The world's week in pictures

US prosecutors are secretly preparing a case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing a cache of sensitive diplomatic cables, his lawyer Baltazar Garzon said Wednesday. The 41-year-old Australian has been holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London since June after losing a legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over rape and sexual assault claims. He believes that if sent to Sweden, he will be re-extradited to the United States to stand trial for spying for publishing the leaked US diplomatic cables that embarrassed governments around the world.

Photo by Getty Images Sep 7, 2012