concerns it would unduly influence voters the film is the most prominent in a recent line of political films and series critics say favor the government or pan the opposition it's coming out you know almost every month specially in these months leading up to elections we are seeing more and more political for this film journalist says the political exploitation of films used to be rare in india but that's changed everything. is in some way. by the movies and so perhaps the powers that be have figured out that this is one way to get across earlier this year several bollywood heavyweights flew in a private jet to meet the prime minister many say this photo from that meeting shows a relationship between the government and some of the film industry that might be too cozy. and with influence working both ways pushing government propaganda have been produced in india for decades some more than others on the other side many in the film industry have used their fame as

a platform to jump into politics. openly trading on her celebrity for votes in this north mumbai constituency for the opposition congress. after starring for years in several of the different language based film industries she's become famous that fame is a powerful tool in political campaigning that it is the media that it is that right just. activists all those people are somewhere down the line affected this this kind of change. so they need to change the needle more of them this has become more crucial this is unique in atlanta with more political films and series expected to hit the screens in india in the future many people here hoping their influence can at least be contained no matter how politically popular they may or may not be. the end.

china's film industry has grown rapidly over the last a hit decade making it the second biggest in the world this week at a beijing film festival was meant to showcase his rise but the event is facing some challenges christina you reports. on the journey of the chinese musician in the one nine hundred forty s. kazakhstan opened this year's beijing film festival believe me the composer wasn't

chosen because of its acting or special effects but because it aligns with china's political and economic priorities the film was produced as a part of its belt and road initiative. titles from other participant countries iran and hungary also featured. as chinese celebrities took to the red carpet he called with names and would notice the absent the capitals bestival is seen as more of a homage to communist party leadership rather than the art of filmmaking. beijing has intensified its crackdown on films which don't align with socialist values that are not censorship is that obviously a hurdle for the film industry is development but filmmakers have gotten used to it is like dangling in handcuffs you can still does well with your hands tied. movie celebrating seventy years since the founding of modern china was spotlighted while canadian film in god i trust was suddenly disinvited due to political reasons many

have blamed chinese tensions with canada over the detention of air is one. oscar winning film the favorite was pulled over its betrayal of lesbian relationships that i will not do china's movie industry has exploded into yet over nine thousand girls were wrecked and twenty alone but. production studios have practical power lies all thanks to a tax evasion scandal involving one country. last july actress family disappeared from public view following a group of nations of false contract and types of asian a crippling sweep of the tire industry followed. so. many in the industry have complained some went bankrupt and had to retreat from the industry is a double edged sword it's punished those who should be and those who shouldn't be

you know there were very negative impact on the industry. but it's not all bad news for chinese cinema goers the slowdown in domestic production has led to a quiet loosening of restrictions on foreign films and at the closing of the festival it was foreign films which dominated the temple of heaven awards danish maybe a fortunate man took on best picture the wandering earth china's second highest grossing film of all time received the award for best visual effects katrina new al-jazeera teaching. girls for now here's paul. thank you very much liverpool have retaken top spot as they race manchester city for the english premier league title georgie one album scored their first in the two know when over cardiff city are being wrestled to the ground for the second james milner converting the penalty the win puts them two points ahead of man city who play their game in hand against manchester united on wednesday well city might be pretty confident of winning on

wednesday after united's dip in form continued with a fifth consecutive away defeat they were thumped four nil at everton on sunday and stay six they've now conceded forty eight league goals the last time they let in more was during the nine hundred seventy eight seventy nine season manager all are going to solve damning of his team's performance in the end plays we'll we'll know but it has to mean everything for you to play this club like it does for the fans we've got to apologise to the fans because they were absolutely fantastic and up performance is not good enough for a money united team both from all the way from for me to play use and we know that we. let the fans down at the club's club down today because. the performances. it's difficult to disprove describe because it's all violent. united's loss leaves them two points off the champions

