The leader of the Extremist Group that calls itself Islamic State has reappeared in a propaganda video, posted online by is. If verified, it will be the First Sighting of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi since he appeared in the iraqi city of mosul in 2014 to announce the so called caliphate. Recent reports suggested hed been badly wounded or killed. Ramzan karmali reports. He has not been seen in public for five years but this video of the leader of the Islamic State group showed Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in a defiant mood. In the propaganda video posted on the group cosmic media network, he sought revenge for iess loss of territory. Iss loss of territory. Ies used to hold a huge area of 88,000 square kilometres. Roughly a third of iraq and syria. Iss. Mosul had been lost and by the end of march the group lost its last town baghouz in iraq. The motives behind this video seemed clear. It was the way of showing that the leader of is is still at large despite the resounding military defeat group has suffered in the middle east and the fa ct suffered in the middle east and the fact there is a 25 million bounty on his head. Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi also claimed that the Easter Sunday sri lanka attacks were carried out as revenge for the fall of baghouz. During the 80 minute video, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi acknowledged the huge loss of land but warned there would be more to come from is and his group are ready to fight what he calls a battle of attrition. Live now to los angeles and Michael Weiss journalist at the daily beast and co author of isis inside the army of terror. How do you read this . Apart from the obvious that it is proof of life, that that al baghdadi is still with us. The last we saw him was at the mosque in mosul where he inaugurated the so called caliphate giving a sermon, preaching from the same mosque before going off to fight in the crusades. It was his grand unveiling. Here we see a figure reduced to see being a commander of insurgency, most in the same fashion we saw the founder of al qaeda. Post also similar to how a summer qaeda. Post also similar to how a summer bin laden used to be. Next to an assault rifle, military fatigues and looking a bit worst for worse for wear. It is sending a message to the isis loyalists. He is very much still in charge was up the Guardian Newspaper reported there was an aborted coup in february this year and the coup plotters had charged him with being overweening with his handle handling of isis governance. Some in isis saw him as to refresh repressive and authoritarian for their tastes. Heres 02 declaring to the world that he is still very much the boss of this organisation. Heres rotary. Here is al baghdadi. It is interesting on a number of levels. I dont know that it says much about his whereabouts or the state of his health in the past four yea rs. State of his health in the past four years. Your reporter mentioned they we re years. Your reporter mentioned they were all sorts of allegations that he had been killed but there is still an allegation he was wounded quite badly in an air strike. It was aus quite badly in an air strike. It was a us warplane and it didnt intend to target him. But accidentally blew him up. He survived but was very badly injured in that airstrike again, according to the Guardian Newspaper, he lost the loss of his arm for quite a while. That was four yea rs arm for quite a while. That was four years ago, you can recuperate from life threatening injuries in that space of time. It is showing you a somewhat loud figure. He wasnt dancing thejig in somewhat loud figure. He wasnt dancing the jig in that video, he wasnt moving a lot. He was sat and holding thought to his minions. Again, it goes back to the origins of the organisation as a terrorist insurgency. The number one takeaway i had from it was this is no longer a state possessing enterprise and in a state possessing enterprise and in a way, we should be even more worried now than we were in the past because as their dystopian project in the desert has come to dust, what does this mean . It means they are now going to put all their emphasis and all the resources into waging foreign terrorist attacks. Notjust in the asia pacific, notjust in europe that they will continue may consider any attacks in syria or iraq to be part of this new venture. Ina way, iraq to be part of this new venture. In a way, it might make it much more lethal and lasting terror attack Terror Threat to the west and to the world than it was when they were lording over a territory the size of britain. So much information and analysis just britain. So much information and analysisjust in britain. So much information and analysis just in one answer. Thank you very much indeed. Lets get some of the days other news. The head of boeing has been trying to defend the safety of the 737 max, saying he is sorry for the loss of life and saying the company has a duty to eliminate risk. Dennis muilenburg was appearing in front of shareholders, just after it was revealed the us aviation regulator has received four phone calls from current and former boeing employees about the safety of the aircraft. Indonesias president has announced plans to relocate the capital city. Jakarta is on the crowded main island ofjava and is plagued by flooding and subsidence. The new site apparently has yet to be chosen. 