look at it. this is it every news live from berlin out of this world astronomers reveal one of the mysteries of the universe the first ever image of a black hole help scientists understand one of the most mysterious objects in the cosmos a milestone in astrophysics so coming out. britain's theresa may stares down another deadline with a request to the european union for another brags that extension she's in brussels hoping for a delay until summer but even the doors of other ideas that outlined his friday

night. israel's benjamin netanyahu is on course to win a record fifth term as prime minister following a tight race right wing parties except to tip the balance and netanyahu has favor. on will iraq is great to have you along everyone while we start off with a stunning discovery astronomers have just revealed what they're calling a groundbreaking development researchers using a global network of telescopes a photograph the edge of a black hole for the very first time a black holes are celestial objects with such strong gravitational fields that even late gets pulled into them all scientists hope the new images will explain how matter acts in such extreme conditions. which could verify or contradict for

example albert einstein's theory of relativity no small matter. all right let's discuss everything now with my colleague from the science desk later we finally now know we're glad call a looks like i thought scientists already had simulations of black holes explain to us please the significance of this particular picture well it seems funny but it's really beautiful i love it if you've dreamt about like both the night because i was so excited it's really huge it's quite huge i mean it was widely accepted that black holes exist but no one had ever seen one and now it's the first real image that that's there. and as i think the whole community is now really excited there was a difficulty of course we observed that now this is this is from the galaxy m eighty seven which was observed the black hole at the center of this galaxy is fifty five

million light years away from earth and we can see the whole itself of course the dark the black hole is stark and it's invisible by definition so what we see is actually the event horizon which is the point of no return all matter gets just sucked into it and never comes out again so that's the ring around it is the dust and the gas is rooting around this gravitational strong center of the black hole which is second everything as you show well stay with me because i mean it's such a big deal you know says witnessing the unseeable let's take a look now at what black holes actually are we've all heard about a black hole but do we really know what it is and why people especially scientists are so fascinated by them. black holes they're like cosmic vacuum cleaner sucking up anything that comes to close any matter that crosses the so-called event horizon

is then gone forever. black holes are created when dying stars collapse in on themselves or when two stars collide and their masses merge. the gravitational forces become so massive that the matter is squeezed into a single point called the singularity. black holes start small but as they suck up more and more material in their path they can begin to grow and eventually become super massive black holes like the one of the center of our galaxy the milky way. with the gravitational pull stronger than four million stars similar to our sun. until now astronomers have been unable to see the milky way central supermassive black hole directly they inferred its existence from the stars orbiting around the black hole and from hot matter surrounding it this first image has only been possible through the event horizon telescope a global network of radio telescopes gathering data from all around the world. a

coordinated with atomic clocks to synchronize and all that data is combined after the fact into what's called a correlator and that correlate or ultimately produces data that can be constructed into an image. astronomers want to explore how matter can disappear from our world for ever and to take a deeper look into einstein's theory of relativity and its initial theory on black holes. this fascinating stuff and it's easy to see how this is kind of a dream come true for the scientists involved explain to us if you can in layman's terms i mean how were they able to capture this extraordinary image into it it's quite tricky because a black hole is massive and this specific black hole is six point five billion times the mass of our a sun it's really really huge but it's small in size i mean it's massive it's small

in size so it's not easy to capture. all the signals that come to earth from black holes so what would actually be needed is a big telescope dish as big as planet earth itself of course we don't have it so what the scientists tried is to simulate this size the size of a dish as big as earth with eight telescopes that are scattered around the globe. and they gathered data that are so big that you can transfer them via the internet they actually need to be stored on hard disks and then shipped to the supercomputer it's quite funny i think in our time. it's really baker yes definitely. so what we see from this now is that it's not a photograph that's really important to notice it's not a photograph not a snapshot but it's an image that they put together with all those data they gathered now. and maybe you can of course still there are gaps and those data

because as we only have a telescopes around the globe and not the big fish we would actually need to gather and to detect all the signals there are small gaps but you can imagine it like let's say like a song you play on the piano on a broken piano imagine they are some keys broken on the piano but you so much to play the song but you can't use all the keys so but still you can imagine what the song might sound like in the end right so that's what the scientists did with the data they kind of filled the gaps with algorithms and they calculated the image which is most likely or most most realistic according to what they observed and what they calculated beforehand it's really interesting so they just pieced all of this together this is a massive scientific achievement nobody is denying that one and it's practical uses every how can we use this discovery in terms of us here on planet earth right it's quite far away but also our galaxy has

