I know what you're doing this summer: This unfortunate picture, taken yesterday as news of the scandal broke, will prove a trifle embarrassing for Barack Obama, whose administration defended the order, calling it 'a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats'
'You Can't Have 100% Security And 100% Privacy': Obama Defends NSA's Secret 'Data-Mining' And Tries To Dismiss It As 'A Modest Encroachment' -- Daily Mail
* PRISM data-mining program was launched in 2007 with approval from special federal judges
* Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Skype, AOL and PalTalk are involved in spying program
* The UK has had access to the PRISM data since at least 2010
* Details of data collection were outlined in classified 41-slide PowerPoint presentation that was leaked by intelligence officer
* PRISM was exposed one day after it was revealed that NSA has been collecting telephone records of Verizon customers
* It is largest anti-terror intelligence-gathering operation since 9/11
President Obama delivered a passionate defense on Friday of national security programs that secretly acquire information about Americans' phone calls, saying criticism of them is all 'hype.'
'My assessment and my team's assessment was that [the programs] help us prevent terrorist attacks and that the modest encroachments on privacy that are involved in getting phone numbers or duration [of calls] without a name attached... It was worth us doing.'
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MIDDLE EAST
UN launches record $5bn aid appeal for Syria.
Hezbollah entry in Syria fans Shiite-Sunni fires.
Syrian opposition leader: Conflict could spread.
Peacekeepers in disarray as Austrians withdraw from Golan Heights. Israeli fury at Austria's Golan Heights pullout.
Lebanese army slams ‘plot’ to embroil country in Syria war.
Iraq bombings claim more casualties.
Turkey's giant construction projects fuel anger of Istanbul residents.
Turkey PM calls for end to protests. Thousands greet defiant Erdogan.
Iran not U.N. nuclear watchdog's only headache, report shows.
Kerry to return to Mideast next week in further peace push: sources.
ASIA
Pakistan denies firing at Indian troops in disputed Kashmir.
North and South Korea bicker over dates and venues for peace talks. North Korea says to reopen hotline with South, seeks weekend talks.
President Xi uses trip to increase China's influence.
Obama-Xi summit: cyber security, North Korea and Syria on US-China agenda.
Cyber disputes loom large as Obama meets China's Xi.
Georgia's Defense Minister visits Afghanistan after deadly incident.
Philippine rebels won't give up armed struggle yet.
Aung San Suu Kyi: 'I want to be Burma's president'.
Cambodia outlaws denial of Khmer Rouge atrocities.
AFRICA
Nigerian Islamists retreat, apparently to fight another day.
U.S. quietly allows military aid to Egypt despite rights concerns.
Mali crisis: Human Rights Watch condemns ethnic abuses.
Malian troops advance on last rebel-held stronghold.
Ghana arrests 168 Chinese nationals in illegal mining crackdown.
Ethiopia: Halting dam's construction unthinkable.
Algeria stalled 40 days into president's absence.
S. Sudan switches from Arabic textbooks to English.
Lawyer: Jailed Egyptian blogger begins hunger strike.
EUROPE
Putin orders crackdown on Islamists, police detain 300 people.
Tough times for the 500-euro note.
David Cameron to attend Bilderberg group meeting.
Phone records shared with U.K..
Putin on Russia's naval plans in the Mediterranean.
Dresden hit as 100,000 people across Germany fight floods.
Hungary braces for record flooding.
Russia media compassionate about Putin's divorce.
Protesters blockade Bosnian parliament over ID law.
Pope Francis: I didn't want the job.
AMERICAS
Barack Obama defends US surveillance tactics.
Intelligence Director declassifies law to explain massive phone, Internet surveillance.
Five criteria Obama may weigh in seeking Bernanke successor.
No pardon for imprisoned former president in Peru.
Texas actress held over ricin letter 'gun threat'.
US economy adds 175,000 jobs in May.
Bolivian villagers bury suspected killer alive with victim.
Brazil sends army to indigenous land dispute farm.
Brazilian billionaire's son convicted in death.
TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR
US military unaware al-Qaida accessed WikiLeaks, Manning trial hears.
Pakistan drone strike kills seven in North Waziristan.
Guantanamo Bay hunger strike grows; 41 now being force-fed.
Does Al-Qaeda in Iraq have chemical weapons?
US Boston bombing investigators return to Russia.
ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS
Libor scandal: EU publishes guidelines to prevent banks rigging benchmarks.
World Economic Forum opens in Burma.
Samsung Electronics loses $12 billion market value on smartphone worries.
Persian rug sold at auction for record $33.8m.