Snowden's father seeks deal with US govt

THE father of fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has revealed he is trying to broker a compromise with the government that could bring his son back to the United States.

In a letter to the Justice Department, Lonnie Snowden said through his lawyer that his son wanted "ironclad assurances" he would not be held in jail before trial or subjected to a gag order, and would be allowed to choose where he would be tried on federal espionage charges.

The elder Snowden said the offer could end the impasse that has kept his 30-year-old son stuck in the transit zone of a Moscow airport and raised tensions between the US and other countries, including China, Russia and Ecuador, where the former National Security Agency contract employee is seeking political asylum.

"We believe you share our objective of securing Edward's voluntary return to the United States to face trial," Washington DC attorney Bruce Fein wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder on behalf of Snowden's father.

Lonnie Snowden, Fein wrote, "is reasonably certain that his son would voluntarily return to the United States if there were ironclad assurances that his constitutional rights would be honoured, and he were provided a fair opportunity to explain his motivations and actions to an impartial judge and jury".

If any of the conditions were "dishonoured," Fein added, then the prosecution "would be dismissed".

Justice Department officials did not comment on the proposal.

Meanwhile, the president of Ecuador demanded that the US stop suggesting that the small Andean country is provoking the situation by offering to shield Snowden from US justice, much as it has protected Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

For the last year, Assange has lived in Ecuador's embassy in London after he was granted sanctuary.

"It is outrageous to try to delegitimise a state for receiving a petition for asylum," Ecuador President Rafael Correa said in a speech in Ecuador.

Correa contended that the news media at first welcomed Snowden's leaks about secret US programs to collect phone logs and emails but later suggested the actions were treasonous.

"What a joke!" the president said in a tweet.

The media, he said, are "making everyone forget the terrible things that he denounced in front of the American people and the entire world".

Correa added that, for the asylum request to be processed and approved, Snowden first must find his way to Ecuador's embassy in Moscow or to Ecuador.

"We don't know how it'll be resolved," he said.

Officials in Hong Kong, where Snowden flew when he left Hawaii, said they remained concerned about his claims that the NSA had hacked into Hong Kong's computer systems.

In the future, they said, Snowden will no longer be permitted in Hong Kong.

"We are very disappointed," said Lai Tung-kowk, Hong Kong's secretary of security.

"We hope the US government will as soon as possible give a full answer and explanation to the Hong Kong people."

US State Department officials said they were concerned about their worsening relationships with Hong Kong and Ecuador.

"These issues have an impact when we have a breakdown on co-operation," Patrick Ventrell, a spokesman, said in response to Hong Kong's statements.

Regarding Ecuador, Ventrell said it "would not be a good thing" if the country granted Snowden asylum.

"That would have grave difficulties for a bilateral relationship," he said.

Lonnie Snowden, who has not spoken with his son since April, said on NBC's Today show: "I love him. I would like to have the opportunity to communicate with him. I don't want to put him in peril, but I am concerned about those who surround him.

"I think WikiLeaks, if you've looked at past history, you know, their focus isn't necessarily the constitution of the United States. It's simply to release as much information as possible."

"At this point I don't feel that he's committed treason. He has in fact broken US law, in the sense that he has released classified information," Lonnie Snowden told NBC.

"And if folks want to classify him as a traitor, in fact he has betrayed his government. But I don't believe that he's betrayed the people of the United States."

18.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man with axe robs Tas supermarket

Wong: Why I betrayed Gillard

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott gave a "green light to the baying wolves'' to attack Julia Gillard on the basis of gender, senior Labor Minister Penny Wong says.

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Teetering truck closes Toowoomba Range

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'We'd meet Rudd half way on Cross River Rail'

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Nigella breaks her silence on Twitter

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Blues go for a fine whine

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Missing man found in Springwood

UPDATE: ELDERLY Alzheimer's sufferer found safe and well in Springwood Conservation Park after spending the night in the cold.

Crash near Gympie kills teen

POLICE have confirmed the death of a 17-year-old Bundaberg West woman after a crash south of Gympie last night.

18.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rowhani envisages Iran detente with world

IRAN'S president-elect Hassan Rowhani has vowed to implement a policy of "constructive interaction" with world powers to build trust and diffuse tensions.

