Other countries, from dictatorships to democracies, are also avid snoopers, tapping into the high-capacity fiber optic cables to intercept Internet traffic, scooping their citizens' data off domestic servers, and even launching cyberattacks to win access to foreign networks.

But experts in the field say that Silicon Valley has made America a surveillance superpower, allowing its spies access to massive mountains of data being collected by the world's leading communications, social media, and online storage companies. That's on top of the United States' fiber optic infrastructure responsible for just under a third of the world's international Internet capacity, according to telecom research firm TeleGeography which allows it to act as a global postmaster, complete with the ability to peek at a big chunk of the world's messages in transit.

"The sheer power of the U.S. infrastructure is that quite often data would be routed though the U.S. even if it didn't make geographical sense," Joss Wright, a researcher with the Oxford Internet Institute, said in a telephone interview. "The current status quo is a huge benefit to the U.S."

The status quo is particularly favorable to America because online spying drills into people's private everyday lives in a way that other, more traditional forms of espionage can't match. So countries like Italy, where a culture of rampant wiretapping means that authorities regularly eavesdrop on private conversations, can't match the level of detail drawn from Internet searches or email traffic analysis.

"It's as bad as reading your diary," Wright said. Then he corrected himself: "It's FAR WORSE than reading your diary. Because you don't write everything in your diary."

Although the details of how the NSA's PRISM program draws its data from these firms remain shrouded in secrecy, documents leaked by spy agency systems analyst Edward Snowden to the Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers said its inside track with U.S. tech firms afforded "one of the most valuable, unique, and productive" avenues for intelligence-gathering. How much cooperation America's Internet giants are giving the government in this inside track relationship is a key unanswered question.

Whatever the case, the pool of information in American hands is vast. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp.'s popular Internet Explorer accounts for between a quarter and half of all browsers, according to various estimates. Mountain View, California-based Google Inc. carries two-thirds of the world's online search traffic, analysts say. Menlo Park, California-based Facebook Inc. has some 900 million users a figure that accounts for a third of the world's estimated 2.7 billion Internet-goers.

Electronic eavesdropping is, of course, far from an exclusively American pursuit. Many other nations pry further and with less oversight.

China and Russia have long hosted intrusive surveillance regimes. Russia's "SORM," the Russian-language acronym for System for Operational-Investigative Activities, allows government officials to directly access nearly every Internet service provider in the country. Initially set up to allow the FSB, the successor organization to the KGB, unfettered access to Russia's Internet traffic, the scope of SORM has grown dramatically since Vladimir Putin took power in 2000 and now allows a wide range law enforcement agencies to monitor Russians' messages.

In China, surveillance is "pervasive, extensive, but perhaps not as high-tech" as in the United States, said Andrew Lih, a professor of journalism at American University in Washington. He said major Internet players such as microblogging service Sina, chat service QQ, or Chinese search giant Baidu were required to have staff perhaps as many as several hundred people specially tasked with carrying out the state's bidding, from surveillance to censorship.

What sets America apart is that it sits at the center of gravity for much of world's social media, communications, and online storage.

Americans' "position in the network, the range of services that they offer globally, the size of their infrastructure, and the amount of bandwidth means that the U.S. is in a very privileged position to surveil internationally," said Wright. "That's particularly true when you're talking about cloud services such as Gmail" which had 425 million active users as of last year.

Many are trying to beat America's tech dominance by demanding that U.S. companies open local branches something the Turkish government recently asked of San Francisco-based Twitter Inc., for example or by banning them altogether. Santa Clara, California-based WhatsApp, for example, may soon be prohibited in Saudi Arabia.

Governments are also racing to capture traffic as it bounces back and forth from California, importing bulk surveillance devices, loosening spy laws, and installing centralized monitoring centers to offer officials a one-stop shop for intercepted data.

Middle Eastern governments have installed Western-made surveillance technology to monitor domestic communications in bulk sometimes with help the very same contractors which do work for the NSA.

India's government has begun deploying a centralized system which would route the nation's Internet traffic through a single monitoring point one of several countries working to give law enforcement a one-stop shop for intercepted data.

Recently-passed Brazilian money laundering laws allow authorities to access Internet and communication data without a court order a no-warrants-needed trend the report said was being repeated across the globe.

"Eventually, it won't just be Big Brother," said Richard J. Aldrich, the author of a book about Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency. "There will be hundreds of little brothers."

But the siblings have a lot of catching up to do if they want to match surveillance powers of the United States, and some have turned to cyberespionage to try to even the playing field. A high-profile attack on Gmail users in 2010, for example, was blamed on Chinese hackers, while suspicion for separate 2011 attack on various U.S. webmail services fell on Iran.

But even in the dark arts of cyberespionage, America seems to have mastered the field. The FBI has been targeting criminals with sophisticated surveillance software for years, while one U.S. general recently boasted of hacking his enemies in Afghanistan.

In his comments to the South China Morning Post, Snowden said Americans had broken into computer systems belonging to a prominent Chinese research university, a fiber optic cable company and Chinese telecoms providers.

"We hack everyone everywhere," Snowden said.

U.S. officials haven't exactly denied it.

"You're commuting to where the information is stored and extracting the information from the adversaries' network," ex-NSA chief Michael Hayden told Bloomberg Businessweek earlier this year. "We are the best at doing it. Period."

___

Paisley Dodds in London and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

Sauber, who confirmed that he and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn had made two recent trips to Moscow, added the negotiations for a new partner were nearing a conclusion.

"We will not only see out this season to the end, but we will still be in Formula One for many years," Sauber told the Swiss newspaper Blick. "I am convinced."

"The negotiations which we have been involved are close to reaching a conclusion. I'm convinced that we will succeed in getting a rescue."

Despite the visits to Moscow, Sauber said he did not want to comment on whether the team would be joining forces with a Russian partner.

"I do not want to give an opinion on that. It is clear, that we simply need a big, strong partner," he said.

The team have had to soldier on as an independent after BMW pulled out as partners and from F1 completely at the end of 2009.

"The situation is serious. It is one of the most difficult situations since I've been in motorsport," said Sauber.

"For many, we've been a very good and a very reliable partner for years. Obviously I'm sorry for any supplier who has had to wait for his money.

"We have not had to lay anyone off yet and have paid wages on time," he added.

Sauber himself has gradually stepped back from the day-to-day running of the team, leaving Kaltenborn in charge as the only female principal in the sport.

They have never won a grand prix as an independent team having joined F1 in 1993, with BMW-Sauber only taking the chequered flag once in 2008 in Canada with Robert Kubica.

Sauber said he was encouraged by the performance at the German Grand Prix last week, when Nico Hulkenberg was 10th and Esteban Gutierrez 14th.

"We came into the season with a car that is too slow. This is the main problem," he said.

"Then the financial problems meant we could not develop. But the race at the Nuerburgring was a step forward. We'll come back. In every respect." (Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Alison Wildey)

The world's second-largest economy grew 7.5 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter, slowing from the previous quarter's 7.7 percent, as weak trade and a clampdown on lending took their toll.

It was the second consecutive quarter of slower growth but still strong enough to suggest China can meet Beijing's 7.5 percent target for this year.

A clampdown on risky lending at state banks had contributed to jitters that China's growth might fall below 7 percent. That would hurt companies around the world that have become increasingly reliant on breakneck Chinese growth to boost earnings.

Nomura analysts Zhiwei Zhang and Wendy Chen said they were maintaining their 2013 growth forecast for China at 7.5 percent but trimmed their 2014 forecast to 6.9 percent from 7.5 percent.

"The government has made it clear to the public that it is less concerned about the growth rate and more about the quality and sustainability of growth," they said in a report.

