i'm ben bland with bbc news. our top story. us prosecutors have announced charges against wikileaks founder, julian assange as an extradition battle begins following his arrest. he was taken into custody when ecuador withdrew the protection of its embassy in london after nearly seven years. british prime minister theresa may defended the arrest telling parliament no—one is above the law. you are watching newsday on the bbc. huge crowds have taken i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. to the streets of sudan's capital the headlines. after the military seized power. american prosecutors announce following months of protest, the country's longstanding charges against wikileaks founder, president omar al—bashir has julian assange following his arrest in london his lawyer says he now been removed from power. faces extradition to the us. this sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations and journalists in europe and this story is trending on bbc.com. the world's first private moon and elsewhere around the world. mission has ended in failure. huge crowds take to the streets a remote controlled israeli of sudan's capital spacecraft is believed to have after the military seizes power. crashed on the lunar surface as it was due to land. i'm ben bland in london. that's all. stay with bbc world news. also in the programme... the first private moon mission ends in failure, it's thought to have crashed on the lunar surface. and the top story in the uk, jack shepherd, who was sentenced making his mark around the world. we'll be speaking to architect for six years for killing moshe safdie to find out charlotte brown in a speedboat crash what inspires his unique designs. on the thames, has been jailed

live from our studios in singapore... and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am here in singapore and 1am in london where the founder of wikileaks, julian assange is in jail after ecuador withdrew the asylum it had given him in its london embassy for nearly seven years. he's been found guilty of jumping bail. mr assange is also facing extradition to the us related to one of the biggest ever leaks of government secrets, as our correspondent james landale reports. this was the momentjulian assange‘s seven years of self—imposed asylum came to an end. older, greyer perhaps, but still defiant, still protesting. we must resist!

you can resist! the ecuadorian authorities revoked his asylum and allowed in the police to arrest him for breaching bail. inside, he had resisted the officers, shouting, "this is unlawful, i'm not leaving!" before they handcuffed him and led him outside. what we've shown today is that no—one is above the law. julian assange is no hero, he has hidden from the truth for years and years. and it is right that his future should be decided in the british judicial system. this afternoon, assange was brought to westminster magistrates‘ court. he gave a thumbs—up to supporters outside. and inside, he waved to the public gallery. but the judge called him a narcissist, with a laughable defence, and found him guilty of failing to surrender to the court in 2012. he was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date. he's also facing conspiracy charges in the united states,

relating to a massive leak of government secrets almost a decade ago. this sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations and journalists in europe and elsewhere around the world. this precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the united states, for having published truthful information about the united states. the wikileaks website that julian assange founded has, over the years, published hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents, many from the us. revelations that government officials argued put lives at risk. perhaps the most disturbing leak was this video, of a us military helicopterfiring at iraqi civilians and journalists in a 2007 attack that left at least ten dead. this pertains to publishing work nine years ago. publishing of documents,

of videos, of the killing of innocent civilians, exposure of war crimes. this isjournalism. it's called "conspiracy" — it's conspiracy to commit journalism. in 2010, assange was investigated by swedish prosecutors about claims of sexual assault, allegations he denied, and eventually avoided by seeking asylum in the ecuadorian embassy. can you hear me? from his diplomatic bolthole, he continued to campaign and defend himself, but eventually, he outstayed the welcome of his ecuadorian hosts. in particular, the new president, lenin moreno. translation: we have taken asylum away from this brat and removed a stone from our shoe. in the future we'll give asylum to people who deserve it. and not to miserable hackers whose only intention is to destabilise governments. to some, julian assange is a champion of free speech. to others, a dangerous

conspiracy theorist. either way, after almost seven years in that building, he's now at least facing justice. this evening after assange left court by a back entrance, the labour leaderjeremy corbyn said he should not be extradited. for now, the former guest of ecuador is facing a new life of confinement, initially at least at the pleasure of her majesty's government. james landale, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. donald trump has welcomed the south korean president moonjae—in to the white house on an official visit to the united states. in talks at the oval office, the us president left open the possibility of a third summit with kim jong—un, after the failed summit in hanoi in february. but mr trump would not comment on whether he had communicated recently with the north korean leader. that third summit could happen and it's step—by—step. it's not a fast process — i've never said it would be. it's step—by—step.