a black hole at the center. and that's also one that this array of telescopes will or is a cup serving at the moment so it's actually quite it's at the center of our universe or of many. many elements in our universe which are the galaxies and it's also about basic theories about our world in general for example einstein's theory of relativity to vittie which is now maybe to be proven and yet it's quite big for basic signs about understanding of our world amazing amazing stuff they are trying to do science desk thank you so much for laying it all out for us like shit thank you. and our want to bring up to speed now with some of the other stories making news around the world. new zealand's parliament has voted to ban military style weapons in the wake of last month's deadly mass shootings a prime minister just an ardent in an emotional speech backing the measure people

were killed in the attack on two mosques in christchurch a white supremacist is facing murder charges. the dalai lama has been taken to a hospital in delhi as a precautionary measure after feeling chest pain a spokesman said the eighty three year old is in stable condition and has been ordered to rest the exiled tibetan tibetan spiritual leader said recently that he hoped to live long enough to see political change in china. german police have raided ninety offices across the country belonging to islamic organizations there is suspected of financing the palestinian militant group hamas which is on the european union's terrorism blacklist official said the main targets of the raids are believed to have collected funds under the guise of humanitarian aid for hamas which rules in the gaza strip. british prime minister three some may has arrived in brussels for an

emergency summit on her country's were drawl from the european union may is requesting a short extension from the a use remaining members to britain's gregg's a deadline until june thirtieth well she hopes she can pass or draw a deal in that time but e.u. leaders are expected to grant a longer delay with conditions attached due to a lack of belief a maze ability to deliver an orderly burks it. well after she arrived at the commission building in brussels just moments ago a maid was asked by reporters what she would do if the e.u. insisted on a longer delay this is what she said. i'm working to ensure that we can leave the european union within the time scale that the government wants to see i want us to have to be able to leave the european union smooth and orderly way as soon as possible and that's what i'm going to be working for thank you. so that just moments ago in brussels before that german chancellor angela merkel she's one of

the e.u. leaders who will decide britain's fate at that emergency summit in brussels this evening she has come out in support of giving the u.k. a longer extension. that's why i argue that we can absolutely prolong the extension for several months if there is a large majority in support of it today but we shouldn't delay when britain makes its decision it should be able to exit the mediately. all right so that was the chancellor speaking earlier on briggs that is keeping us all on the edge of our seats let's go to brussels now where where mrs may also is trying to make her case correspondent is at the summit venue for you happy groundhog day out there and give us the long and short of it will the brakes and date be pushed back and do we have an idea of what a potential final date will be. that's that's a very very good question mrs may when she arrived here at the council building said she ones the thirtieth of june to be the brakes a date now but the u.s.

is not trusting anymore and the leaders are saying we have to push back this breaks a date longer in this paper is maybe there's a road map any of these the conclusions which the twenty seven deliberate misses may leaves the room and the conclusion say such an extension should last only as long as necessary and in any event no longer then and then there's nothing to date has to be filled in it might be twelve months it but be nine months but for sure go beyond the european elections that means that britain has to take part in these elections and also has to keep a kind of this since cooperation after that not to block and the e.u. business these are the conditions that will be applied and now the big question is mrs may accept this long the extension which is more than she actually wanted but everybody is frustrated here this is already is

a second summit within fourteen days dealing with the organization of an orderly breck said how difficult will it be to get every single member state to agree to a new timeline. but as we hear. all member states are more or less on board there's some differences in the duration of the extension but all member states including france. in the boat to grunt some kind of extensions because the e.u. ones to prevent at almost any cost of brakes it without any d. the question out of britain that could also harm the e.u. economies mrs mayville gets something here to daybreak said the date we don't know right now and finally if i may so many challenges as you are also outlining the e.u. clearly it seems has the upper hand now when this is made going nothing new to the table does she have any option but to accept a long delay and all that that entails. this is made must be kind of

