this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm mark lobel or around the globe. i'm mark lobel. ourtop or around the globe. i'm mark lobel. our top stories: the secret wealth of dozens of world leaders, from the king ofjordan to the president of russia, exposed in one of the biggest ever leaks of financial documents dubbed the pandora papers. bbc panorama in a year—long joint investigation involving more than 650 journalists has had access to 12 million documents, sparking allegations of corruption, money—laundering and global tax avoidance. the us says it's very concerned about the rising tensions between and taiwan, with chinese militaryjets flying into taiwan's air defence zone over the last three days. beaches are closed in southern california as a large oil spill washes ashore, leaving dead

wildlife on the sand. and these are live pictures from la palma on spain's canary islands, where volcanic activity is intensifying. a very warm welcome to the programme. we begin with a massive legal financial documents which has exposed the secret wealth of business dealings of hundreds of world leaders, politicians and billionaires. around 35 current and former leaders and more than 300 public officials are featured in the files from offshore companies. they have been dubbed the �*pandora papers�*. the files include revelations about the financial dealings of the king ofjordan, the former british prime minister tony blair, the russian president vladimir putin and the czech prime minister andrej babis.

the examination of the files has been organised by the international consortium investigative journalists. —— the international consortium of investigative journalists. in the uk, the investigation has been led by bbc panorama and the guardian. bbc panorama's richard bilton reports. it is one of the world's most glamorous addresses. so this is david beckham's place coming up on the the so this is david beckham's place coming up on our right. this is david beckham's place? uh-huh. home to the stars. that is simon cowell�*s place right there. just there? but even the guides don't know who owns one imposing villa on malibu's cliffs. who lives here, on this house on the left, just here now? who lives here? i have no idea. extremely impressive. the secret owner has bought the properties on either side, too. we know his identity because of a huge leak of offshore documents. they were obtained by the international consortium

of investigativejournalists and shared with more than 600 reporters, including the guardian in the uk. the documents show the malibu property was held through a company called nabisco holdings, but the real owner is abdullah al—sharif al—hussein, the king ofjordan. call to prayer plays. king abdullah�*s country is not rich. jordan is getting, overfive years, £650 million of uk aid. but we found the king owned properties in washington and london as well, 15 in total. he spent £70 million. it's just very, very difficult for the averagejordanian to achieve just sort of home and family and a good job. to have it really thrown injordanians�* faces that he has just been sort of funnelling money abroad all this time, that would look really bad. all this time, that — that would look really bad.

the king ofjordan�*s lawyers said there is nothing improper about his ownership of properties and the source of funds is personal wealth, which he also uses to fund projects forjordan�*s citizens. the files show a property deal involving a former uk prime minister. this is not about hiding wealth offshore, but tony blair did benefit from a loophole. 0ffshore trusts get tax relief while homeowners pay vat on insurance premiums. we will create a tax system that is fair, which is related to ability to pay. applause. on his way to power, tony blair promised tax reform but he and his wife saved money when they bought this place in central london in 2017. it cost them £6.5 million. the stamp duty on a property like this would be more than £300,000 — that is what you or i would pay

if we bought this property direct from someone else, but the blairs did not pay it. that is because the property was owned by an offshore company, and the blairs bought that company rather than the property itself. no rules were broken, no stamp duty to pay. that does not look great and so, even if what the blairs did was perfectly legal, perfectly legitimate in the business world, it feels instinctively really unfair because they got access to an advantage — a potential advantage — that the rest of us don't have. cherie blair told the bbc they did not request to structure the transaction this way and that after purchase, they had brought the property under uk tax and regulatory rules. a spokesman added the couple will be liable for capital gains tax on resale. richard bilton, bbc news. here are some of the other revelations in the pandora papers. the investigation found

azerbaijan's president and his associates are secretly involved in 17 property deals in the uk worth more than $541 million. the files also found the president of cyprus�* own legal firm appeared to have provided fake owners for a rich russian client, though this is strongly disputed. documents also show the czech prime minister, who is facing an election next week, failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two villas for $60 million in the south of france. andrej babis has responded to the pandora papers allegations on social media. he said on twitter he had never done anything illegal or wrong, calling the claims an effort to try to denigrate him and influence the czech parliamentary elections. duncan hames is the director of policy at transparency international. this is his reaction. when a political elite enriches itself from being in power, it�*s the ordinary man and woman

who are suffering and whose country is all the poorer for it. in some cases, it�*s not even just about avoiding tax. if you are a public official and you receive a bribe in order to award a healthcare contract to a crony of yours, and that isn�*t the best deal for your country, then your country is suffering as a result of you taking a kickback. so corruption is not a victimless crime — far from it. people who rely on their government to support them in their hour of need are the ones that lose out when their politicians have been furthering their own interests, instead of putting the people first. and you can read more about today�*s expose on the bbc news app or at our website, bbc.com/news. and over the coming days, we will also be bringing you more revelations from the pandora papers, including the financial dealings of three major donors

