Boko Haram Releases New Video of Chibok Girls
NICK PARKER, HOST: New hope for distraught families: a video surfaces said to show kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls more than two years after they were taken by militants. We'll be live in Lagos in just a moment. Also coming up...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This conflict has been raging for more than a year and a half, and it appears that there's now been a return to full-scale hostilities.</s>PARKER: An almost forgotten war. More child victims in Yemen as civilians continue to suffer. We hear from UNICEF in the capital Sanaa. Also, cover up controversy: why the so called burqini is making waves on the French Riviera. Thanks for joining us. We begin this hour with that new video from Nigeria's Boko Haram. The terror group claims it shows many of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls and offers to exchange them for jailed Boko Haram fighters. CNN cannot confirm the videos authenticity. As you may recall, more than 270 girls were taken from Chibok in 2014. The militants say some have been married off and some were killed in a government air strike. Our Stephanie Busari we are joined with more live from Lagos. Stephanie, good to have you with us. So, you have seen the full video. What exactly does it show? And what is being said?</s>STEPHANI BUSARI, CNN PRODUCER: So, this new video is around 11 minutes long. And in it, there's a masked man holding a rifle, surrounded by what he claims are the missing Chibok schoolgirls. And this video does have all the hallmarks of previous Boko Haram videos. Certainly, the one that CNN obtained in April has a similar style where the girls are sitting down. Some of them are staring at a camera. Some of them look terrified, frankly. And this man is making demands. Interestingly, one of the girls is then asked to address the camera directly. And she gives her name as Maida Yaoubu (ph). Now, I have been able to speak to the father of this girl and he tells me said he has seen the video and he confirms that that it is his daughter inthe video and he tells me he is very happy to know his daughter is alive. So, in one sense you could say that this video can be confirmed to be the Chibok schoolgirls. He told me he recognized some of the other girls in this video.</s>PARKER: Certainly, an important development. You were just reporting to us right now, Stephanie, thank you for that. You know, significant indeed. I wanted to ask you about the timing of the video and its release. We understand there has been something of a leadership struggle in Boko Haram.</s>BUSARI: Yes. You'll recall that earlier this month ISIS -- Boko Haram pledged allegiance to in the past claimed Boko Haram now has a new leader. His name is Abu Mousab al-Banawi (ph) who, incidentally we're told, is the son of the founder of Boko Haram. And what sources are telling me on the ground is that this video, the timing of this video, is no coincidence, because Abu Shekau, who has been the longtime leader of Boko Haram was responsible for kidnapping these schoolgirls wants to show he is still in charge and he's still the one to be reckoned. So the timing, I'm told, is no coincidence, that this is exactly what Abu Shekau want is the world talking about him and seeing him and not this new leader that has been named as -- from ISIS as the leader.</s>PARKER: Certainly, just crossing right now on the wires, we are getting reports that the Nigerian government says it is in contact with Boko Haram. What is your response to that?</s>BUSARI: Yes. So, I've spoken to a number of government officials. I've spoken to a senator in Nigeria called Sher Hussani (ph), who tells me that it is hard for them to make contact and negotiate with Boko Haram because there's mistrust on both sides. But what local media are reporting is that the culture ministry has been in contact and they are trying to establish lines of communication to get these girls out. But again, they are saying because of the new leadership crisis, and it's hard for them to know really who to trust and who to negotiate with it when it comes to Boko Haram and the missing Chibok girls.</s>PARKER: Stephanie Busari live for us in Lagos. Stephanie, thank you very much for that. Appreciate it. Another top story that we are following, we turn now to the latest action in Rio de Janeiro. 22 gold medals are up for grabs across 12 sports on the day nine of the games. The day also features showdowns in track and field, gymnastics and tennis. But people are still buzzing about two spectacular Saturday wins. Olympic legend Michael Phelps closed out his storied career with a 23rd -- that's right -- 23rd gold medal. And British runner Mo Farah recovered from a fall to take the take the gold in the men's 10,000 meter race. Our Christina Macfarlane has more on all of those wins, plus what to expect from today's competitions.</s>CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Nick, it was not so much super Saturday, Mo "fantastic" Farah. Surely, only Mo Farah -- is the only athlete who can fall during a face and still go on to defend his title in the 10,000 meters. Mid-race, he was clipped by one of the runners and went down. In fact, it was his teammate I think, Gailin Rupp, who clipped him, but he powered clear of the rest of the field in the final 100 meters to win it in a time of 27:05. And he was up against some of the greats in long distance racing. The Kenyans, the Ethiopians, who always try and run as a pack to intimidate Farah, but it was water off a duck's back. And it's all about where you placed yourself, of course, in the field when you move, when you challenge. And Mo Farah is a master of that. And remember, he'll be back on Wednesday to defend his 5,000 meter title. If he wins that, he'll become the first man since the Flying Finn, Lasse Viern, in 1976 to retain his two Olympic distance titles. Well, speaking of titles, after winning the 100 meter butterfly on Friday, Michael Phelps said he was absolutely not carrying on in the swimming world. And he followed that up with confirmation on Facebook Live on Saturday morning saying Tokyo 2020 is not for him. He'll hold an official press conference later today. And we'll