Assange gets new company

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living in the Ecuadorean embassy for almost four years, has gained a new companion - a pet kitten.

The cat was a gift from his children. It is yet to be named but already has a twitter feed: @EmbassyCat.

Assange claimed asylum at the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over sexual assault allegations.

He fears if he leaves he will be sent to the US and put on trial.

Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has made headlines around the world releasing confidential documents, including high-profile ones from the US.

Earlier this year a UN panel found that Sweden and the UK were violating Assange's rights, saying that his case amounts to "arbitrary detention" and that he should be released.

His lawyers are attempting to enforce the guidance in Swedish courts and filed arguments on Monday, Reuters reported.

Photo taken from @EmbassyCat Twitter handle.

The @EmbassyCat account has started following several others, including the US State Department, the British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, and another famous feline - the British foreign office's chief mouser Palmerston.

An early tweet apparently sent to Palmerston quoted a line from Shakespeare's Henry VI Part Two.

"Small curs are not regarded when they grin; But great men tremble when the lion roars," it read. Palmerston, who goes by the handle @DiploMog on Twitter, is yet to respond.