this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 7pm: the first black united nations secretary—general — kofi annan — dies at the age of 80. facing the worst monsoon in a century, hundreds of thousands are made homeless in southern india. thousands mourn for the victims of the motorway bridge collapse in genoa. ministers plan a new tax on disposable plastics, including takeaway boxes and coffee cups. former cricketer, imran khan, has been sworn—in as the new prime minister of pakistan, more than two decades after he entered politics. his opponents continue to claim last month's voting was rigged. and why would you run 500 miles round yorkshire's permitter at the rate of one marathon a day? —— around yorkshire's perimeter. we'll speak to the man who — in the last few minutes — has just finished doing just that.

a very good evening to you. there have been tributes from around the world for the former secretary—general of the united nations, kofi annan, who's died at the age of 80. he spent his career with the organisation, leading it for 10 years, and won the nobel peace prize in 2001. the current secretary general described him today as a "guiding force for good". james robbins looks back at his life, and there are flashing images in his report. i, kofi annan. .. the softly—spoken lifelong diplomat from ghana was sworn in to lead the united nations back in 1996. he was already a hugely respected figure, but this was an age of relative innocence — 9/11 was still five years

away, the iraq war seven years in the future. congratulations, sir. kofi annan tried to prevent this — the invasion and toppling of saddam hussein by george bush and tony blair without the support of the un security council. kofi annan later called it illegal. i think, as secretary—general, i did everything i could, conscious of what the results would be, you know, and being powerless to stop it. i mean, i did work with quite a lot of heads of states in their capitals, on the phone and elsewhere, working with the inspectors, but the die was cast, and nothing could stop it. kofi annan had much greater success in his home continent, africa, building global consensus behind the un millennium development goals, a huge initiative to reduce poverty and disease and increase education and opportunity. that and kofi annan‘s work on aids was rewarded with the nobel peace prize in 2001. i think he took the world

into the modern age, i think he was the first leader of the 215t century, and he tried to build an international community where countries would work together, co—operate freely, and tackle what he saw as the biggest problems — poverty, inequality, climate change and, of course, conflict. last april, celebrating his 80th birthday, kofi annan told the bbc his style was to be patient, quiet and determined — in the face of forceful, often far louder national leaders. 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. tributes to kofi annan from every continent praise his humility, nobility and unshakeable commitment to work for peace in a more equal and sustainable world.

kofi annan — who's died, at the age of 80. in his native ghana, people have been speaking about his life. i'm very sad that a person like kofi annan, andi i'm very sad that a person like kofi annan, and i know all will miss him. annan, and i know all will miss him. a great man. not only donna, the whole world have missed a great man. he happens to be a great leader to which many of us look up to become as an inspiration to the world. that's reaction there from ghana. the former prime minister gordon brown has been talking about the impact of kofi annan‘s career. i think he took the world into the modern age. i think he was the first leader of the 21st—century. and he tried to build an international community

where countries would work together, co—operate freely and tackle what he saw as the biggest problems — poverty, inequality, climate change and, of course, conflict. he was the most soft—spoken of people. he was personally incredibly modest — almost self—effacing — but he was a titan, he was a leader of leaders. and when he took a cause up, whether it be myanmar and what's happening there, or kenya and the riots happening there, or whether it was climate change or whether it was poverty itself, he saw it through. and even in his last days — and i spoke to him during this year, in the months this year — he was trying very hard to work for causes that he believed in, to tackle poverty and inequality. you described him there as a titan, a strong leader but somebody with great warmth and passion and empathy. yes, he was a leader of leaders. because he was the head of the united nations, trying to bring in all the world leaders to take collective action.

