NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Battle for Mosul: Counterattacks by Islamic State militants on the western edge of Mosul have stalled Iraqi forces’ push in the Old City, the last Islamic State stronghold in the battle, an Iraqi officer said Tuesday. The attacks forced Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition to pull some assets away from the Old City to again clear the Yarmouk and Tanak neighborhoods, which were declared liberated in May. The assaults underscore the extremist group’s resilience in the city, Iraq’s third-largest, despite months of heavy fighting with Iraqi forces backed by U.S. air power.
2 Cyberwarfare: Israel’s security chief says his agency, the Shin Bet, has gone on the offensive against hackers trying to carry out cyberattacks against Israel on the internet. The remarks by Nadav Argaman are a rare admission of Israel’s use of offensive cybercapabilities. Argaman spoke at a cyberdefense conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. He says that “passive defense” is not enough, and that the Shin Bet studied hackers’ strategies and developed “a variety of ways and methods” on how to strike back. Israeli cyber officials are ordinarily reluctant to discuss the use of offensive capabilities against hackers.
3 Apartheid-era case: A South African court has reopened an inquiry into the 1971 death of an antiapartheid activist whose family believes he was tortured and killed by police and did not commit suicide by jumping from a 10thfloor window as authorities said at the time. Ahmed Timol died after his arrest and transfer to John Vorster Square, a notorious police station in Johannesburg where opponents of white minority rule were often held without trial and tortured. Some died there. Timol’s family says they don’t know who exactly is responsible for his death but want to correct the official record and asked for an inquest after conducting their own investigation.
4 Refugees rescued: Nearly 8,900 migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea during the past few days. The U.N. migration agency said Tuesday that 8,864 migrants trying to reach Europe on unseaworthy smugglers’ dinghies and fishing boats have been safely rescued since June 24. Libya-based smugglers take advantage of calm seas to launch as many boats as they can toward Italy, and conditions on the Mediterranean have been calm lately.
5 Major inquiry: The British government called Tuesday for a major national investigation into cladding and insulation in high-rise buildings across the country, amid mounting concern after a fire at Grenfell Tower in London this month left at least 79 people dead. Ninety-five buildings, in 32 areas, that used cladding and insulation similar to those found in Grenfell Tower fell short in safety tests — “a 100 percent failure rate,” according to a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May.
6 Venezuela attack: President Nicolas Maduro said a stolen police helicopter fired on Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Tuesday in what he called a thwarted “terrorist attack” aimed at ousting him from power. The confusing exchange took place as Maduro was speaking live on state television to pro-government journalists. More than an hour after the flyover ended, he told the audience that the helicopter had fired on the court with grenades. He said the nation’s air defense was activated and one of the grenades didn’t explode, preventing any loss of life. “It could’ve caused a tragedy with several dozen dead and injured,” Maduro said.
Chronicle News Services