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Boko Haram Leader Vows To Sell Girls; The Resurgence Of Lego; White House Releases Climate Change Impact Report; Ukraine Shuts Down Airport In Donetsk; Leading Woman: Mariah Carey; Interview with Michelle Knight
Aired May 06, 2014 - 8:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.
As a global movement calls for the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, I'll take a closer look at the threat posed by the group holding them, Boko Haram.
The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian militants blame each other for fighting in Slovyansk.
And from the verge of bankruptcy to the most profitable toy company in the world. We'll look at how Lego rebuilt itself.
Fears are growing over the fate of more than 200 girls abducted in Nigeria. The search has grown more urgent as their captors are now threatening to sell them. Now the mass abduction has sparked outrage around the world and the cry "Bring Back Our Girls has move from social media to the streets as protests are held around the world.
Now over the next hour, we will show you what the international community is doing to help. And we'll also take a closer look at the militant group behind the attack Boko Haram and examine its increasingly vile tactics. In a moment, we'll go live to Lagos. But first, Isha Sesay brings us up to speed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESOPNDENT: New horrors from a brazen and increasingly dangerous terrorist organization. A man claiming to be the leader of the Islamisc militant group Boko Haram is promising a grim fate for 223 Nigerian girls, kidnapped in the dead of night during a fiery attack on their school three weeks ago.
ABUBAKAR SHEKAU, BOKO HARAM LEADER (through translator): I have abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah. There is a market for selling humans.
SESAY: Outrageous threats in a rambling nearly hour long video, more reason for the United States to be very worried about Boko Haram's expanding campaign of terror with some financial help and training from al Qaeda.
The group has killed thousands of people, including innocent children, since its emergence in 2009 in bombings and armed attacks on buses, churches, mosques and villages.
Boko Haram means western education is sinful. It's goal: to create a radical Islamic state in Nigeria.
SHEKAU: Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell the women. I sell women.
SESAY: Protesters in Nigeria and around the world are demanding action to find the abducted girls whom may already have been sold as child brides or worse.
CNN has learned that the Obama administration has started sharing intelligence with Nigeria where the government is under fire and accused of incompetence.
Isha Sesay, CNN, Lagos.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan has promised to find the girls, but some critics say his government has put more priority on hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa. Nigeria's finance minister says that is not true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, NIGERIAN FINANCE MINISTER: It's like if my daughter missing, every single one of those girls is my daughter. I wake up in the morning depressed when I know that they have not been brought back home. The president wakes up depressed, because he came from a poor family and without education he would never have been where he is today.
This is our problem. It has not to do with west, it has to do with us. And we will do everything possible. The president has pledged everything possible, you heard him. Every -- and every country, any country, anyone who can help us with support to find these girls, we don't mind. They should help us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU SOUT: Britain's foreign secretary says the UK is continuing to offer assistance to Nigeria. William Hague also says using girls as the spoils of war and the spoils of terrorism is disgusting and immoral.
Now as we've mentioned, the U.S. is sharing intelligence with the Nigerian government, but sources say there are no plans to send American troops for any joint rescue mission.
Now one U.S. lawmaker is trying to raise awareness about the mass abduction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, (D) MINNESOTA: Let's call it what it is, one of the most brazen and shocking single incidents of human trafficking we've seen in recent memory.
These girls wanted to go to school, they wanted to get an education. Their school, which had been closed for a month, was reopened so they could just take their final exams, something my daughter is doing right now at college, something that high school kids the age of these girls are doing all over the United States right now. They were just trying to take their exam.
These are the girls who should be the next generation of leaders in their community and their nation, not sold off to a band of thugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now Senator Klobuchar also called on the United Nations security council to help bring the girls home. So far, the UN body has not made an official statement mentioning the mass kidnapping, but UN chief Ban Ki-moon did condemn it back on April 16. He said the targeting of schools and school children is a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
Now schools are, and must remain, safe places where children can learn and grow in peace.
And UNICEF has made repeated calls for the girls' release. The International Rescue Committee is also pressing for their safe return. And the Nelson Mandela Foundation says it is horrified.
Now we'll go live to Vladimir Duthiers in Lagos in just a few minutes, but turning now to Ukraine. Now European foreign ministers are meeting today in Vienna, the latest diplomatic drive to stop the mounting violence in Ukraine. But on the ground, the situation is getting worse. The airport in Donetsk, it closed briefly earlier today. And pro-Russian separatists there are planning their own referendum on independence from Ukraine. It's expected to take place on Sunday.
