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Israeli-Russian researcher freed in Iraq after two years in captivity
Israeli-Russian academic and Princeton University student Elizabeth Tsurkov has been freed in Iraq after spending more than two years in the custody of an Iraqi armed group, US President Donald Trump has announced.
“I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah (MILITANT Hezbollah), and is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months. I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up. HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!” Trump posted on TruthSocial on Tuesday, referring at the end to the captives held in Gaza, who were taken from Israel during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
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Kataib Hezbollah, which is a separate entity from the armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, is part of Iraq’s security apparatus under the umbrella of the state-funded Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a Shia paramilitary dominated by Iran-backed armed groups.
Tsurkov, who was accused of being a spy, disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023, while conducting academic research. She was last seen in the Karrada district before reports surfaced that Kata’ib Hezbollah had abducted her. Her case remained secret for months until Israel’s prime minister’s office confirmed in July 2023 that she had been abducted. It said the Iraqi government was responsible for her safety.
The 37-year-old holds both Israeli and Russian passports and had entered Iraq on her Russian travel documents, according to Israeli authorities.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani confirmed that Tsurkov had been released and said, “We reaffirm, once again, that we will not tolerate any compromise in enforcing the law and upholding the authority of the state, nor will we allow anyone to undermine the reputation of Iraq and its people.”
In November 2023, Iraqi state television aired footage of Tsurkov in which she claimed to be working for both Mossad and the CIA, allegations her family rejected as coerced confessions.
The precise terms of her release remain unclear. Earlier this year, reports suggested that Washington and Baghdad were engaged in negotiations over her case.
There were reports of a possible deal for the release of Tsurkov in January.
After Trump’s announcement, her sister Emma Tsurkov, who has campaigned publicly for her freedom, expressed relief in a post on X.
“My entire family is incredibly happy. We cannot wait to see Elizabeth and give her all the love we have been waiting to share for 903 days. We are so thankful to President Trump and his Special Envoy, Adam Boehler. If Adam had not made my sister’s return his personal mission, I do not know where we would be,” she wrote.
Oasis plan five shows at Knebworth after wrapping their reunion world tour
During their height of their fame in the 1990s, Oasis played to sell-out crowds of 250,000 over two nights in the grounds of the Grade II Knebworth House in Hertfordshire
Oasis will mark the 30th anniversary of their legendary 1996 gigs at Knebworth with five shows at that venue next summer.
Liam and Noel Gallagher’s concerts at the Hertfordshire venue epitomised the Britpop era as Oasis played to sell-out crowds of 250,000 over two nights there in August 1996. The brothers now have tentative dates at Knebworth for 2026 following their successful world tour, it is understood.
Music industry sources claimed the Gallaghers generated up to £1.2billion with their world tour. The Knebworth anniversary concerts could produce an additional £100million, it is thought. One insider said: “Talk about the chance to cash in. After all these years of insisting they won’t get back together, now Liam and Noel have got these dates on hold, they have pencilled in five days for the gigs.
“It’s all very exciting for fans. Back in 1996, it was so special. It was the pinnacle of Britpop so Oasis returning to Knebworth would just be perfect for the fans.”
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More than two per cent of the UK population applied for tickets when Oasis played at Knebworth in 1996, two gigs which sold out in less than 24 hours. Oasis played the likes of Don’t Look Back In Anger and Some Might Say, among other hits, at the two gigs.
And these tunes, among more recent ones such as All Around the World and Go Let it Out, are expected to feature in the five performances back at Knebworth 30 years on next summer.
The insider told Mail Online: “The plan is for five concerts in what will be a music extravaganza. First the fans got a reunion tour. Now it looks like that they will be able to relive those two performances at Knebworth.”
In 2022, Liam returned to the Hertfordshire venue for two concerts, a year after a documentary film about the 1996 Knebworth concerts was released in cinemas.
Noel, 58, and Liam, 52, are currently performing in the US. At the weekend, they played two sold-out gigs at the 90,000- seat Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, to an excited audience which included Sir Paul McCartney, Rita Ora and actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
These gigs come amid speculation Oasis may be now ready to record their first studio album for 17 years. The band’s official photographer Kevin Cummins, 72, said the signs for an album were promising, with Noel writing songs on tour and Liam’s combative “frontman ego” taking a backseat.
