While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 9, 2025
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Iris Stalzer, who had recently been elected mayor of Herdecke, was discovered at her home on Oct 7 with serious injuries after the stabbing.
PHOTO: EPA
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German mayor accuses adoptive daughter of stabbing: Police
German police said on Oct 8 that the prime suspect in the stabbing of a newly elected town mayor was her 17-year-old adoptive daughter.
Iris Stalzer, who had recently been elected mayor of Herdecke, western Germany, was discovered at her home on Oct 7 with serious injuries after the stabbing.
Ms Stalzer, 57, has told officers that her adoptive daughter carried out the attack, police said at a press conference.
UK synagogue attacker claimed allegiance to Islamic State in call to police
REUTERS
The man whose attack on a synagogue in northern England last week resulted in the deaths of two Jewish worshippers phoned police to say he was acting for Islamic State, counter-terrorism police said on Oct 9.
Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, made the call after driving a car into pedestrians and attacking people with a knife at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall district, police said.
Armed officers shot dead Al-Shamie, who had appeared to be wearing an explosive belt, at the scene, and police later said they had also accidentally shot one of the two victims killed in the attack.
Gisele Pelicot urges accused rapist to ‘take responsibility’
AFP
Gisele Pelicot, the Frenchwoman who became a feminist hero during a mass rape trial last year, returned to court Oct 8 to tell the one man who still denies assaulting her that he must “take responsibility” for his actions.
The 72-year-old’s former husband has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.
In 2024, a court in southern France handed Dominique Pelicot, 72, the maximum term of 20 years in jail. He and 49 other men convicted in the case are not appealing their sentences.
Italy opens ‘Commodus Passage’ in Colosseum to public
EPA
A once-secret passageway in the Colosseum, named after the fearsome ancient Roman emperor who features in the Hollywood blockbuster “Gladiator”, has opened to the public for the first time.
The so-called Commodus Passage allowed emperors to enter the arena and watch gladiator fights and other spectacles without mixing with crowds.
It was cut through the Colosseum’s foundations between the end of the 1st century AD and the beginning of the 2nd century AD, in an addition to the original design.
England striker Kane to miss friendly with Wales
REUTERS
England captain Harry Kane will miss Oct 9’s friendly against Wales at Wembley due to an ankle injury that kept him out of team training on Oct 8, manager Thomas Tuchel said.
The Bayern Munich striker suffered a knock in the closing stages of last weekend’s Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt and trained away from the squad on Oct 8.
“Harry will miss tomorrow’s game. He got a kick in his last match with Bayern Munich,” Tuchel told reporters.
