the sister of billionaire arms dealer adnan khashoggi and built a business empire. he bought the ritz hotel in paris and defeated the lonrho group in the battle to buy harrods. lonrho�*s chief executive tiny rowland demanded an inquiry, which found mohamed al fayed had exaggerated his wealth and background. successive governments refused him british citizenship. do you think this is fair from the home secretary to behave the way with someone like me who have given employment to thousands of people, having four british kids? just it shows what type of people, you know, infiltrate in the political life and give us such a deal. revenge was swift. two conservative ministers, neil hamilton and tim smith, left the government, accused of taking cash to ask questions in the commons. another, jonathan aiken, resigned after mohamed al fayed revealed that he'd stayed free of charge at the ritz in paris at the same time as saudi arms dealers. he went on to buy fulham football club and courted the royal family. when his son dodi began a relationship with diana, princess of wales, it seemed mohammed al fayed had finally won a place at the highest levels of british society. but when dodi and diana were killed in paris, he insisted they'd been murdered by mi6. the claims were investigated by the police and a coroner and found to be without substance. outside the court, he clung to conspiracy theories. the evidence doesn't back you up, does it, mr al fayed? the evidence. what evidence ? i am not talking to you because you are bloody idiot! you are part of the establishment and your journalists belong — you work for mi — you work for mi6, you idiot! combative and increasingly embittered, mohamed al fayed spent so many of his later years determined to destroy an establishment he'd once been so keen to join. the businessman mohamed al fayed who's died at the age of 94. our reporter simonjones joins me now and, simon, as daniela touched on in her report, mohamed al fayed's views about the royal family came to dominate his later life? mohamed was a larger—than—life digger described as a tour de force, but a man who was desperate to be except did by the establishment, and to do that he courted the royal family, he also bought fulham football club and harrods. it was the death of his son dodi, alongside diana, princess of wales, in paris some 26 years ago that really changed his life and changed his relationship with the royal family, because he never got over the death of his son and he became increasingly obsessed about what had happened, coming up about what had happened, coming up with conspiracy theories, and those really came to the forbath in 2008 the inquest into the death. he said it was his day in court. he was determined to be heard. and he said that diana had been pregnant, that she had intended to marry dodi and the establishment simply didn't want that so he said the establishment had come up with a plot to murder the two of them. he described it actually is a slaughter and he said during the inquest that the orders for that murder had come from the top of the royal family, from a prince philip and also from mi6. during the inquest he put out loads of names of people he thought were involved in the deaths. it became increasingly strange. there was laughter in the court. but he was unrepentant. he was asked for evidence that the pair had been murdered. he threw his hands in the air and said "how do you expect me to provide proof when we're about the secret services yet?" but the secret services yet?" but the jury did the secret services yet?" but thejury did not the secret services yet?" but the jury did not agree with him. at the end of the inquest determined that diana and dodi had been unlawfully killed, but that had been down to the chauffeur of their kahu had been drinking and also the paparazzi who had been following the car. —— sofa. and the coroner of the inquest that although there had been conspiracy theories on behalf of mohammed al fayed, there was no substance to back up the theories. figs no substance to back up the theories-_ no substance to back up the theories. �* , , ., theories. as you said, he did theories. as you said, he did t ve theories. as you said, he did try very hard _ theories. as you said, he did try very hard to _ theories. as you said, he did try very hard to be _ theories. as you said, he did try very hard to be a - theories. as you said, he did try very hard to be a part - theories. as you said, he did try very hard to be a part of. try very hard to be a part of the establishment, buying football clubs, owning harrods, which is clearly a huge institution here in the united kingdom. institution here in the united kinudom. , , institution here in the united kinadom. , , ., kingdom. yes, but after the in a uest kingdom. yes, but after the inquest that _ kingdom. yes, but after the inquest that completely - inquest that completely changed, because he described the royalfamily, who he had courted in the initial days, as the dracula family, so there was no way back, no sort of reconciliation and having tried to get british citizenship, having tried to get a passport and having been repeatedly refused one he basically lost faith and turned against the british establishment stop in his later years living the inquest he did try to pursue those theories about the death, the fact that he claimed his son and diana had been murdered. he bankrolled a film that made the same claim but that made the same claim but that couldn't be shown on a wide scale for legal reasons and ultimately in his final years he did retire from public life. we spent the past decade with his family in surrey, where he died.