Aug.16 • The father of U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden had contacted his son via the Internet despite security concerns, Snowden's lawyer said Thursday. (More) Aug. 9 • An encrypted email service Lavabit alleged to be used by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden abruptly shut down. (More) Aug. 7 • Former U.S. National Security Agency worker Edward Snowden, who faces espionage charges in his home country, had been officially registered as resident in Russia, his lawyer said Tuesday. (More) July 31 • Lon Snowden, father of fugitive former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, tells his son on Russian television to stay in Russia because he won't get a fair trial in the United States.(More) • The National Security Agency's top-secret program XKeyscore allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Guardian reports.(More) July 28 Russia is preparing a reply to the U.S. Attorney General's letter over the return of Edward Snowden, the Justice Ministry's press service says.(More) July 12 • Edward Snowden meets with Russian human rights activists and lawyers at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and a Russian parliamentarian says he intends to apply for permanent political asylum in Russia.(More) • U.S. President Barack Obama discusses the status of Edward Snowden with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.(More) • The United States reiterates its call for Russia to hand over Edward Snowden to face espionage charges back at home.(More) July 9 Edward Snowden has agreed to an offer of asylum from Venezuela. "As was expected, Snowden agreed to (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro's offer of political asylum," tweets Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian lower house of parliament's international affairs committee.(More) July 7 Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota says the Brazilian government has asked the United States to give explanations for espionage against Brazilian citizens and institutions in its global surveillance program.(More) July 5 The presidents of Nicaragua and Venezuela says their governments would be willing to grant "humanitarian asylum" to Edward Snowden. July 3 U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agree to hold a high-level bilateral meeting over the broad U.S. surveillance programs.(More) June 30 • Edward Snowden confirms that more secrets on the U.S. surveillance programs would be published, no matter what might happen to him, says the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange.(More) • The foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU) Catherine Ashton says that the EU has requested the U.S. to give an explanation for the 'bugging' reports.(More) June 28 • Moscow is not obliged to grant a political asylum to Edward Snowden, a Russian official says.(More) • Russia accuses Washington of putting it in a "tough spot" by claiming it has failed to disclose revoking the passport of Edward Snowden prior to his arrival in Moscow from Hong Kong.(More) June 25 • Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen says the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has no legal basis to ask the courts to issue an arrest warrant, nor to stop Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.(More) • Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Edward Snowden is still in the transit area at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.(More) • Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Savinykh denies rumors that Edward Snowden asks for political asylum in Belarus.(More) June 23 • Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino says that Edward Snowden has sought asylum in the south American country.(More) • Snowden leaves Hong Kong on a flight to Moscow.(More) • The Guardian reports that US politicians attack Vladimir Putin and call for Russia to hand over Edward Snowden. June 20 Top secret documents published by the Guardian show how US judges have signed off on broad orders allowing the NSA to make use of information "inadvertently" collected from domestic US communications without a warrant. June 18 • The Guardian reports that Iceland has received an informal approach from an intermediary who claims Edward Snowden wants to seek asylum there.(More) • Cisco Systems Inc denies accusations of conducting illegal monitoring activities in China, as well as participating in the US surveillance program that Snowden has revealed.(More) June 16 • The Guardian cites documents provided by Snowden that Britain's electronic intelligence agency monitored delegates' phones and tried to capture their passwords during G-20 summit held there in 2009. • Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney hints that Edward Snowden might be working with the Chinese government and is in fact acting a spy for China. June 14 Associated Press states it has obtained a copy of a letter from the UK Home Office addressing all airlines, urging them to deny boarding to Snowden on any flight to the United Kingdom, as he is "highly likely to be refused entry." June 8 U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper calls the leaks "literally gut-wrenching." June 6 The Guardian and The Washington Post report that both the NSA and the FBI are tapping into U.S. Internet companies to track online communication using an electronic surveillance programme known as "Prism.”(More) May 20 Snowden boards a flight to Hong Kong, where he has been hiding out ever since. January 2013 Edward Snowden reaches out to documentary filmmaker and journalist Laura Poitras and they begin their correspondence.

