NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Drone strike: A U.S. military drone strike on a vehicle carrying explosives in Somalia has removed “an imminent threat to the people of Mogadishu” by the alShabab extremist group, the U.S. Africa Command said Tuesday. The air strike was carried out Tuesday about 40 miles southwest of Somalia’s capital, the U.S. statement said, adding that no civilians were killed. Al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu including hotels, military checkpoints and the presidential palace.
2 Muslim leaders meet: Leaders and high-ranking officials of Muslim countries will meet Wednesday in Istanbul for an extraordinary summit to discuss “repercussions” from the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation session aims to produce a “unified Islamic position.” The umbrella organization of 57 members called President Trump’s statement last week an “illegal decision” and a “serious escalation.” The holy city’s status is at the heart of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and significant for Palestinians and Muslims worldwide. Most countries around the world have not recognized Israel’s 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem. Under a long-standing international consensus, the fate of the city is to be determined in negotiations.
3 Terror fight: The European Union is planning to link together its border, visa and fingerprint databases to plug information gaps and better combat terrorism and international crime. The European Commission proposed Tuesday in Brussels to upgrade the 28-nation bloc’s information systems so that border officers or the Europol police agency can have fast access to more reliable data. The plan would allow visa, police, customs or justice authorities to use one search portal with access to all various databases they currently have permission to use. The European Commission says the move wouldn’t compromise data protection safeguards while making it easier to crosscheck information or catch criminals using multiple or fake identities.
4 Teen bombers: A Nigerian official says two teenage girl suicide bombers attacked the town of Gwoza, in the country’s north, killing at least four people. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, spokesman for the Military Command in Maiduguri, said Tuesday that local defense forces spotted the girls and shot one, detonating her vest and killing only her. He said the other girl managed to infiltrate the crowded residential area in Borno state and detonated herself, killing four others. The military also said two soldiers were killed Sunday after their vehicle hit a homemade explosive planted by Boko Haram insurgents along the MaiduguriDamboa highway.
5 Hacking case: Italian prosecutors want to drop their investigation into the 2015 breach of surveillance company Hacking Team, leaving a question mark over a dramatic release of material that exposed the global market for spy software and embarrassed intelligence figures across the world. A redacted, three-page court document shared by former Hacking Team worker Guido Landi shows that Italian prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis has formally asked that an investigative judge in Milan shelve the case. No reason was given but a report in Milanese newspaper Corriere della Sera Tuesday said that prosecutors hit a roadblock after following a trail of digital currency transactions back to the U.S. The paper did not cite a source. If the move to drop the case were upheld, it would be good news for Phineas Fisher, the mysterious hacker who claimed responsibility for the breach.