Iraqi paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah on Thursday dismissed Israel's accusation that it is holding missing Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, saying it would search for her and those responsible for her disappearance.
Ms Tsurkov travelled to Iraq for research for her doctoral degree at Princeton University in the US but had not been seen since March.
Her disappearance was not widely known until Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Wednesday saying she was being held by Kataeb Hezbollah and that Israel would hold Iraq responsible for her well-being.
"Elisabeth Tsurkov is still alive and we see Iraq as responsible for her fate and well-being," the office said.
The situation is being handled by the relevant bodies in Israel, it said.
Kataeb Hezbollah, one of several state-sanctioned Iraqi paramilitary groups with affiliations to Iran, said the researcher's disappearance was a “dangerous matter that must be taken seriously”.
"Security officials and the army must stand together and work hard at uncovering the perpetrators and holding them to account," the paramilitary group said..
"We will, as Kataeb Hezbollah, spare no efforts to find the Israeli hostage in Iraq. We will find out who is behind these acts and how they are operating inside the country and who is aiding them.
“The relevant security services must uncover the networks associated with this and bring them to justice.”
Mr Netanyahu's office said Ms Tsurkov entered Iraq on her Russian passport.
Israeli citizens are not allowed to enter Iraq after the Iraqi Parliament passed a law last year criminalising any ties with Israel.
The law also applied to foreigners working in Iraq, potentially putting Ms Tsurkov at risk, even before considering the presence of Iran-backed militias such as Kataeb Hezbollah.
According to New Lines magazine, a publication of the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy think tank in Washington where Ms Tsurkov was a fellow, she was abducted in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in late March.
The last post on her Twitter account was on March 21.
Ms Tsurkov's research focused on the Levant and particularly the Syrian civil war, her website says.
New Lines said her kidnapping was first reported by Michael Rubin, an American analyst whose focus is Iraq and Iran.
Mr Rubin said in June that Ms Tsurkov had been detained by militias after being warned not to return to Iraq, where she had previously conducted field research in Mosul and the Kurdistan region.
His reference to her kidnapping links to a March 29 story in The New Arab, which incorrectly reported the kidnapping of a Russian-American academic in the Karrada neighbourhood of Baghdad.
"Investigations are continuing with the kidnapping, and under the supervision of the office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, in order to uncover the entire network involved in the kidnapping," an Iraqi security force statement said at the time.
New Lines said Ms Tsurkov was a passionate critic of Israel, while also aiming strong criticism at Iran's allies in the Middle East.
The publication said that her criticism of all countries that could secure her release, including Russia, could complicate efforts to secure her safety.
Kataeb Hezbollah is accused of kidnapping and killing hundreds of Iraqis, sometimes with no announced justification for its actions.
In January, the group was accused of kidnapping an Iraqi environmentalist, reportedly because he had criticised on social media the construction of dams in Iran.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS
Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm
Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
