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Kenya launches an inquiry into alleged abuses by a British Army training unit — including a murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into alleged human rights violations and ethical breaches by a British Army training unit active for decades in what the UK calls “our defense partner of choice in East Africa.”Britain’s Ministry of Defense didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.The British have roughly 200 military personnel permanently based in Kenya, most of them training more than 1,000 Kenyan soldiers a year before their deployment to neighboring Somalia to combat al-Qaida’s longtime East Africa affiliate, al-Shabab. The British government invests more than 1.1 billion Kenyan shillings ($9.6 million) every year into the partnership.But some Kenyans have raised concerns about the way British forces treat locals as well as the environment during the military training in arid, bandit-plagued areas north of Mt. Kenya. In late 2021, Kenyan police said they were reopening the case of a local woman, Agnes Wanji...

Aurora Police Department grieves loss of K-9

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Aurora is mourning the loss of K-9 Flash, a member of the Aurora Police Department, who passed away on Sunday morning. Flash's expertise was in narcotics and patrol. He had served alongside Officer Exstrom since he was young and hung up his collar in 2020 after eight years of work. Aurora Police said Flash and Exstrom have been inseparable for 11 years.He helped in many investigations, including a safe surrender of two armed carjacking suspects. K-9 handler mourns loss of dog, calls for tougher penalties for people who shoot them K-9 Flash in the Aurora Police Department. (Photo courtesy Aurora Police Department)K9 Flash and Officer Exstrom. (Photo courtesy Aurora Police Department)Family honors K-9 Flash. (Photo courtesy Aurora Police Department)Thoughts and prayers flooded the Aurora Police Department's Facebook page after they posted about the loss. Some people met Flash during his time at the department."Oh no! I’ve met Ofc Flash. He is a good dog. I'm heartfe...

Jefferson County begins school year with safety as a priority

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — With over 78,000 students, the Jefferson County School District is the second largest in the state. They have been in the national spotlight for their safety protocols.School safety teams and school resource officers have been in the spotlight a lot lately. Jeff Pierson, executive director for the Department of School Safety at Jeffco Public Schools, said they are the gold standard for school safety. He said they have to be after a few shootings took place in their communities, starting with Columbine.“We're the gold standard. But when you think about the other districts around, we support them as much as we can. We've been forced into being the number one and setting the bar very high for the expectation we have for our community,” Pierson said. Cherry Creek School District bypasses teacher shortage with high starting salaries Jeffco said they partner with law enforcement to provide SROs, but the district said its safety strategy goes beyond SROs.“So, the partner...

Comic store still recovering after suspect arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A locally-owned comic book shop in Boulder is still recovering after it was robbed twice in one night last month.Surveillance video recorded before dawn on July 28 caught the thieves on camera. Watch: Thieves steal $13K worth of merchandise from Boulder comic shop The first suspect shattered the front door of Time Warp Comics with a hammer, loaded over $14,000 worth of comics from a glass case into a duffel bag and took off in a white vehicle, according to the Boulder Police Department.It wasn't long before a second thief saw the broken door and helped themselves to more than $250 in cash from the register.“The first guy had definitely cased the store beforehand and knew exactly where the valuable comics were,” owner Wayne Winsett told FOX31. “We have a really good alarm system that’s very loud and bright, so I’m pretty surprised that they got in and out that quick without getting caught, but they definitely knew what they were doing.”  Woman desperate to f...

Three Bulgarians charged as UK police probe suspected Russian spying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

LONDON — Three Bulgarian nationals face criminal charges amid a British police investigation into suspected spying on behalf of Russia.In February, officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Operations Unit arrested five people on suspicion of an offense under the U.K.’s Official Secrets Act, according to a statement from the force.Three people have subsequently been charged “with possession of false identity documents with improper intention” under the Identity Documents Act, the Met said.The charges were first reported by the BBC on Tuesday. The broadcaster said the arrests took place as part of a “major national security investigation” and that it is alleged those held “were working for the Russian security services.”The Metropolitan Police named the individuals as 45-year-old Orlin Roussev, 42-year-old Biser Dzambazov and Katrin Ivanova, 32.The defendants last appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court on July 31 and were ...

