this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm. former united nations secretary general kofi annan dies aged 80 after a short illness — theresa may says he made the world a better place. 300,000 people are made homeless in southern india by the area's worst monsoon rains in a century. indian prime minister narendra modi has met senior officials to help co—ordinate the relief effort as further heavy rain is forecast. ministers plan a new plastics tax for items such as takeaway boxes and coffee cups after the public backs tough action in record numbers. we wa nt we want to see esther are smart, intelligent incentives we can create to encourage the producers of plastic to take responsibility when they are designing the materials that end up on supermarket shelves and ultimately in our own homes. also coming up this hour. thousands of mourners attend a state funeral in genoa for some

of the victims of the motorway bridge collapse — at least 41 are believed to have died. and the click team reminisce about a summer of sport — that's in half an hour's time on bbc news. good afternoon. the former secretary—general of the united nations, kofi annan, has died at the age of 80. mr annan, the son of a ghanaian chief, spent his career with the un. he led the organisation for ten years. richard galpin‘s looks back at his life in this report, which includes some flashing images. i, kofi annan, solemnly swear... to exercise in all loyalty... he was sworn in as head of the united nations in december 1996.

the first black african to become un secretary general and the first to be appointed from within the organisation. during his two terms in office, he used his position as one of the world's top diplomats to try to mediate in many different international crises. for him, the focus was always on the issues. leadership is not about the individual. when you have macho leaders who believe they have to shine, and it all has to be about them, forgetting what is required is a welfare of society and the people they serve. within five years of taking office, he'd been awarded the nobel peace prize for revitalising the un and for putting an emphasis on human rights. in a statement this morning, his family paid tribute to him, saying that wherever there had been

suffering or in need, he'd reached out and touched many people with his deep compassion and empathy. he had selflessly placed others first, radiating a genuine kindness, warmth and brilliance in all he did. after ten years as secretary general, mr annan had no thoughts of stepping out of the limelight. instead taking on other global roles, including becoming un special envoy to syria, trying to end the civil war there. already there have been many tributes from around the world for a leading diplomat who will be greatly missed. people have been paying tribute to kofi annan. the secretary—general of the united nations— ant nio guterres tweeted ‘kofi annan was a guiding force for good. ijoin the world in mourning his loss.

in these turbulent and trying times, his legacy as a global champion for peace will remain a true inspiration for us all.‘ former uk prime minister tony blair wrote: ‘i m shocked and distressed to hear the news about kofi. he was a good friend whom i saw only weeks ago. kofi annan was a great diplomat, a true statesman and a wonderful colleague who was widely respected and will be greatly missed. my deepest sympathy to nane and his family. gordon brown paid tribute saying: ‘a leader of leaders, a titan amongst world statesman, a wonderful humanitarian and the most compassionate and caring of individuals. kofi annan will be sorely missed.‘ prime minister theresa may paid tribute tweeting — ‘sad to hear of the death of kofi annan. a great leader and reformer of the un, he made a huge contribution to making the world he has left a better place than the one he was born into. my thoughts and condolences are with his family‘

earlier, we spoke to alan doss, the executive director of the kofi annan foundation. quite exceptional, i think. a man of several generations who reached beyond his immediate base, he was brought up in africa and very much attached to africa, but he reached far beyond africa, and he was welcomed and sought after all over the world, and just in the time since he retired, in asia, africa, latin america and europe, he was sought out because of his qualities as a statesman and the diplomat but above all as a person. a person who listened carefully, who came to the table with an open agenda. never shouted, never lost his temper. remarkably temperate in his approach to people, and as a result, was greatly not only appreciated but loved by many people round the world. you mentioned those different

attributes and characteristics, if you like, which made him the great diplomat you describe him as. where do you think they came from? he grew up in a traditional african family, a big family, one of many in a large family. he went abroad at a fairly young age to go to higher education in the united states, and then work in europe before going back to ghana, so i think all these elements played into his upbringing and training, his education, but at the end of the day, there was that remarkable quality about him which was unique to him, and i think all of us who knew and worked with him recognised that he was truly an exceptional person. great but also an immensely good person, who believed in what he said and what he did and was always open with ideas and suggestions, innovation, and was

willing to listen. how tough could he be if he needed to be tough? he was tough but not in a brash way. people sometimes confuse the two. that wasn't kofi annan's style. he listened carefully and would be very determined and i was on several mediations with them and i saw how he would never give up, he would take note and circle back, always to his essential point. he would look notjust one or two but several steps ahead. he knew what his objective was. he had great patience, he recognised that sometimes to make a mediations accessible and the progress, you need time and you need patience. when he reflected on some of the biggest challenges he faced, particularly during his time running the united nations, what will he pointed to? i think he felt that at times

