https://www.scmp.com/rss/249769/feed The anti-secrecy international organisation was founded in 2006 by Australian Julian Assange. The non-profit group calls itself a media organisation and also acts as an online "drop box" for anonymous sources to leak information and documents to journalists. In 2010, WikiLeaks became more prominent after releasing the "Collateral Murder" video, which showed US Army helicopter firing on a group of mostly unarmed men, two of whom were journalists. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com On December 8, a “stunning rebel advance” took control of Damascus, ending the tenure of the al-Assad family who had ruled Syria for 50 years. In turn, then-president Bashar al-Assad fled the country for Russia, a long-time Syrian ally, with wife Asma and children Hafez, Zein and Karim. In the wake of the Assads’ fall from grace, multiple think pieces have been written about the couple and how they presented themselves and their vision for Syria when they first wed. A recent headline in The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3290479/meet-asma-al-assad-former-first-lady-went-being-syrias-princess-diana-lady-macbeth-after-supporting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3290479/meet-asma-al-assad-former-first-lady-went-being-syrias-princess-diana-lady-macbeth-after-supporting?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Dec 2024 11:00:14 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday that he was freed after years of incarceration because he “pled guilty to journalism”. Assange gave evidence of the impact of his detention and conviction on human rights to the legal affairs and human rights committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The Parliamentary Assembly includes parliamentarians from 46 European countries. “I am not free today because the system worked,” Assange said in his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3280673/julian-assange-says-he-pleaded-guilty-journalism-be-freed-uk-prison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3280673/julian-assange-says-he-pleaded-guilty-journalism-be-freed-uk-prison?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Oct 2024 08:01:35 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification By publishing classified US documents, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange did humanity a favour. Through the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, he exposed evidence of possible war crimes such as the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3268825/why-julian-assange-suffered-so-many-years-free-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3268825/why-julian-assange-suffered-so-many-years-free-world?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jul 2024 03:30:09 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is finally a free man, reuniting with his family in Australia last week after pleading guilty to violating US espionage law. He arrived by private jet at Canberra airport where his wife Stella Assange, members of the media and supporters awaited him as they cheered on in their droves, Reuters reported. Assange, who has been embroiled in a 14-year legal battle for his freedom, is considered by some a journalistic hero for exposing abuses by US armed forces in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3268843/who-are-julian-assanges-children-daniel-gabriel-and-max-wikileaks-founder-has-finally-reunited-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3268843/who-are-julian-assanges-children-daniel-gabriel-and-max-wikileaks-founder-has-finally-reunited-his?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:30:11 +0000 For many of us diehard journalists, Julian Assange’s release from jail this week might have reawakened the journalistic fire in our bellies. The WikiLeaks founder spent the last 12 years holed up in an embassy and a maximum-security prison for doing what journalists could only dream of – telling the truth by exposing the lies of governments, institutions, establishments and those in power. Washington has pursued the Australian since he released in 2010 classified documents that revealed US abuse... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3268292/assange-walks-free-multifaceted-threats-journalism-and-truth-are-bigger-ever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3268292/assange-walks-free-multifaceted-threats-journalism-and-truth-are-bigger-ever?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jun 2024 02:30:08 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is “rediscovering life” as he tastes freedom in Australia after a five-year stretch in a London high-security prison, his wife said on Thursday. The 52-year-old landed in Canberra the night before, hours after pleading guilty in a US Pacific island court to a single count of revealing military secrets. Under a plea deal, he was sentenced to time already served and allowed to walk free, ending a 14-year legal struggle with the US Department of Justice. But the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3268204/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-overjoyed-be-back-australia-wife-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3268204/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-overjoyed-be-back-australia-wife-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jun 2024 02:40:27 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange landed to an ecstatic welcome in Australia on Wednesday after pleading guilty to violating US espionage law in a deal that sets him free from a 14-year legal battle. Assange disembarked from a private jet at Canberra airport just after 7:30pm, waving to waiting media and cheering supporters before passionately kissing his wife, Stella, and lifting her off the ground. He embraced his father before entering the terminal building with his legal team. Assange has not... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3268055/julian-assange-freed-us-court-after-admitting-leaking-state-secrets-next-stop-australia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3268055/julian-assange-freed-us-court-after-admitting-leaking-state-secrets-next-stop-australia?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2024 02:27:31 +0000 Better known for its sandy beaches and Second World War wrecks, the tropical Pacific island of Saipan will soon host the final act of Julian Assange’s 14-year legal odyssey. Assange is en route to a courtroom on the island where he is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday to a single criminal charge in a plea deal that will see him walk free and return home to Australia. Where is Saipan? Saipan is the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), a US commonwealth in the western Pacific which... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3267976/why-julian-assange-flying-remote-pacific-island-saipan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3267976/why-julian-assange-flying-remote-pacific-island-saipan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2024 09:00:20 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reached a deal to plead guilty to one count of violating the US espionage law, prosecutors said in court papers on Monday. He is due to appear in a US federal court in the Northern Mariana Islands this week where he is expected to be sentenced to time served and allowed to return home to Australia. Following are some key events and details in Assange’s life: July 1971 Assange is born in Townsville, Australia, to parents involved in theatre. As a teenager, he... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3267952/timeline-wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-legal-battles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3267952/timeline-wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-legal-battles?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2024 07:24:45 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is due to plead guilty on Wednesday to violating US espionage law, in a deal that will end his imprisonment in Britain and allow him to return home to Australia, ending a 14-year legal odyssey. Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. The deal marks the end of a legal saga in which... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3267895/wikileaks-julian-assange-expected-plead-guilty-us-espionage-charge-document-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3267895/wikileaks-julian-assange-expected-plead-guilty-us-espionage-charge-document-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 23:43:11 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal against a UK court ruling that approved his extradition to the United States to face trial for breaking national security laws will begin on July 9, a judicial spokesman said on Tuesday. Assange, 52, won his bid to challenge the ruling last month, and the two-day hearing will now take place at the High Court in London next month. The Australian publisher is wanted by Washington for publishing hundreds of thousands of secret US documents from 2010 as head... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3266203/assanges-uk-appeal-against-us-extradition-begin-july-9?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3266203/assanges-uk-appeal-against-us-extradition-begin-july-9?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:53:11 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled on Monday – a decision that is likely to further drag out what has already been a long legal saga. High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson said Assange has grounds to challenge the United Kingdom’s government’s extradition order. Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3263398/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-can-appeal-extradition-order-us-london-court-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3263398/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-can-appeal-extradition-order-us-london-court-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 May 2024 12:08:03 +0000 US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he is considering a request from Australia to drop the decade-long US push to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing a trove of American classified documents. For years, Australia has called on the US to drop its prosecution against Assange, an Australian citizen who has fought US extradition efforts from prison in the UK. Asked about the request on Wednesday, as he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for an official... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3258564/joe-biden-says-considering-australias-request-drop-prosecution-wikileaks-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3258564/joe-biden-says-considering-australias-request-drop-prosecution-wikileaks-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2024 18:10:10 +0000 The global condemnation of Ecuador’s government for its decision to break into the Mexican embassy snowballed with more presidents and other leaders expressing disapproval, shock and dismay. The criticism came as Mexico’s ambassador and other personnel arrived in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon after departing Ecuador’s capital, Quito, on a commercial flight. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador severed diplomatic ties with Ecuador immediately after Friday’s raid, which international law... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3258163/international-leaders-condemn-ecuador-after-police-raid-mexican-embassy-quito?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3258163/international-leaders-condemn-ecuador-after-police-raid-mexican-embassy-quito?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Apr 2024 18:38:50 +0000 Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ son King Combs was spotted pacing outside his father’s LA mansion in late March. The video emerged in British media the day after his dad’s Los Angeles and Miami properties were raided by federal agents as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged sex trafficking. With Diddy now in the news non-stop since shocking allegations against him came to light – from his exes’ abuse claims to sexual assault – King’s choice of outfit has raised eyebrows: the 26-year-old decided to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3257748/what-exactly-illuminati-and-diddys-son-member-king-combs-was-just-seen-wearing-sweatpants-secret?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3257748/what-exactly-illuminati-and-diddys-son-member-king-combs-was-just-seen-wearing-sweatpants-secret?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Apr 2024 10:00:22 +0000 Russia called Britain’s judiciary a “farce” on Tuesday over its treatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who must wait weeks to learn if he can appeal against extradition to the United States. The 52-year-old, who has been held in a London prison since 2019, is wanted by the United States over his role in WikiLeaks’ publication of classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A British court ruled on Tuesday that Assange cannot be extradited to the United States on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3256851/russia-calls-uk-courts-farce-over-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-extradition-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3256851/russia-calls-uk-courts-farce-over-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-extradition-case?