to the uk governing conservative party. now to another issue of global alarm. the united states says it�*s very concerned about what it called "provocative military activity" by china near taiwan. it follows flights by chinese militaryjets into taiwanese air defence zones over the past three days, raising tensions between the island and beijing. so how provocative a move was this by china? earlier, i spoke to ian bremer, president of the political risk eurasia group. here�*s his take. it�*s meant to get headlines, it�*s meant to have us talk about it, and we are, but let�*s be clear that while the number of incursions into this air defence identification zone is unprecedented in the last three days, 93 separate incursions, it is also something that happens all the time. it is not an incursion into taiwanese airspace and both the americans and the chinese well know the red lines on taiwan

that could lead to real confrontation and neither, at this point, have come to actually breaching them. if it�*s unprecedented, i guess it is a bold move. i now want to ask you about the timing. china, of course, sees taiwan as a breakaway province. do you think that longer this goes on, possibly they are moving hearts and minds to taiwan, and also it shows that china is more confident about its military endeavours now? china certainly is more confident about standing up for their principles and want the americans to treat them with respect — they think that�*s not happening. of course, the americans are doing a lot more in asia through a national security lens. you know about a recent summit that the quad happened — the united states, japan, australia and india, at the head of state level, at the white

house, the chinese government told all of those governments "don�*t you dare have that meeting". they did anyway. aukus, of course, the us submarine deal that upset french, upset the chinese a lot more. both sides are doing things that are unprecedented in its backyard but still, the status quo on taiwan is probably the most significant and deepest piece of policy between these two countries that don�*t trust each other that have existed for decades now, so i do want to be clear that we are not actually close to a real crisis on taiwan, even though both sides want to be paid attention to. the economist has recently termed this "a shockingly possible war". but i guess america, which it was questioned about its role in afghanistan, some said it let the afghans in the lurch recently,

their support for rock solid down presumably from the recent actions, you would agree with that? i would agree with that. i think afghanistan is much more akin to us behaviour in places like ukraine or syria or former soviet georgia, places the americans had some commitment to but didn�*t really care about from a national security perspective. it is very clear from all of the actions taken by both the trump and biden administrations that taiwan is very, very different — and believe me, senior leaders and beijing understand the difference. that was ian bremer political risk analyst. let�*s get some of the days other news now. north korea said it would restore severed inter—korean hotlines starting monday, state media kcna reported. north korea severed the hotlines in early august in protest againstjoint south korean—us military drills, just days after reopening them for the first time in a year. japan�*s parliament is holding an extraordinary session later in which fumio kishida is expected to be confirmed as the country�*s next prime minister. kishida won the liberal democratic party�*s leadership election last week and is widely seen as an establishment candidate. he replaces outgoing prime minister yoshihide suga

but he must call a general election before the end of november. the swedish cartoonist lars felix says character periods of government, —— cuttings of prophet muhammad has died in a car crash. the police officers protecting him also died when they collided with a truck. the driver of the truck is in hospital. he has been living under police protection since 2007 because of numerous death threats from islamic extremists. a large oil slick has begun washing ashore in southern california. beaches in orange county, south—east of los angeles, have been closed as oil and dead wildlife wash up on the sand. almost 500,000 litres of oil have leaked from a pipeline connected to an offshore oil rig. courtney bembridge reports. california is known for its beaches, but not like this.

clumps of oil and tar the size of softballs scatter the shoreline, as well as dead birds and fish. more than 120,000 gallons of oil has leaked into the ocean from a broken pipeline five miles off the coast. we are in the midst of a potential ecological disaster here at huntington beach and as the exhibits and pictures here illustrate, the oil spill has significantly impacted our community. the broken pipeline is connected to an offshore oil platform run by a subsidiary of houston—based amplify energy. the company says the pipeline has now been shut off and the remaining oil suctioned out. it has been maintained. we are investigating, if the pipeline is the source of this, how this happened. a huge clean—up operation is under way to try to stop the oil reaching sensitive wetlands nearby and people are being urged to avoid the beaches. you can feel the vapour in the air.

i saw what i�*ll describe as little pancake clusters of oil along the shoreline and i�*ve described it as something like an egg yolk — if you push it, it kind of spreads out, so we don�*t want people to disturb those little clusters. local authorities say it is too soon to say whether the company responsible will face criminal charges. courtney bembridge, bbc news. thank you very much for your company and stay with us on bbc news. still to come— tributes to one of france�*s most recognisable figures, the football club owner and politician bernard tapie who has died at 78. this was a celebration by people who were relishing in theirfreedom. they believe everything�*s going to be different from now on. they think the country will be respected in the world once more as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power.