And tensions reached a boil in Slovyansk on Monday. Ukraine's interior ministry says four people were killed in clashes between security forces and pro-Russian separatists.
Now each side blames the other for the bloodshed. Our Nick Paton Walsh has been on the ground in Slovyansk throughout the worst of the violence. And here, he shows us the toll its taking on civilians.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the way into Slovyansk, we passed Ukraine's army edging closer to its center and we're told to hurry on. Just around the corner, pro-Russian militants were clearly massing, ready. The green van, driven by the their best equipped nearby.
This day, the probing by each of the other stopped and broke into the chaos of open conflict.
A procession of ambulances to the hospital. This man's wife shot in the head, he said, whilst on their balcony. She died moments later.
The random suffering and intimate moments of loss are what's fast becoming a civil war.
Four militants brought in, too. On the other side, Ukraine said it lost four soldiers and a helicopter whose pilot survived.
Here, closer to the front line, they look for snipers.
Up close, the masked are less mysterious, more human in their fury.
"They shoot at the people to blame it on us," one said.
Another saying they fought not the army, but far right militants.
Urging us to film the toll on civilians.
Slovyansk fears only worse can come.
The self-declared mayor hours earlier showed me how Ukraine's army had the town encircled. He'll only negotiate if they withdraw. And sleeps in his office under guard.
He has one message for Washington.
"To Barack Obama, I'd like to say the following," he said. "Please stop supplying fighters with money and weapons, with military forces and mercenaries like Blackwater."
Rhetoric that feeds loathing, fomenting bloodshed and the fear this is not the climax of recent unrest, but the start of whole troubles new.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, near Slovyansk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now let's go live to Lagos for the latest developments on the mass abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria. CNN's Vladimir Duthiers has been following this story since it broke. He joins me now live. And Vlad, let's first talk about the parents of the abducted girls, they must be in agony. They are desperate to find and rescue their daughters. I understand that you have spoken to some of the parents. What did they share with you?
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, what they have said all along from the very beginning is that as time went on, they feared their children might be trafficked or ferried across into neighboring Cameroon, Chad, or even Niger. And with the release of this despicable video by the supposed leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau in which he says that he plans on selling these young girls, these children to -- in a human market, because Allah has willed him to do so in his twisted view of Islam is their worst fears realized.
In fact, they say that they have not been able to rely on military efforts or government efforts and that they themselves have taken their own lives into their hands and gone into the forest armed with sticks and machetes and rocks, whatever they can get their hands on, just to do the job that they say that the military has not been doing thus far.
Now for their part, the Nigerian government -- when the president spoke a couple of nights ago, he sounded confident in saying that he would bring these girls home. But he also admitted, Kristie, that he has no idea where they are.
LU STOUT: Now Vlad, the United States is pledging to help rescue the girls. International condemnation is out there. But what role can the U.S. and other countries play to actually rescue them and to bring them home?
DUTHIERS: Well, clearly the president has asked countries in the region. He's asked the United States for help. They can most likely provide some kind of intelligence assistance. We've no indication exactly what they would be doing. But the United States, through Secretary Kerry, even the State Department spokesman yesterday saying that they were willing and able to offer any kind of assistance should Nigeria need it.
Clearly logistical support, intelligence support, would be much welcome in an area that is very, very densely populated. It is considered -- sorry, very densely packed with -- it's in a forest area. And in fact, what most people are saying is that it's very difficult to launch an offensive operation in this area, because you're talking about a Boko Haram stronghold that they are holding themselves. President Jonathan saying last year that there are parts of Borno state -- and he was referencing this area -- that are no longer under control of the federal government.
So any kind of assistance from the United States or neighboring countries, I'm sure, would be much welcomed by the president, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, inside Nigeria, there's been a lot of anger about Nigeria's handling of the crisis, its feeble response to this mass abduction. You've been reporting on the protests there against the response inside Nigeria. Is the anger growing? And also who is the anger being directed at precisely?
DUTHIERS: The anger is certainly growing -- it's not just growing here, Kristie, it's growing around the world. People are taking notice.
Now the reason perhaps why it didn't get as much attention from the government and the military as it is today is because this has been the state that most people in northeastern Nigeria have been living under. They have been terrorized since 2009 by Boko Haram. Every week we're here, we are based here -- every week we hear of more atrocities, of kidnappings, of people being hacked to death, people being burned alive, churches, mosques, schools being attacked. This is what people in northeastern Nigeria have been living under.
