Assange walks free after nine days in jail

The WikiLeaks founder celebrates as he emerges to speak to the media on the steps of the high court Link to this video The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, walked free after nine days in jail last night when a high court judge released him on bail. However, the judge warned him that he is almost certain to be extradited to Sweden to face sex assault allegations. The court refused an attempt by the Crown Prosecution Service to stop Assange being freed, but imposed tougher bail conditions than previously outlined by a lower court, which meant his lawyers had to scramble to meet them before he was returned to prison for another night. Finally Assange emerged on to the steps of the high court at 5.46pm, as snow began to fall, to make a defiant statement and to thank his supporters. "I hope to continue my work and to continue to protest my innocence in this matter and to reveal, as we get it, as we have not yet, the evidence from these allegations," he said. As well as the prospect of a trial in Sweden, there is a growing consensus among US constitutional lawyers and other legal experts that Assange will be indicted by Washington. After his release he said that even if he were indicted in the US, the spilling of state secrets would continue. He said that WikiLeaks was a "resilient organisation" that could "withstand decapitation attacks". Last week City of Westminster magistrates remanded Assange in custody because they said he posed too high a danger of absconding. On Tuesday his lawyers won a reversal of that decision, with a judge granting him bail on tough conditions – but the CPS appealed. Yesterday at the high court Mr Justice Ouseley rejected the CPS argument that there were no conditions a judge could impose that would stop Assange from fleeing. He ordered the CPS to pay costs but imposed new conditions on Assange. His bail will see him stay at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk, owned by Vaughan Smith, a former army captain, who was approved to provide surety at Tuesday's hearing along with the restaurant designer Sarah Saunders. While at the mansion, Assange must observe a curfew and be tagged. He will have to report daily to a police station, and £200,000 in security, raised by his supporters, has been paid into the court. But there are no restrictions now on his access to the internet or communications, meaning he is much more able to defend himself and WikiLeaks from US anger. The legal victory for Assange yesterday was a small step in what is likely to be a long battle. Ouseley warned him that the Swedish warrant was likely to be upheld, and that he would be extradited to face a trial for the alleged attacks. Assange's mother, Christine, who was in court, said she was "very, very happy". She added: "I can't wait to see my son and to hold him close. I had faith in the British justice system to do the right thing, and that faith has been confirmed today." For hours, it was far from certain that Assange's supporters and lawyers would manage to get him out in time. They had struggled to track down five more people the judge had approved as guarantors that Assange will observe his strict bail conditions. Some had to go to City of Westminster magistrates to sign the official paperwork and others who were out of London had to go to nominated police stations. Among those approved by the high court to act as surety were the Nobel prize winner Sir John Sulston, Lord Evans, an ex-Labour minister and former chairman of Faber & Faber, and the Marchioness of Worcester. Ouseley said he was concerned that some on the list of people willing to act as surety were doing so because they supported WikiLeaks, and would think a greater cause had been served if Assange skipped bail to avoid trial in Sweden. He warned Assange that if he tried to flee he would be "found to have exploited quite ruthlessly those who have put their trust in him and to have let them down". On Channel 4 News last night, Assange maintained he was the victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by the US with the assistance of the Swedish intelligence service. "There is an ongoing attempt by the US to extradite me to the US and that extradition is much more likely to occur if I am already in Sweden." He said his Swedish legal team had now been passed evidence relating to the rape charges against him. "There has never been a single page provided to me in English and, until two weeks ago, not a single page whatsoever provided in any form to my Swedish counsel – even in Swedish. This is a clear, clear abuse of process." Assange later described the rape allegations against him as "a very successful smear campaign and a very wrong one". Speaking on BBC 2's Newsnight, he said information relating to accusations had been leaked either by "the Swedish prosecution service or some organisations that have obtained selective material". He said: "My lawyers informed me this afternoon there will be another smear attempt relating to this investigation some time tomorrow." Speaking outside Ellingham Hall later, Assange said his lawyers in Sweden had got hold of 100 pages of material related to the allegations but he had yet to receive a comprehensive English translation. He said there could also be an attempt by the US to charge him with spying. "We have heard today from one of my US lawyers, yet to be confirmed, but a serious matter, that there may be a US indictment for espionage for me, coming from a secret US grand jury investigation," he told Sky TV. "Obviously it is extremely serious, and one of the concerns that we have had since I have been in the UK is whether the extradition proceeding to Sweden, which is occurring in a very strange and unusual way, is actually an attempt to get me into a jurisdiction which will then make it easier to extradite me to the United States."

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Rumer Willis named Face of Badgley Mischka Spring 2011 Campaign

Rumer Willis is Face of Badgley Mischka’s new ad campaign. The 22-year-old daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis is embracing her good looks as new face of Badgley Mischka’s Spring 2011 ad campaign.

Luxe label Badgley Mischka’s designer duo, Mark Badgley and James Mischka released explained:

“We adore Rumer, she is glamorous, youthful and fun…[she] captures the spirit of all of our spring collections, especially our newly launched Mark + James collection.”

This is Rumer Willis’s first major ad campaign that will debut in the March issues of fashion mags like Vogue, InStyle, Harper’s Bazaar.

Rumer Willis Badgley Mischka Spring 2011 Ad was shot by fashion photographer Tony Duran in Malibu, Calif. In it, she will be seen flaunting couture eveningwear, the new Mark + James contemporary collection, as well as handbags, footwear jewelry and swimwear.

With this, Willis gets entry into A-list models including Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Sharon Stone and Eva Longoria who have modeled for this celebrity-heavy brand in past.

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Apple updates Airport, Time Capsule firmware and software

Apple has posted a firmware update for all 802.11n-capable Airport base stations and Time Capsules, as well as new versions of Airport Utility for Mac and Windows. The firmware update, labelled 7.5.2, closes several security holes as well as bolsters stability under IPv6. It also fixes issues with Airplay streaming, USB connectivity, addresses some issues with NAT port mapping and disables TKIP security for 802.11n in accordance with the Wi-Fi Alliance specifications.
The firmware update specifically addresses security issues CVE-2008-4309, CVE-2009-2189, CVE-2010-0039, CVE-2009-1574 and CVE-2010-1804, most of which deal with the Airport or Time Capsule's ability to maintain service and stability in the face of remote attacks. Exploits included an integer overflow error in SNMP, large-number packets in IPv6, a vulnerability in portmapped FTP services and DHCP and DDOS attacks.

Airport Utility 5.5.2 for Macs resolves a DHCP setting tab display issue, improves stability and fixes an issue that prevented a network password from being correctly stored in Keychain when the network on the 5GHz band was named differently to a network on the lower bands. It requires Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later and weighs in at 10.29MB.

Airport Utility 5.5.2 for Windows is also available, a 10.04MB update fixing the same issues as the Mac update. Apple recommends that the Airport Utility update be done prior to installing the 7.5.2 firmware update.

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Julian Assange bail decision made by UK authorities, not Sweden

The decision to have Julian Assange sent to a London jail and kept there was taken by the British authorities and not by prosecutors in Sweden, as previously thought, the Guardian has learned.

The Crown Prosecution Service will go to the high court tomorrow to seek the reversal of a decision to free the WikiLeaks founder on bail, made yesterday by a judge at City of Westminster magistrates court.

It had been widely thought Sweden had made the decision to oppose bail, with the CPS acting merely as its representative. But today the Swedish prosecutor's office told the Guardian it had "not got a view at all on bail" and that Britain had made the decision to oppose bail.

Lawyers for Assange reacted to the news with shock and said CPS officials had told them this week it was Sweden which had asked them to ensure he was kept in prison.

Karin Rosander, director of communications for Sweden's prosecutor's office, told the Guardian: "The decision was made by the British prosecutor. I got it confirmed by the CPS this morning that the decision to appeal the granting of bail was entirely a matter for the CPS. The Swedish prosecutors are not entitled to make decisions within Britain. It is entirely up to the British authorities to handle it."

