WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrived in Australia on Wednesday after walking free from a court in a US jurisdiction in the Pacific following a deal that saw him plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defence information.
Assange's plane touched down in the country's capital Canberra in the final act of an extraordinary few days following his dramatic release from a London prison.
He was met by his wife Stella, children Gabriel and Max, father John and other members of his family.
Assange spent more than five years in a British high-security jail and seven years in asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy in London battling extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations and to the US, where he faced 18 criminal charges.
Those charges stemmed from WikiLeaks' release in 2010 of hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on Washington's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – one of the largest breaches of secret information in US history.
American prosecutors claimed that he conspired with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to obtain the records and published them on WikiLeaks without regard to national security, including by releasing the names of sources who provided information to US forces.
“Guilty to the information,” Assange said in the federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US jurisdiction in the Pacific, which was chosen because of Assange's unwillingness to go to the mainland and its closeness to Australia.
During the three-hour hearing in Saipan, Assange pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defence documents but said he had believed the US Constitution's First Amendment, which protects free speech, shielded his activities.
“Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information,” he told the court.
“I believed the First Amendment protected that activity but I accept that it was … a violation of the espionage statute.”
Chief US District Judge Ramona Manglona accepted his guilty plea, noting that the government indicated there was no personal victim from Assange's actions.
She wished Assange, who turns 53 on July 3, an early happy birthday as she released him due to time already served in a British jail.
While the US government viewed Assange as reckless for putting its agents at risk of harm by publishing their names, his supporters hailed him for promoting free speech and exposing war crimes.
“We firmly believe that Mr Assange never should have been charged under the Espionage Act and engaged in (an) exercise that journalists engage in every day,” his US lawyer, Barry Pollack, said outside the court.
“We know that they were newsworthy, we know that they were quoted by every major media outlet on the planet. And we know that they revealed important information – that is called journalism," he added.
“The United States prosecuted that, they exposed Mr Assange to 175 years in prison. That is what has a chilling effect. Today, a decision that it’s time for Mr Assange to go home, that doesn’t have the chilling effect.
“The chilling effect is the United States pursuing journalism as a crime. I hope this is the first and last time that ever occurs.”
He said WikiLeaks' work would continue.
Jennifer Robinson, legal counsel for Assange, described his release as a “historic day”, saying the case set “a dangerous precedent” which should be a “concern” to journalists and people around the world.
Assange arrived at court shortly before the hearing was to begin, wearing a dark suit with a tie loosened at the collar, and entered the building without taking questions.
He was released on Monday from a high-security British prison.
Julian Assange released - in pictures
Although the deal with prosecutors required him to admit guilt to a single felony count, it also permitted Assange to return to his native Australia without spending any time in a US prison.
He has been banned from entering America without prior approval as part of his plea deal.
Assange left the court through a throng of TV cameras and photographers without answering questions, then waved as he got into a white SUV.
He left Saipan on a private jet to the Australian capital Canberra, where he is expected to land around 7.30pm local time.
His wife, Stella, whom he met in the Ecuadorean embassy, wrote on X: “Julian walks out of Saipan federal court a free man. I can’t stop crying.”
“That Julian can come home to Australia and see his family regularly and do the ordinary things of life is a treasure,” his father, John Shipton, said in Canberra.
“The beauty of the ordinary is the essence of life.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he is “pleased” the WikiLeaks founder is on his way to “reunite with his family”.
In a statement he said: “Over the two years since we took office my government has engaged and advocated including at leader level to resolve this.”
Mr Albanese said the federal government will continue to provide Assange with consular assistance as he settles into life in Australia.
“This is what is standing up for Australians around the world look like,” Mr Albanese said.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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EA Sports FC 24
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
INFO
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
