Edward Snowden joins Twitter
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden announced the creation of a Twitter account on Sept. 29, 2015. Snowden’s inaugural tweet was comical.
“Can you hear me now?” asked Snowden in his first official tweet.
Within half an hour of launching the account, Snowden had amassed more than 70,000 followers, including celebrities like astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
At the time of this writing, Snowden follows a single account, that of the American National Security Agency.
In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked NSA documents implicating the security agency in infringing on the privacy of American citizens. Snowden fled the U.S. in 2013, and he currently resides in Russia.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas denounces Palestinian affiliation with 1993 Oslo Accords
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared that Palestine would no longer be bound by the 1993 Oslo Accords, while speaking at the UN general assembly in New York City on Sept. 25, 2015.
Abbas explained that the decision stemmed from ceaseless conflict with Israel.
“As long as Israel refuses to cease settlement activities and to the release of the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with our agreements, they leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements, while Israel continuously violates them,” said Abbas. “We therefore declare that we cannot continue to be bound by [the Oslo Accords] and that Israel must assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying power.”
Abbas delivered the speech on the same day that the Palestinian flag was raised at the UN for the first time in history.
“In this historical moment, I say to my people everywhere: raise the flag of Palestinians very high, because it is the symbol of our identity,” said Abbas in his Sept. 25 speech. “It is a proud day.”