this is bbc world news, the headlines: kofi annan, the former un secretary—general, has died at the age of 80. he won the nobel peace prize and served two terms as the world's chief diplomat between 1997 and 2006. hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands forced from their homes by flooding across india's kerala state. authorities are calling it the worst monsoon for a century — and more rains are forecast. a state funeral has taken place for some of those killed in italy's bridge collapse but some families stayed away in protest. meanwhile, three more bodies were found earlier, at the scene of the disaster after allegations emerge that a cadet was waterboarded at britain's prestigious royal military academy, the military school says it will deal robustly with anyone found to have fallen short of the highest standards of behaviour. at ten o'clock clive myrie will be here with a full round up of the days news.

first on bbc news: our africa correspondent alastair leithead investigates alleged rhino killing and corruption in south africa. the rhinoceros has been on the planet for millions of years but it could be gone in our lifetime. its horn is now worth more than cocaine on the black market so poachers are driving rhinos to extinction. i mean, they are wonderful species. but it seems to me they want to completely eliminate them from the face of the earth. but it's notjust the greed of poachers and traffickers. corruption is fuelling the crisis. it doesn't matter where you get it. there is police corruption. in south africa, it is infecting the courts and the parks that should be protecting them. half of hluhluwe—imfolozi rangers are corrupt. we meet the go—between who took bribes from poachers.

i would give my name to most of his friends and most of his friends are magistrates, lawyers, prosecutors. magistrates who are now being investigated. and we meet the activist who has dedicated her life to bringing down the kingpins. i try to be as careful as i can, i don't have a fixed address, i change my phone number all the time, my phone is... you know, i am like a ghost. the search is on. somewhere in the trees below are dozens of rhinos. this huge private reserve in south africa is fenced and protected

24/7 by heavily armed guards. but the best way to deter the poachers is to remove what they kill for. and so the mission is to find the rhinos, sedate them, and de—horn them, to save their lives. but they are shy, suspicious, and aggressive. it is going to be a long day. the poaching epidemic began here ten years ago. in that time, more than 8,500 african rhinos have been killed for their horns. most of them here in south africa,

which is home to 80% of the continent's stock. there are now only perhaps 25,000 left. 1,000 rhinos are being killed here every year. that's nearly three a day. hluhluwe? imfolozi park in zululand is the home of the southern white rhino. all of those remaining today originated here and it is also where they are now most at risk. it is not the first time these prehistoric animals have faced down extinction. but at the current rate of killing, it could be the last. huge herds once roamed africa until colonial wars reduced them to perhapsjust 100, all in zululand. in the 1960s, there was a major push to save the species.

newsreel: tension mounts as the dart is filled with the costly drugs. using drugs, the plan was to sedate and catch the rhinos and transport them to other parks. right, ready to go. 0peration rhino, captured in this film, was spearheaded by imfolozi park's warden at the time, ian player. perfect shot. the very first time that ian player started darting rhinos, i was there, they invited me. lesson number one, to catch a rhino, have rope on hand. so you can see that this has been very close to my heart from a very early age. it's really a very painful thing for me to see what is happening to these animals, you know. because, i mean, they are a wonderful species but it seems to me they want to completely eliminate them from the face of the earth.

so, i mean the whole of south africa reeks, if i may say so, of corruption. the moving of rhinos continues to this day. even if the technology and the techniques have changed a little. it is dramatic but it is harmless. and a few years ago, before he died, ian player, the shirtless marksmen from the 60s, came to see a new generation trying to save the species all over again in zululand. all right. the vet who worked on this translocation to other parks is now kept busy in other ways —

carrying out postmortems on poached rhinos. well, you know in the past, it was something that was unusual. it was almost novel to go out to a poaching scene and conduct a forensic examination. half a dozen a year was a lot. and then in the last ten years, it's slowlyjust picked up where last year alone, between my colleague and myself, we did 176 examinations, you know, which is phenomenal. and that is all in kwazulu—natal. dave cooper is a government vet. it is government parks like hluhluwe—imfolozi which are increasingly being hit. they have a large concentration of rhinos and less security than an private parks. it's tough dealing with this every other day. i think the ones that are the hardest are where you arrive at the scene and suddenly you realise here is a survivor.

