Plus: Navalny family told his body will not be released for two weeks, and how Russia rebranded Wagner in Africa
| | | | | | | Hello. My colleagues in London today are reporting on Julian Assange's two-day hearing in the UK. We explain why it could be the last resort for the Wikileaks founder to avoid extradition to the US. Lucy Williamson reports across Israel on the kibbutz evacuees who chose to move back to the villages destroyed by Hamas. We also have some stories on black holes and remote work. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Assange's last hope to avoid US extradition | | | | Press-freedom activists and Assange supporters gathered in front of the High Court on Tuesday. Credit: PA |
| | Julian Assange is beginning a last-ditch two-day hearing in London's High Court in a bid to avoid extradition to the US, where he faces charges of leaking military secrets. While Assange is not at the hearing, with lawyers saying he is unwell, his team will argue he should be allowed to appeal the 2022 British government extradition order. If their bid fails, he will have exhausted all UK appeal routes. His wife Stella told the BBC they could refer the case to the European Court of Human Rights. But such an appeal would be a "very tall order" for the court in Strasbourg, our correspondent Dominic Casciani writes. More than a hundred supporters have gathered at the court, arguing the case is about safeguarding free speech. The US "now criminalises investigative journalism", Mrs Assange said. US authorities charged Assange in 2019 with 18 offences including breaking into its military databases following publications on the alleged killing of civilians by US forces in Afghanistan. They argue his actions put lives in danger. | | • | Catch up: Today's hearing is the last stage of a complex legal saga. Here's our piece summing up the case, from the secrets revealed by Wikileaks to the latest judicial proceedings. | | • | More from Stella Assange: The Wikileaks founder's wife told the BBC he was "in a very difficult place" mentally and physically. "This case will determine if he lives or dies, essentially," she said. | | • | The latest: A lawyer for Julian Assange told judges he would want to argue in an appeal that Assange had been subject to a CIA plot to assassinate him while he was holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Follow live. |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | Alexei Navalny: The family of the late Russian opposition leader have reportedly been told his body will not be released for two weeks. His mother was informed it was being held for "chemical analysis", a representative for Navalny said. | | • | War in Gaza: The US has proposed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council, calling for a temporary ceasefire. However, Washington plans to veto another draft resolution that calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Nada Tawfik and James FitzGerald explain the nuances. | | • | Gargantuan black hole: The brightest object ever detected has been spotted in the distant Universe. J0529-4351 is a quasar, 500 trillion times more luminous than the Sun. Our science correspondent Jonathan Amos explains what that means. | | • | Shot in Spain: The body of a man found near Alicante is believed to be that of a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine last year. Ukrainian intelligence confirmed Maxim Kuzminov's death on Monday. | | • | Token of friendship: Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted a luxury Russian-made car to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The two countries have grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine, as Pyongyang is thought to be supplying weaponry to Russia. |
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| | AT THE SCENE | Israel | | 'Evacuating was a mistake' | | Residents in kibbutzim near Israel's borders with Gaza and Lebanon reflect on their evacuation, as a small number of Israelis return to live in the villages destroyed by Hamas' 7 October attack. | | | | Lucy Williamson, Middle East correspondent |
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| | Ayelet Kohn and Shachar Shnurman harvested the grapefruits this month - a defiant act of normality amid the burnt-out remains of their neighbours' homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Ayelet and Shachar are the first to move back. Kfar Aza has become a kind of museum - its burned and broken houses left frozen on the day of the attack, their entrances roped-off; debris and belongings scattered across the ground. "In the evening, it's very lonely," Ayelet says. "You used to see people walking along the road, coming in to say hello - obviously that's not happening now." |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | How Russia rebranded Wagner in Africa | | | | This banner in the Central African Republic reads: Russia is Wagner, we love Russia and we love Wagner. Credit: AFP |
| | The death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, following his attempt in June 2023 to march on Moscow with his Wagner mercenaries, could have put the group's African activities in jeopardy. But documents and analysis show the Russian government took over the business. Joe Inwood and Jake Tacchi lay out what "Wagner 2.0" looks like. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Command and control | | Opposition to remote or hybrid working is a sign of executive hubris. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | A pair of conjoined twins who have defied doctors' longevity expectations have just celebrated their seventh birthday. Marieme and Ndeye, who are thought to be Europe's only growing conjoined twins, arrived in the UK from Senegal in 2017 to receive treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital and now attend a mainstream school in south Wales. Hear their father reflect on their milestones. |
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– Jules |
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