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

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 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...

Poland showcases military might in a parade as war rages in neighboring Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland staged a military parade on Tuesday to showcase its state-of-the-art weapons and defense systems, as war rages across its southeastern border in neighboring Ukraine and ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 15.Crowds gathered in scorching temperatures expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) to see U.S.-made Abrams tanks, HIMARS mobile artillery systems and Patriot missile systems, as well as South Korean FA-50 fighter jets and K9 howitzers.Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland’s right-wing government has spent more than $16 billion on tanks, missile interceptor systems and fighter jets, many purchased from the U.S. and South Korea.Poland, a NATO member, supports Kyiv in its war against Russia.The parade was held in Poland’s capital on the anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish troops defeated Bolshevik forces advancing on Europe.The military upgrades have bolster...

Vast swath of northeastern China threatened by flooding as rivers rise above warning levels

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A vast swath of northeastern China is threatened by flooding as at least 90 rivers have risen above warning levels and 24 have already overflowed their banks, state media reported Tuesday. Crews are standing by to defend homes and farmland across the Songliao Basin north of Beijing, which encompasses more than 1.2 million square kilometers (482,200 square miles). The area includes parts of four provinces and several major cities with a total population of almost 100 million. Tens of thousands have already been moved to safety. Reservoirs have been partly drained and overflow areas prepared to handle the high waters, the reports said. Ten rivers are already running at historically high levels, they said. Much of China is having a particularly damp summer, with 142 people killed by flooding in July and dozens more this month. In the western city of Xi’an, the death toll from a landslide rose by three to 24 on Tuesday with three others still missing. Rescue teams totalin...

Why tensions have been growing along NATO’s eastern border with Belarus

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is deploying thousands of troops to its border with Belarus, calling it a deterrent move as tensions between the two neighbors ratchet up. Those tensions between Poland — a NATO and European Union country — and Belarus, which is Russia’s ally in its war on Ukraine, have been building up in recent months on the border. Here is why: ORIGINS OF THE TENSIONSPoland has been backing the Belarusian opposition ever since the 2020 presidential elections, where pro-Russian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term in a vote that Poland and the wider Western community saw as rigged. In 2021, Belarus began organizing and pushing thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa across the border into Poland. The move is seen by Poland and the EU as planned with the Kremlin and intended to cause instability in Europe. Poland’s right-wing government, hostile to the idea of accepting migrants, built a $400,000 wall that substantially reduced the...

Home Depot tops expectations again, but signs of spending pullback by Americans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Home Depot topped profit and sales expectations in its most recent quarter, but sales continued to decline as inflation and soaring interest rates play a larger role in the spending choices made by Americans. Second quarter revenue was $42.92 billion, edging out Wall Street expectations for $42.25 billion, according to a survey of industry analysts by Zacks Investment Research. Yet that’s down 2% from the $43.87 billion that nation’s largest home improvement retailer reported during the same stretch last year, and sales have fallen 3.1% through the first half of the year compared with 2022. Despite the stronger-than-expected sales figures, Home Depot on Tuesday stuck to previous guidance for the year, seeing sales decline between 2% and 5%, after lowering its forecast in the last quarter. It’s the first time the chain forecast declining annual sales since 2009 when the U.S. economy was decimated by a massive housing bubble. There are signs that consu...

Search underway in Winnetka for missing swimmer in Lake Michigan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

WINNETKA, Ill. — A search is underway Tuesday morning for a missing swimmer in Lake Michigan in Winnetka.Emergency personnel have been at Elder Lane Beach for several hours searching for a man in his early 20s.Fire officials received a call around 2:15 a.m. after three men went into the lake near the pier to go swimming. One of them was reportedly pulled under and has not yet resurfaced.Winnetka Fire Chief John Ripka said crews started shore searches immediately after they got the call. Authorities attempted to launch a boat but the waves, estimated to be between six and eight-feet currently, have made it too dangerous to have a boat in the water.Due to the high waves, divers have not been able to search the water either. Hawaii works to identify 99 confirmed dead after Maui wildfires as teams intensify search Ripka said they called in the US Coast Guard for assistance, which responded by boat.After some challenges due to weather and winds, their helicopter is up and helping with ...

Hawaii works to identify 99 confirmed dead after Maui wildfires as teams intensify search

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii officials worked painstakingly to identify the 99 people confirmed killed in wildfires that ravaged Maui and expected to release the first names Tuesday, even as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighborhoods reduced to ash.A week after a blaze tore through historic Lahaina, many who survived have started moving into hundreds of hotel rooms set aside for displaced locals.Crews using cadaver dogs have scoured about 25% of the search area, the police chief said Monday. Gov. Josh Green asked for patience and space to do the search properly as authorities became overwhelmed with requests to visit the burn area. “For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they’re very likely walking on iwi,” he said at a news conference on Maui, using the Hawaiian word for “bones.” Just three bodies have been identified so far and officials will start releasing names on Tuesday, according to Maui Police Chief John ...

Another 7+ days of triple digits but hints of change ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As we trudge on through our longest heatwave on record, new computer data is starting to point towards a potential pattern change next week.Tuesday will be our 39th consecutive day at 100° or hotter (55th for the year)Despite a slight drop in temperatures, afternoon highs are likely to return to the low 100s in Austin for the 39th day in a row (55th in total for 2023). As a weak "cool" front continues to drop south, drier air filtering in behind the boundary will bring lower humidity, but unfortunately, higher wildfire danger.Tuesday's wildfire dangerSinking air and plenty of sunshine will also result in increased levels of ground-level ozone. An AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for the I-35 corridor, Bastrop County and Caldwell County today.Ozone Action Day TuesdayWednesday morning -- coolest in two monthsWith drier air in place, Wednesday morning is expected to bring our coolest temperatures since early June (low 70s). Make plans to go outside, as it will feel more ...

Pflugerville ISD trying to tackle debt, district may call for Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

PFLUGERVILLE (KXAN) — Pflugerville Independent School District will open its doors to more than 25,000 students for the start of the school year Tuesday this morning.As kids head back to campus, the district is facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. This is causing staffing shortages, crowded classrooms and consideration to close several elementary schools. Back to school: When do local districts begin classes for the 2023-24 school year? Since the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment and attendance have dropped in PfISD.As a recapture district, this means less money coming from the state of Texas.Last spring, there was $180,000 worth of unpaid lunch charges owed to PfISD.In April, the district put in place a policy that any students owing more than $6 in their school lunch account had their main entrée taken away and substituted with a sandwich.With this in mind, two brothers at Henrickson High School created a nonprofit and raised over $12,000 to make sure their peers no longer r...

LCRA enters Stage 2 drought response; asks water cutback of 10-20%

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Lower Colorado River Authority said Monday it entered the second stage of drought response and asked water customers to cut back water use. The agency said the combined storage in Lakes Travis and Buchanan, the two water supply reservoirs in the Highland Lakes, fell below 900,000 acre-feet over the weekend. That is about 46% of capacity. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons of water. LCRA said it asked all firm water customers (municipalities, water districts and industries) reduce use by 10%-20% and implement mandatory water restrictions.“We have enough water, but we don’t have enough water to waste,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of Water.“The easiest and most direct way to reduce discretionary water use is to cut back on watering landscapes,” Hofmann said. “Individual homeowners have a responsibility to use water wisely and without waste,” he said. “A healthy yard needs less water than you may think. Your yard can survive being watered once a wee...