Perhaps there was a sense that this is what happens up there. We'll get to it when we get to it. But now with the entire world looking and I think they understand that we're not going away, the world is not going to shy away from this story. And so that's why they're sort of responding in the way that they have over the last couple of days, Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Vlad Duthiers joining me live from Lagos, thank you very much indeed for that report.
Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, we will give more on the situation in Ukraine. We'll be live in Donetsk where the airport was closed as pro-Russian militants fight for control of eastern Ukraine.
And in China, yet another mass stabbing of one of the country's railway stations leaves travelers injured.
And Wednesday is election day in South Africa. We'll explain why the governing party is expected to have a landslide victory even as the president's popularity ratings plummet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now in the latest from Ukraine. Security forces continue to battle pro-Russian militants in the east. Now the governor of Odessa has been sacked by Ukraine's acting president after more than 40 people were killed in Friday's street battles and fire.
And the airport in Donetsk has been closed for a time. That is where Arwa Damon is. She joins us now live.
And Arwa, the airport there has been ordered closed. I mean, why? Is this the government's attempt to somehow quell the unrest?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the issue is that we don't have a clear answer to that, Kristie. Aviation authorities are not telling us exactly why they decided to shut down the airport here, the international airport in Donetsk. We did see a few domestic flights taking off earlier, just going from here to Kiev. That shutdown expected to be indefinite.
But it most certainly is contributing to this growing atmosphere of uncertainty.
We're about two hours away from Slovyansk where much of the fighting between Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russian militants has been concentrated. But this is understandably causing a lot of people here a lot of concern that perhaps troops could be moving in this direction as well.
LU STOUT: We have open conflict there in Slovyansk. A lot of uncertainty, rising tension in eastern Ukraine and elsewhere. And right now, Arwa, European foreign ministers, they're meeting, they're discussing the crisis in Ukraine and Vienna. But, Arwa, what can talks achieve at this point?
DAMON: Well, we're going to have to wait and see. So far, any sort of political debate over what's happening here has proven to be very unfruitful. It's been especially difficult situation when you really have all sides blaming one another for the violence -- Russia laying the blame at the hands of the west, the United States they blaming Russia for fomenting and fueling the unrest that is happening here.
The other key issue, too, is that there's been very little effort to reach out to the pro-Russian camp on the ground and so it seems as if without them at the negotiating table it's going to be very difficult to find a political resolution to all of this.
LU STOUT: Now the pro-Russian camp there in Donetsk, they are planning an independence referendum this weekend. It's taking place on Sunday. Is there fear that that even could turn into a potential flashpoint?
DAMON: Absolutely.
And before that even happens, you also have May 9 that is a very significant holiday here as well, people fearing more violence on that day, more violence in the days that lead ahead. That May 11 referendum, at this stage, scheduled not just for Donetsk, but also for other regions in eastern Ukraine.
As far as we understand, the main question being put forward there is going to be do you want to be a federal state? And then later on there will be another referendum asking people if they want to actually join Russia.
You can just imagine how difficult it is for the population here having to deal not only with the violence, but also with all of these factors, this uncertainty that lies in their future with, as we've been saying all along, no clear solution to bring about an end to this violence, Kristie.
LU STOUT: And when you talk to people there in Donetsk, what do they want? Do they want a united Ukraine? Do they want perhaps more autonomy? Or do they want to join Russia?
DAMON: There's a real divergence of opinion. And I think one of the difficult issues has been that the loudest voice has been that of the pro- Russian camp. And they most certainly have a lot of control on the ground here. And they do have the weapons.
A lot of the pro-Ukrainian voices are being drowned out or intimidated into silence. And then you have the voice of the middle ground that perhaps want a certain level of autonomy, but does not necessarily want to be a part of Russia. So it's a very complicated multilayered situation that exists here, a lot of divergence of opinions.
But there is one thing that the vast majority of the population will agree on, and that is that they want stability, they want an end to all of this. But of course, again, the key question is how to actually bring that about.
LU STOUT: All right, Arwa Damon reporting live from Donetsk at the airport there, which has been ordered closed by Kiev. Arwa, thank you.
Now at least six people are injured after a brutal knife attack in a Chinese rail station. It happened in the southern city of Guangzhou. Now police say men wielding knives attacked people in the train station plaza. Now all of the injured have been taken to the hospital for treatment.
Now police say they shot and captured one of the assailants. Now the other attackers remain at-large.
Now today's attack is hardly an isolated incident. It comes just six days after one person was killed and 80 were wounded in a bombing and knife attack at a railway station in China's northwest Xinjiang province. Now Chinese authorities say a rise in separatist violence in that region was to blame.
But in March, there was an attack at a train station at the opposite end of the country. This time, 29 people were killed and 130 were wounded in the city of Qingming.
You are watching News Stream. And still to come, it has been 20 years since South Africa's first non-racial election. And as voters prepared to go to the polls, some say candidates are facing a brand new political landscape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.
Now South Africans, they head to the polls on Wednesday in the country's first national election since the death of Nelson Mandela. Now the African National Congress is expected to clinch a fifth term in power by a wide margin despite growing concern over President Zuma's charges of corruption.
Robyn Curnow has more on the upcoming vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She says she was born for this, Nonkululeko first name means freedom in Zulu. She shares her last name with South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, although they're not related.
She came into the world on the eve of the country's first democratic election.
"It's a good time now," she says. "There's water. There's electricity. It's because of the ANC."
20 years later, she's campaigning for Zuma's ruling party in the hills of her birth and in the shadow of his rural homestead in Nkanla (ph).
Nkanla (ph) itself is a political lightning rod after the state watchdog agency alleged more than $20 million of taxpayer money was misused in improvements to the sprawling complex. For his part, Zuma has denied any wrongdoing.
But here in rural Krazulunatel (ph), far away from the public protective investigation, those allegations and denials matter very little. Loyalty to the liberation party and its leader remain strong.
ACHILLE MBEMBE, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND: In fact, they see it as part of the perks of a ruler.
CURNOW: And while the polls show the ruling ANC and Zuma are expected to carry around 60 percent of the vote, in the cities analysts say discontent is growing.
MBEMBE: Many people are beginning to understand that the struggle today is not the same as the struggle yesterday.
MMUSE MAIMANE, DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE: Talk about the future of South Africa.
CURNOW: Mmuse Maimane is a leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's largest opposition party.
MAIMANE: There can be doctors, there can be lawyers, they can know their future.
CURNOW: In the first election after Nelson Mandela's death, he says identifying with young voters is more crucial than ever.
MAIMANE: I think that generation is vital. It's a generation of South Africans that -- what is a real great pity now is that only a few of them have been registered to vote.
CURNOW: Nonkululeko will also miss out on Wednesday's vote, one of the many young South Africans born without birth certificates and unable to register.
"I'm very upset," she says. "I want my ID. I want to vote. But when I go to the government office, they always tell me to come back."
Growing pains continue in this still very young democracy, but so, too, a strong connection to its political past.
(END VIDETOAPE)
LU STOUT: That was Robyn Curnow reporting.
You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, as fears grow over the fate of the abducted girls in Nigeria, we take a closer look at Boko Haram, the group behind this nightmare. Security analyst Peter Bergen will join me for that.
And also ahead, American kidnapping victim Michelle Knight tells CNN's Anderson Cooper the chilling tale of how she ended up in captivity for a decade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
Now Britain's foreign secretary calls the mass kidnapping of girls in Nigeria disgusting and immoral. Now the UK is offering assistance as Nigeria's government tries to bring more than 200 missing girls home. Now the U.S. is also helping. Officials say Washington is sharing intelligence. Now the girls were snatched from their school by Boko Haram rebels just over three weeks ago.
Ukraine's acting president has announced the dismissal of Odessa's regional governor. This, after more than 40 people were killed there on Friday in a street battle and fire.
In the east, authorities say flights in and out of Donetsk airport have been largely halted. There is no word on how long that suspension is expected to last.
A South Korean diver has died as he helped search for bodies from last month's ferry disaster. Now officials say he had trouble getting oxygen just five minutes into the water. Now despite his death, the recovery operation continues. 267 bodies have been found. 35 people still unaccounted for after the ferry sank on April 16.
And in China's southern city of Guangzhou at least six people were injured in a brutal knife attack at a railway station. All of the injured have been taken to the hospital for treatment. Now police say they shot and captured one of the assailants.
Now the other attackers remain at-large.
Today, marks one year since police discovered three young women held captive for more than 10 years in the Ohio home of Ariel Castro. They were held against their will. They were repeatedly beaten and raped.
Anderson Cooper sat down with Michelle Knight, one of the women found that day, and asked her about the ordeal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: What did he tell you to get you inside the house?
