Mother of Palestinian American boy slain in suburban Chicago hate crime testifies at trial

Odai Alfayoumi, second from right, father of six-year-old Palestinian boy Wadee Alfayoumi, leaves Will County Courthouse with others where Joseph Czuba, 73, is charged with and on trial in the fatal stabbing of the boy and the wounding of his mother Hanan Shaheen, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Joliet, Ill. (AP)
Odai Alfayoumi, second from right, father of six-year-old Palestinian boy Wadee Alfayoumi, leaves Will County Courthouse with others where Joseph Czuba, 73, is charged with and on trial in the fatal stabbing of the boy and the wounding of his mother Hanan Shaheen, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Joliet, Ill. (AP)
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Updated 26 February 2025
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Mother of Palestinian American boy slain in suburban Chicago hate crime testifies at trial

Mother of Palestinian American boy slain in suburban Chicago hate crime testifies at trial
  • Authorities said the family was targeted because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with a Hamas attack on southern Israel

JOLIET, Illinois: A suburban Chicago landlord took a knife from a belt holder and attacked a Palestinian American woman before fatally stabbing her young son 26 times, prosecutors alleged Tuesday during opening statements in the trial for a 2023 murder and hate crime.
Joseph Czuba, 73, is charged in the death of six-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of Hanan Shaheen on Oct. 14, 2023. Authorities said the family was targeted because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with a Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, told jurors they’d hear an emotional 911 call, detailed witness testimony, along with police footage and explicit crime scene photos as he described each of the stab wounds to the boy’s body.




Joseph Czuba, 71, stands before Circuit Judge Dave Carlson for his arraignment at the Will County, Ill., courthouse, Oct. 30, 2023, in Joliet, Ill. (AP)

“He could not escape,” Fitzgerald said facing jurors. “If it wasn’t enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy’s body.”
Czuba has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and other charges. He wore a suit and tie to court, his greying hair falling past his shoulders. He did not speak as he watched the proceedings.
Will County Public Defender Kylie Blatti urged jurors to consider each piece of evidence carefully because key parts were missing.
“Go beyond the emotions to carefully examine the evidence,” Blatti said during opening statements. “It is easy to get lost in the horror of those images.”
The family had been renting two rooms from Czuba and his wife, who also lived at the home where the murder happened in suburban Plainfield, nearly 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Chicago.
Shaheen was the first witness and recounted the events leading up to the attack. She said they had not previously had any issues in the two years they had rented from the Czubas. They shared a kitchen and living room with the Czubas in the home.
After the start of the war Czuba told her that they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. She urged him to “Pray for peace.” Later, he confronted Shaheen and attacked her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth.
“He told me ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,” said Shaheen, who mainly testified in English but had an Arabic translator on standby in her primary language. She occasionally turned to the translator for clarification on questions or to translate for her.
After the attack, Shaheen said was scared and locked herself in the bathroom, noting blood all over her body and the room. She called 911 when she heard her son screaming in another room.
“The landlord is killing me and my baby!” she screamed to the dispatcher multiple times, according to a recording of the call played in court. “He’s killing my baby in other room!”
Yelling could be heard on the background. As the roughly 15-minute recording played in court, Shaheen put her head down, clutching a tissue paper in her hand.
The boy — whose name was initially spelled Wadea Al-Fayoume by authorities — was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds and it took her weeks to recover.
The attack on the family in Plainfield renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination in the Chicago area’s large and established Palestinian community. The proceedings also come amid rising hostility against Muslims and Palestinians in the US since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
Hundreds attended the boy’s janazah, or funeral service, where the boy was remembered as kind and into sports and Legos.
Separately, the father of the boy, who is divorced from Shaheen and did not live at the home, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. He attended the court proceedings Tuesday along with an uncle.
Shaheen has also retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who said she would not talk to reporters during the trial, which is expected to last about a week.
“Hanan Shaheen continues the unimaginable fight for justice for Wadee,” he said in a statement. “We have confidence in the prosecution’s efforts to earn justice for Wadee and Hanan.”

