Edward Snowden Wants Asylum In Russia

Intelligence services whistleblower Edward Snowden plans to request asylum in Russia, accusing the US of trying to block him from travelling to other countries.

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Friday but appeared to make no headway on Washington's demand that Moscow send Snowden back to the US to face espionage charges.

Snowden's asylum remarks came in a statement after closed-door talks with human rights groups and lawyers at the Moscow airport where he has been holed up for weeks.

In a statement released after the 45-minute meeting, Snowden said: "That moral decision to tell the public about spying that affects all of us has been costly, but it was the right thing to do and I have no regrets."

He said he had given up his family and a "home in paradise" to put an end to what he said was a "serious violation of the law".

Pic: Courtesy of Tatyana Lokshina/Human Rights Watch

"I did not seek to enrich myself. I did not seek to sell US secrets. I did not partner with any foreign government to guarantee my safety," he said in the statement.

"Instead, I took what I knew to the public, so what affects all of us can be discussed by all of us in the light of day, and I asked the world for justice."

Snowden is wanted by the US over a series of leaks about spying programmes, with his most recent claims involving collaboration between Microsoft and American intelligence services.

Washington had previously criticised Moscow for giving Snowden a "propaganda platform", saying it was "disappointed" that Russia had allowed him to hold the meeting at Moscow airport.

The talks drew politicians, lawyers and activists including representatives of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

A picture of Snowden at the meeting, taken by Human Rights Watch representative Tanya Lokshina, shows him with WikiLeaks representative Sarah Harrison on his right. 

Politician Vyacheslav Nikonov took part in the meeting

It was the first time that he had been seen since the scandal broke last month.

He seemed nervous, but in apparently good health, according to one of the participant, Duma member Vyacheslav Nikonov.

The former NSA contractor, 30, accuses Washington of waging a campaign to stop him from leaving Russia and getting asylum.

"The government and intelligence services of the United States of America have attempted to make an example of me, a warning to all others who might speak out as I have."

"I have been made stateless and hounded for my act of political expression," the statement said.

Protesters have shown their support for Snowden

Snowden said he was grateful for those countries, including Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, which offered support and asylum, saying he accepted all offers that had been extended and any future one.

But, he said, given the "unlawful threat" posed by the US and his inability to reach those countries, he planned to formally request asylum in Russia until he can legally travel to Latin America.

Austrian authorities last week searched the Bolivian president's plane when it was diverted to Vienna because the US suspected Snowden was on board.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mr Putin said Snowden might be allowed to stay in Russia if he stops releasing leaks that would damage the US or Russia-US relations, repeating conditions the Kremlin had set out earlier.

Both Mr Nikonov and Genri Reznik, a lawyer who participated in the meeting, said Snowden was willing to stop leaks.

"He said he was informed of this condition and that he can easily accept it. He does not intend to damage US interests given that he is a patriot of his country," Mr Nikonov said.

Snowden fled to Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23 and has been in limbo in Sheremetyevo airport's transit area despite the offers for asylum.

The US has revoked his passport, and doubts have also been raised about whether Snowden could fly from Moscow to any of those countries without passing through the airspace of the US or its allies.

The UN human rights chief has weighed in for the first time, giving guarded support for the fugitive ex-contractor.

Entrances were guarded during the meeting at the airport

"Snowden's case has shown the need to protect persons disclosing information on matters that have implications for human rights, as well as the importance of ensuring respect for the right to privacy," Navi Pillay said in a statement.

Snowden is seeking to avoid extradition after divulging embarrassing evidence about the activities of US spies, as well as the British eavesdropping agency GCHQ, to newspapers including The Guardian.

The latest files said Microsoft helped America's National Security Agency (NSA) to circumvent encryption so it could view web chats on the Outlook.com portal, which is replacing Hotmail.

Evidence seen by the paper said Microsoft also worked to give the NSA easier access to its cloud storage service SkyDrive, which has more than 250 million users. And by July 2012, nine months after Microsoft bought Skype, the Prism intelligence programme was collecting triple the amount of Skype video calls.

