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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 27 sepTember 2022
Russia gives citizenship to ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian He also released details the rest of their lives under
President Vladimir Putin has about the classified U.S. in- omniscient parental super-
granted Russian citizenship telligence budget and the vision.”
to former U.S. security con- extent of American surveil- He has since become a
tractor Edward Snowden, lance on foreign officials, well-known speaker on pri-
according to a decree including the leaders of vacy and intelligence, ap-
signed Monday by the Rus- U.S.-allied countries. pearing remotely at many
sian leader. Snowden has said he made events from Russia.
Snowden is one of 75 for- the disclosures because But he also remains con-
eign citizens listed by the he believed the U.S. intel- troversial among members
decree as being granted ligence community had of the intelligence com-
Russian citizenship. The de- gone too far and wrongly munity, and current and
cree was published on an infringed on civil liberties. former officials from both
official government web- He also has said he didn’t U.S. political parties say he
site. believe the administration endangered global secu-
Snowden, a former con- of former President Barack rity by exposing important
tractor with the U.S. Na- Obama, which was in of- programs.
tional Security Agency, has fice when he leaked the Snowden was charged
been living in Russia since records to journalists, would in 2013 with unauthorized
2013 to escape prosecu- act had he made an in- disclosure of U.S. national
tion in the U.S. after leaking ternal whistleblower com- security and intelligence
classified documents de- In this image made from video and released by WikiLeaks, plaint instead. information as well as theft
tailing government surveil- former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden’s decision to turn of government property.
lance programs. Snowden speaks in Moscow, Oct. 11, 2013. against the NSA came The Justice Department
He was granted perma- Associated Press when he used his program- also sued to stop Snowden
nent Russian residency in low profile in Russia and oc- stressed that men with dual ming skills to to create a from collecting profits on
2020 and said at the time casionally criticized Russian citizenship are also eligible repository of classified in- his memoir, saying he had
that he planned to apply government policies on for the military call-up. house notes on the agen- violated his nondisclosure
for Russian citizenship with- social media, said in 2019 Snowden, however, has cy’s global snooping and agreements with intelli-
out renouncing his U.S. citi- that he was willing to return never served in the Russian as he built a backup sys- gence agencies.
zenship. to the U.S. if he’s guaran- armed forces, so he is not tem for agency data, he The White House on Mon-
Snowden’s lawyer, Ana- teed a fair trial. eligible to be mobilized, his wrote in his 2019 book “Per- day referred comment on
toly Kucherena, told Rus- He hasn’t commented on lawyer Kucherena told the manent Record.” Read- Snowden’s citizenship to
sia’s state news agency being granted Russian citi- Interfax news agency. Hav- ing through the repository, the Justice Department,
RIA Novosti that the former zenship. ing previous combat or mili- Snowden said he began citing the pending criminal
contractor’s wife Lindsay The move comes as Mos- tary service experience has to understand the extent charges.
Mills, an American who has cow is mobilizing reservists been considered the main of his government’s stomp- Snowden’s acceptance of
been living with him in Rus- for what the Kremlin calls criteria in the call-up. ing on civil liberties and be- Russian citizenship is likely to
sia, will also be applying a “special military opera- Snowden leaked docu- came sullen, “cursed with drive more criticism against
for a Russian passport. The tion” in Ukraine. In Russia, ments on the NSA’s col- the knowledge that all of him from people who say
couple had a child in De- almost every man is con- lection of huge amounts us had been reduced to he has remained silent on
cember 2020. sidered a reservist until age of data passing through something like children, issues such as the conflict in
Snowden, who has kept a 65, and officials on Monday U.S. internet companies. who’d been forced to live Ukraine.q

Denmark reports leak in gas pipeline

in Baltic Sea

BERLIN (AP) — Denmark’s leak wasn’t immediately A spokesman for the oper-
maritime authority said clear. The Danish energy ator of Nord Stream 2 said
Monday that a gas leak agency said in a statement a loss of pressure was de-
had been observed in a that the country’s maritime tected in a tube early Mon-
pipeline leading from Rus- authority has issued a navi- day, and the responsible
sia to Europe underneath gation warning and estab- marine authorities in Ger-
the Baltic Sea and that lished a five-nautical mile many, Denmark, Sweden,
there is a danger to ship prohibition zone around Finland and Russia were
traffic. the pipeline “as it is dan- immediately informed, dpa A ship works offshore in the Baltic Sea on the natural gas pipeline
The operator of Nord gerous for ship traffic.” reported. Nord Stream 2 from Russia to Germany, on Nov. 11, 2018.
Associated Press
Stream 2 confirmed that The relevant authorities While the pressure inside
a leak in the pipeline had are currently coordinating the pipeline is normally 105 man environmental group to dpa.
been detected southeast the effort, and the Dan- bar, it is now only 7 bar on said that the leaking gas Even in the event of an un-
of the Danish island Born- ish energy agency added the German side, spokes- isn’t toxic. derwater explosion, there
holm in the Baltic Sea. that “outside the exclusion man Ulrich Lissek said. Deutsche Umwelthilfe would only be local effects,
The pipeline runs 1,230 kilo- zone, there are no secu- He fears that the pipeline, pointed out that natural Deutsche Umwelthilfe said.
meters (764 miles) from Rus- rity risks associated with the filled with 177 million cubic gas is methane, which par- The German economy
sia through the Baltic Sea to leak.” meters of gas, could run dry tially dissolves in water and ministry said it had been in-
Germany. It is completed The incident is not expect- in the coming days, dpa re- is not toxic. The deeper the formed about the suspect-
and filled with gas, but gas ed to have consequences ported. gas is released in the sea, ed site in Danish territorial
has never been imported for the security of the sup- It wasn’t immediately clear the higher the proportion waters and was in touch
through it, dpa reported. ply of Danish gas, the coun- what consequences would that dissolves in the water, with the authorities in Ger-
The cause of the detected try’s energy agency said. follow from that, but a Ger- the group said, according many and Denmark.q