The world in brief

The World in Brief

The Ofek 16 satellite sits on display at an Israel Aerospace In- dustries facility shortly before launch Monday.
(AP/Israeli Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office)
The Ofek 16 satellite sits on display at an Israel Aerospace In- dustries facility shortly before launch Monday.
(AP/Israeli Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office)

Israel launches new spy satellite

JERUSALEM -- Israel said it successfully launched a new spy satellite Monday as its leaders hinted it was behind a fire at an Iranian nuclear site last week -- potentially ratcheting up a long-running covert war.

If Israel was responsible for the fire at the heavily fortified Natanz facility, it would mark another in a series of daring strikes against Iran's nuclear program attributed to Israel, while also risking Iranian retaliation on either Israeli or Western targets.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the launch of the new Ofek 16 satellite, the latest addition to a fleet deployed over the past two decades.

"The success of the Ofek 16 satellite very much increases our ability to act against Israel's enemies, near and far alike," he told his Cabinet. "It greatly expands our ability to act on land, at sea, in the air and also in space."

Netanyahu did not mention Iran or last week's fire. But the Islamic Republic is Israel's top security concern and a target of its satellite intelligence-gathering efforts.

In a speech Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi noted that it was Israel's long-term strategy to prevent Iran from gaining the ability to build a nuclear weapon. He made no mention of the Natanz incident but noted that Israel takes "actions that are better left unsaid."

After initially playing down last Thursday's fire, Iranian officials over the weekend confirmed the blaze was much more powerful than initially indicated and that advanced centrifuges at the top-secret facility had been damaged.

Iran has not directly blamed the fire on Israel or anyone else.

Trudeau declines White House visit

TORONTO -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned down a White House invitation to celebrate the new regional free trade agreement in Washington with President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Trump and Lopez Obrador are due to meet Wednesday in Washington, but Trudeau spokesperson Chantal Gagnon said Monday that although Canada wishes the U.S. and Mexico well, Trudeau won't be there.

"While there were recent discussions about the possible participation of Canada, the prime minister will be in Ottawa this week for scheduled Cabinet meetings and the long-planned sitting of Parliament," Gagnon said.

Trudeau is conducting Cabinet meetings online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A senior U.S. administration official speaking on condition of anonymity said Trudeau had multiple conflicts related to the start of Parliament and coronavirus regulations that require Canadians who travel abroad to quarantine for 14 days upon return. The official said Trudeau has asked to speak with Trump by phone.

Trudeau later spoke with Lopez Obrador by phone and wished him a successful meeting with Trump, the prime minister's office said.

Fuel spill forces Filipinos to flee

MANILA, Philippines -- More than 400 people have been evacuated from a coastal village in the central Philippines after about 66,000 gallons of bunker fuel spilled from a power-generating barge into the sea, an official said Monday.

"The stench was so bad we have to move people away to two schools and last night there was a request for a third evacuation site," Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas said by telephone.

The spill began Friday when an accidental explosion on the barge blasted a hole in its hull. There were no reported injuries.

The accident has not affected the power supply to the commercial city of about half a million people because it has other sources, Trenas said.

The coast guard said it is investigating and charges may be filed against the owners of the barge.

Russian's death in Austria probed

BERLIN -- A Russian man shot dead near Vienna over the weekend had declined police protection, Austrian police said Monday.

Austrian media have reported that the killing of the 43-year-old, an ethnic Chechen who had lived in Austria for more than a decade, is being considered as a possible political assassination.

Police have not released the name of the victim, but the Russian website Kavkazski Uzel, which covers issues throughout the Caucasus region, said he ran a YouTube channel containing critical commentary about Russia's Chechnya region under authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

The regional intelligence and antiterrorism authority is involved in the case. Its head, Roland Scherscher, told the Austria Press Agency that the motive remains unclear, and that a political motive or perhaps an argument are both possible.

A 47-year-old Russian man was detained in Linz late Saturday shortly after the killing. Another Russian who came to the scene with the victim was detained in Gerasdorf, the Vienna suburb where the crime took place, police said. Neither of the suspects has talked to investigators, the press agency reported.

Police did not say when or why the victim had been offered protection.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports

In this photo released by Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office, the "Ofek 16" reconnaissance satellite blasts off at the Palmachim air base in central Israel Monday, July 6, 2020. The new satellite, which quickly entered orbit, joins a collection of spy satellites that Israel has deployed in recent years. (Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office via AP)
In this photo released by Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office, the "Ofek 16" reconnaissance satellite blasts off at the Palmachim air base in central Israel Monday, July 6, 2020. The new satellite, which quickly entered orbit, joins a collection of spy satellites that Israel has deployed in recent years. (Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office via AP)
This photo released Thursday, July 2, 2020, by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows a building after it was damaged by a fire at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran. Iran on Sunday confirmed that a damaged building at the underground Natanz nuclear site was a new centrifuge assembly center, the official IRNA news agency reported. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)
This photo released Thursday, July 2, 2020, by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows a building after it was damaged by a fire at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran. Iran on Sunday confirmed that a damaged building at the underground Natanz nuclear site was a new centrifuge assembly center, the official IRNA news agency reported. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)
This Sunday, July 5, 2020 satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows the substantial damage done by an explosion and a fire at an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site. Israeli leaders are now hinting it was behind the massive fire at the Iranian nuclear site last week, potentially ratcheting up a long-running covert war. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)
This Sunday, July 5, 2020 satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows the substantial damage done by an explosion and a fire at an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site. Israeli leaders are now hinting it was behind the massive fire at the Iranian nuclear site last week, potentially ratcheting up a long-running covert war. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)

photo

Philippine Coast Guard

Philippine coast guard personnel work to contain the oil spill off the coast of Iloilo City.
(AP)

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