brent: this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight, and a shocking video message to the world, the proclaimed leader of the islamic state says the suicide bombings in sri lanka were retaliation for syria. the terror group released ththis video, that says to show its leader. he says that the sri lanka bobombings were to avavenge thes of islamic states last stronghold in syria.

coming up tonight, mozambique takes a battering from the second cyclone to strike in six weeks. there is severe flooding, with more downpours in the forecast. spain's socialist, prepare for top negotiations to form a coalition government. his party won the most votes in sunday's election, but not enough to govern on its own. and a new voice for turkey. international broadcasters, including dw, respond to the government's crackdown on independent media with the launch of a new youtube channel. i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in united states and around the world, welcome. they thought he was dead, but it seems the leader of the islamic state might still be alive and in command. in propaganda footage released today, a man believed to be the

leader, praises the easter sunday suicide bombings in sri lanka, whwhh killed hundreds of people. he said the attacks were meant to avenge the loss of islamic state last stronghold in syria. he was last seen in this 2014 video in mosul. he has been reported killed or wounded many times since. a shocking video. with me in the studio is an analyst from the german institute of international and security affairs. it's good to hear -- have you here. what do you make of this video? is this who we think it is? >> i think so. it looks like him. he has grown older. he doesn't speak as well as he did when he announced the caliphate in most so five years ago -- mosul five years ago, but

he is there and talking to his supporters. he is in contact with the organization. he mentioned that the attack and saudi arabia. it w was only a week a ago. that''s why he is appearing now. he wanted t tshow, thatat after the losses in syria and the loss of the last village in eastern syria a month ago, the organization is is still alive and kicking. not only and should lock it, and iraq. brent: it's a disturbing message. he said the organization is still able to attack when and where it wants to. >> we know that. the organization has prepared for the day when they would lose their territory by building is

provinces in yemen and libya and many other countries. they have widened the front. in this video, heat -- he keeps talking about the provinces and the need to fight the west worldwide. brent: we knew that isis is still alive. he must know that as well. why publish this video? what is the purpose of showing his face to the world again? brent: is to show the hope -- >> it's to show the whole world that iss up a defeated. many of politicians believed that the fight is over. the fight in iraq and syria is not over. i.s. is going back to its former self. it has been an underground organization between 2006-2011.

the organization is back in northern iraq. they're perpetrating attacks in syria and, even more so than in the years between 2006-2010. now it has affiliates all over the muslim world, who have proven to be very effective, just like in sri lanka a week ago. brent: assuming this video is authentic, what does it tell you about the power that he may have now. it see the same later he was five years ago? >> definitely not. he is not ruling a territory anymore. he is very secretive. he has always been, but there are no pants in this video as to where he might tide. you don't see the faces of his five or six supporters that are present with him in the video. it shows that he had to go into hiding. the video shows that i.s., where

he is, is an underground organization. it's not one that is controlling territory anymore. because the organization has been defeated militarily, or the territory has been defeated militarily, he has to prove that he is still there. that's why we saw the attacks in sri lanka and saudi arabia. brent: he looks older, as you said. it looks like he is gained weight as well as in his hands look like they are swollen, that maybe he is not healthy. what can we glean from this video? guido: i have heard from sources that he has been hurt. it's more reliable than his death. it seems to me he is not as eloquent as he was in 2014. he seems to have problems speaking quickly.

he still speaks clearly, but his arabic is not as fluid as it was five years ago. brent: we appreciate your analysis. thank you. sri lanka remains tense after the easter sunday bombings. the catholic church there is urging that urging the government to crack down harder on islamist extremist. the archbishop of colombo says the church might not be able to stop people from taking the law into their own hands if the government fails t to prevent further attacks. >> these scenes of everyday life on the streets of colombo masking underlying tension. after easter sunday's deadly bombings, security remains tight about for good reason. -- type, for good reason. there are rumors that other attacks are planned. the police are rushing to find

out who was behind the massacre. 15 people died on monday after security forces stormed a safe house. the prime m minister told the press that large amounts of chemicals have been found in the rate. he said -- raid. he said efforts must be focused on thosese who are reaeady to se agaiain. >> the organization n was not involved. we need to focus on the perpetrators and the possible perpetrators. florian: to help find them, and emergency law has banned some things, -- face masks. >> i think this is for our good. you know the problem in sri lanka.

it is not good. >> that is compulsory. pepedro sanchez even if police managed to stop further attacks, and terrorist attack to get out of hand, tourism numbers will plunge by half in the coming months. that's certain to have a lasting effect on the country's economic well-being. brent: here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. at least six people are dead after jihadists opened fire on a church in the north of burkina faso. gunmen on motorbikes targeted worshipers as they were leaving sunday services. authorities say it is the first attack on the church since jihadist violence broke out in the country intro to 16. the commander of the u.s. not to a prison in guantánamo bay has been fired. a statement from the u.s. southern command citited a lossf confidence a and the ability of rear admiral john it rang to lead -- john ring to lead.

