♪ >> this is "dw news" life from berlin. tonight, images of justice catching up with julian assange. it -- a british judge finds the wikileaks founder guilty of breaking dale. police say he will face conspiracy charges in the united states. also coming up, sudan's army takes over the country and immediately imposes a strict curfew.

troops arrested the country's president earlier today and say they want a transitional government for the next kid of years. in germany, lawmakers are debating improved access to prenatal screening for conditions including down syndrome. critics fear it could lead to an increase in abortions. and one of europe's greatest level -- greatest ever basketball players bows out after his career in the nba. dirk nowitzki plays his last game after 21 seasons. we look at his career right here in the studio. i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and all around the world, welcome. julian assange is in jail

tonight. a judge in the u.k. found the wikileaks founder guilty of skipping bail back in 2012. that's when you may remember assange sought refuge in london's ecuadorian embassy to avoid a swedish rape investigation, but ecuador withdrew its asylum to assange earlier today, ending a seven-year game of hide and seek and allowing british police to apprehend the man known as the radical publisher. >> police strong-armed assange out of the ecuadorian embassy in london. handcuffed and protesting, the bearded wikikileaks founder resisted leaving his refuge of almost seven years. the arrest comes one day after wikileaks accused the ecuadorian government of spying on assange, secretly filming his meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the embassy. ecuador had clearly had enough of the controversial guest in london, accusing him of interfering in its foreign policies and violating the rules of asylum.

>> in the next few hours, the government will reveal details of which the world is not yet aware, that justify the decision taken by president moreno. they regard assange's stay in london. the two presidents tolerated things such as mr. assange putting feces on the wall of the embassy. >> the police then took assange to court where he was found guilty of breaching bail in an earlier case, but britain and assange's lawyers confirmed the arrest relates to an extradition request from the united states. >> since 2010, we have warned that julian assange would face prosecutors, extradition to the united states for his publishing activities with wikileaks. unfortunately today we have been proven right. we've received a warrant and a

provisional request from the united states, alleging that he has conspired with chelsea manning in relation t to the materials published by wikileaks in 2010. >> the u.s. justice department accuses assange of conspiriring with former u.s. army intelligence analyst chelsea manning to break into the pentagon computer. assange has long said washington wants to punish him because wikileaks published critical documents. assange's lawyers say the arrest sets a dangerous precedent for the rights of journalists and that they will fight his extradition to the united states. brent: for more now, let's go to our correspondent in london in front of the courthouse where assange had that hearing this afternoon. good evening to you. what did the judge say? how did assange strike you?

>> things happened extraordinarily quickly today. assange got kicked out of the ecuadorian embassy, picked up by london and brought to the courthouse you see behind me. he gave a t thumbs up. the generalist seemed quite confident, pleaded not guilty, but the judge said he was guilty of breaching bail in 2012. that is an old charge before he seeked asylum in the industry. the judge said assange was a narcissist who could not get beyond his own selfish interests -- very harsh words. assange's lawyers sets a dangerous precedent for u.s. journalists and saying they would fight extradition. we have seen very different mixed reactions. supporters have gathered in front of the courthouse. they were celebrating him as a hero of free speech and transparency, and of course, the u.k. government on the other hand, celebrating this arrest as

a success. theresa may saying nobody, even assange, isn't above the law. brent combe those who dramatic images when assange was dragged out of the ecuadorian embassy. police up to the door after the ambassador invited them in because ecuador had terminated his diplomatic asylum, as we understand it. do we know -- what is the back story there? >> right, it is a reallyy intereresting back storyry. basically, relatioions between assange and the ecuadorian hosts have been deteriorating for a while. assange had asked for asylum. when the former president was in place, it was more u.s. critical. then moreno took over as president of ecuador. the two did not get along. marino saw assange as more of an unwelcome guest. he cut his internet connection,