0ne animal that had been shot in the neck but in the process of removing the horns, the rhino must have revived and got up and ran away. so i found this animal with half a face, half the horn sort of hanging off the face. really something... difficult to prepare oneself for. you know, you have to think what this animal has gone through to get into that state. and then as a vet, i've got to think about what can i do to help this animal. from experience, he knows that corruption is allowing this killing to continue. well, i would say for the poacher, it is useful to have someone on the inside who can tell you whether rhino are, number one, and then number two, where the rangers are. so it becomes fairly obvious when you see the that you have a picket that has been

arched, one of our anti—poaching patrols in one particular spot for a couple of days, they get pulled out the rest or something like that, and the next night, the poachers are in on exactly the same spot and have shot a rhino. and he is not the only one to say so. we secretly met a ranger from hluhluwe—imfolozi park. we are protecting his identity and his voice. half of the hluhluwe—imfolozi rangers are corrupt. many, many people, many field ranges in the reserves, many are totally involved in rhino poaching. there are some people involved as an inside job in rhino poaching. they've got friends, they've got brothers, they've got everything, they've got everyone who can say i want to poach the rhino. that is a problem. he described an incident when rangers aside from another park were told to hold off when they came across poachers. the four rhino poachers started to attack the rhinos and so they radioed in a report.

one of the field rangers replied, no, wait for us, we are the people going to attack those people await. they waited until the poachers shot one rhino. the rhino was screaming. he blames the rangers in charge for delivery preventing the poachers from being stopped. nothing happened but they took the horns and ran away after that. so you could have caught them if you hadn't been stopped? if no one had disturbed us at that time, everyone, these people who were around that place, would have been caught. he also blames management for being involved in corruption and says even if they catch people with horns and downs, they aren't always jailed. we arrest people in possession of rhino horns but they have gone to court and have been found not guilty, and they are freed. it's because of corruption.

these people, these kingpins have lots of money, they give it to the police, to the lawyers. there has been corruption, in terms of some areas, and we believe we've tackled those areas. we've also passed that information on to the south african police. is half the park corrupt? no. simple as that? simple as that. you know that? i know that. 0k. there has been allegations of corruption at management level as well, equally so. are you confident that is not the case? there's. .. well, look, there is always areas that you can, you know, it depends on where you are looking at, and it depends on the information. but at the moment, in terms of the management, i can be confident that we have good management in the park. managing private parks is not as difficult. they are smaller, easier to secure, and rhino de—horning is more practical.

darting from the air was going to plan. the pilot uses the helicopter downdraught to guide the darted rhino into the open, close to the road, before the drugs kick in. so we just do this side. come on, guys. we need to move over there. the clock is ticking, and there is a lot to do. keep turning, 100% right. the rhino has turned awkwardly. he needs to be turned across the slope. they weigh over a ton. they have 20 minutes to work and gather data, but the quicker they are, the better it is for the rhino, a bulky satellite tracker secured on the animal's foot while the horn is being prepared. we won't remove a lot... it was last cut 18 months ago, but that is still worthwhile for poachers.

so you can only remove probably an inch and a half of it. so it will take it back down to his face, but not getting to the growth tissue. and even that is an attractive amount of horn that is left on the animal, so there still are cases where the animals are being lost. but extreme measures for extreme times. what we have seen is not necessarily the poorest of the poor that are involved in poaching. it is not confined to that anymore. we've got sophisticated syndicates operating. these people are well resourced, and therefore they have a significant capacity to negotiate with people on the ground who might be very vulnerable to corruption. it looks and sounds harsh, but it is painless to the animal. it is like trimming fingernails. in fact, it is the same material as fingernails, keratin. that's what makes this whole trade

even more unbelievable. there is no evidence the horn has any medicinal value, the main reason for demand in asia. yet, still, even these shavings are worth a fortune. well, this is the point that has been reached, where these animals have to have their horns removed in order for them to have more chance of survival. a lot of the private parks are doing this all the time now, but in places like hluhluwe?imfolozi park, they don't do this, and that makes them even more of a target for poachers. how long do i have, once i've done this? three to four minutes. 0k, good. that is a complete reversal. all right, guys. if we can make our way to the vehicle. groggy, confused, but otherwise fine. dehorning is time—consuming and expensive, but it is making

a difference, giving at least some hope to the private reserves. but, as we'll see, corruption not only casts a long shadow across this area and its wildlife, but its courtrooms as well. hluhluwe—imfolozi park, the original home of the white rhino, is now at the centre of the storm, and according to whistleblowers and activists, much of the problem lies within parts of the judiciary. 0ur nonprofit, saving the wild, is focused on exposing and eradicating corruption involved in rhino poaching. so how bad is the corruption? it's a cesspit of corruption, it's massive. jamiejoseph is an activist and investigator who has covered extensive evidence of corruption.

