US fury as Snowden walks free in Russia; India -- Shaped by its poorest citizens; Google's 'always listening' phone

1 US fury as Snowden walks free in Russia (BBC & San Francisco Chronicle) The US has labelled Russia's decision to grant asylum to fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden as "extremely disappointing". The White House is reconsidering a meeting scheduled for next month between President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The US wants Mr Snowden extradited and tried for leaking secrets.

Mr Snowden, who left a Moscow airport transit zone for the first time since June, thanked Russia for its action. White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "We're extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have Mr Snowden expelled to the US to face the charges against him.We're evaluating the utility of a summit in light of this and other issues." Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer, an ally of Mr Obama, said Russia's decision was a "stab in the back" and urged the president to recommend relocating the G20 summit away from Russia.

Russia has consistently played down the importance of the issue and insisted relations with the US should be unaffected. Mr Snowden, who worked for the CIA and later for a firm contracted to the National Security Agency, leaked documents to journalists showing the extent of the NSA's snooping programmes.

The 30-year-old former NSA contractor now has plenty of room to roam throughout the sprawling country and continue the bizarre journey that has already stretched across half the planet — from Hawaii to Hong Kong to the Russian capital. The decision gives Russia cover to depict itself as a defender of human rights, pointing a finger to deflect criticism of its own poor record and tough crackdown on dissent. Snowden himself made that argument. In a statement issued by WikiLeaks, which has been assisting him, Snowden was quoted as saying that "over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law, but in the end the law is winning."

2 India – Shaped by its poorest citizens (Manu Joseph in The New York Times) They squat like giant frogs to mop the floors. They carry large lanterns on their heads at wedding processions. With grave faces, they iron underwear that is not theirs, and serve their masters in many other ways. But there is something else that India’s poor do for the rich, something more complicated. That is why poverty is often top news in this great republic.

Last week, the Indian government announced that it had good news. In the span of seven years starting in 2004, nearly 138 million Indians had ceased to be extremely poor. Not because they had died, but because they had risen above the poverty line, also known as the Tendulkar Line. But there was no celebration. The poor did not appear to know of their great escape. As for the middle class and the mainstream news media, they reacted with anger. They denounced the news as deceit by statistics, and condemned, as they have before, the Tendulkar Line, which stands for a household expenditure of about 5,000 rupees, or $83, a month for an urban family of five, and even less in rural areas.

The poor would be moved if they only knew how much reverence the well-fed have for their condition, a sort of sacred plight that should not be defiled by charlatan statistics. In fact, the elite in India are deeply influenced, affected and shaped by the nation’s poverty. At a fundamental level, it provides an affluent Indian with a moral direction, if not for himself then for the nation — end poverty — and an honorable reason to hold politicians in contempt — they have not ended poverty.

It also provides him with an indisputable reason to believe that he himself is privileged, a belief he abandons only with the shock of first setting foot in a prosperous nation. Yet, he is also a great beneficiary of the nation’s poverty. It may appear that he is part of a fiercely competitive society, but the fact is that, considering the odds he would face if every Indian were empowered, if every Indian child had eaten well and gone to a decent school, he has it easy. In almost every sphere of activity, men and women with limited talents can go very far because most Indians have never had the opportunities to fully challenge them.

Abject poverty also, inevitably, shapes the works of India’s economists, artists, journalists and curious people who make documentaries for a living. Economist Amartya Sen says he find the popular expression in India, ‘inclusive growth’ funny. “I find it somewhat redundant. Sustained economic growth and inclusive growth are not disparate.” But somehow India has managed to separate the two. It is as if the nation did not really want the demise of poverty. For, after all, it is India’s most enduring heritage.

3 Google’s ‘always listening phone (David Lee on BBC) Google-owned Motorola has announced a phone that is "always listening" for the owner's voice commands. Saying "OK Google now..." will prompt the Moto X's Touchless Control system to listen for instructions. The device is the first to have been designed from scratch since Google's $12.5bn takeover of Motorola last year.

Industry analysts said the release could prove disruptive to the Android market, as many other manufacturers using Google's operating system are struggling to turn a profit. It also means customers can change their customisation options - with multiple colourings, and personalised engravings to be on offer. The company said there were over 2,000 possible combinations for what could be created.

The Moto X launch has again raised questions around the delicate relationship between Google and Samsung. As the dominant vendor - by a huge margin - in the Android market, Samsung finds itself in something of a polite tug-of-war with the search giant. Samsung represents 60% of total Android shipments across the world. The release of the Moto X is interesting strategically, as while Google will want the phone to be a success, too much of a hit risks unnerving Samsung.

In the first three months of 2013, Samsung captured a 95% share of all profits in the global Android smartphone market - highlighting the prospect of a whopping hole should it decide to change direction.