Australians Go to Israel to Investigate Potential Misuse of Its Citizens’ Information
Investigators from the Australian passport office and the country’s Federal Police are on their way to Israel to look into what Stephen Smith, the Australian foreign minister, described as a “serious abuse” of three Australian passports. Smith told a press conference that it was not yet clear whether the Australian passports used by suspected members of the hit squad that allegedly suffocated Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh were forgeries or whether they were real documents obtained under false pretenses. He did say that the misused passports were issued in 2003, before security improvements were made to the Australian passport design.
Smith added that the three Australian nationals whose identities were apparently stolen were presently residing in Israel. He also said that Australian government representatives had been in contact with either the real passport holders or their family members. Smith said that while Australia was presently unable to make any conclusions as to whether Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, was behind the Dubai killing, it expects full Israeli cooperation for its passport inquiry. He added that he had advised Israel’s ambassador to Australia that “if we didn’t receive that cooperation, then we would potentially draw adverse conclusions.”
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Mark Hosenball joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in November 1993, covering a range of issues for the National Affairs department. Most recently, he has written and reported numerous stories on terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks on America. He has also covered campaign finance, the Monica Lewinsky controversy, the death of Princess Diana, Whitewater, the crashes of EgyptAir flight 990 and TWA flight 800, as well as related air safety issues.
Hosenball came to Newsweek from "Dateline NBC," where he worked as an investigative producer. He also worked extensively as a print journalist, writing for a number of British and American publications, including the London Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard, Time Out, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. In addition, he has done commentaries for American Public Radio.
Hosenball has been honored with a number of prestigious awards. Most recently, along with a team of Newsweek correspondents, he was awarded the Overseas Press Club's most prestigious honor, the 2002 Ed Cunningham Memorial Award for best magazine reporting from abroad for Newsweek's coverage of the war on terror. His reporting and that of his colleagues earned Newsweek the prestigious National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002 for its coverage of September 11 and its aftermath. And a story he co-authored was highlighted in a citation Newsweek received by the White House Correspondents' Association when it awarded the magazine the 2002 Edgar A. Poe Award for "excellence on a story of national or regional importance. "Newsweek's September 11 coverage started long before the attacks. An article in the magazine's February 19, 2001 issue warned with chilling accuracy: 'The threat posed by (Osama) bin Laden is growing -- and coming ever closer to home."
Hosenball was a contributor to the CANAL + TV documentary, "L'Argent de la Drogue" (Drug Money), which was awarded the "Sept D'Or," the French equivalent of an Emmy. He also contributed to NBC News' coverage of the BCCI scandal, which earned a 1991 Peabody Award.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College in Dublin. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and son.
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