Microsoft told the paper it only provides information about users when demanded to do so by the government.

Snowden's files have also revealed the NSA claimed to have access to the servers of web firms including Apple, Google, Facebook and Yahoo, while GCHQ scans vast amounts of internet traffic through a system of fibre-optic cables.

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Egypt: US Calls For Release Of Detained Morsi

The US has called for the release of Mohamed Morsi as tens of thousands of supporters of the ousted Egyptian president staged protests across the country.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US agrees with the German Foreign Ministry, which had called for an "end to all restrictive measures considering Morsi".

Mr Morsi, an Islamist who became the country's first freely elected leader, was ousted on July 3 by the military.

His removal followed a wave of protests calling on him to step down.

He has been kept at an undisclosed Defence Ministry facility since then, but no formal charges have been filed.

Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the Army in what many called a coup

Supporters vowed to continue their campaign of street rallies as long as necessary to force Mr Morsi's reinstitution.

At the main Islamist rally in Cairo, the crowd poured into a large boulevard in front of a main mosque where his supporters have been camped out for two weeks.

Some held up photos of Mr Morsi, others carried posters depicting army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi with blood coming out of his mouth and emblazoned with the word "traitor".

"We are ready to stay for a month, two months, a year or even two years," an ultraconservative Salafi cleric, Safwat Hegazi, told protesters.

Friday prayers on the third day of Ramadan

The day of protests marked the first Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, which usually cuts down on activity during the day - particularly outdoors in warm summer temperatures.

During the daytime fast, some at the rally rested in their tents, reading the Quran or sleeping.

Similar rallies were held across the Nile River in Cairo's sister city Giza, in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and several other cities.

Clashes have broken out between Mr Morsi's supporters and his critics

A week of violence in a bitterly divided nation has left dozens of Mr Morsi's Islamist supporters dead.

The new military-backed administration has intensified its crackdown on the leadership of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, issuing several arrest warrants.

The administration is pushing ahead quickly with its transition plans, which the military said would include new elections.

However, the new prime minister Hazem el Beblawi said members of the Muslim Brotherhood would be offered cabinet posts.

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Paris Train Crash: Six Killed In 'Catastrophe'

At least six people are dead and dozens more are injured after a packed train carrying hundreds of passengers derailed and crashed into a station outside Paris.

The seven-carriage service was about 20 minutes into a three-hour journey to Limoges when it crashed 12 miles south of the capital at about 5.15pm local time on Friday.

Part of the metal roof over the platform was crushed as carriages slid towards Bretigny-sur-Orge station in France's most deadly rail crash for years.

An investigation into the cause is under way after the train, with 385 passengers on board, came off the tracks.

The French interior minister has called it a 'catastrophe'

The head of the SNCF rail authority, Guillaume Pepy, said the third and fourth carriages initially came off the track, then knocked the others off.

He called it a "catastophe", adding: "Some cars simply derailed, others are leaning, others fell over."

The crash happened as France prepares to celebrate its most important national holiday, Bastille Day, on Sunday.

Seven carriages piled up

Many people have been heading out of Paris and other big cities to see their familes or go on holiday.

Footage from the scene showed crushed metal on the platform and debris from the crash clogging up the stairs.

Interior minister Manuel Valls said at least six people have been killed. He added that nine people are gravely injured, and warned the number of dead could rise.

Rescuers pull survivors from the wreckage. Pic: @aishakurdish

Briton Graham Hope, a passenger in the third carriage, told Sky News: "The carriage I was in was bouncing for several seconds before we came to a halt.

"Everyone was very calm. A couple of people were quite concerned, but we worked together to get out of the carriage.

"When I got out we could see the rest of the train was further up the line ... I would be very surprised if people got out of the front carriage unscathed."

The train derailed at Bretigny-sur-Orge

A witness in a nearby train, 19-year-old Bazgua El Mehdi told Le Parisien newspaper: "I heard a loud noise. A cloud of sand covered everything. Then the dust dissipated.