To avoid a sharper slowdown, China's central bank is likely to lower the proportion of deposits that banks must keep in reserve by a total of 1.5 percentage points by the middle of next year, the Nomura analysts said.

In early European trading, France's CAC 40 was up 0.8 percent at 3,886.98 and Germany's DAX rose 0.6 percent to 8,261.49. Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.7 percent to 6,509.91. Wall Street was set for moderate gains with Dow and S&P 500 futures both up 0.2 percent.

Among Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1 percent to 21,303.31 and Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1 percent to 4,981.10. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent 1,875.16.

Mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1 percent to 2,059.39. Japan's financial markets were closed for a public holiday.

Elsewhere, benchmarks in Singapore, India, Taiwan and New Zealand rose while Indonesia fell.

The gains in Asia and Europe also came after Wall Street eked out new highs.

After spending most of Friday flat or down, U.S. stocks rallied at the last minute and closed slightly higher, just enough to post record highs for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500.

In energy trading, benchmark crude for August delivery was down 33 cents at $105.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.04 to $105.95 in New York on Friday, driven higher by continuing tensions in Egypt and a sharp drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.

The euro fell to $1.3030 from $1.3066 late Friday. The dollar rose to 99.85 yen from 99.14 yen.

Davis hit his 37th home run to tie the AL mark prior to the break, and the Baltimore Orioles cruised past the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 Sunday.

Davis doubled in two runs in the first inning and hit a two-run homer in the third to give him 93 RBIs, second-most in the majors behind Detroit's Miguel Cabrera. He and Cabrera are the only players in major league history to have 30 homers and 90 RBIs before the All-Star game.

"Superhuman," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He's having some kind of year. I saw him a little bit when he was in Texas coming up. He could always hit home runs. He got his opportunity here to play every day and he's taken advantage of it. It's pretty impressive."

By going deep in a fourth straight game, Davis equaled Reggie Jackson's AL mark of 37 homers before the break, set in 1969. The major league record is 39, by Barry Bonds in 2001.

Davis has already reached career highs in home runs and RBIs with 66 games left in the regular season.

"I think it's something definitely to be proud of," Davis said. "It means I've been doing my job, but it also speaks volumes about the guys in front of me getting on base and really swinging the bats well."

Davis has been facing a shift lately, but there's no defending a ball that clears the wall.

"You can't shift to the stands," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "They don't allow you to put anybody out there. So hit it where the grass doesn't grow."

Davis will next put his sweet swing on display at the Home Run Derby on Monday night in New York.

"I expect it to be a lot of fun," he said. "I think it's going to be definitely high energy, and I'm definitely looking forward to it."

Adam Jones homered and scored three runs for the Orioles. The home run was his 19th of the season and third in three games.

Scott Feldman (1-1) allowed three runs and five hits over 7 1-3 innings to earn his first win with the Orioles in three starts since being traded from the Chicago Cubs on July 2. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one.

"I think command-wise I was a little better today," he said. "I was able to throw in that first strike when I need to, which was helpful."

After Maicer Izturis singled in a run in the ninth off Tommy Hunter, Jim Johnson got three outs for his 33rd save.

Izturis had three RBIs for the last-place Blue Jays, who staggered into the break with 13 losses in 20 games. Toronto dropped two of the three to the Orioles and fell to 4-11 in its last 15 games at Camden Yards.

"Definitely frustrating," Gibbons said. "These four days will be good for us. A little breather (to) regroup. We will find out what we're made of and how good we are in the second half."

Josh Johnson (1-5) yielded a career high-tying seven earned runs and seven hits in six innings. Johnson's only win in 12 starts this season came against Baltimore on June 23.

"They hit him pretty well," Gibbons said. "First inning they dropped four on us. It's tough to come back from that."

Baltimore bolted to a 4-0 lead in the first, getting hits from four of its All-Star selections: Manny Machado, Jones, Davis and J.J. Hardy.

