DIGEST-FOREIGN 2 LAST

London: US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden calls London: US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden callson President Barack Obama to pardon him, says in commentspublished it had been morally "necessary" to shine a light onmass surveillance. Geneva/Islamabad: UN High Commissioner on Human Rightsasks India and Pakistan to grant it "unconditional access" toboth sides on the Line of Control to establish an "objectiveassessment" of the situation in Kashmir. Wednesday United Nations: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says hewas in talks with Russia and the United States to turn up thepressure on all sides in Syria to guarantee the security of aUN aid convoy to Aleppo. Berlin/New Delhi: German chemical and pharma giant BayerAG announces acquisition of global biotech major Monsanto forUSD 66 billion in largest all-cash deal ever, to create theworld’s biggest seed and pesticide firm. Jerusalem: Shimon Peres, former Israeli president andNobel laureate, suffers a massive stroke and was in "seriousbut stable condition" with the Jewish nation praying for93-year-old veteran politician who first attempted to end thecentury-old conflict with Palestinians. Thursday Beijing: China successfully launches its secondexperimental space lab as part of an ambitious programme bythe Communist giant to build a manned space station by 2022,the time when US-led International Space Station expects to goout of service. Bali: Two foreign tourists die and about 20 other peopleare injured in an explosion on a speedboat that was ferryingthem from the Indonesian tourist island of Bali to neighboringLombok, police says. Kuala Lumpur: A piece of aircraft wreckage found in Juneoff Tanzania has been confirmed as coming from the doomedairliner MH370, Malaysia says. Friday Washington: A senior Islamic State operative, consideredthe terror group’s information minister, was killed in acoalition airstrike in Syria, the Pentagon says, a week afteranother raid eliminated a top ISIS leader. Peshawar: At least 28 people, including five children,were killed and 30 others injured when a Taliban suicidebomber shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ blew himself up inside a mosquepacked with worshippers for Friday prayers in MohmandAgency in Pakistan’s restive northwest tribal region. Geneva: Stepping up its offencive against Pakistan on theBalochistan issue at the UN Human Rights Council, India saysPakistan is a nation that practises terrorism on its ownpeople and the sufferings of the people of Balochistan are atelling testimony in this regard. PTI RJSRJS