"I thought it was a freight train, but then we saw the first casualties ... Many passengers on the (train) were crying."

A police source said: "The train arrived at the station at high speed. It split in two for an unknown reason. Part of the train continued to roll while the other was left on its side on the platform."

But a passenger speaking on France's BFM television said the train was going at a normal speed and was not meant to stop at Bretigny-sur-Orge.

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Canada Train Blast: Engineer Blamed For Crash

Fifty people have now been confirmed dead or are presumed dead after a runaway freight train derailed and exploded in Canada.

Twenty bodies have already been found and officials are telling the families of 30 other people missing that all are believed to have been killed.

A railway boss has blamed an employee for failing to set the brakes properly.

Edward Burkhardt, chief executive of Rail World, made his comments during his first visit to the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic.

Mr Burkhardt, who arrived with a police escort and was heckled by angry residents, said a train engineer had been suspended without pay.

The boss said: "I think he did something wrong. It's hard to explain why someone didn't do something.

"We think he applied some hand brakes but the question is did he apply enough of them.

"He said he applied 11 hand brakes, we think that's not true. Initially we believed him but now we don't."

Edward Burkhardt, chief executive of Rail World visited Lac-Megantic

Mr Burkhardt does not suspect sabotage was involved.

An area of Lac-Megantic was flattened in the inferno caused by the crash, as a wall of fire tore through homes and businesses.

Some parts of the devastated scene have been too hot and dangerous to enter and find bodies even days after the disaster.

The blaze forced about 2,000 residents to flee their homes in the town, which has a population of 6,000. Most residents started returning on Tuesday.

The train, operated by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and carrying crude oil, had been stopped for a crew change in the nearby town of Nantes when it broke loose and hurtled downhill without a conductor towards Lac-Megantic.

It travelled for nearly seven miles before derailing at a curve in the tracks at 63mph and several wagons exploded.

Investigators are looking closely at a fire that happened on the train less than an hour before it became loose while stationary in Nantes.

The train's engine was shut down - standard operating procedure but one that might have disabled the brakes.

Police said a range of possibilities remain under investigation, including criminal negligence.

Some officials have raised the possibility the train was tampered with before the crash.

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Ireland Abortion: New Legislation Is Passed

The Irish Government has passed legislation for the first time allowing for abortion in limited circumstances.

The landmark laws enshrine a woman's right to a termination if her life is at risk, including from suicide.

Despite fears that some backbenchers would revolt, the most high profile of a small number to break ranks and vote against the divisive legislation was a junior minister.

Savita Halappanavar died of septicaemia

Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton was one of only five to break Government ranks and is set to be exiled by her Fine Gael party as the vote passed with a comfortable majority, with 127 voting in favour and 31 against.

Protests by pro-life groups, hate mail, death threats and intimidation to politicians and campaigners worsened already-bitter disputes over the reforms in the predominantly Catholic country.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 was drawn up following the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian dentist who died in an Irish hospital in October last year after being denied an abortion as she miscarried 17 weeks into her pregnancy.

Her widower Praveen claimed the couple had been told a termination was not allowed because "Ireland is a Catholic country".

As new figures on Thursday revealed 11 women travelled from Ireland to Britain every day for an abortion last year, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said it was time the women of Ireland have the rights they deserve enshrined in law.

"We had 21 years of inaction, 21 years of inaction," Mr Kenny said.

"What's going on here is medical clarity and legal certainty for the women of our country who have had a constitutional right conferred upon them."

Lucinda Creighton broke government ranks for voting against the legislation

The two-day debate wrapped up with the final vote shortly before 12.30am. It was clear the suicide clause remained the most divisive aspect of the legislation throughout.

Ms Creighton, the exiled junior minister, refused to support the rule which allows an expectant mother to seek an abortion on the grounds that she is prepared to take her own life and called for alternative therapies to be offered instead. Her demands were ignored.

