While the world comes to terms with Donald Trump winning the presidency, there&#39;s a lot of optimism in Russian circles about the surprise outcome of the US elections.&nbsp;

Even as Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomed Trump&#39;s win, his closest political advisor and political analyst Sergei Markov told The Guardian Russia may have played a role in the WikiLeaks scandal. &quot;Maybe we helped a bit with WikiLeaks,&rdquo; the pro-Kremlin analyst was quoted as saying. Russia has been openly accused of interfering in the elections in favour of Donald Trump. Russian authorities were accused of hacking Democratic party emails that were leaked to WikiLeaks before the US elections.&nbsp;

The Russian government also revealed today that it maintained contact with representatives from Trump and Hillary Clinton&#39;s presidential campaigns. &quot;During this entire period, we not only sent some signals through some representatives, or private messages,&quot; Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by CNN.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told The Associated Press that Russian experts had contacts with people in both the Trump and Clinton campaigns. He said such contacts are &quot;quite natural, quite normal.&quot;

The Clinton camp had repeatedly accused Trump of maintaining ties with Russia during the elections.&nbsp;

Makrov, however, denied that Russia interfered in the elections.

And while he hoped that US and Russia would find common ground on Ukraine and in Syria, he warned about the &quot;macho&quot; personalities of the two world leaders.

&ldquo;Putin is a macho, Trump is also a macho. Maybe it could be a problem,&rdquo; Markov, the pro-Kremlin analyst said.

Another Trump fan was optimistic that the former businessman would bring his pragmatism to politics.&nbsp;

A source close to the Kremlin told The Guardian, &quot;The political space for every US president is quite narrow because a lot of the momentum is in the mentality of military people, secret services and politicians around the president. But it is obvious that Trump, as a former businessman, will be much more pragmatic and won&rsquo;t be a hostage of the mistakes previously and generously made by Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama.&rdquo;

Alexei Venediktov, the editor-in-chief of Russia&rsquo;s liberal Echo of Moscow radio, told Guardian that while some in the Kremlin were probably celebrating, other &ldquo;more serious&rdquo; people realised there were unpredictable times ahead.

Relations between the US and Russia have reached a new low over the past two years, due to differences over Syria and Ukraine.&nbsp;

While his policy makers are cautiously optimistic, &nbsp;President Putin hopes for &ldquo;fully-fledged relations&rdquo; after the election results were announced.

&ldquo;Clearly the chances of sanctions being lifted on Russia have risen substantially,&rdquo; the Guardian quoted Renaissance Capital&rsquo;s global chief economist Charles Robertson as saying. &ldquo;That would improve the investment climate for Russia.&rdquo;

(WION)

The Russian government has also revealed it maintained ties with representatives from Trump and Clinton's campaigns

While the world comes to terms with Donald Trump winning the presidency, there's a lot of optimism in Russian circles about the surprise outcome of the US elections. Even as Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomed Trump's win, his closest political advisor and political analyst Sergei Markov told The Guardian Russia may have played a role in the WikiLeaks scandal. "Maybe we helped a bit with WikiLeaks,” the pro-Kremlin analyst was quoted as saying. Russia has been openly accused of interfering in the elections in favour of Donald Trump. Russian authorities were accused of hacking Democratic party emails that were leaked to WikiLeaks before the US elections. The Russian government also revealed today that it maintained contact with representatives from Trump and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns. "During this entire period, we not only sent some signals through some representatives, or private messages," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by CNN. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told The Associated Press that Russian experts had contacts with people in both the Trump and Clinton campaigns. He said such contacts are "quite natural, quite normal." The Clinton camp had repeatedly accused Trump of maintaining ties with Russia during the elections. Makrov, however, denied that Russia interfered in the elections. And while he hoped that US and Russia would find common ground on Ukraine and in Syria, he warned about the "macho" personalities of the two world leaders. “Putin is a macho, Trump is also a macho. Maybe it could be a problem,” Markov, the pro-Kremlin analyst said. Another Trump fan was optimistic that the former businessman would bring his pragmatism to politics. A source close to the Kremlin told The Guardian, "The political space for every US president is quite narrow because a lot of the momentum is in the mentality of military people, secret services and politicians around the president. But it is obvious that Trump, as a former businessman, will be much more pragmatic and won’t be a hostage of the mistakes previously and generously made by Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama.” Alexei Venediktov, the editor-in-chief of Russia’s liberal Echo of Moscow radio, told Guardian that while some in the Kremlin were probably celebrating, other “more serious” people realised there were unpredictable times ahead. Relations between the US and Russia have reached a new low over the past two years, due to differences over Syria and Ukraine. While his policy makers are cautiously optimistic, President Putin hopes for “fully-fledged relations” after the election results were announced. “Clearly the chances of sanctions being lifted on Russia have risen substantially,” the Guardian quoted Renaissance Capital’s global chief economist Charles Robertson as saying. “That would improve the investment climate for Russia.” (WION)

Putin's closest political advisor: 'Maybe we helped a bit with WikiLeaks'

Chelsea Manning, a former US Army soldier convicted for espionage tried to commit suicide for the second time, her lawyer said on Friday.&nbsp;

Manning is serving a 35 year sentence for passing classified information to WikiLeaks came out as a transgender after she was convicted.&nbsp;

She tried to kill herself on October 4, before being placed in solitary confinement for a previous suicide attempt in July, her lawyer Chase Strangio said.&nbsp;

Manning is held at Fort Leavenworth, a military prison in Kansas. She was charged with espionage for giving more 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield information to WikiLeaks.&nbsp;

Strangio, a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union blamed the officials for refusing to &quot;adequately treat her gender dysphoria&quot; and for isolating her for trying to take her life.&nbsp;