find out once and for all if this is the end for Michael Phelps. But no one doubted it would be gold number 23 for Phelps. It's his 28th in total after winning the 4x100 meter medley relay on Saturday, cemented his legacy surely as the greatest ever. But you know, we shouldn't have been surprised that the U.S. would take this race because they never failed to win this particular event in Olympic history. Phelps, the Baltimore Bullet crucial in securing the lead through that, handing it over to his teammate Nathan Adrian who never looked back. I'll tell you, this Olympic Games is proving to be such an intense competition in the swimming pool and one the U.S. are dominating. Well, on Sunday, it's all about one man: Usain Bolt looking to do the triple-triple for the first time in history, that's the 100, the 200 and the 4x100 meter relay. And today is the first leg of that. We will have both the semi final and the final being run this evening as is customary. And earlier on Saturday, I had the chance to see him run in the heats, and it was like Elvis was in the building. The crowd went wild and Bolt had his fourth fastest time in that heat while Justin Gatlin, his big rival from the United States, posted the fastest time. And this, of course, is the showdown everyone is waiting for. Gatlin has been painted as something of a bad boy after two doping offenses, while Bolt is far and away the main attraction here. But Gatlin has run the fastest time this year, let's not forget, while Bolt has had a season of injuries. But when it comes down the straight, who is it going to be, one and two, Bolt or Gatlin, that is the big question, and the one we are all looking forward to later this Sunday.</s>PARKER: Well, let's talk a little bit more now about Mmichael Phelps. For almost two decades the sport of swimming has really revolved around its greatest star. And now he is saying good-bye after five Olympics and a career really unlike any other. Our Andy Scholes looks back.</s>ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael Phelps entered the global swimming stage at the age of 15, qualifying for his first Olympic games. Since that time, he has been the most dominating force the world of swimming has ever seen, competing long enough to inspire a new generation of swimmers. Look no further than American gold medalist Katie Ledecky. Here, she posed with Phelps as a 9-year-old, 10 years later they're winning gold together in Rio.</s>MICHAEL PHELPS, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: It's pretty incredible to have helped kids go after their dreams and their goals.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see him in a different capacity -- one as an athlete, a fierce competitor, but also Michael Phelps the mentor.</s>CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: He has just become a role model to so many people and taken swimming to a sport that used to be just -- well, that's an Olympic sport, well now at school.</s>SCHOLES: Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, and then his first retirement. Phelps did not just come back for a farewell tour at these Rio games, he crushed it, winning five gold medals and he is now stood at the top of an Olympic podium 23 times.</s>BRENNAN: This is a young person's sport. This is a sport where teenagers are winning gold medals. He's 31. In baseball years that's probably 55. And the thought that he can still be at the top of the world at this point is extraordinary.</s>SCHOLES: On top of the world in the water, Phelps sometimes struggled out of the pool -- controversy, two DUI arrests, rehab in 2014. But after all of it, he emerged with a new commitment to compete in his fifth and final Olympic Games. If this is it for Phelps, he couldn't have written a better ending. He's now a father, his fiancee Nichol Johnson and his 3-month-old son Boomer watching and cheering him on at every race.</s>DEBBIE PHELPS, MICHAEL PHELPS' MOTHER: They have adjusted themselves so well. And I just think they had to have a very special loving bond between the three of them. I just think Michael is in a really good place right now.</s>SCHOLES: What's next for Phelps? He says he is looking forward to spending time with his family. But he won't have to look far to find him pitching a number of products around the world. He will continue his work with the Michael Phelps Foundation, which helps kids learn to swim and be safe around water. Perhaps Phelps also uses his free time in retirement to encourage change in the sport of swimming.</s>BRENNAN: If Michael Phelps speaks out about doping, the IOC will listen in a way they're not going to listen to anyone else. And maybe at the end of the day that's Michael's legacy, a combination of bringing children to the sport of swimming and then trying to clean up the sport of swimming in terms of doping and all the bad things that have happened over the years.</s>ALLISON SCHMITT, AMERICAN SWIMMER: And he has changed the sport and he will continue to change it even past his retirement.</s>PHELPS: It is finally setting in more and more that some of the things that I have been able to accomplish throughout my career, it's -- and wanting to change the sport, I'm seeing it firsthand. And I think that's something that is really rewarding.</s>PARKER: People in the Syrian city of Manbij took to the streets this weekend to mark their liberation from ISIS. People danced in the streets after an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forced backed by the United States forced the terror group out of the city. Some residents celebrated by cutting their beards and having a cigarette: things that were banned under ISIS's occupation. CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has been following the developments in Syria from Istanbul. And he joins us now. Ben, good to have you with us. So, who exactly were these residents in Manbij, and what had they been subjected to leading up to this point of celebration?