:00:00. > :00:07.Morning - Ayshah here with Wednesday's big stories. Coming up.
:00:08. > :00:11.Severe flood warnings remain in place along the River Thames.
:00:12. > :00:19.And the save of the season... So far! This is Newsround.
:00:20. > :00:24.First up and this week on Newsround we're looking in to the illegal
:00:25. > :00:27.wildlife trade. Later this morning Prince William will make a speech
:00:28. > :00:31.about the devastating effect it's having on some of the world's most
:00:32. > :00:36.endangered species. In 2007, 13 rhinos were killed for their horns
:00:37. > :00:42.in South Africa. Last year, that figure had risen to over 1,000, and
:00:43. > :00:45.elephant poaching is even worse. In 2012, over 22,000 were killed as the
:00:46. > :00:49.demand for their ivory tusks grows in countries like China. Leah's been
:00:50. > :01:05.looking into it. B and powerful, the African elephant
:01:06. > :01:11.is the world's largest living land animal. But their future is under
:01:12. > :01:18.threat. 30 years ago, Kenya had almost 170,000 elephants. Today,
:01:19. > :01:23.only around 30,000 remain. In Africa, it is estimated that an
:01:24. > :01:26.elephant is killed every 15 minutes. Hunters sell their tusks to
:01:27. > :01:33.countries like China, where some people believe the ivory in the
:01:34. > :01:35.tasks as special powers. But the Rangers that this bargain can
:01:36. > :01:42.believe they are winning the fight against poachers. Weekly flights
:01:43. > :01:44.circle the Savannah, teams counting the elephants to check on their
:01:45. > :01:50.numbers and keep them away from dangerous areas. But there is only
:01:51. > :01:58.so much they can do. This huge male, with enormous tusks, has been
:01:59. > :02:00.hit by poachers for the first time. The gun saves his life, the
:02:01. > :02:08.anaesthetic that giving the team a time to work. As he's working under
:02:09. > :02:12.a tree, whatever has gone and has done in here. It is most likely a
:02:13. > :02:16.spear. So either a guy sets an automatic spear at a tree with a
:02:17. > :02:20.weight on it that and Halliburton 's trips and it falls, or the guy sets
:02:21. > :02:26.up the tree and spears the elephant from the top. A special clay is used
:02:27. > :02:30.to suck out the poison and heal the wound. Some experts say if nothing
:02:31. > :02:34.is done, we are looking at between ten to 15 years before elephant in
:02:35. > :02:37.the wild disappear, meaning for those trying to save the species,
:02:38. > :02:39.this is a more crucial time than ever.
:02:40. > :02:43.Next to the weather, and flood affected areas of southern England
:02:44. > :02:46.could see a month's worth of rain fall in the next few days. Severe
:02:47. > :02:49.flood warnings remain in place along the River Thames, and there are
:02:50. > :02:52.fears flooding could spread along the River Severn and the River Wye.
:02:53. > :02:56.More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated, mainly in the Thames
:02:57. > :02:59.Valley, and last night Nel met Olivia and Hannah from Wraysbury,
:03:00. > :03:07.whose houses are metres from the rising flood water.
:03:08. > :03:12.What has the community been going through because of the flood?
:03:13. > :03:16.Everyone has been pulling together, people had been volunteering to help
:03:17. > :03:21.other people who are flooded. Has it affected your day-to-day life? Yes,
:03:22. > :03:24.because I missed school today and yesterday, and probably tomorrow. I
:03:25. > :03:27.have missed quite a lot of stuff. It's day five of the Winter
:03:28. > :03:30.Olympics. These are live pictures from Sochi and of the women's
:03:31. > :03:34.downhill. Team GB's Chemmy Alcott is competing and is one of 42 women
:03:35. > :03:37.hurtling themselves down a mountain faster than most cars go on the
:03:38. > :03:40.motorway. It's a packed day of action in Sochi - later on there's
:03:41. > :03:43.curling, luge, women's halfpipe, men's 1000m speed skating and the
:03:44. > :03:50.men's Nordic Combined, a mixture of cross country skiing and ski
:03:51. > :03:53.jumping. In last night's footy, Chelsea
:03:54. > :03:57.missed out on going four points clear at the top of the Prem after
:03:58. > :04:01.this last minute goal from West Brom's Victor Anichebe. The Blues
:04:02. > :04:06.took the lead just before the first half and looked set to take all
:04:07. > :04:09.three points. Last night also saw one of the saves of the season,
:04:10. > :04:12.Cardiff keeper David Marshall pulling off this remarkable save
:04:13. > :04:14.against Aston Villa during their 0-0 draw.
:04:15. > :04:24.The stars of the small Sinkholes like this happen once in a
:04:25. > :04:27.blue moon but one has appeared in the middle of a busy motorway. The
:04:28. > :04:30.15-foot-deep hole appeared on a central reservation on the M2 near
:04:31. > :04:33.Sittingbourne in Kent. Engineers are carrying out an investigation into
:04:34. > :04:36.what caused the hole. And if, like us, you're fascinated by sinkholes,
:04:37. > :04:41.then you can find out more about them on our website.
:04:42. > :04:45.The stars of the small screen were out in force on the red carpet last
:04:46. > :04:48.night for the launch of the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent. Our
:04:49. > :04:53.very own master of all things showbiz, Ricky Boleto, put your
:04:54. > :04:57.questions to them. . Head over to the website to find out what the
:04:58. > :05:01.likes of David Walliams and Amanda Holden had to say.