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Julian Assange Is Released From Prison After A US Plea Deal

The negotiations will be finalized in a US court in the North Mariana Islands on June 26.

Published

6 months ago

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julian assange is released from prison after a us plea deal

Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder and former editor-in-chief, has been released from prison in the UK after agreeing to plead guilty to violating the US Espionage Act.

The WikiLeaks account on X, formerly Twitter, revealed the news after Assange was granted bail by the High Court in London. It also tweeted a video appearing to show Assange at London’s Stansted airport boarding a plane.

The controversial figure is expected to appear in a US courtroom in the Northern Mariana Islands on June 26 to finalize his plea deal with the US Justice Department. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 62 months, but as Assange has already spent over five years in a UK prison, he won’t be incarcerated in the US and will instead return to Australia — his country of citizenship — straight after legal proceedings.

Assange was editor-in-chief of the WikiLeaks website when it published classified information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, uncovered by whistleblower Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence officer. By 2010, Sweden had issued an arrest warrant for Assange over sexual assault allegations by two women.

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After a warrant was issued for his arrest, Julian Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He lived there for seven years until being evicted for “discourteous and aggressive behavior,” at which point he was arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police on behalf of the US government.

In WikiLeaks’ announcement of Assange’s release, it stated that he had left Belmarsh maximum security prison “after having spent 1,901 days there”. The organization added that the “global campaign” by “press freedom campaigners, legislators, and leaders from across the political spectrum” allowed “a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice” that led to the successful plea deal.

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UAE Prepares To Launch Two Satellites: Thuraya-2 And MBZ-SAT

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council yesterday.

Published

5 days ago

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December 17, 2024

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uae prepares to launch two satellites thuraya-2 and mbz-sat

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council in Dubai on December 16, 2024. The session highlighted the UAE’s ambitious space plans and took stock of the sector’s economic progress.

The council emphasized the growing role of private companies in advancing space technologies, noting that their contributions are now equal to that of the public sector. Members also praised initiatives like the Space Economic Zones Programme, which are designed to fuel innovation and investment in the space industry.

Discussing the UAE’s space journey, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum remarked, “The national space sector continues to grow and advance, and we take immense pride in the remarkable achievements we have accomplished over the years”.

Sheikh Hamdan also received updates on two upcoming satellite projects: Thuraya-2 and MBZ-SAT. Thuraya-2, developed by Space42, is slated for launch this December. Meanwhile, the MBZ-SAT, created by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), will soon follow. MBRSC, a major driver of the UAE National Space Programme, continues to lead the nation’s space-related developments.

Space42 took the opportunity to showcase its advancements, including ongoing collaborations between public and private entities. The company also outlined strategies to promote innovation, boost revenue streams, and create new opportunities for growth in the sector.

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The UAE’s current projects build on a growing legacy of space exploration. Back in 2020, the nation made headlines with its Mars mission, successfully sending a probe into the planet’s orbit in 2021. This mission, which is now in its second phase as of June 2024, has been collecting critical data to develop a comprehensive diurnal image of Mars.

The UAE also ventured into lunar exploration with an unmanned mission aimed at studying untouched regions of the Moon’s surface. While the probe ultimately crashed during its landing attempt after communication was lost seconds before touchdown, the effort represented a significant step in the country’s exploration ambitions.

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