W O R L D

WikiLeaks founder living haunted life: Report
New York, October 25
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is living a haunted life fearing arrest and has been on the run following the release of nearly 4 lakh secret US military documents related to Iraq War on his whistle-blowing website.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange checks into hotels under false names, dyes his hair, sleeps on sofas and floors, and uses cash instead of credit cards. — Reuters

Now, shoes thrown at Oz ex-premier
Melbourne, October 25
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard today joined the dubious list of world leaders on whom shoes have been thrown, as a protester shouted “That is for Iraqi dead” live on national TV.

Tony Blair’s sister-in-law converts to Islam 
London, October 25
Tony Blair’s sister-in-law, a well known journalist, has converted to Islam after having a “holy experience” in Iran and hoped her conversion would help the former British PM change his “presumptions” about the religion.

Lauren Booth

WikiLeaks founder living haunted life: Report

New York, October 25
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is living a haunted life fearing arrest and has been on the run following the release of nearly 4 lakh secret US military documents related to Iraq War on his whistle-blowing website.

Assange checks into hotels under false names, dyes his hair, sleeps on sofas and floors, and uses cash instead of credit cards, often borrowed from friends, a US daily, which interviewed him last week, said.

“They called me the James Bond of journalism...it got me a lot of fans, and some of them ended up causing me a bit of trouble,” he said expressing concern that the UK might act against him if the US decides to prosecute him, an option that is currently being explored.

“By being determined to be on this path, and not to compromise, I’ve wound up in an extraordinary situation,” he told The New York Times in a London restaurant.

“When it comes to the point where you occasionally look forward to being in prison on the basis that you might be able to spend a day reading a book, the realisation dawns that perhaps the situation has become a little more stressful than you would like.” On the run again, Assange left Stockholm for Berlin and now is in London, according to the Times, which reported that his bag and three encysted laptops disappeared on the journey from Sweden to Germany.

The WikiLeaks founder also faces rape and molestation accusations by two women in Sweden, where he went to stay due to the country’s strong laws protecting freedom of speech and expression. Assange, however, has maintained their relations were consensual and blamed a “smear campaign,” possibly planned by the US government.

Earlier this year, the 39-year-old Australian computer hacker was catapulted into global spotlight when WikiLeaks released 92,000 secret documents that supported existing suspicions like Pakistan’s ISI links with extremists and extra-judicial killings by US forces.

Daniel Ellseberg, the man who went public with the Pentagon Papers, a 1000-page secret study of the Vietnam War in 1971, hailed the efforts of Assange and Bradley Manning, who is the 22-year-old former US army intelligence operative suspected of leaking the documents to Assange. — PTI 

Now, shoes thrown at Oz ex-premier

Melbourne, October 25
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard today joined the dubious list of world leaders on whom shoes have been thrown, as a protester shouted “That is for Iraqi dead” live on national TV.

The irate man threw two shoes at Howard while he was answering questions about his decision to send troops to Iraq, while participating in ABC’s Q&A programme.

“It’s all right, don’t worry. Forget it, forget it. Relax,” Howard told the show’s host Tony Jones after the protester failed to hit his target.

Howard, 71, has fronted an at times irate audience on ABC TV’s Q&A programme, facing questions on the major issues that defined his time as prime minister.

“That is for Iraqi dead,” the man reportedly shouted at Howard as he threw two shoes at him. A female audience member also yelled that “You’ve got blood on your hands,” before walking out of the studio.

The wide ranging interview focused heavily on the more controversial aspects of Howard’s tenure, with questions on the Iraq War, children overboard affair, indigenous affairs and his relationship with his deputy Peter Costello, dominating the programme.

At times the tension in the room was palpable, with an audience member throwing his shoes at Howard while he was defending his decision to send Australian troops to Iraq.

The shoes missed Howard and the man who threw them was removed from the studio, and the former prime minister appeared unruffled by the incident.

Earlier, then US president George W Bush and Chinese premier Wen Jibao had such dubious experience when shoes were thrown at them. An Iraqi journalist threw shoes at the US president in Baghdad, while the Chinese premier was greeted with shoes on his visit to Cambridge university in London. — PTI 

Tony Blair’s sister-in-law converts to Islam