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World
VATICAN CITY
Pope Celebrates Birthday With Homeless People Four homeless people, one of them carrying his dog, helped Pope Francis celebrate his 77th birthday at the Vatican on Francis Tuesday. They live on the street in the Rome neighborhood just outside the Vatican’s walls and were invited by the Holy See official in charge of alms-giving to attend the morning Mass. (AP) JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
U.S. Tells Its Citizens To Leave South Sudan The United States ordered its citizens to leave South Sudan immediately Tuesday due to fighting in the capital after what its president called a coup attempt by soldiers loyal to his former deputy. (AP)
Ukraine, Russia Strike Aid Deal Moscow to buy $15B in bonds, upsetting pro-EU protesters Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday opened his wallet in the battle with the European Union over Ukraine’s future, saying Moscow will buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian government bonds and sharply cut the price of natural gas for its economically struggling neighbor. The announcements came after Putin held talks in Moscow with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is facing massive protests at home for his decision to shelve a pact with the EU in favor of closer ties with Moscow. Russia’s bailout package angered protesters, who immediately accused Yanukovych of selling out the country to the Kremlin and pressed
Pleading for Her Father’s Release
EFREM LUKATSKY (AP)
In Brief
Former boxing champ Vitali Klitschko encouraged protesters in Ukraine on Tuesday.
demands for his ouster. Washington said the agreements would not address concerns of the demonstrators in Kiev, Ukraine, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed what she called a “bidding competition” over the country.
Putin’s move came as Ukraine said it needs to get at least $10 billion in the coming months to avoid bankruptcy. The Fitch ratings agency has given Ukraine’s bonds a B-minus rating, which puts them in “junk bond” territory.
VL ADIMIR ISACHENKOV (AP)
Snowden Seeks Brazil Asylum
FAREED KHAN (AP)
National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wrote in a lengthy “open letter to the people of Brazil” that he’s been inspired by the global debate ignited by his release of thousands of NSA documents and that the NSA’s culture of indiscriminate global espionage “is collapsing.” In the letter, released widely online, Snowden commended the Brazilian government for its strong stand against U.S. spying. He said he’d be willing to help the South American nation investigate NSA spying but could not fully participate in doing so without being granted political asylum. In his letter, Snowden dismissed
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THE GUARDIAN/AP
Rio de Janeiro
A PAKISTANI GIRL cries Tuesday for the release of her father, a fisherman who was arrested after straying into Indian waters. He is one of hundreds in both Pakistan and India who have been detained for crossing the countries’ border.
Putin sought to calm protesters in Kiev by saying he and Yanukovych didn’t discuss the prospect of Ukraine joining a Moscow-dominated economic bloc the protesters fear will pull their country closer into Russia’s orbit. Still, Ukrainian opposition leaders, speaking to protesters who have camped on Kiev’s Independence Square for nearly a month, quickly denounced the Kremlin agreements and accused Yanukovych of treason. Vitali Klitschko, a world heavyweight boxing champion who quit boxing to concentrate on politics, accused Yanukovych of making Ukrainian assets collateral for the Russian bailout. “The only way out for the country is early elections,” he said. “We are all staying here and will fight for the right to live in a free country.” M A R I A DA N IL O VA A N D
Edward Snowden’s open letter praised Brazil’s opposition to NSA spying.
U.S. explanations to the Brazilian government and others that the bulk metadata gathered on billions of emails and calls was more “data collection” than surveillance. “There is a huge difference between legal programs, legit-
imate spying … and these programs of dragnet mass surveillance that put entire populations under an all-seeing eye and save copies forever,” he wrote. “These programs were never about terrorism: they’re about economic spying, social control, and diplomatic manipulation.” Documents leaked by Snowden revealed that Brazil is the top NSA target in Latin America in spying that has included the monitoring of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s cellphone. The revelations enraged Rousseff, who in October canceled an official visit to Washington. She’s also pushing the United Nations to give citizens more protections against spying. BR ADLEY BROOKS (AP)
The number of pounds Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has lost in the past five weeks, dropping him to 310, his lawyer said Tuesday, according to the National Post. The mayor is in new trouble after a reporter sued Ford for libel for implying he was a pedophile. (AP)