Snowden leaks: UK let NSA store mobile numbers, email addressesNovember 21, 2013 - 10:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The UK allowed the U.S. National Security Agency to keep the mobile phone numbers and email addresses of ordinary Britons from 2007, reports say, according to BBC News. Channel 4 News and the Guardian said existing rules were modified in 2007 to allow the U.S. to keep information swept up incidentally about Britons not suspected of criminal activity. The reports are based on documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The Foreign Office said it did not comment on such "speculation". Under the seven-decade old UK-U.S. agreement on intelligence sharing, Britain and America's intelligence agencies are not supposed to collect information on each other without permission. Before 2007, if the U.S. - on one of its other operations - had come across a British mobile phone number or email address, it would not have been able to keep it. But, according to the documents, after the rules changed, the U.S. was allowed to keep those records to analyse them for the specific purpose of "contact chaining". That means looking at the connections between different phone numbers or email addresses. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |