WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hacking charge in the US after Ecuador ended his seven-year spell inside its London embassy as one of the world’s most famous fugitives.
Plain-clothed officers bundled Mr Assange into a waiting police van on Thursday. After a short stint at a London police station he was taken to Westminster Magistrates' Court.
If convicted of the US charges, he could be locked up for five years.
The controversial campaigner was found guilty of breaching bail conditions linked to alleged sexual crimes in 2010 in Sweden but faces further allegations from the US over his activities as head of the whistle-blowing organisation.
Mr Assange will next appear at the same court on May 2 on the extradition matter. He could face as long as 12 months in jail when he is sentenced at another court later for skipping bail.
Swedish investigators also said they would reopen their investigation into his rape case.
America wants to prosecute Mr Assange over leaks of sensitive documents linked to US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the release of diplomatic messages spanning decades.
He is accused of conspiring with former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning who leaked documents to the group, the US Justice Department said.
It claimed Mr Assange, 47, helped Manning crack the password of a Defence Department computer holding classified documents.
He has been taken into custody and will appear before a London court "as soon as is possible", police said.
A heavily bearded Mr Assange seemed to resist arrest as he was dragged down steps from the front door of the embassy by at least five people.
He was put into one of four police vans parked outside.
Mr Assange's successor as Editor-in-Chief at WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson, said it was a "sad day for journalism".
The 47-year-old first sought refuge inside the embassy in 2012 to avoid being arrested and extradited to Sweden where he faced sexual assault charges. The arrest came the day after WikiLeaks claimed that Mr Assange was being spied on from within the Ecuador's embassy in London.
In a statement, Ecuador’s president, Lenín Moreno, blamed Mr Assange's "discourteous and agressive behaviour" for ending the safe refuge for Mr Assange inside the embassy.
"Today, I announced that the discourteous and aggressive behaviour of Mr Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declarations of its allied organisations against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable."
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that President Moreno had taken a "courageous decision" since Julian Assange had been holding the Ecuadorian embassy "hostage in a situation that was absolutely intolerable for them".
The whistle-blowing organisation had warned last week that, after seven years inside the embassy, that Mr Assange could be evicted at any time. He has only been seen during brief appearances at the balcony of the embassy and in photos with guests who had visited him.
London's police said they were "invited into the embassy by the Ambassador" after the Ecuadorian government withdrew its asylum for the high-profile fugitive.
WikiLeaks said that Ecuador had "illegally terminated" Mr Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law".
The group has repeatedly expressed fears that he would be extradited to the United States if he was arrested in the UK.
Swedish authorities said on Thursday that it was "news to us" that he had been arrested but were "following developments".
A preliminary investigation into alleged rape was halted in 2017, but could be reopened with the time limit on prosecuting the crime ending in August 2020, according to a statement from the country's chief prosecutor Ingrid Isgren.
WikiLeaks claims that US President Donald Trump has put pressure on Ecuador to force Mr Assange out of the embassy. Prosecutors have reportedly been investigating him and WikiLeaks since 2011.
Mr Assange’s lawyers argue he would not receive a fair trial if he was sent to the US and could even be sentenced to death.
Foreign minister Alan Duncan said on Thursday that he would not be extradited if he faced the death penalty but welcomed the arrest following "extensive dialogue" between the two countries.
"It is our broad policy in all circumstances, so it equally applies to Julian Assange, that he will not be extradited if he is going to face the death penalty. So that will apply to him," he told Sky News. He said that it was for the courts to decide what would happen next.
Last week, Mr Moreno, accused WikiLeaks of hacking and publishing his personal data. WikiLeaks said Ecuador was using the alleged data hack as a pretext for trying to remove Mr Assange from the embassy.
The UK has kept a watch on the embassy for more than seven years to ensure he did not elude arrest in an operation that has cost millions of pounds.
Keeping a vigil at the embassy on Thursday, one of Mr Assange's supporters, Kyle Farren, 22, described the arrest as "a violation of human rights". "I'll be here as long as I need to be," he said.
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Henderson, Johnstone, Pickford, Ramsdale
Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Godfrey, James, Maguire, Mings, Shaw, Stones, Trippier, Walker, White
Midfielders Bellingham, Henderson, Lingard, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse
Forwards Calvert-Lewin, Foden, Grealish, Greenwood, Kane, Rashford, Saka, Sancho, Sterling, Watkins
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