inside kwazulu—natal, there is an alleged syndicate of magistrates and prosecutors that are taking bribes in rhino poaching cases. over 2.5 years, she and a former antipoaching policeman, jean—pierre roux, uncovered what they call a blacklist of corruption, as they tried to bring down the suspected rhino horn kingpin. in fact, police are targeted when they go after high—level targets. i specialise in infiltrating rhino poaching syndicates and working on the higher, higher—ranking members of the groups, of the syndicates. and, making use of cooperation, we were quite successful in curbing rhino poaching through that way. jean—pierre was fired from the police endangered species investigation unit on an administrative matter which he is currently challenging. why did you leave yourjob?

it was not by choice. we suspect we got too close to some of the higher syndicate members, with possible links to government. the suspects were being warned by policemen, and notjust policemen — policemen, prosecutors, magistrates. i personally interviewed sources who explained to me why i was not getting proper convictions in some of my matters. they call their source ‘fresh‘. he signed an affidavit and passed a lie detector test. he claims the uncle he worked for, the lawyer welcome ngwenya, was part of a large, corrupt syndicate, and he was told to deliver the bribes. mr ngwenya denies paying bribes, and has told the bbc he knows nothing about this. does that work sometimes? i would give money to most

of his friends, and most of his friends are magistrates, lawyers, prosecutors. so they can make the case easier for him orfor the person. if you want your case to be returned, or if you want everything tojust disappear, you just go to him. what about magistrates? same thing, same procedure. so most of the time they come and get the money in his garage, or we will go to them. they will come and drink with them. even after court, they will sit with him in his car, and speak with him and talk about the case. what is the most, i suppose, the biggest of those cases that ngwenya was involved in, or that he has been involved in? i think dumisani gwala. he is the biggest one that i know of. when gwala was arrested in december 2014, a spokesperson for that special operation said that about 80% of the horns are going through his hands. gwala has weakened since, since we are chipping away at his syndicates, and one

of gwala's strengths is that he never goes to jail. he has been arrested many times, but evidence goes missing, and the case goes missing. gwala pleaded not guilty, was granted bail, and has appeared in court more than 20 times since then. their source, ‘fresh,’ makes detailed claims about the amounts of cash they claim were paid by him to his uncle. the testimony indicates a network of magistrates and lawyers. a senior officer believes ‘fresh‘ is providing credible allegations, which are serious and need investigating. his lawyer, mpume linda, was also accused by ‘fresh‘ of being part of this corrupt syndicate, something she denies. are you the rhino horn kingpin that people make you out to be? have you dealt in rhino horn at all? have you been involved in poachers? so are you this kingpin

that people talk about? so can i ask you, are you being protected by officials in south africa? is there corruption in the courts that is leading to these delays? ma'am, ms linda, you have been accused of corruption. do you have a response to that? would you like to say anything about that, ms linda? thank you very much. so the court has been postponed many times before. it is now going to trial tomorrow, at a different court. but gwala's lawyer, ms linda, has stepped down from being his lawyer, which suggests there could be further delays to come. gwala's trial is now scheduled for november, but saving the wild says the corruption does not stop there. it goes up to another level, and the other level is a regional court president.

