LONDON — Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in a sex crimes inquiry, a British judge ruled today, rejecting claims by the WikiLeaks founder that he would not face a fair trial there. Assange's lawyer said he would appeal.

Judge Howard Riddle said the allegations of rape and sexual molestation by two women against Assange meet the definition of extraditable offenses and said the Swedish warrant had been properly issued and was valid.

Assange, 39, a key figure in the release of tens of thousands of secret U.S. government and military documents, has been out on bail during the extradition fight.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan's ISI spy agency is ready to split with the CIA because of frustration over what it calls heavy-handed pressure and its anger over what it believes is a covert U.S. operation involving hundreds of contract spies, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with U.S. and Pakistani officials.Such a move could seriously damage the U.S war effort in Afghanistan, limit a program targeting al-Qaida insurgents along the Pakistan frontier, and restrict Washington's access to information in the nuclear-armed country.According to a statement drafted by the ISI, supported by interviews with officials, an already-fragile relationship between the two agencies collapsed following the shooting death of two Pakistanis by Raymond Davis, a U.S. contracted spy who is in jail in Pakistan facing possible multiple murder charges.

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi reporter arrested for throwing his shoes at former President George W. Bush has returned to the country for his first public visit since being freed from prison, and was forcibly detained for questioning today by the Iraqi army.Muntadhar al-Zeidi became a celebrity in the Arab world after throwing his shoes at Bush during a news conference in December 2008 and calling him a dog. After being freed from an Iraqi prison in 2009 at the end of his nine-month sentence, he left the country and had not appeared publicly in Iraq since.One of al-Zeidi's brothers told The Associated Press that he returned Tuesday to join anti-government protests scheduled to take place all over Iraq on Friday.Al-Zeidi was convicted of assault for the 2008 incident in which he threw both his shoes at Bush and shouted: “This is your farewell kiss, you dog!” His prison time included three months in solitary confinement and he alleges he was beaten and electrocuted by interrogators.

BANGKOK — Police in Thailand say an elephant trampled a Swiss tourist to death during what was supposed to be a peaceful ride through the jungle in the south of the tropical country.Police Lt. Col. Apidej Chuaikua says the 63-year-old woman died Tuesday when a pair of elephants carrying her and four other tourists crossed paths and began fighting in a forest in Surat Thani province.Chuaikua said one of the elephants reared up, throwing the woman to fall to the ground, where she was stomped repeatedly.