U.N. Security Council to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh crisis amid genocide warnings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

YEREVAN — The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, after Armenia urged the international community to help end Azerbaijan’s months-long blockade of the isolated territory.A schedule for the work of the Security Council, published late Monday night, confirmed that the appeal will be discussed on Wednesday. Armenia’s ambassador to the U.N., Mher Margaryan, last week wrote to the international conflict resolution body to warn Nagorno-Karabakh is “on the verge of a full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe.” The country’s Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, will fly to New York to take part in the session.Inside Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders, the mountainous region is home to tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians, governed autonomously as an unrecognized, self-declared state since the fall of the Soviet Union. In 2020, the Azerbaijani gove...

Retail sales rise 0.7% in July from June as inflation continues to ease

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans increased their spending last month as inflation continued to ease on eggs, electronics and other items, and the job market remains healthy.Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.7% in July from June. The gain followed a revised 0.3% gain the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.Excluding autos and gas, sales rose a solid 1%.Sales at a number of different outlets increased. Department stores posted a 0.9% increase, while clothing and accessories stores had a 1% gain. At restaurants, sales rose 1.4%. while online sales rose 1.9%. But furniture and home furnishings stores and electronics stores remained weak, registering declines.The uptick reflects the economy’s resiliency despite a still challenging economic environment of still high prices and higher interest rates that make borrowing on credit cards and getting a mortgage for a home more expensive. Yet spending has been volatile this year after surging nearly 3% in January. S...

Police searching for motorcyclist who struck couple outside Falmouth restaurant, ran from scene

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

Police are searching for a motorcyclist who they say struck a couple while they were walking in a crosswalk in Falmouth Monday night before running away from the scene. Officers responding to a report of a motorcycle that had just hit two pedestrians on Main Street in front of Estia Restaurant around 9 p.m. found a husband and wife from Falmouth injured in the roadway, according to Falmouth police. They were both taken to nearby hospitals and their condition was not immediately available.Prior to police arriving on scene, the driver of the motorcycle ran off into a wooded area surrounding Siders Pond behind Town Hall. A search of the area with a K9 officer did not find the rider. His identity is unknown at this time.The Cape Cod Law Enforcement Crash Recon Unit as well as the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted at the crash scene and will continue to assist with the ongoing investigation.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air...

Israeli military raid in West Bank kills 2 Palestinians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said, the latest violence to shake the region.Some of that violence has been perpetrated by radical Jewish settlers in the West Bank and on Tuesday, an Israeli court ordered that Jewish settler allegedly involved in the shooting death of a 19-year-old Palestinian be released from detention and placed under under house arrest. The ruling follows the release from detention last week of another settler accused of involvement in the same incident who was also transferred to house arrest. Israel has been carrying out near-nightly raids in the West Bank since last year in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks, fueling tensions in the region and sending the death toll soaring. Tuesday’s developments come amid a spike in attacks on Palestinians by radical Jewish settlers, settlement expansion and as Israel i...

Texas sues Shell over May fire at Houston-area petrochemical plant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:58 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is suing Shell and is seeking more than $1 million, alleging a fire at the oil giant’s Houston-area petrochemical plant damaged the environment.The May 5 fire at the plant in the suburb of Deer Park resulted in nine workers being treated at and released from a hospital. The lawsuit, filed Aug. 7 in Travis County by the Texas attorney general’s office, alleges air and water contamination and violations of state laws at the plant, including those of the Clean Air Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act and the Water Code.A Shell spokesperson said the company is aware of the lawsuit but does not comment on pending litigation.“The Deer Park chemicals facility remains in a recovery phase as we continue to investigate the cause of the fire and rebuild the damaged portion of the plant,” Gunnell said. The lawsuit contends that heavy black smoke contaminated the environment and that millions of gallons of water used to cool the areas and extinguish the flames...