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Mar 2024 23:23:58 +0000 Two UK judges on Tuesday delayed a decision on whether to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, giving Washington three weeks to provide “assurances” in the case. The US wants the 52-year-old Australian citizen to stand trial there for WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic files in 2010 relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Attempting to halt the process, he had suffered a string of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3256813/uk-court-delays-decision-wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-last-ditch-extradition-appeal-bid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3256813/uk-court-delays-decision-wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-last-ditch-extradition-appeal-bid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:29:55 +0000 A London court is expected to rule whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gets one final appeal in England to challenge extradition to the United States on espionage charges. Two judges are scheduled to issue a judgment on Tuesday morning in the High Court that could put an end to Assange’s long legal saga – or extend it further. If he fails in winning the right to appeal, his legal team fears he could be swiftly sent to the US to face charges, though they are likely to ask the European Court... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3256692/uk-court-rule-whether-wikileaks-assange-can-challenge-extradition-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3256692/uk-court-rule-whether-wikileaks-assange-can-challenge-extradition-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Mar 2024 18:18:06 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was absent from a London court due to illness Tuesday, as his lawyers launched what is likely to be a last bid to appeal against his extradition to the United States to face espionage charges. Washington indicted the Australian multiple times between 2018 and 2020 over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret military and diplomatic files on the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the first of two days of evidence before two High Court judges, the 52-year-old’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3252617/assange-targeted-us-trump-over-wikileaks-exposures-lawyer-claims-uk-extradition-appeal-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3252617/assange-targeted-us-trump-over-wikileaks-exposures-lawyer-claims-uk-extradition-appeal-court?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Feb 2024 14:59:33 +0000 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other federal lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to call on the United States and Britain to release Julian Assange ahead of a hearing next week that will determine his chances of an appeal against extradition to the US. The move has proved significant after an initial reluctance by Albanese to push Washington harder in dropping the pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder, who is facing espionage charges and more than 100 years in prison. US Secretary of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3252092/albanese-makes-firmest-call-yet-julian-assanges-freedom-case-marks-rare-crack-australia-us-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3252092/albanese-makes-firmest-call-yet-julian-assanges-freedom-case-marks-rare-crack-australia-us-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Feb 2024 10:26:08 +0000 A former CIA programmer was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday for leaking the US spy agency’s most valuable hacking tools to WikiLeaks. Joshua Schulte, 35, was found guilty in 2022 of espionage and other charges in what the CIA called a “digital Pearl Harbour” – the largest data breach in the history of the intelligence agency. “Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the most brazen, heinous crimes of espionage in American history,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3250644/40-years-prison-ex-cia-coder-joshua-schulte-who-leaked-hacking-tools-wikileaks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3250644/40-years-prison-ex-cia-coder-joshua-schulte-who-leaked-hacking-tools-wikileaks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Feb 2024 23:36:10 +0000 China is criticised in the West for suppressing democratic rights in Hong Kong, restricting the freedoms of speech and public protest, and arresting and imprisoning “dissident” political activists. Yet Hong Kong’s situation resembles that faced by many Western countries – the political tensions that give rise to national security threats are a product of complex internal factors. The sensible option is to leave it to the national authorities in all but a very few special human rights cases. For... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241141/human-rights-vs-national-security-whether-its-hong-kong-us-or-germany-all-must-find-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241141/human-rights-vs-national-security-whether-its-hong-kong-us-or-germany-all-must-find-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Nov 2023 01:30:14 +0000 Anthony Albanese only became Australia’s prime minister in May last year but has already had very extensive contact with US President Joe Biden. According to the prime minister’s office, Albanese has had four formal meetings with him, plus two Quad (US, Japan, Australia and India) meetings, and several other less formal discussions. They were due to rub shoulders again over the weekend, at the G20 in India, and Biden will also host Albanese for a state visit to Washington next month. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3233940/can-australia-persuade-us-drop-bid-extradite-wikileaks-founder-assange?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3233940/can-australia-persuade-us-drop-bid-extradite-wikileaks-founder-assange?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Sep 2023 21:00:14 +0000 Australian senators have piled on the criticism of the United States following its latest refusal to release Julian Assange, but experts say their censure will amount to little as Canberra seeks deeper relations with Washington. Some lawmakers and commentators are agitated that – despite having offered to house more American troops – Canberra was unable to leverage its relationship with Washington at last weekend’s Australia–US ministerial consultations (AUSMIN) to end Assange’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3230253/us-australia-ties-deepen-are-calls-free-assange-just-mandatory-rhetoric?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3230253/us-australia-ties-deepen-are-calls-free-assange-just-mandatory-rhetoric?