MICHELLE KNIGHT, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: In the car, he said that he had puppies. So when we got, like, a quarter down the road, he's like, that's my van right there. And it says "Puppies for Free." I didn't really think anything of it until, you know, we got into the house fully. That's when it dawned on me that this was a mistake to get in this car.
COOPER (voice-over): That was August 23rd, 2002. 21-year-old Michelle Knight had been approached by Ariel Castro, the father of one of her friends. He'd offered her a ride but said he had to pick up something on his way at his house on Seymour Avenue.
(On camera): You knew by then this is wrong. KNIGHT: Yes. And then I end up being trapped in a small room. A small, pink room. That's where he proceeded to tie me up like a fish and put me on the wall.
COOPER: When you say tie you up like a fish, what do you mean?
KNIGHT: My legs and hands were bound like this. And I was that far from the floor.
COOPER (voice-over): Michelle, who is later joined by other kidnapped victims, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, would spend more than 10 years tortured inside that house of horrors, often left without food, beaten and raped.
(On camera): You know, people who haven't been through this situation think, oh, I would try to escape, I would do this, I would do that. But in reality, very quickly, your mind starts to adapt to your new environment.
KNIGHT: Yes.
COOPER: Can you explain that?
KNIGHT: What happens is hard at first. You don't really want to adapt to it. But then you find yourself saying, "Why not? I'm here, just let him get it over with."
COOPER (voice-over): But one year ago, the women were freed when Amanda Berry seized an opportunity and escaped from the house. She ran across the street and neighbors helped her call 911.
AMANDA BERRY, KIDNAP VICTIM: I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years, and I'm here, I'm free now.
COOPER: All three women were rescued. Their tormentor was arrested and pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including kidnapping, rape and assault. At his sentencing, Michelle Knight bravely faced her captor in court.
KNIGHT: From this moment on, I will not let you define me or affect who I am.
COOPER: He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus 1,000 years. Days later, that house of horrors was torn to the ground.
Just months later, the man who had kidnapped and held captive three women was found dead in his jail cell. He'd had hanged himself with one of his bed sheets.
Michelle Knight is trying to move ahead with her life. She has changed her name, and is focusing on new beginnings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that was Anderson Cooper reporting.
And to mark the anniversary of their freedom, the two other captives have released statements thanking supporters and expressing hope for the future.
Now as the threat of another nuclear test in North Korea remains high, information about the country is still scarce.
Now the former basketball star Dennis Rodman has again talked about his recent trip to North Korea. And his answers have again raise some eyebrows. Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS RODMAN, FRM. NBA PLAYER: This night was really different.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Far from being contrite, Dennis Rodman still glowing about the trip he made to North Korea in January. And the basketball exhibition he staged for Kim Jong-Un's birthday. In an interview with Du Jour magazine, Rodman said he is still impressed with the show of worship Kim got when he entered the arena that night.
RODMAN: I was just so amazed to see the people crying. I mean literally crying.
TODD: Some of the interview was videotaped but in the more substantive portion, Rodman wanted just the audio recorded. He told Du Jour Kim Jong- Un's uncle, Jang Sung-taek was still alive when he was there.
RODMAN: That's his girlfriend, that's his uncle, that's his sister, that's his sister -- they're standing right behind me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The uncle is alive?
RODMAN: They're all right there, sitting right behind me.
TODD: The interviewers were skeptical asking again if the uncle was alive.
RODMAN: He was standing right there.
TODD: This despite reports from North Korea's own government news agency the previous month that Kim had had his uncle executed for treason. Other Rodman revelations, he said he paid the other former NBA stars that accompanied him to North Korea $30,000 to $35,000 each out of his own pocket. He said he held Kim's baby and portrayed the uneven, volatile young dictator as something like a cruise director.
RODMAN: He laughs, jokes and do all kind of (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Loves playing basketball, loves playing table tennis and pool. He has this 13- piece girl's band. That's not karaoke machine it's a van -- a real band that's all girls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever sing?
RODMAN: Did I sing? They played "Rocky" and "Dallas".
TODD: Rodman has admitted that he was drunk for part of the time and said he went to rehab after returning from North Korea but he remains the only American ever to have personal meetings with Kim Jong-Un. Rodman says Kim wants to change that.
RODMAN: He really, really wants to talk to Obama. He says it -- I mean he can't stand it enough. These days you don't want to bother nobody. He don't want to kill Americans.