made him pay for food. according to assange, was spying on him and wanted to push him out of the embassy. finally, he said this is enough. whatever wikileaks published could hurt ecuador and this is why today, the ecuadorian embassy opened its doors and let london police arrest julian assange on ecuadorian soil. brent: thank you. this story will most likely move across the atlantic to washington, d.c. our correspondent is standing by for us. good evening to you. the u.s. justice department has charged assange with computer hacking conspiracy. what is he exactly accused of? >> that's right. that indictment was unsealed at a virginia court house not far from where i am in washington, d.c. one single count that mr. assange deliberately conspired

with chelsea manning, the former military intelligence analyst, to obtain access to a computer at the pentagon to then crack a password and release dreams of classified documents -- reams of classified documents regarding military operations in iraq and afghanistan. that is what this charge essentially relates to. the justice department has told us that could carry a prison sentence of up to five years. further charges could be added once mr. assange is back in the united states. it is worth pointing out that ordinarily in the united states, journalists are not prosecuted for the publication of classified documents. that said, questions are being raised as to if mr. assange remains a journalist or if he has become a publisher who has become a partner with foreign governments. for example, if you look at the wikileaks publication in 2016 of democratic emails and work with

russia. brent: that's a good point. his case will not be helped by the fact that paul manafort, the former trump campaign chairman, visited him several times. why is this happening now? what is next? extradition? >> right, and i think that is something we will be looking at in the days and weeks to come, exactly why now. of course, the fact that this comes shortly after the release of the mueller report as well is highly significant, i think, as he began to point out. bear in mind that the obama administration decided not to pursue this case further with vista massage and then taken to a count that he loves wikileaks -- bear in mind that the obama administration decided not to pursue this case further, and

then take into account that president trump said he loves wikileaks. when somebody appeals an extra edition, normally it is because they say they are being politically persecuted. indeed, mr. assange is now alleging that as opposed to it being something that is rooted in legitimate legal concerns. it will be very interesting to see what the reason is that is given. brent: thank you very much. tonight in sudan, the army has seized power, impose a curfew, and warned antigovernment protesters to stay off the streets. it is not what demonstrators were hoping for when they demanded an end to the president's 30-year-long-terg t.

>> the regime has fallen. the people are celebrating. amidst the triumph, it's easy to forget this is just a first step in remaking sudan. the country has been rocked by successive clues -- coups and coup attempts since it gained independence in 1956. omar al-bashir seized power in a coup of his own and managed to hold on to that power up until just now, but the way in which he was ousted has left a bad taste in the mouths of many sudanese. to them, this seems like simply another coup and the new leader might just be another military dictator. >> this is a farce. the regime did not fooled. this is a reproduction of the same regime.

we do not accept this and we will stay on the streets until the regime changes completely. >> it's not right that the government has repressed us and now still wants to seek control and power over us. as young people and citizens, we see what is happening. the government is manipulating us. >> there cannot be another regime. this man is a bloodthirsty leader, and he wants to bring us another regime. this is completely unacceptable. we will stay here until the regime falls. >> now the question is -- will sudan really be able to transform itself or will another military dictatorship take hold. brent: for now, sudan has rid

itself of a leader who ruled the country with an iron fist. here's a look back at omar al-bashir's 30 years in power. >> under omar al-bashir's three decades of authoritarian rule, sudan has suffered devastating famine, civil war, and seen its territory divided. democracy was just starting to blossom when bashir ousted a young civilian government in a military-backed coup. he resisted multiple attempts by the west to weaken his power, including being added to the list of united states terrorism sponsors. a crippling drought in the region led to a prolonged famine and you'll a a rebellion. bashir''s crackdowown was bruta. his warren accused him of leading a campaign of f rape, hunger, and fear that led to the deaths of over 300,000 people and left millions displaced in refugee camps -- his arrest

