16/02/2014 Reporters

deep has opened in a road in Hertfordshire. 17 homes have had to

be evacuated. Time for Reporters. Welcome to Reporters. From here in

the world's newsroom, we send out correspondence to bring you the best

story from across the globe. In this week's programme, America's desert

war against Al-Qaeda. We join US forces combating extremist is in the

Horn of Africa. This long-range air to air refuelling is one tiny part

of the huge build-up in US and coalition military operations here

in the Horn of Africa. Afghanistan's one-time obey. A rare

look inside Bagram high security jail, which America says houses some

of the world's most dangerous men. Saving Kenya's elephants. We report

from Sabah National Park on how the Rangers are fighting back against

the ivory poachers. -- Tsavo. An elephant is killed by poachers every

15 minutes. We uncover suspected fraud at the heart of Britain's

student visa system. At the secret filming which shows a tutor giving

the answers for an English test. And is this the most exotic ski

destination on earth? We investigate North Korea's new fascination with

skiing. America is dramatically increasing

its military operations in the Horn of Africa. It's part of its efforts

to tackle violent extremism in the wake of last year's Westgate attack

in Nairobi. America's base in the tiny state of Djibouti is the focus

for counterterrorism operations against Al-Shabab in neighbouring

Somalia and Al-Qaeda in southern Yemen. Our correspondent has this

exclusive report from Djibouti. In the deserts of Djibouti, the US

military is stepping up operations. It is flying long-range missions all

over East Africa, determined to counter what it calls violent

extremism. These are special forces rescue paratroopers, trained to

retrieve commanders or others from deep inside Somalia. From its base

in Djibouti, America is extending its reach across this region. It's

not alone. This is a French helicopter refuelling from a US tank

in Djibouti airspace. This long-range air to air refuelling is

just one tiny part of the huge build-up in US and coalition

military operations in the Horn of Africa and Djibouti is the nerve

centre. This former French colony has thrown in its lot with the

West. Its Foreign Minister told me that makes it a target for

Al-Shabab, so he supports controversial US drone strikes

launched from his country. These people are very dangerous, Al-Shabab

and Al-Qaeda. Whatever it takes. If we can contain them, OK. If we can

get rid of them, it's better. But we don't have to waste time in asking

each and every time ourselves if we should or should not use drones. The

US base year has fallen to over 4000 people. From here, trainers go out

to African nations, sending soldiers to fight Al-Shabab, seen by

Washington as the main threat in the region. The real reason why we are

here is to neutralise Al-Shabab in Somalia. That is why I'm here so I

can assist the other nations to neutralise Al-Shabab in Somalia so

that it will not leave Somalia or threaten US interests or the US as a

whole. In the harbour, the US. Navy is a tempting target. Security is

tight. These are US Navy sea arks, fast patrol boats that keep suspect

vessels away from US warships. For American sailors, memories of what

happened in aid and 14 years ago are still raw. -- Navy sea arks.

Djibouti maybe a sovereign nation, independent from France. But they do

not take their chances. American forces are concerned about a repeat

of the USS Cole in 2000, when Al-Qaeda operatives blew up a ship

alongside the vessel, killing hundreds of sailors. The French also

mount their own security around their ships but I asked the US. Navy

- how they respond if a suspicious vessel comes too close. We elevate

our threat posture. We shoot flares across the bow to grab their

attention. If they disregard that, we have weapons that would use

warning shots. If it gets to the point where they ignore our warning

shots, we would use deadly force. America certainly has the tools in

its armoury but does it have the patience? 20 years ago, it rushed to

leave this region after getting embroiled in Somalia's clan wars.

Now it's trying a different approach but defeating extremism here could

still take years. It is being called Afghanistan's one-time obey. America

says it houses some of the most dangerous men in the world and

President Hamid Karzai has described Bagram jail as a "Taliban-making

factory". But he was the one who gave the order to free 65 suspected

militants from the prison, further straining relations between the US

and Afghanistan. Our correspondent was given exclusive access to the

facility and met some of the prisoners just before they were set

free. Bagram jail on the outskirts of Kabul. Often described as

Afghanistan's one-time obey, US military says the men held here are

some of the most dangerous on a. After two years of negotiating, I

finally obtained exclusive access. On a visit, the general, the man in

charge here, shows me their medical facilities full dog although they

are monitored, the prisoners are allowed to make phone calls. The

guards proudly show me the quality of food the prisoners are served.