 


UK police drop Kneecap probe after Glastonbury performance

Updated 13 sec ago
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UK police drop Kneecap probe after Glastonbury performance

UK police drop Kneecap probe after Glastonbury performance
LONDON: UK police said on Friday they had dropped a criminal investigation into on-stage comments by Irish rappers Kneecap at the Glastonbury festival.
Avon and Somerset Police in southwest England said last month it had launched an enquiry after reviewing “video footage and audio” of both Kneecap and London-based duo Bob Vylan, whose frontman led a chant against the Israeli army at the festival.
The Kneecap probe was focused on remarks made about a forthcoming court case in which one band member Liam O’Hanna, known by his stage name Mo Chara, is charged with a “terror” offense over alleged support for banned organizations Hamas and Hezbollah.
But in an update the force said it would take no further action against Kneecap, whose members had been informed of the decision.
“Detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service during their enquiries and after that advice, we have made the decision to take no further action on the grounds there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offense,” it said.
Inquiries into the separate allegations against Bob Vylan, however, would continue, it added.
Chara appeared in court in June accused of having displayed a Hezbollah flag while saying “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah” at a London concert last year.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Palestinian militants Hamas are banned in the UK, where it is an offense to express support for them.
Kneecap deny the terrorism charge and say the video featuring the Hezbollah flag has been taken out of context.

NATO and EU condemn Russia’s cyber and hybrid attacks

NATO and EU condemn Russia’s cyber and hybrid attacks
Updated 33 min 42 sec ago
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NATO and EU condemn Russia’s cyber and hybrid attacks

NATO and EU condemn Russia’s cyber and hybrid attacks
  • The EU stands in full solidarity with the United Kingdom

BRUSSELS: The European Union and NATO on Friday condemned Russia for what they said was its “malicious cyber activities” and hybrid attacks aimed at undermining security and democracy in Europe and beyond.

The move followed Britain’s decision on Friday to sanction more than 20 Russian spies, hackers and agencies over what it called a “sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity” involving attacks on governments and institutions across Europe.

“The EU stands in full solidarity with the United Kingdom and continues to denounce the tangible threat Russia poses to the security of the UK and its partners, including the EU.”


France faces another tough wheat export year despite better crop

France faces another tough wheat export year despite better crop
Updated 46 min 47 sec ago
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France faces another tough wheat export year despite better crop

France faces another tough wheat export year despite better crop
  • Sales to Algeria and China, among France’s biggest wheat buyers in recent years, stalled last season due to a diplomatic fallout between Paris and Algiers
  • A smaller than normal 2024 French crop meant steady demand from Morocco and West Africa, plus sporadic sales to Egypt and Thailand

PARIS/HAMBURG: France could struggle to sell a much bigger wheat crop expected this year as export options for the European Union’s top wheat producer have narrowed due to less demand from Algeria and China as well as strong competition from cheaper Black Sea grain.

Sparse overseas demand could lead France to stock hefty amounts of wheat or offload more crop in livestock feed markets. Either outcome could keep prices below production costs, a trend that has fueled farmer protests in the past year.

Farm office FranceAgriMer on Wednesday projected French soft wheat exports outside the EU in 2025/26 at a relatively modest 7.5 million metric tons, contributing to a forecast 21-year high for end-of-season stocks.

Sales to Algeria and China, among France’s biggest wheat buyers in recent years, stalled last season due to a diplomatic fallout between Paris and Algiers and a general drop in Chinese imports amid hefty domestic supply.

A smaller than normal 2024 French crop meant steady demand from Morocco and West Africa, plus sporadic sales to Egypt and Thailand, absorbed last season’s surplus. But that may no longer be enough.

“The harsh reality is that France has a huge challenge to reach a 7.5 million ton export program,” Rory Deverell, owner of Black Silo Commodity Consulting, said.

A price rise in Russia amid tight availability in the world’s biggest wheat supplier may offer only brief respite, with Russian and other Black Sea region producers expected to sweep up near-term demand, as shown by this week’s 1 million ton purchase by Algeria.

“Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria are likely to dominate wheat exports in coming months,” a German trader said. “The west EU faces the threat of being only a niche wheat exporter.”

Like France, Germany and Poland may struggle too, with overall EU exports again set to be bolstered by Black Sea neighbors Romania and Bulgaria.

A rally in the euro against the dollar this year, a repercussion of US President Donald Trump’s policies, represents another export headwind.

Lower-priced feed markets may provide opportunities for western European wheat, especially if the harvest struggles to meet milling specifications, with traders reporting talk of some low protein levels plus the risk that this week’s rain might damage the quality of unharvested wheat.

That could mean exports to distant destinations in southeast Asia, or shipments within the EU, with the return of EU quotas on Ukrainian wheat reducing competition for feed wheat inside the bloc.

But traders say a bumper harvest in Spain will also curb demand from the traditionally major EU buyer, while wheat will face feed competition from maize as well. FranceAgriMer anticipates stable French intra-EU exports versus last season.

“It is hard to see where west EU wheat could be sold,” another German trader said.