league spots with four games left arsenal remain in fourth after losing to crystal palace liverpool back on top but city with that game in hand. champions league semifinalists i.x. of facing a battle on the home front as they try to reclaim the dutch title their closest rivals and defending champs p.s.v. eindhoven took the chance to go level on points with the amsterdam side at the top of the airy division on sunday then sold them for ace with the pick of the goals in a three one win over den haag do remain first on goal difference. have finally sealed their six french league title in seven years after failing to wrap it up in the previous three matches and they didn't need to kick a ball this time thanks to second place lille only drawing out to lose early on sunday when p.s.g. later kept the celebrations with a three one win over monaco who are battling relegation. the boston celtics are the

first team through to the second round of the n.b.a. playoffs after they swept the indiana pacers on sunday meanwhile in the western conference the houston rockets are one win away from doing the same to use are so hell malik reports. it's not often that someone else schools houston rockets down james harden. but that's exactly what you target donovan mitchell did in game three . the twenty two year old had a thirty four point game thank you michel and if teammates managed to keep a few houston throughout the game to fed up one of the title final quarter of the playoffs. and while hard it was out good overall you delivered when it mattered most. with this new. law theatres in the fact of the twenty two point in the fourth quarter three. kids if it guiding you through to the narrowest of three one zero four two one zero

one. so we are going through every sumo to produce our bullets in our roofs and i think we do. we are sure it's going to be similar we put the rockets now we just one more with the progress to round to see how they looked with their first title was twenty five years so hell mally al-jazeera. in tennis fabio fognini has become the lowest seeded player to win the monte carlo masters since the turn of the century fresh off his semi final upset over eleven time champ rough on the doll the italian was in complete control against sobeys dusan lie of it that was despite the thirty one year old needing medical treatment during the second set for needed just over an hour and a half to secure the six three six four when his first ever masters one thousand title. darvon early to say something. gives them believe it. i really don't know i mean really really be. logged in to see i have to give to

really dig a show or. thinking about about it because it's something to do with australia's women have stayed on course for a first fed cup title since one thousand nine hundred eighty four after beating belarus in their semi final the belorussians had silenced the crowd in brisbane when victoria as a rank drew them level two all beating some stars in their singles rubber six one six one to answer lanka against have to wait for my grand slam winner but stones at bounce back as she played alongside ashley party in the doubles defeating as a rank amateur playing partner arena i australia will host france in the venice final after they overcame remaining three to the french wrapping up the time the third set of the deciding doubles match i. support and i will have more later on.

hundreds of cars. gathered in one of mexico's famous parks and. in southwestern mexico an annual kite festival is underway. and some people like you. take the art of kite flying very seriously. at this year's festival showing off more than a dozen of his creations. some stand out more than others like this forty meter long depiction of look in ancient religious icon. this represents the god god of the rain it's the dragon of as we like to call it it's blue and it has a few bells in the back that you can hear when it's in the air the kite festival takes place in one of mexico's most iconic and mysterious archaeological sites. there's a mysticism behind this location. a fourth generation artisan shows us some of his

handmade. ceramic whistles used by ancient people to mimic the sounds of animals found in the region. everything from birds. to jaguars. other sounds are a bit more unsettling. before heading to war sisters who have the sense to menton use them to intimidate the enemy is doing . for those less skilled at flying kites there are workshops where a couple of sticks some string and a sheet of paper is all you need to get your personalized artwork off the ground or fly one of the biggest kites at the festival right now and i have to admit this is actually quite relaxing which is after all the point of it to enjoy the good weather and have a bit of fun. part cultural showcase part carnival the festival is ultimately

about families spending time together and letting loose under a canopy of hundreds of high flying works of art monitor up on the day with the work on mexico. and that is the news hour more news in a couple of minutes. first in the heart of the amazon the philippian family has put their lives in peril to harvest brazil nuts. but it's getting the congo to the capital is an even more dangerous challenge the. risking it tool to believe be out. on al-jazeera.

the place where decision makers opinion leaders and journalists come together every year. for honest conversations on global affairs and the future of the region. the thirteenth al-jazeera fall. in a region full of contradictory agendas and deepening decides. with an arms race mostly. where is the gulf headed with the radiant influence on the rise of saudi fluids on the decline. and the crisis. the gulf from crisis to decline of strategic influence this april twenty seventh and twenty eighth in doubt. by may to fish every week a new cycle brings a series of breaking stories and of course there's donald trump told through the eyes of the welts jan an ace that's right out of

a hamas script that calls for the and i aleisha of israel that is not what that phrase means at all the listening post as we tend the cameras on the media i'm focused on how they recruit on the stories that matter the most in bad news a free palestine a listening post on al-jazeera. the curfew in sri lanka has lifted but the search continues for those behind the easter sunday bomb attacks which killed at least two hundred people and injured hundreds several suspects have been arrested but investigations too over the handling of intelligence warning before the possible attacks on churches.

