Julian Assange

Swedish prosecutors won permission Thursday from a Stockholm court to seek an international arrest warrant for Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website, whom they want to question about allegations of rape and other sexual offenses. The accusations stem from encounters that Assange, 39, had with two women during a visit to Sweden in August. Assange denies any unlawful conduct, saying that his relations with the women were consensual. But the Swedish Prosecution Authority said it wanted to bring Assange in for questioning and asked the district court in Stockholm to declare him detained in absentia.

The Army has charged Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier suspected of leaking thousands of documents published by WikiLeaks, with aiding and giving intelligence to the enemy, a significant escalation of the government's prosecution of the junior intelligence analyst. As part of 22 additional counts filed against Manning, Army prosecutors said he "wrongfully and wantonly" caused intelligence to be published on the Internet, with the knowledge that it would be "accessible to the enemy.

DreamWorks Studios has begun filming the “The Fifth Estate,” a movie about the controversial founder of WikiLeaks. The film, which will be released in the U.S. on Nov. 15 through Disney's Touchstone label, began principal photography last week in Iceland and is filming this week in Berlin. The film also will shoot in Belgium, where it will receive a tax credit. Directed by Bill Condon, "The Fifth Estate" stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange and Daniel Brühl as Daniel Domscheit-Berg, as well as Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie and David Thewlis.

Got a hard-hitting investigative story but can't get it past government censors at home? Publish it in Iceland instead. What about a website featuring classified, inflammatory or potentially libelous material? Park it on an Internet server here, without fear of legal harassment or official pressure to reveal your sources. Lawmakers here have given the go-ahead to an ambitious plan to turn this unassuming island in the North Atlantic into an international sanctuary for free speech, putting Iceland at the leading edge of media openness but also pushing it into uncharted territory.

Re "Assange gets political asylum from Ecuador," Aug. 17 In 1998, the British government faced a Spanish court's request to extradite former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for the assassination, torture and exile of thousands of people. Pinochet was not extradited. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's treatment byBritain's current conservative government offers a sharp contrast with Pinochet's case. Assange never assassinated or tortured anyone, yet he is facing potentially harsher punishment than Pinochet ever would have.

On the first day of court martial proceedings against an intelligence analyst accused of the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history, lawyers for U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning said the government was unnecessarily drawing out the prosecution in violation of Manning's right to a speedy trial. Manning has been held in pre-trial confinement for 635 days. The arraignment in a military court at Ft. Meade , Md., lasted 50 minutes and focused on legal housekeeping matters, such as setting a date for trial and requests by the defense for more documents from the prosecution.

A list of key Russians opposing Vladimir Putin, currently prime minister and seeking a return to the presidency: Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Once Russia's richest man. His conviction on charges of financial crimes widely regarded as politically motivated. Imprisoned now more than eight years, he continues to write on political themes. Alexei Navalny: Lawyer and blogger regarded as Russia's answer to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He has gathered incriminating material on Kremlin-controlled corporations.

"The Simpsons" is headed back to the big screen next weekend, but it won't be for a follow-up to the 2007 summer feature "The Simpsons Movie. " Matt Groening's yellow family is starring in the short "The Longest Daycare," playing in front of the Fox animated feature "Ice Age: Continental Drift. " In the short, the youngest Simpson, Maggie, returns to the Ayn Rand School for Tots, first seen in the classic fourth season episode "A Streetcar Named Marge. " Photos: Remembering 23 seasons of 'The Simpsons' To promote the short, Fox has put together what it's calling "the shortest trailer of the summer.

It seems a movie script about WikiLeaks has been leaked to the founder of the site himself. In a speech posted to the Web on Friday, Julian Assange said he had obtained the script for “The Fifth Estate,” an upcoming DreamWorks film that stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Assange and Daniel Bruhl as former WikiLeaks spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg. The film, which set to be released in the U.S. on Nov. 15 through Disney's Touchstone label, began principal photography last week in Iceland and is filming this week in Berlin.