WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrived in Canberra on Wednesday (June 26) after a hearing on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan. He pleaded guilty to violating U.S. espionage law in a deal that allowed him to head straight home to Australia.

Canberra

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked free from a court on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law in a deal that allowed him to head straight home to Australia.

Julian Assange freed

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has returned to Australia following a guilty plea to violating U.S. espionage law. He arrived in Canberra after a hearing in Saipan, a U.S. Pacific island territory, where he concluded a 14-year battle to avoid imprisonment in the United States. His wife, Stella, lauded the collective efforts of supporters and requested privacy as Assange recuperates.

At the hearing, Assange admitted to conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents, acknowledging that while he believed his actions were protected under the First Amendment, they were indeed a violation of the espionage statute. Washington contends that the release of these documents endangered lives. Assange was released due to the years he spent in a British prison, where he had been fighting extradition to the U.S.

Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson expressed concern over the implications of Assange's prosecution, suggesting it criminalizes journalism and sets a concerning precedent for the media. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has long advocated for Assange's freedom, spoke with him and commended the Australian government's efforts in securing his release.



Assange arrives in Australia after guilty plea

Arriving back home in Australia to applause in the open arms of his wife, Julian Assange touched down in Canberra on Wednesday after pleading guilty to violating US espionage law. After 14 years, his battle to avoid prison in the United States has concluded in a court on the remote US territory of Saipan just hours earlier. His wife Stella spoke with reporters. It took millions of people. It took people working behind the scenes, people protesting on the streets for days and weeks and months and years. And we achieved it. He needs to recuperate and this is a process. I ask you please to give us space, to give us privacy, to find our place, to let our family be a family before he can speak again at a time of his choosing. She hoped one day Assange would be pardoned. In 2010, the group he founded, Wikileaks, released tens of thousands of classified US military files detailing the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with thousands of diplomatic cables. In the three-hour hearing in Saipan, Assange pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defence documents. Assange told the court, Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information, and that I believed the First Amendment protected that activity, but I accept that it was a violation of the espionage statute. Washington has said the release of the secret documents put lives in danger. His guilty plea was accepted and he was released due to the years he spent in one of Britain's toughest prisons, battling extradition to the US. Prior to that, Assange lived for seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as he also fought sex crimes accusations in Sweden. Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson said his case puts the media under threat. This is the criminalisation of journalism, and while the plea deal does not set a judicial precedent, it's not a court decision, the prosecution itself sets a precedent that can be used against the rest of the media. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has lobbied for years to free Assange, spoke with him via phone. He was very generous in his praise of the Australian government's efforts. The Australian government stands up for Australian citizens. That's what we do. For more UN videos visit www.un.org

A hardline protege of Iran's supreme leader and a relative moderate are to face each other in a run-off presidential election. Both are loyalists to the system and neither is expected to bring a major shift, a lack of real choice that was reflected in a historically low turnout.

Tehran

Hardliner, moderate to stand in Iran Presidential run-off

The river Seine is still failing water quality tests one month before the Paris Olympics when it is scheduled to host the open-water swimming competition and the swimming leg of the triathlon, results showed Friday.

Paris

River Seine fails water quality tests ahead of Paris Olympics

Ahead of tomorrow's $300 energy rebate, the Australian government has rolled out a $200 million scheme implementing 420 community batteries nationally, as part of its clean energy transition. The coalition wants to add nuclear power by 2035 to increase supply

Federal government launches solar batteries nationwide

A day after his disastrous debate performance prompted calls for him to step aside, Joe Biden delivered a fiery campaign speech in North Carolina aggressively attacking Donald Trump while acknowledging his own age and shortcomings.

Washington

U.S. Presidential Election

Biden tries to shake off debate disaster

COVID-19 has infected hundreds of millions worldwide, yet some never get it. British researchers now think the reason could be a specific gene that gives the immune system advance warning to destroy viral invaders quickly.

London

Scientists discover why some never had COVID-19

The AFP has charged a West Australian man who allegedly established fake free WiFi access points across various airports, to capture personal data from unsuspecting victims who mistakenly connected to them.

Mascot

Man arrested over fake airport wifi scam

Israeli forces pressed their incursion deeper into two northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday (June 28), and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people.

Jerusalem

Israel-Gaza War

Israeli forces push deeper into southern, northern Gaza

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a 10-year security pact with the European Union in Brussels, the latest deal aimed at shoring up long-term support for Kyiv in its fight with Russia.

Brussels

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy signs Ukraine security accord with E.U.

European Union leaders agreed to nominate Ursula von der Leyen of Germany for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU's powerful executive body. At a summit in Brussels, the bloc's 27 national leaders also picked former Portuguese premier Antonio Costa as the future chair of their European Council meetings.