warrant accused him. despite his attempts to prevent it, the country split into in 2011 when south sudan the cleared independence from the north. the sharp -- bashir was a threat to desperate -- bashir was a threat to desperatdespots. the multiple elections that returned him to power again and again were dismissed as illegitimate, but it was the rising price of bread and fuel that pushed sudanese people out onto the streets demanding an end to the e decades of suffefe. bashir a attempted to rerespond. >> our country i is going throuh difficult economic circumstances . it has h hurt a large portn n of our r ciety due to internal and external causes that you are aware of. >> but it was too little, too late.. four months of antigovernmentt

protests, neededed in six days n mass demonstrations -- culminated in six days of mass demonstrations. bashir was ousted. protesters celebrate for now, but with the military and power, democracy may not yet begin a chance to take hold in sudan. brent: rival forces battling for control of the libyan capital have engaged in violent clashes in an area south of the city. germany, meanwhile, is calling on a general to end his offensive on tripoli. truthfully i is run by a human-backed government. president trump has welcomed the south korean leader to the white house.e. on their agenda -- the prospect of a third meeting between trump and north korean leader kim jong-il and -- kim jong-un.

the didisappointining day for israel's space program. it's unmanned space program headed for the moon, crashed near its strangle approach. the mission aimed to make the first privately funded lunar landing. benjamin netanyahu was at mission control and praised the team for what they called their fantastic achievements. to india now where voting is under way in the world's biggest ever parliamentary election with nearly 900 million indians eligible to vote. it is a mammoth logistical operation. voting will take place in several phases across different regions from the 11th of april 2 the 19th of may. voters should have to travel no further -- get this -- than two kilometers to cast their vote. one million polling stations will be set up to reach even the remotest areas.

>> day one of the largest election the world has ever seen. many are casting their ballots for the first time and women voters could also outnumumber mn in this elecection. fomamany, it is s a referendumun the prime minister. >> she did a lot of things, like proper education for everyone for free, no matter how much it cost them, but i think that is necessary. >> i vote for the progress of my country and i want there to be more. in india, we want a prime minister like narendra modi. >> we want jobs.s. more musus also be done to address llutution. > more than half of indiansne age 25 or under and some 12 million into the workforce in each year. the prime minister's plans for job growth have failed to materialize. it is an issue his challenger

has vowed to prioritize. his congress party managed to win back three key states in regional elections. the recent spike in tensions between india and pakistan and kashmir, however, has put another issue on the agenda -- national security. that may well play into the hands of narendra modi and his hindu n nationalists. the prime minister has styled himself as the watchman, protecting his country by being strong on defense, tough on terror, but much will depend on his party's performance in several key states. it is the first day of elections in india where 900 million people may be voting for a new government. i am right now at a polling booth in north india. you can see polling booth officials helping voters find their names in the electoral roles.

just to give you an idea the scale of this election, there are about 6 600 - -- almost 600 polling booths all across this city. >> if the pull of nationalism proves strong enough, modi supporters may well be celebrating come the 23rd of may. brent: in germany, lawmakers are debating an issue and emotions are part of that debate. they are asking -- should pregnant women have free access to a new generation of genetic testing. the tests can help identify disorders such as down syndrome. some lawmakers fear that making a new screening technique available on public health care will lead more women to decide against carrying babies with genetic disorders to term. >> sophia is a year and a half old. an estimated nine out of 10

women in germany decide to have abortions when they find their unborn child has down syndrome. heher motherer was seven months pregnant when she got the diagagnosis. >> of course, i i was scared.d. i wasas worried. was also feeling desperate. i did not know what to do. i was still in the last year of my studies, but i had a lot of support and courage. because she was so active in my belly, sophia also showed me s e wanted to live and should be allowed to livee. >> the weeks that followed were difficult t for anna, who was ao working asas a geriatric nurse. she read all about down syndrome, which is a genetic disorder in whihich childrenn ae almost always born with physical and intellectual disabilities. doctors told honor -- anna her childd would be born with a heat defect. suddenly, she faced the dililema