After Nate McLouth opened with a single, Machado singled and Jones hit an RBI single. Davis followed with a double into the right-field corner and Hardy capped the uprising with a run-scoring single, his 200th RBI with the Orioles.

Davis made it 6-0 with an opposite-field drive to left after Jones drew a walk.

"When you got guys hitting opposite field that are decent pitches," Johnson said, "it's tough."

Izturis singled in two runs with two outs in the fourth, and Jones hit a solo shot in the fifth for a 7-2 lead.

After Feldman gave up a single to Jose Reyes in the eighth, Hunter allowed a two-out RBI single to Juan Encarnacion.

NOTES: The Orioles announced before the game that RHP Chris Tillman (11-3) was added to the AL All-Star squad. ... Baltimore has homered in 17 straight games against AL East foes, a franchise record. ... Actor Kevin Spacey threw out the ceremonial first pitch, floating a soft strike to pitcher Jim Johnson. ... Chris Dickerson, who came in 6 for 10 lifetime against Josh Johnson, went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts against the right-hander. ... Feldman improved to 1-4 in his career against Toronto. ... The Blue Jays lead the season series 7-6. The teams don't play again until Sept. 13.

The Austrian parachutist known as "Fearless Felix" reached 843.6 mph, according to the official numbers released Monday. That's equivalent to Mach 1.25, or 1.25 times the speed of sound.

His top speed initially was estimated last October at 834 mph, or Mach 1.24.

Either way, he became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. He wore a pressurized suit and jumped from a capsule hoisted by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico.

Baumgartner was supersonic for a half-minute "quite remarkable," according to Brian Utley, the official record-keeping official who was present for the Oct. 14 feat. His heart rate remained below 185 beats a minute, and his breathing was fairly steady.

The leap was from an altitude of 127,852 feet. That's 248 feet lower than original estimates.

"He jumped from a little bit lower, but he actually went a little bit faster, which was pretty exciting," said Art Thompson, technical project director for the Red Bull-sponsored project.

"It's fun for us to see reaching Mach speeds and proving out a lot of the safety systems," Thompson said in a phone interview from his aerospace company in Lancaster, Calif.

Thompson said everything pretty much unfolded as anticipated, with no surprises in the final report. The updated records were provided by Utley, official observer for the National Aeronautic Association's contest and records board. Utley was in Roswell, N.M., for Baumgartner's grand finale jump.

In the foreword of the 71-page report, Baumgartner said he never imagined how many people would share in his dream to make a supersonic free fall from so high.

Some 52 million people watched You Tube's live stream of the exploit.

The scientific and engineering experts who helped bring him back alive "broke boundaries in their own fields just as surely as I broke the sound barrier," Baumgartner wrote.

Baumgartner shattered the previous record for a free fall plunge, made by Joe Kittinger, an Air Force officer, in 1960. Kittinger did not quite reach supersonic speed during his jump from 19.5 miles up.

FIFA executive committee member and FAT chief Worawi Makudi has dismissed the demands of leading Thai sports administrators to hold the election first and has set an Aug. 8 date for further discussions over proposed changes.

Worawi's term as FAT president ended on June 16 and critics said that the reforms, which include slashing the number of eligible voters by more than half to 72, was a ploy by Worawi to retain his seat amid growing unpopularity.

Worawi has set Sept. 23 as the new election date, which has angered the majority of member clubs with 108 of the 179 signing a petition demanding the election takes place on July 23 or they will hold it themselves in early August.

The 61-year-old Worawi, who lost to Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa in the Asian Football Confederation presidential elections in May, said he was simply following FIFA guidelines.

The Bangkok Post reported that FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke had warned the FAT against going ahead with any such plan, strengthening Worawi's stand.

"We would like to remind you once again that the FAT is required to comply with the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA bodies at all times," the report quoted the letter as saying.

"By holding elections prior to the revised FAT statutes being adopted, the FAT would be in violation of the decision of the FIFA Associations Committee.

