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

Russia has recovered 10 bodies and flight recorders from the ill-fated plane carrying Wagner chief and his allies which crashed on Wednesday, officials said. An investigative committee is carrying out molecular genetic testing to identify the bodies from the crash site, officials said on Friday. The jet crashed soon after taking off from Moscow for St Petersburg. It was believed to be carrying the powerful mercenary group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, six other Wagner members, and a crew of three, Russia’s civil aviation authority said. Rescue workers found 10 bodies at the spot of the jet’s remains, the Russian media reported citing anonymous sources from Wagner group which confirmed that their top leader was dead. The officials have not confirmed the identities of the 10 bodies recovered from the wreckage. Russian investigators have opened a probe into what happened. However, they have not yet said what was the suspected cause leading to the plane’s to suddenly fall from the sky. A video of the crash showed the plane spinning and falling from several metres high altitude as smoke emanated from it. Prigozhin was also listed among those aboard the private plane flying northwest of Moscow. The crash has no survivors and comes exactly two months after Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against army chiefs. While there has been no official confirmation of Prigozhin’s death, he has been eulogised by president Vladimir Putin who sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash on Thursday and spoke of Prigozhin in the past tense. Citing preliminary information, the Russian president condoled the death of Prigozhin and his top Wagner associates. While praising Prigozhin, Mr Putin said he also made some "serious mistakes" without elaborating on them. Western politicians and commentators have suggested, without presenting evidence, that the Russian leader ordered Prigozhin to be killed to punish him for launching the June mutiny against the army’s leadership which also represented the biggest challenge to Mr Putin’s rule since he came to power in 1999. British military intelligence said on Friday there was not yet definitive proof that Prigozhin had been onboard but that it was "highly likely" he was dead. The Pentagon has said its own initial assessment is that Prigozhin was killed. Read More Putin ally says he warned Wagner chief Prigozhin ‘to watch out’ for threats to life – Ukraine-Russia war live Prigozhin seen laughing about death in video released by Wagner-linked channel: ‘We’ll all go to hell’ Putin’s hit list: from poisoned tea to mysterious falls, the grisly fate of the Kremlin’s enemies Wagner leader ‘killed’ in plane crash: Your questions answered Wagner Group: Timeline of Yevgeny Progozhin’s private army as leader ‘killed in plane crash’

A first-degree murder conviction has been thrown out because of a sexual relationship between Timothy Henderson, a judge, and a prosecutor in the case

Ignacio Martinez never imagined becoming mayor, but when he saw the struggles of his mountain village in northeastern Spain, he and his friends decided to run...

King Charles will be on a charm offensive on this month's rearranged state visit to France.

IShowSpeed was joined by fellow streamers Mongraal and StableRonaldo during his recent livestream on the Fortnite's OG map

Speaking after being released by Hamas, Yocheved Lifschitz said she "went through hell" while in captivity.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis was heckled at a vigil held for the three victims of a racially motivated mass shooting in Jacksonville. Two men and one woman were killed on Saturday afternoon at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville by a white gunman carrying a weapon decorated with swastikas. The gunman, identified as 21-year-old Christopher Palmeter, shot and killed himself at the scene. Mr DeSantis, who is running for the GOP nomination for president, has been criticised for easing gun laws in Florida and initially staying silent on the shooting. In April this year, the governor signed a bill into law that allows people to carry concealed weapons without a government permit. As the governor began speaking at the vigil on Sunday, many members of a crowd of over a hundred people booed Mr DeSantis, forcing him to step back from the microphone. Ju'Coby Pittman, a Jacksonville city councilperson who represents the neighbourhood where the shooting took place, stepped in and asked the crowd to listen. "We are going to put parties aside because it ain’t about parties today," she said, adding: "A bullet don’t know a party." Mr DeSantis shared a video on social media condemning the violence, while calling the gunman a "deranged scumbag". "Casey DeSantis and I stand with the families impacted by the tragic shooting in Jacksonville," the governor wrote on X, previously known as Twitter. "The people of Florida stand united in condemning the horrific, racially-motivated murders." Mr DeSantis said that on Monday the state would be announcing financial support for security at Edward Waters University, the historically Black college near where the shooting occurred, and to help the affected families. Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters identified those killed as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, who was shot in her car; store employee AJ Laguerre, 19, who was shot as he tried to flee; and customer Jerrald Gallion, 29, who was shot as he entered the store in a predominantly Black neighbourhood. The gunman entered the store armed with an AR-style rifle, Glock handgun and “outfitted with a tactical vest" shortly after 1pm on Sunday. He first went to the campus of Edward Waters University, where he refused to identify himself to a security guard and was told to leave the campus. The gunman’s father then received a text from his son, telling him to check his computer. His parents then found “several manifestoes” written by the gunman, intended for his parents, law enforcement, and the media. The sheriff called the writing “the diary of a madman”. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a civil rights investigation and says it will pursue the incident as a hate crime. "Hate crimes are always and will always remain a top priority for the FBI because they are not only an attack on a victim, they're also meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community," said Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville FBI office. Read More DeSantis is silent on whether he will visit Jacksonville after racially-motivated mass shooting Biden demands US do better on racism amid Jacksonville shooting: ‘Hate must have no safe harbor’ Jacksonville shooter in racist attack is named as it’s revealed he bought weapons legally - latest