— with his family in surrey, where he died. ,, ., ., ,, where he died. 0k, simon, thank ou ve where he died. 0k, simon, thank you very much — where he died. 0k, simon, thank you very much for _ where he died. 0k, simon, thank you very much for that _ you very much for that reflection on mohammed al fayed's life, who has died at the age of 94. typhoon saola has made landfall in southern china, having given hong kong a glancing blow. although it has reduced in strength, saola is bringing fierce winds and heavy rain to guangdong province, where tens of millions of people are sheltering indoors. 800,000 people have been evacuated from the more vulnerable areas of guangdong, which is home to several megacities. saola has caused extensive disruption to transport, business, and education, and is likely to bring storm conditions for much of the weekend. live now to hong kong resident anna adasiewicz, whose home has been damaged by falling debris from typhoon saola. and your home has been damaged, anna. ., ,., ., ., ., ., anna. hello. good afternoon, everyone- _ anna. hello. good afternoon, everyone- i'm _ anna. hello. good afternoon, everyone. i'm standing - anna. hello. good afternoon, everyone. i'm standing in - anna. hello. good afternoon, everyone. i'm standing in the| everyone. i'm standing in the middle here, we are in discovery bay of mentor island, just south of the airport. it is the largest island here in hong kong. we have had extensive damage across all of hong kong, i can show you wadeye have experience here. behind us there are a lot of damaged trees that have been here actually a loss longer than a lot of residence, by a scottish person, a local resident. 0ur scottish person, a local resident. our home was quite damaged, we got a little garden, ourtrees damaged, we got a little garden, our trees were pulled out, the winds were up to 250 kilometres per hour and even though it wasn't so much rain, the wind forced the water through the walls and through the windowpanes, so we have been literally with towels and a hoover all night, my husband stayed up until 4:30 a.m., we just woke up this morning to assess the damage.- just woke up this morning to assess the damage. really quite shockina assess the damage. really quite shocking images _ assess the damage. really quite shocking images that. _ assess the damage. really quite shocking images that. you - assess the damage. really quite shocking images that. you took| shocking images that. you took these pictures and this footage yourself. in terms of what is going to happen over the weekend, have you had any advice about what to do? yes, i mean, advice about what to do? yes, i mean. the _ advice about what to do? yes, i mean, the government - advice about what to do? yes, i mean, the government has - mean, the government has really, really done a good job. we got early warning on thursday already that there would be a signal number eight, which is the third highest. so actually everyone had plenty of time to prepare. we got a lot of advised i think the emergency services in hong kong are incredibly efficient. yesterday there were some trees coming down and cutting our development of from access to buses, emergency services, ambulances, luckily it wasn't needed, but the fire department was there within 15 minutes and they cleared the roads. so in that sense is very, very resilient city.— that sense is very, very resilient ci . ~ , ., ., resilient city. with your home, we can see _ resilient city. with your home, we can see the _ resilient city. with your home, we can see the damage - resilient city. with your home, j we can see the damage behind you, are you able to sort of live and be inside your accommodation or are you having to make some changes and repair work? we to make some changes and repair work? ~ ., �* to make some changes and repair work? ~ . �* ., , to make some changes and repair work? . . �* ., , ., to make some changes and repair work? ~ . �* ., , ., ., work? we haven't really had to leave our— work? we haven't really had to leave our apartments. - work? we haven't really had to leave our apartments. to - work? we haven't really had to leave our apartments. to my i leave our apartments. to my understanding, no—one has been evacuated, although in hong kong there are a lot of low—lying areas, remember, it is a coastal area. so there are some submerged, knowing the neighbouring islands there were actually floods, the pavements were flooded. here luckily it is not so bad.— were flooded. here luckily it is not so bad. thank you very much for _ is not so bad. thank you very much forjoining _ is not so bad. thank you very much forjoining us. - is not so bad. thank you very much forjoining us. best - is not so bad. thank you very much forjoining us. best of. much forjoining us. best of luck. really hope you manage to repair all the damage behind you and be ok stop take care. thank you. thank you very much. pope francis has been travelling through mongolia as part of a four—day visit to the asian nation. it's the pope's first ever visit to the overwhelmingly buddhist country. the visit is seen as a gesture of support for the tiny community of catholics — there are fewer than 1,500 — in the majority buddhist majority. but the welcome ceremony was still impressive, held here in the vast sukhbaatar square in ulaanbaatar. just prior to landing, the pope sent greetings to china's leader xi jinping, although relations between the vatican and china are currently strained. meanwhile, the chinese foreign ministry has said beijing was willing to build trust with the pope. the un has warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in niger after the new militaryjunta suspended the activities of un agencies in what it called military operation zones. more than three million people already face food insecurity in niger, and prices have increased 20% since the coup. niger's new military leaders seized power on 26july, when troops ousted president mohamed bazoum. let us look at the uk now. every public building in england should be checked for structural problems caused by the lightweight concrete, raac. that's the call from the opposition labour party after more than a hundred schools were ordered to close classrooms until they can be re—enforced. there are warnings that many more public buildings, such as hospitals and prisons, could be affected. with the latest details, here's our reporter zoe conway. the risk posed from raac concrete has been known since this roof collapsed into a school's staffroom five years ago. luckily, no—one was there. now the government is so concerned about the condition of the concrete in more than 100 schools and colleges in england that they have been told to close or partially close. catherine's primary academy in harlow in essex won't open next week. parents are asking why the warning was so last—minute. it are asking why the warning was so last-minute.