SURVEILLANCE WHISTLEBLOWER Edward Snowden will appear before an audience via a live video link for the first time at next week's South by Southwest (SXSW) technology conference.

Snowden will be hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and he'll be talking with ACLU technology leader Christopher Soghoian and Ben Wizner, a First Amendment advocate and director of the ACLU speech, privacy and technology project.

SXSW Interactive takes place in Austin, Texas, but the event will be lived streamed on Monday and shared online by the ACLU. While Edward Snowden's actions have caused much debate, but people have been denied the chance to hear him speak about his experiences first hand.

"Our communications are not secure. Our telephone calls, emails, texts, and web browsing activity are largely transmitted without any encryption, making it easy for governments to intercept them, in bulk. Likewise, the mobile devices, apps, and web browsers that we use do not protect our data. In many cases, they intentionally give it to third party companies as part of the sprawling online advertising ecosystem. This only makes the NSA's task easier," reads the SXSW introduction to Snowden's session.

"Join us for a conversation... focused on the impact of the NSA's spying efforts on the technology community, and the ways in which technology can help to protect us from mass surveillance. Edward Snowden's revelations have launched a historic debate about surveillance practices and democratic controls, in which all three branches of government are actively and publicly engaging. But the technology community has too often been left out of the debate. It's time to fix that."

The ACLU will take part in three other presentations at the event, one about pushing back against snoopers, another about how spy movies are the new reality, and a third on how to protect yourself against surveillance. They all sound dandy.

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Edward Snowden to talk NSA spying and security at SXSW

OSLO: US whistleblower Edward Snowden, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, as the Nobel Institute announced on Tuesday a record 278 candidates.

"The number of nominations increases almost every year, which shows a growing interest in the prize," the head of the institute, Geir Lundestad, told AFP.

The Nobel committee convened on Tuesday for the first time this year to examine the candidate list and will announce the laureate in Oslo on October 10.

Even though the list is kept secret for at least 50 years, the sponsors can choose to reveal the name of their nominee.

Putin is thought to be on the list, since Russian figures proposed his name in October, citing his role in the Syrian crisis.

The former KGB agent is credited with averting a US attack against Syria by suggesting putting Bashar al-Assad's regime's chemical weapons arsenal under international control.

Being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize is relatively easy, since thousands of people can suggest candidates: lawmakers and ministers, university professors and former laureates.

At their first meeting, the five committee members themselves can add more names to the list.

The committee insists that being nominated does not imply an endorsement on its part.

Putin's chances of winning the prize appear limited given the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

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Snowden, Putin among nominees for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize