Snowden seeks asylum in Ecuador

Ecuador's foreign ministry has confirmed that Edward Snowden has officially applied for asylum in Ecuador. He left Hong Kong this morning, landed in Moscow, and is said to be heading for Cuba next.

Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, earlier wrote on Twitter that Snowden had applied for asylum. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is currently sheltering in Ecuador's embassy in London as he fights extradition to Sweden on sex assault charges.

In a statement, WikiLeaks said: "Mr Snowden … is bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks.

Snowden applies for Ecuador asylum [Al Jazeera]