Assange loses court bid to cancel UK arrest warrant

LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost a bid to have his British arrest warrant cancelled in a move that could have paved the way for him to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has spent the last five years.

"I'm not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn," judge Emma Arbuthnot told a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.