38 people are now known to have died since cyclone kenneth hit northern mozambique on thursday. Weather experts are warning the latest Tropical Storm could dump twice as much rain as cyclone idai, which last month killed around 1,000 people in mozambique, malawi and zimbabwe. Its estimated the affected region will need over two billion dollars to recover. The bbcs lebo diseko is in the capital, maputo, and has more now on aid efforts to help the tens of thousands of people affected by cyclone kenneth. It does seem that weather conditions have eased off slightly in the north of the country this morning and that allowed aid agencies a window of opportunity to start distributing aid. The World Food Programme has started handing out some supplies and they also sent a plane out to the island of ibo which had been com pletely the island of ibo which had been completely cut off yesterday. It is fast changing and they wanted to sendin fast changing and they wanted to send ina fast changing and they wanted to send in a second plane and that wasnt able to be sent stop that was filled with rice, food, that sort of thing, for people. The message from authorities in pemba yesterday is that this is worth we had expected and we need help. There were concerns raised about things like cholera. Rain is expected for a number of days here. Yesterday, pemba had two metres of rain. The issueis pemba had two metres of rain. The issue is going to be how quickly they can get those supplies in. Planes were cancelled yesterday, roads very, very difficult to reach. That is going to be the critical thing. How quickly our aid agencies going to be able to get in the supplies they needed to reach the affected people. For the first time in more than 200 years, a japanese emperor is about to resign. On tuesday afternoon Emperor Akihito will enter a ceremonial room in the imperial palace and formally give up his throne. Under japans constitution Emperor Akihito is not allowed to retire, so the government had to pass a special one off law to allow him to do so. As part of the celebrations for the imperial succession, japans golden week holidays usually a week long, have been extended to ten days. Mariko 0i been gauging the mood in tokyo. Here on the streets of tokyo, there a sense of celebration, anticipation, and even a tinge of sadness, as the country enters a new imperial era. Emperor akihito is a well respected and popular figure, so many are sad to see him step down, but most understand and sympathise with the 85 year olds desire to abdicate. Translation hes our countrys symbol, and ive always had the impression that hes kind and gentle, so i feel sad. Translation i support the current emperors decision to abdicate, given his age. Translation on wednesday, therell be a new emperor. How do you feel . Translation i look forward to having the new emperor. When his son, crown prince naruhito, takes to the chrysanthemum throne, japan quite literally enters a new era. Thats because the country uses an emperors reign to mark time. So, when naruhito becomes the new emperor, the era of heisei ends, and japan enters the era of reiwa. Translated, it means beautiful harmony. A lot of thought went into choosing that name, and its supposed to represent the mood of the country. And since it was announced, a month ago, the name has been everywhere. Even some cafes are getting in on the act. Translation when the new eras name was announced, all of japan was in the mood to celebrate, and many creators expressed that through their art. As a latte artist, i wanted to celebrate very well, by making this. The us Deputy Attorney general Rob Rosenstein says he is resigning from his post. Mr rosenstein appointed special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2017 to investigate links between the russian government and president trumps campaign. In his Resignation Letter mr rosenstein said he served without fear or favour and that truth is not determined by opinion polls. Lets get more from our north america correspondent peter bowes. This is a man who would have quite a story to tell if he ever tells it. He will be forever known as the man who appointed Robert Moller into this investigation into russian meddling into the 2016 american election. Mueller. The all time low in that investigation was last september when it was reported by a newspaper here that he had considered using a wiretap to record mrtrump to show considered using a wiretap to record mr trump to show that he was essentially dysfunctional. This is something he reportedly believed will be allowed on the 25th amendment of the constitution, a mechanism that could eventually see the removal of the president if he is deemed unfit for office. Mr rosenstein denied that and that it was an inaccurate report. In his Resignation Letter, he has kind words for the president , thanking him for his president for allowing him to server. Focusing on the Justice Department allowing him to server. Focusing on theJustice Department cosmic role in terms of fairness and he said we enforce the law without fear or favour because credible evidence is not partisan and truth is not that determined by opinion polls. We focus our attention on the things that matter because republic is not governed by the news cycles. Stay with us on bbc news still to come the 0scar nominated director John Singleton has died at the age of 51 he was famous for the film boys n the hood. Nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. The extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. Internationally, there have already been protests. Sweden says it received no warning of the accident. Indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. Only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. For the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. This is the end of a 12 year war for them. Theyve taken the capital, which theyve been fighting for for so long. It was 7 oclock in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. Welcome back. Its very good to have you with us. This is bbc news. The latest headlines Islamic State releases a new video. If authentic, itll be the first time its leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, has been seen in years. There were rumours that he had been killed. The 0scar nominated director John Singleton has died aged 51. His family asked doctors to turn off the life support machine he had been dependent on since suffering a stroke earlier this month. His first film boyz n the hood led to him being the youngest person to be nominated for an academy award. He is also the first black