i enjoy the summits, i enjoy being with the chairman. i think it's been very productive. also making news today, voting has begun in what's been called the world's largest democratic exercise. —— voting has ended and the first phase of the indian general election. 900 million people are eligible to vote at around i million polling stations and it will take five weeks. on may the 23rd, people in india will find out if prime minister narendra modi has won another five—year term, or if the opposition congress party will take power. at least 18 new confirmed ebola cases have been reported in the democratic republic of the congo. it's the largest increase the country has seen in a single day, since the start of the outbreak in august. there have been over 1,000 confirmed cases and more than 750 people have died. now to brexit and the uk prime minister theresa may addressed the house of commons on thursday to update mps on her trip

to brussels the previous day which resulted in an extension to the brexit process until october 31st. here's what she had to say. ahead of the council, i wrote to president tusk to seek a short extension to the article 50 period to the 30th ofjune. there was a range of views about the length of the extension, with a large number of member states preferring a longer extension to the end of this year or even into the next. in the end, what was agreed by the uk and the eu 27 was a compromise, an extension lasting until the end of october. the council also agreed that we would update on our progress at the next meeting injune. the date of our departure from the eu, and our participation in the european parliamentary elections, remains a decision for this house. earlier, i spoke to baroness valerie amos who was appointed to the british house of lords in the late 19905 british house of lords in the late 1990s and has insight into the bricks of process and a start by

asking her how she thought the brexit process was going. everybody wants to know what's happening. and i think it's partly because there's a sense that britain has lost its reputation for competence. nobody understands and i think even now with the extension we don't know where this is going. why is that? it's because every single area of british life is so connected up to our membership of the european union. it affects our universities. it's also about the fact that we have been an open, outward—looking country. now, we look as if we are turning in on ourselves. for universities, it affects the reputations that we will have, the partnerships that we have, collaboration is essential for academic excellence, for example, for innovation, for moving forward. the university that i lead — soas university of london, we have over half of our students coming from other countries across the world.

if our country looks as if it is turning inwards and is not open, if our visa regime is such that it puts students off, then our students will go elsewhere. and is that starting to happen do you think from what you're are seeing from your perspective? are people put off by this notion that brexit means britain is becoming more isolationist? well, over the last few years, it has been going up and down. we have seen students for example who turned away from britain, for example, from india a few years ago because of what was happening with the visa regime. but on the whole because of that reputation for excellence, because of the quality of uk higher education, students have continued to come but they are concerned. i've talked to a lot of students at soas, and they are concerned about the mood in the country, about a sense that if you are not from the united kingdom and even if you are but for example

you are black, you will be more open to for example racist insults that somehow the mood in the country is very, very different. and that is extremely worrying for me and for people across the united kingdom. indeed, because you have always been a big advocate for a multicultural britain. moving away from the university side of things, you had a long career in the un in development aid. how does brexit impinge on that potentially, the idea that britain can still offer development aid and humanitarian care? aid is one of those area where britain continues to lead the way, aid is one of those areas where britain continues to lead the way, where there continues to be a commitment to a major part, 0.7%, of our national budget, of our gnp going towards development aid and this is important. because it helps to maintain that

sense of ongoing british concern for people who, across the world, are less advantaged. so, that remains important. but if in other areas of life if economically and politically we are no longer seen as being connected up to the european union, to the rest of europe and to the rest of the world, it will have a major impact. we prepare —— labour peer baroness valerie amos speaking earlier. after months of protest in sudan, its longstanding president 0mar al—bashir has been removed from power in a military coup. it was an abrupt end to 30 years of his dictatorial rule. a military council is now in charge in khartoum, but there are already questions about how much things will really change in one of the world's poorest nations. 0ur africa editor,

fergal keane reports. the revolution isn't over, it simply has a new enemy. the new boss, the general linked to past atrocities, declaring the old boss, president bashir, had been overthrown. translation: i announce that the former head of the regime has been removed and is in a safe place. i announce the formation of a transitional military council that will manage the matters during the period of two years. with a few words he was deposed. in an age when civil society is challenging leaders across africa, the president had seemed unmovable. omar al—bashir came to power in a military coup in 1989 and survived for 30 years through cunning and brutality. he was a master manipulator of his own party's factions. an indictment for genocide in darfur in 2010 wasn't enough to force his departure. he was a pariah in the west but still welcomed in africa

and the middle east. but a spiralling economic crisis last year awakened decades of resentment and created this people's revolution. in khartoum, his face was vanishing. and for a generation which has known nothing but omar al—bashir‘s rule euphoria is understandable. translation: to see bashir stepping down is enough for us. oh, our young people, this is such a big joy. translation: the protest will go on until the sudanese people are assured that their revolution will not be stolen from them. gunshots. and what of these younger soldiers who sided with the demonstrators? firing on a building where they believed bashir loyalists were preparing an attack. will they accept that the old guard hijacks the revolution?