and for example, the sustainable development goals to deal with poverty. he was the original inspiration behind focusing the united nations and the whole world community on tackling the evils of poverty and malnutrition and illiteracy, and he got every country working unanimously to try to deal with these goals, and he was the mover behind that and, of course, peace in the middle east. he went to myanmar, he went to kenya when there were riots. he was active in every part of africa. he was very close to nelson mandela. and of course, his age was one where we tried to build a world community, and he was the inspirational force behind that. that was gordon brown there. 0ne country where kofi annan had a particular impact was kenya — and the bbc‘s merchuma joins us from nairobi. just tell us why he will always be membered in kenya. just tell us why he will always be membered in kenyali just tell us why he will always be membered in kenya. i don't think there is a country in the world that

owes as much of the debt of gratitude to kofi annan then kenya. this man was instrumental in brokering a peace deal between the retiring president and the opposition leader in 2008. his implementation of a grand coalition government... many leaders have come up government... many leaders have come up tojust government... many leaders have come up to just express their sadness and we spoke earlier to the prime minister of the grand coalition government and this is what he had to say. unfortunately, we don't have that particular clip at the moment. he did describe in his statements, saying he was a great african and a great leader of the world. what did mrannan mean to great leader of the world. what did mr annan mean to africa? when we talk about kofi annan, his name is

known for peace and democracy, and thatis known for peace and democracy, and that is what many africans will remember him for. when you look at social media and all the messages that are coming up, everyone is expressing how proud they are of him, how much of a change he brought to kenya and africa. they are talking about his humility, and when you look at somebody like kenya's former chiefjustice, who says he never saw a man who believed in the judiciary as much as kofi annan did. to kenya, we lost a friend and africa lost a leader. we're going to leave it there. thank you very much. the indian government is stepping up efforts to rescue thousands of people, stranded by heavy flooding in the southern state of kerala. the prime minister, narendra modi, has been seeing for himself some of the worst—hit areas, and is promising more military help in the relief effort. more than 320 people have died in kerala since the rainy season began in june,

and more than 300,000 have been made homeless. 0ur correspondent, yogita limaye, reports from kerala. localfishermen doing what they can to help. boats are needed more than ever before in this coastal state to rescue those who are stranded. more than a0 rivers crisscross kerala, and all of them are overflowing. this is the kadalundi. it's left homes and trees submerged. as the water started rising, people fled to safety. some have returned to see what they can salvage. we're nearly a kilometre from the river that flooded, but even so, water levels are this high. you can see the house behind me, and in fact i'm standing on a slope. if i were to go further, it would be even deeper.

but at least people are able to reach up to this point. beyond, there are many parts that are simply inaccessible. those who've been rescued are spending their nights in places like these — schools converted into relief camps. there are about 200 families here. this woman spent two nights on her neighbour's rooftop before a boat reached her. she tells me they were afraid that the house would collapse. india's prime minister, narendra modi, surveyed the devastation from a helicopter. he's promised more manpower and equipment. and it's notjust floods that have wreaked havoc. heavy rain has also caused mudslips. in this house alone, nine people were killed. with bridges broken and roads caved in, some areas remain cut off. yogita limaye, bbc news, in kerala. let's now talk to ray kancharla, humanitarian director for save the children, who is now in kerala. tell us the latest update and where

you are as a charity. i am here now, and also we have people right in the heart of the devastation that is happened, and the current scenario is... people in the camps, and the whole challenge is the evacuation issue, and as we have seen, the national and state governments are doing their best and have deployed more forces today to be able to rescue people quickly. but the whole question still remains that once the water begins to freak we need to anticipate this... in the camps, there are many who are very poor,

and when they go back, what have they? the whole question of recovery and bringing back better, it's a huge challenge and it requests a lot of resources. it is concerning, seeing all the children in this disaster. kerala as a whole has not experienced this kind of disaster. to come out of this is a lot of work, investment and resources can and we definitely would like a child family spaces. we want to ensure that shock, stress and burden our as quickly as possible eliminated. that shock, stress and burden our as quickly as possible eliminatedm terms of evacuations, you talk about child family spaces. where are these children being taken to

the the jell—o are these children being taken to the thejell—o we would like to find a safe... train the local volunteers to mind the children and we will cook them with the skills about child safeguarding, protection of children and start resuming temporary places of education, because education actually helps children to meet their fears actually helps children to meet theirfears and actually helps children to meet their fears and come out of that stress and shock and eventually the social burden will be minimised and the household will be able to recover and rest very quickly. in terms of getting to the children and the people that need your help, how difficult is that for save the children at the moment? i'm talking about accessibility. right now, some places are more difficult to access.

