Ecuador wants Assange to leave
ECUADOR wants Julian Assange out of its London embassy and is seeking a “third country or a personality” to mediate a final settlement with Britain. The Australian Wikileaks founder (pictured) entered the embassy and was granted asylum in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over sexual assault charges he vehemently denies. Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said Ecuador was “considering and exploring the possibility of mediation” to end the “untenable” five-year impasse. A statement by Mr Assange’s legal team said the United Nations had ruled almost two years ago that he was being unlawfully and arbitrarily detained by the UK and must be released. “The UK should not permit itself to be intimidated by the Trump administration’s public threats to ‘take down’ Mr Assange,” the statement said.