JERUSALEM — The U.S. has provided Israel with an advanced radar system that will give it early warning in case of an Iranian missile attack, Israeli officials confirmed Sunday.
The radar system, to be run by about 120 accompanying U.S. military personnel, was delivered last week, the Israeli defense officials said. It has been set up temporarily at the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert and will likely be moved to a permanent site in the next few months, they said.
The system, assisted by satellites, can pick up a ballistic missile shortly after launch and estimate the time and location of its impact. Those capabilities will cut the response time of Israel’s Arrow anti-missile defense system, which currently works with a less advanced radar.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Israel closes Palestinian territories
The Israeli military says it is imposing a closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip to coincide with the Jewish New Year holiday. The military says the closure goes into effect early today and would be lifted late Wednesday, depending on security considerations. It means Palestinians are banned from entering Israel until the closure is lifted.
Iran: Cancels U.N. agency meeting
The head of the country’s nuclear department has canceled his participation in the annual general conference of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran’s official news agency said. The Sunday report did not say why Gholam Reza Aghazadeh would not attend today’s meeting, saying only his deputy will attend the event. The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating Iran’s nuclear program.
Yemen: Dozens of refugees die
Somali refugees abandoned by smugglers in the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Aden drifted for 18 days, and at least 52 died before the group was rescued off the Yemeni coast, the U.N. said Sunday. Seventy-one people survived the journey. The boat broke down within hours of leaving Somalia on Sept. 3, bound for Yemen and carrying 124 Somalis, the U.N. refugee agency said. The crew abandoned the boat for another craft and never returned for the refugees.
Mexico: 97 tons of marijuana in field
Mexican authorities say they have found and destroyed 97 tons of marijuana in a field in the northern border state of Sonora. The Public Safety Department said in a statement Sunday the plants were spotted in a 13-acre field during an aerial search over Nacori Chico in Sonora state. The department said the plants were pulled out and incinerated.
China: Spacewalk team returns
Three Chinese astronauts, known as “taikonauts,” emerged from their capsule Sunday after a milestone mission to carry out the country’s first spacewalk. The Shenzhou 7, attached to a giant parachute, made a landing in the grasslands of China’s northern Inner Mongolia region. Zhai Zhigang, 41, remained outside for about 13 minutes during the Saturday spacewalk.
Honduras: Kidnappers free American
Authorities said a U.S. hotelier kidnapped a week ago has been freed. Security Vice Minister Mario Perdomo said Thomas Jacobson, 55, was released by his captors Saturday in Copan. He said he doesn’t know if a ransom was paid.
Maryland: Chopper crash kills 4
The pilot of a medical helicopter twice radioed for help in foggy weather before crashing Sunday, killing four of the five people on board in the latest of a growing number of air ambulance accidents, authorities said. The medical helicopter was carrying victims of a traffic accident when it went down in a park in Forestville. One of the two car-crash victims, an 18-year-old woman, survived the helicopter crash and was in critical condition at a hospital.
From Herald news services
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