the security council didn't always come together. he was disappointed at how the council acted on his proposals to bring peace to syria. he thought he had an agreement but when the council met it didn't work. he was greatly disappointed and saw the need for security council reform to make it more inclusive or representative of the world as it is today, but he was frustrated in his efforts to do that. all secretaries general faced a dilemma. i think also he was keen to make sure that the work of the united nations was properly known and that it wasn't just dismissed as an empty talking shop. and that is why he went out

of his way to connect with circles of civil society and ngos but also international business, and he wasn't afraid of meeting and confronting them as he did when he argued with them, essentially, to get the price of drugs to deal with aids down, so that poor people around the world could also use those, get access to those drugs. so as i say, he was a very determined and quiet but unyielding negotiator. a huge rescue and relief operation is being mounted in the southern indian state of kerala, where unusually heavy monsoon rains have caused what officials are describing as the worst flooding in a century. more than 320 people have died in kerala since the rainy season began injune and more than 300,000 have been made homeless. yogita limaye is in kerala — she sent this report. there are over a0 rivers in kerala and every one of them has

breached their banks. when there is no way out, people are being rescued by helicopter. the state has been hit with over a third more rainfall than usual and the effects have been devastating. more rain is forecast for the rest of the day. translation: it has been raining heavily since yesterday. it is not slowing down and that is why people are scared. they are scared that the water will enter their homes again. torrential rains have also caused other disasters, like here behind me. the mud up there became loose because of continuous rainfall and slipped all the way down onto this, which used to be a two—storey house. nine people were killed here. there was one family, some relatives and some neighbours as well, and that is really how difficult this rescue operation is, because it is notjust about evacuating people who are stranded in flooded areas. a large part of kerala is also

hilly, so it is also about taking people who might be at risk in parts like these out of here. from an air force helicopter, india's prime minister sees for himself the extent of the disaster. narendra modi says there will be more helicopters and boats to evacuate tens of thousands of stranded people. hundreds of troops are already engaged in rescue and relief operations. air force transport planes have started bringing supplies to the coastal state. but hundreds of thousands of people are homeless. this is one of 1,500 emergency relief camps. they are overcrowded and some are under threat from rising water. yogita limaye, bbc news, in kerala. rescue operations are underway across kerala — with dozens of military helicopters

involved in operations much like this one. a dramatic rescue of a pregnant woman saw her winched up by a helicopter whilst in labour — with her waters already broken. 25—year—old sajita jabeel gave birth to a healthy boy just after her rescue. two people were winched down to help get her into the strop — with a doctor brought along to over see the rescue. 0ur reporter salman ravi hasjust sent us this report from kerala many homes that have been inundated and people have been rendered homeless because water has entered their homes and many of them are standard. relief operations have begun a rescue workers are going to

rescue the people you can see, right in front of that vehicle, so that the vehicle can be lifted. right now where i am standing, the water level was not there but now it has come up so was not there but now it has come up so gradually the water level is rising and this is the cause of concern for the authorities who want to evacuate all these people as soon as possible, and the number is in the thousands, they say. a state funeral is taking place in the italian city of genoa, for some of the victims of the motorway bridge disaster. this morning, fire—fighters found the bodies of a couple and their nine—year—old daughter inside their crushed car, taking the death toll to 41. 0ur correspondent james reynolds is at the funeral — and sent this update. this state funeral is forjust under half the victims of the genoa bridge collapse and it is of course a chance for politicians, family members, relief workers, and also members of the public to come together and to pause. it is worth saying that many

families have chosen not to take part in this ceremony — their relatives, their victims, are from other parts of the country and they have simply preferred to carry out private burials — but we do know of at least two families who say they want nothing to do with any official or state ceremonies. 0ne father in particular has said that his son was murdered, and therefore a state ceremony for that family was not appropriate. this is a chance for people here to stop, but it is not enough for this country to put aside the divisions and the arguments about why the bridge collapsed. once the ceremonies are over, once the politicians have gone, those arguments will re—intensify. an official commission will now look at the causes of the bridge's collapse and the public prosecutor here in genoa will decide whether or not anybody should be held legally responsible for what happened. the headlines on bbc news.