&quot;She has repeatedly been punished for trying to survive and now is being repeatedly punished for trying to die,&quot; Strangio added.&nbsp;

After her attempt, Manning was sent back to the general section of the jail.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters) 
&nbsp;

US Army soldier Manning is serving 35 years in prison for passing classified files to WikiLeaks

Chelsea Manning, a former US Army soldier convicted for espionage tried to commit suicide for the second time, her lawyer said on Friday. Manning is serving a 35 year sentence for passing classified information to WikiLeaks came out as a transgender after she was convicted. She tried to kill herself on October 4, before being placed in solitary confinement for a previous suicide attempt in July, her lawyer Chase Strangio said. Manning is held at Fort Leavenworth, a military prison in Kansas. She was charged with espionage for giving more 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield information to WikiLeaks. Strangio, a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union blamed the officials for refusing to "adequately treat her gender dysphoria" and for isolating her for trying to take her life. "She has repeatedly been punished for trying to survive and now is being repeatedly punished for trying to die," Strangio added. After her attempt, Manning was sent back to the general section of the jail. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Chelsea Manning attempted suicide second time: Lawyer

In the last few weeks, over 20,000 pages of emails stolen from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton&#39;s campaign chair, have been released by international non-profit organisation <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3774">WikiLeaks</a>.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The emails have shed light on the murky world of donations made to the Clinton Foundation by corporations and foreign governments.

&nbsp;

Though done in the name of philanthropy to address pressing issues, such as climate change, agricultural development, and infrastructure building, the emails have revealed that in more cases than one, the primary objective was &quot;<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/31/wikileaks-podesta-called-foreign-money-for-prez-charities-currying-favor-with-us-leaders/)">currying favour</a>&quot; and gaining access to the former chief executive, his wife, and their closest political associates.

&nbsp;

Currying favour through donation is not a novel thing for the American politicians. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bush senior as well as junior, and Ronald Reagan have accepted such donations in the past.&nbsp;However, these donations were made to the presidential libraries.

&nbsp;

What makes the situation dire for the Democratic presidential nominee is the link that has been established between her donors and the terror organisations, particularly<a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3774"> ISIL and other &quot;radical&quot; Islamic groups</a> of the Middle East.

&nbsp;

A number of countries, including Germany, Norway, Canada, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands have donated to the Clinton Foundation. While eyebrows were raised by people who had been trying to quantify the amount of donation and the kind of influence accrued through the act, hell broke loose with names of Qatar and Saudi Arabia surfacing from the leaks. Hillary Clinton accepted from Qatar a <a href="http://yournewswire.com/wikileaks-hillary-clinton-foundation-donors-isis/)">donation amount</a>, ranging anywhere between $1 million to $5 million and from Saudi Arabia in excess of $25 million dollars. This she did, the e<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/31/wikileaks-podesta-called-foreign-money-for-prez-charities-currying-favor-with-us-leaders/">vidence </a>from WikiLeaks show, with the full knowledge that the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.

&nbsp;

Hillary&#39;s trial does not end with accepting donations from dubious sources. The <a href="https://theintercept.com/document/2016/02/20/boeing-weapon-sales-to-saudi-arabia/">Intercept </a>revealed an email earlier this year, showing Jake Sullivan, then Clinton&rsquo;s deputy chief of staff, celebrating the sale to Saudi Arabia of more than <a href="http://(https://theintercept.com/document/2016/02/20/boeing-weapon-sales-to-saudi-arabia/)">80 Boeing F-15SA fighter jets</a> &ndash; &ldquo;along with upgrades to the pre-existing Saudi fleet of 70 F-15 aircraft and munitions, spare parts, training, maintenance, and logistics&rdquo; &ndash; with the heading addressed to Clinton, &ldquo;FYI &mdash; good news.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Hillary Clinton has vouched for her decision to refuse foreign donations if she is elected president. But a leaked memo, dated April 7, 2015, has revealed that she prefers &quot;...the Foundation to continue to accept foreign government contributions, but to significantly increase disclosure.&quot; Evidently, the Democratic nominee to the post of US president does not want &quot;..to close the door to <a href="http://(http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/31/leaked-memo-hillary-wants-clinton-foundation-to-keep-accepting-foreign-donations/)">unexpected opportunities</a>.&rdquo; &nbsp;

&nbsp;

A &ldquo;compromise&rdquo; option, according to the memo, &ldquo;would be to say that the Foundation will not accept contributions from foreign governments unless that funding is part of an ongoing program or a disbursement for a completed negotiation.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

But this compromise does not prevent the Clinton Foundation from continuing to accept money from Qatar. This is despite Clinton&rsquo;s own admission that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are financially supporting ISIS.

 
(WION)&nbsp;

In the past few weeks, WikiLeaks has leaked over 20,000 pages of emails shedding light on the 'murky world of donations'