"Moderation in foreign policy means neither surrender nor confrontation but constructive and efficacious interaction with the world," Rowhani said in his first live televised remarks since his election on June 14.

"In moderation, a balance must be achieved between realism and idealism," he said.

Iran is at odds with world powers over its controversial nuclear activities and its support for the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Rowhani, who won almost 51 per cent of votes in the election to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did not mention either issue directly but said he would move to build trust and ease tensions after taking office on August 3.

Under Rowhani's administration, "interaction and dialogue will be based on reciprocity, respect and mutual interest, and seeking mutual detente," he said.

Rowhani said, without elaborating, that he would fight for "all of Iran's rights and the nation's demands".

Iran insists its nuclear activities are aimed at civilian applications, under which it has the right to enrich uranium, whose highly enriched form can be used as the fissile core of an atomic bomb.

The US and Israel suspect that the drive hides military objectives.

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WA premier declares war on green tape

WA Premier Colin Barnett has called for a high-level debate on environmental protection. Source: AAP

COLIN Barnett has called for a high-level debate on environmental protection, saying the mining sector is being held back by unnecessary compliance obligations.

The Liberal leader of Western Australia told a business function in Perth on Friday that so-called green tape was among two major burdens hampering the sector, the other being the damage the mining tax inflicted on the nation's reputation as an investment destination.

His comments came after event host Kim Williams, News Ltd chief executive, said miners were "beset by over-regulation", citing a Queensland company that had to submit 46,000 pages of documentation to comply with state and federal requirements.

Mr Barnett, who described himself as "a boom denier but a recession rejector", said Australia needed to take a more mature approach to the environment.

"No one is suggesting lower environmental standards - I think we do have high standards and generations will benefit from that - but we spend millions and millions of dollars trying to find out if some subterranean stygofauna actually exists or could be there," he said.

That was a waste of money, Mr Barnett said.

"I'd much rather see those funds go towards protecting the Kimberley or something worthwhile.

"We're overplaying the environment for really a low return in terms of actually protecting or rehabilitating the environment."

It's not the first time Mr Barnett has attacked green tape, previously suggesting the Biodiversity Act needed to be updated because the graceful sun-moth had stymied more developments in WA than any other species.

And he proved correct, with WA's Department of Environment and Conservation taking it off the threatened species list in November because it was ubiquitous.

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Bowen must reject GrainCorp takeover: Nats

Treasurer Chris Bowen should reject the takeover of GrainCorp by a US food giant, the Nationals say. Source: AAP

THE Nationals are calling on new Treasurer Chris Bowen to reject a foreign takeover of Australia's largest grains handler GrainCorp.

US food giant Archer Daniels Midland is awaiting approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and Chinese regulators.

But the Nationals say the takeover is not in the interest of grain growers or the nation.

Senator Fiona Nash says GrainCorp has a virtual monopoly on grain storage, handling and logistics on the eastern seaboard of Australia, holding almost all the ports and about 280 receiver sites.

"This is potentially going into the hands of an enormous grain giant multinational," she told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

"Our system will become a tiny cog in that giant empire, so we're calling on the treasurer to reject any approval from the FIRB on this takeover."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Thursday said it would not oppose the $3 billion-plus takeover, as GrainCorp directors this week urged shareholders to accept the offer under a deal where shareholders would receive $13.20 per share.

Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said the issue was a challenge for the new treasurer to prove he was up to the job.

"The treasurer has got to prove his mettle and that he works on behalf of the Australian people and Australian farmers," he said.

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Sony launches waterproof smartphone

SONY has launched a new waterproof android smartphone.

The Xperia Z Ultra can be used underwater up to a depth of 1.5m, even allowing people to take pictures and film video in full HD below the surface, the company said.

Launching it today, Sony claimed the handset, which has a 16.3cm screen, has the biggest display and is the thinnest large-screen smartphone on the market.

Calum MacDougall, Sony's director of Xperia marketing, said: "The Xperia Z Ultra is the most exciting revolution in large-screen smartphone entertainment devices with both the slimmest and largest full HD smartphone display in the world that is second to none."

The phone will include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor which Sony says is the world's fastest processor.

The screen also features handwriting recognition software that allows it to be used with pencil or stylus.