Aug. 12 • Former National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden's father Lon Snowden has obtained documents to visit his son soon in Russia, Lon and his lawyer Bruce Fein Saturday told ABC's This Week.(More) Aug. 8 • U.S. President Barack Obama has canceled the summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next month for lack of progress in bilateral relations. (More) Aug. 2 • Edward Snowden left the transit zone of a Moscow airport yesterday and officially entered Russia after authorities granted him asylum for a year. (More) July 29 Edward Snowden could be moved to a temporary refugee shelter outside Moscow if his request for asylum was approved, the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) says.(More) July 16 • U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden makes an official request for temporary asylum in Russia.(More) • Russian President Vladimir Putin says the U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is trapped by Washington in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport.(More) July 11 • Edward Snowden plans to meet with Russian activists, lawyers as well as representatives from other organizations on Friday, the Interfax news agency reports.(More) • China rejects U.S. criticism over Hong Kong government's handling of the Snowden case, saying it was in accordance with law.(More) • Edward Snowden has denied accusations that he is providing secrets to the Chinese and Russian governments.(More) July 8 • Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) says it has launched an investigation into whether any U.S. firms operating in the country "violated the privacy of personal data and phone calls."(More) • Angela Merkel's government says that its cooperation with American intelligence is fully regulated by strict legal guidelines after a magazine reported that the US National Security Agency is in close cahoots with German spies.(More) July 6 Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia offers to grant asylum to Edward Snowden. July 4 • France has refused to grant Edward Snowden's request for political asylum in Paris, the country's Interior Minister Manuel Valls says.(More) • European Parliament will conduct an "in-depth inquiry" into the US surveillance programmes, and present its results by the end of this year.(More) • Moscow will not influence the circumstances around Edward Snowden because the NSA leaker has not appealed for political asylum in Russia, a high-ranking diplomat says.(More) • Icelandic Parliament discusses a proposal to grant immediate citizenship to Edward Snowden.(More) July 2 • Brazil confirmes that it has received an asylum request from Edward Snowden, but says it has no plans to respond.(More) • Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca denies Edward Snowden is on the plane flying Bolivia's president out of Europe, after the plane is diverted on suspicions it is carrying both men.(More) • Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chungying says she has no information concerning Snowden's asylum request to China.(More) • Wikileaks says Snowden has sent asylum requests to 21 countries. July 1 The U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has asked for political asylum in Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry confirms.(More) June 29 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has asked Ecuador to reject an asylum request from Edward Snowden, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa says.(More) June 27 • The Immigration Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region says it receives a notification from the US government that Edward Snowden's US passport has been revoked.(More) • Edward Snowden has a chance to receive political asylum from Moscow if he requests it, a Russian official says.(More). • Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa renounces the country's participation in a preferential trade treaty with the United States.(More) June 24 • The central government respects the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's lawful handling of the case of Edward Snowden, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says.(More) • Edward Snowden does not board a flight from Moscow to Havana, the Interfax news agency reports.(More) • The Ecuadorian government has told Russia that it is reviewing the asylum request from Edward Snowden.(More) June 21 A Guardian exclusive reveals that GCHQ has gained access to the network of cables which carry the world's phone calls and internet traffic and is processing vast streams of sensitive personal information it shares with the NSA. June 19 Secretary for Security TK Lai says the Edward Snowden case is highly complicated, and he hopes the public would understand the administration cannot disclose or discuss any details of the case.(More) June 17 • Snowden denies the allegation that he is a Chinese spy in an online chat with the Guardian newspaper from a secret location in Hong Kong.(More) • Spokeswoman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying dismisses claims of Edward Snowden spying for the Chinese government. She says the claim is "completely ridiculous."(More) • US President Barack Obama says that the US authorities would pursue extradition of the whistleblower Edward Snowden from Hong Kong.(More) June 15 Hong Kong leader CY Leung vows to protect privacy and other rights of institutions and people in the city as hundreds of local people take to streets to voice support of Edward Snowden and concerns about reports of US surveillance on Hong Kong and mainland networks.(More) June 9 The Guardian names former CIA technical worker Edward Snowden as the source of the leaks.(More) June 7 • The Guardian reports President Obama has asked intelligence agencies to draw up a list of potential overseas targets for U.S. cyber-attacks. • President Obama defends the programmes, saying they are closely supervised by both Congress and the courts.(More) June 5 The Guardian reports that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon under top secret court orders. Mid-February 2013 Snowden sends an email to The Guardian commentator Glenn Greenwald, suggesting to set up a method for receiving and sending encrypted emails. The two gradually set up a secure communications system.