Your Friday Briefing

> A seven-year exile ends. [The New York Times]( [nytimes.com]( [The New York Times]( Friday, Apr 12, 2019 | [View in browser]( Supported by Good morning, We start today with the arrest of Julian Assange, the ousting of Sudan’s authoritarian president and a new ruling on abortions in South Korea. By Stephen Hiltner Julian Assange arriving at the Westminster Magistrates Court after he was arrested in London. EPA, via Shutterstock Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, is arrested Mr. Assange [is in custody in London]( after being arrested at the Ecuadorean Embassy, where he had lived since 2012. He faces an extradition warrant filed by the U.S., which unsealed an indictment of one count of conspiracy to hack a computer, related to his role in the 2010 release of classified U.S. documents. The charge is narrow, to the relief of press freedom advocates. [Read the indictment](. Timing: [Relations with his]( had frayed badly]( including disputes over his cat and personal hygiene, and his behavior in the embassy’s small offices. President Lenín Moreno said that the decision to drop asylum protections for Mr. Assange came after “his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols.” Watch: [Mr. Assange’s removal from the embassy]( was recorded by Ruptly, the video service of Russia’s state-financed international cable network RT. Background: Mr. Assange, 47, took refuge in the embassy seven years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced questions about sexual assault allegations. He is also suspected of aiding Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election by releasing material stolen from the Democrats. Protests swelled on Thursday in central Khartoum. Ashraf Shazly/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Sudan’s military takes control The country’s defense secretary, Lt. Gen. Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, announced a two-year transition period after the military [ousted President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Thursday]( ending his 30-year authoritarian rule in the face of mass street protests. Mr. al-Bashir, 75, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in connection with a genocide in the Darfur region that killed hundreds of thousands of people. What’s next: Protesters’ jubilation has been tempered by a wary uncertainty about the future. The military dissolved the government and suspended the Constitution. A curfew between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. is in effect for at least a month. Go deeper: Mr. al-Bashir has long promoted a folksy image at home that was [a jarring contrast with his image in the West]( where he was seen as a heartless warmonger and as a coddler of terrorists like Osama bin Laden. South Korean abortion law is ruled unconstitutional The country’s Constitutional Court on Thursday [gave Parliament until the end of 2020]( to revise a 66-year-old law that made abortion a crime. If lawmakers do not meet that deadline, the law will become null and void. The law remains in force, but the ban has rarely been enforced. On the books, a woman who undergoes an abortion can be punished by up to one year in prison or face a fine of up to 2 million won, or about $1,750. Context: Calls to enforce the law have grown as the country has tried to reverse its falling birthrate, now one of the lowest in the world. From Opinion: The boundaries of privacy As companies and governments gain new abilities to follow people across the internet and around the world, the costs and benefits of technological advances are becoming clearer. The Times is beginning a project [to explore the debate]( around those changes. See for yourself: What do you think should be private? [Take our survey](. Quote of note: “We in the West are building a surveillance state,” [our columnist Farhad Manjoo writes](. “But while China is doing it through government, we are doing it through corporations and consumer products, in the absence of any real regulation that recognizes the stakes at hand.” At The Times: Our publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, addresses [how we think about the privacy of our readers](. If you’re following the Indian elections The maturing voter A polling official in Chennai. Some 2.3 million electronic voting machines are expected to be used in India’s elections. Arun Sankar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Indians have at times seemed fond of kicking their leaders to the curb. Prime ministers serve without term limits, but only seven have made it through a single full term. Does that mean voters are fickle? Not according to Prannoy Roy, co-founder of India’s NDTV news channel and one of the country’s most respected poll analysts. He chalks it up to something else: increasing maturity. “In the first 25 years, governments and prime ministers used to be re-elected quite frequently,” he said in a phone interview. Voters were at the time buoyed by post-independence optimism. But over time they became less starry-eyed and began going against ruling parties at national and state levels more than 70 percent of the time, said Mr. Roy, co-author of [“The Verdict: Decoding India’s Elections.”]