German leader Merz says his government has a ‘stable foundation’ despite a dispute

German leader Merz says his government has a ‘stable foundation’ despite a dispute
Updated 18 July 2025
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German leader Merz says his government has a ‘stable foundation’ despite a dispute

German leader Merz says his government has a ‘stable foundation’ despite a dispute
  • The government has launched a program to encourage investment, set in motion plans to raise defense spending
  • Merz said at the German leader’s annual summer news conference that he is “very satisfied with what we have achieved in the first 10 weeks”

BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday that his coalition has a “stable foundation” and has achieved a lot in its first 10 weeks, but acknowledged that “occasional setbacks” are a risk in government as his administration struggles with its first major dispute.

Merz took office on May 6, leading a coalition of his conservative Union bloc with the center-left Social Democrats that has a relatively thin parliamentary majority. He vowed to strengthen Europe’s biggest economy after years of stagnation, enable Germany to build Europe’s strongest conventional army and keep the US on board with aid to Ukraine.

The government has launched a program to encourage investment, set in motion plans to raise defense spending and implemented a tougher approach to migration. Merz has taken a prominent role in diplomacy on Ukraine and other issues.

Merz said at the German leader’s annual summer news conference that he is “very satisfied with what we have achieved in the first 10 weeks.”

Merz set out to avoid the infighting that plagued ex-Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition, which collapsed in November. However, the new government’s record has been overshadowed over the past week by parliament’s failure to elect three new justices for Germany’s highest court.

Nominations have in the past mostly been approved uneventfully. But planned votes last Friday were scrapped at the last minute after some lawmakers in Merz’s bloc balked at a candidate put forward by the Social Democrats.

Opponents of the nominee, law professor Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, have cited her perceived liberal views on issues such as abortion. Leading Social Democrats have been irked by the conservatives’ failure to follow through on an agreement on the new justices and have stood by their candidate.

Merz has downplayed the argument and insisted Friday that “there is no time pressure” to rush to a solution. And he rejected a suggestion that his coalition is on wobbly ground, with the court nominee flap following its bumpy start when lawmakers needed an unprecedented two rounds of voting to elect Merz as chancellor in May.

“This government stands on a stable foundation, on a stable majority in the German parliament,” Merz said. “But you see from these two votes that we are living in very uncertain times, also regarding supposed certainties in the German parliament.”

He said that “we know what job we have, and high points and successes are part of that as well as occasional setbacks.”

Recent polls have suggested that Merz’s coalition has work to do to convince voters. Ratings for the Union and Social Democrats haven’t picked up from their lackluster showing in Germany’s February election. Surveys show the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany solidifying its strong second place.


Skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from the edge of space, dies in Italy crash

Skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from the edge of space, dies in Italy crash
Updated 18 July 2025
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Skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from the edge of space, dies in Italy crash

Skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from the edge of space, dies in Italy crash
  • Baumgartner became first skydiver to fall faster than speed of sound during 39-kilometer leap through the stratosphere more than a decade ago

MILAN: Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 39 kilometer leap through the stratosphere more than a decade ago, died in a crash Thursday along the eastern coast of Italy. He was 56.
Italian firefighters who responded said a paraglider crashed into the side of a swimming pool in the city of Porto Sant Elpidio.
The city’s mayor confirmed Baumgartner’s death in a social media post.
“Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight,” Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella said.
Baumgartner, known as “Fearless Felix,” stunned the world in 2012 when he became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. He wore a pressurized suit and jumped from a capsule hoisted more than 24 miles (39 kilometers) above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico.
The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos team, topped out at 843.6 mph — the equivalent of 1.25 times the speed of sound — during a nine-minute descent. At one point, he went into a potentially dangerous flat spin while still supersonic, spinning for 13 seconds, his crew later said.
“When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about of breaking records anymore, you do not think of about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive,” he said after landing in the eastern New Mexico desert.
The altitude he jumped from also was the highest-ever for a skydiver, shattering the previous record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, who served as an adviser to Baumgartner during his feat.
Baumgartner’s altitude record stood for two years until Google executive Alan Eustace set new marks for the highest free-fall jump and greatest free-fall distance​.
In 2012, millions watched YouTube’s livestream as Baumgartner coolly flashed a thumbs-up when he came out of the capsule high above Earth and then activated his parachute as he neared the ground, lifting his arms in victory after he landed.
Baumgartner, a former Austrian military parachutist, made thousands of jumps from planes, bridges, skyscrapers and famed landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil.
In 2003, he flew across the English Channel in a carbon fiber wing after being dropped from a plane.
In recent years, he performed with The Flying Bulls as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe.
Baumgartner said after his record-breaking jump in 2012 that traveling faster than sound is “hard to describe because you don’t feel it.”
“Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are,” he said.