The phone was launched at the Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai, alongside the Sony SmartWatch 2 SW2, a "second screen" for any Android phone worn on the wrist.

Sony say it will allow people to remotely handle calls, read emails, alter the volume on their music and even take pictures remotely using a built-in camera app.

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Snowden 'stuck' at Moscow airport: Putin

Russia's Vladimir Putin (pic) says leaker Edward Snowden is still in a Moscow airport transit zone. Source: AAP

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has spent a fourth day at a Moscow airport with his onward travel plans still a mystery after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected calls for his extradition to the United States.

The United States told Russia it has a "clear legal basis" to expel Snowden, but anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, which helped organise his flight from Hong Kong, said he risks being stuck in Russia "permanently".

Meanwhile Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, who by coincidence is expected in Moscow next week for an energy summit, said Caracas would consider any asylum request from Snowden just as Ecuador is doing.

In his first comments on the chase for the former contractor that has captivated world attention, Putin on Tuesday confirmed that Snowden had arrived in Moscow, but said he had never left the airport's transit zone.

"He arrived as a transit passenger.... He did not cross the state border," Putin said at a news conference in Finland late on Tuesday. "For us, this was completely unexpected," he added.

"Mr Snowden is a free man, the sooner he selects his final destination point, the better for us and for himself," he said.

Snowden who leaked revelations of massive US surveillance programs to the media, had been expected to board a flight for Cuba on Monday, reportedly on his way to seek asylum in Ecuador.

But he never did and Putin hinted that his onward travel plans were still unknown. His US passport has been cancelled but WikiLeaks says he left Hong Kong with a refugee document supplied by Ecuador.

Snowden's extended stay in Moscow has prompted comparisons with the Tom Hanks hit film "The Terminal" about a man living in an airport, while British gambling website William Hill has opened betting on his final destination.

"Cancelling Snowden's passport and bullying intermediary countries may keep Snowden permanently in Russia," WikiLeaks said in a statement on Twitter.

The US urged Russia to use all means to expel Snowden, who arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from Hong Kong on Sunday despite the US issuing a request for his arrest in China.

"While we do not have an extradition treaty with Russia, there is nonetheless a clear legal basis to expel Mr Snowden," National Security spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told AFP.

Hayden said that Snowden could be expelled on the basis of his travel documents and the pending charges against him. However Putin insisted that Russia could not extradite Snowden as it has no extradition agreement with the United States.

Putin said he would prefer not to deal with cases such as those of Snowden and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid allegations of sexual assault in Sweden.

"It's the same as shearing a piglet: there's a lot of squealing and not much wool," he said.

But Putin dismissed speculation that Snowden - a potential intelligence goldmine - was being purposely held up at the airport to be interrogated by Russian spies.

WikiLeaks also denied he was being debriefed by the Russian security services and confirmed that British activist Sarah Harrison from its legal team "is escorting him at all times".

Snowden had been expected to travel on with the state carrier Aeroflot on Monday to Havana, but never appeared on the flight. He has not been spotted in the airport, located north-west of Moscow, and is speculated to be inside a capsule hotel in the transit zone.

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Snowden may be stuck in Russia: WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks says Edward Snowden may be forced to stay in Russia permanently because of US "bullying". Source: AAP

THE WikiLeaks organisation says intelligence leaker Edward Snowden may be forced to stay in Russia permanently because the United States is "bullying" possible intermediary countries.

WikiLeaks, which is led by fugitive former computer hacker Julian Assange, has said it helped Snowden flee Hong Kong at the weekend and that one of its staff members is believed to be with him in Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Snowden - who had been expected to board a flight for Cuba on Monday, reportedly on his way to seek asylum in Ecuador - was still in a Moscow airport transit zone.

"Cancelling Snowden's passport and bullying intermediary countries may keep Snowden permanently in Russia," WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed, without specifying which other countries it was referring to.

"Not the brightest bunch at State," it said, referring to the US State Department.

The comments were the first by WikiLeaks on the issue for more than 24 hours.

Assange said on Monday the government of Ecuador had issued Snowden a "refugee document of passage" after the United States revoked the former National Security Agency contractor's passport but refused to confirm his whereabouts.

