Snowden, Obama, Ecuador Updates: Russia did not invite Snowden, Obama will not intercept plane

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Russia did not invite Edward Snowden onto Russian territory. This was announced on Thursday by the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. Former CIA officer and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed the details of secret U.S. intelligence spying programs, fled from the U.S. to Hong Kong, and on June 23, flew to Moscow intending to move onward to Havana.

Currently he is in the transit area of Sheremetyevo international airport, pending a decision by Ecuador from which he has asked for political asylum.

Kislyak does not believe that the problem of Snowden, who did not cross the border into Russia, could complicate relations between Moscow and Washington.

Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama said he "would not use fighter jets to intercept the plane with Snowden, wherever he was going."

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Customs intercept air gun, pellets at Lagos airport

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Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command in Lagos on Thursday have intercepted an air soft gun otherwise known as Zinc Alloy Shell G15 pistol and five sachets of pellets from a passenger at the premier airport.

The items were found on the passenger, identified as Mr. Ukeje Joseph, with passport number A04206153, during the inward clearance of Kenya Airways flight KQ532 from Johannesburg in South Africa.

The event occurred during routine examination by the Customs and other relevant agencies at the Lagos Airport on passengers’ luggage.