person to be nominated for the best director award. We can now speak to bobby rivers, whos an American Television and radio personality and actor. He joins us from minneapolis. I knew you grew up in the same South Central neighbourhood, didnt you . You South Central neighbourhood, didnt you . You mustve South Central neighbourhood, didnt you . You mustve had a good idea of the struggles he went through . |j you . You mustve had a good idea of the struggles he went through . I was a generation before his, i remember the day i saw boyz n the hood. The crowd was parked. I felt i was tingling with pride because i saw streets that i knew. Packed. I saw streets that i walked down, drove on, spent time with other family members and friends with. John singleton gave dignity, humanity and truth to South Central los angeles with his film. He lifted up los angeles with his film. He lifted up our Community Los Angeles with his film. He lifted up ourcommunity and los angeles with his film. He lifted up our community and he held it he held light to it. That would be his legacy. That will be one of his legacies as a filmmaker. There is a story to that, isnt there . He was offered Something Like 100,000 by the studio to walk from boyz n the hood because the studio wanted a more experienced director, but he said this was the movie i was born to make and it made more money per screen than terminator two, and there was an ovation at cannes . M used to irritate me that the only images that you got of South Central la were of the riots of the 1960s andi la were of the riots of the 1960s and i lived in the curfew area during that time. That was all the media kind of gave people as to what to think of South Central la, they had no idea that there were people who embrace the art, winter libraries, was films and dreams of making good films. 0lderfilms libraries, was films and dreams of making good films. 0lder films that saw about our community were mainly directed by white males who do not live in the community. So he was adamant about getting the film made his way. His voice, his vision. Bobby, bobby, a lot of people love that movie. Look at the people that he brought to the screen. He gave major acting interviews to a number of people, some of them winning an 0scar in the future. Regina king recently 0scar in the future. Regina king rece ntly wo n 0scar in the future. Regina king recently won an oscar, tupac sakura, meyer and is a low, angela bassett, lawrence fishburne, people the black community we regard them as royalty a nd black community we regard them as royalty and he had them on screen. And maybe, he didnt make the same amount of features as spike lee or Quentin Tarantino made, but the films that he made have great significance and i feel that, films that he made have great significance and ifeel that, yes, im sorry. I didnt mean to enter up to you. We should remember his still the youngest person to be nominated for a best director 0scar. He was 23. 23 or 24 when he got the nomination for best director. And the first black president to be nominated for best director. That was a major achievement. Bobby rivers, thank you so much. Good to talk to. Good to talk to you, lovely to meet you. Iraq is facing a water crisis. Last summer, the city of basra fell sick. More than a 100,000 people were rushed to hospital after being poisoned by the citys water supply. In the first of his two special reports our correspondent martin patience has been investigating the cause of iraqs environmental catastrophe. This lunar landscape brings life to the rest of the rock mark iraq. The rainfall feeds the sigrist river and the euphrates tigris, but it becomes contaminated almost as soon as it runs off the mountain. This is one of the biggest rubber stamps in northern iraq. This is one of the most extraordinary things i have ever seen. Most extraordinary things i have ever seen. Its a mountain of rubbish and it looks like part of the landscape, and that is the point all of this is leaching into the river, the the problem may start here, but the consequences are really being felt downstream. No bill is an environmental activist, he says iraqis need to wake up to the nightmare they have created a nabil. If we dont fix this, this cancer will spread. You can see it is sliding down and going into our lives, our drinking water. Its pure poison. Yes, pure contamination. All of this flows through iraq and ends up of this flows through iraq and ends up here in basra. Last year, the city fell sick. The streets erupted in anger. The cause . The citys water supply. Tens of thousands were rushed to hospital is, suffering stomach cramps and serious diarrhoea. In this house i meet rima, she shows me the familys water source. Where is the water . Rimas ten children all fell sick. Translation i blame the government. Do you think any official drinks salty water . Of course not. They wont even use it for washing, they are afraid of the germs. The pure have no choice. Poor. Are afraid of the germs. The pure have no choice. Poor. The government says the crisis was caused by sewage as well as saltwater pushing up from the sea. If people keep dumping raw sewage, poison, toxins. Of course it is catastrophic and the increase of population, of course, the increase of fuels, and the creation of sewage, this will destroy everything. Last summer was a warning of how a state can shutter when it fails to provide even the most basic of services. Martin patience, bbc news, basra. The strange discovery of a whale wearing a harness off norways far north east coast has raised suspicions of russias military using the mammals as part of a special ops force. The beluga whale was found wearing a strap that could hold a camera or weapon near the small fishing village of inga. Georgina smyth has more. An unlikely wild encounter with a dark twist. This white beluga whale seemed to be tame, swimming up to swimming vessels and trying to pull straps off boats. Fishermen noticed rope that was clipped into a harness that could hold a camera or