WikiLeaks had paid for Snowden's escape and had provided him with a legal adviser, British WikiLeaks staff member Sarah Harrison, who was travelling with the US fugitive, Assange said.

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Markets to take PM change in their stride

THE federal Labor leadership change to Kevin Rudd is unlikely have a material impact on Australian financial markets.

Mr Rudd won a caucus ballot against former prime minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday 57 to 45 votes.

RBC Capital Markets head of strategy Su-Lin Ong said the markets generally dislike uncertainty.

"But the political situation in Australia has been fluid for a few years now and tonight's events are unlikely to have a material impact on the currency or bond markets," she said in a note to clients.

Ms Gillard has run a minority government since late 2010 when she sealed a deal with the help of the Australian Greens and independent MPs.

However, the opinion polls point to a landslide win for the Tony Abbott-led Liberal-National coalition at this year's federal election.

TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher believes the switch back to Mr Rudd - who was toppled by Ms Gillard in June 2010 - may save a few Labor seats at the election but probably won't save the government.

"We believe a decisive change of government is positive for business and consumer confidence," she said.

"The coalition are on the record to 'responsibly' lower deficits and debts, while a strong majority government, in our view, could boost investment and employment as policy certainty and leadership are restored."

Business groups were quick to congratulate Mr Rudd on his return as prime minister.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the ballot put to rest the leadership distraction which has added to the political uncertainty and weighed on both the community and economy.

"We have had a long and positive working relationship with Mr Rudd and business will be deeply interested in his policy approaches ahead of the election," Mr Willox said in a statement.

He said any government faces significant challenges, particularly around workplace relations, carbon, immigration, skills, infrastructure, and Research and Development.

"A big priority for any government should be to boost our productivity and reduce costs and regulation for business," he said.

He also offered his thanks to Ms Gillard for the enormous contribution she has made during her career including most recently for her strong support for the manufacturing sector and passion to deliver reforms in the education and training space.

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Syria battles rage in Damascus, Aleppo

FIERCE battles have raged on the edges of Damascus as the army presses a major assault to crush rebels around the capital, a monitoring group and activists say.

And in the contested city of Aleppo in the country's north, rebels attempted to advance into western regime-held districts, sparking clashes with government forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

"The army is trying to take over Qaboon, Barzeh, Jubar, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and Yarmuk," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman, referring to neighbourhoods in the northern, eastern and southern outskirts of the capital.

"The army doesn't have the capacity to take over these neighbourhoods, and the rebels are fighting back. But the humanitarian situation there is catastrophic," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

An activist in Qaboon said the army's offensive on the capital's northeastern district entered its sixth day on Tuesday.

"The district is the only entrance (from the east/northeast) into the capital.... Regime troops fear the (rebel) Free Syrian Army will use Qaboon to enter into Damascus," said the activist, who identified himself as Anas.

Speaking to AFP via the internet, Anas described a critical lack of medical and food supplies in his neighbourhood.

"The humanitarian situation is so bad it would make anyone cry," he said.

Activists meanwhile said the army shelled other rebel-held areas around Damascus in its bid to drive rebel forces out of the capital.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a grassroots network of activists, reported shelling on Yarmuk Palestinian camp in southern Damascus.

And the Syrian Revolution General Commission reported that army tanks pounded rebel stronghold Daraya southwest of the capital, keeping up a months-long campaign to crush the insurgency there.

In northern Syria, meanwhile, clashes in western Aleppo raged on, days after rebels launched an offensive on regime-held neighbourhoods there.

"The rebels and the army are engaged in tit-for-tat operations ... in Rashidin and Ashrafiyeh" in the west of Aleppo, said the Observatory's Abdel Rahman.

The rebels' first major advance on Aleppo took place nearly a year ago. Though they took control of a large number of neighbourhoods during the assault, the city has been at a near-standstill for many months, with neither side making significant advances.

More than 93,000 people have been killed in Syria's 27-month war, says the UN.

Millions have been forced by the violence to flee their homes.

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Russia denies links to Snowden, slams US

RUSSIA has denied it had any involvement in the travel of fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden and lashed out at Washington for accusing Moscow of assisting him.

"We are in no way involved with either Mr Snowden, his relations with US justice, nor in his movements around the world," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on Tuesday.