In the last few weeks, over 20,000 pages of emails stolen from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, have been released by international non-profit organisation WikiLeaks. The emails have shed light on the murky world of donations made to the Clinton Foundation by corporations and foreign governments. Though done in the name of philanthropy to address pressing issues, such as climate change, agricultural development, and infrastructure building, the emails have revealed that in more cases than one, the primary objective was "currying favour" and gaining access to the former chief executive, his wife, and their closest political associates. Currying favour through donation is not a novel thing for the American politicians. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bush senior as well as junior, and Ronald Reagan have accepted such donations in the past. However, these donations were made to the presidential libraries. What makes the situation dire for the Democratic presidential nominee is the link that has been established between her donors and the terror organisations, particularly ISIL and other "radical" Islamic groups of the Middle East. A number of countries, including Germany, Norway, Canada, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands have donated to the Clinton Foundation. While eyebrows were raised by people who had been trying to quantify the amount of donation and the kind of influence accrued through the act, hell broke loose with names of Qatar and Saudi Arabia surfacing from the leaks. Hillary Clinton accepted from Qatar a donation amount, ranging anywhere between $1 million to $5 million and from Saudi Arabia in excess of $25 million dollars. This she did, the evidence from WikiLeaks show, with the full knowledge that the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region. Hillary's trial does not end with accepting donations from dubious sources. The Intercept revealed an email earlier this year, showing Jake Sullivan, then Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, celebrating the sale to Saudi Arabia of more than 80 Boeing F-15SA fighter jets – “along with upgrades to the pre-existing Saudi fleet of 70 F-15 aircraft and munitions, spare parts, training, maintenance, and logistics” – with the heading addressed to Clinton, “FYI — good news.” Hillary Clinton has vouched for her decision to refuse foreign donations if she is elected president. But a leaked memo, dated April 7, 2015, has revealed that she prefers "...the Foundation to continue to accept foreign government contributions, but to significantly increase disclosure." Evidently, the Democratic nominee to the post of US president does not want "..to close the door to unexpected opportunities.” A “compromise” option, according to the memo, “would be to say that the Foundation will not accept contributions from foreign governments unless that funding is part of an ongoing program or a disbursement for a completed negotiation.” But this compromise does not prevent the Clinton Foundation from continuing to accept money from Qatar. This is despite Clinton’s own admission that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are financially supporting ISIS. (WION)

Charities or currying favour: Donations to Clinton Foundation

The snapping of Julian Assange&rsquo;s Internet access is the victory of the Obama administration over Ecuadorians. The restriction on Assange would mean that he will not be able to spill any more information that can hurt the US election. It comes at a time when Ecuador is seeing an opportunity to mend its relationship with the Americans post the US presidential election. It also comes at a time when the US requested Ecuadorians not to interfere in the affairs of the US by putting out the leaks and violating the free election process.

Whistle-blowers aren&rsquo;t protected anywhere. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are cases in point where corrupt systems will not let whistle-blowers rear their head. If the leak is too big then their life is at risk and before it comes out they will possibly be knocked out. If it ain&rsquo;t big, they get victimised. India is also home to victimisation of whistle-blowers, whether it&rsquo;s corporate or government. For instance, Dinesh Thakur highlighted the issues of fraudulent practices in Ranbaxy concerning drug development, manufacturing, and testing data.

In 2005, Thakur was compelled to resign after exposing the fraud internally. But, later he worked closely with the US Food and Drug Administration and exposed the company. Ranbaxy was fined to the tune of US $500 million. He was able to achieve this only because he took the protection of the US whistle-blowers&rsquo; protection programme. Not everyone has this privilege. Shanmugam Manjunath was killed for exposing adulteration of fuel at few petrol stations in Uttar Pradesh. Satyendra Dubey exposed the corruption in the golden quadrilateral project of National Highway Authority and was later murdered in Gaya, Bihar.

In 2014, the amendments to the Whistleblowers Protection Act were passed in the Lok Sabha. However, little good may come out of this legislation. The Bill is still in pending in Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. If the amendments come into existence, the whistle-blower will not be able to disclose information protected under the Official Secrets Act and any information that the government is exempted from disclosing under the Right to Information Act.&nbsp;

Under the new Bill, any disclosure that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India as well as the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, including friendly relations with foreign states or lead to incitement to an offence are excluded. Intellectual property and trade secrets have also been protected. This means that whistle-blower will not be able to complain about corruption, violation of laws, abuse of power, and wasteful government expenditure if the complaint falls foul of these broad exemption categories. The original legislation was heavily problematic and the new one is not close to solving the issue either. India needs harsher punishments for those who are corrupt rather than silencing those who expose them.

According to an affidavit signed in the Supreme Court, between January 2007 and December 2012, the conviction rate of central vigilance office was only 7.3 per cent. Also, the &ldquo;recommended&rdquo; punishments were &ldquo;minor penalties&rdquo; like &ldquo;withholding promotions and increments&rdquo;. If the fear of the system has to be put in place, then the punishment has to be stronger. The challenge in India is corruption. India stands at the 76th place is the corruption perception index. The second most populous country in the world needs to show a far higher degree of honesty and transparency for it to be able to advance towards the path of nationhood.

&nbsp;

Ecuador is seeing an opportunity to mend its relationship with the Americans post the US presidential election

The snapping of Julian Assange’s Internet access is the victory of the Obama administration over Ecuadorians. The restriction on Assange would mean that he will not be able to spill any more information that can hurt the US election. It comes at a time when Ecuador is seeing an opportunity to mend its relationship with the Americans post the US presidential election. It also comes at a time when the US requested Ecuadorians not to interfere in the affairs of the US by putting out the leaks and violating the free election process. Whistle-blowers aren’t protected anywhere. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are cases in point where corrupt systems will not let whistle-blowers rear their head. If the leak is too big then their life is at risk and before it comes out they will possibly be knocked out. If it ain’t big, they get victimised. India is also home to victimisation of whistle-blowers, whether it’s corporate or government. For instance, Dinesh Thakur highlighted the issues of fraudulent practices in Ranbaxy concerning drug development, manufacturing, and testing data. In 2005, Thakur was compelled to resign after exposing the fraud internally. But, later he worked closely with the US Food and Drug Administration and exposed the company. Ranbaxy was fined to the tune of US $500 million. He was able to achieve this only because he took the protection of the US whistle-blowers’ protection programme. Not everyone has this privilege. Shanmugam Manjunath was killed for exposing adulteration of fuel at few petrol stations in Uttar Pradesh. Satyendra Dubey exposed the corruption in the golden quadrilateral project of National Highway Authority and was later murdered in Gaya, Bihar. In 2014, the amendments to the Whistleblowers Protection Act were passed in the Lok Sabha. However, little good may come out of this legislation. The Bill is still in pending in Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. If the amendments come into existence, the whistle-blower will not be able to disclose information protected under the Official Secrets Act and any information that the government is exempted from disclosing under the Right to Information Act. Under the new Bill, any disclosure that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India as well as the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, including friendly relations with foreign states or lead to incitement to an offence are excluded. Intellectual property and trade secrets have also been protected. This means that whistle-blower will not be able to complain about corruption, violation of laws, abuse of power, and wasteful government expenditure if the complaint falls foul of these broad exemption categories. The original legislation was heavily problematic and the new one is not close to solving the issue either. India needs harsher punishments for those who are corrupt rather than silencing those who expose them. According to an affidavit signed in the Supreme Court, between January 2007 and December 2012, the conviction rate of central vigilance office was only 7.3 per cent. Also, the “recommended” punishments were “minor penalties” like “withholding promotions and increments”. If the fear of the system has to be put in place, then the punishment has to be stronger. The challenge in India is corruption. India stands at the 76th place is the corruption perception index. The second most populous country in the world needs to show a far higher degree of honesty and transparency for it to be able to advance towards the path of nationhood.

