Snowden unlikely to gain asylum in Ecuador

Ricardo Patino, Ecuador's Foreign Minister, said Snowden's case was similar to that of the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who has been granted asylum at the country's embassy in London."It took us two months to make a decision in the case of Assange, so do not expect us to make a decision sooner this time," Patino said during a visit to Malaysia. He said Ecuador would "consider all the risks" in granting asylum, including concerns that it could harm trade ties with the US.

Sander Levin, a US congressman, told The Hill newspaper yesterday that if Ecuador granted Snowden asylum there was no "basis for even discussing" extending a trade deal up for renewal in July.Snowden fled Hong Kong on Sunday after leaking secret documents revealing US surveillance programmes.