the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet has won this year�*s nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck taking part in the parade and ran towards the president, firing kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeleton ribs of henry viii's _ tragic warship emerged. but even as divers work - to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another. heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people�*s governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. this is bbc news. the latest headlines. the secret wealth and business dealings of hundreds of world leaders, politicians and billionaires has been exposed in one of

the biggest leaks of financial documents dubbed the pandora papers. the united states says it is very concerned about the rising tensions between china and taiwan with chinese military jets flying into taiwan�*s air defence zone over the last three days. reports from kabul say that taliban fighters have launched attacks on suspected islamic state militants. hours after a blast outside a mosque killed eight people some residents said they heard an explosion followed by heavy gunfire. we have the latest on the blast. no—one has admitted responsibility so far for this blast outside the mosque in kabul, one of the biggest in the eastern part of the city. a day earlier the taliban had announced that there would be a memorial service for the late mother of the taliban�*s spokesperson and the deputy minister for information, zabiullah mujahid.

and what is striking is that it came only yesterday, that announcement, and today there was a bomb attack on this gathering in which many taliban members would have been there. and several people have been injured and the casualties are likely to rise according to taliban officials. this is happening almost six weeks after the taliban seized power, and one of the biggest points they were arguing was that they would bring a law and order situation under control and they said they would bring down the number of crimes. but there have been attacks on taliban fighters in the eastern part of afghanistan but this is the first major attack and also a reminderfor the taliban of challenges they face and also the risks that the armed groups can cause to taliban rulers there. in france, an independent commission investigating sexual abuse within the roman catholic church has found that thousands of paedophiles had been working

as priests over the last 70 yea rs. the enquiry was set up in 2018 by the church in response to a number of scandals. i spoke to matt carroll who worked at the boston globe in 2002, he helped to expose the files in the church there, a story made into an academy award—winning film called spotlight. the biggest problem, a tough problem is talking to the victims themselves who have gone through such a traumatic experience and you have to be so sensitive in dealing with them. for some of them it is just brutal to talk about and others are ok but you must realise that for some of them their lives have been destroyed, others managed to carry on to some extent but it has obviously been a hugely traumatic experience for all victims. and for many people. does the scale of this abuse, thousands of paedophiles in the french catholic church surprise you?

i wish i could say i am surprised with it, since our story came out in 2000 and so there has been a constant stream of revelations every year and i wish i could say that everything that came out 20 or 120 years ago and the problem was gone but i am not shocked. it is a scandal that just keeps breaking. indeed and particularly on your patch. we will find out more details on tuesday about this but we understand there are 22 cases where criminal action could still be launched. do you have faith in the justice system to catch up for lost time? it is so hard and i know in the united states the statute of limitations has run out on so many cases. it is very rare that they are able to prosecute. normally these are young children who are abused and some of them do not come to realise that they were abused until much later. i was reading a story on your own site there, about nuns who were abusers

and one of the women was a0 years old before she realised it was abuse. by that point the statute of limitations has already expired, so it�*s really hard, and then you�*re dealing with memories of something that happened 20 or 30 years ago, some people have died, those are difficult cases to prosecute. sexual abuse wasn�*t criminalised. pope francis has change that now. do you think more needs to be done to create a safer environment from everything you have seen or is that enough? the more they can do the better off everyone will be and i hope the church keeps pushing to make changes. it has been a long long and tough road and itjust seems like it has been so difficult to get people in rome to really focus on this as a huge worldwide problem and i don�*t know, i am not there and not reporting on this anymore but itjust seems like they are not yet paying

full attention to this. the spanish prime minister says the government will provide $230 million in reconstruction aid to la palma because of the ongoing volcanic explosion there. it is now thought that the eruptions could continue for two months. danjohnson is in la palma with this update. how can life return to a landscape disfigured like this? the lava still churning up this hillside and burning through more of these homes. so at its source, i asked the main volcano expert here how long it will take to recover? the lava flows will keep the heat inside for years. it is going to depend on the thickness of the lava flow. at times, the scorched earth resembles a battlefield. and it sounds like one, too. how is it to live near to this? iam afraid. very, very much. at night it always makes loud noises and i am afraid to sleep here.

will you stay? no. and we found gert, retired here from germany in the last house before the exclusion zone. if you don�*t have to live here, it is marvellous. but the noise, it will come in the night, maybe it comes nearer, i don�*t know. do you feel safe? at the moment, yes. the volcano is still really active, more lava is flowing and more ash. look at the effect it is having on the nearest homes, look at the amount of volcanic dust there is at the bottom of the swimming pool. a big effort for people here to keep their homes safe and clean. on this site, you get a real perspective on the trail of lava, all that black, steaming mound flowing down the hillside. that is where all those homes have been destroyed. the satellite picture shows clearly how it has sliced through the island.