WikiLeaks and the tough road for whistleblowers everywhere

Gavin MacFadyen, the founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) and the mentor of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has died of lung cancer at the age of 76. &nbsp;

The CIJ posted a tribute on social media, as well as on their website.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
We are extremely sad to announce the death of Gavin MacFadyen, the CIJ&rsquo;s Founder, Director and its leading light. <a href="https://t.co/F6oAjTtvEu">https://t.co/F6oAjTtvEu</a>
&mdash; CIJ (@cijournalism) <a href="https://twitter.com/cijournalism/status/789919019646218241">October 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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The document-dumping website WikiLeaks tweeted a tribute on their account, signed &quot;JA&quot;, to indicate that it was personally&nbsp;written by&nbsp;Assange.&nbsp;

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Gavin Macfadyen, beloved director of WikiLeaks, now takes his fists and his fight to battle God. Sock it to him, forever, Gavin. -JA <a href="https://t.co/7zyzs1Qxxk">pic.twitter.com/7zyzs1Qxxk</a>
&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/789987961123188736">October 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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This Assange post comes as the WikiLeaks founder is said to&nbsp;be without&nbsp;internet access for the last&nbsp;week&nbsp;in his&nbsp;suite in the Ecuadorian embassy.&nbsp;Assange has been holed up in the embassy for more than three years, as he is&nbsp;wanted in connection with a rape allegation&nbsp;and fears&nbsp;he will be extradited to Sweden,&nbsp;and eventually&nbsp;to the US on spy charges, if&nbsp;he steps outside.

WikiLeaks has played a larger role as the end of the 2016 US election approaches, publishing thousands of emails allegedly hacked from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton&#39;s&nbsp;campaign chairman. Together the emails outline the former Secretary of State&#39;s bid for the White House. Neither Clinton nor Podesta himself have verified the authenticity of the emails.

Ecuador claims to have cut off Assange&#39;s internet access, saying it didn&#39;t want to play a role in the 2016 US election. RT reports that, despite the cut, Assange&nbsp;has been able to contact WikiLeaks and is &quot;still in full command&quot;. How much internet access Assange currently has will likely be made apparent in the upcoming days.

Meanwhile, the CIJ website has<a href="http://tcij.org/gavin-macfadyen"> published a message</a> from MacFayden&#39;s wife, also a member of Julian Assange&#39;s Defense Fund, Susan Benn:

&quot;He was the model of what a journalist should be...He spearheaded the creation of a journalistic landscape which has irrevocably lifted the bar for ethical and hard-hitting reporting. Gavin worked tirelessly to hold power to account.

In journalism, especially in the adversarial type practiced by MacFayden,&nbsp;one&#39;s&nbsp;enemies&nbsp;say a lot about you.

In recounting his career, Benn noted that MacFayden&nbsp;had produced over 50 documentaries covering various topics around the world, and that his investigative work&nbsp;aroused the ire of the old Soviet Union and apartheid South Africa so much&nbsp;that they banned him, while&nbsp;he was also&nbsp;attacked by British&nbsp;Neo-Nazi.&nbsp;

In her CIJ post Benn goes on to say, &quot;His life and how he lived it were completely in sync with the principles he held dear and practicsed as a journalist and educator, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.&quot;

Anonymous, among many others, also took to social media to issue condolences:

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Our deepest condolences Gavin MacFadyen, we&#39;ll never forget your investigative journalism <a href="https://t.co/96yEqNA804">https://t.co/96yEqNA804</a>
&mdash; Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/YourAnonNews/status/789961946644840448">October 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
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(WION)

&nbsp;

The well respected journalist, and founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, has died of lung cancer

