WikiLeaks founder may face legal actionNovember 29, 2010 - 15:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Australia’s Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has foreshadowed possible legal action against the Australian founder of the WikiLeaks website. Julia Gillard told a news conference this afternoon that the government was keeping a "close appraisal" of the latest document dump from the whistleblower website, which is run by Australian Julian Assange. But the federal government was in damage control today as a top level team of defense and national security experts were combing through vast volumes of material to check on implications for possible damage to Australian-US relations - our most important foreign relationship. U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich called the Government earlier today to alert them of what to expect as more material is released, the Attorney-General said. "The release of this information could prejudice the safety of people referred to in the documentation and, indeed, could be damaging to the national security interests of the United States and its allies including Australia," Mr McClelland said. A whole of government taskforce had been commissioned to see what action could be taken to reduce any adverse impact arising from the leaks, he said. "There has previously been a specific defense taskforce looking at defense documentation. "But obviously the documentations relate to issues broader than simply our defense strategy," Mr McClelland warned. Queensland-born Mr Assange is currently overseas in Europe, and sought by Swedish authorities over allegations of rape and molestation. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Atom Egoyan film coming to Golden Apricot Yerevan Festival Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s latest film, Seven Veils, is the opening film at GAIFF 2024. Armenia denies more of Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violations Yerevan has denied statements from Baku accusing the Armenian army of violating the ceasefire on the border with Azerbaijan. Israel warns of “serious consequences” after Armenia recognizes Palestine Dmitry Gendelman said the move will have “serious long-term consequences” for Israel-Armenia relations. French envoy travels to Armenia’s Syunik French ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies visited the town of Goris in the country’s southern Syunik province. |