Morning Brief: Edward Snowden Escapes Hong Kong, Flouts U.S. Arrest Warrant

Monday, June 24, 2013

Edward Snowden Escapes Hong Kong, Flouts U.S. Arrest Warrant Top news: Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor behind recent revelations about the agency's intelligence program, made his escape from Hong Kong Sunday, flying to Moscow possibly en route to Cuba or Ecuador. According to reports early Monday, Snowden had been scheduled to leave Russia on a Monday flight from Moscow to Havana, but according to journalists on board and airline staff, Snowden was not on the flight. According to Interfax, citing a source "source familiar with Snowden's situation," Snowden has already left Russia, but that has not been confirmed. According to Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino Aroca, his country has received a request for asylum from Snowden and is in the process of considering it. In leaving Hong Kong, Snowden defied a warrant for his arrest issued by U.S. prosecutors. Authorities in Hong Kong said that the U.S. extradition request did not "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law," but other reports indicate that authorities in Beijing decided to allow Snowden to leave for Moscow. Allowing his departure served twin political purposes for Chinese policymakers. On the one hand, Snowden had become a beloved figure among the Chinese public, who were clamoring for their government to protect the leaker. On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping is fresh off a summit with President Barack Obama during which the two men pledged to put their countries' relations on firmer footing. Allowing Snowden to flee served both purposes. South Africa: Nelson Mandela is in critical condition in a hospital in South Africa, following two weeks of treatment for a lung condition. Mandela's health has been ailing for several weeks, but this most recent statement, issued by the country's presidency, is the most dire yet concerning his condition. Asia Chinese stock markets fell sharply Monday, with the market in Shanghai down 5.3 percent, amid continued credit tightening by the country's central bank. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he supports putting Pervez Musharraf, the country's former military dictators, on trial for treason. Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng arrived in Taiwan as part of a speaking tour. Middle East Fighting between Lebanese army units and followers of a hard-line Sunni cleric in Sidon, Lebanon, killed at least 12 army soldiers. Four Shiite Muslims were killed by an anti-Shiite mob in a village near Cairo. Palestinian militants fired six rockets into southern Israel, and the Israeli air force responded with air strikes. Europe Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a stimulus project focused on infrastructure and an amnesty plan for white-collar criminals. Turkish police used water cannons to disperse protesters gathered in Istanbul to commemorate the four people killed during recent protests. Early returns in Albania's presidential election show the socialist-led opposition in the lead. Americas Protests resumed over the weekend in Brazil, though on a smaller scale. Inmates at Bolivia's largest prison protested the government's decision to close the jail following allegations that a 12-year-old girl was raped there. About 75,000 were evacuated from Calgary amid heavy flooding. Africa A new political party, Agang, has been launched in South Africa and will be lead by Mamphela Ramphele, a former World Bank managing director and the partner of the murdered anti-apartheid activist Steven Biko. The son of Uganda's president denied his country is a "political monarchy" and that his father will hand him power. A grenade attack in north east Kenya killed 15 people. -By Elias Groll PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Latest from FP Failed States 2013 The 2013 Failed States Index - Interactive Map and Rankings Postcards from Hell, 2013 - An FP Photo Essay Can Silicon Valley Save the World? - By Charles Kenny and Justin Sandefur The Invisible State - By Jeffrey Herbst and Greg Mills FP Passport Blog | ForeignPolicy.com | Subscribe to FP | Feedback | About FP FOREIGN POLICY | 1899 L Street NW, Suite 550 | Washington, DC 20036 © 2011 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLC. FOREIGN POLICY is published by the Slate Group, a division of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive.

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