For today, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Reuters, and to commentary from Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.)

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2-day court hearing in London will decide if Assange is extradited to the U.S. Reported by Leila Fadel and Lauren Frayer | NPR  A hearing in a London court will determine whether Julian Assange can be extradited to the United States. Might the the WikiLeaks founder soon face espionage charges in an American courtroom? Click HERE to listen and read.

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WikiLeaks founder Assange faces his last legal roll of the dice in Britain to avoid U.S. extradition, by Jill Lawless | AP  LONDON — Julian Assange’s lawyers opened a final U.K. legal challenge today to stop the WikiLeaks founder from being sent to the United States to face spying charges, arguing that American authorities are seeking to punish him for exposing serious criminal acts by the U.S. state. Lawyer . . . READ MORE . . .

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Assange targeted by U.S. and Trump over his WikiLeaks exposures, lawyer says, by Sam Tobin and Michael Holden | Reuters LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was targeted by the U.S. over his exposure of state-level crimes, and Donald Trump had requested options on how to deal with him, his lawyers said today as . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S. deceptions at the heart of Assange case, by Cathy Vogan | Special to Consortium News   A clue to some of the legal arguments Julian Assange’s lawyers will likely make at a two-day hearing this week at the High Court in London is contained in a 150-page submission that a judge rejected last June. Justice Jonathan Swift’s three-page ruling to deny Assange’s application to appeal is . . . READ MORE . . .