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Unheard David Bowie interview reveals three things that defined his music style of the 70s
Iconic musician David Bowie is the subject of a new podcast series hosted by Kate Moss on BBC Sounds
A newly unearthed interview from David Bowie has explained the reasons behind his music style of the 70s – saying it was driven by “lust, anger” and being a bit moody. The iconic musician released a host of albums in that decade which saw him transition through his glam rock era to his experimental “Berlin Trilogy” albums
LPs included Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), Pin Ups (1973), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Station to Station (1976), before the trilogy of Low (1977), “Heroes” (1977), and Lodger (1979).
In new podcast series Changeling, an archived interview of Bowie is played and he can be heard saying: “I think that throughout the 60s and most of the 70s I was driven by lust, as much as anything. It’s a great creative force.
“That in turn is replaced by anger haha, when you ask where the money is. And then you get depression, and then you go to Berlin and write really moody instrumental stuff. It’s the triptych of the 70s. Lust, anger, moody.”
The comments come in the series hosted by supermodel Kate Moss and she also explains how they became close friends: “David, who by the way his nickname for me was Smasher, started phoning me on my birthday. I didn’t need any other presents after that.
“At The Brit Awards in 2014 Bowie asked me to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award on his behalf. I said I would, as long as I could wear something from his archive. I wore the original Kansai Yamamoto bodysuit that David had worn for his Rainbow Theatre gigs in 1972 – it fit me like a glove. It was a very surreal experience.”
Other celebrities also line up to speak of his “angelic” and “ground breaking” and inspirational in many ways when it came to their own careers.
Changeling examines how Bowie, one of music’s most transformative figures, reinvented himself in the first half of the 1970s to become an era-defining rock legend.
The biggest name in music praise Bowie and his music, who has 11 number one albums and five number one singles iincluding Ashes to Ashes and Let’s Dance.
He won a host of awards, including three BRIT Awards, Best British Male Artist in 1984, 2014 and 2017, and British Album for Blackstar. He died from liver cancer on January 10, 2016 two days after his 69th birthday and the release of the album Blackstar
Paying tribute to him on the podcast, Elton John said: “His music speaks for itself – he’s a giant, a ground-breaking artist, songwriter, performer, actor – and his legacy will be there forever”.
Robbie Williams said: “He was basically a celestial, angelic member of a fraternity that exists outside of this planet and this ‘normie’ realm and there are very few that are sent to teach us, love us, show us the way, but he was one of them.”
Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode said: “Bowie had a huge impact on me from the moment I first saw him on Top of the Pops. The way Bowie looked was equally as important as the music. It went together, you know, it was part of the fantasy, it was part of going to where he was going and this imagery that he was creating. I felt like I belonged there too. And it was outrageous.”
Actor Tilda Swinton said: “I think that what Bowie contributed and contributes still – and presumably always will contribute to the culture – is a model of flexibility, curiosity. He was a portal to the idea of a kind of properly engaged and up for it relationship with himself and with the development of his work. And was clearly a deeply experimental spirit, so dedicated to not repeating himself and very healthily not invested in minding when other people didn’t like what he was up to.”
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And St. Vincent said: “There are so few artists who are able to make consistently challenging, exciting, erotic, scary, profound work for their entire lives. He is truly my ‘north star’ as an artist. He was able to take the lunatic fringe and the deeply accessible and put them together and make a body of work in so many mediums that will live for eternity.”
‘This was the benchmark’ – Tuchel praises England’s ‘statement’ win
Manager Thomas Tuchel said England’s commanding performance against Serbia has set “the bar” as they took a step closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The Three Lions had faced criticism for lacklustre performances in this qualifying campaign, despite having won all five of their Group K matches.
But a 5-0 thrashing of Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday is perhaps the eye-catching performance Tuchel’s England needed.
“We had an excellent week from start to finish. We’ve just proved what I’ve seen every day in this camp and this makes me very happy,” said German boss Tuchel.
“This camp was the benchmark.”
England now need five points from their final three games to reach next summer’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Sitting seven points clear at the top of the group, Tuchel’s side will face Latvia in October before taking on Serbia then Albania in November.
“This week was excellent. The attitude, the way we played in both matches. Today is a statement victory against a difficult opponent in a difficult environment,” Tuchel said.
