Washington, October 26
Revelations of America’s industrial-scale surveillance have painted an alarming picture of the National Security Agency as a spy service operating virtually without limits since the 9/11 attacks, experts say. Disclosures from intelligence leaker Edward Snowden have revealed how far the NSA has pushed the envelope in its digital snooping after being granted sweeping powers by Congress in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The Patriot Act and other laws adopted after 9/11 “basically unleashed what we see today,” said Gordon Adams, a professor at American University who served as a senior official in Bill Clinton's administration.

“In a climate of fear, we basically took the reins off of accountability for the intelligence community.” Congress “opened up a floodgate” and both president George W Bush and Barack Obama justified the approach by citing the threat posed by Al-Qaida, Adams told AFP. “This is a bipartisan project,” he added. “The reality is the law gave them (NSA) immense running room and they have seized every inch of that running room and then some.”

The agency and its defenders say the NSA has always operated legally. However, in the wake of Snowden's bombshell leaks, foreign governments from Brazil to France have voiced outrage about eavesdropping and lawmakers are now pushing for stricter limits on the NSA's spying authority, putting the White House on the defensive. - AFP

Islamabad, October 26
Pakistan will not allow the entry of any Afghan refugees if the situation in the neighbouring war-torn country deteriorated after the withdrawal of foreign forces in 2014, a minister has said.

"Pakistan will not welcome fresh influx of refugees from Afghanistan and (it will) use all legal channels in collaboration with the international community to block entry of Afghans at the border," Minister for State and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (retired) Abdul Qadir Baloch said.

He was replying to a question from journalists on whether his country would provide shelter to fresh refugees if there was turmoil in Afghanistan after the NATO pullout.

"In case Afghanistan is unstable, then the local residents will be left with no choice but to flee to Pakistan but even then, we won't welcome them," he was quoted as saying by media. — PTI

Dhaka, October 26
BNP chief Khaleda Zia today turned down Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's invitation for talks tomorrow to defuse a crisis over the upcoming general election but said she was open to dialogue after an opposition- sponsored 60-hour nationwide shutdown.

Hasina and Zia spoke on the phone this evening - believed to be their first conversation in at least a decade - to explore possibilities of a dialogue after failed attempts by the Prime Minister to talk to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief earlier in the day. The premier invited Zia to hold talks over dinner at her official residence tomorrow to end the current political impasse but the opposition leader turned down the offer while agreeing to hold talks after the shutdown ends on October 29.

Explaining the BNP's position, Zia's press secretary Maruf Kamal Sohel told reporters that the opposition leader "accepted" the premier's invitation but deferred the proposed talks by saying "the dialogue can be held after the hartal (strike)". — PTI

Washington, October 26
The first-ever Diwali celebrations will be held at the US Capitol this year, with the US lawmakers announcing to hold a Congressional reception for the festival of lights.

Cutting across party lines, a number of Senators and members of US House of Representatives are expected to attend the "first-ever Congressional Diwali" reception, lawmakers said yesterday.

"Diwali is a festival of great significance to millions of Indians and Indian-Americans and I'm thrilled and proud to be a part of the first-ever Congressional Diwali," Congressman Joe Crowley, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, told PTI.

"I'm looking forward to this bipartisan event that will bring together members of Congress, prominent Indian-American leaders, and the community to celebrate Diwali," he said.

"This isn't only about celebration though ? this event is also about helping to build a greater understanding of differing cultural backgrounds and histories not only for Indian Americans but for all Americans. — PTI 

Washington, October 26
Leaks from Edward Snowden have helped America's adversaries and represent the most serious breach of classified information in US history, the CIA's former number-two ranking official said.

Michael Morrell, who served as deputy director and acting director of the CIA, on Friday in an interview told CBS television's "60 Minutes” programme that the former intelligence contractor's disclosures have damaged efforts to track possible terror threats. “What Edward Snowden did - has put Americans at greater risk - because terrorists learn from leaks and they will be more careful, and we will not get the intelligence we would have gotten otherwise," said Morrell, who recently stepped down.

"I think this is the most serious leak - the most serious compromise of classified information in the history of the US intelligence,” he said. — AFP