As a result, she said, Sweden will not be submitting any new evidence or arguments to the high court hearing tomorrow morning. "The Swedish authorities are not involved in these proceedings. We have not got a view at all on bail."

After the Swedish statement was put to the CPS, it confirmed that all decisions concerning the opposing of bail being granted to Assange had been taken by its lawyers. It said: "In all extradition cases, decisions on bail issues are always taken by the domestic prosecuting authority. It would not be practical for prosecutors in a foreign jurisdiction … to make such decisions."

Last week Sweden issued a warrant for Assange's arrest and extradition over sexual assault allegations. On 7 December the British prosecutor, Gemma Lindfield, convinced the senior district court judge Howard Riddle that Assange must be kept in custody because he was a flight risk.

Yesterday the judge accepted that Assange could be released on bail, but he was kept in Wandsworth prison after the CPS said it wanted to appeal against the decision to grant bail to a higher court.

The CPS's formal grounds of appeal for the hearing tomorrow morning, seen by the Guardian, will say that Assange must be kept in prison until a decision is made whether to extradite him, which could take months.

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Industrial Production Rises, Inflation Slows

Industrial production in the U.S. increased more than forecast in November and consumer prices slowed, indicating the recovery is gaining momentum without generating inflation.

Output at factories, mines and utilities rose 0.4 percent, the biggest gain since July, after a revised 0.2 percent drop in October, a Federal Reserve report showed today in Washington. The consumer-price index climbed 0.1 percent in November after a 0.2 percent gain the prior month, the Labor Department said.

Assembly lines are speeding up as business investment and exports grow and consumer spending accelerates, helping to buoy an expansion that Fed policy makers said yesterday isn’t strong enough to reduce a jobless rate hovering near 10 percent. Price increases that are below central bankers’ goal will boost the case to maintain the Fed’s purchases of $600 billion in securities through June to spur growth.

“The manufacturing sector continues to heal itself,” said John Herrmann, a senior fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets in Boston. “The outlook for business spending on equipment and software remains very positive.” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke “is unlikely to withdraw accommodation until he sees a clear upward turning point in core inflation and a downward turn in unemployment.”

Stocks fell, dragging the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down from a two-year high after a six-day rally left the gauge at its most expensive level since June. Economists forecast a 0.3 percent gain in production, according to the median of 75 projections in a Bloomberg News survey.

Stocks Gain

The S&P 500 declined 0.5 percent to 1,235.23 at the 4 p.m. close in New York. Treasury securities retreated, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note up to 3.53 percent from 3.48 late yesterday.

Factory production increased 0.3 percent for a second month, the Fed’s report showed, led by a 0.9 percent increase in business equipment, including computers, communications equipment and semiconductors.

Rising international demand and the need to replace aging equipment is a boon to manufacturers. Exports rose to a two-year high in October, Commerce Department figures showed Dec. 10. Business spending on equipment and software advanced at a 17 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

Broadcom Corp., the biggest maker of chips for television set-top boxes, yesterday increased its fourth-quarter revenue projection to about $1.9 billion, the top end of an earlier forecast range. Irvine, California-based Broadcom is making inroads in the mobile-phone market, supplying radio chips for handsets from South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and Finland’s Nokia Oyj.

Extended Recovery

“We have seen now an extended period of time of recovery in the components business,” Paul Reilly, chief financial officer of Arrow Electronics Inc., said yesterday at a conference in New York. Melville, New York-based Arrow is a distributor of electronic components and computer products to industrial customers.

The need for truckers to replace aging vehicles has brought improvements at Wabash National Corp. The Lafayette, Indiana- based maker of semi-truck trailers has “nearly doubled” its workforce this year, adding over 1,200 associates, chief executive officer Richard Giromini said in a Bloomberg Television interview Dec. 13.

“The industry has improved dramatically, demand has increased and our customers are now feeling much more comfortable placing orders to replace their aged equipment going forward,” Giromini said.

Auto Production

Carmakers decreased output by 6 percent last month, the first drop since August, even as demand climbed, indicating production may rebound in coming months. Factory output excluding motor vehicles, rose 0.7 percent in November, the biggest gain since May.

