>> this is "dw news." julian assange says he will not forget or forgive after sweden dropped a break -- dropped a rape investigation. >> seven years without a charge. >> they say they will still arrest assange if he leaves the ecuadorian embassy, where he has been sheltering to avoid possible extradition to the united states. and rainy elections that could have a major impact on the

country from relationship with the west. we take you live to tehran. and curving eight speech online. germany, the first country in europe to prosecute social media companies if they post material that incites hatred. and philipp lahm plays his last game on saturday. we take a look at his standout career. ♪ sarah: i'm sarah hartman. welcome to the program. we are glad to have you with us. julian assange calls it an important victory. sweden has dropped a rape investigation after seven years. he has been sheltering in the ecuadorian embassy to avoid being extradited to sweden or

the united states where he could be prosecuted for publishing leaked document. reporter: it was a defiant julian assange who spoke from the window of ecuadorian embassy in london where he has been holed up for five years. julian assange: today is an important victory, for me and for the u.n. human rights system. it by no means erases seven years of detention without charge. reporter: earlier in the day, sweden felt top prosecutors said she was dropping a european arrest warrant against him, issued in connection to with an alleged rape. it was news assange had been waiting to hear for seven years. it was unclear if he would the able to leave the embassy.

british prime minister theresa may refused to say whether britain would extradite him to the u.s. prime minister may: we review extradition requests, when we receive them, on a case-by-case basis. in relation to join assange, any decision taken were he to leave the ecuadorian embassy would be an operating matter for the police. reporter: jeff sessions said that prosecuting assange would be a priority. with assange still at risk of arrest in britain for jumping bail five years ago, he looks set to remain in the embassy for now. sarah: we are joined by julian burnside, jolene assange's australian lawyer. thank you for joining us. does this change anything for mr. assange's situation? it sounds very much like he is still stuck in that embassy. guest: in a practical sense, it

does not change a lot, but that all depends on whether the british government couldn't see a bit of common sense and common decency and let assange leave the embassy and return to australia without being interfered with. now, let's go back and remove or what this is all about. assange, of course, runs wikileaks. wikileaks published a number of documents and the collateral murder video, which put america in a bad light, and of course, most members of the public who saw or heard any of this material saw or heard it through the mainstream media, other organs of the press around the world. but those people are not threatened with punishment anywhere because there is a great difference between what

chelsea manning did on one hand, and what assange, wikileaks, and rupert murdoch did on the other hand. the risk that was facing assange, if he was to be extradited to sweden, sweden and america had a kind of witness exchange agreement, which would have meant he could have been extradited or shifted from sweden to america without the formality of extradition. that would put him at great risk of being treated in the way chelsea manning was being treated and that risk remains depending on what donald trump's mood is from day to day. so, i think, unfortunately, for his own safety, assange will have to stay in the ecuadorian embassy, but the key to the whole tthe british government, and particular, metropolitan police to say, enough has an enough.

he has been seven years in detention without being charged with anything at all. sarah: let me ask you about these charges, mr. burnside. sweden dropped them because they said there was no hope they would be able to arrest him, not because they don't believe he is guilty. one of the women who accused him called this decision today "a scandal." how would you respond to that? mr. burnside: the fact that the rape allegation -- the fact that it was a rape allegation makes it sound much more serious than the same act would have been seen as germany or britain or australia, for that matter. one of the cases was trapped several years ago. the one that was being pursued, he has always maintained his innocence in relation to that. his reluctance to face trial in sweden was simply based on the fact that it probably would have meant he would be carted off to

america and thrown into a cell the way chelsea manning was. sarah: but mr. burnside -- it sounds very much, when we listen to assange, he considers himself to be a victim. i want to take a listen him a for our peers, to something he said earlier today. please stay on the line so we can get your reaction to it. julian assange: an important victory for me and for the u.n. human rights system. but it bno means erases seven years of detention without charge. in prison, under house arrest, and almost five years here without sunlight. sarah: now, mr. burnside, assange keeps referring to it as detention, but he walked into

the embassy of his own free will. is it really fair to call that detention? mr. burnside: i would say yes. if you stay in one place because you fear the consequences of moving from that place, you can look at it as detention. it was the threat of the american response that caused him to stay there. he made that absolutely clear. of course, if you said, oh, he is just trying to avoid facing ordinary criminal charges in sweden, than it would be a different answer, but he was at serious risk of being sent to the united states and being treated very, very badly. and i think calling attention to when he -- calling it the tensio when he was staying in the embassy was fair enough. he was not very comfortable and there. it was not the sort of thing you would do just out of choice. it was -- you know, cramped quarters, no sunlight, and it

has been very, very hard for him. sarah: all right, that's julian burnside, the australian lawyer for julian assange. thank you for being with us today on "dw news." the polls of finally closed in iran's presidential election six hours after the scheduled time. voting had to be extended several times to allow votes to be processed. the interior ministry is saying that the turnout was around 70%, similar to the last year. it was the first since the country from landmark 2015 nuclear deal with the west. the election is being seen as a referendum on incumbent president hossein romney's -- us on rouhani from moderate policies. he is eating challenged by ebrahim raisi. -- being challenged by ebrahim raisi. there are two that other candidates. the polling stations are finally closed after voting was extended