She automatically lost the party whip after voting against the Government in support of an amendment proposed by fellow Fine Gael rebel Billy Timmins to remove the suicide clause from the legislation.

"I'm very sad," Ms Creighton said, after casting the vote that sealed her self-imposed exile.

"But at the same time I feel a bit relieved because this is obviously something that's been weighing on everybody's minds for months and months.

"It's no exaggeration to say, I think, an awful lot of people have really struggled to make a decision on how they would vote in this legislation."

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Malala Takes Education Battle To The UN

By Tom Parmenter, in New York

The Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban will mark her 16th birthday by addressing the United Nations in New York.

Malala Yousafzai will urge the world to give every child an education.

Her remarkable recovery has seen her become a high profile campaigner with her face being recognised all over the world.

Three million people have already signed a petition which Malala will present to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

Ahead of her first major public speech the teenager said: "This is an opportunity for every young person on the planet to get together and tell the world: 'We will get our education, be it at home, in school or any place'."

The schoolgirl was shot by the Taliban in 2012 while on her way to school in Swat Valley.

She was transferred to Birmingham in the UK and underwent extensive surgery to rebuild her skull at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Malala leaves Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham

Young people from 80 different countries have arrived in New York to hear Malala's speech and to support her cause.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said: "In far too many places, students like Malala and their teachers are threatened, assaulted, even killed.

"Through hate-filled actions, extremists have shown what frightens them the most: a girl with a book."

The event marks Malala Day and has been organised by former prime minister Gordon Brown, now the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.

"This frail young girl who was seriously injured has become such a powerful symbol not just for the girls' right to education, but for the demand that we do something about it immediately," Mr Brown told CBS News.

"There will be no compromise with any religious extremist who says girls should not go to school or stop going to school at 10."

The Malala Day petition can be found here.

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Egypt Orders Brotherhood Arrests Over Clashes

Egypt's public prosecutor has ordered the arrest of Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Mohammed Badie and other top leaders of the movement for inciting violence that left dozens dead outside the headquarters of an elite army unit.

At least 51 people were killed in Monday's clashes outside the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo where supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi were calling for him to be reinstated.

Other senior Brotherhood officials were also ordered to be held over the violence, including Mr Badie's deputy Mahmoud Ezzat and party leaders Essam El-Erian and Mohamed El-Beltagi, according to judicial sources.

Prosecutors said that 200 people had been charged altogether over their involvement in the deadly clashes. Mostly Morsi supporters, they will be held for 15 days pending investigation into accusations of murder, incitement to violence, carrying unlicensed weapons and disrupting public order and security.

Thousands of followers of the Brotherhood have been maintaining a vigil near a mosque in northeast Cairo demanding the reinstatement of Mr Morsi, toppled as president by the army last week.

His ousting, after mass protests calling for his resignation, has prompted widespread violence in the divided country. Monday was the deadliest day so far.

Interim PM Hazem el Beblawi is trying to put together a cabinet

A spokesman for the Brotherhood movement said the charges were an attempt to break-up their protests and that the leaders had not been detained.

Mr Morsi himself is said to be in a "safe place" and has not had any charges levelled against him.

"Morsi is in a safe place, for his safety and he is being treated with dignity," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

It came as the ousted president's Islamist group said it would reject any offers to join a new interim government.

Amid reports that the Muslim Brotherhood is to be offered positions in the transitional cabinet, a spokesman for the movement said: "We do not deal with putschists. We reject all that comes from this coup."

Egypt's new interim prime minister Hazem el Beblawi said he would start work on forming his new cabinet on Wednesday, first meeting liberal leaders Mohamed ElBaradei and Ziad Bahaa-Eldin.

The new leader said he accepted that it would be difficult to win the unanimous support of Egyptians for his new government.

Violent clashes have erupted between Morsi supporters and opponents

Mr Beblawi, a liberal economist and former finance minister, was appointed prime minister by interim president Adly Mansour on Tuesday. He also made Nobel peace laureate Mr ElBaradei interim vice president responsible for foreign affairs.