Lavrov did not confirm or deny that Snowden had landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from Hong Kong on Sunday, as previously reported. But he insisted that he had never crossed the Russian border to exit the airport.

"He chose his route on his own. We learned about it, as most of those present did, from the mass media. He did not cross the Russian border," Lavrov told reporters.

Sources quoted by Russian news agencies have said that Snowden spent at least Sunday night in a hotel located in the transit area of Sheremetyevo which would not have required Snowden to pass through passport control or have a Russian visa.

The White House had earlier called on Moscow to look at all the options available to expel Snowden back to the United States. US Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed anger over Russia's apparent role.

But Lavrov slammed Washington and rubbished suggestions that Moscow was complicit in Snowden's disappearance.

Attempts to blame Russia for breaking US laws and even complicity are absolutely groundless and unacceptable, he said.

He complained the accusations were accompanied by "threats".

"There are no legal grounds for such behaviour by US officials," he added.

Lavrov is the most senior Russian official to have commented on the Snowden affair since anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks said he had travelled to Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday.

He had been expected to travel on with Aeroflot on Monday to Havana but never appeared on the flight.

Lavrov gave no indication of his whereabouts now.

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European stocks slump on China, US fears

EUROPE'S main stock markets have rebounded after the recent slump that was sparked by concern about a Chinese credit crunch fears and the withdrawal of US economic stimulus, dealers say.

Asian shares meanwhile mostly fell on Tuesday on the back of growing concerns about a liquidity crisis in China, although the Shanghai market managed to claw back some ground after sinking more than five per cent.

In late morning deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index jumped 0.98 per cent to 6,088.23 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 advanced 1.49 per cent to 7,806.80 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.43 per cent to 3,646.81.

On bond markets, yields on European and US bonds fell after recent sharp rises which reflected an increase in risk aversion because of the prospect that the Fed will curtail its easy-money measures.

European shares had tumbled on Monday, hit by concern over the emergence of a liquidity crisis in China and after the US Federal Reserve signalled last week that it would withdraw its bond-buying program known as quantitative easing.

"It does look as if we've seen an end to the selling for now, perhaps the shock of last week's Fed and the Chinese tightening news has lost its edge," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp told AFP.

"That said, any move to the upside is probably going to be fairly short-lived.

"The change in Fed policy will take longer than a week to really sink in, and there will be some expectation that Bernanke will change course once he realises what havoc he has wrought. I think the volatility will persist throughout the summer."

In foreign exchange deals on Tuesday, the European single currency firmed to $US1.3131 from $US1.3122 in New York late on Monday.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold eased to $US1,286.08 an ounce from $US1,286.75.

The focus in Asia was on China, where investors have been spooked by a cash crunch in the financial system that has raised fears banks will cut back on loans, which could in turn drag on the nation's powerhouse economy.

The central People's Bank of China (PBoC) added to those worries on Monday when it ruled out providing any fresh money to bolster markets and ordered lenders to get their own houses in order.

In response, Tokyo stocks fell 0.72 per cent, Seoul lost 1.02 per cent and Sydney slipped 0.28 per cent in value.

And Shanghai finished 0.19 per cent lower, with bargain-hunting helping it bounce from a second successive fall of more than five per cent earlier in the day.

"We have had a decent turnaround in European share markets on Tuesday, pulled up by a late recovery in Asian markets after the Chinese central bank attempted to assuage recent market fears about the soaring cost of funding Chinese banks," added ETX Capital strategist Ishaq Siddiqi in London.

"The Shanghai index fell over five per cent during overnight trade but pared losses ... as investors demonstrated their fears that a lack of intervention by the PBoC will keep tensions in the Chinese interbank money market leading to a liquidity squeeze which will hamper the country's growth prospects.

"China's central bank responded by saying liquidity is ample, under supervision and volatility is temporary, buoying the market," added Siddiqi.

Hong Kong stocks added 0.21 per cent, reversing earlier losses.

Wall Street provided a negative lead on Monday, with the three main indices ending well down, hit also by concerns about the Chinese economy, but losses were capped as US Treasury yields retreated.

The Dow fell 0.94 per cent, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.21 per cent and the Nasdaq shed 1.09 per cent Europe's main stock markets have slumped further, hit by concern over the emergence of a liquidity crisis in China and the withdrawal of US Federal Reserve stimulus, dealers said.

