The church members strongly believed that the statue, symbolizing the Grim Reaper with a sickle, was a curse that announced death

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago. Australia’s centre-left Labor Party government has been arguing since winning the elections last year that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States. Mr Assange’s freedom is widely seen as a test of Australia’s leverage with President Joe Biden’s administration. Mr Blinken confirmed on Saturday that Mr Assange had been discussed in annual talks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Brisbane, Australia. “I understand the concerns and views of Australians. I think it’s very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter,” Mr Blinken told reporters. “Mr Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” he added. Ms Wong said Mr Assange’s prosecution had “dragged for too long” and that Australia wanted the charges “brought to a conclusion.” Australia remains ambiguous about whether the United States should drop the prosecution or strike a plea bargain. Mr Assange faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic and military documents in 2010. American prosecutors allege he helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk. Australia argues there is a “disconnect” between the US treatment of Mr Assange and Ms Manning. Then-US President Barack Obama commuted Ms Manning’s 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017. Read More Pope meets with wife and family of Julian Assange, who says pontiff 'concerned' by his suffering Julian Assange’s wife says ‘it is now or never’ at US extradition protest Australian prime minister says he is working effectively to free WikiLeaks founder

Ludwig makes most of his money on Twitch, where he is the most subscribed streamer in the platform's history

Joe Rogan gave his opinion on Target's LGBTQIA+ controversy on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast

Apart from his iconic role in 'Friends,' Matthew Perry had a successful career with notable works like '17 Again,' and 'The Good Fight'

Nearly all the world’s nations finalized the creation of a fund to help compensate countries struggling to cope with loss and damage caused by climate change, seen as a major first-day breakthrough at this year’s U.N. climate conference as early cash started going into it

President Joe Biden has been thrust into a Middle East crisis that risks expanding into a broader conflict and has left him fending off criticism from GOP presidential rivals that his administration’s policies led to this moment

Pope Francis is wrapping up his five-day trip to Portugal

While President Joe Biden's administration publicly hammered airlines for flight delays and cancellations last summer, behind the scenes Federal Aviation Administration officials were well aware that their own agency also bore responsibility for disrupting thousands of flights, according to previously unreported internal FAA records

California's attorney general is investigating whether the government of the state of Florida played any role in sending

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph says efforts to attach him to a lawsuit challenging a new state law are a “circus” with “no legal precedent in U_S_ history.”

(Corrects date in dateline) WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican Donald Trump is planning to punish his political enemies, fire thousands of government