due to a huge rush. it seems like there is a great sense of excitement about these elections. reporter: oh, yes, there was a lot of excitement at the polling station in tehran where i stayed all day. people were queued up for hundreds and hundreds of meters. one girl told me it took seven hours to get inside and cast her vote. she stayed all the time, although it was very hot today in tehran. and authorities are celebrate in this huge turnout as a side -- as a sign of approval of the republic itself. that is not necessarily true for everybody. there are some people who are not totally happy with the past four years, but still, they know what is at stake. they know the country would change a lot if ebrahim raisi were elected today, so that is what drove them to the ballot boxes. sarah: so, keeping raisi out of office was driving this election. what else? reporter: it has been two years

since the nuclear agreement was signed and high hopes of not been totally fulfilled. while rouhani was successful on paper a lot, a lot of people feel like their life has not changed a lot. that is why his rival, ebrahim raisi, focused on lower classes, increasing cash handouts to the poor. but at times when unemployment is well above 10%, these promises fall on for child ground. it may be closer than a lot of people would have expected a few weeks ago. sarah: remind those of us who may not have been following iran's political system closely,, which power does the president have in that country? -- how much power does the president have in the country? reporter: the real political power lies with the supreme leader. but the president does have power, which you have seen the

past four years. iran has gotten a lot closer to the international community. this election is not only about the coming president, because the supreme leader is 77 years old and the moment he dies, the one who was elected president right now will automatically become the front runner, will be able to shape amid -- shape iran's future, maybe not only for four more, but a lot more years than. sarah: all right, teresa top or, thank you. it is no secret donald trump likes breaking with political norms. instead of visiting a neighboring ally like presidents before him, he is off to saudi arabia, one of washington's more controversial global partners. it is the first stop on a five-leg trip to the middle east and europe. here's a look at some of the points likely to be on the agenda. reporter: saudi arabia.

a middle eastern giant at a crossroads. falling oil revenues and a festering population. an ultraconservative regime under pressure from liberals and islam. saudi arabia is the keeper of islam's holiest sites at mecca and medina. for decades, it has exported its own ultraconservative interpretation of islam to muslim communities around the world, but this ideology has proved difficult to control for authorities in riyadh. saudis make up one of the largest groups in syria. it's not just abroad. the kingdom's authorities also face their own homegrown insurgency. it is against this backdrop that president trump will address leaders from saudi arabia and

neighboring monarchies, calling on them to step up the fight against violent extremism. yemen will also dominate the agenda. 10,000 people have died and millions face starvation. saudi arabia has been fighting a proxy war with iran since 2015. president obama was anxious to avoid being drawn into closely, limiting u.s. support to intelligence sharing and logistics. by contrast, within days of taking office, trump authorized a u.s. commando raid that resulted in the deaths of civilians and americans. riyadh is expected to push for greater american engagement. saudi arabia is america's best customer for arms. rejecting business will be a further priority for trump. obama vetoed key sales over mounting civilian casualties in

yemen. now his successor looks to give it the go-ahead, allowing saudi arabia to buy up to $3 billion worth of arms over the next decade. that's on top of infrastructure. sarah: we are going to take a short break here. do stay with us, if you can. plenty more stories coming up. ♪ >> everywoman, every man knows a child needs food. we had a lot of problems. >> you are used to eating nothing when you come from home. >> anyone of us.

♪ sarah: welcome back. you're watching "dw news." our top story -- jolene assange says his legal battle is not over, despite sweden dropping a rape investigation into the wikileaks founder. he has been sheltering in the ecuadorian embassy in london to avoid extradition. if he leaves, he could still be arrest for skipping bail. donald trump has begun his first overseas as u.s. president. he and first lady milani a are flying to saudi arabia, the

first stop on a five-leg trip across the middle east. and trump's business links with saudi arabia are proving -- you guessed it -- controversial. we have more at our business desk. reporter: i think everything is controversial with trump these days, thank you very much. let's cross to our financial correspondent, yens carter. trump running the risk of conflicts of interest in saudi arabia. his business empire has been quite active. >> there is no question when donald trump was a businessman, he had strong ties to saudi arabia, did a lot of business over there. the same is true to israel and also his son-in-law has some ties businesswise to israel. but that is when donald trump was a businessman. now he is president of the united states. he handed over his business to his sons to rid is why people are here, not so suspicious of

business ties. if you look at donald trump rupture, especially to saudi arabia, he is accompanied by high-ranking members of the financial, energy, and defense industry. there is some talk that the defense contractors, u.s. contractors think they might get business in the amount of a good $100 billion. it's not that unusual. when uncle a markel went to the u.s., she was also -- angela merkel went to the u.s., she was also accompanied by people from the world of business. reporter: trump's business spending is out and it is less than promised. -- if researchers spending is out and it is less than promised. is there more to come? >> yes. when we remember what he promised during the election circle, donald trump was talking about roughly $1 trillion in investments into the infrastructure here in the united states. now we are talking to hundred