Compared to other prisons I have seen in Afghanistan, it's a

state-of-the-art facility. It may look comfortable, but it's still a

prison. With their hands and feet shackled, movement is difficult.

Families have travelled many days to see their relatives. Some of these

men have been held here for years without trial. This man has been

accused by the Americans of being a Taliban facilitator and

co-ordinating and conduct attacks on Afghan and NATO forces. He tells me

that he is just an innocent 16 -year-old farmer from Helmand

province and presents the Americans for his incarceration. I hate them

because I'm here for no reason. Of course I hate them. I want to ask

them what is my crime. If they tell me what evidence they have against

me, I won't mind if I'm in prison for ten years but no one has asked.

I have spent a year far from a mother and father. Why? What is the

reason? The men filmed in this room have all just been released but the

Americans say they are dangerous and have blood on their hands. They say

there is forensic evidence to prove it. Many of these people were caught

red-handed and the test on their fingers recorded explosives. It's

not as if this is questionable. These are the hard-core of literally

maybe over 1000 that we have already released. But Afghan authorities

disputed this and say that because of the lack of evidence, they can no

longer hold them. It's an affair that is damaging political relations

at a critical moment when US forces are drawing down their military

presence in Afghanistan. The Afghan president has described Bagram jail

as a "Taliban-making factory" . Exactly. The words I used, a

"Taliban-making factory". The people who have come out of that prison

have been released out of that prison. There is no denying that

there are elements of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban still in that prison. No

doubt but the number of those people that are criminals, real criminals,

are a minority. The Afghan decision to release these detainees in the

face of strong American objections reflects how the relationship

between the supposed allies is unravelling. One of Africa's

greatest treasures is under threat. Across the continent, it is

estimated that 22,000 elephants were killed by poachers for their ivory.

In ten to 15 years time, elephants could be completely wiped out. Our

correspondent has been to Tsavo National Park in Kenya to see how

the range is there are fighting back against the poachers. Africa's

treasurer under threat, hunted by poachers. 30 years ago, Kenya had

almost 170,000 elephants. Today, around 37 -- 37,000 remain. A

devastating ivory trade led by China has reached devastating levels. As

dawn breaks over Tsavo National Park, a week-long aerial census

begins to gauge the poaching impact. It's a vital tool for the Rangers

who believe they are winning the fight. We are obviously beating the

poachers. We are beating them, they are not beating. Our men are dealing

with them effectively. The census will be an indication that we have

been successful. The plane circle over the Savannah. Teams counting

the elephants to see if new births are outweighing those poached. There

is a shocking statistic in Africa, that an elephant is killed by

poachers every 15 minutes. The hope of this census is it will show a

resilient elephant population but also indicate where they are and if

they are straying into territory to vulnerable to the poachers. But then

the hard reality. Our cameraman is allowed to join a small team that he

is of a newly targeted elephant. It's a huge ball with prize tusks,

it's by poachers for the fourth time. The gun saves him. An

anaesthetic darts to give the team time to work. As he is walking under

a tree, whatever has gone in has gone in here like this. It's likely

a spear. What he does is either set an automatic spear in a tree with a

weight on it that the elephant trips and the spear falls or a man's in

the tree and spears the elephant from the top. A special clay sucks

out the poison and heals the wounds. Two more weeks and he would have

been dead. He has to be pulled up. A new lease of life until the poachers

strike again. How old is this one? He is about three years old, now.

For one of the world's most renowned elephant experts, the extent of

poaching is hard to bear. Terrible. Really terrible. In this day and

age, it's an indictment on mankind. We are looking at ten, 15 years

before elephants in the wild disappear. Kenya is trying higher

fines for smugglers but saving this precious species is more critical

than ever. The unprecedented surge in ivory poaching is fuelled by

China's hunger for what they call white gold. Speaking at a conference

in London, Prince Charles said that taking away the man from China for

ivory was as important as in forging the -- enforcing laws to protect the

element elephants themselves. 5000 miles from Africa, China with

its new drive to consume and new taste for luxury. Ivory sought after

here, sold openly and legally. Behind the illegal trade is an

illegal one, and critics say that this is what allows it to continue.

