We're going to wrap up the blog now, but here is a brief recap on developments:



• Julian Assange has made his first public appearance since he took refuge two months ago inside Ecuador's Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex crimes allegations.



• Speaking from a balcony, the WikiLeaks founder made no reference towards the allegations but used the appearance to call on the US to end what he described as a "witch hunt" against his website.



• He called for the release of Bradley Manning, the alleged WikiLeaks source, describing him as one of the world's foremost political prisoners.



• He attempted to draw parallels between himself and the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, three of whose members were convicted and jailed this week for a performance denouncing President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral.

"There is unity in the oppression. There must be absolute unity and determination in the response," Assange said.



