WATCH: Edward Snowden Delivers Christmas Message
National Security Administration leaker Edward Snowden warned of the dangers of government surveillance in a Christmas message broadcast Wednesday in the U.K.
Britain’s Channel 4 News featured Snowden, who leaked classified documents revealing details of the U.S. surveillance mechanism, in its annual “alternative Christmas message.” The outlet has featured high-profile figures who have influenced the year’s news since 1993. Past guests include former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as well as Sharon Osbourne.
“Great Britain’s George Orwell warned us of the danger of this kind of information. The types of collection in the book — microphones and video cameras, TVs that watch us — are nothing compared to what we have available today,” Snowden said during the broadcast. “We have sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere we go.”
Egypt Declares Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Group
Egypt’s military-backed interim government called the Muslim Brother a terrorist group Wednesday in a move that gives the regime more legal authority to suppress the group.
Minister of Higher Education Hossam Eissa read the declaration following a cabinet meeting, the Associated Press reports.
“The Cabinet has declared the Muslim Brotherhood group and its organization as a terrorist organization,” the statement said.
Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of which former President Mohamed Morsi is a member, have been staging protests since the leader was deposed by the military in July.
Eissa also said that anyone supporting the Muslim Brotherhood would be punished.
The government has accused the Brotherhood of carrying out militant attacks in Egypt. The group has repeatedly denied being responsible for any such incidents.
[AP]
Russian Passenger Ship Trapped in Antarctic Ice
Three ice-breaking vessels are en route to the Antarctic region, where a Russian passenger ship is stuck in thick sheets of ice.
The MV Akademik Shokalskiy has 74 people aboard and is stuck 1,726 miles south of Hobart, a city on Australia’s island of Tasmania. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating a rescue attempt, but the ice-breaking ships are at least two days away, according to an AMSA statement.
The ship’s distress signal was first picked up 3:20 p.m. E.T. Tuesday by the U.K.-based Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Center.
Authorities said passengers are not in any immediate danger, but the search-and-rescue effort is unusual because of its remote location.
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