( The earlier years after India gained independence in 1947 were marred by slow growth and corruption, and angry voters started throwing out almost everyone in power. Today, though, that anger has tempered and voters “are much more discerning,” Mr. Roy said. They are looking for politicians who deliver real, on-the-ground results. And that, he said, is a sign of “a vibrant, working democracy.” — Alisha Haridasani Gupta Send us your feedback or questions on this series [here](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=IndiaFeedback&te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_MBAE_p_20190411§ion=longReadsection=longRead). PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM CAMPAIGN MONITOR Email Marketing 101: Never Sacrifice Beauty for Simplicity A drag-and-drop email builder, a gallery of templates and turnkey designs, personalized customer journeys, and engagement segments. It's everything you need to create stunning, results-driven email campaigns in minutes. And with Campaign Monitor, you have access to it all, along with award-winning support around the clock. It's beautiful email marketing done simply. [Learn More]( Here’s what else is happening Brexit extension: European Union leaders have agreed to [push the deadline for Britain’s departure from the bloc]( to Oct. 31, staving off a chaotic, no-deal exit that had been scheduled for today. Australia: Prime Minister Scott Morrison [declared a federal election for May 18]( kicking off a short campaign in a country wrestling with issues such as climate change and how to contend with China’s reach. Terrorism trials: U.S. prosecutors have made a renewed effort to [charge three prisoners at the Guantánamo Bay prison]( including a captive known as Hambali, with conspiring in two deadly terrorist bombings in Indonesia in 2002 and 2003. Luxury stores at a shopping area in Chongqing, China. Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times Snapshot: Above, Chongqing, a sprawling metropolis in southwestern China where, our Shanghai bureau chief writes, a younger generation has come to expect [both prosperity and personal fulfillment](. Geoffrey Rush: The actor [won a defamation case]( against the parent company of a tabloid newspaper in Sydney that published articles accusing him of sexual harassment. Space travel: NASA scientists compared the astronaut Scott Kelly to his earthbound twin, Mark. The results hint at [what humans will have to endure on long journeys through space](. Morocco: The Marathon des Sables, a 140.7-mile race across the Sahara, is for people — but try telling that to [Cactus, the dog that loves to run](. From The Times: After a recent article about the gender imbalance in domestic work in Japan, we asked readers to share their experiences. Several mothers and fathers [shared their tips for a more equitable relationship](. What we’re reading: [This excoriating essay in The Atlantic](. “The writer, Caitlin Flanagan, was once an unhappy college counselor at a private school in Los Angeles,” says Lynda Richardson, an editor for Travel. “She’s uniquely equipped to dissect the parental behavior in the college cheating scandal. Entitlement doesn’t even begin to cover what she finds in the court documents.” ADVERTISEMENT Now, a break from the news Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui. Cook: Have a birthday coming up? No? This [rainbow sprinkle cake]( doesn’t need an occasion. Watch: A boy discovers his superpowers in a scene from “Shazam!,” [with commentary from the film’s director, David Sandberg](. Listen: Tayla Parx is a 25-year-old former child actress who’s been helping pop stars, including Ariana Grande, refresh their sound. [Her own newly released debut album is “We Need to Talk.”]( Read: “The Heart of a Boy,” a collection of photographs celebrating boyhood by Kate T. Parker, debuts on our [paperback nonfiction best-seller list](. Smarter Living: Your environmental impact extends out your front door. Even if you don’t share the American passion for care-intensive grassy lawns, there are [ways to go greener](. Try low-maintenance ground cover and plants native to your area — but take care to avoid invasive ones. Whatever you plant, avoid pesticides and aerate the soil instead. And we have guidance on how to [go paperless on tax records]( — securely. And now for the Back Story on … Yuri’s Night celebrations Want to go to a party tonight? You could say yes, but you could also say “Poyekhali!” (poe-YEK-hoe-lee). That’s “Let’s go!” in Russian. That’s what the cosmonaut [Yuri Gagarin radioed to controllers]( during liftoff for the world’s first manned spaceflight, 58 years ago today. The term will be bandied around the world this evening, in Yuri’s Night celebrations. Attendees donned tinfoil hats at a Yuri’s Night event last year in Washington. Amy Lombard for The New York Times The Soviet Union commemorated the flight by establishing Cosmonautics Day, which has been celebrated since with parades and space-themed events. The hipper Yuri’s Night began in the U.S. in 2000, with raves and parties for scientists. It caught on. The crew of the International Space Station sometimes sends greetings. Parties are [planned]( on (at least) five continents, including at a research station in Antarctica. Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, a writer, public speaker and spaceflight proponent who founded Yuri’s Night with her husband, [urges partyers to]( “have a beer with a rocket scientist.” That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. (Or, for the Yuri’s Nighters among you: Do svidaniya!) — Stephen Thank you To Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and James K. Williamson for the break from the news. Andrew Kramer, our Moscow correspondent, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing+pm@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback&te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_MBAE_p_20190411§ion=endNote;section=endNote). P.S. • We’re listening to “[The Daily]( The latest episode is about Israel’s election. • Here’s the latest [mini crossword puzzle]( and a clue: Swirl of water (4 letters). [You can find all our puzzles here](. • Dennis Overbye, who writes about the cosmos for The New York Times, answered readers questions on black holes and his life as a science reporter [on Reddit](. Were you sent this briefing by a friend? [Sign up here]( to get the Morning Briefing. [Today's Front Page]( [nytimes.com]( [Subscribe to The Times]( You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing newsletter. Want to change the time you receive your briefing? Click the time zone more relevant to you: [New York]( [London]( [Sydney]( [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2019 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018 ADVERTISEMENT