UN: Assange ‘arbitrarily detained’
A UN panel says the founder of Wikileaks has been arbitrarily detained in Ecuador’s embassy in London. Julian Assange took refuge there in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden. Assange has called the panel’s finding a ‘vindication’. However, it isn’t legally binding. And the UK says it has a legal obligation to extradite him. He’s wanted for questioning over an allegation of rape, which he denies.

Regime ‘has surrounded Aleppo’
The head of the Free Syrian Army says the Syrian regime has the city of Aleppo surrounded. The regime began its offensive on Wednesday and is being backed by Russian air strikes. Talks in Geneva to end the war in Syria have collapsed. The conflict has so far killed more than 250-thousand people, and displaced half the population. Turkey has already taken in at least 2.2 million refugees. But on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned the assault on Aleppo has sent 70-thousand more people towards the border with Turkey.

State of disaster declared over drought
Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe, has declared a state of disaster in several areas due to drought. The announcement will allow donors to raise money for Zimbabwe more quickly. More than 25 percent of people there don’t have enough food because of the severe water shortage. This year’s El Nino weather pattern has been blamed for making the problem worse.

Tarantula named after country legend
Scientists have named a new species of tarantula after Johnny Cash. They discovered the previously unknown type of giant spider near the Folsom Prison in California. The music legend made the prison famous in the 1950s when he wrote Folsom Prison Blues. The johnnycashi is entirely black. And one of Cash’s nicknames was the ‘man in black.’

свернуть