Edward Snowden Charged With Espionage

Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed secret government spying programmes, has been charged with espionage by US authorities.

A provisional arrest warrant has been issued and Hong Kong authorities have been asked to detain him.

US prosecutors have filed a criminal complaint, charging Mr Snowden with three offences including unauthorised communication of national defence information, which comes under the Espionage Act, and theft of government property.

He is also charged with willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorised person.

All three crimes listed carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The former CIA technician, who has worked for America's National Security Agency (NSA), leaked details of American telephone and internet surveillance programmes.

Court papers list three offences including theft of government property

He revealed the existence of a surveillance system called Prism that was set up by the NSA to track the use of the internet directly from ISP servers.

The NSA and FBI have said that the secret programme provided "critical leads" in preventing "dozens of terrorist events" - although some terror experts dispute the claims.

President Obama has also said the programmes were carried out with "systems of checks and balances" and overseen by the courts and the US Congress.

The Prism revelations sparked outcry in the UK when The Guardian reported that the GCHQ eavesdropping agency had been accessing information about British citizens through Prism.

Mr Snowden fled to Hong Kong on May 20 after copying the last set of documents he intended to disclose at the NSA's office in Hawaii.

Protests in support of Mr Snowden have taken place in Hong Kong

Sky News Asia correspondent Mark Stone said the move marks the official start of government attempts to bring him back to the US.

"We are yet to hear from the Hong Kong police and authorities on whether or not they will act on the request by the Americans to arrest Edward Snowden.

"It's my understanding that they know exactly where he is. The Americans haven't yet asked for his extradition, they have simply asked the authorities to arrest him."

There are reports a private plane is on standby to take Mr Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland, where he hopes to get asylum.

The latest documents from Mr Snowden claim to show that British spies have secretly accessed fibre-optic cables carrying emails, Facebook messages and other communications.

The Guardian reports that GCHQ can analyse data from the network of cables that carry global phone calls and internet traffic under an operation codenamed Tempora.

It claims that communications between innocent people are being processed, as well as those from people marked out as security threats.

The NSA programme helped to prevent terror attacks, say US spy chiefs

"It's not just a US problem," Mr Snowden told The Guardian.

"The UK has a huge dog in this fight. They (GCHQ) are worse than the US."

Mr Snowden worked for the NSA as an employee of various outside contractors, including Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton.

"I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building," Mr Snowden previously told The Guardian.

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Canada Floods Force Thousands Of Evacuations

Around 75,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and at least three have died following severe flooding to communities around Calgary in western Canada.

Roads and bridges have been washed away and swathes of the city are under water.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who toured the area on Friday, called the level of flooding "stunning".

"This is incredible. I've seen a little bit of flooding in Calgary before. I don't think any of us have seen anything like this before. The magnitude is just extraordinary," he said.

"We're all very concerned that if gets much more than this it could have real impact on infrastructure and other services longer term, so we're hoping things will subside a bit."

Royal Canadian Mounted Police sergeant Patricia Neely said three people had died and two bodies had been recovered.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the water levels have reached a peak, but have not declined.

"We've sat at the same level for many, many hours now," he said.

"There is one scenario that would it go even higher than this, so you'll either see the Bow river continue at this level for many hours or you will see it grow even higher and we're prepared for that eventuality."

Twenty-five neighbourhoods in the city, with an estimated 75,000 people, have already been evacuated in the city.

A spokesman for Canada's defence minister said 1,300 soldiers are being deployed to the flood zone.

Water levels have reached a peak, the city's mayor says

In downtown Calgary, the home rink of the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames has flooded and the water inside is 10 rows deep.

"I think that really paints a very clear picture of what kinds of volumes of water we are dealing with," said Trevor Daroux, the city's deputy police chief.

The floods are also forcing emergency plans at the Calgary Zoo, which is situated on an island near where the Elbow and Bow rivers meet.

Lions and tigers are being prepared for transfer, if necessary, to prisoner holding cells at the courthouse.

Calgary is not alone in its weather-related woes. Flashpoints of chaos have spread from towns in the Rockies south to Lethbridge.

More than a dozen towns have declared states of emergency. Entire communities, including High River and Bragg Creek, near Calgary, are under mandatory evacuation orders.

