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tv   Our World  BBC News  November 11, 2018 3:30am-4:01am GMT

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firefighters in california are stepping up efforts to tackle the devastating wildfires during a short window of calmer weather today. the blazes have marched on a path of destruction, killing at least 25 people across the state and forcing a 250,000 people to flee their homes. the leaders of france and germany have attended a ceremony in northern france to mark the end of the first world war one hundred years ago. the main ceremony at the arc de triomphe on sunday will be attended by world leaders including presidents trump and putin. four days after polls for the us midterm elections closed, the authorities in florida have announced a recount. votes for the senate and state governor positions are neck and neck between the republican and democrat candidates. president trump says it's an attempt to steal the elections. the former transport minister, jojohnson, who's resigned from the cabinet over theresa may's brexit plans, has suggested other ministers might quit too. the brother of the former foreign secretary, boris johnson,
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is a remain supporter, and says it would be a "democratic travesty", not to hold another referendum on any deal agreed with brussels. downing street has ruled that out. 0ur political correspondent ben wright reports. the governmentjo johnson quit yesterday insists it will get a good brexit deal and there will not be another referendum, but the former minister today said voters should have another say. the prime minister has been negotiating the terms of our exit from the european union. they are, in my view, and in the view of others, so radically different from the brexit that was billed during the referendum that i think it would be a democratic travesty if we did not go back to the people and seek their consent for our departure from the eu on this basis. tory brexiteers are dead set against another vote but have also criticised the deal theresa may is hoping to sign off with eu leaders very soon.
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that matters because the prime minister needs to get any deal through parliament, and is now facing two clear flanks of opposition within her own party. the role of labour will be crucial. the leadership has said it is likely to oppose the brexit deal, but todayjeremy corbyn seemed to rule out another referendum, too. the referendum took place — the issue now has to be how we bring people together, bring people together around the principles of our economy, our rights. as jo johnson's resignation shows again, the politicalfallout from brexit is stretching party loyalties to the limit and the next few weeks are going to put huge pressure on ministers and mps. in the end, without a government majority, the numbers in the commons are going to be critical and if theresa may's deal is defeated, then parliament will have a vital role, figuring out what happens next. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. now on bbc news — in the wake of the brutal murder ofjournalist jamal khashoggi, the future of crown prince, mohammed bin salman, saudi arabia's de facto ruler, is being questioned.
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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?
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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.
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they say khashoggi was strangled and 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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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. another detainee was treated more harshly, according to mahmoud refaat, a lawyer who's worked for several princes.
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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
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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. 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
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with special knowledge of the middle east. he's investigated what happened at the ritz—carlton. 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
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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
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salman had ever sanctioned torture and killing. 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
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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 —— fortune 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
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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 anonymity, 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
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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
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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 contacts. born in 1958, his grandfather had been in the personal position —— personal physician to the first saudi king. his 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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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 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.
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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.
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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
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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. hello there. the first half of the weekend was dominated by some really heavy showers. hail and thunder as well, coupled with blue skies. some areas did rather better for blue skies than others, and it will be a very similar picture for the day ahead. we still have this huge area of low pressure driving our weather, so there are more showers forecast for today, which of course is armistice centenary day, and so there are likely to be some potentially very wet conditions for those out and about through the morning hours. now, the showers have been clearing from the north.
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it's a tad chilly across scotland and northern ireland, with a touch of frost, but look at the showers that have gathered further south and west. as we have gone through the night, those have continued to gather and they will move inland across wales, southern england, south—east, and the south—east of england as well. some up through western england. hopefully less for northern ireland. if you are heading to the cenotaph through the first part of the morning, there could be quite a downpour, and again, the risk is there of thunder and lightning and some quite squally winds. it looks as though they should clear for 11 o'clock. but they will still be with this across the eastern side of england and again with showers, the devil is in the detail, so please do take something waterproof. similarly, we have those showers for the north—west of england. where we have that chilly start, it looks as if we will see the lion's share of the morning sunshine. many of us will see some sunshine as the day goes on. in fact, those showers clear out into the north sea and we'll continue to see that south—westerly wind blowing more into southern and western coasts, and for the second part of the day more for northern ireland,
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where during the day on saturday, it escaped largely dry and fine. temperatures very typical, as they were on saturday, just a little bit above average. with that low pressure still close on monday, further showers in the north and north—west, and possibly a spell of rain very close by to southern and eastern counties of england, most likely kent and essex. so in between, hopefully we'll be afforded some drier weather, but still those showers are with us and the wind is from the south and west. so it's still relatively mild, but there will be some chilly spots around first thing, as we will see this morning with a little bit of mist, patchy frost and fog as well. as for the remainder of this week, that low pressure starts to move away and the high does start to have an influence, not for a while, not through tuesday and wednesday but beyond that, it looks as if that high pressure will settle the weather down. we will see drier days and chillier nights potentially. the big issue may well become foggy mornings. as ever, we'll keep you updated. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe.
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my name is reged ahmad. our top stories: the death toll from california's wildfires jumps to 25 as more bodies are found north of the state capital. a moment of rememberance: the leaders of france and germany mark 100 years since the end of the first world war. it's too close to call in florida — officials order a recount following the mid—term elections. and the shopping frenzy that makes black friday seem more like a wet sunday — the shopaholics‘ singles day bonanza.
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