— so last-minute. it seems a bit frustrating _ so last-minute. it seems a bit frustrating because _ so last-minute. it seems a bit frustrating because it - so last-minute. it seems a bit frustrating because it just - frustrating because itjust seemed to be luleec and that they decided to go oh, no, the building is not safe to this school in south london has been partially closed. i have two children, one of my children is in stage two, her building as this one here which we closed and she will be relocated to another site about 20 minutes that way. wei sun is in u2 rosi he will stay in the building thatis he will stay in the building that is still safe and usable. so i will have a double drop—off and a double pickup. the government says it's acting now because guidance changed after a raac beam collapsed in after a raac beam collapsed in a school last week. the beam had previously been thought safe. raac was used in public buildings from the 1950s until the mid—19 90s because it was quicker to manufacture than traditional reinforced concrete and easier to install. this traditional reinforced concrete and easier to install.— and easier to install. as you can see. — and easier to install. as you can see. it's _ and easier to install. as you can see, it's fairly _ can see, it's fairly lightweight, you can probably see the air bubble through the concrete itself, which is part of its name. it's reinforced, you can see the group within the concrete itself which is reinforced. 0ne the concrete itself which is reinforced. one of the main issues can occur when water can actually get inside the concrete itself, it passes through these our pockets, can get to the re—buy which obviously is metal and obviously is metal and obviously can rust. 0bviously metal that rusts becomes weak and that's what can cause the themselves to actually fail and fall. . ., . ., , themselves to actually fail and fall. . .,, ., , fall. the concrete was only designed _ fall. the concrete was only designed to _ fall. the concrete was only designed to last _ fall. the concrete was only designed to last for - fall. the concrete was only designed to last for 30 - fall. the concrete was only i designed to last for 30 years. and the dangers of raac in public buildings has been known for years. public buildings has been known foryears. in public buildings has been known for years. in 2019, public buildings has been known foryears. in 2019, an public buildings has been known for years. in 2019, an expert committee issued an alert on raac. by 2020 the government promised to remove it from nhs buildings by 2035. in 2021, school safety was rated critical by the department for education. the government rigged jokes the accusation that it has been slow to act. —— rejected. it that it has been slow to act. -- rejected-— -- rejected. it was the collapse _ -- rejected. it was the collapse of _ -- rejected. it was the collapse of a _ -- rejected. it was the collapse of a school i -- rejected. it was the - collapse of a school ceiling backin collapse of a school ceiling back in 2018. we immediately, together with the local government association, provided a warning notice to schools, which is pretty detailed, about what they should do to assess and manage the concrete in the ceiling. in scotland, the government says that 35 schools contain the concrete, but measures are in place to protect pupils' safety. in wales and northern ireland is not yet clear whether raac is causing problems. it's notjust schools where this concrete poses a risk stop other public buildings are affect it. the courts, for example. and more than 40 nhs buildings. zoe conway, bbc news. manchester united's 21—year—old striker mason greenwood isjoining spanish laliga side getafe on a season—long loan. last month, united said the 21—year—old would leave the club by mutual agreement after a six—month internal investigation. charges against the player, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in february. united's greenwood joins getafe on loan. the democratic unionist party has submitted a vote of no confidence in northern ireland's chief constable at the policing board which oversees his work. simon byrne has so far rejected calls to resign after recent controversies, most recently a court ruling that two officers had been unlawfully disciplined because of pressure from sinn fein. three unions representing junior and senior officers and civilian staff will hold meetings next week to discuss issues around mr byrne's leadership. rail passengers in england are facing a second day of disruption as thousands of rmt union members go on strike. some journeys into scotland and wales will also be affected. train drivers with aslef walked out yesterday, as both unions continue disputes with rail operators and the government over pay. here's our business correspondent, marc ashdown. today's rail were shifts from the working week to leisure travel, whether it is trying to visit friends or family over the weekend of travelling to a sporting fixture, would be rail passengers are likely to be disappointed. up to 20,000 rail workers of the rmt union, typically station staff and guards, are on strike for 24 hours. it's part of a long—running dispute over pay, jobs and working practices, the round delivery group which represents more than a dozen operators has offered a 5% backdated pay rise and a pay rise of 4% this year, if changes to the way staff work can be agreed. we changes to the way staff work can be agreed.