of whether to have an abortion. quakes they immediately totold e i could have an abortion,n, buti thought if i have e an abortioni would have to give birth to a stillborn child. i did not want to think about that. >> a gynecologist counsels women who decide to have an abortion when they get a diagnosis of down syndrome. she knows the pressure for all involved. >> there are so many factors to consider. how old am i? how stable is my relationship? do my other children still need a lot of attention? i like to tell my patients they just have to decide what is easiest for them. >> the blood test that detects down syndrome as eararly as 10 weeks of pregnancy gives families time to make difficult decisions early on. that is also important to ensure

mother and child are well looked after if the mother decides to have her baby. for anna, the issue goes deeper. she says the blood test sends a message that s society doeoes nt accept children like sophia. >> i ask myself why. if you then don't have to pay for the test, these children will simply not exist. even though they are perfectly happy children who radiate joy and have so much love to give. >> the blood tests for down syndrome are already standard procedure in denmark and france. in those countries, few children like sophia are born. brent: in basketball news now, dallas mavericks star dirk nowitzki played his last ever nba game last night. he played for dallas for 21 seasons and led them to their

only nba title back in 2011. his final game against the san antonio spurs ended in defeat, but knew this -- b but dirk nowitzki was the star of the show. even spurs fans wore dirk nowitzki jerseys. the risky is the -- dirk nowitzki finishes sixth on the all time points list. i'm joined at the table now to talk about dirk nowitzki's legacy with a german basketball coach who also played with him on the german national team. was sort of a player was he? -- what sort of a player was he? >> i played with him in 1999 when he was just starting to be on the national team. he was talented, you could the a lot, but you never know if these

guys could develop or not -- he was talented, you could see a lot. he was already one of the top three players in the world may be. he was unbelievably gifted, but what always stood out was his work ethics and the ability to incorporate new moves and different things to his game, always develop, always got better. it's really incredible. brent: he is also incredible he tall. you are a tall man, but he is taller than you. and he seems like a nice guy. we see him signing autographs for fans in dallas. there was this outpouring of emotion from him at the last game. and for him at the last game. is he really as authentntic as e seems?s? >> my experience as a teammate and coaching him on the german national team in 2015, it never

failed that he was unbelievably good with his teammates, family guy, always funny. joked about himself, but also about other p pple, really fun to be around, so i think people appreciate that. it's very authentic and special. brent: people around the world, when they think of germany, they do not think of basketball, but then you have this guy who has become a global star. what do you think his legacy will be for basketball, but also german sports? >> worldwide, he has changed his position as a basketball player. he has bought -- brought some momoves to the n nba that rere t there bebefore. he has changed thehe game. for everybody in the world, he has put germany on the mark. we do have a couple of players and the best league now.

brent: do you have another dirk coming up that you could see being as big of a star? >> i think we have a lot of childhood players, but dirk is unique. i don't think we will have another one. he's doing a great job in the nba but still growing. we will see where he insult. -- where he ends up. brent: what is your favorite memory of dirk? >> we are saying, we are up 40. he gets subbed out, and we find out he needs to do points to be the top scorer of the whole game. he looks at the scoreboard and says, "no, i don't need to be playing." he did not believe in the scoring title. that is who he is and what he is about. brent: we appreciate you sharing

your memories with us. thank you. here's a reminder of the top stories we are following -- wiki leaks found julian assange may be extradited to the united states. u.k. police arrested him today, ending his seven-year stay inside the ecuadorian embassy. sudan's army has imposed a curfew in the country earlier today. the military ousted omar al-bashir, ending his 30-year rule. i will be back to talk you through "the day." tonight, we ask -- who should be afraid of julian assange? ♪

without steel tomorrow . the sudanese dictator among all the share has been overthrown and arrested after almost three decades in power. modes of demonstrations intensified when the army took the side of the protest is. bashir is also wanted by the international criminal court for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in da awful will speaking on air on state tv the defense minister alan even over. said that the army would oversee a two year transition