Mr Mansour has set a timetable to hold elections early next year as part of a new charter to try to halt the unrest.

However, the plan has since been shunned by the Muslim Brotherhood, while the National Salvation Front, the main liberal coalition that called for Mr Morsi's overthrow, has demanded amendments - stopping short of rejecting the decree outright. 

Tamarod, the movement that spearheaded the grassroots campaign against the former president, complained that it had not been consulted on the transition plan announced by Mr Mansour and would also make proposals for changes to the blueprint.

The decree, outlining the interim president's new powers, gives the country five months to amend the Islamist-drafted constitution suspended on Mr Morsi's ouster and ratify it in a referendum.

Parliamentary elections will then be held by early 2014 and Mr Mansour will announce a date for a presidential election once the new parliament has convened.

The continued standoff with Mr Morsi's loyalists, who demand the reinstatement of Egypt's first democratically elected leader, has exacerbated fears of further bloodshed after his overthrow.

In the worst incident on July 3, at least 51 people, most of them supporters of the ousted Islamist, died in clashes outside a military barracks in Cairo.

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Boston Bombings: Tsarnaev Pleads Not Guilty

By Sky News US Team, with Tom Parmenter, in Boston

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges including the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

His arm in a cast, Tsarnaev made his first courtroom appearance since his capture at the end of a chaotic week in April.

Wearing a bright orange overall he walked calmly into court 10 at the Federal Court in Boston.

He fidgeted in his seat and was then told to stand as the different charges were read to him.

A survivor of the bombing arrives at the federal courthouse in Boston

The 19-year-old smiled crookedly - he appeared to have a jaw injury - at his sisters.

Tsarnaev leaned over a microphone and said, "Not guilty" over and over in a Russian accent, before being led out of the courtroom.

He made a kissing motion toward his family as he left.

The proceedings lasted just seven minutes and took place in a courtroom packed with victims of the bombing, their families, police officers, and members of the public and the media.

The April 15 attack killed three people and wounded more than 260 others.

Authorities say Tsarnaev orchestrated the attack along with his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died following a shoot-out with police three days after the bombing.

MIT officers who lost colleague Sean Collier stand guard at the courthouse

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arrested on April 19 when he was found hiding in a boat in a suburban backyard.

He was initially charged in hospital, where he was recovering from wounds suffered in another police gunfight.

Reporters and spectators began lining up for seats in the Boston courtroom at 7.30am as a dozen Federal Protective Service officers and bomb-sniffing dogs surrounded the building.

Four hours before the hearing, the defendant arrived at court in a four-vehicle convoy that included a van, a Humvee and a state police car.

A group of about a dozen Tsarnaev supporters cheered as the cars arrived.

The demonstrators yelled, "Justice for Jahar!" as Tsarnaev is known. One woman held a sign that said, "Free Jahar."

Lacey Buckley, 23, said she travelled from her home in Washington state to attend the arraignment.

Dzhokhar was found hiding in a boat in Watertown

Ms Buckley said she has never met Tsarnaev but came because she believes he is innocent.

"I just think so many of his rights were violated. They almost murdered an unarmed kid in a boat," she said.

A group of friends who were on the high school wrestling team with Tsarnaev at Cambridge Rindge and Latin waited in line outside the courtroom for hours, hoping to get a seat.

One ex-teammate, Shun Tsou, 20, of Cambridge, called Tsarnaev "a silent warrior type".

"There was nothing sketchy about him," said Mr Tsou, adding that he had not formed an opinion on Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence.

Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lingzi Lu were killed

Prosecutors say Tsarnaev, a Muslim, wrote about his motivations for the bombing on the inside walls and beams of the boat where he was captured.

He wrote the US government was "killing our innocent civilians".

"I don't like killing innocent people," he said, but also wrote: "I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished. ... We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all."

Three people - Martin Richard, aged eight; Krystle Marie Campbell, 29; and Lingzi Lu, 23 - were killed by the bombs, which were improvised from pressure cookers.