alone down in jordan is. coming up protest leaders in sudan to step up their rallies saying they're no longer recognize the transitional military council plus. victory for volodymyr selenski the ukrainian comedian who played the president on t.v. is about to become the real one. we begin a nation trying to come to terms with one of the worst attacks in its modern history it's almost twenty four hours since the killing of more than two hundred people in churches and hotels reports from the reuters news agency say as many as two hundred ninety people lost their lives around five hundred wounded well these are live pictures now coming out of the capital colombo a curfew has been lifted and more arrests have been made al-jazeera joins us live now from colombo it's been twenty

four hours now since these horrific bomb attacks just bring us up to date with the latest developments on the ground jolly. well i think the first thing we should talk about is this incredible leap in the death toll according to the police spokesman there that you mentioned a leap of more than two hundred more than eighty people bringing the death toll up to two hundred ninety now five hundred injured. it just overseas shows that seemingly a lot of people died of their injuries in hospital as you say the curfew has been lifted to point out that schools and universities have not been reopened to stay closed at least for the next couple of days they would you to come back after the easter holidays. today thirteen people according to police have now been arrested a lot of focus on that two areas that. that house in what was described as

a poor neighborhood in. and also a lot of focus on another area called pano and we understand that there are a number of arrests made there including women now my colleague. looked at yesterday's events as they unfolded and this is a report. carnage in churches on one of the most important days of the christian calendar the blast so violent it blew off the roof of this church in the gumball an hour and a half outside the capital the floor covered in blood mangled use and belongings of hundreds of worshippers. this video posted online shows the moment the explosion happened. it was an entity's church is a revered catholic shrine popular among people of all feats in sri lanka. lined up in body bags the feet of dozens of worshippers who came to this sacred

shrine to celebrate one of the catholic calendars most holy days easter sunday oh my god i heard the explosion and then the roof fell on us we took the children and ran out from the rear door but when i came to the hospital i saw my brother in law and son on the ground. three separate churches bombed on easter sunday witnesses say the explosion here was so powerful it shook the surrounding buildings but it wasn't just christians targeted so were many other people and tourists as part of a much wider operation they are the casualties we are going to improve there be transporting them to the national hospital and then we have been advised to come to their shangrila in the heart of the capital and all close together are the shangri-la cinnamon grand and kingsbury hotels and the center of the nice church three churches since

a bastions church in the gumbo and zion church in batticaloa were also targeted also the tropical in hotel in the suburb of they have. the eighth explosion was in des moines to go to killing a number of police personnel police had descended on an apartment block there looking for suspects several were taken away for questioning me see dreama right i would like to express my condolences to the families of victims and those injured in taxpayer to close we will take stern actions against all those who are responsible regardless of their stature i do social media was restricted for several hours to clamp down on rumors and panic. hundreds of injured people are being treated in hospitals which was swarmed by relatives the prime minister says warnings of such an attack were received but nothing was done authorities must figure out why i mean if. there was

a statement from the prime minister last night saying the authorities had some advance warning about the threat that's pretty worrying what more can you tell us. you have very worrying indeed the prime minister saying that they did have prior information the authorities have see prior information about what's being reported as a small known local group. i think a lot of what a lot of analysts are saying is that not only is this an indication potentially of a huge shortfall of massive mistakes in terms of the security services here the intelligence gathering also richie's in sri lanka but it's also an indication so some are saying all the rift between the prime minister and the president here last year we saw was described as a as the biggest constitutional crisis this country has as witnessed in many years there is a huge rift between the prime minister and the president some analysts are saying