former united nations secretary general kofi annan dies aged 80, the un's first black african to hold the position. 300,000 people have been made homeless in southern india, where monsoons have caused the area's worst floods in a century. and a state funeral for some of the victims of the genoa bridge collapse took place today. in sport, ben stokes receives a mixed reception as he mixes england return in the third test, chris woa kes taking three return in the third test, chris woakes taking three wickets with batting first. an injury time penalty miss costs newcastle all three points at cargo. he could also face retrospective action for kicking out that the opposition earlier in the game. celtic put a

difficult week behind them as they reach the quarterfinals of the scottish league cup with a 3—1 win at partick thistle. more on all those stories in the next hour. the number of children and young adults in england and wales with type 2 diabetes has risen by more than 40% in just four years, according to the royal college of paediatrics. council leaders described the increase as "extremely worrying" and called for a boost in public health funding. the department of health says its new childhood obesity plan will get children exercising more in schools and reduce their exposure to sugary and fatty foods. a new tax on plastics is expected to be introduced by the government — in order to curb the use of non—recyclable plastic items such as drinking straws, single use cutlery and black food tray. it comes after a record 162,000 responses to a government consultation on how to reduce waste and improve recycling. tom barton reports. how best to reduce the tonnes of plastic that end up in landfill...

and the oceans every year. that was the question posed by the treasury in a consultation earlier this year and it received a record response. among the ideas being considered by ministers are new taxes. some of these could target the demand for disposable coffee cups and takeaway boxes, while others are likely to encouragement manufacturers to change their products. we want to see if there are smart, intelligent incentives that we can create to encourage the producers of plastic to take responsibility when they are designing the materials that end up on supermarket shelves and ultimately in our own homes, to use recycled materials whenever possible, not to use those materials that are very difficult to recycle, such as black carbon plastic, and of course, overall, to reduce the amount of plastic and use other materials such as cardboard, paper and foil wherever possible.

ministers also say they want to encourage recycling for waste that is currently incinerated. the final details of any proposals will be revealed as part of the budget later this year. tom barton, bbc news. i'm joined now by laura foster, head of clean seas at the marine conservation society. we'll come, good afternoon. i wonder how encouraged you are by a combination of what the public are saying and what the treasury is now seeing. it is absolutely fabulous we have had so many responses. people have had so many responses. people have got behind the marine conservation society and written and said, we want to tackle this issue of single use plastic, so we are really delighted that the report really delighted that the report really shows some of the ideas that could be implemented. now it isjust

a question of seeing that implementation take place. which of those ideas do you favour most? one of the really strong once is looking at producers and making sure that the design products that are easy to recycle. at the moment, producers only pay about 10% of the cost of disposal and they are not incentivised to improve the design style so that it can be easily recycled, so we know for instance it was reported last week that only one third of plastic containers, food containers, actually recycled, so we wa nt to containers, actually recycled, so we want to see a massive shift away from this. so we might put them in the recycle bin but they don't end up the recycle bin but they don't end up being recycled? yes. as your reporter talked about, this black plastic, again, consumers are buying and not understanding that actually it is really difficult to get recycled, even though it is made as the same plastic as perhaps a clear

one, so again we want to see incentivised nation of producers of plastic to make their products recycla ble. plastic to make their products recyclable. what about so-called disposable coffee cups? what we are seeing with the carrier bag charges it really helps to change people's minds. we have seen a massive drop not only in the number of plastic bags being given out but also the number we actually find in the ocean and on the beaches, so we do a survey every year, the third weekend in september, and we have looked at the amount of plastic bags and seen a massive drop, so we know that there's a correlation between changing people's habits and the amount we see littered and that is important. how much is the level of public concern which appears evident given the number responded to the survey, how much of that is driven by some of the extraordinary images we have seen on oui’ by some of the extraordinary images we have seen on our screens in recent times? it has driven home how global the world is. a lot of the

plastic we use in the uk is exported to many countries including across asia, and the unfortunately already have a problem with recycling the own plastic so we are just exacerbating the problem, and we wa nt to exacerbating the problem, and we want to see incentives so we can enhance uk recycling and make sure those products are dealt with appropriately and don't end up in oui’ oceans. appropriately and don't end up in our oceans. we will see what the budget brings in a few weeks. thank you. the sandhurst military academy is investigating claims that two officer cadets used waterboarding on a fellow recruit. according to the sun newspaper, the cadet was allegedly pinned down, and water was poured over a cloth covering his face. the ministry of defence says it is aware of an incident at sandhurst and an investigation by the royal military police has been ordered. 0ur correspondent keith doyle has been following the story. we know that the ministry of defence has confirmed that an investigation is under way into the incident that happened