Nationwide, capacity utilization, which measures the amount of a plant in use, increased to 75.2 percent last month, the highest level since October 2008. The gauge averaged 80 percent over the past 20 years, signaling there’s enough spare equipment to prevent bottlenecks that would lead prices higher.

“We’re very far from getting close to stretching industrial capacity,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Securities LLC in New York.

The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.2 percent gain in the consumer-price index. The so-called core measure, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, also rose 0.1 percent, matching the median forecast.

Price Cuts

Retailers that are cutting prices are drumming up demand, while those not discounting enough are struggling.

Best Buy Co., the world’s largest consumer-electronics retailer, yesterday slashed its annual profit forecast amid increasing competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. Best Buy lost TV sales in the third quarter to “the large discounters” that promoted the least-expensive models, Chief Executive Brian Dunn said on a conference call.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders was unchanged in December from a month earlier, indicating residential construction will stay near depressed levels, a National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo’s index showed today.

Fed policy makers are concerned economic growth is not strong enough to reduce unemployment, which climbed to a seven- month high of 9.8 percent in November.

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Council loses fight against cinema drinking

A council has lost a fight against alcohol being allowed in more cinemas at the Marion complex in Adelaide.

Greater Union has served alcohol in its upmarket gold class cinemas since 2004 and applied to extend its liquor licence to cover all cinemas in the complex.

Marion Council objected and the proposal was amended to include only some extra cinemas.

The Liquor and Gambling Commissioner has approved the revised application with conditions relating to security and noise.

Marion mayor Felicity Ann Lewis said the council was worried about the possible impact for families.

"We would be encouraging parents to be fairly vigilant about supervision of their children in that area," she said.

"I think in the past families have been fairly comfortable to give their children a fair amount of freedom in that environment."

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Taliban claim responsibility for Pakistan blasts that killed 50

The Taliban claimed responsibility Monday for two explosions targeting a government building in Pakistan's tribal region, a Taliban leader said.

The blasts killed 50 people and injured at least 70 others, according to Shamas Ul Islam, a senior government official in Mohmand Agency.

Umar Khalid, head of the Pakistani Taliban in Mohmand Agency, said pamphlets had been distributed in the area 20 days ago warning members of peace committees or Lashkars (tribal militias) to abandon any efforts to join the government in fighting militants or face "consequences."

"We will continue to attack all pro-government officials and their supporters who try to join any peace committees or Lashkars," Khalid said.

The blasts occurred as government officials were about to meet with members of a volunteer militia group established to fight militants in the area, said Maqsood Amin, another senior government official in Mohmand Agency.

Among those killed in the blasts was Haji Kachkol Khan, a senior leader of the peace committeee, Islam said.

Amin said two suicide bombers were responsible for the blasts. One detonated inside the building and another outside the building's gate, he said.

The explosions occurred in the agency's headquarters of Ghalanai, Pakistan. A curfew has been imposed in Ghalanai as a preventive measure, Islam said.

The victims were taken to a local hospital after the blast, said Mohammad Zafar, a senior medical officer.

Monday's attacks were not the first time anti-Taliban and pro-government militias have been targeted in Pakistan. The attacks have been increasing over the past year, but Monday's was one of the deadliest attacks this year. A November 5 suicide attack targeting a mosque in Dera Adam Khel, where locals had formed an anti-Taliban militia, killed 67 people. In July, another suicide attack killed more than 100 people, also in Mohmand Agency.

Mohmand is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal agencies along the 1,500-mile border that Pakistan shares with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military has been battling insurgents in the area for some time.

The attacks underscore that when locals decide to take a stand against the Taliban, there are sometimes deadly consequences. The Taliban usually warns locals against taking such actions, as they did in Monday's attacks. The Pakistani government has said that such suicide attacks are a sign that the Taliban is growing desperate and becoming more aware that Pakistanis are taking a stand against them.

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan condemned the attacks. "While details of these suicide attacks are still being verified, it is clear this vicious crime killed and wounded many innocent people," the statement said. "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the individuals and families affected by these inhumane acts."

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