NSO Sues Israeli Paper After Explosive Articles on Police

FILE - A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli tech company NSO Group, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, Aug. 24, 2021.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli tech company NSO Group, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, Aug. 24, 2021. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TT
20

NSO Sues Israeli Paper After Explosive Articles on Police

FILE - A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli tech company NSO Group, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, Aug. 24, 2021.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli tech company NSO Group, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, Aug. 24, 2021. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Israeli tech company NSO Group on Sunday filed a libel lawsuit against an Israeli newspaper after it published a series of explosive articles claiming Israeli police unlawfully used its spyware on dozens of public figures.
The articles by the Israeli business newspaper Calcalist published over recent weeks triggered an uproar over what the newspaper claimed was the police's unfettered use of sophisticated phone hacking software on a broad swath of figures. An investigation into the reports, which were unsourced, found no indication of abuse.

The NSO suit targets a specific article published earlier this month, which said the company allowed clients to delete traces of their use of the spyware, a claim it denies. But the company, which has faced a growing backlash over its product, questioned the overall credibility of the reports, calling the series of articles “one-sided, biased and false.”

“The thorough investigation that was carried out pulls the rug out from under another attempt to discredit the company and its workers and serves as additional proof that not every journalistic investigation with a sensational headline about NSO is indeed based on facts,” the company said in a statement, reported by The Associated Press.

NSO was asking for 1 million shekels (310,000 dollars) in damages that it said would be donated to charity.

The Calcalist reports said police spied on politicians, protesters and even members of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle, including one of his sons. The paper said police used Pegasus, the controversial spyware program developed by NSO, without obtaining a court warrant.

The investigation led by Israel's deputy attorney general found no evidence to support the claims, although the journalist, Tomer Ganon, has stood by his work. The investigation's findings were a rare piece of good news for NSO, which has faced mounting criticism over the spyware.

Pegasus is a powerful tool that allows its operator to infiltrate a target’s phone and sweep up its contents, including messages, contacts and location history.

NSO says it sells the product only to government entities to fight crime and terrorism, with all sales regulated by the Israeli government.

The company does not identify its clients and says it has no knowledge of who is targeted. Although it says it has safeguards in place to prevent abuse, it says it ultimately does not control how its clients use the software.



Taiwan Says Somalia Bans Entry to Its Citizens amid Somaliland Dispute

A soldier lowers the Taiwan national flag during the daily flag ceremony at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
A soldier lowers the Taiwan national flag during the daily flag ceremony at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
TT
20

Taiwan Says Somalia Bans Entry to Its Citizens amid Somaliland Dispute

A soldier lowers the Taiwan national flag during the daily flag ceremony at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
A soldier lowers the Taiwan national flag during the daily flag ceremony at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Somalia has banned entry to Taiwan passport holders citing compliance with a United Nations resolution, the island's foreign ministry said, blaming Chinese pressure on Mogadishu at a time Taiwan is boosting ties with Somaliland.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence. The region has been mostly peaceful while Somalia has endured three decades of civil war.

Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory and likewise diplomatically isolated, and Somaliland set up representative offices in each other's capitals in 2020, angering Mogadishu and Beijing.

In a statement late on Tuesday, Taiwan's foreign ministry said the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority had last week issued a notice that as of Wednesday Taiwanese passports will not be accepted for entry to Somalia.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a solemn protest against the Somali government's move, instigated by China, to restrict the freedom and security of travel of our nationals, and demands the Somali government immediately revoke the announcement," it said.

Somalia's outgoing Foreign Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi told Reuters the measure had been taken because they recognize one China policy and consider Taiwan a part of China.

"We banned from Somalia all illegal work of Taiwan and those with Taiwanese passports," he said.

"It (Taiwan) violated the independence and unity of Somalia by opening illegal offices in a town which is part of Somalia, without permission from Somalia." He was referring to Hargeisa, Somaliland's capital.

Somaliland officials could not be reached for comment.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said the decision was a legitimate measure taken by Somalia to safeguard its rights and interests.

"It also shows that Somalia firmly abides by the one China principle ... we firmly oppose the establishment of institutions or any form of official exchange between the Taiwan authorities and Somaliland," ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference on Wednesday.

Notice of the entry ban, sent to airlines, was given so that Somalia complies with a United Nations Resolution passed in 1971 by which the Beijing government took Taipei's place at the global body under the "one China" principle, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Taiwan, along with the US, says the UN resolution makes no mention of Taiwan's status and that China has deliberately misinterpreted it. China says the resolution gives international legal standing to its claims of sovereignty over the democratically governed island.