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More needed to protect cruise passengers

AS more Australians take holiday cruises both the government and cruise operators need to do more to protect passengers, a parliamentary committee says.

In a report tabled in parliament on Monday, the standing committee on social policy and legal affairs said the industry was growing with 700,000 Australians taking a cruise last year, a fivefold increase in a decade.

The committee said most passengers would expect the cruising environment to reflect Australian social and legal standards, as cruise operators run Australian companies and sail from Australian ports.

But when it comes to crimes committed at sea and regulation of cruise liners, complex questions of jurisdiction underlie almost every aspect of the cruising industry, it said.

Many cruise liners sail under flags of convenience from nations such as Bermuda, Panama, Malta and the Bahamas.

Because of the complexity of the international law, the committee sought its own legal advice which made clear the significant limits on Australia's ability to legislate for the cruising industry.

The problems were highlighted by the case of Dianne Brimble who died of a drug overdose aboard a P&O cruise liner in September 2002. There were many questions raised about the ship's party culture, preservation of the crime scene, the investigation process and the support to Mrs Brimble's family.

The committee said the government should consider how it might better protect people on cruises.

It must do more to ensure passengers understand that cruising is international travel and they should exercise the same precautions they would take on any international journey.

It should press the International Maritime Organisation for more measures to improve passenger safety including real time monitoring of closed circuit TV, installation of man-overboard alarms and a code for responsible service of alcohol.

The government should also conduct a comprehensive review of cruise operator liability for tickets purchased in Australia.

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Homelessness definition broadened

THE definition of homelessness will be broadened under draft laws passed by parliament's lower house.

People staying in crisis accommodation will be regarded as homeless under bills that passed the House of Representatives on Monday.

The new definition also stipulates that safety must be recognised as a vital element in how people live.

Some people may be homeless because they have no safe place to live, even if they have a usual address.

The measures also make it easier for homeless people who don't live in any particular electorate to vote.

The Homelessness Bill 2013 and the Homelessness (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2013 now go before the Senate.

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Snowden set to fly out of Russia

The United States is demanding Edward Snowden should "not be allowed to proceed further" overseas. Source: AAP

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is set to fly out of Russia to seek asylum in Ecuador, as Washington demands Moscow hand over the fugitive to face espionage charges at home.

Snowden dramatically slipped out of Hong Kong on an Aeroflot flight on Sunday and is said by Russian officials to have spent the night in a Moscow airport awaiting his onward connection.

The IT contractor, the target of a US arrest warrant issued on Friday after he leaked details of massive US cyber-espionage programs to the media, was reportedly booked on a flight to Cuba on Monday from where he could travel on to South America.

He and his accompanying party, Sarah Harrison, a British national working on the WikiLeaks legal team, were checked in on the flight SU 150 to Havana due to depart on time, according to an AFP correspondent who saw the flight roster.

Russian security sources said they had no reason to arrest the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, who officials described as an ordinary "transit passenger" who had not crossed the border.

The United States urged Russia to hand over the fugitive but President Vladimir Putin's spokesman declined to comment on Snowden's transit through Moscow.

"I don't have any information on Snowden," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP.

According to Russian state media, Snowden had spent the night in the distinctly unglamorous "capsule hotel" Vozdushny Express located inside the departures area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

He was not seen in public after the plane landed, prompting speculation he had been whisked away direct from the tarmac by Russian security.

Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino confirmed that the leftist Latin American country, whose embassy in London is already sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was analysing Snowden's asylum request.

"We will make a decision... we are analysing it," Patino told reporters Monday in Hanoi when asked about the high-profile asylum request. "We know he is in Moscow, we're in talks with higher authorities."

Ecuador's outspoken leftist President Rafael Correa has championed the cause of Assange and his allies to the fury of the United States.

A crowd of Russian and foreign journalists, including from AFP, were at the Moscow airport departures lounge and were set to accompany Snowden on the flight to Cuba.

An airport official said that "special procedures" would be enforced for those boarding the plane. She did not explain. Some reporters complained that airport officials had threatened to take away their phones.

State television said several Ecuadorian diplomats were seen going inside the airport hotel on Sunday evening and had stayed there about 30 minutes.

