Julian Assange’s wife urges Biden to ‘do right thing’ as Australian PM says ‘enough is enough’
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 has said he is “considering” a request from Australia, where Assange is from, to drop the prosecution and allow the WikiLeaks founder to return to his country.
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Biden ‘considering’ dropping Assange prosecution
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an “encouraging statement”.
“I believe this must be brought to a conclusion and that Mr Assange has already paid a significant price and enough is enough,” said Mr Albanese on Thursday.
“There’s nothing to be gained by Mr Assange’s continued incarceration, in my very strong view, and I’ve put that as the view of the Australian government.”
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‘Assange already paid significant price’ says Australian PM
Assange‘s lawyer also called Mr Biden’s remarks “encouraging”, while Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, described them as “significant”.
Speaking to Sky News from Melbourne, Mr Shipton said: “This is a controversial prosecution and I think something that Joe Biden could easily get rid of in an election year.”
He added: “This is seen as a complete scandal around the world. It’s not popular with the electorates in any of the countries, and it could easily be brought to an end.”
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Assange’s brother calls for release
Assange, 52, faces prosecution in the US over an alleged conspiracy, nearly a decade and a half ago, to obtain and disclose national defence information.
It followed the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
After Britain eventually approved his extradition, Assange’s lawyers in February launched a final bid to block it in the English courts.
His extradition was put on hold in March after the High Court said it wanted more assurances he would not face the death penalty.
A further hearing is due in May.
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Stella Assange spoke to Sky’s Yalda Hakim in March
WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson, who visited Assange at London’s Belmarsh prison on Thursday, said it was “not too late” to stop the extradition.
After their meeting, he told Sky News that Assange was “delighted” by President Biden’s comments, believing his remarks to be a “positive step”.
The UK government has said Mr Biden’s comments aren’t enough for it to act.
Mr Hrafnsson said he assumes the UK government will “knock on the door” of President Biden for clarity.
“The UK government justifiably wants a definition,” he said.
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Assange ‘delighted’ by Biden remarks
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It comes as supporters prepare to mark five years since Assange was taken to Belmarsh prison, having been dragged out of his refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy.
Events will be held around the world on Thursday as they continue to campaign for his release.
Australian authorities say there is a disconnect between America’s treatment of Assange and US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
The US accuses Assange of encouraging and helping Manning to steal diplomatic cables and military files which were then published by WikiLeaks, allegedly putting American agents’ lives at risk.
Read more on Sky News:
Stella Assange: ‘It’s not safe to send Julian to US’
Assange ‘created grave risk to US agents’
Assange evaded arrest for seven years by living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London
Manning was sentenced to 35 years but Barack Obama cut it to seven years, allowing her to be released in 2017.
Assange’s supporters insist he is a journalist who exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest, and that he is protected by the First Amendment.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
Read more:
Sisters killed in Texas flooding found holding hands
Why did deadly Texas floods catch people by surprise?
Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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