Good morning. It's Thursday, Nov. 4, and we're covering sanctions on an Israeli tech company, a sigh of relief in Australia, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].
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The US placed well-known Israeli spyware firm NSO Group on a Commerce Department blacklist yesterday over its purported role in a phone-hacking scheme exposed over the summer. Three other businesses based in Israel, Russia, and Singapore were also added.
A series of joint articles published in July revealed one of NSO's core tools, Pegasus, had been used by intelligence agencies and law enforcement groups around the world to spy on journalists, activists, politicians, and others. The software is capable of covertly installing on mobile phones (see overview), often requiring no user interaction, and provides access to text messages, photos, and more. Among other targets, the software was reportedly used by Saudi Arabia to monitor slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. See others potentially targeted here.
The company maintains it sells its tools to governments to combat crime and terrorism.
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Police in Western Australia successfully recovered 4-year-old Cleo Smith yesterday, ending a case that had gripped the country for more than two weeks. Smith was found in good health and reportedly with no visible harm.
The odd details of the abduction captured the nation's attention. Smith had been camping with her parents at a remote seaside campsite. Her mother reported Cleo asked for water around 1:30 am Oct. 16, but was missing by morning; the parents said the tent, whose zipper was too high for the young girl to reach, had been left open.
Despite a $750K reward, police said tips did not yield the suspect. Rather a series of undisclosed pieces of evidence ultimately led to a 36-year-old suspect who lived just 2 miles from the family's home.
See the moment Cleo was rescued here.
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A United Nations report released yesterday detailed atrocities in Ethiopia's civil war, condemning both the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front for their roles in the yearlong civil war. The report comes a day after Ethiopia declared a six-month state of emergency after Tigrayan rebels gained territory near Addis Ababa, the nation’s capital. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed—who won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize—called on citizens to take up arms against Tigrayan forces.
The Biden administration announced it would remove the country from a special trade program over the rights issues. The program gives sub-Saharan African countries duty-free trade status with the US; removal could significantly harm Ethiopia's manufacturing sector.
The conflict began last November, and both sides continue to fight for control of the northern Tigray region; thousands of people have been killed, and more than a million have been displaced. See a background on the country's civil war here.
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
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The Untold Story of the Tsar Bomba
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The Bulletin | Alex Wellerstein. Sixty years ago, a Russian plane detonated a school bus-sized nuclear bomb over a desolate Arctic tundra—by far the most powerful atomic explosion in history. Newly released documents reveal just how seriously the Kennedy administration took the threat. (Read)
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Atavist | Tony Perrottet. How a Milwaukee drifter rose through the rankings of Fidel Castro's rebel army to become the chief executioner of the Cuban revolution. (Read)
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