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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty in a court in the Northern Mariana Islands and reached an agreement with U.S. authorities that is expected to lead to his release.
Here are five things to know about the U.S. territory in the Western Pacific:
– Closer to Australia –
Surrounded by the vast Pacific Ocean, the Northern Mariana Islands are a remote island in the world’s largest economy.
Its nearest neighbors are Japan, the Philippines, and, most notably in this case, Australia, Assange’s home country, to which he will return after the plea deal is completed.
Court documents say the Northern Mariana Islands were chosen “due to the defendant’s objection to travel to the continental United States” and the islands’ “proximity” to Australia.
U.S. Territories
Assange appeared before a U.S. judge in a court on Saipan, the largest island in the archipelago and home to 90 percent of its 51,000 people, according to the CIA World Factbook.
The 52-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information.
He is expected to be sentenced to five years and two months in prison, the same time he has already served in the UK.
People from the Northern Mariana Islands are U.S. citizens, but do not have the same rights as people from the 50 states.
For example, they cannot vote in presidential elections, like other U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Wartime history
In 1668, Spain occupied the archipelago, and warfare and disease wiped out most of the native population.
After the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States won Guam but sold the neighboring Northern Mariana Islands to Germany.
Japan ruled the islands in the early 20th century, transporting thousands of laborers from there and invading Guam during World War II.
The United States captured the territory in 1944 during the Battle of Saipan.
– Tropical Destinations –
The islands rely on energy imports, but tourism is growing, particularly from China and South Korea, the CIA said.
Holidaymakers come here to surf and dive, or simply enjoy the year-round temperatures of around 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit).
It is also near and namesake to the Mariana Trench, the deepest known depth in the world’s oceans, which has long fascinated scientists and explorers.
– natural disaster –
The Northern Mariana Islands consist of 14 islands that stretch roughly north-south for about 600 kilometers (370 miles).
The island is dotted with active volcanoes, and the typhoon season lasts from July to January.
Super Typhoon Yutu struck the Marianas in 2018, the strongest typhoon ever to hit the Marianas and the second-strongest typhoon to hit the United States, according to the U.S. government.
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