at the royal military academy on august 7th. the sun reported that two officer cadets held down a recruit and poured water on a cloth covering his face to simulate drowning. that is an interrogation method that was used by the us military and banned just under ten years ago. a statement has come from the commander of sandhurst, and he said he was aware of the allegations and has said, i have ordered an investigation by the royal military police. the army and i expect the highest standards of behaviour and anyone found to have fallen short is dealt with robustly including dismissal. there has been some action by civil liberty groups. liberty has supported many victims of bullying in the military and they say that allegations of serious physical assaults on army property must be investigated by civilian, not military police. they told me royal military police lack the necessary independence

and expertise to deal with an alleged crime of this severity. they go on to say, soldiers must now be able to go to civilian police. what do we know about the extent of bullying in the military? there is an annual survey done every year and looks at attitudes and experiences. 12% of military personnel have reportedly been subject to bullying, discrimination or harassment. of those, only six made formal complaints. those who didn't follow it up say theyjust didn't believe anything would be done, but the army say bullying is not tolerated and tough action is taken against those who fall short of their highest standards. a former labour mp has been suspended from the party over comments apparently made online about the jewish community. jim sheridan, a former paisley and renfrewshire north mp, is said to have posted a comment on social media in which he spoke of his loss of "respect and empathy" for the community.

labour hasn't commented but said all complaints of anti—semitism are fully investigated by the party. former cricketer imran khan has been sworn in as the new prime minister of pakistan, more than two decades after he entered politics. he was elected prime minister in a vote at the country's national assembly on friday. his pti party won the most seats injuly‘s elections and mr khan has become pm with the help of smaller parties. however, opposition leaders have claimed elements ofjuly‘s ballot were rigged. secunder kermani s report contains flashing images. pledging to serve pakistan, imran khan was formally appointed prime

minister of the country. in the audience, alongside senior political and military figures were members of the 1992 world cup winning pakistan cricket team that imran khan led to victory. after the swearing—in came a guard of honour. imran khan has promised to create a corruption free, more equal society. promised to create a corruption free, more equalsociety. big promises that he now has to deliver. the biggest challenge to fight corruption and poverty, to fight illiteracy and disease, and to fight terrorism. and the economic growth as well. economic growth is essential and we have to create 10 millionjobs in the next essential and we have to create 10 million jobs in the next five years, this is our target and promised to the people of pakistan. we have to build 5 million houses in pakistan and start trading at a much bigger level with our neighbours. you will

see massive changes coming. imran khan's coalition will only have a small majority here in parliament meaning pushing reforms through be. 0n meaning pushing reforms through be. on top of that, the country is facing a mounting financial crisis which could make increases in public spending difficult. imran khan has promised to create a new pakistan. the coming months, we will find out exactly what that looks like. now it's time for a look at the weather with lucy martin. hello there. predominantly close and cloudy for most this weekend. we also have an area of low pressure working in from the west that is going to make its way east through tonight and tomorrow. that will bring some outbreaks of, at times, fairly heavy and more persistent rain. turning windy as well with that. they are the remnants of tropical storm ernesto. that is starting to make its way into northern ireland through this evening, pushing into central and southern scotland, parts of northern england and northern parts of wales. to the north of that, it will stay dry with some clear spells, that will allow the temperatures to fall away. a few patches of mist perhaps.

further south though, a fairly close, humid night with temperatures between 13 and 17 celsius. tomorrow then some bright or sunny spells in the far north of scotland, one or two showers possible. an improving picture though as that rain works its way towards the east. having cleared northern ireland by dawn, there will be some brighter intervals developing. a good deal of cloud across england and wales. that cloud could be thick enough for the odd spot of rain or drizzle. there will be the odd bright interval, temperatures at a maximum of around 23 celsius. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... kofi annan, the first black african to become un secretary general, has died. paying tribute, theresa may said mr annan made the world a better place. a huge rescue mission is underway as 300,000 people have been made homeless in southern india by the area's worst flooding for a century. thousands of mourners have attended a state funeral in genoa for some of the victims of the motorway bridge collapse. a new plastics tax on items such as single—use bottles and coffee

cups could be introduced, after the public backed tough measures in a government consultation on how to reduce plastic waste. now on bbc news, it's click. this week, it's a look back at click‘s summer of sport. with cars, balls, bikes and bots. we'll start with our trip to f1 from july, which has been at the cutting edge of technology and design since its creation in 19116.

welcome to the pit. every year, teams compete fiercely to outdo each other in aerodynamics, data communication and materials, all with one aim — to make their cars go really, really fast.