To show you, we need a hidden camera. Each piece must be sold with

a credit card sized photo ID. It proves that the ivories from

government stockpiles and not smuggled. But look closely, and the

picture does not match the carving. Nearby we find more IDs that did not

match. As soon as we ask about them, the seller shuts up shop. China is

now tackling the illegal trade. Ivory seized by Customs has been

crushed, and smugglers arrested. Chinese buyers want ivory. Some

believe it brings good luck and others see it as a safe investment,

sure to appreciate as elephants get rarer. 30,000 are being poached in

Africa each year. To avoid the crackdown, traders are turning to

the Internet. Online sales are illegal but not hard to find. We

made contact with a dealer and set up a camera. He produced a carved

task. Illegal African ivory, with an asking price of ?7,000. Other

dealers have been put in jail and it is been getting harder to smuggle

tasks. The price is therefore going up. TRANSLATION: There are lots of

ivory collectors but there is less ivory now so the price is shooting

up. Bother buying goes on, so too does the killing. Demand for ivory

here fuels slaughter in Africa. African elephants are facing

extinction. Here in Britain, the government has been trying to cut

back on the number of migrants by taking a tough line on what it calls

bogus student visas. Non- EU students have to pass an accredited

English exam if they want to get a visa to stay in the country will

stop for some it has been a bit too easy. A BBC investigation has

exposed a wide range of abuses, including cheating. Our undercover

filming has led the government to suspend exams run by DTS, one of the

largest language testing companies in the world. E TS. It is the sort

of multiple-choice test that students dream of.

Unbelievably, the examiner is simply reading out the answers.

A two-hour test takes just seven minutes to fake. Panorama has been

filming undercover through a network of crooked Immigration Agency help

students extend visas through fraud. The rules are crystal clear. Non- EU

students have to pass an English exam they do not get a Visa. Early

last year, we heard of an immigration agent in West London

which could guarantee an exam pass for a price. Our undercover research

was told how they fooled the exam board. The agency which arranged our

exam denies any wrongdoing. After paying the agency ?500, our

undercover reporter was sent to this government approved test centre in

east London for the exam. In the exam hall, and invigilator logs are

onto a secure terminal. But neither she nor any of the other candidates

will have to do the tests themselves. Moments before the exam

starts, you people arrive to their places. While the fake sitters start

answering the questions, the Visa applicants stand in the aisle,

waiting to have their photo taken to prove that they sat the exam here. A

few days later, our reporter got the certificate. This college strongly

denies any complicity. They said that after conducting the

investigation, they had not renew the contracts of three providers.

The company which sets the exams, DTS, says that it does everything it

can to prevent dishonesty. We showed our footage of the exams to the Home

Secretary. We have done a lot of the last few years. We have rooted out

abuse and the number of visas has gone down. But it is clear that

people are finding ways around the system. Our investigation shows that

the Visa system is still an easy target. One tour operator has called

it the most exotic ski destination on earth. But it is not the Swiss

Alps or Aspen in Colorado. It is a ski slope in North Korea. The

country is not known for its winter sports and it is not have an athlete

in the Winter Olympics but that has not stopped its opening a new

high-end ski resort in the country 's eastern mountains. Lucy

Williamson reports. There are not many ways to relax in North Korea.

Here at the country 's new ski resort of fun is accessed via a

military checkpoint and a creaky crawl up the mountain. There is

plenty of room on the slopes. This is a hobby reserved for the elite.

But there are high-tech card readers and western alcohol on the slopes.

North Korea is hoping to attract Western tourists. This woman used to

work as a journalist in North Korea and so she filmed her visit. It is

hard to get the locals to talk. But in this situation they were chasing

me down. We had skiiers waiting for us at every turn, asking us about

how to snowboard. North Korea is young leader has put a lot of money

into promoting sports and fined in general. But he also likes to spend

the meagre income of the country on nuclear weapons and the huge

standing army. The sanctions that are meant to curb that have not

stopped high-tech luxuries like foreign ski equipment from turning

up here. South Korea has been trying to attract tourists to its ski

resorts for years. Selling point for North Korea is that it is unknown

and isolated. Will this new kind of sports diplomacy helped open up the

there were just to bankroll it? -- or just too. No North Korean

athletes are at Sochi, but the country has already expressed a

desire to host future tournaments here. It is too late for the 2018

Olympics which went to South Korea. That is all from us for this week.

Goodbye for now. There is cautious optimism about the

weather forecast. It would be a fine day on Sunday. Most places will be

dry and clear tonight which