Authorities say the Tsarnaevs also killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology officer Sean Collier days later while they were on the run.

Numerous bombing victims had legs amputated after the two explosions, which detonated along the final stretch of the race a couple hours after the elite runners had finished.

Following the appearance Tsarnaev was driven back to the secure hospital in Massachusetts where he is being held - his case will be heard in court again in September.

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Canada Train Blast: Engineer Blamed For Crash

Fifty people have now been confirmed dead or are presumed dead after a runaway freight train derailed and exploded in Canada.

Twenty bodies have already been found and officials are telling the families of 30 other people missing that all are believed to have been killed.

A railway boss has blamed an employee for failing to set the brakes properly.

Edward Burkhardt, chief executive of Rail World, made his comments during his first visit to the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic.

Mr Burkhardt, who arrived with a police escort and was heckled by angry residents, said a train engineer had been suspended without pay.

The boss said: "I think he did something wrong. It's hard to explain why someone didn't do something.

"We think he applied some hand brakes but the question is did he apply enough of them.

"He said he applied 11 hand brakes, we think that's not true. Initially we believed him but now we don't."

Edward Burkhardt, chief executive of Rail World visited Lac-Megantic

Mr Burkhardt does not suspect sabotage was involved.

An area of Lac-Megantic was flattened in the inferno caused by the crash, as a wall of fire tore through homes and businesses.

Some parts of the devastated scene have been too hot and dangerous to enter and find bodies even days after the disaster.

The blaze forced about 2,000 residents to flee their homes in the town, which has a population of 6,000. Most residents started returning on Tuesday.

The train, operated by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and carrying crude oil, had been stopped for a crew change in the nearby town of Nantes when it broke loose and hurtled downhill without a conductor towards Lac-Megantic.

It travelled for nearly seven miles before derailing at a curve in the tracks at 63mph and several wagons exploded.

Investigators are looking closely at a fire that happened on the train less than an hour before it became loose while stationary in Nantes.

The train's engine was shut down - standard operating procedure but one that might have disabled the brakes.

Police said a range of possibilities remain under investigation, including criminal negligence.

Some officials have raised the possibility the train was tampered with before the crash.

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Canada Train Explosion: Criminal Probe Starts

A criminal investigation has been launched after a train carrying crude oil came off the rails and exploded, killing 15 people.

The mangled remains of the train after the explosion in Lac-Megantic

The death toll rose as police gained access to the centre of the crash site in Lac-Megantic, near Quebec in Canada, for the first time.

Many of the dozens of people still missing are feared buried in the blackened remains of buildings destroyed by the blast.

The blast destroyed around 30 buildings in the small Canadian town

Inspector Michel Forget, of Quebec Provincial Police, said investigators had discovered "elements" that may point to criminal involvement.

They are examining whether a fire on the train a few hours before the disaster set off the deadly chain of events.

The train travelled downhill for nearly seven miles before derailing

The engine was shut down after the blaze - a standard procedure but one that might have disabled the brakes.

The train broke loose and hurtled down a hill for nearly seven miles before jumping the tracks at 63mph, causing at least five of the 73 cars to explode.

Axle gear was strewn across the town of Lac-Megantic

The blast destroyed around 30 buildings, including a popular nightspot that was packed with people.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper likened the scene to a "war zone" and said the country had witnessed an "unbelievable disaster".

At least five of the freight train's 73 wagons exploded

Local resident Gilles Fluet, who saw the train just before it derailed, said: "It was moving at a hellish speed.

"(There were) no lights, no signals, nothing at all. There was no warning. It was a black blob that came out of nowhere."

Barriers have been placed on rivers to contain the oil spill

Meanwhile, authorities battled to stop waves of crude oil from the disaster reaching the St Lawrence River, an important supply of water for the region.

Yves-Francois Blanchet, the environment and wildlife minister, said the chances of containing the spill were "very slim".

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