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Aug 2023 01:30:45 +0000 Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Saturday the long-running case of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had gone on too long and needs to be completed. Assange, an Australian citizen being held in Britain, is battling extradition to the United States, where he is wanted on 18 charges over the release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables in 2010. At a press conference in Brisbane after an Australia-US meeting, Wong said Canberra had made it clear that... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3229357/australias-penny-wong-urges-julian-assange-wikileaks-case-conclude-says-it-has-dragged-too-long?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3229357/australias-penny-wong-urges-julian-assange-wikileaks-case-conclude-says-it-has-dragged-too-long?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jul 2023 09:15:19 +0000 Could Australia’s position as a key ally, if not the key player, in America’s strategy to contain China give Canberra the leverage to end Washington’s pursuit of the Australian publisher and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange? Assange has been detained since 2019, after being ejected from the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he was granted asylum in 2012. The US is seeking to extradite Assange over the publication in 2010 and 2011 by WikiLeaks of military and security documents which revealed... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221454/key-us-ally-australia-has-right-ask-biden-free-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221454/key-us-ally-australia-has-right-ask-biden-free-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 May 2023 08:30:13 +0000 On July 1, 2022, President Xi Jinping, on the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, put people’s minds to rest over 2047 (when the Basic Law’s “50 years unchanged” promise is due to expire). Having highlighted how the “judiciary exercises judicial power independently” and emphasised Beijing’s support for the city “retaining its common law system”, he said the “one country, two systems” principle “must be adhered to over the long run”. This was hugely reassuring, given... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221035/hong-kongs-judges-handling-national-security-cases-are-beyond-reproach-and-us-sanctions-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221035/hong-kongs-judges-handling-national-security-cases-are-beyond-reproach-and-us-sanctions-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 May 2023 22:15:08 +0000 A cross-party delegation of Australian lawmakers said on Tuesday they met US ambassador Caroline Kennedy, urging her to help drop the pending extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and allow him to return to Australia. The “Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group” said it had informed the US envoy of “the widespread concern in Australia” about the continued detention of Assange, an Australian citizen. The meeting comes ahead of US President Joe Biden’s scheduled visit to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3219962/australia-presses-us-drop-extradition-case-and-free-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3219962/australia-presses-us-drop-extradition-case-and-free-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 May 2023 13:21:09 +0000 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday he was frustrated for not yet finding a diplomatic fix over the continued detention of Julian Assange and that he remained concerned about the mental health of the WikiLeaks’ founder. “I know it’s frustrating, I share the frustration,” Albanese told ABC television from London where Assange is being held pending a US extradition case. “I can’t do more than make very clear what my position is and the US administration is certainly very... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3219483/australias-albanese-says-no-point-us-demanding-julian-assanges-extradition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3219483/australias-albanese-says-no-point-us-demanding-julian-assanges-extradition?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 May 2023 06:23:36 +0000 On the seismic scale of intelligence leaks, the latest from the Pentagon appears to be much less significant and damaging than those released by Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks in the past decade. It is still extremely embarrassing for Washington. A 21-year-old Air National Guardsman has been arrested. He was involved in a social media platform used by only dozens of people, where the documents first surfaced. Despite the arrest, it’s still unclear whether the leak was a hack or a disinformation... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217155/us-intelligence-fiasco-wake-call-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217155/us-intelligence-fiasco-wake-call-all?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:12:53 +0000 A 21-year-old member of the US Air Force National Guard suspected of leaking highly classified military intelligence records online made his initial appearance before a federal judge in Boston on Friday. Jack Douglas Teixeira of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was arrested by the FBI at his home on Thursday without incident. The leaked classified documents at the heart of the investigation were posted online on a social media website in March and perhaps earlier, but news of their existence did... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3217144/man-suspected-leaking-us-intelligence-documents-appears-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3217144/man-suspected-leaking-us-intelligence-documents-appears-court?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Apr 2023 15:42:00 +0000 Highly classified military and intelligence documents that appeared online on Friday, with details ranging from Ukraine’s air defences to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, have US officials scrambling to identify the leak’s source, with some Western security experts and US officials saying they suspected it could be someone from the United States. Officials say the breadth of topics addressed in the documents, which touch on the war in Ukraine, China, the Middle East and Africa, suggest they were... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3216500/us-officials-searching-source-intelligence-leak-suspect-american-responsible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3216500/us-officials-searching-source-intelligence-leak-suspect-american-responsible?