The Ecuadorean ambassador Patricio Chavez stayed in the airport until after midnight, when he left in the embassy car refusing any comment to waiting reporters.

Part of the flight to Havana will pass through oceanic airspace that is controlled by New York air traffic centre, a source told ITAR-TASS news agency, though it was not clear whether US authorities would be able to somehow ground the plane.

The US State Department has revoked Snowden's passport and asked other countries to prevent him from travelling. But a source in Russia's security agencies told Interfax that Snowden could travel without a passport.

"Ecuador authorities could supply him with refugee documents or even grant him citizenship by issuing a passport or a special note," the source said.

The New York Times quoted Assange as saying his group had arranged for Snowden to travel via a "special refugee travel document" issued by Ecuador last Monday.

Snowden abandoned his high-paying job in Hawaii and went to Hong Kong on May 20 to begin issuing a series of leaks on the NSA gathering of phone call logs and Internet data, triggering concern from governments around the world.

Hong Kong said it had informed Washington of Snowden's exit after determining that the documents provided by the US government did not fully comply with Hong Kong legal requirements.

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Aust makes final bid to stop Japan whaling

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus will travel to The Hague in a bid to stop Japanese whaling. Source: AAP

FEDERAL Attorney General Mark Dreyfus will head a last-ditch attempt by Australia to halt Japanese whaling in front of the International Court of Justice next week.

The hearings, set down for three weeks from June 26, mark the final stage of proceedings initiated by Australia in 2010.

Mr Dreyfus will go to The Hague to put Australia's case forward in the last week of the hearings.

"Australia's view on commercial whaling are well known," he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

"We want commercial whaling to stop and that includes the so-called scientific whaling program that Japan has been carrying on for many years."

Much rests on Australia's legal bid to stop whaling in the southern seas because the ICJ decision is final, Mr Dreyfus said.

"There's no appeal from the decisions of the International Court of Justice, of course we're hopeful of getting the result that we want," he said.

Mr Dreyfus would not go into the details of the case but said written submissions from Australia, Japan and New Zealand would be available later in the week.

"This is a very important decision ... that's why we've invested a lot in the research, in getting the right experts ... and in a very competent legal team that I'm going to be part of," he said.

The ICJ is expected to hand down a decision before the end of the year and the start of the next whale hunting season.

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Man dies after car smashes into tree

Crean rules out leadership challenge

LABOR elder Simon Crean has ruled out instigating another leadership challenge, as tensions between the Rudd and Gillard camps hit fever pitch.

Stabbing death caught on video

VIDEO of man stumbling towards Gold Coast unit and collapsing after he was stabbed is being analysed by police investigating his murder.

Here's why she dumped him

AN American woman's detailed list of hilarious reasons why she broke up with her boyfriend has gone viral.

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SES crews on standby for wild weather

HUNDREDS of SES workers and volunteers are on standby across NSW to respond to expected flash flooding, gale force winds, dangerous surf and heavy downpours.

A severe weather warning is in force for Sydney as well as the midnorth coast, Hunter region, Illawarra, south coast, central tablelands, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountains, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says on its website.

A trough sitting off the coast brought widespread rain on Sunday to central and southern parts of the coast.

Currarong near Jervis Bay has recorded the most rain, with 286mm falling by 8pm (AEST) on Sunday.

The bureau is forecasting heavy rain to become more widespread into Monday morning along with gale force winds, damaging surf, and flash flooding.

An SES spokesman said the agency had only received "a trickle of jobs" on Sunday night from residents hit by bad weather in Sydney and the Illawarra.

But he said hundreds of SES staff and volunteers were ready to respond to the extreme weather due to hit around lunchtime on Monday.

"Everyone's on standby," the spokesman told AAP.

"It would be in the hundreds of people ready to go, ready to respond."

Flash flooding was the main concern heading into Monday and some coastal parts of the state could expect up to 200mm of rain, plus gale force winds, the spokesman said.

The SES expects the worst-hit areas to be Sydney and the Illawarra where the SES is ready to respond to roof damage, fallen trees and flash flooding.

It says the Hawkesbury, Georges, Wyong, Cooks and Woronora rivers are all at risk of breaking their banks.

BoM's latest weather warning update is due at 11pm (AEST).

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