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Israel Launches New Spy Satellite 

Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)
Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)
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Israel Launches New Spy Satellite 

Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)
Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)

SpaceX successfully launched an Israeli spy satellite into space.  

The EROS C-3 satellite mission was the 61st and final launch of the year for US-based spacecraft engineering corporation headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.  

The advanced observation satellite from Israel-based remote sensing company ImageSat International (ISI) would be used for military intelligence and security purposes and is considered another significant step forward for Israel's place in the global space industry.  

According to foreign sources, the company published images of Iranian nuclear facilities or traces of destruction in Syrian sites, which Western reports attribute to Israeli strikes or follows the movements of aircraft carrying out secret missions.  

The company explained that the "very advanced" satellite was produced by the Israeli aerospace industry for surveillance, adding that it has amazing imaging capabilities and provides high-resolution images.  

The sources asserted that Israel uses satellites for 80 percent of its intelligence, and only 20 percent comes from traditional intelligence.  

The EROS C-3 is part of a group of spy satellites that Israel promoted to sell privately, especially after the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East increased demand for satellite services.  

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Israeli imaging satellite.  

According to security sources in Tel Aviv, Israel officially entered the space field in 1988 by launching its first satellite, Ofek 1, from an Israeli mobile launch platform.  

Israel does not release information about its space activities, and any discussion about them is subject to strict security restrictions.  

However, some sources believe Israel entered the space and satellite programs in the late fifties and early sixties, parallel with its nuclear program's launch.  

Israel started the idea of launching a satellite when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space in 1954.  

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion established in 1960 the National Committee for Space Research, and four years later, Tel Aviv asked the United States and France to help set up a satellite monitoring station.  

In 1966, it established the Space Research Institute, affiliated with the Israeli Space Agency in 1983, and signed an agreement with the US to participate in the Strategic Defense Initiative. 

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World

Pandemic Accord, Tightened Budget on Menu at Big WHO Meet

The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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Pandemic Accord, Tightened Budget on Menu at Big WHO Meet

The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
The World Health Assembly is taking place at WHO headquarters in Geneva from May 19 to 27. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Next week promises to be a crucial one for the World Health Organization, with member states coming together in Geneva to adopt a landmark pandemic agreement and a slimmed-down budget amid US funding cuts.

Dozens of high-ranking officials and thousands of delegates are set to gather for the United Nations health agency's annual decision-making assembly, due to last from May 19 to 27.

"This huge gathering comes... at a pivotal moment for global health," Catharina Boehme, WHO's assistant director-general for external relations and governance, told reporters.

It comes as countries are confronting "emerging threats and major shifts in the landscape for global health and international development", she said.

More than five years after the emergence of Covid-19, which killed millions of people, much of the focus next week will be on the expected adoption of a hard-won international agreement on how to better protect against and tackle future pandemics.

After more than three years of negotiations, countries reached consensus on a text last month but final approval by the World Health Assembly is needed -- a discussion expected to take place on Tuesday.

'Without the US'

The United States, which has thrown the global health system into crisis by slashing foreign aid spending, was not present during the final stretch of the talks.

US President Donald Trump ordered a withdrawal from the WHO and from the pandemic agreement talks after taking office in January.

The agreement "is a jab in the arm for multilateralism, even if it is multilateralism in this case without the US", said a European diplomat who asked not to be named.

The WHA will be called upon to ratify the adoption of the agreement and to launch an intergovernmental working group to negotiate technical details of the so-called Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System (PABS), said negotiations co-chair Anne-Claire Amprou.

Core to the agreement, that system will be aimed at allowing the swift sharing of pathogen data with pharmaceutical companies, enabling them to quickly start working on pandemic-fighting products.

Once the PABS annex is completed and adopted at the 2026 WHA, "the whole (agreement) will open for signature", Steven Solomon, WHO's principal legal officer, told reporters.

Ratification by 60 states will be needed for the accord to come into force.

Deep cuts

Also high on the agenda next week will be the dramatic overhaul of WHO operations and finances.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told member states last month that the agency would need to slim down due to deep US funding cuts.

The agency has been bracing for Trump's planned full withdrawal of the United States -- by far its largest donor -- next January.

The United States gave WHO $1.3 billion for its 2022-2023 budget, mainly through voluntary contributions for specific projects rather than fixed membership fees.

"The loss of US funding, combined with reductions in official development assistance by some other countries, mean we are facing a salary gap for the next biennium of more than $500 million," Tedros said on Wednesday.

Tedros has not said how many jobs will be lost, but on Wednesday he announced the organization would cut its leadership team nearly in half.

Budget gap

Next week, member states will vote on a proposed 20-percent increase of WHO's mandatory membership fees for the 2026-27 budget period, Boehme said.

Members already agreed in 2022 to increase the mandatory fees to cover 50 percent of the WHO budget.

Without that decision, Tedros said Wednesday that "our current financial situation would be much worse -– $300 million worse".

"It is essential, therefore, that member states approve this next increase, to make another step towards securing the long-term financial sustainability and independence of WHO."

Countries will also be asked to adopt the 2026-2027 budget, at a time when development assistance funding, including for health resources, are dwindling globally.

"We have proposed a reduced budget of $4.2 billion for the 2026-2027 biennium, a 21-percent reduction on the original proposed budget of 5.3 billion," Tedros said.

If the increase in membership fees is approved, the WHO estimates it can raise more than $2.6 billion, or more than 60 percent of the budget.

"That leaves an anticipated budget gap of more than $1.7 billion," Tedros said.