right now we would like to focus in areas where we have access and the worst affected four districts. and eventually we would work with the governments, according to strengthen the efforts and support in the child centred response. child centred response as is underneath the —— has its own unique features. we would work with the government to ensure the children's safety, security and their well—being are taking care of. we will leave it there for now. thank you very much. thank you. thousands of people have attended a state funeral in italy, for some of the victims of tuesday's motorway bridge collapse. the archbishop of genoa told mourners the tragedy had created a deep gash in the heart of the city. some families reportedly stayed away, because of anger at the government. the number of dead has now risen to a1.

from genoa, james reynolds reports. the campi corniglianese amateur football team came to this state funeral to mourn their youngest squad member, 22—year—old marius djerri. translation: we are very sad for him and his family. he was one of us. we are bitter and angry. these thoughts charged much of this ceremony. some families, angered by the collapse, decided to hold private burials instead. families, politicians and members of the public have come together here, but a single ceremony won't be enough to resolve the profound arguments over the collapse of the bridge. italy's interior minister, the populist matteo salvini, has promised that he'll find the names of those responsible for the disaster. "we will speak through our actions," he told us after the funeral.

relief workers are now securing every part of the ruined bridge. the company which operated this structure has now expressed its deep sympathy for the victims. but it's stopped short of apologising for the collapse. the technical situation is so complex that it's up to the, i mean, justice to understand what happened and why and under which conditions. those investigations have now begun. it may take many months before italians are given the answers they demand. james reynolds, bbc news, genoa. it's time for the headlines now here on bbc news. the first black united nations secretary—general, kofi annan, has died at the age of 80. facing the worst monsoon

in a century, hundreds of thousands are made homeless in southern india. thousands mourn for the victims of the motorway bridge collapse in genoa. a former labour mp has been suspended by the party because of comments he reportedly made online about the jewish community. jim sheridan was the mp for paisley and renfrewshire north until 2015. he allegedly said he'd lost " respect and empathy" forjews amid the ongoing row over anti—semitism. derek crawshaw reports. for months, the labour party has been engulfed in anti—semitism row. jeremy corbyn has been accused of by people both and - by people both and - his people both and - his own le both and - his own party. 1 outside and inside his own party. now ex—mpjim outside and inside his own party. now ex—mp jim sheridan outside and inside his own party. now ex—mpjim sheridan lost a seat in the 2015 general election but is

still a member of the party has been suspended after a mercy allegedly made on social media. the bbc has attempted to contact mr sheridan but he did not respond. the labour party has said it cannot comment on individual cases but told us that all complaints are fully investigated. a statement from the party said... derek crawshaw, reporting scotland. britain's new £3 billion aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth, has set sail from portsmouth this evening for the east coast of america. there, jets will land on the deck for the first time. two f—35 test planes are expected to carry out 500 landings and take—offs, while she's at sea. 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 had been ordered. 0ur correspondent keith doyle has more. 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. he 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". that was keith doyle there. the former ukip leader nigel farage says he is returning to frontline politics. writing in the daily telegraph, he says he's decided to return because what he calls 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, which opposes the prime minister's chequers plan. 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 trays. it follows 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 31 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. scientists around the world are trying to develop the technology to allow robots to pick soft fruit as farmers warn of a widespread labour shortage to harvest their crops. 0ur science correspondent richard westcott has been to essex to meet robotic experts as they trial their latest design. they have been making tiptree jam for more than 130 years, technology speeding up the process as the company grew. but there is one thing that hasn't changed in all that time. grab the stem and twist them round. and they're off, ready for the punnet. the company's workers pick a billion strawberries a year, and it is all still by hand. so relatively straightforward. i will look after one of those for you, thanks very much.

