A joint investigation by seventeen media organizations found that spyware sold to governments by Israeli firm NSO Group was used to hack (WaPo) journalists, human rights activists, and business executives around the world. The Pegasus spyware is officially intended for use against terrorists and major criminals. 

The investigation examined a leaked list of phone numbers and found through forensic investigation that the spyware targeted at least thirty-seven smartphones, including those of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée and his son (Haaretz).  The media consortium identified at least ten governments thought to be NSO customers (Guardian), including Hungary, India, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. It says more revelations about Pegasus are forthcoming. NSO characterized the investigation as exaggerated (WaPo) and said it does not operate the spyware licensed to clients.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in canceled plans to visit Tokyo (Yonhap) for the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The trip would have included his first in-person meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The cancellation came after a Japanese diplomat made a crude comment about Moon, prompting Seoul to complain and Tokyo to plan to remove the diplomat.
 
For the Asia Unbound blog, Shin Kak-soo discusses the downward spiral in Seoul-Tokyo relations.
 
Japan: A Tokyo court handed two Americans prison sentences (Kyodo) for helping former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn flee Japan in 2019.

Afghanistan withdrew its ambassador and senior diplomats (Dawn) from Pakistan after the ambassador’s daughter was abducted in Islamabad, the Afghan foreign ministry said. Afghanistan’s first vice president, Amrullah Saleh, tweeted that “[Afghanistan’s] national psyche has been tortured.” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the recalls were “unfortunate and regrettable” and that it was investigating the abduction.
 
Afghanistan: Fifteen diplomatic missions and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) representative in the country jointly called (Al Jazeera) for the Taliban to halt its military offensives after intra-Afghan talks in Doha, Qatar, failed to yield a cease-fire agreement.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producer nations, collectively known as OPEC+, agreed to increase output (NYT) beginning in August after a previous attempt at an agreement failed because of a dispute between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The new deal will increase global oil supply by around 2 percent by the end of the year.
 
This Backgrounder looks at OPEC’s role in a changing world.

Former South African President Jacob Zuma testified virtually (Al Jazeera) in his long-running corruption trial for the first time since his imprisonment earlier this month sparked nationwide protests. Threats of violence against judges and the courts have circulated on social media (News24) in recent days.
 
Ghana: An avian flu outbreak has killed almost 6,000 chickens (Reuters) in Ghana, and 4,500 more have been culled as a disease-control measure, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture said. Restrictions on poultry stand to further push up food prices (Bloomberg) in the country.

More than one hundred thousand people protested across France (AP) on Saturday to denounce new restrictions aimed at controlling rising COVID-19 infections and requirements that health-care workers be vaccinated. Two COVID-19 vaccination centers in southern France were ransacked (BBC).
 
North Macedonia: The government said it repatriated its last group (AP) of suspected former fighters from the self-proclaimed Islamic State, who will now face trial. The four suspects and their families were transferred from Iraq and Syria.

A group of international diplomats—including representatives from the United States, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations—have urged Haitian Prime Minister–designate Ariel Henry (WaPo) to form a government. Shortly before his assassination, President Jovenel Moise named Henry prime minister, but Henry’s predecessor, Claude Joseph, has acted as Haiti’s leader following Moise’s death.
 
CFR’s Paul J. Angelo and David Gevarter look at what to know about Moise’s assassination.
 
Chile: Underdog candidates on the left and right won presidential primaries (Bloomberg) Sunday and will compete in the first round of elections in November. On the left, former student leader Gabriel Boric won 60 percent of votes, and on the right, former social development minister Sebastian Sichel won 49 percent.

The Joe Biden administration transferred Abdul Latif Nasser (NYT), a man detained at Guantanamo Bay who was recommended for discharge in 2016 and never tried with a crime, back to his home country of Morocco. The move is the first such transfer under the administration and reduces the detention center’s population to thirty-nine prisoners.