STOCKHOLM—Sweden took the first formal steps toward requesting the extradition of Julian Assange, in what is likely to be a protracted battle to bring the hacker to trial. The public prosecutor’s office on Monday applied to a local Swedish court requesting it detain Mr. Assange in his absence—a precursor to issuing a warrant for his arrest overseas—after reopening a rape investigation into him last week.

Source: Wall Street Journal May 20, 2019 08:37 UTC