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Brazil Protests: President Promises Reforms

Brazil's President has promised to improve public services but says any further violence will not be tolerated in a speech to the nation rocked by mass protests.

During a TV broadcast Dilma Rousseff appealed for unity and said the government knew there were many things "we can do quicker and better".

"I am the president of all Brazil. Of those who support the demonstration and those who do not."

Dilma Rousseff has condemned the violence by 'a minority'

Reaching out to those who feel the government should direct more money to public services rather than on hosting major sporting events, she insisted that "football and sport are symbols of peace and peaceful coexistence".

But she added she would not stand by if demonstrations turned violent, as has been the case in several cities hit by cases of looting and attacks on public buildings including the foreign ministry and several government offices.

"The government cannot stand by as people attack public property ... and bring chaos to our streets," she stressed.

President Rousseff supports peaceful protest

"We need to inject oxygen into our political system, and make it more transparent and resistant to the tough challenges facing a countries marked by extreme disparity between rich and poor."

But she insisted that "we cannot put up with violence".

"People have a right to criticise," added Ms Rousseff saying she would staunchly defend that right.

She added: "We need to oxygenate our political system ... and make it more transparent."

Ms Rousseff, a former Marxist rebel who fought against Brazil's 1964-85 military regime and was imprisoned for three years, pointedly referred to sacrifices her generation made to free the nation from dictatorship.

Her comments came after nearly one million demonstrators took to the streets on Friday across the country to denounce alleged corruption, poor public services and billions of dollars spent preparing for next year's World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

Ms Rousseff had cancelled a trip overseas because of the unrest, but stayed away from the public eye for most of the week.

Nearly a million protesters took to the streets on Friday

But critics of Ms Rousseff and her government have accused them of paying "lip service".

Carlos Cardozo, a 62-year-old financial consultant who joined Friday's protest in Rio, said he thought the unrest could cost Ms Rousseff next year's elections.

"Her paying lip service by saying she's in favour of the protests is not helping her cause," Mr Cardozo said. "People want to see real action, real decisions, and it's not this government that's capable of delivering."

At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo on Thursday night when a motorist - apparently enraged about being unable to drive along a street - rammed his car into a crowd of demonstrators.

Unconfirmed news reports also said a 54-year-old cleaning woman had died on Friday after inhaling tear gas.

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Clashes In Brazil As One Million March

The Brazilian government will hold an emergency meeting later amid spiralling protests over alleged corruption and high prices which have seen one million people take to the streets.

The demonstrations, which have spread to more than 80 cities across the country, look set to continue into a second week, prompting President Dilma Rousseff to assemble her top cabinet members and forcing her to cancel an overseas trip.

In Sao Paulo state, a protester was killed when a driver - apparently enraged about being unable to drive along a street - rammed his car into a crowd of demonstrators.

Riot police in Rio were faced with the largest demonstrations

In Rio de Janeiro, 300,000 people staged a demonstration near City Hall, while in the capital Brasilia, hundreds of protesters tried to storm the foreign ministry building, leaving authorities "frightened", according to local newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo.

Clashes have also taken place in the Amazon jungle city of Belem, in Porto Alegre in the south, in the university town of Campinas north of Sao Paulo and in the northeastern city of Salvador.

Sky correspondent Jason Farrell, in Rio de Janeiro, said protests there began with a "carnival atmosphere", as demonstrators arrived "draped in flags or with stripes of Brazil's national green, yellow and blue painted onto their faces".

More than 300,000 people joined protests in Rio de Janeiro

However, peaceful protesters were caught up in clashes between rioters and police, who fired tear gas and pepper spray into the crowds.

Law student Wallace Tarenta told Sky News: "I have come here because we need more money for hospitals and teachers and security - not more stadiums for the World Cup."

Protester Jorge Vieira added: "Brazil is a strong country, we have good natural resources and a strong government - but nothing goes to the people."

Riot police in Belem were confronted by stone-throwing demonstrators

The protests in Brazil were sparked by public anger about the rising cost of public transport.

Several city leaders have already revoked planned increases to bus and subway fares.

However, Sky's Jason Farrell said anger has now turned to a perceived lack of investment in public services, as well as the $15 billion cost of hosting next year's football World Cup.