it was set up to detain suspected terrorists captured overseas after 9/11. marine experts say a beluga whale that has been harassing boats in the arctic norway area may have been trained by the russian military. fishermen first raised the alarm last week after they saw the whale wearing a strange harness and tugging at ropes and straps around the vote. russia is suspected of training sea mammals for special operations. it has a military base nearby. more torrential rain is forecast for northern mozambique. it has suffered severe flooding since cyclone kenneth made landfall on sunday, killing 38 people. weather conditions have grounded flights and hindered aid efforts. kenneth is the second cyclone to devastate the country in two months. six weeks ago, a cyclone

devastated the regioion farther south. reporter: they can't get water -- can't get rid of the water quickly enough. the rain here in northern mozambique keeps coming. roads now resembled rivers, while actual rivers have burst their banks, leaving huge areas underwater. eight agent -- aid agencies say cyclone kenneth will bring twice as much rain as the first one. entire crop fiel have been wiped out and people are short of food. >> the people need to eat. they neeeed their bread. jojohnathan: the amount of water

on the ground is making it hard for people to access the areas. come with boats, because itt is too dangeroufor hehelicoptererso y at the m moment. hehelicopters ee what is really needed, with m many strandeded wiwithout susupplies. >> i wanant to help.p. police, people, all people. johnathan: until help arrives, all they can do is wait, counting the cost of the latest tropical disaster to land on mozambique's shores. brent: our correspondent is in northern mozambique. reporter: it has been raining continuously here since cyclone kekeeth that t the city and the surrounding areas. you can see the first consequences down here. a mudslidide hit these houousesd several of them were destroyed. six people were killed. if you have a look over there, that is a trash site that

coursed that caused this mudslide.. because of the continuouous rai, the rubble moved and affected these h houses. the bad news is, the weather forecast does s t look good. it is going to rain for the next week. ththis is what concerns organinizations and rerescue tes hehere. most cannot go out to the world areas, so we not sure how strong the damage is. brent: that was a reporter for mozambique. here in europe, spain's general election, primus or pedro sanchez, is celebrating a victory for the party. the governing socialists won the countries national election, but fell short of a elementary majority. they had just 39% of the vote. sanchez must attempt to form a coalition government, a week -- a process that could take weeks or months. sunday's vote saw the far right into parliament for the first time since the end of military rule in 1975. the box party took

10% of t the vote. we are joined now by journalist jaime velasququez imagery. so no majority herere, but a victory nonetheless for the socialists. how did they pull out o off -- t off? is it really a victory a at the enend of the day? reporter: defininitely. itit h has been a c campaign ban identity, rather than policies. it was more about values a and w wewe as spaniards see ourselvevs a society andnd a nation. fofor the fifirst time, the catn country y was not that significt and we have come back to left and right to get to those blocks -- blocs. sanchez read that scenario very well. it was the values of vox that

represented d the task, or the social values run presented by the left, which were the only ways to the future. pedro sanchez presented his party as the only party strong enough to stop the far right. it worked for him. brent: it worked really well on election day, bubut now yes to t togetherer a government coaliti. what are pedro sanchez's options? jaime: he isis ruled in thee minority f for 10 months. hehe is had a a lot of probleme. but now he hasas a stronger position i in parliament than a montnth or two ago. it l looks like he is goingg toy fororm a solo governrnment at e moment witith agreemements to te leleft, right and catalan n par. it looooks at this moment, thata coalitition is almost rololled .

itit will make it difficult fofr sanchez to r reach cononsensus n paparliament, andnd probably ate point, maybe in a a year or les, we will end upup seeing a more stab a agreeme betweenen the sosocialists and the liberal democrats,s, because they will e abable to forgege a comfortablee absosolute majority. th won't happen u until the endd ofayay. after ththe regional and europen elections. brent: after three electioions n four years, let'ss hope thehe spanishh people don't have to worry about an election for a while at least. j-- least. jaime, thank you very much. we appreciate your insights. a new report by the stockholm international peace research institute shows a rise in global

military spending once again. much of the increase is driven by the u.s.. last year, it spent almost a much on its military as the next eight countries combined. china and eastern european countries are also spending more on defense. reporter: military preparedness calls for tanks, bombs and grenades. with global growing tensions cacannot many countrtries are ag themselves more than ever. betweenn 1998-2018, worldwide defense spending rose continuously, with one plateau, to nearly $2 trillion a year in 2018, a sharp increase over 2017. the u.s. is by far the biggest spender on weapons. it shows no sign of changing course. in018, washington increased its military spending g for the first time in seven years.

china has the second-largest defense budget, which it also boosted in 2018. saudi arabia, a traditionally well armed country, with the third budget, reduce its spending. india and france increased their defense budgets, as did russia. major world powers china and india have outpaced russia and their defense spending, which is why the asia-pacific region is said to be arming itself. by contrast, african countries spending on weapons has declined. eastern europe and parts of the middle east have also reduced their defense budgets according to available data. that has no bearing on the overall trend. for many countries, the requirements for security have never been higher. brent: the u.s. has renewed sanctions against iran for you

to take effect next month. they're likely to hit hard, because a crucial oil exports which will be halted. the international monetary fund expects iran's recession to deepen with the economy contracting by 6%. reporter: here in toronto, people are exchanging riyadh as fast as they can. faith in the iranian currency has fallen dramatically. it takes a stack of them, 144,000, to purchase a single dollar. most people fear the u.s. sanctions will drive it even further. >> of course, the country's revenues are going to drop and may be the iranian currency will drop as well. the pressure they're putting on his pressure on the people. >> some people have fixed, limited wages, like us. when prices rose, we had to change a lot of things. our rent went up.