Gavin MacFadyen, the founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) and the mentor of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has died of lung cancer at the age of 76. The CIJ posted a tribute on social media, as well as on their website. We are extremely sad to announce the death of Gavin MacFadyen, the CIJ’s Founder, Director and its leading light. https://t.co/F6oAjTtvEu — CIJ (@cijournalism) October 22, 2016 × The document-dumping website WikiLeaks tweeted a tribute on their account, signed "JA", to indicate that it was personally written by Assange. Gavin Macfadyen, beloved director of WikiLeaks, now takes his fists and his fight to battle God. Sock it to him, forever, Gavin. -JA pic.twitter.com/7zyzs1Qxxk — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 23, 2016 × This Assange post comes as the WikiLeaks founder is said to be without internet access for the last week in his suite in the Ecuadorian embassy. Assange has been holed up in the embassy for more than three years, as he is wanted in connection with a rape allegation and fears he will be extradited to Sweden, and eventually to the US on spy charges, if he steps outside. WikiLeaks has played a larger role as the end of the 2016 US election approaches, publishing thousands of emails allegedly hacked from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman. Together the emails outline the former Secretary of State's bid for the White House. Neither Clinton nor Podesta himself have verified the authenticity of the emails. Ecuador claims to have cut off Assange's internet access, saying it didn't want to play a role in the 2016 US election. RT reports that, despite the cut, Assange has been able to contact WikiLeaks and is "still in full command". How much internet access Assange currently has will likely be made apparent in the upcoming days. Meanwhile, the CIJ website has published a message from MacFayden's wife, also a member of Julian Assange's Defense Fund, Susan Benn: "He was the model of what a journalist should be...He spearheaded the creation of a journalistic landscape which has irrevocably lifted the bar for ethical and hard-hitting reporting. Gavin worked tirelessly to hold power to account. In journalism, especially in the adversarial type practiced by MacFayden, one's enemies say a lot about you. In recounting his career, Benn noted that MacFayden had produced over 50 documentaries covering various topics around the world, and that his investigative work aroused the ire of the old Soviet Union and apartheid South Africa so much that they banned him, while he was also attacked by British Neo-Nazi. In her CIJ post Benn goes on to say, "His life and how he lived it were completely in sync with the principles he held dear and practicsed as a journalist and educator, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Anonymous, among many others, also took to social media to issue condolences: Our deepest condolences Gavin MacFadyen, we'll never forget your investigative journalism https://t.co/96yEqNA804 — Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) October 22, 2016 × (WION)

WikiLeaks director and Julian Assange's mentor, Gavin MacFadyen, dead at 76

WikiLeaks celebrates its 10th birthday on Tuesday defiantly proud as the pioneer of online leaking platforms, while its controversial founder vows to pursue its work despite widespread criticism.

An anniversary party in Berlin will commemorate the 2006 registration of the domain name wikileaks.org, and founder Julian Assange will address a press conference of his German supporters by video link at 10:00 am (0800 GMT).

But Assange has at the last minute cancelled what would have been a rare public appearance on the balcony of his 18-square-metre room in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, citing security concerns.

<blockquote>
&nbsp;&#39;Adversity has hardened us. We believe in what we are doing...&nbsp;If you are pushed you push back.&#39;
</blockquote>

But he remains dauntless. &quot;Adversity has hardened us,&quot; Assange told German news weekly Der Spiegel in a weekend interview. &quot;We believe in what we are doing...&nbsp;If you are pushed you push back.&quot;

Ten years after it was founded, the site has faced growing charges that it is manipulated by politicians, either by recycling documents provided by Moscow, or by allegedly serving the interests of Donald Trump in the US presidential election race.

- No self-censorship -

&quot;We&#39;re not going to start censoring our publications because there is a US election,&quot; Assange told Der Spiegel in an interview, published in English online.

WikiLeaks launched in January 2007, with Assange saying it would use encryption and a censorship-proof website to protect sources and publicise secret information.

The site has since published more than 10 million leaked documents.

It first caught the world&#39;s attention when it released manuals for prison guards at Guantanamo Bay.

But it really hit its stride in 2010, unveiling logs of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a video showing a US helicopter crew mowing down a group of unarmed civilians, including two journalists, in Baghdad.

That same year it also published a cache of diplomatic cables from US embassies around the world, deeply embarrassing Washington.

&quot;The most important single collection of material we have published is the US diplomatic cable series,&quot; Assange told Der Spiegel.

- &#39;Power-obsessed&#39; -

But 2010 also saw grave blows to the organisation.

Assange was accused of having sex with a woman while she was asleep after the two met at a Stockholm conference.

The white-haired WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the London embassy of Ecuador, which granted him political asylum in 2012 after he lost a legal battle to block his extradition to Sweden.

The 45-year-old has always maintained the allegations are false and has refused to travel to Stockholm for questioning due to concerns that Sweden will hand him over to the US to stand trial for espionage.

But Assange&#39;s abrasive style and insistence on publishing unredacted documents quickly grated on colleagues and journalists who worked with him.

&quot;If an Afghan civilian helps coalition forces, he deserves to die,&quot; Guardian investigative journalist Nick Davies later recalled Assange saying in an argument over whether to remove names from the war logs.

- Snowden, Panama Papers -

In 2013, former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden chose to leak documents exposing intelligence agencies&#39; mass surveillance programmes to selected journalists instead of offering the trove to WikiLeaks.

And many later whistleblowers have turned to other organisations.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists this year published stories based on data dumps from tax havens Panama and the Bahamas, while environmental group Greenpeace in May released documents from negotiations over a controversial US-EU free trade deal.

WikiLeaks caused a fresh stir in July when it leaked emails showing US Democratic Party officials favouring Hillary Clinton over left-winger Bernie Sanders in presidential primary elections, forcing high-ranking party members to resign.

Assange himself is unmoved by criticisms of his organisation.

