June 4, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 22,1423

AL QUDS, June 3: A new Israeli spy satellite, Ofek-5, has begun broadcasting sharp pictures of Baghdad and Tehran, the Israeli Yediot Aharanot daily reported on Monday.

Israeli ministers greeted the pictures with applause during their weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. Israeli Defence Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said the satellite, launched Tuesday last week, was “one of the most advanced in the world”.

Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon said the intelligence obtained through Ofek-5 was “of a quality we had not known the likes of before”.

Ofek-5 circles the earth at a height of 400 to 600 kilometres.—dpa