a verisign because she's standing here with a blank sheet of paper actually she has no majority at home she's only talking to the opposition. no it was no results so she is she says sitting here and getting if you want so the orders from the e.u. how to proceed further bantry good reporting from brussels thank you. i'm going to shift our attention now to israel where prime minister benjamin netanyahu appears to have secured victory in his country's parliamentary elections with most of the votes counted he is running neck and neck with his main challenger and he guns of the centrist blue and white party but benjamin netanyahu is in a stronger position to form a majority coalition with a number of right wing parties. it won't be a sweeping victory but it will nonetheless be historic israeli prime minister

benjamin netanyahu appears to have edged out a win for a record fifth term the right wing bloc is expected to hand his likud party a solid majority the divisive election drew mixed reactions from israelis. i got what i wanted. just because in my opinion there's no better alternative. you can't just come out of nowhere and become a prime minister and the b.b.c. has all the experience a big achievement that shows how strong b.b. is now he can do whatever he wants. higgs it polls have shown a deadlock with the center left blue and white alliance led by benny gantz he also declared victory but the optimism proved premature when it's changed the country he's been has been going for a while i thought it was move time for change i'm devastated absolutely devastated

. we're surrounded by right wing radical people who want to annex mall here or tories in this part when never going to have peace in the countdown to the election netanyahu valid for the first time to annex parts of the occupied west bank for some this would all but and any hope for a two state solution with the palestinians. i think we have just witnessed a clear cut vote by the israelis to maintain the status quo as far as we can use our concern. this was a vote to maintain the status quo to maintain apartheid. the election was also overshadowed by netanyahu is legal troubles during the campaign the attorney general recommended indicting him on bribery and breach of trust charges he denies any wrongdoing and would not be legally required to resign if formally charged

netanyahu appears to have beaten his most serious challenger thus far. the official results of the vote are expected later in the week. there has been a dramatic fall in the number of death penalties carried out around the world well that's at least according to numbers published by the human rights group amnesty international amnesties annual death penalty report shows numbers were down by nearly a third last year six hundred ninety people are known to have been executed worldwide in two thousand and eight hundred but that number does not include china which remains at the top of the list of countries that have to death penalty thousands are thought to be executed there every year but the figures are state secret iran is in second place tehran executed at least two hundred fifty three people last year but that's actually a fifty percent dropout brought about by a change in the country's narcotic laws saudi arabia is third with one hundred forty nine executions but despite

a drop in numbers overall some countries saw an increase in executions including the united states and japan while thailand resumed executions for the first time in nearly a decade later we can talk more about this with michelle lyons as she joins me now from huntsville in texas she is a former journalist and spokeswoman for the texas department of criminal justice she's also incidentally the author of the memoir death row the final minutes a very warm welcome you were in the public face of the agency that carries out executions in texas and have witnessed nearly three hundred executions. what is your position on the death penalty now. you know i think it is just such a complex issue and that's really what the book centers on you know i've had some people who've read it and said you know we came away not really knowing how do you stand on the death penalty and that was kind of the point i think that it's an

appropriate punishment for some crimes but i also came away from the experience feeling as i did witness some executions where i personally would not have given that person the death penalty and you know seeing the victims' families and everything that they go through and then also the immediate families and everything go through just makes it such a complex issue where i think it's in some ways difficult to really decide what's right and what's wrong when you're looking at these individual cases but of course what's not complex is you know when you witness an execution what's that like. you know honestly it is it's a very clinical procedure and in taxes especially where so many executions have been carried out the act itself is really almost down to a science where you have an individual by the time the witnesses are brought in that individual is already on the gurney and i think most people would be surprised

to know that they don't fight it was very rare in all those executions that i witnessed today the individual thought on their way to the gurney by and large they walk to their own accord and lay down as the i.v. lines were acquitted place and in the process itself is very quick when i witnessed it was still using the three drug protocol now it is going to whine as various states have had more and more issues with a teen droughts but the three drug process was over within a matter literally two minutes so it's a very very quick process it's a quick process and also wonder you know you outline what the inmates are very calm about i wonder if they were so david as well i mean i can't imagine somebody being calm walking to their death. and that's exactly the point you know there were two occasions where i actually witnessed the execution from the very start to finish in or in which case i actually witnessed from the i.v. room and saw all the inmates myself and know they are not given said it before the

