, this isa mild, 1a—17d. later next week, this is a pattern we expect the jet strea m is a pattern we expect the jet stream to take. the jet stream heading along way north and that will allow that area high pressure to ta ke will allow that area high pressure to take more and more control of the weather. you think of high pressure and you think of settled weather, lots of sunshine, maybe frosty conditions. there could be frost at times but the orientation of this means we're bringing the air from the near continent and the flight

winds the smite rowe misty and madiba fog patches at times. initially it looks mild but watch what happens as we head into next weekend. cooler weather dries to put from the west and east, some uncertainty about that but into next weekend, generally it is dry and the morning smirky the fog patches. mild at first but the chance that might turn a little bit chilly later on. that's all for now. this is bbc news. i'm carole walker. the headlines at 10pm. one of the key commemorations to mark 100 years since the end of the first world war has taken place in the north of paris. some 70 world leaders are in france for the centenary. here at home, the queen and other senior royals attend a festival of rememberance at the royal albert hall. the former transport minister, jo johnson, says more ministers may resign over the prime minister's brexit plans, and voters were sold a "false prospectus" in the referendum.

we're not going to get greater sovereignty, we're going to cede sovereignty, we're going to lose control over how rules affecting swathes of our economy are shaped. it's not the british parliament that's going to gain control from this, it's the french, german, and european parliaments. four people, including a one—year—old child,