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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

WikiLeaks missiles that could reach Israel


US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal that Israel believes it would have 10-12 minutes' warning should Iran launch a rocket attack against the country. The Norwegian daily Aftenposten  published a cable Monday from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv that discusses a Nov 15, 2009 meeting between an American congressional delegation and Israel's military chief. According to the daily, Gabi Ashkenazi told the delegation that Iran has 300 Shihab missiles that could reach Israel. He added that Israel's biggest threats were the Iranian-backed Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has more than 40,000 rockets that can reach almost any point in Israel. In the cable, Ashkenazi is quoted as saying Israel was preparing its army for a major war in the Middle East. He added that the Israeli army sends out unmanned planes over Lebanon to identify potential targets. The Israeli defense chief said Israel is not able to protect its entire population despite its anti-missile defense systems. He said 1 million Israelis could be exposed to missiles that cannot be fought from the air.

A strong earthquake shook coastal Chile

A strong earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale rocked Araucania region, south of Chile, on Sunday. There were no reports of casualties. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 5:20 p.m. local time (2020 GMT), with its epicenter at 16.9 kilometers deep, 70 kilometers north to Temuco city and some 595 kilometers south to Santiago, Chile's capital. Meanwhile, director of Chile's National Office of Emergency Vicente Nunez on Sunday rejected the risk of a tsunami. "To the moment there are not report of injured people and damage; only the telephone lines collapsed and there were blackouts," Nunez said in a press conference. "Chile's Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy and the emergency office rejected the possibility of a tsunami," Nunez added. The earthquake was also felt in the Argentine localities of Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes, 1,630 and 1,673 km, respectively, southwest to Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital. So far, it is unknown the earthquake's intensity in Argentine, also there were not reported or rejected damage and victims. On Feb. 27, 2010, an earthquake measuring 8.8 shocked the center-south of Chile, followed by a tsunami, killing more than 500 people and leaving some 800,000 homeless. Chile lies on the Pacific Rim of fire and is prone to violent earthquakes. Last February's massive earthquake unleashed a tsunami that swept away entire villages.