that this statement by the by the prime minister last night is an indication yet again of just how wide that rift is and how also the politicians are trying to capitalize on this politically already the prime minister has also said that committee is going to be set up specifically looking at a base to go to. you know this group but also focusing on how this happened how seemingly the security alerts were not acted upon and charlie's bomb attacks have shocked sri lanka and the wider world how ordinary people they're coming to terms with what's happened. i think it's safe to say that the country is in a in a desperate state of shock. as we know suffered decades of violence the civil war here that lasted almost thirty years shouldn't consider taken great

pride in in how the country has developed since then there have been huge political problems as i say in terms of that rift in the government last year but by and large the country has picked itself up off to those years of violence and is so heavily reliant on things like to resume here i mean our holiday myself a lot of sri lanka it's a beautiful country and people here are very proud of that culture and their and their history here so for such a huge attacks to happen an attack that is being described as you know that the largest certainly coordinated terror attack in this country's history the people here are in a in a in a deep state of shock and fear if you like as to as to how this is going to be tackled and that it's interesting statements all with time being made by the government trying to reassure the people because as we've been reporting this

country does have a history of communal violence we sort incident last night just a stray into the. whole of a mosque that was attacked using petrol bombs i think it's an indication of just how fragile the situation is here but certainly the people themselves in a deep state of shock and mourning off to such a violent and riffing terrorist attack all right and the capital colombo johnny thank you. let's move on to some other news now a coalition of twenty two parties in suspending talks for the military council that alstom president bush earlier this month the freedom and change coalition as they call themselves maybe announcement after days of talks with military leaders to form a transitional government in the third i in this third week of the sit in at the army headquarters in sudan's capital how to thousands gathered around a podium they were waiting for the coalition of the declaration of freedom and change to announce names first a billion transitional council the coalition made

a different an ounce meant. that will continue with the sit in and have suspended talks with the military council will escalate the revolution on the streets through protest schedules tell all demands are implemented we'll start forming a complete transitional authority that we'll announce in a few days. the military council took over when it ousted president bashir on the eleventh of april ending his thirty year rule it had hoped that forcing out bashir would end the sit in that started nearly a week before after months of protests. since taking over the military council has been in talks with political parties to form a transitional government but many at the sit in say the army isn't keen to hand over power to civilian government a key demand for them to end the protests and return home. as i would have missouri and in my opinion where with the declaration of freedom and change because they got is this far i will be with them till the end since the council is part of the old

regime and is behaving like the old regime will continue with protest till it's gone we said to those we make music because so many years. government ruling was not good and now we want to change this is there were citizens from the government to the city of us because of the ruling. everything. the military council has repeated. they said that it will hand over power if political parties in sudan are ready to form an inclusive government of consensus with a few men and we're hoping that we and the political parties and other stakeholders will get over our differences so we can speed up with what is needed at this time the military council reaffirms that it isn't against any party and abide by the slogans of the revolution for freedom peace and democracy. but not all parties are in agreement on how to form the government and what it should look like. what the

professional kind of announcing that it has suspended talks with the military council it seems that the development of bomb headquarters is not coming to an end anytime soon and more than a week after al thing president bashir of sudan is nowhere near forming a transitional government. what comes next will largely depend on how much pressure the protesters can put on the military council and how long it takes for the divided parties to come together to start a new face for the country or even more going on today around the time. fighting in libya has killed at least two hundred fifty four people in the last three weeks that's according to new figures released by the world health organization it says thousands of people have been injured troops loyal to the warlord honey for half to try to take the capital from the un recognized government. but also to come here and al-jazeera including help. in mexico are talking to the sky to connect with their ancestors more and stay with us.

all the atlantic states and the southern states should be enjoying fine weather for a couple of days the remains the stories of this here are the more or less gone out of the way we look to the west for rather more the way of cloud out this is not a big surprise so we're sort of a. in el nino situation the most which tends to it hans this sort of thing but there's not much coming out of that time little bit of rain left over or snow and it streaked across the northern plains up through minneapolis and just across the border into west nile teria as well but the temperatures not very low there is some snow on the northern flank in those twenty four in chicago we're ten in minneapolis even in denver as of plus eight texas is enjoying the sunshine but there's a hint here of the cloud coming in that you might be developing a few showers well let's take you over night from monday to tuesday and see what does happen yes not.