Celebrations in Sao Paulo, where planned fare hikes have been dropped

"On the face of it, Brazil has it all: a growing economy, a World Cup and the 2016 Olympics to look forward to," he said.

"But protesters say a corrupt government is damaging the lives of working people while squandering money on showcase stadiums.

"With riots breaking out in cities across the country, the world is now watching Brazil and wondering how it will cope with the pressures of hosting two of the world's biggest sporting events."

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Syria: Rebels Risk Own Lives Over DIY Weapons

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in northern Syria

High explosive powder is shaken into the nose cone of an improvised missile through a funnel fashioned from a mineral water bottle.

Then along comes a man with a long bolt. He shoves it down into the powder and starts whacking it with a steel-headed hammer.

One spark, a drift of cigarette ash, and the detonation of this arms factory would be heard and seen for many, many miles.

We agreed with our hosts, Syrian rebels with no connection to al Qaeda-linked groups, that we would not reveal the location of this installation. The reason was obvious.

For more than two years the rebels fighting Bashar al Assad had been begging the outside world for help.

They had seen how effective a no-fly zone had been in Libya.

Some of the extraordinary weapons being produced

A generous interpretation of a United Nations Security Council Resolution which mandated the use of "all necessary means" to protect Libya's civilian population had meant that Nato and her allies were able to deploy aircraft effectively as the rebel air force.

Surely, given the scale of Mr Assad's assault on his own people, the Syrian fighters reasoned, they would get the same sort of support their Libyan brothers had enjoyed. They were wrong.

The West, led by the US, was heavily focused on getting out of, not into, conflicts in the Islamic world. Namely Iraq and Afghanistan.

And there was no chance that Russia would allow a UN resolution that sanctioned the use of air power against its ally in Damascus.

So no no-fly zone and no weapons shipments - aside from limited supplies from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The rebels were forced to improvise, or die. Weapons had to be made if they could not be given, or captured.

This explosive device looked like a cartoon bomb

The factory we saw turned out some extraordinary weapons.

The most primitive was a "cannon" which ejected an explosive charge, made from a length of pipe stuffed with explosive which was detonated by a fuse that had to be lit with a match before being fired. It looked like a cartoon bomb.

A similar, smaller, contraption had been made from an old shotgun. The rebels make their explosive out of fertiliser and sugar.

Mortar barrels and rockets are turned on industrial lathes, using pipes bought from a builders' merchant.

The rocket detonators are hand turned. A worker dropped one last week, and paid for the mistake with his life.

"We have invested a lot of money and effort in trying to get better at this, some of us have been killed working here - one man died last week, and many have lost pieces of themselves," said Abu Yahya, the manager of the factory.

The weapons-makers are self-taught engineers

The US has recently decided to send lethal aid to the rebels - not game-changing equipment such as anti-aircraft weapons or tank-killing missiles - just small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

These will be welcome - but they are the sort of thing that the rebels make for themselves.

The US is reluctant to send more powerful equipment because of fears that it could find its way into the hands of al Qaeda-affiliated groups which could then use anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down civilian aircraft.

Prime Minister David Cameron supports arming those rebels with no affiliations to al Qaeda - but whether he can sell the idea to Parliament remains in question.

Many British MPs do not believe that their national interests would be served by backing rebels who may turn against Europe.

But there remains another, more subtle, problem.

The arms factory we saw was a hive of innovation and improvisation. The self-taught engineers were making a remote-controlled rocket launcher out of plastic drainage pipes, the working parts of an adjustable TV satellite receiver and an old starter motor.

That level of artisanal arms manufacturing may, one day, pose a threat to the outside world from people who were abandoned by it.

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Afghan Negotiators Boycott Talks With Taliban

Afghan peace negotiators have told Sky News they have no intention of attending talks with the Taliban in Qatar.

A spokesman said: "Taliban are not interested in peace, (their) only intention is in becoming the government again."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai had already cancelled a peace delegation to Doha, where security talks between the US and the Taliban were due to take place.

He was angry about a move by the Taliban to cast their new office in the Gulf nation of Qatar as a rival embassy.

The Qatari government insisted that a sign suggesting it was an embassy was removed, a move welcomed by the Americans.

But the negotiators say that Taliban officials removing the flag and sign is not enough to undo the damage done when they opened the office.

Sky Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland said: "It's something the Afghan government are furious about.

"They feel they've been sidelined. The situation's been made even worse by the fact the Taliban were allowed to open an office here (in Doha).

"The Afghan government say the Taliban have been allowed to look like a government in exile."

The Taliban has said it does not recognise the government of Mr Karzai.

It's representatives held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday at which they hoisted their flag and a banner with the name they used while in power more than a decade ago: "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

The security talks are an ongoing discussion about the shape of a small international "back-up" force to stay in Afghanistan once combat troops have left at the end of next year.

The US has dropped its pre-condition for talks that the Taliban must ends its links to al Qaeda. That is likely to be part of an initial declaration of agendas between the two sides.

US officials say the first meeting will be about laying out each others' positions then they will go away and meet again in a few weeks.

More follows...

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Snowden: Iceland Talks About Potential Asylum

Iceland says a spokesman who claims to represent Edward Snowden has held talks with government officials about the potential of the NSA leaker applying for asylum in the Nordic country.

"A representative of his has, to my knowledge... had some informal discussions with some employees of a couple of ministries, but no formal discussions," Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson said.

He said that Mr Snowden, who is holed up in Hong Kong after blowing the lid on a vast US electronic spying programme, would need to be in Iceland in order to apply for asylum.

"So since he's not in the country it's not for me to comment on presently," he said.

Interior Minister Hanna Kristjansdottir told public broadcaster RUV on Tuesday that the government had been approached by a spokesman for the WikiLeaks website, Icelandic journalist Kristinn Hrafnsson, who wanted to "discuss the matter with a representative of the ministry".

A banner showing support for Snowden in Hong Kong

"He got a meeting where the matter was discussed," she said.

However, she added the government did not feel bound by a 2010 resolution by the Icelandic parliament seeking to make the country a safe haven for journalists and whistleblowers from around the globe.

"The resolution is not a part of the laws that apply to asylum seekers," she said.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper on June 10, Mr Snowden - who has been hailed a "hero" by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange - described Iceland as a country that shared his values.

Mr Hrafnsson is an Icelandic journalist

However, observers say the new centre-right coalition in Reykjavik may be less willing to anger the United States than its leftist predecessor.

Mr Snowden, 29, leaked details of  the US National Security Agency's (NSA) spying programmes, which monitor private internet traffic.

US authorities have launched a criminal investigation.

The former CIA employee and NSA contractor fled to Hong Kong on May 20, but the US has yet to file any formal extradition request.

Chinese state media earlier said Hong Kong has the opportunity of "proving itself a free society in front of the world" by its handling of the Snowden case.

The editorial in the the Global Times newspaper appear to distance Beijing from any decision on his possible extradition.

Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous territory and has a separate legal system to mainland China.

The editorial also said Hong Kong - which has an extradition treaty with the US - should decide without interference from the mainland on Mr Snowden's fate.

Supporters of Snowden protest in Hong Kong

"Things will go much easier if Hong Kong plays a leading role in resolving this incident, rather than being told by Beijing or Washington what to do," the editorial said.

"Hong Kong has the chance to expand its political freedom to a larger extent, setting an example for the rest of the world."

The editorial also criticised the US government, which it called "stuck in an embarrassing position", citing increasing "public sympathy" for Mr Snowden.

"Public opinion will have a large impact on Snowden's destiny," the editorial said.

"It seems that Snowden being extradited back to the US has become an inconceivable option.

"Selfishness has been pushing Washington to employ double standards in political affairs. If it doesn't readjust such policies, its international reputation will be permanently damaged."

Experts have claimed that Mr Snowden is testing Hong Kong's civil liberties under its "one country, two systems" framework by retreating to the former British colony, which was returned to China in 1997.

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US 'Postpones' Taliban Talks Amid Karzai Fury

Taliban Insurgency: A Timeline

Updated: 4:44pm UK, Tuesday 18 June 2013

As Afghan forces take control of national security, marking a major milestone for the withdrawal of US-led combat troops, here is a timeline of the 12 years of Taliban insurgency in the country.