execution i think that by that time they are just so resigned to what's going to happen but to be honest i found that unnerving because you know just to give myself i think my gosh i would be kicking and screaming and fighting and that just really never happened in all those executions that i witnessed i can recall three instances where the inmate did not go willingly. you already outlined in your previous answers that you know you support in some cases the death penalty but you also have some misgivings about the practice of the death penalty when did you start to have misgivings. you know honestly i think when i became a parent i think that you know again it's very easy to empathize with the victims' families because they were simply in the process of living their lives and this horrible thing happened to them and a lot on mistake and in many cases it was their child who was taken you know when when it came to the witnesses who were there but when i became a parent and then saw the women who were there to watch their son die in front of

them i just really had a hard time wrapping my mind around that because you know in the end a lot of ways the inmates families are also victims you know they also did not ask for this or for this crime to occur it just became increasingly difficult i guess to watch. you know after i had my own child do you have a lasting memory from having witnessed nearly three hundred people being executed. there are a number you know if there are some executions that stand out because the inmate was very angry and lashed out at the victim's family and said some pretty awful things but then there is one in particular that stands out because that in me was so incredibly sincere and heartfelt in his apology to the victims that it was it was really touching and moving and that you know he stands out and then or if you

were something odd happened did you just absolutely could forget the one that's most notable that i write about in the butt is the execution of a man named ponce wilkerson who at the very moment that he is held his last breath spit out a hand and so immediately everybody was fresh and willing to figure out how did he come by this key and what he intended to do with it. thank you so much michelle lyons author of the book death row the final minutes also former spokeswoman for the texas department of criminal justice. and slightly tough transition here german basketball great dirk nowitzki has announced his retirement the forty year old has been one of the n.b.a.'s most successful european imports and was adored by fans and dallas nowitzki hell led the mavericks to their only n.b.a. title back in two thousand and eleven and was crowned the league's most valuable

player in two thousand and seven he did an emotional farewell after twenty one years into us as you guys might expect this is my last home game. you know i so want to thank my family lot of people flew in from all over the world there are lots of from from germany like that's here my sister it's been amazing. i thank you guys so much for coming out. while the term has come a long way since we first arrived in the united states more than two decades ago let's take a look now back at and i would skis stellar career. for you was. a down to earth superstar to wicki straight to success may have been an n.b.a. title eight years back but he kept another milestone just weeks ago shooting his

way up the record as if it is now six the n.b.a. all time points better than any european player. it all began in his home town of spared it was a slam dunk talent in germany's and significantly less popular basketball landscape lanky it great with the ball his standout play led him to the n.b.a.'s dallas mavericks at twenty years old. skills and lots of hard work led to novitsky becoming the first european to win the league's most valuable player title he got similar recognition per starring role in the two thousand and eleven finals against the miami heat admits he pushed the mavericks to their first ever championship he was achieving his dreams after thirteen years in the u.s. . his accomplishments made him a superstar in the united states in his recognition wasn't limited to the sports world. it's fair to say that we have very rarely seen

a better playoff run than dirk when ski had last year it was. his stardom and the more than two hundred fifty million dollars he's amassed over his career haven't kept novitsky from staying grounded humble team player he's also helped to lift up germany's growing basketball scene he received a hero's welcome in his homeland after winning the n.b.a. title. wallow in the speechless. despite plenty of success for club and country one of his biggest honors remains carrying the german flag at the opening ceremony of the two thousand and eight olympics he's been bestowed numerous awards on both sides of the atlantic thirteen of its ski the greatest european basketball player in history and a towering personality. all right our money now the top story that we're tracking

for you this hour. an international scientific team have unveiled the first ever imagine a black hole advancing the understanding of one of the most mysterious objects in the universe it's considered a milestone and astrophysics. are the software for now see again at the top of the our.

fields no longer break in through the window at night more often than not we hand them our key. via the internet. cyber crime is a multi-billion dollar disaster. but some hackers that use their skills to do good . made in germany next.

i know nothing but that well i guess sometimes i am but most of the things which are the research of mistakes deep into the german culture of looking at the stereotype question if you think you see for the country that i'm paying. you to take this drama day out to eat it's cold out there. i'm rachel joins me from the gentleman from v.w. . post. an extravagant venue. to hosts who really know their stuff.

with philip and definitional. party and share with sessions from around the world. make roofs every week double. if. now these guys might try to look scary but honestly they're so ninety nine today's criminals don't need masts troll bars or guns to get their hands on your cash the requirements for brazen burglars nowadays include a computer and a solid wife i connection and preferably.