Three Palestinian students shot in Vermont ‘hate crime’
The families of three Palestinian students who were shot in Vermont have called on US officials to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
The three men, all aged 20, were wearing keffiyehs – a traditional scarf – and speaking Arabic when they were attacked as they walked down a street in the city of Burlington on Saturday night, according to Sky News’ US partner NBC.
Police said a white man suddenly approached the trio without saying anything and then fired four rounds from a pistol before running away.
Two of the men were hit in the torso, while the third was hit in the “lower extremities,” police said.
At the time, the group were on their way to visit one of the victim’s relatives for dinner over the Thanksgiving holiday.
All three are receiving treatment in hospital. Two of the men are in a stable condition, while the other is said to have suffered “much more serious injuries”.
One of the men, Kinnan Abdalhamid, was named by Haverford College as one of its students. The other two have been named as Brown University student Hisham Awartani and Tahseen Ahmed, who attends Trinity College in Connecticut.
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Their families said in a joint statement: “As parents, we are devastated by the horrific news that our children were targeted and shot.
“We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice.
“We need to ensure that our children are protected, and this heinous crime is not repeated.”
They added: “Our children are dedicated students who deserve to be able to focus on their studies and building their futures.”
The men were all graduates of Ramallah Friends School, a secondary school in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to its Facebook page.
The school said in a statement: “We extend our thoughts and prayers to them and their families for a full recovery, especially considering the severity of injuries – as Hisham has been shot in the back, Tahseen in the chest, and Kinnan with minor injuries.”
Vermont senator and former Democrat presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT. Hate has no place here, or anywhere.”
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The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said the shooting had come during an “unprecedented surge” in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment in the US amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Ambassador Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, posted a photo of the trio on social media and added: “The hate crimes against Palestinians must stop”.
It comes following the death of a six-year-old Palestinian-American who was stabbed 26 times in a suspected hate crime in Illinois last month.
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Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said: “In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime.
“And I have already been in touch with federal investigatory and prosecutorial partners to prepare for that if it’s proven.”
Two of the students hold US citizenship, while the third is living in the country legally, police added.
The FBI said it was not yet treating the shooting as a hate crime.
A spokesperson said: “If, in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate.”
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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