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, originally there were around 100,000 people living in Manbij, many of them had fled. Those who remained behind, it's believed, were essentially being used as human shields by ISIS, and certainly you can see from these people with burning their niqabs and other women having a smoke for the first time in public in a very long time, clearly very relieved to be out from underneath the dark draconian rule of ISIS. Now, if you look at the big picture, however, Nick, this is a significant development. Manbij sat on one of the two last remaining supply routes between Raqqa, ISIS's de facto capital, and the Turkish border. There's only one route left out of Raqqa. And clearly the Syrian democratic forces, this coalition of Kurdish and Arab troops, trained and supplied by the United States, are going to be turning their eyes on Raqqa itself. And of course, this comes at a time when the United States backing up the Kurds and the Iraqi army in Iraq are also gearing up for an offensive to retake Mosul, as well. And if you look further afield to the west, the anti-ISIS forces have also more or less been able to crush ISIS in the central Libyan coastal town of Sirte as well. Plus, of course, the United States is saying that they -- one of their drones was able to kill a senior ISIS leader in Afghanistan. So, it's been a bad couple of weeks for ISIS -- Nick.</s>PARKER: And Ben, to what extent do you think that is now a vindication for Washington of the strategy that they are pursuing in Syria? And to what extent do you think is Raqqa, the self-styled capital for ISIS, a realistic target at this stage?</s>WEDEMAN: Well, certainly it is a realistic target. But obviously, it is going to be a much harder nut to crack than Manbij, which is relatively much smaller. But certainly for the United States, they can finally -- I remember two years ago being in Iraq. The situation looked grim. You had the defensive in the north, you had ISIS firmly in control of large areas of Syria. Manbij is the largest town in Syria that ISIS has lost to its opponent. So certainly the tide has turned significantly. And the American officials, who were being criticized from all corners at the beginning of its campaign against ISIS can now at least they have some boasting, some bragging rights, so to speak. But this is a long war and ISIS is not defeated. They still control Mosul, which in better times had a population of more than 2 million people. That's the second largest city in Iraq, and of course Raqqa itself. So there's still quite a ways to go, but certainly looking back over the progress made in the fight against ISIS over the last two years, what we are seeing now is significant -- Nick.</s>PARKER: Indeed. Ben Wedeman reporting live for us from Istanbul. Ben, thank you. Appreciate it. Now to other stories on our radar. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's plan to honor former dictator Ferdinand Marcos is being met with protests. Hundreds gathered in Manila to show their disapproval of moving Marcos' body to the national cemetery. The new burial plan is angering many people who were victims of brutal crackdowns on dissent during Marcos' time in office. He died in 1989. The American city of Milwaukee is on edge following a night of unrest and violence. The violence erupted following the fatal shooting on Saturday of an armed suspect by police. Three protesters were arrested. One officer was hurt by a brick thrown at his patrol car. And Sad news for Star Wars fans, British actor Kenny Baker has died. Just over one meter tall, Baker was best known for playing the lovable droid R2- D2 in the Star Wars movies. He also appeared in the films Time Bandits and Flash Gordon. Kenny Baker was 81 years old. We now turn to some major flooding in the U.S. state of Louisiana. There, more than 1,000 people have been rescued in the rising waters. You are looking at the dramatic rescue of a woman trapped in her car. The deadly floods have stranded residents with widespread power outages and shut down some major roadways. At least three people have died. Well, our Boris Sanchez joins us live now from Galvez-Lake in Louisiana. Boris, what is the scene where you are?</s>BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Nick, we are seeing a lot of those rescues you were talking about. The governor, yesterday, John Bel Edwards, told us that more than 1,000 rescues have been conducted in the state, people that were trapped in their homes, trapped in cars. Some people clinging to trees as a result of this flooding. And right now, under way, just off to our left over there, several people independent of law enforcement have brought their own boats, some of them volunteers going out and going into the area behind me which is completely flooded. There's a lake and a river, an area behind where we are. And it's just submersed an entire neighborhood. I actually spoke to one woman who told me she lost contact with her sister who lives in this area. Her and her husband brought out an airboat in order to get in to that neighborhood. She told me the last time she talked to her sister, she said that her house was on fire. Fortunately, though, she says she was okay. She was able to make it on a boat. So, the search and rescue effort is still continuing even though the rain has finally let up, least in this area. To the west of us, heading toward Baton Rouge, which is about an hour west of New Orleans, the rain is still coming down. In the neighborhood behind me and the homes behind me, I should say, you can still see people right now getting their belongings out of these buildings. They say that the water is actually not receding at all. They tell me this water has gone up dramatically in just the past hour. And as we continue to deal with this water that is moving southward, we are going to continue seeing scenes like this. I'm told just further south there's a sandbagging operation where people are preparing for this water to head that direction. Obviously, though the rain is gone, it is still a very precarious situation, Nick.</s>PARKER: Boris Sanchez, live for us from the flooding in Louisiana. Boris, thanks for that. appreciate it. And still to come, an imam and his assistant are fatally shot in New York. We will have the details as police search for suspects. But first a war the world sometimes forgets is violently tearing its way back in the headlines. A look at Yemen and my interview with UNICEF there next.