this is bbc news. the headlines at apm: former united nations secretary general kofi annan dies aged 80, after a short illness. theresa may says he made the world a better place. 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 that what is interest, what is required, is the welfare of society and the people they serve. 300,000 people are made homeless and a major rescue operation is under way in southern india, as the area faces its worst monsoon rains in a century. right now, where i'm standing here, the water level was not there, but now it has come ‘til my ankles. 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 thousands, they say. 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 in dateline london later, we'll be discussing donald trump's trade wars with china and anti—semitism in the labour party. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. 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 looks back at his life in this report, which includes some flashing images. i, kofi annan, solemnly swear... to exercise in all loyalty...

kofi annan was sworn in as the head of the united nations in december 19 96. 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'd selflessly placed others first, radiating a genuine kindness, and warmth and brilliance in all he did. after ten years as secretary general, mrannan 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. 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. antonio 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". indian prime minister narendra modi said: "we express our profound sorrow at the passing away of nobel laureate and former unsg

mr kofi annan. the world has lost not only a great african diplomat and humanitarian but also a conscience keeper of international peace and security". 0ur correspondent imogen foulkes in berne told me how news of mr annan‘s death was released. well, it came out first thing this morning. just, unfortunately, as sometimes happens nowadays, on social media. and then those of us who work at the un in geneva, it was confirmed to us by the two organisations that kofi annan was still working for up to his death, the kofi annan foundation and the elders, a group of elderly statesmen and women, dedicated to peace promotion and focusing on humanitarian issues. and apparently, as you said, after a short illness, with his wife and children by his side, and i would say,

here in switzerland, particularly in geneva, the whole of the un's humanitarian organisations, there is real grief. he really supported the work of those organisations, never lost his awareness of how many people on the planet are caught up in conflict affected by climate change, caught up simply just in grinding poverty. and he consistently drew attention to those issues. and that work meant that switzerland had been home for him, on and off, for quite a while, hadn't it? that's right. he lived in geneva, even after he had left the position of un secretary general. he lived there, we saw him regularly. he took part in debates. his kofi annan foundation was very active. he never seemed to retire. he remained dedicated to the cause of promoting the interests of the world's most vulnerable, until the very end.

yes, there was a reflection a moment ago, for example, about his work in syria, which has brought us up much more to the present time and some of the most serious difficulties still going on in the world. that's right. he was the first un special envoy for syria. i remember well, he worked tirelessly at it. he had some very creative thinking about how that conflict could be solved. he talked about local ceasefires. we remember he tried to get them going. very sadly, obviously, he was not successful. neither have been the two successive special envoys for syria and that is one of the world's most intractable conflicts. kofi annan brought all his diplomacy and all his enthusiasm for finding a way to peace, rather than continuing the conflict to that war. sadly, he was unsuccessful. we can speak to edward morton. he

saw him as recently asjune and he worked with him. we are grateful for you coming on this afternoon. what are your memories of working alongside kofi fannaan?” are your memories of working alongside kofi fannaan? i have many, of course. —— kofi annan. i worked with him for eight and a half years, he was a wonderful person to work with. anybody else you would say to work under but you didn't really feel you were under him, he treated everybody as an equal and he always showed great concern for the people working for him. if one broadly shared his outlook, as i believed i did, to have thejob of

shared his outlook, as i believed i did, to have the job of translating that into specific words, many of which he delivered verbatim, i felt... wasn't really a great honour and probably the most exciting and rewarding job i've had in my life. you talk about his outlook, what specifically was that would you say? imaging was talking about his great concern for human welfare —— imagen and humanitarian causes. he saw the immediate relief of suffering that would be cause by suffering and disaster. to the great challenges of development and bringing people out of poverty. he was really open—minded about how to go about that. he didn't think it was something that could or should be done by states or back overseas aid. he always supported in the requests of developing countries of developing systems that he was a lwa ys developing systems that he was always the first to point out that

more was done through trade and also through the remittances of migrants working overseas. 0ften through the remittances of migrants working overseas. often in developed oi’ working overseas. often in developed or advanced countries and sending money back home, investing money in their homelands. so, i think he saw international affairs as being a partnership. the united nations was a place where people interference if you read the charter, you might say it's basically an organisation of states, it's the security council, the general assembly and so on. where governments are shouting at each other. it kofi anna and saw that he could bring in people from civil society, people from business —— but kofi annan saw that. even celebrities and goodwill ambassadors and so on and make the whole world feel that this was their organisation. and it was up to them

to make use of it. we were not sometime sure... interference kemen to make better use of it. no one can say that is... interference he did make... many people around the world andi make... many people around the world and i think he will live on after. edward, apologies for cutting this short but sadly the line is letting us short but sadly the line is letting us down a little bit, we are losing some of your words. we are very appreciative of your time. this does happen! we are using facetime on a mobile phone and i am in a very rural part of france! we have your sentiment and we appreciate your time. good. thank you very much. all the best. edward, in the south of france, provence. 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—thousand 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's 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's not slowing down and that's why people are scared. they're 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's really how difficult this rescue operation is,

because it's not just about evacuating people who are stranded in flooded areas. a large part of kerala is also hilly, so it's 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're overcrowded and some are under threat from rising water. yogita limaye, bbc news, in kerala. rescue operations are under

way 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. water levels are rising in kerala, despite there has been no rain for the last two hours but gradually, the water level is increasing and many homes have been inundated in this area of kerala. people have been rendered homeless because water has entered their homes and many of them are stranded. relief operations have begun. the rescue workers are going there

to just rescue the people. you can see a mob right in front of that vehicle that has gone there, so that the people could be lifted from there and shifted to safer places. right now, where i'm standing here, the water levels was not there but now it has come ‘til my ankles. gradually, the water level is rising and this is the cause of concern for authorities, who want to evacuate all these people as soon as possible. and the number is in thousands, they say. salman ravi, bbc, kerala. 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 a1. 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. ben stokes makes his end and return on the opening day of the third test against india at trent bridge. rahane against india at trent bridge. ra hane has against india at trent bridge. rahane has reached 50 as has virat kohli. indy on 200—3, chris woakes taking all of the indian wickets. dina asher—smith finishes second on her return to the track in today's diamond league meeting in birmingham finishing behind the bahamas runner.

