Image copyright AP Image caption Little is known about Mr Snowden's activities in Russia 
 
 Russia has granted fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden permission to stay three more years with the right to travel abroad, his lawyer says. 
 
 His year-long leave to stay in Russia had expired on 31 July. 
 
 Mr Snowden fled the US in 2013 after leaking details of the National Security Agency's surveillance and telephone-tapping operations. 
 
 The US has charged him with theft of government property and communicating classified information. 
 
 Mr Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told journalists that the request for an extension had been accepted. 
 
 "Accordingly, Edward Snowden was given a three-year residence permit," which will allow him to move about freely and travel abroad, Mr Kucherena said. 
 
 'Man up' 
 
 The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor has been hailed by privacy activists for revealing the extent of the NSA's surveillance operations and details of alleged US spying on foreign leaders, including US allies. 
 
 The US Congress has since attempted to impose restrictions on the NSA's electronic surveillance activities. 
 
 However, US leaders have accused Mr Snowden of damaging national interests and harming the country's security. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Snowden's supporters say he has acted in the public interest by revealing the extent of NSA surveillance 
 
 In May, Secretary of State John Kerry said Mr Snowden was a fugitive from justice who should "man up" and return home. 
 
 Mr Snowden had fled the US via Hong Kong in May 2013. 
 
 He remained in a transit zone in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for more than a month after the US revoked his travel documents, before being granted temporary asylum in Russia in August 2013. 
 
 Russia's decision to shelter Mr Snowden was strongly criticised by the US. 
 
 Little is known about his activities in Russia, although his lawyer says he is working as an "IT specialist" and as a rights defender. 
 
 Mr Kucherena stressed on Thursday that Mr Snowden had not been granted asylum, but "temporary leave to remain on the territory of Russia," Interfax news agency reports. 
 
 "In the future Edward will have to decide whether to continue to live in Russia and become a citizen or to return to the United States," he said. 

 MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Thursday banned most food imports from the West in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine — a sweeping move that will cost Western farmers billions of dollars but could also lead to empty shelves in Russian cities. 
 
 Women choose Dutch tomatoes at a supermarket in downtown Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables... (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev announces sanctions at the Cabinet meeting in Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit... (Associated Press) 
 
 A woman choses sweets at a counter with imported food stuffs at a supermarket in downtown Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products... (Associated Press) 
 
 People buy imported fruit at a supermarket in downtown Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables from... (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev heads at the Cabinet meeting in Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables... (Associated Press) 
 
 Dutch sweet peppers on a display at a supermarket in downtown Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables... (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev announces sanctions at the Cabinet meeting in Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.The Russian government has banned all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit... (Associated Press) 
 
 The decision shows that President Vladimir Putin has no intention of bowing to Western pressure over Ukraine and will instead try to strike back at the West. It also demonstrated that the Kremlin is prepared to inflict damage on Russia while pursuing its course in Ukraine. 
 
 The U.S. and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March, of fomenting tensions in eastern Ukraine by supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency, and have imposed asset freezes and loan bans on a score of individuals and companies. Moscow has rejected the accusations and in turn accused the West of blocking attempts at a political settlement by giving a green light to Kiev to crush the mutiny through indiscriminate use of force, swelling civilian casualties. 
 
 A somber-looking Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a televised Cabinet meeting that Russia's retaliatory ban covers all imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway. It will last for one year. 
 
 "Until the last moment, we hoped that our foreign colleagues would understand that sanctions lead to a deadlock and no one needs them," he said. "But they didn't and the situation now requires us to take retaliatory measures." 
 
 Russia depends heavily on imported foodstuffs — most of it from the West — particularly in the largest and most prosperous cities such as Moscow. In 2013 the EU's agricultural exports to Russia totaled 11.8 billion euros ($15.8 billion), while the U.S. Department of Agriculture says food and agricultural imports from the U.S. amounted to $1.3 billion. 
 
 Medvedev argued that the ban would give Russian farmers, who have struggled to compete with Western products, a good chance to increase their market share. 
 
 But experts said that local producers will find it hard to fill the gap left by the ban, as the nation's agricultural sector has continued to suffer from poor efficiency and shortage of funds. 
 
 While the government claimed it will move quickly to replace Western imports by importing more food from Latin America, Turkey and ex-Soviet nations to avoid empty shelves and price hikes, analysts predicted that it will further speed up inflation. 
 
 The damage to consumers inflicted by the ban will be felt particularly hard in big cities like Moscow, where imported food fills an estimated 60-70 percent of the market. 
 
 Medvedev said Russia could go further and ban Western carriers from flying over Russia on flights to and from Asia — a move that would significantly swell costs and increase flight time. He said that the government is considering the move as retaliation to the EU's sanctions against Russian low-cost airline Dobrolet, but wouldn't specify when and under what conditions the move could be taken. 
 
 Medvedev made it clear that Russia hopes that the sanctions will make the West revise its policy and stop trying to pressure Russia with sanctions. 
 
 "We didn't want such developments, and I sincerely hope that our partners will put a pragmatic economic approach above bad policy considerations," he said, adding that the ban could be lifted earlier if the West shows a "constructive approach." 
 
 If the West doesn't change course, Russia may follow up by introducing restrictions regarding imports of planes, navy vessels, cars and other industrial products, Medvedev warned, but added that the government will move carefully. 
 
 "The government understands how important such cooperation is, and naturally, we have a realistic assessment of our own capacities," he said. 

 MOSCOW (AP) — Edward Snowden's lawyer says the NSA whistleblower has been granted permission to stay in Russia for three more years. 
 
 Snowden last year was granted temporary asylum of one year in Russia, but that ran out on Aug. 1. 
 
 His lawyer, Analtoly Kucherena, was quoted by Russian news agencies on Thursday as saying Snowden now has been granted residency for three more years, but that he had not been granted political asylum. That status, which would allow him to stay in Russia permanently, must be decided by a separate procedure, Kucherena said, but didn't say whether Snowden is seeking it. 
 
 Snowden was stranded in a Moscow airport last year en route from Hong Kong to Cuba, shortly after he released extensive documentation about National Security Agency's surveillance programs. He reportedly spent a month in the airport before receiving the temporary asylum, but was seen only at one tightly restricted meeting with human rights representatives. 
 
 Since receiving the temporary asylum, his whereabouts have not been made public. 
 
 The case has been significant contributor to the tensions between Russia and the United States. 
 
 "I don't think there's ever been any question that I'd like to go home," Snowden said in a television interview in May. "Now, whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say. That's a debate for the public and the government to decide. But, if I could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home."
– Russia, which is currently less than thrilled with the United States, today extended Edward Snowden's stay on its soil by another three years. Snowden's one-year asylum ran out late last week, and as the AP notes, Snowden's lawyer clarifies that he's been granted residency, not political asylum. Asylum would be decided in a separate proceeding, and it's not clear whether Snowden is seeking it. The three-year residency gives him the freedom to travel abroad, adds the BBC. (Meanwhile, is there a new Snowden in our midst?)