England stifled Serbia and the hosts failed to get any of their three shots on target, leaving Jordan Pickford without a single save to make.
England had 24 shots and 12 on target while they had 42 touches in the opposition box as Serbia recorded just four.
Harry Kane and Noni Madueke gave England a deserved half-time lead before Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi and Marcus Rashford wrapped up an impressive victory.
“There was no negative attitude on the pitch, no frustration on the pitch. For me, it was teamwork in it’s purest form. Then we played football to a high level and got a deserved win,” Tuchel said.
“We had a bit of a stop-start game against Andorra and the result was maybe not the result that everyone expected from us. I kept the belief but at some point you need to prove it also as a player, that it’s not just only words from your coach.
England ‘show level’ in ‘five-star performance’
England have now won all five of their competitive games so far under Tuchel, although he did oversee a 3-1 loss at home to Senegal in a friendly.
Until Tuesday’s win over Serbia, none of those performances had been particularly thrilling – with Saturday’s win over Andorra an especially turgid affair.
England have not conceded a goal during this World Cup qualifying campaign but a perceived lack of ruthlessness in attack has left many supporters feeling underwhelmed.
Yet midfielder Declan Rice said scoring a lot of goals in every match is “never going to happen” with the way teams set up against them.
“The first four games people have been wanting to see six and seven goals. It is never going to happen when teams camp 10 men behind the ball,” he said.
“We knew it was going to be really tough coming here, but [it was] a five-star performance. We took control from the very first minute and we needed that tonight.”
Captain Kane said England “showed our level” in Belgrade as they dominated possession and finally demonstrated what they are capable of.
“Even in the other games, we did well, but we didn’t reach top form,” he added.
“We felt we had a good performance a few days ago. I know it wasn’t the performance that everyone was excited about, but we did what we had to.
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Tommy Fury slammed by man he shoved at finish line of Great North Run – ‘It’s not on’
Runner and plumber Diarmaid Warner has hit out at Tommy Fury after video footage from the Great North Run saw the professional boxer seemingly pushing his opponent
Tommy Fury has sparked controversy this week after footage emerged of him pushing a fellow runner during last weekend’s Great North Run.
The 26-year-old boxer and reality star, known for his distinctive sprinting style, appeared to shove another competitor out of his path in the final stretch of the Newcastle-to-South Shields race. Fury first gained attention for his bustling finish at the Tatton 10km in January, where his powerful frame made him stand out.
At the time, he joked on social media: “In this beautiful scenery, Lake Como you are beautiful. And just to warn everybody no grannies were hurt in the process at the finish line.”
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Fresh from completing a gruelling 100km triathlon along the French Riviera earlier this month, Fury entered the half marathon and completed it in 1:34:35. However, a 13-second clip on TikTok showing him elbowing a runner in the closing moments has drawn widespread criticism.
“Actually annoyed me that he’s pushed that innocent man,” one user commented, while another asked, “Why’s he pushing people out of his way?” Some even suggested, “Surely that’s a straight disqualification.”
Reports have since revealed that the runner targeted by Fury was competing for Muscular Dystrophy UK, adding to the backlash.
Runner and plumber Diarmaid Warner, 38, has now spoken out, telling The Sun he had been raising money for muscular dystrophy research when Fury forced his way through.
Diarmaid explained that as he was reaching the final corner of the race, he felt a hand on his shoulder and was then suddenly shoved aside.
“As you get to the end you think the finish line is straight in front of you,” he said. “It’s only at the last few metres you realise you’ve got one more right turn to make. It was as I was going around it that I felt this hand on my shoulder which pushed me to the side for him to run through. I was a bit upset and thought that’s not on – it’s not really race etiquette.”
The father-of-two from Dumbarton said that he later recognised it was actually Tommy Fury who had pushed past him. “I told my wife, you’ll never guess what – Tommy Fury’s pushed me out of the way,” he added.
Diarmaid’s mother has also shared her thoughts on Tommy’s actions as she took to social media to call her son ‘the real hero’.
The runner’s proud mum wrote on Facebook: “Diarmaid Warner is the real hero and finished ahead of Tommy Fury by 12 minutes. Our champion.”
Fury has yet to publicly address the latest controversy. The Mirror has approached his representatives for comment.
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