An Illinois man on Monday pleaded not guilty to a hate crime and murder charges in the fatal stabbing of a Palestinian-American boy that also left the child's mother in a critical condition.
Joseph Czuba, 71, attacked six-year-old Wadea Al Fayoume and his mother Hanaan Shahin on October 14. Authorities said Ms Czuba attacked them due to their Muslim faith.
“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the continuing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the Will County Sheriff's Office said at the time.
Wadea died at the scene. His mother is still recovering after being in critical condition.
Dozens of people attended Wadea's funeral last week at a mosque in a Chicago suburb.
Mr Czuba appeared in court wearing a red jail uniform and did not speak during the hearing, which took place in Joliet, a town 80km south-west of Chicago, AP reported. His lawyer entered the not guilty plea.
Judge David Carson ruled that Mr Czuba will remain in jail as he awaits his next court hearing on January 8.
Prosecutors argued that Mr Czuba remains a threat to Ms Shahin and "is a threat to the safety of the community".
Lawyers for Mr Czuba disagreed with the decision, citing his age and that he is a US veteran who has no criminal convictions.
The indictment against Mr Czuba said Wadea's murder was the result of “exceptionally brutal or heinous behaviour”.
Ms Shahin told police that Mr Czuba – the family's landlord – was upset over the Israel-Gaza war and attacked them after she asked him to “pray for peace”.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in about 1,400 deaths, with roughly 200 people taken hostage.
Israel has bombed Gaza in the weeks since the assault, with its state goal of wiping wipe out Hamas. The siege has left more than 8,000 people dead, including more than 3,400 children.
The stabbings were part of a reported rise in Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred since the Hamas attack.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
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10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
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An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
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She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