:: September 11, 2001 - al Qaeda hijackers fly passenger planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is known to live in Afghanistan, which is ruled by the Taliban.

:: October 7, 2001 - A US-led military campaign begins with air strikes against Afghanistan, followed by troops, to hunt down bin Laden and topple the Taliban.

:: December 2001 - The Taliban are forced from power, but bin Laden is not found. Plans are laid for an interim government and a multinational force. Hamid Karzai is appointed to lead the government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) begins to deploy.

:: October 9, 2004 - Afghanistan's first presidential election takes place. Mr Karzai is proclaimed the winner. He is declared to have won another term in November 2009, amid accusations of massive electoral fraud.

:: February 2007 - Taliban insurgents attack at US base as vice president Dick Cheney visits, killing 24 people.

:: November 2008 - Barack Obama is elected US president, and vows to end the war in Iraq and focus on Afghanistan.

:: December 1, 2009 - Mr Obama orders a "surge" of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan but says withdrawals will begin in July 2011. The number of NATO-led forces reaches a peak of 150,000 in the summer of 2010.

:: May 2, 2011 - Osama bin Laden is killed by US special forces in the Pakistan town of Abbottabad.

:: June 22, 2011 - Mr Obama announces the withdrawal of 33,000 US troops by the middle of 2012.

:: July 2011 - Western troops and officials begin handing authority to Afghan forces in some areas.

:: August 6, 2011 - 30 US troops, mostly special forces, and eight Afghans die when the Taliban shoots down their helicopter in the biggest single loss for foreign troops in the war.

:: September 20, 2011 - Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former president and Mr Karzai's peace envoy, becomes the most senior politician to be killed since the start of the conflict in an assassination blamed by Afghan officials on the Taliban.

:: November 27, 2011 - US air strikes kill 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Pakistan to suspend overland NATO supply routes into Afghanistan for several months.

:: December 6, 2011 - At least 84 people die in suicide blasts at shrines on the Shiite holday day of Ashura. The biggest attack takes place in Kabul, killing 80.

:: February 2012 - Deadly protests kill 40 people and force Mr Obama to apologise after US troops burn copies of the Koran on an Afghan military base.

:: March 11, 2012 - A rogue US soldier walks off his base in Kandahar and kills 16 Afghans, most of them women and children.

:: February 2013 - Mr Obama announces 34,000 US troops will return from Afghanistan by mid-February 2014. There are currently 98,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.

At least 3,336 foreign troops have died since the start of operations in 2001.

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Protesters Try To Force Way Into Brazil Match

Brazilian protesters outraged over the costs of hosting next year's World Cup have clashed with police outside a football stadium, as the government deployed elite forces to contain the unrest.

Violence erupted near the £155m Castelao stadium in the city of Fortaleza where the national side faced Mexico in the Confederations Cup.

Protesters march towards the Castelao stadium in Fortaleza

Some 15,000 demonstrators gathered near the venue - one of several hosting matches in the tournament.

Protesters hurled stones at the police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Sky Sports News reporter Geraint Hughes, in Fortaleza, said: "Many of the protesters tried to gain access to the game. There were some running battles between police and protesters."

National forces block the march

The national force was also sent to several states including Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Minas Gerais and Brasilia, while an additional 6,000 state police troopers were deployed to Fortaleza.

Demonstrations initially sparked by an increase in bus fares in Sao Paulo have quickly spiralled into nationwide marches against corruption, poor public services and the £9.5bn cost of staging the 2014 World Cup.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the past two weeks to voice their anger over the spending.

Demonstrators run as police attempt to disperse the crowds with tear gas

"We are protesting the use of public funds for the construction of stadiums, money that should be used for education," said 18-year-old Matheus Dantas, amid a sea of Brazilian flags.

The fresh violence flared on Wednesday night as authorities in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro announced a U-turn on the increase in fares on public transport.

Several other Brazilian cities including Porto Alegre and Recife had already rolled back their fare increases.

Protests during the Brazil and Mexico Confederations Cup tie

President Dilma Rousseff has promised to "listen to the voices calling for change".

On Tuesday, riot police and tens of thousands of protesters clashed in Sao Paulo - the largest city.

What could be the country's biggest demonstration in three decades is planned for Rio later, with around half a million people expected to line the streets of the city ahead of another Confederations Cup game between Spain and Tahiti.