billion dollars for the budget proposal we will probably get next tuesday. bus we are talking $200 billion from the federal side in the u.s. donald trump probably aims that the other $800 billion might come from state, local permits, private industry, and to add that up, you was still get this trillion dollar figure. a lot of economists are saying we should not invest too much money right now because the u.s. economy is on a strong footing, and if you invest too much money you might risk overheating of the u.s. economy. reporter: all right, the cautious runner wins the race. thank you very much. they have been peddling meals around the german capital for only the last couple years, but they cannot stomach it anymore. they are classified as

self-employed. they contract on demand via smartphone apps. riders for the rival forces join protest and the help -- in the hope that it will deliver justice. reporter: they have the same problems. many have problems getting enough work to live off. it can fluctuate widely. the berlin ride is seen as the first move towards change. the delivery model imitates the global right hailing platform google. however, this week, the european court of justice said that uber manages a conference of system of urban transport. if the court agrees, uber would be subject to employment regulations, an outcome that would almost certainly affect the delivery -- affect delivery.

>> what would you do with $110 million. 21 japanese billionaire, the answer is obvious. it's not just a pretty picture. it's not really a picture at all. this was worth $19,000 three decades ago. reporter: this work by new york artist bask react was sold to the tune of $110 million. it is the first time an american artwork has been auctioned off for so much money. even the auctioneer was stunned. >> this is extraordinary. reporter: many showed interest in buying the work. it reached a fever pitch at the auction. >> the previous record price was, you know, less than half of what we achieved this evening.

reporter: few can keep up with these types of prices. museums certainly cannot. >> the prices are comparatively high. reporter: the new owner wants to include the new picture among other works in a private museum accessible to the public, compensation for basquiat fans who walked away empty-handed. reporter: that is a unique investment. that is it for our masterpiece of a business update. sarah: thank you. angela merkel has said there will be a price for britain's departure from the european union if it does not accept free movement for european citizens. merkel made the comments in berlin and it suggests that germany could be signaling a tough stance on negotiations. police have charged a man with murder after he allegedly drove

a car into pedestrians in new york city. one person died and 22 were injured in the incident, which happened in times square on thursday. the mayor says there's no indication that this was terrorism. german lawmakers have been debating whether to prosecute social media platforms for hosting hate speech. this would allow authorities to punish services like facebook if they failed to remove hate material. it would be the first law of its kind in europe. reporter: a syrian refugee was one of the first to file a lawsuit against facebook and was unsuccessful. unidentified face book users posted a picture falsely identifying him as a terrorist. now there is legislation that would allow platforms to quickly erase illegal content. this could lead men to commit

murder or set homes on fire. it is about threats, insults, rabble rousing, and holocaust denial. if the social media platform refuses to erase content quickly, they could face fines, but opposition parties say that this legislation could penalize the wrong people. >> legal content will also be erased on a large scale and we have faced cases of other so-called collateral damage. reporter: even some german conservatives think the draft law was created to hastily and may go against constitutional rights. >> we have to find a mechanism that recognizes it illegal content accurately without initiating a wave of content removal that restricts freedom of expression. the draft law is a step too far for many social media platforms and ngo's.

reporter: but criticism from another country. the right wing identitarian movement -- the justice minister was labeled an enemy because of his efforts to combat right-wing extremism. sarah: one of german football's all-time greats is about to hang up his boots. phillipp lahm will have one last game on sunday. reporter: phillipp lahm is ending his football career, despite being only 33. but with eight and is league of titles and a championship winner's medal, it's easy to see why he feels it is time to step away. >> one of the things i am looking forward to is not living according to the match schedule.

i have lived my entire career according to some plan. reporter: the defender has scored only 14 goals in his bundesliga career. it wou be fittinginale for phillipp lahm to grab another in his farewell game. he is used to going out on a high. he took germany to glory in 2014 . he announced his retirement from international football days later. he is very much his own man, which is why he turned down an effort to be a sporting director, but a move into coaching is a possibility. >> i am a passionate footballer. i love the sport. i can't see not putting my football boots on again. reporter: he is walking away at the very top. sarah: all the best to germany's

most famous 33-year-old retiree. a quickly minder of the top stories we are tracking for you. julian assange says his legal battle is not over. that is despite sweden dropping a rape investigation into the wikileaks founder. he has been sheltering in the ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition. british police warned that he would still be arrested for skipping bail. you are watching "dw news," live from berlin. more to come very soon. to stay with us if you can. bye for now. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

announcer: euromaxx highlights, and here is your host meggin leigh. megan: hi, everyone, and welcome to our highlights show with the best picks of the week. here's a look at what we've got in store. slow but cool, an austrian has built an ecological sound porsche. small but smart, a 10-year-old bewitches germany with his magic tricks. and traditional but new, a polish chef serves up his own take on a lamb roast. ♪ megan: you know it's springtime when the tulips are in bloom. and of course the best place to see them in their full glory is in the keukenhof flower park in the netherlands. well here, visitors are engulfed in a sea of color. but there is much more to see than just flowers.