LONDON (REUTERS) - Julian Assange is wanted for crimes that put at risk the lives of people in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan who had helped the West, said a lawyer acting for the United States in its bid toextradite the 48-year-old.

Almost a decade since his WikiLeaks website enraged Washington by leaking secret US documents, a clean-shaven Assange appeared before an extradition hearing at London's Woolwich Crown Court to confirm his name and age.