he is the one who is responsible for appointing all these magistrates, so it is two levels. and this is when we start talking about a syndicate. these are big accusations — that the most senior magistrate took money from lawyers he appointed as acting magistrates. eric nzimande is being investigated by the magistrates commission, and told the bbc, i can't respond to something unless there is a formal charge against me, and then i will go to court. ultimate responsibility for appointing magistrates lies with the deputyjustice minister. are you aware of an investigation specifically into the magistrate? i am aware of an investigation, yes, into him. not specifically linked to the rhinos, but relating to other matters. and other magistrates, as well, as part of that investigation? yes, i have been told that there are some investigations, yes, relating to rhinos involving prosecutors and lawyers. is there any suggestion that this could be linked to people who are higher up in the levels of

provincial and national government? no, not that i am aware of. unfortunately, investigations into the magistrates do take time. an unpublished magistrates court document seen by the bbc provides evidence that eric nzimande received payments from fresh‘s uncle, as well as other magistrates. the report says it appears to have a pattern of racketeering activity, with a definite system of command. the police handed theirfindings to the director of public prosecutions at least nine months ago, but so far nothing has happened. the cost of corruption can be measured by the carcasses of dead rhinos, and the orphans they leave behind. but it also impacts all of society. it allows poachers to act with impunity, and it compromises the police and the justice system, notjust in poaching cases. the poaching of rhino horn has been

assisted by the climate of corruption that exists in south africa. for poachers to get to the rhino, they have to corrupt somebody. these are some of the survivors, still crying out for their mothers. more rhino orphanages are opening to cope with the need to rear them and eventually to try and reintroduce them to the wild. i must be honest. at times, i get tremendously angry with the human rights groups. i want to strangle people, and worse. it brings out the worst in me. so it doesn't say much for the human race. greed, corruption, and the desire for powdered keratin, fingernails, are all very human traits, that continue to wipe out

one of the planet's oldest and most iconic species. hello, there. this forecast spans two weekends, the first weekend, this weekend, is humid with cloud and rain in the forecast for sunday. some breaks in the cloud but sunshine in fairly limited supply. the next weekend includes a bank holiday for parts of england, northern ireland, and wales. what does the august bank today have in store ? does the august bank today have in store? more on that in a minute.

first of all, through sunday, outbreaks of brains heading in from the west. courtesy of this area of low pressure. there will be some outbreaks of rain to be gained, central scotland and parts of northern england and wales. and improving story, drier conditions of the north—west of scotland. it looks like it will be tried in south—east england. afairamount like it will be tried in south—east england. a fair amount of cloud. temperatures in the high teens, load 20s, maximum of 23 celsius. into monday, we see the area of low pressure clear in the east. we hold onto this weather front. monday, we start of the day with a good deal of cloud around. a messy picture on monday, some outbreaks of rain and drizzle, particularly in northern

and western areas, the best of any brea ks and western areas, the best of any breaks in the cloud further south and east you go. little warmer in the south—east, maximum of 26 celsius. elsewhere, temperatures in the high teens, mid—20s. into tuesday, we have a brief ridge of high pressure, we say goodbye to that front that has been in the north of the country. not long before the next area of rain starts pushing to the north—west. tuesday, a good deal of dry weather around, brighter intervals, the risk of a couple of showers, later in the day, outbreaks of heavy rain rushing into the north—west of scotland and parts of northern ireland. temperatures reaching 25 celsius. the cold front is significant, not because it will bring rain but because as it thinks south and east, it starts to squash the humid air towards the south—east quarter so we will start to seal —— see fresh conditions feeding in behind that, the cloud more confined

to the far south and east. rain and drizzle there. temperatures round about 15 to 22 celsius, maximum, down in the south—east still feeling humid. towards the end of the week, picking up more of the northwesterly feel, and that will bring the temperatures down, the digging and all. temperatures dropping to average for this time of year, perhaps a touch below. moving into the weekend, high pressure will dominate, the digging the south of the uk but with low pressure to the north, the perceptualfor more u nsettled north, the perceptualfor more unsettled weather. —— the potential for more unsettled weather. next weekend, and settled weather in the north, some dry and fine weather further south and for the bank holiday, it does look like the temperatures will be a little bit closer to average, a little relief for some, i closer to average, a little relief forsome, iam closer to average, a little relief for some, i am sure. tributes from around

the world for kofi annan, the former un secretary—general who's died at the age of 80. he led the united nations for a decade and won the nobel peace prize for humanitarian work. parts of kerala in southern india are cut off as monsoon floods kill more than 300 people. italy mourns its dead at a state funeral after the motorway bridge collapse in genoa. and gone! and ben stokes returns for england as india fight to keep the series