The Department of Homeland Security announced that the Biden administration leveraged sweeping executive power to waive 26 federal laws in South Texas

Barry Jones is making up for almost three decades of lost time by reconnecting with family and friends after spending 29 years on death row.

The man at the center of a right-wing conspiracy theory surrounding January 6 and the attack on the US Capitol has filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and Tucker Carlson for amplifying a “fantastical” story alleging he is an undercover federal agent who incited a riot. A lawsuit from Ray Epps follows a cease-and-desist letter sent to the network earlier this year, demanding that Carlson retract his “false and defamatory” statements about him and deliver a “formal on-air apology” for the “lies” he promoted. “Fox’s role in creating and disseminating destructive conspiracy theories has already been well documented,” according to the lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court on 12 July. Mr Epps and his wife Robyn – who both voted for Donald Trump and were “loyal” viewers of Fox and its now-former most-watched personality – were subject to campaign of “falsehoods” that “have destroyed Ray’s and Robyn’s lives,” according to the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages. The lawsuit follows a historic $787m settlement between Fox and Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the network of spreading false statements about its business in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Fox also has settled a lawsuit from a former producer for Carlson for $12m after she accused the company of “fostering a toxic workplace” where “truth remains a fugitive”. Though he joined the crowd on January 6, Mr Epps did not enter the Capitol, and he has not been charged with a crime – fuelling accusations from Carlson and others that federal prosecutors are protecting him. On his now-former program, Carlson said there is “no rational explanation” why this “mysterious figure” who “helped stage-manage the insurrection” had not yet been charged. “Fox repeatedly published defamatory falsehoods about Epps, including by broadcasting and rebroadcasting defamatory statements by Tucker Carlson who devoted over two dozen segments to Epps and by republishing those falsehoods” across Fox platforms, according to the lawsuit. Those claims have also been echoed by Republican members of Congress making Mr Epps the subject of legislative hearings – including on the day of the lawsuit’s filing, as House Republicans grilled FBI director Christopher Wray about alleged federal agents at the scene of the attack. “I will say this notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous and is a disservice to our brave, hardworking dedicated men and women,” Mr Wray said in his sworn testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the riots, including more than a dozen people who have been found guilty on treason-related charges for conspiring their attack and 350 people who were convicted of assaulting or resisting law enforcement. Mr Epps also was interviewed by the House select committee investigating the events surrounding and leading up to the Capitol attack. Following Carlson’s on-air statements and a wave of allegations surrounding Mr Epps across social media, the couple received threatening messages, including death threats and a plastic bag with a bullet casing inside and voicemails threatening to burn their house down, according to the complaint, which includes several examples of harassing emails, letters and text messages. The couple was reportedly forced to move out of their home and into an RV. “Epps was not a federal agent. He was a loyal Fox viewer and Trump supporter,” the lawsuit states. Had the US Department of Justice charged him with a crime, Carlson “would have hailed Epps a hero,” according to the filing. ”After destroying Epps’s reputation and livelihood, Fox will move on to its next story, while Ray and Robyn live in a 350-square foot RV and face harassment and fear true harm,” the lawsuit alleges. “Fox must be held accountable.” The Independent has requested comment from Fox. Carlson, in his first interview since his exit from the network in the wake of the Dominion settlement, said he doesn’t know why he was fired. The network announced that Carlson “agreed to part ways” days after Fox agreed to the settlement with the voting machine company over bogus claims that Carlson privately disputed but amplified on air. Fox Corporation also reached a $12m settlement a lawsuit from Abby Grossberg, a former producer for Tucker Carlson Tonight, who alleged a culture of misogyny at the network in a federal complaint that depicted an environment where women are routinely verbally violated “by a poisonous and entrenched patriarchy.” This is a developing story Read More Everything we know about Ray Epps, the man conservatives blame for the Capitol riot Tucker Carlson’s Twitter show is haemorrhaging viewers with 85% drop from first episode, reports say Tucker Carlson doesn’t know why he was fired from Fox FBI director shoots down ‘ludicrous’ January 6 conspiracy theory

As backlash to Florida's new Black history education standards grows, teachers say they are struggling to navigate what they can and cannot say inside their classrooms, while some parents are turning to alternative methods to educate their children about Black history.