celtic put a difficult week behind them as they reach the quarterfinals of the scottish league cup winning 3-1 of the scottish league cup winning 3—1 against partick thistle. we will be back with more on those stories in the next hour. many thanks. 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 do 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. as you say, 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, brigadier bill wright, 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 at sandhurt and anyone found to have fallen short is dealt with robustly including dismissal". there has been some action by civil liberty groups. indeed, the civil liberty organisation, liberty, that has supported many victims of bullying in the military... and they say that allegations of serious and physical sexual assaults on army property must be investigated by civilian, not military police. in a statement, they told me: "the royal military police lack the necessary independence and expertise to deal with an alleged crime of this severity". they go on to say, "soldiers need to know they can go to civilian police".

and the extent of bullying in the military? what's known about that? there is an annual survey done of military personnal, it's done every year and it looks at their attitudes and experiences. in this year's one, 12% of military personnel have reported that they have been subject to bullying, discrimination or harassment in the last 12 months. of those, only six made formal complaints. those who didn't follow it up said 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 its highest standards. the former ukip leader nigel farage says he is returning to front line political engagement. writing in the daily telegraph, he says he's decided to act as he feels the "political class in westminster" is determined to frustrate the 2016 referendum vote to leave the european union. he's taking part in a battle bus tour by the leave means leave group 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. i spoke earlier to marianne 0verton, vice chairman of the local government association. she explained why type 2 diabetes is so dangerous. type 2 diabetes is the sort that is associated with choice and lifestyle, so it's very much about food choices and also about exercise. so, what we're looking at, over 70% of cases is this is a direct factor. it's the obesity of children. and these children are the ones we really need to make sure that we can help improve their lifestyle so we can get them back on an even keel.

it's a life—limiting disease and it's debilitating, in the longer run. and it's something that's really important for us to tackle. why isn't that help happening to the extent that you would like at the moment? one of the issues is funding, as i think most people will already know, local government is already £7.8 billion short by 2025. so, we're already struggling, which means that having to, you know, with very tight budgets, make very difficult decisions. to make matters worse, we've had £600 million cut from the public health budget that councils are using. so, it's the very budgets that we're using to help these young children that is being reduced. so, we need that to be replaced. so, your clear message to government is give us that £600 million back? absolutely. and there's more that we do. there are other powers,

as well, that we would like, to do with planning. to think about where fast food places are positioned and also about advertising. there is quite a host of things, which, if we had extra powers, we could also do. certainly, we do need the money to make sure that we can get those services in place, targeting youngsters who need extra specialised care and also helping the bulk of young people feel... get more exercise and also it better. 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. speaks own language. 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.

big promises that he now has to deliver. the biggest challenge is to fight corruption to fight poverty, to fight illiteracy, disease, and to fight terrorism. and he's determined. and the economic growth as well. economic growth is essential, we have to create ten million jobs in the next five years, this is our target and our promised this is our target and our promise to the people of pakistan. we have to build five million houses in pakistan million houses in pakistan and we have to start trading, at a much bigger level, with our neighbours. you will see. you will see massive changes coming. imran khan's coalition will only have a small majority here in parliament, meaning pushing reforms won't be easy. 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. in the coming months, we'll find out exactly what that looks like. secunder kermani, bbc news, islamabad. 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. to encourage 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're 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. aretha franklin's funeral is to be held on the 31st august in her home city of detroit. the service will be a private ceremony forfamily, friends and invited guests. the queen of soul died on thursday aged 76.

her coffin will go on display for two days before the funeral for the public to pay their respects. now it's time for a look at the weather with lucy martin. hello. predominantly close and cloudy for most, this weekend and we have an area of low pressure working in from the west that's going to make its way east, through tonight and tomorrow, bringing some outbreaks of, at times, fairly heavy and more persistent rain. turning windy, as well, with that. that is the remnants of tropical storm ernesto, starting to make its way into northern ireland. through this evening and pushing into central and southern scotland and parts of northern england and northern parts of wales. to the north of that, it will stay dry with some clear spells and that will allow the temperatures to fall away. a few patches of mist, perhaps, further south, though, a fairly close, humid night, temperatures between 13 and 17 degrees celsius. tomorrow, bright and sunny spells in the far north of scotland, one or two showers possible and an improving picture as that rain works its way towards the east.

having cleared northern ireland by dawn, there will be some bright intervals developing. a good deal of cloud across much of england and wales and could be thick enough for the odd spot of rain or drizzle and there will be the odd brighter interval. temperatures at a maximum of 23 celsius. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines this afternoon... kofi annan, the first black african to become un secretary general, has died. 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 it is time for dateline london. welcome to dateline, the programme that brings together some of the uk's leading journalists with correspondents writing for the folks back home with the dateline, "london". this week: donald trump's trade wars rumble on as china tries to sue for peace, whilst turkey is threatened with more sanctions if it doesn't yield. and why the leader of the british labour party is finding allegations of anti—semitism hard to shake off.