— changes to the way staff work can be agreed. we would have to aaree can be agreed. we would have to a a ree to can be agreed. we would have to agree to these — can be agreed. we would have to agree to these draconian - can be agreed. we would have to agree to these draconian cuts, i agree to these draconian cuts, and ticket offices we would agree to cuts in catering, engineering and other grades, so we simply can't do that. i'm not going to get my members to vote for their own demise. at the moment there is no standalone pay rise for us or any of the other grades in the industry or any of the other unions. they are all depended on us accepting this drastic cuts to service and jobs. cuts to service and “obs. fewer than half of h cuts to service and “obs. fewer than half of rail— cuts to service and jobs. fewer than half of rail services - cuts to service and jobs. fewer than half of rail services in - than half of rail services in england are expected to run today, although it will vary in different parts of the country, some services into wales and scotland could also be affected. all this follows a 24—hour strike by train drivers at the as left union yesterday, who took to the picket lines in their dispute over pay. drivers are back to work today but are refusing to do overtime. the pay offered to unions is reasonable and should be put to members revoked. no fresh negotiations are planned, so after more than one year of industrial action, there is still no and insight. in the us, two key members of the far—right proud boys group have been sentenced to prison for their role in the storming of the us capitol building. the latest to be sentenced is ethan nordean, who led the group's march on 6january. he received 18 years for seditious conspiracy. that matches the longest sentence related to the 2021 capitol insurrection. also sentenced today, dominic pezzola. you see him here on 6january smashing a window with a police shield before filming himself smoking a cigar inside the capitol building. he was given ten years for assaulting police and obstructing an official proceeding. here's our correspondent peter bowes. for members of the proud boys have now been sentenced over the past two days, for their role in the attack on congress on january the sixth of 2021. an attack that resulted in the deaths of five people including a police officer, in all, 140 officers were injured and millions of dollars in damages were caused to the capital building, and ever since that day, there have been scores of arrests and charges of individuals, something like 1100 since january the sixth, and of those people that have been charged, about 110, at least 110, have now been convicted, and these are the latest two to find out what that sentence is. ethan was sentenced to 18 years in prison, he was found guilty of seditious conspiracy, and he was seen as one of the ringleaders, one of the organisers who really masterminded what happened. he was filmed in the crowd doing just that, and when he appeared in court in front of the judge just before he heard his sentence, he described that day, january to six, as a complete and utter tragedy. he expressed remorse for what happened. the other man to be jailed, dominic pezzola has been sentenced to ten years. he was not found guilty of sedition, but he was considered to be one of the most violent individuals involved, in fact he has stolen a police officer sealed, he used it to break through the window to get into the capital building, one of the capital building, one of the most memorable images of that day. when he appeared in court, also expressing remorse, he said that he stands here before the judge with his heart full of regret. yet when he was leaving the courtroom, out of earshot of the judge, he shouted trump one. we're joined now by dennis aftergut, formerfederal prosecutor and now counsel to lawyers defending american democracy, a nonpartisan political advocacy organisation. lots to get through there, but in terms of what the sentence is alike, what you make of them in terms of the length and the harshness of them? 1? in terms of the length and the harshness of them?— harshness of them? 17 or 18 ears in harshness of them? 17 or 18 years in federal— harshness of them? 17 or 18 years in federal prison - harshness of them? 17 or 18 years in federal prison is . harshness of them? 17 or 18 years in federal prison is no j years in federal prison is no picnic. some have lamented that they were slightly more than half of what prosecutors asked. i would not waste a lot of time on our. we should not really miss the storyline here, that these were leaders of the violent insurrection on the ground and they have been held to account. that's the story. in terms of what this means for the broader movement, and clearly there are implications that for groups that were involved in that event, but also perhaps a wider, the movement around donald trump, what kind of effective bill that have? what sort of consequence will this have on that? �* ., consequence will this have on that? . . �* , ., that? again, it's more the convictions _ that? again, it's more the convictions than _ that? again, it's more the convictions than the - that? again, it's more the - convictions than the sentences. but i will get to the sentences in a moment of. as i said, these men were the leaders on these men were the leaders on the ground. trump is alleged to have been the kingpin, the leader of the whole affair, and these men were convicted in very complicated trials in washington, dc, trump's day of reckoning is now set in a courthouse before a jury of his peers in washington, dc. those juries are known to be fair, they apply the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt fairly and favourably in the favour of defendants but they don't escape conviction when the evidence is there. the case is strong against donald trump. trump's supporters will say that convictions like this will strengthen his resolve and also his popularity. is that true? it certainly is the image that he is trying to present. there is no person facing federal trial and conviction who is not deeply afraid. he is running for president, he does not want to betray that image. in for president, he does not want to betray that image.