US leaker faces hard choices in hiding as charges likely being prepared

HONG KONG – Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about U.S. surveillance programs, has few options left to stay one step ahead of the authorities while in apparent hiding.

One possibility is to seek asylum in a place that does not have an extradition pact with the United States -- there are few in Asia alone, a short flight away from Hong Kong where he was last spotted, but none where he is guaranteed refuge.

Snowden's whereabouts were unknown Tuesday, a day after he checked out of a trendy hotel in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. But large photos of his face were splashed on most Hong Kong newspapers with headlines such as "Deep Throat Hides in HK," and "World's Most Wanted Man Breaks Cover in Hong Kong."