W O R L D

UK court grants bail to Assange
London, December 14
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrested in Britain on Swedish allegations of sex crimes, was granted bail by a London court today. The 39-year-old Australian, the target of U.S. fury over WikiLeaks' publication of part of a trove of 250,000 secret diplomatic cables that have embarrassed Washington, could be freed under strict conditions, Judge Howard Riddle ruled.

"My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed. This circumstance shall not shake them. — Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder

Julian Assange is pictured through the heavily tinted windows of a police vehicle as he arrives at Westminster magistrate’s court in London on Tuesday. — AFP

US global troubleshooter dead
Richard C Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan who earned the nickname “Bulldozer” for his hard-nosed diplomacy, died in Washington on Monday evening after he underwent surgery for a torn aorta. He was 69. US President Barack Obama described Holbrooke as a “true giant of American foreign policy who has made America stronger, safer, and more respected.”

Voyager set to leave the solar system
Washington DC, December 14
When Voyager1 was launched in 1977, scientists were not sure how long the spacecraft would last in space. Over 33 years later, scientists have found that the spacecraft not only continues to send radio messages and images back to Earth but that it will possibly be the first spacecraft to venture out of our solar system.

Rahman wins Golden Globe nomination for ‘127 Hours’
Los Angeles, December 14 
Oscar winning musician AR Rahman is in the race to win his second Golden Globe after being nominated in the Best Original Score category for his music in the Danny Boyle directed film ‘127 Hours’ today. The 44-year-old singer-composer had won his first Golden Globe in 2009 in the same category for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, the Mumbai based potboiler which was again directed by British filmmaker Boyle.

UK court grants bail to Assange

Jemima Khan, a human rights activist and one of Assange’s many high-profile supporters, at a London court ahead of his hearing on Tuesday. — AFP

However, Assange's lawyer Geoffrey Robertson told reporters after the hearing that it would take time to gather the security and it was likely Assange would remain in prison on Tuesday evening. The prosecution was given until 5.30 pm on Tuesday to return to the court with their decision on whether or not they would appeal.

Riddle ordered that Assange must live at the Suffolk, east of England, home of Vaughan Smith, a former army officer who set up London's Frontline Club, an independent press club.

Assange remained defiant in a statement released by his mother on Tuesday, denouncing the firms that suspended payments to his website as instruments of U.S. foreign policy and calling for help in protecting his work from their "illegal and immoral attacks".

"My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed. This circumstance shall not shake them," Assange said, according to a written statement of his comments supplied to Australia's Network Seven by his mother Christine.

"We now know that Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and others are instruments of U.S. foreign policy," he said. "I am calling for the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral attacks."

Assange handed himself in to British police last week after Sweden issued a European arrest warrant. He has rejected the allegations of sexual misconduct by two female Swedish WikiLeaks volunteers and opposes attempts by Swedish authorities to extradite him for questioning.

Internet activists launched "Operation Payback" last week to avenge WikiLeaks against those perceived to have obstructed its operations, temporarily bringing down the websites of credit card firms, Visa and MasterCard, as well as that of the Swedish government. Assange and his lawyers have voiced fears that U.S. prosecutors may be preparing to indict him for espionage over WikiLeaks' publication of the documents. — Reuters

US global troubleshooter dead
Ashish Kumar Sen in Washington DC

Richard C Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan who earned the nickname “Bulldozer” for his hard-nosed diplomacy, died in Washington on Monday evening after he underwent surgery for a torn aorta. He was 69.

US President Barack Obama described Holbrooke as a “true giant of American foreign policy who has made America stronger, safer, and more respected.”

Holbrooke made a name for himself as an architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that brought an end to the war in Bosnia. His hard-charging personality was in large part responsible for persuading a Serb, a Croat and a Bosnian to sign the Dayton accord. “One of his friends and admirers once said: ‘If you’re not on the team and you’re in his way, God help you’,” Obama said.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said: “If Richard calls you and asks you for something, just say yes. If you say no, you'll eventually get to yes, but the journey will be very painful.”

Holbrooke had hoped to have the same success in his latest role as Obama’s special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke’s death comes at a time when the Obama administration is expected to make public its review of progress in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, India on Tuesday condoled the death of Holbrooke, whom it described as an accomplished diplomat. “The news of the untimely demise of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke has come as a great shock. An accomplished diplomat, he served his country and the cause of international peace and security,” a release from the External Affairs Ministry said.

Voyager set to leave the solar system
Tribune News Service

Washington DC, December 14
When Voyager1 was launched in 1977, scientists were not sure how long the spacecraft would last in space. Over 33 years later, scientists have found that the spacecraft not only continues to send radio messages and images back to Earth but that it will possibly be the first spacecraft to venture out of our solar system.

“Voyager has gone where no one has gone before. It has already reached the most distant point from the Earth and is getting close to interstellar space”, said Ed Stone, of California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, at a gathering in San Francisco.

What is more important, he said, was the spacecraft has successfully negotiated the passage through the turbulent outer shell of the Sun. Distinct changes in the flow of particles surrounding the spacecraft were first noticed in June this year — with the particles slowing down and moving sideways and not outward. But scientists chose to wait and after studying the same trend for the next four months, decided it was time to make the announcement.

Rahman wins Golden Globe nomination for ‘127 Hours’

BRIEFLY

Former Russian spy Anna Chapman at a meeting of the Russian economy in Moscow on Tuesday. Chapman was at the centre of the biggest spy crisis between the US and Russia since the Cold War as one of the US-based “sleeper” agents who in July were exchanged in a dramatic spy swap. — AFP

Pak PM Gilani sacks two ministers
Islamabad: Pakistan PM Yousuf Gilani on Tuesday fired two ministers, including one from ally JUI, after they engaged in an unseemly public spat over corruption in the hiring of accommodation for Pakistani Haj pilgrims, prompting the party to pull out of the coalition government. Gilani removed Science and Technology Minister Azam Swati and Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi from their portfolios. — PTI