— to betray that image. in terms of these individual _ to betray that image. in terms of these individual people, - of these individual people, they were handed out these fairly lengthy sentences today, are they able to appeal? what are they able to appeal? what are they able to appeal? what are the next steps for them? could you ask me that question again close by the people convicted, the people being handed prison sentences, are they able to appeal that sentence, for example, what are the next steps for them? they are able to appeal their convictions, technically they can appeal the sentences, but that never succeeds, and they probably won't even try. they can appeal their sentences, but it looked to me from seeing the evidence, reading about it, thatis evidence, reading about it, that is not likely to succeed. thank you very much forjoining us, from san francisco for us. finally, shooting for the stars! india's space agency has set its sights on another milestone. aditya—l1 is due to blast off from the launch pad at sriharikota in just over an hour's time heading for the sun. aditya—l1 will carry scientific instruments to observe the sun's outermost layers. if successful, the latest mission from the indian space research organisation will be the first by any asian nation to place a probe in solar orbit. and all this just a week after india made history by becoming the first to land near the moon's south pole. that's what we're seeing on our screens right now. we will have more that story on our website. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. the first week of september is looking a lot more summery than what we had throughout most ofjuly and, indeed, august. this weekend, high pressure's building in. it will turn drier and sunnier and warmer across the board. however, there will be a fly in the ointment that comes with this area of low pressure and this weather front which will push close to the north—west of scotland at times, certainly on sunday. but high pressure's building in. it's killing off the showers, the clouds. early on saturday, we should see any rain fizzling out but there will be a legacy of clouds and mist and fog, particularly across central southern england, wales, northern ireland. here, it's going to be mild but again, the north—east corner of scotland will be quite chilly with temperatures in low single digits. so, we start off plenty of sunshine in the north. further south, mist and fog through the morning, which will tend to lift and burn. into the afternoon, could see the odd isolated shower developing but most places will stay dry and it'll feel a lot warmerfor most — low to mid 20s across the board. as we head through saturday night again, we'll see the mist and fog develop pretty much anywhere, but especially across parts of england and wales. gradually, this weather front will start to push into the north—west of scotland to bring stronger winds, outbreaks of rain. a much milder night to come across north east scotland — 13 degrees for aberdeen — and elsewhere, temperatures will be in double figures. sunday, high pressure still with us but this weather front will be influencing the weather across north—west scotland. so, for the highlands and islands, it'll be quite cloudy, breezy with outbreaks of rain here. but southern and eastern scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, once any early mist and fog clears away, then it'll be a lovely, sunny, dry day. light winds for most. quite gusty, though, for the north—west of scotland. temperature—wise for the highlands and islands, 15—17 degrees, but the rest of scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, it's the low to mid 20s. as we head into monday, we hold on to this wetter, cloudier, breezier weather across north—west scotland but the rest of scotland, northern ireland, england and wales again, once any morning mist and fog clears away, it'll be dry, sunny and very warm with temperatures ranging from 22—26 celsius. much warmer there for eastern scotland, too. and we hold on to those temperatures — mid to maybe high 20s for england and wales. could see close to 30 degrees in one or two spots. 0therwise, they'll be turning more unsettled by the end of the week. this is bbc news. the headlines: the billionaire businessman, mohamed al fayed, who went from selling soft drinks in egypt to owning harrods and the paris ritz, has died at the age of 94. his eldest son, dodi, was killed alongside princess diana in a car crash in paris, 26 years ago. pope francis travels through mongolia as part of a four—day visit to the asian nation. it's the pope's first ever visit to the majority buddhist country. the visit is seen as a gesture of support for the tiny community of catholics, they are fewer than 1,500. typhoon saola has made landfall in southern china, having given hong kong a glancing blow. saola is bringing fierce winds and heavy rain to guangdong province, where tens of millions of people are sheltering indoors. 800,000 people have been evacuated from the more vulnerable areas of guangdong, which is home to several megacities. now on bbc news, the travel show. from tiny fairy penguins to taking the show on the road. one of the world's most spectacular ecosystems. and maybe the worst customer service experience you might ever endure, all in the name of fun. what is this? i'm not playing charades right now. you use your big girl words. this week we're in australia.