WORLD BRIEFING: June 26, 2024

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked out of court a free man Wednesday after a hours-long court appearance in which he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of violating the Espionage Act. Assange, 52, is best known for the publication of classified military and diplomatic cables in 2010. His hearing was held in federal court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth. Assange was freed on the condition he leave the U.S. commonwealth. Chief Judge Ramona Manglona said the time Assange had spent in Belmarsh prison in the U.K. — 62 months — was appropriate. “I'm, in fact, sentencing you to your time served," she said. She said she doubted there would be future breaches of the plea agreement, and allowed Assange to leave court a free man. The proceedings ended a years-long legal saga involving the WikiLeaks founder who spent years holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London before being imprisoned in the U.K. He is expected to return to his native Australia after the proceedings. During his court appearance, Judge Manglona asked Assange what he did to constitute the crime charged, he replied: "Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information. I believe that the First Amendment protected that activity." He added: "I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction with each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all these circumstances." Assange pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to the national defense in a U.S. federal court. - NPR

Thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and some broke into Parliament and briefly set fire to the entrance on Tuesday, after lawmakers approved tax increases that critics said would drive up the cost of living for millions. During the protests, the police fired tear gas and guns, plunging the capital into turmoil. At least five people were fatally shot and 31 others injured, according to Amnesty International and several prominent Kenyan civic organizations. The toll could not be immediately confirmed. The independent Kenya Human Rights Commission posted a video that showed police officers firing as protesters marched toward them. As tear gas wafted through the streets, some protesters climbed through the windows of Parliament after lawmakers voted 195 to 106 in favor of the tax bill on Tuesday, with supporters saying it would raise revenue for education and other essential services. Kenya’s president, William Ruto, said he was deploying the military to crack down on what he called “treasonous events.” In a televised address on Tuesday night, Mr. Ruto said the debate about the tax bill had been “hijacked by dangerous people who have caused us the kind of loss we have incurred as a nation today.” - NYT

The trial of Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, began Wednesday morning in a closed door hearing that has been condemned by his newspaper and the United States. Gershkovich, 32, was arrested while reporting for the Wall Street Journal, which he joined in January 2022, just weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While many newsrooms subsequently pulled their reporters out of Russia, Gershkovich remained, covering the war and how it was changing life in Russia. The trial is taking place in the city of Yekaterinburg, where he was detained more than a year ago and accused of spying for the CIA. Footage on Wednesday morning showed Gershkovich inside a glass court cage, his head shaved, ahead of the trial due to start imminently behind closed doors. - CNN

The seemingly never-ending political lifespan of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seemed to be finally coming to an end Tuesday after his ruling Liberals were defeated in a by-election in a Toronto riding regarded as their safest seat in all of Canada. The seat of Toronto-St. Pauls was one they held for more than 30 years and it has now flipped to opposition Conservatives. “If the Liberals can’t win Toronto-St. Paul’s, it’s unclear what seats could still be considered safe for them, say political watchers. Even during the party’s worst defeat in 2011, it still held onto that seat with an 8-per-cent margin,” reported the Globe and Mail. Said Bloomberg: “The outcome sends a message that Trudeau’s political base has been eroded, and that the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, are able to appeal to urbanites.“

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov on June 25, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said, adding that Austin had "emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine." Austin initiated the call, the first between U.S. and Russian defense ministers since March 2023, Ryder said. Russia's Defense Ministry said the two "exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine." Belousov pointed out the danger of further escalation of the situation in connection with the continued supply of American weapons to the Ukrainian Army, the ministry said. - RFE/RL

A days-long intense heat wave has disrupted normal life in Pakistan, especially in its largest city, Karachi, where doctors treated thousands of victims of heatstroke at various hospitals, health officials said Tuesday. Several people fell unconscious in the city and some of them later died, local media said. Temperatures soared as high as 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) in Sindh province on Tuesday. Authorities in Karachi, the provincial capital, are urging people to stay indoors, hydrate, and avoid unnecessary travel. Weather forecasters say the heat wave, which began in May, will subside next week. According to local media, the days-long heat wave also killed more than two dozen people in Karachi, but no government spokesman was available to confirm the number of heatstroke-related deaths. - AP