Snowden joins Freedom of the Press Foundation boardJanuary 15, 2014 - 10:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden will sit on the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. “He is the quintessential American whistleblower, and a personal hero of mine,” the group’s co-founder Daniel Ellsberg was quoted as saying Tuesday, Jan 14, according to RIA Novosti. Snowden, who is currently living in Russia having been granted temporary asylum there, agreed to the proposal and will formally join the board in February, the group said in a statement. Freedom of the Press Foundation was established in 2012 to promote free speech and support whistleblowing journalism. In addition to Ellsberg, a former US military analyst known for releasing the so-called Pentagon Papers in 1971 during the Vietnam War, the foundation’s board includes Hollywood actor John Cusack and journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, who have worked with Snowden. The group has crowdsourced for WikiLeaks and released SecureDrop, an electronic communication tool for potential whistleblowers. It has, however, yet to yield results comparable to Snowden’s high-profile exposé last year of U.S. mass surveillance programs that generated a media storm and prompted him to flee to Russia. Related links: 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 | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |