Julian Assange’s wife has called on Joe Biden to “do the right thing” and “drop the charges” as Thursday marks the fifth anniversary of her husband’s imprisonment.
The US president said on Wednesday he is “considering” a request from Australia, where Assange is from, to drop the prosecution and allow the WikiLeaks founder’s return to his native country.
Mr Biden’s remarks were welcomed as “encouraging” by Mr Assange‘s lawyer, while WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said it is “not too late” for the president to stop the extradition.
It comes as Mr Assange’s supporters around the world prepare to mark five years since he was taken to Belmarsh prison in London, having been dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy, where he had been staying.
Events will be held around the world on Thursday as supporters continue to campaign for his release.
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0:32
Biden ‘considering’ dropping Assange prosecution
The 52-year-old faces prosecution in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
This followed the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
After Britain gave the go-ahead for his extradition last year, Mr Assange’s lawyers in February launched a final attempt in the English courts to challenge that decision.
Image: Julian Assange
Mr Assange’s extradition was put on hold in March after London’s High Court said the US must provide assurances he would not face the death penalty.
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A further hearing in the case is due to be held in May.
What does Australia argue?
Australia argues there is a disconnect between the US treatment of Assange and US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
The US accuses Mr Assange of encouraging and helping Ms Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files which were then published by WikiLeaks, allegedly putting lives at risk.
Ms Manning was sentenced to 35 years but her sentence was commuted by former US President Barack Obama to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017.
Mr Assange’s supporters say he is a journalist protected by the First Amendment who exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest.
In any other government, at any other time, political expediency would have demanded his immediate sacking.
To have shared sensitive military information on a group chat is a most reckless error of judgement.
Bad enough that the information reached the inbox of a US journalist – who knows who else might have accessed the information in what is a commercially available app? China, Russia? Iran, the very country that backs the Houthi rebels who were under attack?
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Initially, Donald Trump defended Waltz as a “good man” who had “learned a lesson”. The president will have known, though, that he’s a man who has fundamentally weakened him.
Waltz’s mistake put the lives of US service personnel at risk and called into question the credibility of his ultimate boss.
The emoji-laden group chat read like the stuff of excited youngsters breathlessly sharing gossip.
It was recklessness over responsibility at the heart of government, and it reflected on the commander-in-chief and his judgement in appointing Waltz in the first place.
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1:50
‘Nobody was texting war plans’ – Hegseth
To keep him in post for weeks following the scandal looked like an acceptance, of sorts, and it didn’t look good. If there are questions about the circumstances surrounding Waltz, there are, too, about Trump’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth was also part of the Signalgate group chat and more.
The US Treasury has announced it has agreed to establish an American-Ukrainian reconstruction investment fund.
For Ukraine, the economic deal was seen as possibly key to ensuring its access to future US military aid in its war against Russia.
President Trump had previously called for Kyiv to compensate Washington for billions of dollars in assistance to help repel the Kremlin’s forces.
A senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday the US will make “direct financial contributions” to the fund and “may also provide new assistance” such as air defence systems for Ukraine.
In return the US is set to get preferential access any new deals concerning Ukraine’s mineral resources.
Image: President Trump and President Zelenskyy met before the Pope’s funeral last weekend. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
The US Treasury said “in recognition of the significant financial and material support” the US has provided to the “defence of Ukraine… this economic partnership positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to… accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery”.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said: “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.”
He also said “this partnership allows the US to invest alongside Ukraine, to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets, mobilise American talent, capital and governance standards that will improve Ukraine’s investment climate and accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery”.
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Donald Trump indicated in February he wanted access to Ukraine’s rare earth materials, describing it as reimbursement for the billions of dollars in aid the US has given to Kyiv.
But talks stalled after a heated Oval Office meeting between him and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and reaching an agreement since then has proven difficult amid strained relations between Washington and Kyiv.
Trump is closer to ending Ukraine war than ever before
They are calling this a “reconstruction investment fund” but it gives the US access to things like graphite, aluminium, oil and gas.
The White House has confirmed this is indeed the oft-referenced “minerals deal”, and it will pay dividends in various ways.
Economically it allows the US to say they are clawing back the billions of dollars it has offered in military aid to Ukraine.
Politically, by having an investment on the ground, it allows Donald Trump to claim he’s giving Volodymyr Zelenskyy the security guarantees he’s sought for so long.
It is the latest chapter in a remarkable story.
The jaw-dropping showdown between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the end of February, when the US was seemingly suggesting Ukraine was somehow responsible for the Russian invasion, redefined old allegiances in real time before our very eyes, to the shock of other world leaders.
Then last weekend, we saw the two men again seated together just feet apart at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome at the funeral of Pope Francis, closing the gap both literally and politically.
Mr Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office. On his 101st day, he’s closer to doing that than he ever has been before.
Why is US interested in Ukraine’s raw materials?
The US is seeking access to over 20 raw materials seen as strategically critical to its interests, including some non-minerals such as oil and natural gas.
Among them are Ukraine’s deposits of titanium, which is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, and uranium, that is used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons.
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3:58
Trump and Zelenskyy’s body language analysed
Ukraine also has lithium, graphite and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said she had signed the agreement in Washington DC to create the investment fund.
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She wrote on X: “Together with the United States, we are creating the fund that will attract global investment into our country.
“Its implementation allows both countries to expand their economic potential through equal cooperation and investment.
“The United States will contribute to the fund. In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide new assistance – for example air defence systems for Ukraine.”
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The announcement comes as the Trump administration is pushing to stop the war, which erupted in February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin backs calls for a ceasefire before peace negotiations, “but before it’s done, it’s necessary to answer a few questions and sort out a few nuances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Mr Putin is also ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions to seek a peace deal, he added.
Donald Trump has celebrated the 100th day of his second term with a campaign-style rally in Michigan.
During his 90-minute speech the US president mocked Joe Biden, falsely claimed he won the 2020 presidential election and defended his decision to impose tariffs on countries around the world.
Speaking in front of electronic screens reading “100 days of greatness”, Mr Trump attacked “radical left lunatics”, briefly took on a heckler and boasted about his administration’s “mass deportation” efforts.
“Removing the invaders is not just a campaign pledge,” he said. “It’s my solemn duty as commander-in-chief. I have an obligation to save our country.”
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He played a video of migrants his administration claims are gang members arriving at a notorious prison in El Salvador, with those in the crowd cheering the images of deportees having their heads shaved.
During his speech, during which he called up several of his top team to the stage, Mr Trump claimed his administration has delivered “most profound change in Washington in nearly 100 years”.
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3:04
100 days of Donald Trump
Mr Trump also briefly touched on tariffs, saying China, which is facing tariffs of 145%, “has taken more jobs from us than any country has ever taken from another country”.
Image: Pic: AP
But he said his tariffs did not mean Beijing and Washington cannot “get along” and said he thought a trade deal with China was near, adding: “But it’s going to be a fair deal.”
“I think it’s going to work out,” he says. “They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. But it’s going to be a fair deal.”
Image: Donald Trump speaking in Michigan. Pic: AP
Image: Mr Trump dances at the end of his rally. Pic: Reuters
He claimed his administration had “already ended inflation”, but last month the Bureau of Labor Statistics said while inflation slowed in March over the past year, it had in fact risen 2.4%.
Mr Trump, who has frequently criticised Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell in recent weeks, said: “Interest rates came down, despite the fact that I have a Fed person who’s not really doing a good job, but I won’t say that. I want to be very nice. I want to be very nice and respectful to the Fed.
“You’re not supposed to criticise the Fed. You’re supposed to let him do his own thing. But I know much more than he does about interest rates, believe me.”
Mr Trump also defended his administration’s steep tariffs on cars and car parts, hours after he signed an executive order aimed at easing the impact of his tariffs on US carmakers.
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“We’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” Mr Trump said.
He later added: “We’ve just gotten started. You haven’t even seen anything yet.”