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Afghanistan: Taliban 'Admit' US Troop Attack

Taliban Insurgency: A Timeline

Updated: 4:44pm UK, Tuesday 18 June 2013

As Afghan forces take control of national security, marking a major milestone for the withdrawal of US-led combat troops, here is a timeline of the 12 years of Taliban insurgency in the country.

:: September 11, 2001 - al Qaeda hijackers fly passenger planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is known to live in Afghanistan, which is ruled by the Taliban.

:: October 7, 2001 - A US-led military campaign begins with air strikes against Afghanistan, followed by troops, to hunt down bin Laden and topple the Taliban.

:: December 2001 - The Taliban are forced from power, but bin Laden is not found. Plans are laid for an interim government and a multinational force. Hamid Karzai is appointed to lead the government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) begins to deploy.

:: October 9, 2004 - Afghanistan's first presidential election takes place. Mr Karzai is proclaimed the winner. He is declared to have won another term in November 2009, amid accusations of massive electoral fraud.

:: February 2007 - Taliban insurgents attack at US base as vice president Dick Cheney visits, killing 24 people.

:: November 2008 - Barack Obama is elected US president, and vows to end the war in Iraq and focus on Afghanistan.

:: December 1, 2009 - Mr Obama orders a "surge" of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan but says withdrawals will begin in July 2011. The number of NATO-led forces reaches a peak of 150,000 in the summer of 2010.

:: May 2, 2011 - Osama bin Laden is killed by US special forces in the Pakistan town of Abbottabad.

:: June 22, 2011 - Mr Obama announces the withdrawal of 33,000 US troops by the middle of 2012.

:: July 2011 - Western troops and officials begin handing authority to Afghan forces in some areas.

:: August 6, 2011 - 30 US troops, mostly special forces, and eight Afghans die when the Taliban shoots down their helicopter in the biggest single loss for foreign troops in the war.

:: September 20, 2011 - Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former president and Mr Karzai's peace envoy, becomes the most senior politician to be killed since the start of the conflict in an assassination blamed by Afghan officials on the Taliban.

:: November 27, 2011 - US air strikes kill 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Pakistan to suspend overland NATO supply routes into Afghanistan for several months.

:: December 6, 2011 - At least 84 people die in suicide blasts at shrines on the Shiite holday day of Ashura. The biggest attack takes place in Kabul, killing 80.

:: February 2012 - Deadly protests kill 40 people and force Mr Obama to apologise after US troops burn copies of the Koran on an Afghan military base.

:: March 11, 2012 - A rogue US soldier walks off his base in Kandahar and kills 16 Afghans, most of them women and children.

:: February 2013 - Mr Obama announces 34,000 US troops will return from Afghanistan by mid-February 2014. There are currently 98,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.

At least 3,336 foreign troops have died since the start of operations in 2001.

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NSA Chief: Spying 'Foiled 50 Terror Plots'

The director of the National Security Agency has insisted the US government's sweeping surveillance programmes have foiled some 50 terrorist plots worldwide.

Among those prevented attacks was one planned for the New York Stock Exchange and another aimed at a Danish newspaper that had published a cartoon image of the Prophet Mohammed, according to US officials.

In a forceful defence echoed by leaders of the House Intelligence Committee, Army General Keith Alexander said the two recently disclosed programmes are critical in the terrorism fight.

The programmes "assist the intelligence community to connect the dots", Gen Alexander told the committee in a rare, open Capitol Hill hearing.

The National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland

Gen Alexander got no disagreement from the leaders of the panel, who have been outspoken in backing the programmes since Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton, disclosed information to The Washington Post and The Guardian newspapers.

Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the committee, and Rep CA Dutch Ruppersberger, the panel's top Democrat, said the programmes were vital to the intelligence community and assailed Mr Snowden's actions as criminal.

Mr Rogers said: "It is at times like these where our enemies within become almost as damaging as our enemies on the outside."

Mr Ruppersberger said the "brazen disclosures" put the United States and its allies at risk.

The general counsel for the intelligence community said the NSA cannot target phone conversations between callers inside the US - even if one of those callers was someone they were targeted for surveillance when outside the country.

