Israel warns Syria it will ‘suffer the consequences’ after rocket attack

JERUSALEM // The Israeli army has warned the Syrian government that it will “suffer the consequences” after four rockets struck the north of the Jewish state and the occupied Golan on Thursday afternoon.

“This was the work of [Palestinian militant group] Islamic Jihad, an organisation financed and working for Iran, and we consider the Syrian government responsible for the firing and it will suffer the consequences,” the army said.

The rockets were fired from the Syrian-held part of the Golan and caused fires but no injuries, the Israeli military and security sources said.

They struck the Galilee region of northern Israel, where sirens wailed in warning of the incoming attack.

Israeli media said the rockets landed in an open field and broadcast footage showing small fires.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Moshe Yaalon visited northern Israel on Tuesday to meet military officials.

The Jewish state has avoided taking sides in the civil war in neighbouring Syria, though it has responded occasionally to attacks.

It says that some of the attacks have been accidental spillover from the Syrian conflict while others have been intentionally aimed at Israeli civilians and soldiers.

It has always held Syria responsible for any cross-border fire.

* Agence France-Presse

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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.