"Accordingly, we would like to inform you that should the FAT attempt to convene an extraordinary congress for election purposes prior to the adoption of the revised FAT statutes, the matter will be referred to the appropriate FIFA body to take appropriate measures against the FAT including the non-recognition of the election and/or immediate and indefinite suspension."

Soccer fan Pinit Ngarmpring and former national team manager Virach Charnpanich are the candidates running against Worawi for the top soccer post in the country. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by John O'Brien)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday invalidated a new military policy dealing with searches of detainees at Guantanamo Bay before and after their meetings or phone calls with attorneys.

Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court in Washington, said the search procedures, in place since May, "actively discourage petitioners from taking phone calls or meeting with counsel."

The U.S. military holds 166 foreign captives at the detention camp on the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba.

The searches, which include frisking of the groin and anal areas, are conducted on detainees before they are taken from their cells to buildings for meetings or phone calls with their lawyers, and after they return.

Previously, a less invasive search procedure was used to avoid appearing disrespectful toward the detainees' cultural or religious sensitivities, the judge said.

Detainees Mahmoud al Shubati, Fadhel Hussein Saleh Hentif and Saeed Mohammed Saleh Hatim had all complained about the policy, saying it unlawfully inhibited their right to speak with their lawyers.

Lamberth agreed, noting that detainees have said they are searched up to four times during the process.

"The motivation for the searches is not to enhance security but to deter counsel access," he said.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Todd Breasseale, said the military is reviewing the decision. "We will of course continue to follow the law," he said.

(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Xavier Briand)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Zynga Inc. jumped Monday after the technology blog AllThingsD reported that Don Mattrick, the president of Microsoft's Xbox business, is joining the company, possibly as CEO.

THE SPARK: The move would mean that Mark Pincus, the founder and current CEO of the troubled online game maker, is stepping aside. Representatives for Zynga and Microsoft did not immediately respond to messages for comment Monday afternoon. Citing multiple, unnamed sources close to the situation, AllThingsD said Mattrick is close to taking a top job at Zynga, "possibly" as CEO.

BACKGROUND: Zynga has been struggling to keep people interested in and paying for its online games, which include "FarmVille" and "Words With Friends." It announced in June that it was cutting 520 jobs, or about 18 percent of its workforce to save money.

SHARE ACTION: San Francisco-based Zynga's stock rose 27 cents, or 9.7 percent, to $3.05 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $2.09 to $5.61.

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Ava DuVernay is a writer, a director, a documentarian, a marketer and the leader of a film collective.

She has not been, however, a sports fan.

So it may come as a surprise to many - DuVernay included - that the UCLA graduate directed "Venus Vs.," the first film in ESPN's upcoming "Nine for IX" series, an extension of the company's landmark "30 for 30" documentary project.

"Nine for IX," which begins Tuesday night with "Venus Vs.," celebrates the 40th anniversary of Title IX, an amendment to a 1965 law that sought to end gender discrimination in school sports. All nine of the films - as well as the one short - are focused on women in sports - athletes, coaches, journalists and sex symbols.

The timing of the premiere of "Venus Vs.," focused largely on Williams' role in the fight for female tennis players to earn equal pay at Wimbledon - is lost on no one. The second week of Wimbledon just began.

TheWrap spoke with Duvernay about her involvement in "Nine for IX" and why Williams has long captivated her in spite of her disinterest in sports.

So how did you get involved with this? Did ESPN make a list of subjects and seek out directors? Were directors invited to pitch ideas to the network?

I was walking out of my third screening of "Middle of Nowhere" at Sundance and a man named Dan Silver, an executive at ESPN, came up to me. He said I love the film.' I'm thinking, ESPN?! OK, thank you very much. I pat him on the shoulder and kept walking.