&quot;We believe in what we&#39;re doing,&quot; he told Spiegel. &quot;The attacks only make us stronger.&quot;

(AFP)

An anniversary party in Berlin will commemorate the 2006 registration of the domain name wikileaks.org

WikiLeaks celebrates its 10th birthday on Tuesday defiantly proud as the pioneer of online leaking platforms, while its controversial founder vows to pursue its work despite widespread criticism. An anniversary party in Berlin will commemorate the 2006 registration of the domain name wikileaks.org, and founder Julian Assange will address a press conference of his German supporters by video link at 10:00 am (0800 GMT). But Assange has at the last minute cancelled what would have been a rare public appearance on the balcony of his 18-square-metre room in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, citing security concerns. 'Adversity has hardened us. We believe in what we are doing... If you are pushed you push back.' But he remains dauntless. "Adversity has hardened us," Assange told German news weekly Der Spiegel in a weekend interview. "We believe in what we are doing... If you are pushed you push back." Ten years after it was founded, the site has faced growing charges that it is manipulated by politicians, either by recycling documents provided by Moscow, or by allegedly serving the interests of Donald Trump in the US presidential election race. - No self-censorship - "We're not going to start censoring our publications because there is a US election," Assange told Der Spiegel in an interview, published in English online. WikiLeaks launched in January 2007, with Assange saying it would use encryption and a censorship-proof website to protect sources and publicise secret information. The site has since published more than 10 million leaked documents. It first caught the world's attention when it released manuals for prison guards at Guantanamo Bay. But it really hit its stride in 2010, unveiling logs of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a video showing a US helicopter crew mowing down a group of unarmed civilians, including two journalists, in Baghdad. That same year it also published a cache of diplomatic cables from US embassies around the world, deeply embarrassing Washington. "The most important single collection of material we have published is the US diplomatic cable series," Assange told Der Spiegel. - 'Power-obsessed' - But 2010 also saw grave blows to the organisation. Assange was accused of having sex with a woman while she was asleep after the two met at a Stockholm conference. The white-haired WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the London embassy of Ecuador, which granted him political asylum in 2012 after he lost a legal battle to block his extradition to Sweden. The 45-year-old has always maintained the allegations are false and has refused to travel to Stockholm for questioning due to concerns that Sweden will hand him over to the US to stand trial for espionage. But Assange's abrasive style and insistence on publishing unredacted documents quickly grated on colleagues and journalists who worked with him. "If an Afghan civilian helps coalition forces, he deserves to die," Guardian investigative journalist Nick Davies later recalled Assange saying in an argument over whether to remove names from the war logs. - Snowden, Panama Papers - In 2013, former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden chose to leak documents exposing intelligence agencies' mass surveillance programmes to selected journalists instead of offering the trove to WikiLeaks. And many later whistleblowers have turned to other organisations. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists this year published stories based on data dumps from tax havens Panama and the Bahamas, while environmental group Greenpeace in May released documents from negotiations over a controversial US-EU free trade deal. WikiLeaks caused a fresh stir in July when it leaked emails showing US Democratic Party officials favouring Hillary Clinton over left-winger Bernie Sanders in presidential primary elections, forcing high-ranking party members to resign. Assange himself is unmoved by criticisms of his organisation. "We believe in what we're doing," he told Spiegel. "The attacks only make us stronger." (AFP)

Wikileaks celebrates 10th birthday in defiant form

As WikiLeaks celebrates its 10th anniversary, its founder Julian Assange remains holed up in Ecuador&#39;s embassy in London, where he has lived for more than four years to avoid arrest.

To his supporters, the case of the pale, lanky Australian ex-hacker stuck in a cramped office embodies a larger battle pitting hi-tech activists against mighty governments.

Sweden wants him extradited over an allegation of rape, but the 45-year-old and his supporters believe this is a trick to have him extradited to the United States and tried for publishing government secrets.

He has compared living inside the embassy, a gardenless apartment in the plush Knightsbridge district, opposite Harrods department store, to life on a space station.

Assange only very rarely emerges on the embassy balcony, citing concerns for his personal safety, but frequently takes part in media conferences and campaigns via video link.

His radical anti-secrecy agenda has polarised opinion between those who hail him as a hero, and critics who say WikiLeaks has put lives in danger by releasing confidential government documents.

- Nomadic childhood -

Ironically, Assange himself is highly secretive, although it remains unclear whether this was always so.

Born on July 3, 1971, in Townsville in Queensland, Assange has described a nomadic childhood and claims he attended 37 schools.

Living in Melbourne in the 1980s and 1990s, the teenage Assange discovered a talent for computer hacking.

But he was soon charged with 30 counts of computer crime, including allegedly hacking police and US military computers.

He admitted most of the charges and walked away with a fine.

After the launch of WikiLeaks in 2006, he was constantly on the move, bouncing between cities and frequently changing his phone number.

Created by a group of like-minded activists and IT experts, WikiLeaks was built on a simple concept: through a secure online &quot;drop box&quot;, it would let whistleblowers leak classified information without fear of exposure.

Assange made its first big headlines in April 2010 with the release of footage showing a US helicopter shooting civilians and two Reuters staff in Iraq.

And later that year, it captured the world&#39;s attention with a series of mass document &quot;dumps&quot;.

Some 77,000 secret US files on Afghanistan went online in July, followed by 400,000 so-called &quot;Iraq war logs&quot; in October.

The next month, the website caused its biggest shockwaves to date by beginning to publish more than 250,000 diplomatic cables from 274 US embassies.

WikiLeaks won a huge left-of-centre following for its exposure of the secrets of the powerful, but enraged governments, particularly the United States, which has mulled legal action against Assange.

- @embassycat -

Allegations of rape and sexual assault stemming from encounters with two women in Sweden first emerged in August 2010, although the sexual assault accusations have since expired under a statute of limitations.

Just days before WikiLeaks began publishing the diplomatic cables in November 2010, Swedish authorities issued a pan-European warrant for his arrest.

Assange was arrested one month later in London.

He has lived in the Ecuadoran embassy since June 2012 after exhausting his British legal options.

Assange has insisted the accusations are politically motivated and could lead to his eventual extradition to the United States, where supporters say he could face the death penalty.

A UN panel earlier this year said that Assange had been &quot;arbitrarily detained&quot; and should be able to claim compensation from Britain and Sweden.