you are very welcome. beautiful berries. but it gets more complex, doesn't it? it does. looking at the strawberries, the human brain has half a second to make all these decisions. what is the level of ripeness? is it ready? the size of the berry, in which punnet is it put, and also the colour of the berries. humans are really good atjudging the fruit. when you twist it, you can see actually the white shoulder. 0ur hands are great at picking, too. robots, on the other hand, really struggle. so now, a global race is on to develop a robot that is as good at picking soft fruit as a human being. but it is much more complex than you would think. humans find it very effortless. but when we try and build a system which does the same thing, it's a complex integration of vision, touch, force, movement, and on top of it, the ability to learn. scientists at the university of essex have teamed up with tiptree to try to solve the problem. robots are great when things

are predictable, but nature doesn't do predictable. strawberries can be tucked away all over the plant. even changing light and weather can throw a computer. so lesson one is using colour to work out where the fruit is. ask a two—year—old to pick a berry, and if it's sunny, if the weather changes, if it starts raining, if the wind is blowing, he will effortlessly go and pick the berries. but making robots pick and place in changing environmental conditions is a very big challenge. some growers say fruit is already rotting in the fields because of a global shortage of people willing to do this kind of work. a recent study in scotland found they had 10% to 20% fewer pickers than they needed last year. are there issues getting labour every year, finding enough people, and training them up, and so on? is it difficult?

we have been ok so far, but yes, we are seeing the pool of labour is decreasing year—on—year. and it is a hard job, and that is the onlyjob, probably, left on the farm which has no mechanical help or nothing mechanised. teams across the world are working on fruit—picking robots, many in secret, because there is so much money at stake. in essex, they are designing a new robot hand, but they should be ready for testing in the fields by christmas. a man from yorkshire has finished running an entire lap of the county, a 500—mile journey. ben dave from harrogate has been running the equivalent of a marathon every day since setting off at the start of the month. he's raising money for a charity that works to prevent male suicide. well, a little earlier, ben spoke to my collegue julian worricker and told him what it's been like running around yorkshire over the last 18 days. this support is been absolutely

fantastic. hundreds of people from all sorts of walks of life. brought cou ntless all sorts of walks of life. brought countless packages. it's been absolutely amazing. and why the money for this particular cause? so in 2016, i went through a bit of a wobbly patch. this isjust in 2016, i went through a bit of a wobbly patch. this is just an opportunity for me to hold my hand up opportunity for me to hold my hand up and let other bloke so they are not alone and have the courage to seek help, really. i looked at georgejust giving page seek help, really. i looked at george just giving page and your over £22,000. absolutely. can't believe it. the original goal was to hit 10000 and we had that. just the other day, we had 20. i'm hoping to reach £25,000 now. fantastic. let's find out how the weather is looking. a lot of wet weather but in terms of running weather, are we

doing all right? it's going to feel quite mighty quite the which are the rest of this weekend. generally cloudy skies across the uk today. the sunshine broke rather belatedly across more central and eastern parts of england but on the whole, cloudy skies, and there is thicker clutter coming in from the atlantic. this area of clot here's remnant of tropical storm ernesto. do not need to worry about the strength of the wind but that cloud is what recent outbreaks of rain and it could be a little heavy as well. that cloud is ari thinking up in —— already thickening up in ireland. it will push its way into central, southern scotla nd push its way into central, southern scotland into northern england, perhaps into north wales as well. to the north of that, cooler and fresher air. temperatures will be a bit lower. to the south though, a

lot of plot. should not be long before this heavy rain clears. it will ease his way out into the north sea. it will leave behind some pockets of drizzle perhaps turning to northern england, perhaps wales into the midlands for a while. a fair bit of cloud around. it's a more broken cloud eventually. england and wales near 22 or 23 despite cloud. i think there will be a good deal of cloud for the second day of the test match, england against india at trent bridge. we've still got a weather front on the scene as we head into monday but what's left of ernesto is out of the way coming into more southern parts of scandinavia, but we're left with that weather front across northern areas which may well bring a few pockets of rain and drizzle. 0ne areas which may well bring a few pockets of rain and drizzle. one or two spots of drizzle around western hills for the south. maybe east wales. we should see a bit more

sunshine, there. take much to give the temperatures again up to the mid—20s or so the temperatures again up to the mid—20s orso in the temperatures again up to the mid—20s or so in the southeast and again, got some quite muggy air —— should not take much. a few things changing as we head into tuesday and wednesday. hardly any rain almost at all. southern parts of england staying on the warmer side of things with temperatures into the mid—20s, but by wednesday, you'll feel cooler and also but fresher. this is bbc news. the headlines. kofi annan, the first black african to become un secretary—general — has died at the age of 80. the highlight of his two terms in office came in 2001 when he was awarded the nobel peace prize.