the fractures here are deep and dangerous. sudan doesn't fit into an easy political template. military rulers, yes, but a civil society that's sophisticated, organised with mass popular support. and which tonight is defying the army curfew. chanting. they will do so until the people or the generals win the fight for sudan. fergal keane, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. from singapore to the usa, we meet the architect behind the weird and wonderful designs which doiminate sky lines across the world. also on the programme, high hopes for the world's first private moon mission, but it ends in failure, thought to have crashed on the lunar surface.

pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock and as for a sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world best time for years to come. quite quietly but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under

the surface and disappear. thanks for staying with us here. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. good to see you. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories. american prosecutors announced charges against wikileaks founder, julian assange following his arrest in london, his lawyer says he now faces extradition to the us. huge crowds take to the streets of sudan's capital after the military seizes power. south korea's ban on abortion has been ruled unconstitutional in a historic court decision. the country's constitutional court ordered that the 1953 ban must be revised by the end of 2020. the ban meant women who have abortions can be fined and imprisoned except in cases

of rape, incest or risk to their health. our correspondent in seoul, laura bicker, has more on the court's decision. this law has been in place since south korea was created in 1953, so for six decades women, would face up to two years in prison or a hefty fine if they carried out an abortion. however, that law was selectively prosecuted and many women say they did get abortions at the time, but they were forced to go to underground clinics because doctors were unwilling to carry out the procedure. outside the court as the verdict was read out, there were tears on both sides of this debate. first of all, i spoke to a woman who had an abortion and she said that this decision made her feel liberated. i can tell my truth to the whole world, even if it is illegal. because i know i am not wrong.

because i know i am not wrong. and it was a choice for my life and everybody should be able to do it. personally in my life, i feel more free, i feel like now i am not illegal. and i am now more myself and i am very proud of myself for surviving until now. south korea remains a deeply conservative and patriarchal society. there are a large number of evangelical christians and they say they will continue to fight this. anti—abortion activists outside the court were also upset but they see a glimmer of hope to influence the process because the law won't come into effect immediately. now, the process is handed to politicians who have until december 2022 rewrite the law. and so both sides will try to make their voices heard over the next year and a half.

our correspondent insole. —— in seoul. it was set to be a historic space achievement — but israel has failed to become the fourth country to land on the moon. there were huge hopes today for this mission that was supposed to make space history, the world's first privately funded spacecraft set to land on the moon. the team were gathered at mission control in israel. and at first, everything seemed to be going well. there was applause as an image was shown this selfie taken by the spacecraft during its descent. but minutes later, the scientists started to look worried. there was news of a rocket engine restart. then, lost communications. and this was the final image taken moments before it crashed. after the crash the control room was in philosophical mood. we had a failure in the spacecraft. we unfortunately have not managed to land successfully. we are the seventh country to orbit the moon and the fourth to reach the moon's surface, and it's a tremendous achievement up to now.

well, we didn't make it. but we definitely tried, and i think the achievement of getting to where we got is really tremendous. i think we can be proud. applause if at first, you don't succeed, you try again. israeli—canadian moshe safdie is one of the world's best known architects. he is currently based in boston but has done much work in singapore, including designing the city's iconic marina bay sands building. mr safdie came to fame in 1967 with his design for habitat 67 in canada, a lego—like construct which began as a thesis project for his architecture programme at mcgill university. a short while ago i asked him how he felt about the projects

that he has been involved in. the impact on the life of the city is daunting in terms of the sense of responsibility. when we began marina bay sands, it's now 15 years ago, we knew it would change the skyline. we did not know it would change the sense of the city above itself. the sense of the city about itself. also, you go there and you see tens of thousands of people day in and day out and it is a good feeling because you know that their life has been affected. we are taking look at footage of some of your greatest works from your award—winning habitat 67 and that looks like a lego building. which one is your favourite? favourites are difficult. but i have gone through several periods.