TODD: U.S. Officials are now concerned that Kim's regime is preparing to stage another underground nuclear test but Rodman told "Du Jour" Un only wants nuclear weapons to defend his country.
(on camera): Rodman was not only apologetic for the regime but in denial over North Korea's human rights record. When asked about the hundreds of thousands of people suffering in labor camps there, his response quote, "Which country does not have that?"
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And returning to our top story now, Boko Haram militants say that they will sell the hundreds of schoolgirls they kidnapped from northeast Nigeria. Now the Islamist militant group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping three weeks after the abduction.
Now Boko Haram translates to western education is a sin. So is this brutality part of an ideology, or is it simply a criminal act?
Now for more on Boko Haram, let's bring in CNN security analyst. Peter Bergen joins me now live from CNN Washington.
Peter, good to see you again. But first, let's listen to what the alleged leader of Boko Haram said about this mass abduction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEKAU (through translator): I abducted a girl at a western education school and you are disturbed? I say western education should end. Western education should end. Girl, you should go and get married. I will repeat this: western education should fold up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: All right. Despicable claim there from the alleged leader of Boko Haram.
So Peter, I have to ask you, I mean, just the motivation here. Did Boko Haram kidnap hundreds of schoolgirls to make a point against western education? Or is it for another reason? I mean, what do they want?
PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, you know, they originated as a group called the Nigerian Taliban, which I think kind of speaks for itself. I mean, their aim is to impose Taliban style shariah law on the areas that they control. And so I think this is ideological.
Now maybe there is a criminal component. I mean, the Afghan Taliban after all profits from drug trade. So, these things are not necessarily mutually exclusive. But I think the main point is ideological.
LU STOUT: Now how capable is the government of Nigeria to counter Boko Haram and its ideology, to bring back the abducted girls and to stop the group's future attacks?
BERGEN: Well, I think the fact that this group has been in business since 2002 and has staged attacks on the United Nations in the Nigerian capital, has done this mass kidnapping, has staged multiple attacks on government forces, Christians around the country I think sort of speaks for itself. I think -- I mean the Nigerian population is up in arms and protesting this, as you know, and is basically accusing the government of total incompetence. And in fact the government is sort of really been in denial not making many official statements until this weekend about the issue of the kidnapping at all.
LU STOUT: Anger is growing around the world and inside Nigeria about the government's feeble response to this mass kidnapping.
Now what's at stake here? You wrote a piece for CNN.com about this. Peter, if Boko Haram is not stopped, what is at stake for Nigeria in particular? At stake for Nigeria, its future, and its economy?
BERGEN: Well, as you know, Kristie, this is the -- you know, it's the richest country in Africa. It's got a huge oil trade, $100 billion in revenue. This week, they're staging the World Economy Forum in Africa in Nigeria. There were -- you know, that's the one side of Nigeria.
And then you have this competing for headlines at the same time. And I think what's at stake here is if the Nigerian government can't reduce this insurgency. I mean, investors are going to be scared off and what is -- you know, what an African success story on a lot of levels can be, you know, quite interrupted if they don't get control on this insurgency, which has killed 1,500 people just in the last three months, which by any reasonable standard is like a low grade civil war going on in the country.
LU STOUT: Boko Haram is definitely a threat to Nigeria and its economy, but what's at stake for western nations? Is Boko Haram a threat to western interests?
BERGEN: I don't think so. I mean, well -- actually let me qualify that. On Friday, the State Department issued a warning saying that there was indication a terrorist group might attack a Sheraton Hotel in Lagos. And I think that speaks for itself.
This group also did attack the United Nations building in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, in 2011.
Mostly, they're focused on Nigerian targets. There has been some focus on western targets in Nigeria. And there's no evidence, Kristie, that they are planning -- you know, targets -- planning attacks on western targets outside of Nigeria for the moment, even though they've made some threatening statements along those lines.
LU STOUT: Is there any partnership between Boko Haram and al Qaeda, or any al Qaeda affiliates?
BERGEN: There is -- there are pretty reliable reports that al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb, which is a North Africa al Qaeda affiliate has sent money to Boko Haram. Jason Burke, who is a Guardian correspondent, who is an al Qaeda expert, reported on potential email communications between Osama bin Laden and this group. Some form of communication between bin Laden and this group.
So, you know, they've certainly have some links to al Qaeda, not so much to al Qaeda central in Pakistan, but certainly to the North African affiliate of al Qaeda.
LU STOUT: All right, Peter, really appreciate your analysis on Boko Haram, the threat and also what's at stake here for Nigeria. Peter Bergen joining me live from CNN Washington. Thank you.