the most important thing is that this eruption cannot generate loss of human lives. it is impossible. impossible? impossible, if we behave. but it is the behaviour of nature�*s most volatile forces that dictates when this incredible show comes to an end and how much more is lost in the process. dan johnson, bbc news. as you can see and hear it continues to�*s you lava, still active. thousands of people have been evacuated hundreds of homes have been destroyed since the volcano began erupting two weeks ago. now one of france�*s most recognisable figures,

football club owner, politician and businessman bernard tapie has passed away. he passed away peacefully after battling stomach cancer. there have been many tributes including from the french president. here is tim allman. to describe benard tapie�*s life as colourful would seem to be something of an understatement. he was a man who experienced both the highest of highs and then the lowest of lows. this was probably the sweetest moment. as owner of olympic marseille bringing the european cup home in 1993. the first french team to ever win the competition. but only a few years later he was sent to prison for his part in a match fixing scandal. 0utside his home in marseille people left flowers and scarves in tribute to someone still loved and admired despite it all. translation: he is a great man who put his mark on history -

and he impacted french life. he was a great frenchman. translation: | came here - for the death of bernard tapie. for supporters of marseille he is a great man but also a great man for france. he has given us much happiness. bernard tapie grew up in the working—class suburbs of paris. his career was eclectic, to say the least. at one point or another he was a singer, an actor, a race car driver, a politician and, most of all, a businessman. the french president emmanuel macron said that bernard tapie�*s ambition and enthusiasm were a source of inspiration for generations of french people. that was bernard tapie who has died at the air of 78. we have more on our top story online

exposing the latest in financial leaks, the pandora financial lea ks, the pandora papers. financial leaks, the pandora papers. that is all from us, from me and the team, goodbye. hello. we�*re eyeing up another area of low pressure, another spell of wind and rain heading into parts of the uk overnight monday into tuesday. until then, it is showers, not quite as windy for monday. it will still be breezy out there, especially in wales and england. so, on this brisk flow of air coming in from the west, the showers mostly across western areas developing low pressure, though, to the southwest will bring that rain — later in the day — that next area of low pressure. starting numbers for monday, showers, some heavy, just running through southeast england and east anglia early on before they�*re clearing away. then many eastern areas will be largely dry for the rest of the day, just the odd hit and miss shower. a scattering of showers to the west, any where you catch a shower could be heavy, could be some hail mixed in and perhaps the rumble of thunder.

and as for temperatures, we�*re topping out at around 13—17 celsius, some decent spells of sunshine around. rain gathering, though, to the southwest, that next area of low pressure pushing the rain into southwest england and wales. some of this will be heavy on monday evening. then it feeds across the rest of england, and then going into tuesday, it�*s a question ofjust how far north that rain is going to get. quite a chilly night, though, in scotland and northern ireland, where it stays clear with lighter winds on tuesday morning. so, something to plan for in the detail of where this band of rain is going to come to a halt on tuesday, maybe affecting parts of northern england, but also toward southern and eastern scotland, so we will keep you updated on that. there will be showers elsewhere though much of northwest scotland and northern ireland will avoid the rain from this weather system, it will be a cool day on tuesday and near that rain, there�*s a chance of gales as well. the area of low pressure will slowly move away into the north sea as we go on into wednesday with high pressure building in behind. still breezy across eastern areas with early showers or some spells of rain slowly easing.

lighter winds elsewhere with some sunshine around, clouding up again towards northern ireland and parts of scotland later in the day as outbreaks of rain move in on wednesday. now, later in the week, there�*s a change of weather pattern, if you like, low pressure. this is ex—hurricane sam in the northwest. a trailing weather front, though, will be sitting across parts of scotland and northern ireland thursday into friday with a chance of rain, whereas elsewhere, high pressure is building in. now, all parts will turn milder, but drierfor wales and england, quite a bit of cloud, though, and some mist and fog around.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

the secret wealth of dozen of world leaders, from the king ofjordan to the president of russia, has been exposed in one of the biggest—ever leaks of financial documents, dubbed the pandora papers. bbc panorama, in a year—long investigation involving more than 650 journalists, has had access to 12 million documents, sparking allegations of corruption and global tax avoidance. the us says it is very concerned about what it calls provocative military activity by china near taiwan. it follows flights by chinese militaryjets into the taiwanese air defence zone, over the past three days, raising tensions between the islands and beijing. a large oil slick has begun seeping ashore in california. it has just gone az30am, now here on bbc news

it�*s time for hardtalk, with stephen sackur.