Snowden is believed to be in Hong Kong

The director of national intelligence's legal chief, Robert S Litt, said that if the NSA finds it has accidentally gathered a phone call by a target who had travelled into the US without their knowledge, they have to "purge" that from their system.

The same goes for an accidental collection of any conversation because of an error.

Mr Litt said those incidents are then reported to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which "pushes back" and asks how it happened, and what the NSA is doing to fix the problem so it does not happen again.

Mr Rogers previewed the latest public airing of the NSA controversy the morning after President Barack Obama vigorously defended the surveillance programmes in a lengthy interview Monday.

Mr Snowden, meanwhile, accused members of Congress and administration officials in an online interview Monday of exaggerating their claims about the success of the data gathering programmes.

The American citizen, believed to be in Hong Kong, said he planned to release more details on how he says the NSA can gain direct access to internet data on private servers.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Mr Snowden's father, Lon Snowden, defended his son's integrity and said he hoped he would not do anything that might be considered treasonous.

He said: "I would like to see Ed come home and face this. I shared that with the government when I spoke with them. I love my son."

He added: "I would rather my son be a prisoner in the US than a free man in a country that did not have ... the freedoms that are protected" in America.

The US has launched a criminal investigation to prosecute the whistleblower for lifting and exposing the classified material.

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Jill Meagher Killer Sentenced To Life In Prison

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of Irishwoman Jill Meagher in Melbourne, Australia.

Adrian Ernest Bayley, who had pleaded guilty to raping and murdering the 29-year-old on September 22 last year, was told he will not be able to apply for parole for at least 35 years.

The 41-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing, plus 15 years for the rape.

Victorian Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Nettle told Bayley: "The nature and gravity of your offending and its antecedence ensure that nothing but life imprisonment will suffice.

"It was a savage, violent rape of the worst kind. Your killing of the deceased ranks among the worst kind conceivable.

"I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt you pose a risk to the sexual safety of the community."

Justice Nettle said Bayley would not have received a minimum term if he had not pleaded guilty.

Ms Meagher was attacked as she walked back to her flat after having drinks with colleagues from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Bayley dragged her into an alleyway before raping and murdering her.

Jill Meagher's husband Tom at court in Melbourne

The serial sex offender was on parole at the time after serving eight years in prison for raping five women previously.

He was also on bail, after causing serious injury to a man outside a nightclub.

Ms Meagher's heartbroken family, including husband Tom, brother Michael and mother Edith McKeon, were in court to hear the sentence.

Her father, George McKeon, made an emotional statement afterwards, saying: "Jill was brutally raped and murdered, and is never coming back.

"Because of Ben Leonard and the team at Victoria Police and Richard Lewis and his colleagues at Public Prosecutions Victoria, justice has now been done."

The court heard Ms Meagher, in all probability, had the greatest and best of her life ahead of her, before she was stolen from her husband and parents by Bayley.

Her husband had been robbed of the love and companionship of his life partner, Justice Nettle said.

"You were determined to have your way with her and so you overpowered her and raped her where she stood," the judge said.

"You are a recidivist violent sexual offender who has had little compunction about sexually offending when the mood takes you.

Jill Meagher on her wedding day

"You dragged her off the street at night while she was quietly going about her business a stone's throw from her home. The rape was savage and degrading."

At a previous hearing the court heard Tom Meagher's victim impact statement where he said he was haunted by visions of what happened to her.

He said his future had been taken away and replaced with a life of fear, insomnia and anger.

"What was stolen from me on the 22nd of September 2012 was love, my best friend and my entire world," Mr Meagher said in his statement.

"I think of the waste of a brilliant mind and a beautiful soul. I am half a person because of this crime."

At the same hearing Ms Meagher's brother, Michael McKeon, said there were no adequate words to describe the impact of the loss of his sister.

"I am in dreadful pain, I must carry on with living a full life, yet I will never forget my sister," he said in a statement read to the court.

The couple had moved to Australia in 2009 after getting married and set up life in Melbourne.

Six days after the attack Bayley led police to her body, buried in a shallow grave on the outskirts of the city.

Her murder struck a chord in Melbourne with 30,000 people marching through the city to remember Jill and also highlight wider concerns about violence against women.

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