Assange has at least two children and said that his cat at the embassy, which he has given the Twitter account @embassycat, was a gift from them.

(AFP)

His radical anti-secrecy agenda has polarised opinion between his supporters and critics who oppose the publishing of government secrets

As WikiLeaks celebrates its 10th anniversary, its founder Julian Assange remains holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has lived for more than four years to avoid arrest. To his supporters, the case of the pale, lanky Australian ex-hacker stuck in a cramped office embodies a larger battle pitting hi-tech activists against mighty governments. Sweden wants him extradited over an allegation of rape, but the 45-year-old and his supporters believe this is a trick to have him extradited to the United States and tried for publishing government secrets. He has compared living inside the embassy, a gardenless apartment in the plush Knightsbridge district, opposite Harrods department store, to life on a space station. Assange only very rarely emerges on the embassy balcony, citing concerns for his personal safety, but frequently takes part in media conferences and campaigns via video link. His radical anti-secrecy agenda has polarised opinion between those who hail him as a hero, and critics who say WikiLeaks has put lives in danger by releasing confidential government documents. - Nomadic childhood - Ironically, Assange himself is highly secretive, although it remains unclear whether this was always so. Born on July 3, 1971, in Townsville in Queensland, Assange has described a nomadic childhood and claims he attended 37 schools. Living in Melbourne in the 1980s and 1990s, the teenage Assange discovered a talent for computer hacking. But he was soon charged with 30 counts of computer crime, including allegedly hacking police and US military computers. He admitted most of the charges and walked away with a fine. After the launch of WikiLeaks in 2006, he was constantly on the move, bouncing between cities and frequently changing his phone number. Created by a group of like-minded activists and IT experts, WikiLeaks was built on a simple concept: through a secure online "drop box", it would let whistleblowers leak classified information without fear of exposure. Assange made its first big headlines in April 2010 with the release of footage showing a US helicopter shooting civilians and two Reuters staff in Iraq. And later that year, it captured the world's attention with a series of mass document "dumps". Some 77,000 secret US files on Afghanistan went online in July, followed by 400,000 so-called "Iraq war logs" in October. The next month, the website caused its biggest shockwaves to date by beginning to publish more than 250,000 diplomatic cables from 274 US embassies. WikiLeaks won a huge left-of-centre following for its exposure of the secrets of the powerful, but enraged governments, particularly the United States, which has mulled legal action against Assange. - @embassycat - Allegations of rape and sexual assault stemming from encounters with two women in Sweden first emerged in August 2010, although the sexual assault accusations have since expired under a statute of limitations. Just days before WikiLeaks began publishing the diplomatic cables in November 2010, Swedish authorities issued a pan-European warrant for his arrest. Assange was arrested one month later in London. He has lived in the Ecuadoran embassy since June 2012 after exhausting his British legal options. Assange has insisted the accusations are politically motivated and could lead to his eventual extradition to the United States, where supporters say he could face the death penalty. A UN panel earlier this year said that Assange had been "arbitrarily detained" and should be able to claim compensation from Britain and Sweden. Assange has at least two children and said that his cat at the embassy, which he has given the Twitter account @embassycat, was a gift from them. (AFP)

Julian Assange: WikiLeaks' fugitive anti-hero

US Army soldier&nbsp;Chelsea Manning, who is serving 35 years of jail term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, was sent to 14 days in solitary confinement on Friday for attempting suicide and keeping a banned book. 
 
A group supporting Manning released a statement saying that a disciplinary board at the military prison in Kanas informed her of the decision after a hearing on Thursday. 
 
According to Reuters, Manning was quoted in the statement saying she could appeal the punishment. 
 
&quot;I am feeling hurt. I am feeling lonely. I am embarrassed by the decision. I don&#39;t know how to explain it,&quot; Manning said. 
 
In the statement, Manning also said the prohibited book in her prison cell was &quot;Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy&quot; by Gabriella Coleman. 
 
Army spokesman Wayne Hall told Reuters in an email that &quot;it would be inappropriate for the Army to comment at this time&quot;. 
 
A lawyer for Manning, Chase Strangio of the American Civil Liberties Union, questioned the logic of &quot;our systems of incarceration punishing people with the cruelty of solitary for attempting to end their life&quot;, Reuters reported. 
 
Manning, a 28-year-old transgender Army private, had sparked a worldwide debate on government secrecy after she provided more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. 
 
Manning &nbsp;was born male and revealed after being convicted of espionage that she identifies as a woman. She tried to commit suicide in July. 
 
This month, she also went on a hunger strike, agreeing to end it when the Army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, following which she began hormone therapy in 2015.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters) 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

The US army soldier is serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks

US Army soldier Chelsea Manning, who is serving 35 years of jail term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, was sent to 14 days in solitary confinement on Friday for attempting suicide and keeping a banned book. A group supporting Manning released a statement saying that a disciplinary board at the military prison in Kanas informed her of the decision after a hearing on Thursday. According to Reuters, Manning was quoted in the statement saying she could appeal the punishment. "I am feeling hurt. I am feeling lonely. I am embarrassed by the decision. I don't know how to explain it," Manning said. In the statement, Manning also said the prohibited book in her prison cell was "Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy" by Gabriella Coleman. Army spokesman Wayne Hall told Reuters in an email that "it would be inappropriate for the Army to comment at this time". A lawyer for Manning, Chase Strangio of the American Civil Liberties Union, questioned the logic of "our systems of incarceration punishing people with the cruelty of solitary for attempting to end their life", Reuters reported. Manning, a 28-year-old transgender Army private, had sparked a worldwide debate on government secrecy after she provided more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Manning was born male and revealed after being convicted of espionage that she identifies as a woman. She tried to commit suicide in July. This month, she also went on a hunger strike, agreeing to end it when the Army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, following which she began hormone therapy in 2015. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Chelsea Manning sent to solitary confinement for attempting suicide

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faced another setback in his legal stand-off with Sweden on Friday. &nbsp; 
 
A Swedish appeals court rejected his request to lift an arrest warrant against Assange over a 2010 rape accusation. 
 