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Apr 2023 21:45:59 +0000 Several hundred supporters of jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Saturday launched a carnival-themed march through central London calling for his release as he risks extradition to the United States. Costumed activists took part wearing pigs’ heads, clowns’ noses and orange jumpsuits and carrying a coffin and lanterns decorated with slogans calling for Assange’s release. The march with the theme “darkness into light” was expected to end with a rally in Westminster in central London with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209911/hundreds-julian-assange-supporters-hold-london-carnival-against-extradition-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209911/hundreds-julian-assange-supporters-hold-london-carnival-against-extradition-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Feb 2023 19:20:41 +0000 While advocating for the release of her imprisoned friend, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, actress Pamela Anderson reportedly said Assange’s mother advised her to downplay her sexy image to be taken more seriously. Anderson became a close friend of Assange’s while he lived in political asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy in London and the actress recalled their visits, which included vegan meals, talks of the world, and some occasional “frisky” fun, according to her memoir Love, Pamela, an... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3208389/pamela-anderson-memoir-reveals-julian-assanges-mother-told-her-stop-posting-sexy-photos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3208389/pamela-anderson-memoir-reveals-julian-assanges-mother-told-her-stop-posting-sexy-photos?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jan 2023 19:26:54 +0000 As the person who dressed the Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood, who died on Thursday at the age of 81, was synonymous with 1970s punk rock, a rebelliousness that remained the hallmark of an unapologetically political designer who became one of British fashion’s biggest names. “Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better,” her fashion house said on Twitter. Climate change,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205001/vivienne-westwood-britains-provocative-dame-fashion-dies-81?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205001/vivienne-westwood-britains-provocative-dame-fashion-dies-81?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Dec 2022 22:22:42 +0000 Around a thousand people formed a human chain around the UK parliament in London on Saturday, demanding the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Australian-born publisher has been held in a high-security London prison since 2019, and is currently appealing against a decision to extradite him to the United States. He is wanted by US authorities to face trial for allegedly violating the US Espionage Act by publishing classified military and diplomatic files in 2010, related to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3195313/supporters-wikileaks-julian-assange-form-human-chain-around-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3195313/supporters-wikileaks-julian-assange-form-human-chain-around-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Oct 2022 16:36:11 +0000 UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Saturday that the potential extradition and prosecution of Julian Assange raised concerns for media freedom and could have a “chilling effect” on investigative journalism. Assange, who has been held in a high-security London prison since 2019, has filed an appeal against his extradition from Britain to the United States. The Australian is wanted to face trial for allegedly violating the US Espionage Act by publishing classified US military and diplomatic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190433/julian-assange-case-raises-media-freedom-concerns-says-un-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190433/julian-assange-case-raises-media-freedom-concerns-says-un-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2022 17:16:39 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. Bing Chiu (“It’s hard to talk about dreams now”, June 26) will undoubtedly agree that the largest democracy in the world is India. But this is how the Indian writer Khushwant Singh describes in his... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3184548/why-russia-no-hurry-replace-putin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3184548/why-russia-no-hurry-replace-putin?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Jul 2022 06:30:26 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, already ailing following a decade-long struggle for freedom, faces almost certain death if he is sent to a “penal hell hole” upon extradition to the United States, one of his staunchest supporters has said. John Pilger, the award-winning Australian filmmaker and journalist who has been a close confidante of Assange since 2010, said defeat for the 51-year-old in his battle in British courts against extradition could have far-reaching consequences for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3184682/wikileaks-julian-assange-will-die-if-extradited-us-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3184682/wikileaks-julian-assange-will-die-if-extradited-us-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jul 2022 02:15:23 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has appealed against the British government’s decision last month to order his extradition to the US. The appeal was filed on Friday at the High Court, the latest twist in a decade-long legal saga sparked by his website’s publication of classified US documents. No further details about the appeal were immediately available. Assange’s supporters staged protests before his 51st birthday this weekend, with his wife Stella Assange among people who gathered outside... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3183883/wikileaks-julian-assange-appeals-uk-court-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3183883/wikileaks-julian-assange-appeals-uk-court-against?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jul 2022 00:24:58 +0000 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday rejected calls for him to publicly demand the United States drop its prosecution of WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange. The Australian government has been under mounting pressure to intervene since the British government last week approved Assange’s extradition to the US on spying charges. Assange’s supporters and lawyers say his actions were protected by the US Constitution. Albanese, who came to power after elections a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3182319/australian-pm-albanese-should-demand-us-drops-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3182319/australian-pm-albanese-should-demand-us-drops-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jun 2022 03:07:14 +0000 As the top US State Department official decried China for committing “transnational repression”, her government has been engaged in arguably this century’s most infamous example of the practice: the persecution, sorry, prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. For