E.U. leaders pick von der Leyen for second term as Commission chief

The US Supreme Court cleared the way for women experiencing medical emergencies to obtain abortions in Idaho, but the ruling's narrow scope meant it was a muted victory for reproductive rights activists. The decision comes two years after the conservative-majority bench dismantled the nationwide right to terminate a pregnancy, making it a pivotal issue in November's presidential election.

Idaho

U.S. Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho

President Joe Biden delivered a shaky, halting performance while his Republican rival Donald Trump battered him with a series of often false attacks at their debate, as the two oldest presidential candidates ever exchanged personal insults ahead of the November election.

Biden-Trump debate

Biden struggles, Trump spouts falsehoods in debate

Social media platform bosses have been grilled by a Senate Committee over its roles and responsibilities to Australian society. Facebook defended its decision to stop sharing mainstream media news.

Facebook defends ending news deals

Palestinian refugees in the West Bank city of Jenin are bracing for more Israeli raids days after Israeli soldiers strapped an injured Palestinian to the hood of a military vehicle, triggering international anger. Israel called the man a suspected militant, but also said its soldiers violated protocol.

Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp brace for more IDF raids

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is confident her party will win an absolute majority in parliament, form a government and impose limits on what President Emmanuel Macron can do to support Ukraine, she said days before voting starts.

France's Le Pen expects clear far-right win and power over Macron

Julian Assange spent his first night in 14 years as a free man back at home in Australia as the conservative opposition on Thursday cautioned the government against hailing the WikiLeaks founder as a hero.

Assange not 'a hero', says Opposition

Bolivia's army chief was arrested after deploying soldiers and tanks to government buildings, which President Luis Arce called an attempted coup. Surrounded by soldiers and tanks, the dismissed army chief General Juan Jose Zuniga claimed the armed forces aimed to restructure democracy.

Sucre

Bolivian army chief arrested for alleged coup

Kenyan police fired teargas at dozens of protesters as demonstrations continued across the country on Thursday (June 27), albeit at a smaller scale than before Kenyan President William Ruto promised to scrap a controversial finance bill.

Nairobi

Kenya protests continue after president's tax climbdown

Bolivian armed forces pulled back from the presidential palace in La Paz and a general was arrested after President Luis Arce slammed a "coup" attempt against the government and called for international support.

La Paz

Bolivia coup fails, top general arrested

The United States has stressed that its temporary aid pier in Gaza was not used in the Israeli captive rescue operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza that killed more than 270 people. The Pentagon said that reports linking the pier to Saturday’s Israeli assault that resulted in the freeing of four captives held by Hamas are “inaccurate”.

Sderot

U.S. investigates reasons behind Gaza pier failure

British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak take part in BBC’s Prime Ministerial Debate, in Nottingham, Britain.

Nottingham

Sunak and Starmer clash in final UK TV debate

American journalist Evan Gershkovich's secret trial on charges of espionage began Wednesday (June 26) in the eastern Russian city of Yekaterinburg, where he was initially arrested 15 months ago. Gershkovich appeared in a courtroom's glass cage before the closed trial began with his head shaved.

Yekaterinburg

Secret Russian trial begins for U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich

Kenya's president said he would withdraw planned tax rises, bowing to pressure from protesters who had stormed parliament, launched demonstrations across the country and threatened more action this week. Medics said violent clashes between police and protesters had left at least 23 people dead across the country and scores wounded.

'I concede,' says Kenya’s Ruto as he backs down on tax hikes

Problems with Boeing's Starliner capsule have upended the original plans for the return of its two astronauts to Earth as teams look at last-minute fixes and tests for the mission that is crucial to the future of Boeing's space division.

Florida

Astronauts stuck aboard ISS as Starliner issues delay return

NATO has selected Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO's next boss, as the war in Ukraine rages on its doorstep and uncertainty hangs over the United States' future attitude to the transatlantic alliance. So, what does his appointment mean for NATO?

NATO appoints Dutch PM Rutte as next chief

Some Indians struggle to cope as Delhi suffers its worse heatwave in nearly 75 years. Hundreds have died. Hospitals are providing special services to cool people down and save their lives.

New Delhi

Hundreds die in Delhi heatwave

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday said it had issued arrest warrants for Russia's top army chief and ex-defense minister over strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that constituted alleged war crimes.

The Hague

ICC issues arrest warrants for two top Russian officials

Hundreds gathered at the East Hotel in Canberra to celebrate Julian Assange's release, celebrating what they refer to as his 'journalistic integrity' and 'exposure of war crimes'. Not everyone is happy, with some saying he put the lives of Australian defence personnel at risk.

Hundreds gather to show support for Julian Assange's release

Julian Assange is free and back on home soil in Australia after a 14-year battle. It is unknown if he will return to WikiLeaks; his wife Stella Assange says it will take time for him to heal from the ordeal and come to terms with his freedom. The Prime Minister was on the phone with him as soon as he landed.

SEE THE FULL STORY