The Stockholm appeals court upheld the earlier ruling by a district court to issue arrest warrant for Assange.&nbsp; 
 
The statement read, &quot;Assange is still detained in absentia. The court shares the assessment of the (lower) district court that Julian Assange is still suspected on probable cause of rape... and that there is a risk that he will evade legal proceedings or a penalty.&quot; 
 
The court said Assange&#39;s four-year embassy sequestration and the earlier passivity of police investigators were the basis for setting aside the detention.&nbsp; 
 
The court observed Assange&#39;s embassy stay &quot;is not a deprivation of liberty and shall not be given any importance in its own right in the assessment of proportionality.&quot; 
 
It also rejected Assange&#39;s request to hold a hearing over the matter.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;However, the relatively serious offence of which he is suspected means that there is a strong public interest (in) the investigation being able to continue,&quot; the court noted. 
 
&quot;At present, continued detention therefore appears to be both effective and necessary so as to be able to move the investigation forward. The reasons for detention therefore still outweigh the intrusion or other detriment that the measure entails for Julian Assange.&quot; 
 
Assange has evaded travel to Stockholm for questioning over the rape allegation, for fear that Sweden will extradite him to the United States over the release of 500,000 secret US military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.&nbsp; 
 
Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since June 2012. 
 
His lawyers have urged Sweden to follow the non-binding ruling of a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. It said Assange&#39;s confinement in the embassy amounted to arbitrary detention by Sweden and Britain. 
 
According to British police, even if Assange&#39;s warrant was lifted, he is still liable to arrest in London for having evaded justice after his appeals against extradition were rejected.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
&nbsp;

Assange has evaded travel to Stockholm for questioning; the Wikileaks founder fears that Sweden will extradite him to the United States

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faced another setback in his legal stand-off with Sweden on Friday. A Swedish appeals court rejected his request to lift an arrest warrant against Assange over a 2010 rape accusation. The Stockholm appeals court upheld the earlier ruling by a district court to issue arrest warrant for Assange. The statement read, "Assange is still detained in absentia. The court shares the assessment of the (lower) district court that Julian Assange is still suspected on probable cause of rape... and that there is a risk that he will evade legal proceedings or a penalty." The court said Assange's four-year embassy sequestration and the earlier passivity of police investigators were the basis for setting aside the detention. The court observed Assange's embassy stay "is not a deprivation of liberty and shall not be given any importance in its own right in the assessment of proportionality." It also rejected Assange's request to hold a hearing over the matter. "However, the relatively serious offence of which he is suspected means that there is a strong public interest (in) the investigation being able to continue," the court noted. "At present, continued detention therefore appears to be both effective and necessary so as to be able to move the investigation forward. The reasons for detention therefore still outweigh the intrusion or other detriment that the measure entails for Julian Assange." Assange has evaded travel to Stockholm for questioning over the rape allegation, for fear that Sweden will extradite him to the United States over the release of 500,000 secret US military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since June 2012. His lawyers have urged Sweden to follow the non-binding ruling of a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. It said Assange's confinement in the embassy amounted to arbitrary detention by Sweden and Britain. According to British police, even if Assange's warrant was lifted, he is still liable to arrest in London for having evaded justice after his appeals against extradition were rejected. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Setback for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Swedish court upholds arrest warrant in 2010 rape case

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday announced that his&nbsp;organisation planned to release &#39;significant&#39; information regarding the&nbsp;campaign of the United States&#39; Democratic presedential nominee Hillary Clinton before the elections on November 8. 
 
Talking about the data, Assange said, &quot;I think it&rsquo;s significant. You know, it&nbsp;depends on how it catches fire in the public and in the media.&rdquo; 
 
Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for five years&nbsp;now to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces sexual assault accusations.&nbsp;He has denied these allegations. 
 
In July this year, WikiLeaks had released audio recordings which it claimed&nbsp;were sourced from the emails of the Democratic National Committee. 
 
&quot;I don&rsquo;t want to give the game away, but it&rsquo;s a variety of documents, from&nbsp;different types of institutions that are associated with the election campaign,&nbsp;some quite unexpected angles, some quite interesting, some even entertaining,&quot;&nbsp;Assange said. 
 
WikiLeaks publishes leaked material, mostly from governments. In 2010, the&nbsp;organisation had published classified US military and diplomatic documents in&nbsp;one of the largest information leaks in US history. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

In July this year, WikiLeaks had released audio recordings which it claimed?were sourced from emails of the Democratic National Committee

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday announced that his organisation planned to release 'significant' information regarding the campaign of the United States' Democratic presedential nominee Hillary Clinton before the elections on November 8. Talking about the data, Assange said, "I think it’s significant. You know, it depends on how it catches fire in the public and in the media.” Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for five years now to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces sexual assault accusations. He has denied these allegations. In July this year, WikiLeaks had released audio recordings which it claimed were sourced from the emails of the Democratic National Committee. "I don’t want to give the game away, but it’s a variety of documents, from different types of institutions that are associated with the election campaign, some quite unexpected angles, some quite interesting, some even entertaining," Assange said. WikiLeaks publishes leaked material, mostly from governments. In 2010, the organisation had published classified US military and diplomatic documents in one of the largest information leaks in US history. (WION with inputs from agencies)

WikiLeaks to release 'significant' Clinton campaign data: Assange

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