U.K. judge upholds Assange's warrant
LONDON -- A British judge on Tuesday upheld a U.K. arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, leaving him still a wanted man in the country where he has spent more than five years inside the Ecuadorean Embassy.
Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected a call from Assange's lawyers for the warrant to be revoked because he is no longer wanted for questioning in Sweden over sex-crime accusations. It was issued in 2012 for jumping bail.
However, she allowed Assange's lawyer to make a new set of arguments challenging whether it is in the public interest to continue the case against Assange and said she would rule next week. A decision in Assange's favor would end Britain's case against him.
Assange, 46, has been holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London since he took refuge there in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors were investigating allegations of sexual assault and rape made by two women in 2010. Swedish prosecutors dropped the case last year.
Iran reimprisons ailing detainee, 81
An ailing Iranian-American held in Tehran was returned to prison Tuesday after Iran's government refused to agree to an extended medical release, his family and attorney said.
Iran's judiciary had allowed Baquer Namazi, 81, to leave Evin prison for a few days after recent surgery to install a pacemaker, but his family had hoped it would be extended. Lawyer Jared Genser said Namazi was assessed by Iran's medical examiner, who recommended he be allowed a three-month respite and left open the possibility it could be extended even longer.
But Namazi's family members received a call Tuesday from prison officials informing them that he must return immediately. He was dropped off at the prison shortly thereafter, Genser said, calling it "tantamount to a death sentence that will be imposed quickly."
A former UNICEF representative who served as governor of Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province, Namazi is one of a number of dual citizens detained since Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. He and his businessman son, Siamak, were both sentenced to 10 years after privately held trials. Analysts believe Iran is holding them as bargaining chips for future negotiations with the West.
Taiwan quake kills two hotel workers
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck Tuesday near the coast of Taiwan, killing two hotel employees and injuring at least 200 other people, officials said.
The Central News Agency reported that the ground floor of the Marshal Hotel in Hualien county had caved in, causing the deaths of the two employees.
Other buildings were shifted on their foundations, and rescuers used ladders, ropes and cranes to get residents to safety.
Taiwanese media outlets reported that a separate hotel known as the Beautiful Life Hotel was tilting.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck late Tuesday about 13 miles northeast of Hualien, on the island's east coast. It occurred at a depth of about 6 miles.
A Section on 02/07/2018