then we were forced to spend our money on rent, instead of food. reporter: the imf has warned that inflation will drive purses even further in the country this year and that will drive many more iranians into poverty. >> this would have an impact on social, especially that the sanctions have led to an increase in inflation, with inflation reaching levels of 50%. before, the average income -- the the economy will suffer in hiss -- a a recession. reporter: the iranian government says they are considering countermeasures, and have even threateneded to close the strees of a key passage for international trade. brent: it is a centuries old afghan tradition, when the country needs to settle matters of national importance, a grand assembly is called. the latest, involving around the

3200 delegates from the countries different tribal groups, is meeting to discussss the e talks that peace talks wih the taliban -- peace talks with the taliban. reporter: delegates from all of afghanistan converged on kabul for the first grand assembly in six years. it was then four days will debating whether to negotiate with the taliban. >> we will call on the taliban to enter into peace talks with the afghan government, as we have done before. reporter: this is a common view among afghans, who are weary of war. delegates will try to reach a common approach to peace talks. if and when they take place. >> the issues that are not up for negotiatation are human rights, freedom of expression, civil rights, the political system, and the national constitution. those are our red lines. >> both the u.s. and russia have tried to lower the taliban to the negotiation table. so far, without success.

the u.s. special representative appeared on afghan tv to outline the conditions for a peace deal. >> a long-term space fire will be necessary for a deal to be reached, as well as a commitment to long-term peace. sybille: so far, the taliban has refused to enter into talks with the afghan government. brent: japan is preparing to mark the end of an era on tuesday with the abdication of emperor akihito after a 30 year reign. he is the first japanese monarch to abdicate in two centuries. >> akihito was a groundbreaking figure, long before he became emperor. in 1959, he married a commoner, a major taboo. the people loved it. the couple recently celebrated their 60th anniversary. miwa and satoshi hope their union will last that long.

the two wanted to marry during the akihito era. they are nearly out of time with this abdication linning -- looming. >> i spent 30 years of my life in this era. since i was-year-old. we have lived through catastrophes, but i want to keep this time in my heart and enjoy the new era. uwe: now akihito is advocating. the first one to do so in 200 years. >> after two operations, i sensed my ability to lead was fading. also, in view of my age, i'm worried that i cannot fulfill my job as a symbol of the state with all of my strength as i have until now. uwe: hockey he does role is partrtly to act as s the conscie of the nation. he is the defender of the pacicifist constitution, paying homage to victims of japanese

aggression. the us criticize attempts to justify japan's military history, including by the ruling conservatives under prime minister shinzo abe. bochy he does son is supposed to carry on the tradition. >> and private, the two of them have a father-son relationship. i think the father hahas alwayss passed ohihis wisdom. not that he says you have to do this, but i think the future emperor has learned much from the old one. uwe: bochy he does wedding did not go off without a hitch. stones were thrown, and people tried to climb into the imperial coach. but these enjoyed a day of peace and harmony. brent: cw has teamed up with other broadcasters to release a new news center for turkey. plus 90 watched on youtube, it

is a coproduction with european news agencies. it's a response to the turkish government crackdown on independent journalism and reporting. reporter: they are living in a diverse, complicated country. tested by terror and upheaval. they are the future of turkey. the under 35s who make up a huge part of the population. there the target of plus 90, a new voice on the media, and it is now on youtube. managers from the four media groups involved watched it in in symbol on monday -- istanbul on momonday. it reported in depth on how refugees and lgbt people are faring, use on a planet crisis in turkey's building industry. >> i hope we will have a significant of regular users w o see on the channel a window to our country.and open window between our countries. that we can contributions some

information which might be not available for the moment here. i think we want to become a relevant offer. let's see how the viewers and users are using it. reporter: and at era of so-called fake news, plus 90 will also fact check claims made by public figures and institutions. it's name is the number of turkey's international telephone code. the channel operates with an outsider perspective. the result of the u unique eueuropean and transatlalantic combination of four public broadcasters. >> the bbc wants to see what we could build where would be better and stronger together. youtube is the kind of platform that rewards a wider, bigger, deeper offer that audiences will come to. it made sense to do this project together, rather than separately. reporter: those launching the channel say they don't want to tell younger turks about the world around them.

they help plus 90 will become a home for debate. >> i hope that all of the young people here in turkey will watch us. it's very important to us that we are hitting a nerve in turkish society and we want to do this with what is needed for digital platforms for youtube and, we want to do that with constructive journalism and everyone's opinion matters. reporter: few would disagree that the world needs a safe places for different ideas and constructive journalism. brent: you are watching dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]