habitat was a period of experimentation, housing, new ideas, rethinking the apartment building. let's make liveable gardens with houses. and in the ‘80s and ‘90s there were no takers. there was a regression in housing design. and i got involved with many institutions, in punjab, the holocaust museum, the national gallery of canada, the public library in vancouver. and that gave us the opportunity to create buildings that are the essence of a culture that you have to really capture the spirit of the place and the essence. and my architecture became about discovering cultural essence and giving expression in the architecture. what about this notion about the controversies of around weird architecture came to a head in china when xijinping said "we need to put a stop to building these weird buildings" and they have said no to architecture

that is oversize, xenocentric, weird. what do you make of that and do you think of your peers making strange buildings? —— do you think you and your peers are making weird buildings? i think there is a point to mr xi's concern. i think there have been extruding opportunities in china for architects. and there is a sense of adventure. the project i'm doing is in the birth place of the city is an extraordinary and important complex in terms of the future of that city for some and yet there are two schools in the profession. the sculptural school that wants sensation, the wow effect instantly. but not that concerned with sustainability with the environment and quality of life. and then there are others of us who have essence of design is you must impact the quality

of life positively. china has had both. some western architects in china have ta ken advantage of this sense of adventure. and others have kind of abused it. and i think that is the chief concern. he is actually focusing on one of the great questions asked in architecture today. moshe safdie who has design hundreds of buildings including that one. now, uber has taken a step toward what could be one of the largest technology stock lisings ever. mariko oi is with me. did you know uber has turned ten last month was my it has done well despite the scandals it has had and i think it is fair to say that it has changed how we live and commute. there has been a lot of hype about this share listing. the company hasn't said how big it will be but it could develop the company at $100 billion but will have more on this

on the asia business report number mac but they said that it did not make a profit and loss $3 billion despite —— despite having more than 3 million people using the upper on the world. with a be anything else, we will see? has a really been ten yea rs ? we will see? has a really been ten years? that is a stringer. we will hear more about that on asia business report coming up. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these in italy have been climbing the newly opened holy staircase in rome. the stairs have been closed since 1723, encased in wooden planks to protect the soft marble. it's believed thatjesus christ climbed the stairs before his judgment from pontius pilate. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news.

hello. the calendar is taking us forward into mid—april but the weather seems to want to go backwards. more of a hint of winter, rather than spring in the weekend to come as we will see. for the day ahead, plenty of dry weather, there will be a bit more cloud in the sky then we have had recently, we are going to see some sunny spells. it is high pressure in control, blocking atlantic weather systems, keeping things settled, the flow of air is rather cool coming around that area of high pressure on an increasingly chilly and stronger wind this weekend. there will be a bit of frost around as friday starts, plenty of sunshine for early risers. the chance of catching one or two showers towards the eastern parts of scotland, and for the cloud building into east anglia in the south—east, it could be the odd shower around here during the morning and afternoon before drier air returns to eastern counties of england to give some sunshine to end the day.

elsewhere, we start with sunshine, we could see some cloud building but it will stay mainly dry. this easterly breeze is a bit stronger than it has been on recent days, keeping temperatures in the east around seven to ten degrees. ten to 12 in the west, may be 1a degrees again in north—west scotland. that is what we have had here for the past few days. the wind direction is favourable for a bit of warmth, and a bit of shelter here. let's take a look at the picture through the night and into saturday morning. some areas of cloud around, maybe still the odd shower feeding down towards the far south—east, on the whole, a lot of clear weather and yet again, gardeners and growers need to be aware, there will be a frost for many of us as the weekend begins. i love this view. high pressure, low pressure, at loggerheads for control of the weekend weather. high pressure though maintaining its control, winning the battle, and it stays with us through the weekend. but with a stronger wind coming in from the east, that will be more noticeable. there will be some sunshine around, some cloud building as saturday begins, while most places will stay

dry, still again for east anglia and south—east england, maybe the odd passing shower, could include a bit of hail and maybe some sleet for the higher ground. and it will feel a bit colder. the wind in the west is picking up over the weekend, noticeably so, maybe some gusts around northern ireland to 40mph or so. more cloud on sunday, maybe a bit of rain in the far west, into the isles of scilly, as well. cloud building after a sunday start elsewhere but still sunny spells, still most places staying dry and still coldest in the east, nowhere is particularly warm for the time of the year. temperatures are well below average now. so this is what we are expecting this weekend. dry, occasionalsunshine, a stronger wind, it will feel colder, frosty nights, it is next week temperatures are on the up again.