Uzra Zeya, the undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, the timing is too embarrassing. British Home Secretary Priti Patel has just signed off on Assange’s extradition to the United States on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182297/case-julian-assange-permanent-stain-anglo-american-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182297/case-julian-assange-permanent-stain-anglo-american-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jun 2022 15:35:50 +0000 Britain’s government on Friday approved the extradition to the United States of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face trial over the publication of secret files relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Home Secretary Priti Patel’s interior ministry said Assange had 14 days to appeal the decision, which comes after a UK court issued a formal order clearing his removal. Assange’s supporters have held frequent rallies to protest the planned deportation. His wife, Stella, has pleaded for his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3182113/uk-approves-us-extradition-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3182113/uk-approves-us-extradition-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jun 2022 09:55:07 +0000 Stella Assange, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, urged the British government on Saturday not to sign his extradition order to the US, saying his fate will have repercussions throughout Europe. A UK court on Wednesday issued a formal order to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to face trial in the United States over the publication of secret files relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The final decision now rests with interior minister Priti Patel, although Assange could yet... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3175323/wife-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-urges-uk-block-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3175323/wife-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-urges-uk-block-his?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Apr 2022 18:58:50 +0000 A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britain’s interior minister for a decision, though the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal. The order, which brings and end to the years’-long extradition battle closer, comes after the UK Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that he could be extradited. District Judge Paul... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3174921/uk-court-formally-issues-order-extradite-julian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3174921/uk-court-formally-issues-order-extradite-julian?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Apr 2022 11:07:44 +0000 Julian Assange – the WikiLeaks founder and world’s most famous whistle-blower – married his long-term partner Stella Moris on Wednesday, March 23, in a low-key ceremony at London’s high-security Belmarsh prison. “I am very happy and very sad,” she told those gathered outside the prison afterwards. “I love Julian with all my heart, and I wish he were here. He’s the most amazing person in the world, and he should be free.” Assange has been held at Belmarsh since 2019 as the United States... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3171927/who-julian-assanges-new-wife-stella-moris-south-african?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3171927/who-julian-assanges-new-wife-stella-moris-south-african?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Mar 2022 14:31:44 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has wed his fiancée at a small ceremony in the London prison where he is held. Assange, 50, has been held in the high-security Belmarsh prison in southeast London since 2019 on a series of charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago. Supporters said Assange and Stella Moris were allowed four guests and two witnesses for Wednesday’s ceremony. Moris posed for photos with her and Assange’s two young sons... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3171609/wikileaks-julian-assange-weds-fiancee-stella-moris-london-prison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3171609/wikileaks-julian-assange-weds-fiancee-stella-moris-london-prison?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:36:53 +0000 Rumours are swirling that Grimes has been dating famous whistle-blower Chelsea Manning since her recent split from Elon Musk. Oh, and all of this just a week after the singer revealed that she and Musk recently welcomed a newborn baby via surrogate. According to media reports, Grimes and Manning have now become “serious” and may even be living together at Grimes’ home in Texas where she is currently raising her two children with Musk. Eagled eyed Grimes watchers will also have noticed the two... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3171007/move-over-elon-musk-meet-grimes-rumoured-new-transgender?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3171007/move-over-elon-musk-meet-grimes-rumoured-new-transgender?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Mar 2022 16:10:12 +0000 Julian Assange was on Monday denied permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court against moves to extradite him to the United States, where he could face a lifetime in prison. Washington wants to put the WikiLeaks founder on trial in connection with the publication of 500,000 secret military files relating to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He initially won a reprieve not to send him for trial on the grounds he was a suicide risk if he was kept in solitary confinement at a maximum... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3170456/wikileaks-julian-assange-denied-permission-appeal-us-extradition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3170456/wikileaks-julian-assange-denied-permission-appeal-us-extradition?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Mar 2022 17:58:06 +0000 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Monday given permission to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the United States. Washington wants to put the 50-year-old Australian on trial in connection with WikiLeaks’ publication of 500,000 secret military files relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The High Court in London in December overturned a lower court’s ruling not to send him to the United States on the grounds he would be a suicide risk. Lawyers for Assange then challenged... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3164565/wikileaks-assange-granted-appeal-uk-fight-extradition-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3164565/wikileaks-assange-granted-appeal-uk-fight-extradition-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jan 2022 11:55:30 +0000