He had slipped my producer a card, but I didn't understand what I have to do with ESPN. He explained the "30 for 30" series and said he was looking for directors with vision to tell the story. Two weeks later, I sent an email about a little known story about Venus Williams.

Literally within that month we were greenlit and making it.

Did you watch the first round of "30 for 30" documentaries?

I had seen a couple of them, and I knew what it was since a couple friends had made some. I thought it was just for the 30th anniversary. I hadn't realized it continued until I started talking to male friends and men in my family. I'd say "30 for 30" and jaws dropped. People worship this thing. I learned so much credit with the brothers.

What about this particular subject appealed to you?

I didn't want to fabricate an interest in sports I didn't naturally have. I can't say I'm a big sports person, but I'm from Compton. I always had an affinity and affection from afar for Venus Wiliams. She was a few years younger than me, and I remember being in college and hearing about a girl from my hometown doing something that hadn't been done.

When I was thinking about sports and a possible film, I started to dig into her and found this story that tennis fans weren't aware of - an undercover campaign we were able to share.

As you learned more about Venus, why did the issue of equal pay stand out the most?

I thought it was all extraordinary - the idea of a young girl who made her professional debut in 1994 at 14 years old as a complete outsider. She was much maligned during that time - criticized for her style of play, for the beads in her hair, for grunting, for where she came from. Ultimately she becomes a champion for all women at the highest court in the land.

What did you learn about the state of gender equality in tennis and sports?

The focus of the documentary was gender equality in this particular instance, but also the gender politics and the impact of any fight for quality in any corner of society. It has ripple effects in illuminating other corners.

I talked to top official at the U.N. in charge of women and gender roles for UNCESCO. She talked passionately about fact that a gain anywhere to equalize and make uneven places even is important and necessary.

It's important that this fight for equality not be minimized. It held a mirror up to society. Up to '07 - six years ago - men and women were paid unequally for the same quality of entertainment, the same sold-out crowds and the same endorsement deals.

We got to what's underneath it - sexism and patriarchy.

What do you say to those who argue that female athletes don't deserve equal pay because they generate a fraction of the revenue?

It's not true. We're speaking specifically about Wimbledon, and women sell out their matches like men do. The revenue reflects who sets the prices - Wimbledon does. How do you generate equal revenue if Wimbledon sets the prices at a lesser value? It gets into the patriarchal issue that becomes a vicious cycle.

You also hear women play best-of-five sets instead of three. Whose decision was that? The parameters were set in place by Wimbledon. Hopefully the documentary gets underneath the really tired excuses that people have regurgitated without understanding what they are saying.

What impact have Venus and her sister Serena Williams had on women, especially younger African-American women, in terms of how they view sports and specifically tennis?

I can't speak for Serena at all. I focused on Venus and her cause and purposely didn't request to speak with Serena. As a black woman, it's an incredible story. She was the first one through the door, the first one I remember hearing about, the first one to go pro, the first one to have the media glare and have to justify who she was to be taken seriously.

Any time you see a woman stretch the limits of what she can be, to learn the strife off the court, it makes me admire her.

What was that strife?

She has a quiet strength. Harnessing her power at the time ... She was at height of her popularity, winning so consistently. To martial all of that into a cause that meant something for her - that's not easy to do. With the risk to your brand and endorsements, she just naturally jumped into that.

Given that she is more reserved than her sister, was it at all difficult to get her to cooperate and talk about it?

Once I got in touch and explained my vision she was lovely, open and hands-off - the three words any documentarian wants to hear. I went to Wimbledon 2012 with her. I was on tour in Washington with her. The main interview was done at her estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

Is that the first time you've traveled with an athlete like that?

Oh yeah. I was the girl in school sitting on the sidelines cheering everyone on. Don't put a ball in my hands; it's not gonna go anywhere. I learned a lot about the game working on the documentary over the past year. Being from Compton, tennis is not at the top of my mind if I had my choice. I was a Venus fan more than a tennis fan. I've now become a tennis fan.