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world news Diasabra 2 Juli 2022

Julian Assange appeals to UK court against extradition to US

(AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange To his supporters, Assange is a secrecy-busting
has appealed against the British's government journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing
decision last month to order his extradition to in Iraq and Afghanistan.
the U.S.
A British court ruled in April that Assange could be
The appeal was filed Friday at the High Court, the sent to face trial in the U.S., sending the case to the
latest twist in a decade-long legal saga sparked by U.K. government for a decision. Home Secretary
his website's publication of classified U.S. docu- Priti Patel signed an order on June 17 authorizing
ments. No further details about the appeal were Assange's extradition.
immediately available.
Assange's supporters staged protests before his 51st The Australian government has been under
birthday this weekend, with his wife Stella Assange mounting pressure to intervene, but last month
among people who gathered outside the Home Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected calls for
Office on Friday to call for his release from prison. him to publicly demand that Washington drop its
prosecution of Assange.
Julian Assange has battled in British courts for years legal battle. Before that, he spent seven years inside
to avoid being sent to the U.S., where he faces 17 Assange's supporters and lawyers maintain he was the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid ex-
charges of espionage and one charge of computer acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amend- tradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and
misuse. ment protections of freedom of speech. They ar- sexual assault.
American prosecutors say the Australian citizen gue that the case is politically motivated, that he
helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea would face inhumane treatment and be unable to Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations
Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and mil- get a fair trial in the U.S. in November 2019 because so much time had
itary files that WikiLeaks later published, putting Assange remains in London's high-security Bel- elapsed, but British judges have kept Assange in
lives at risk. marsh Prison, where he has been since he was ar- prison pending the outcome of the extradition case.
rested in 2019 for skipping bail during a separate

Ukraine's Zelenskyy talks to Argentina, Chile presidents

Zelenskyy wrote on social which he offered help in any said Argentina should be-
media. negotiations that may take come the "entry door to Latin
place with Russia, Argen- America" for Russia. Fernán-
The conversations with Al- tina's government said in a dez later condemned Russia's
berto Fernández of Argentina news release. invasion.
and Gabriel Boric of Chile
came a little more than two As the current head of the Boric wrote on social media
weeks after Zelenskyy spoke Community of Latin Ameri- that in his convesation with
with Ecuadorian President can and Caribbean States, Zelenskyy he "expressed my
Guillermo Lasso and Guate- Fernández told Zelenskyy, solidarity and our willingness
malans President Alejandro "Latin America is a continent to support the condemna-
Giammattei. of peace that rejects the use of tions of the invasion in inter-
force and promotes dialogue national organizations."
At the time, Zelenskyy said to resolve conflicts," accord-
in a speech that the conver- ing to the release. "Ukraine has a friend in
sations with Lasso and Giam- South America," Boric added.
(AP) — Ukrainian Presi- leaders of Argentina and mattei marked "the begin- Before the war, Fernández Zelenskyy wrote that he
dent Volodymyr Zelen- Chile. ning of our new policy of was moving to improve re- thanked Boric for his coun-
skyy pressed on with his restoring relations with Latin lations with Russia. In a sit- try's support in the United
campaign to obtain sup- "I continue to establish re- America." down with Russian President Nations and "discussed the
port from Latin America lations with an important Fernández held a 35-minute Vladimir Putin in Moscow possibility of involving Chil-
with calls Friday to the region — Latin America," call with Ukraine's leader, in in early February, Fernández ean specialists in demining."

UN talks urge faster steps to secure ‘critical’ ocean health

(AP) — A United Nations conference warned known as the Treaty of the High Seas. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended part
Friday that measures needed to protect the That treaty aims to establish a comprehensive le- of the conference.
world’s oceans are running late and urged gal framework for the high seas, which cover some Guterres blamed the “egoism” of some countries
countries to accelerate their implementation. 70% of the earth’s surface and provide food and for the failure to strike a global oceans agreement
livelihoods for billions of people. so far.
More than 6,000 senior officials, scientists and ac- After 10 years of talks, however, negotiating coun- Remi Parmentier, director of the Varda Group
tivists from more than 120 countries attended a tries still haven’t clinched a deal, frustrating activ- ocean think tank, told the Associated Press that the
five-day U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Por- ists. A fifth round of talks is scheduled for August Lisbon conference would be remembered “as the
tugal. in New York. moment the tide turned against deep sea mining.”

A declaration published on the final day said del- Greenpeace said words were not enough.
egates were “deeply alarmed by the global emer- Laura Meller from the environmental group’s
gency facing the ocean,” whose sustainability is Protect the Oceans campaign, said that “if declara-
“critical” for the planet. tions could save the oceans they wouldn’t be on the
The declaration said that “action is not advancing brink of collapse.”
at the speed or scale required to meet our goals.” The crunch will come at next month’s talks, when
“Greater ambition is required at all levels to ad- governments aim to finalize the global ocean treaty
dress the dire state of the ocean,” it concluded. that, at a minimum, seeks to ensure the protection
The oceans face threats including global warming, of 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.
pollution and acidification. “Anything less than that is just not enough,” Meller
said.
A key step is a new international agreement on
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, also French President Emmanuel Macron and U.N.