weapon. Translation there were clips on the harness like these that were on the whale, we tried to reach those clips and open them, my colleague and i try to do this for some time but we couldnt do it. Ever more curious, one of the fishermen got into a survival suit and jumped into the water. Translation then, afteri got in, he came up along the side of me and i could reach the clip and opened it. Written on the side of the harness were the words equipment of saint petersburg. Marine experts believe that the whale probably escaped from the russian navy which has a long history of using marine animals for warfare and spying. A military spokesperson speaking on russian radio did not deny that it could have escaped from the russian navy. Georgina smyth, bbc news. Just briefly, a reminder of the top story again. The United States has reiterated its determination to defeat the Extremist Group that calls itself Islamic State after ies released the video purporting to show its leaderfor the released the video purporting to show its leader for the first time in years is. The state department has said it is clear the fight against is is not finished despite its loss of territory in syria and iraq. The leader says they were responsible for the easter bombings into languor and worn of a long battle of attrition i had sri la nka battle of attrition i had sri lanka ahead. Before we go, lets leave you with these pictures from tokyo. Crowds are gathering outside the imperial palace ahead of the ceremony as Emperor Akihito abdicates in favour of his elder son, crown prince naruhito. The heavily symbolic but relatively simple ceremony will be televised from the imperial palace in tokyo, attended by members of the monarchs family, courtiers and state officials. Emperor akihito, whos 85 and had Prostate Cancer and heart ailments, signalled his intention to relinquish the throne three years ago, bringing aboutjapans first abdication for two centuries. Thats it for now. There will be plenty more news on the bbc website. Thank you for watching. Hello there. Over the next few days the warmest weather is likely to be across more eastern parts of the uk, where we see the best of the sunshine. There was more cloud around yesterday, though, across the south east of england and east anglia. It was fairly thin, that has certainly broken up and weve got some clearer skies right now. But further west, though, were going to find this weather front sneaking in, its going to bring some patchy rain and drizzle but its moving very slowly eastwards into that area of high pressure. So for many parts its still dry by the morning. Temperatures in the clearer skies dipping away to 3 5 degrees. Lets head into the morning, then. We pick up the story across scotland. Some sunshine for northern and perhaps eastern scotland. A bit of patchy rain coming into the far west of scotland. Still, this rain continuing on and off in Northern Ireland as it has done through the night. For england and wales, though, we are yet to see any rain crossing the irish sea, so it should be a dry start. Some sunshine, some mist and fog patches across eastern england, those shouldnt last too long and we should see decent spells of sunshine. More sunshine towards the south east than we had on monday. You can see how slowly this rain pushes over the irish sea into some western coasts, further into scotland, perhaps, but ahead of it, with some sunshine, 18 degrees likely for the moray firth and in the south east, perhaps into east anglia, the east midlands, 18 or 19 degrees here. As we move into the evening and overnight, again this patchy rain is pushing its way further into wales, to the south west of england, across north west england and further into scotland as well. So more cloud pushing into more of the country means it shouldnt be quite as chilly, temperatures typically 7 9 degrees. Therell still be some sunshine around on wednesday, particularly in the morning across lincolnshire, east anglia and south east of england but also for Northern Ireland for a while. This zone of cloud elsewhere, though, producing showers really at this stage and they could be rather hit and miss. But with more cloud in general, even for eastern areas, it wont be quite as warm as tuesday. As we look at thursday, weve still got this fairly cloudy picture. Therell be some showers developing, those could be heavy, potentially thundery as well. More significant, though, perhaps that weather front there. Its producing a bit of patchy rain thats moving southwards. But its whats happening after that to the north that is more crucial because if you follow the wind arrows, were getting our wind coming all the way from the arctic. That of course is colder air, itll bring a few wintry showers in scotland by friday. Some stronger winds across northern and eastern scotland, and down those north sea coasts. Otherwise, the winds will not be too strong. But they will turn colder everywhere, i think, by the end of the week before temperatures recoverjust a little bit as we head into the weekend. This is bbc news. The headlines the United States has reiterated its determination to defeat the Islamic State group after is released a video purporting to show its leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi for the first time in five years. Us Officials Say they are still working to confirm the authenticity of the video message. The us Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein has submitted his resignation, indicating that he will leave the department ofjustice in two weeks time. The 54 year old republican prosecutor appointed the special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate alleged russian interference in the 2016 president ial elections. Emperor akihito of japan is ending his 30 year reign in the coming hours, by abdicating in favour of his elder son. The heavily symbolic but relatively simple ceremony will be televised from the imperial palace in tokyo attended by members of the monarchs family, courtiers and state officials