BERGEN: Thank you.
LU STOUT: Now social media has helped bring greater attention to these missing girls. And it's being used to organize rallies like this one.
Now an iReporter sent in these pictures from a protest, it happened on Monday, in Lagos. She says the demonstrators had a simple message that more than 200 missing girls is a disgrace. Now she also says that she wants the parents to know that they are not alone in their struggle.
Now CNN is inviting you to share your thoughts. Just go to iReport.com.
Now, we'll bring you updates on the missing girls all week. Isha Sesay has live reports from Nigeria throughout the days ahead. And she'll also anchor special editions of CNN News Center from the capital of Nigeria, Abuja. That's 7:30 pm in London and Abuja right here on CNN.
Now ahead on News Stream, get ready for warmer weather and rising seas, a new climate change report has just been released by the White House. And we'll share its warnings about our world.
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LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now this week's Leading Woman is said to be the best selling female artist of all time, but she's not stopping there, Mariah Carey is getting to release yet another album later this month. Our Nischelle Turner sat down with the Grammy award winning pop star to find out how she's managed to stay on top for nearly three decades.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The life, the career, the voice of Mariah Carey. Since her career started in the late 1980s, she sold more than 200 million albums, singles and videos worldwide making Carey the best selling female artist of all time, according to Billboard.
MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: The thing is, it's not just singing, I'm writing, I'm producing, I'm putting these songs together.
TURNER: Her extraordinary five octave vocal range and the ability to write hit after hit has solidified Carey as a musical force for nearly 25 years. And with a new album underway, she has no plans to stop.
I think during the process of making this album, I remember you saying that you refused to jump on the bandwagon. You see music trending toward maybe more electronic dance, things like that. So why is it so important for you to stay true to yourself?
CAREY: If I'm not staying true to myself why am I doing -- like what am I doing and why? The answer is because I love making music.
TURNER: But Carey knows it takes more than a love for music to establish a successful career, it also takes business savvy.
CAREY: Thank you so much.
TURNER: How did you kind of start navigating from just the artist into the business woman?
CAREY: You know, it's so interesting because really I always was, even as a kid, even like my first record deal I was fortunate enough to have seen enough documentaries, clearly I was always interested in the music business.
As a songwriter, even at that age, I was able to say I will not be forced to do other people's songs.
TURNER: It's no secret that much of the music industry is still considered a man's world. But for an artist like Mariah Carey, changing that means taking control of her music and her legacy.
CAREY: It's so easy for the world to give credit to the men in power, especially those who we really revere and we respect them for who they are in all of their accomplishments. But I think when someone is also known as a -- the most overused word in the history of the world, diva. We tend to look at that and that overrides everything.
I'm a songwriter first. It's much easier for the public to accept, look who is here, the next -- the big manager came along and saved the day, because nobody can imagine that I actually participate as much as I do in the making of the music.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: All right, just go to our website to read more about Mariah Carey and other top female professionals we have profiled in the recent past, such as Sarah Jessica Parker, the Hollywood actress turned business woman. That, and more right here CNN.com/leadingwomen.
Now you are watching News Stream. And still to come, just a decade ago it was heading for bankruptcy, but now Lego has looked beyond bricks to become the most profitable toymaker out there.
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LU STOUT: Welcome back.
And listen up, a new U.S. climate change report has just been released, let's get the full download with Mari Ramos. She joins us from the World Weather Center -- Mari.
MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, this is a report that has been a long time in the making. For the last year-and-a-half a draft of it has been online for people to look at, for the general public to look at and actually give its input on what is coming out in this information.
But I've got to tell you, it is -- what, 13 different government agencies are involved in this here in the U.S., more than 240 different authors. It is a lengthy report. And some of the things that we are expecting -- or we were expecting to come out of this is information about how climate change is affecting the U.S.
So this is all part of a push from the White House, from the Obama administration, to try to get people to understand a little bit more, a little better, what the impacts of climate change are on the American people.
Now one of the main things is that climate change is happening now. This is something that's happening now and that it has to do primarily due to human activity.
There are some cyclical changes that happen with the Earth, but a lot of it has to do with human activity.
And the climate change has widespread affects on the lives of Americans now. This is not something expected to happen years from now, it will increase, of course, as we move in time, but it has affects on us right now in this country -- water resources, energy, agriculture, fisheries, oceans, sea level rise, all of these things are outlined in this report, more than 30 different chapters. Like I said, very lengthy indeed.
Now, with this national climate assessment, that's what it's called, some of the specifics. In the northeast for example, more heat waves, increased coastal flooding and severe flash flooding. When you talk about coastal flooding, and this is a problem not just for the northeaster, but along all the major coastlines here of the U.S. with the increase in population, there's increase in costs as well, coming out of our pocket books.
For example, Superstorm Sandy was $65 billion in cost because of the damages that happened along the northeastern U.S.
In the southeast, for example, one of the bigger issues is that problems with fresh water. And this is going to be something that you're going to see repeated over and over in these reports. Increased storm surge flooding, again from tropical systems. Even a higher incidence possibly of stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic, that's another thing that needs to be looked at.
In the Midwest, a longer growing season. And sometimes people see this and say, well isn't that a good thing? Wouldn't you have more time to grow food, for example, in these areas? Not necessarily, because you'll also have more heat waves and more droughts, more extreme droughts, which could make the situation worse. And then when it does rain it happens all at once and you have an increased risk for flash flooding.
As we head over into the great plains, increased demand again for water. A key subject again that has come out in this. Energy from higher -- energy use because of the higher temperatures. So a new ways of finding energy, for example, no longer hydroelectric plants may be as efficient as they once were.
And in the southwestern U.S. you see the problem with droughts, we see the problems with wildfires. The wildfires cause $30 billion last year alone across some of these areas. And fresh water, again, becoming more scarce than it actually is.
They're trying to get people to understand this here in the U.S. a little bit better. And they're tapping into some big names to try to get the word out to the general public.
Back to you.
LU STOUT: Yeah, Mari, thank you so much for walking us through the new U.S. climate report and what it means. Thank you very much indeed.
Now it was once a toy company, it was headed for bankruptcy, but now Lego is definitely on a role. The Lego movie earlier this year that was a huge success and helped awake the child in many of us.
Now Jack Tapper has more on why Lego is no brick off the old block.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Lego is seemingly everywhere. Last night "The Simpsons" had a 3D generated Lego Springfield. Lady Gaga topped the Lego artist to turn her torso into yellow bricks for her latest video. There's even a Lego documentary that premiered a few days ago with the Tribeca Film Festival. It all comes on the heels of a massive year for the Danish toy maker. Lego reported $1.1 billion in profits for 2013 making it is the most profitable toy company in the world. Not bad for a company with an expired patent that nearly went belly up a decade ago.
DAVID ROBERTSON, AUTHOR "BRICK BY BRICK": They got themselves into businesses they didn't understand. Some of them might have been good for another company, but they weren't good for Lego.
TAPPER: David Robertson is a professor at the Warton School of Business and author of "Brick by Brick" tracking the company's battle back from the brink. He says for years the success of Lego was directly tied to toys based on two film franchises, "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter."
ROBERTSON: In 2003, there is no movie from either franchise and they are left with 94 percent of their product line, which is unprofitable, unpopular, and in some cases just not very Lego-ee, and so they were really close to bankruptcy.
TAPPER: Legojetison, the un-Lego like products and changed their focus.
ROBERTSON: Lego pays $3 per kilogram and sells it $75 per kilogram. So they are making lots of money on the boxes of bricks, but the kids are buying the story, really.
TAPPER: The company has expanded to create Lego video games and has reached out to girls with more gender neutral ads and princess and Disney products. This year, Lego bet big on telling their own story teaming up with Warner Brothers, the sister company of CNN within Time Warner to make the Lego Movie.
MICHAEL MCNALLY, SENIOR DIRECTOR, LEGO BRAND RELATIONS: We certainly hoped that what we were creating would be very appealing to families with children and what we found, I think, is that it has far surpassed and really engaged and entertained audiences that we probably did not even imagine.
TAPPER: The film has been a monster hit bringing in more than $450 million worldwide and Robertson thinks Lego may have something even bigger in mind.
ROBERTSON: It's not an accident that the week the movie came out there was more than a dozen different kits in the stores that kids could buy and play out within the movie. I really see Lego as moving away from competing with Mattel and moving toward competing with Disney.
TAPPER: Competing with Disney? Lego executive, Michael McNally doesn't go that far, but he says that the company sees potential.
MCNALLY: The idea that we could have motion pictures that are engaging in the way that we found this film has been is truly exciting for us.
TAPPER: In other words, Lego will keep turning those plastic bricks into cold, hard cash.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.
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