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UN official praises Kenya’s refugee integration program, says $200 million pledged, more needed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Marking World Refugee Day, Kenya’s president met with a top U.N. official on Tuesday to discuss a new plan to integrate refugees into host communities.The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visited the east African country and met with President William Ruto to show his appreciation for the country’s planned integration programs allowing refugees to become self-sufficient. Kenya hosts more than 600,000 refugees, hailing from 23 countries, including neighboring Somalia, South Sudan and Ethiopia. The majority live in Dadaab and Kakuma camps, north of the country. The camps are overcrowded and basic services are overstretched.Grandi told the Associated Press the integration program was a more sustainable approach as opposed to the current camp system that heavily relies on aid. He said that $200 million was pledged to the program and more was needed. However, no clear timeline for its kick-off.Grandi added that a model of the integratio...

Turkish drone strike kills 2 Kurdish local officials and their driver in north Syria, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A Turkish drone attack killed two Kurdish local officials and their driver in northeast Syria on Tuesday in the latest such strike in the war-torn country, officials said, as talks on Syria’s conflict began in Kazakhstan.The Kurdish-led authority in northeast Syria said Tuesday’s strike hit a car near the town of Qamishli, killing the co-chairperson of the town’s council, Yusra Darwish, and her deputy, Liman Shweish, as well as their driver. An additional local officials was wounded in the attack.The attack is the latest in a series of such strikes by Turkey’s military that has been targeting Kurdish officials and fighters in northeast Syria for months. Turkey says the main Syrian Kurdish militia is allied to the outlawed Kurdish group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984, which has killed tens of thousands of people.The authority said in a statement that the four were visiting institutions run by the Kurdish-led Autonomou...

Column: Rory McIlroy is going on 9 years without a major and the questions won’t stop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The only thing worse for players than getting asked about winning their first major are endless questions about when they will win another one.That’s what Rory McIlroy is facing.The scrutiny no longer is limited to the spring, with Augusta National on the horizon and the reminder that a Masters green jacket is all that keeps McIlroy from the career Grand Slam. Any major will suffice at this point.And about the only answer is what Wyndham Clark offered not long after the tears, the hugs and the hoisting of the U.S. Open trophy.“I just feel like it was my time,” Clark said. Sometimes there’s no better explanation.Clark never had to face the “when” question because he earned his first PGA Tour victory only six weeks ago, and because the U.S. Open was only the seventh major he had ever played.He showed big game at Los Angeles Country Club, from the par saves around the turn to his deft touch with a wedge and putter over the last two holes to preserve his o...

This June is cooler, wetter than average

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The weather has been rainy lately in Colorado, making for a cooler-than-average June in the metro area.On average, the first 90-degree day in Denver comes around June 10, but it has yet to get that warm. Denver weather: Warm, sunny Tuesday with midweek storms In 2022, temperatures hit the 90s on May 11. A month later, the high was 100 degrees on June 11. By June 20, 2022, temperatures in Denver surpassed the 90-degree mark 10 times.On average, there are eight days above 90 degrees in June in Denver, according to the National Weather Service.FOX31 Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Kylie Bearse noted that while the average summer in Denver will see 40 days at or above that 90-degree mark, the past few years have been warmer than average.In 2022, there were 67 days above 90, and 59 days the year before. The NWS estimated that Monday would be the first day of the year to reach 90 degrees, but the highest temperature recorded in Denver was 87 degrees.Additionally, this mo...

Why did Goodwill permanently close its dressing rooms?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Goodwill locations across Colorado have permanently closed their fitting rooms due to an increase in theft, substance abuse and vandalism.On June 15, Goodwill of Colorado announced on its Facebook page that all locations except the Déjà Blue Boutique in Denver's Cherry Creek North were permanently closing the fitting rooms for the "safety of shoppers and team members." Denver metro rent may have hit lowest level of the year Goodwill said the stores have been experiencing a high number of thefts, substance abuse and vandalism inside the dressing rooms, and that the decision to close them was not made lightly."In 2021 retail losses due to theft were $94.5 billion according to the National Retail Federation. This is a serious issue for all retailers, there are major brands who are exiting markets completely and closing stores due to theft. For us as a nonprofit, theft and vandalism take the financial toll of impacting our ability to provide programs and services to a...

Former security specialist takes stand in trial of Scot Peterson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

A security specialist took the stand in the trial of former school resource officer Scot Peterson on Tuesday. Peterson is charged with child neglect for his inactions on the day of the Parkland school shooting. As the trial reaches its third week, Kelvin Greenleaf, a former security specialist that was part of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s security team on Feb. 14, 2018, answered the lawyer’s questions as jurors listened and watched. Greenleaf was asked if he knew the gunshots were coming from inside the building. Then he was asked how he could distinguish the sound. “Yes, [I knew where the shots were coming from] just from the sound of it,” he said. “It was like a ‘boom’ sound.”Peterson, accompanied by his defense attorneys, asserts that it was challenging to ascertain the source of the gunfire amidst the chaotic situation. Greenleaf continued to answer the attorney’s questions and said he heard about four to five shots...

North Miami Beach PD locate 6-year-old boy who was reported missing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

The North Miami Beach Police Department has located a 6-year-old boy who was reported missing Tuesday. https://twitter.com/myNMBPolice/status/1671192426956898312?s=20Jayden Douglas was last seen at around 8 a.m. near the area of South Glades Drive and Northeast 16 Avenue. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and navy blue shorts. Police said in a tweet they are all available resources at this time to locate the child including aviation, canine and social media.

China’s PM focuses on trade and climate, ignores Scholz’s Ukraine plea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday reiterated his appeal to China to use its influence on Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. But his guest from Beijing wanted to talk about deepening trade ties instead.In a statement to journalists following a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Scholz said that he had “again appealed to the Chinese government to exert even more influence on the Russian government in this war.” He added: “As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China carries a very special duty here … Russia must — as we see it — withdraw its troops; otherwise it will not be possible to achieve a good peace.”However, there was no sign that Scholz’s plea — which he previously issued during a visit to Beijing last year — bore fruit: Standing next to Scholz, Li told journalists China wants closer economic cooperation with Germany but avoided any mention of Russia or Ukraine.The two leaders met in Berlin on the occasi...

Titanic submarine: France sends in rescue team to find missing crew

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

PARIS — France is deploying a rescue team to help find the Titanic tourist submarine reported missing in the Atlantic Ocean off North America, according to local media reports. The French Research Institute for Sea Exploitation (Ifremer in French) — which is under the authority of the Sea and Research ministries — has diverted its vessel Atalante equipped with a deep-sea robot to the area where the submarine disappeared, Junior Minister for the Sea Hervé Berville said. Paris will communicate with the NATO coordination center and is already in contact with American authorities, Berville added. The American exploration submarine — dubbed Titan — was on an expedition to see the Titanic’s shipwreck when it went missing Sunday with five people on board. The submarine’s operator OceanGate Expeditions and the authorities refused to identify the passengers but French media reported that French oceanographer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet is among the...

Illinois product Bren Spillane, a former Cincinnati Reds draft pick, heats up in Frontier League. ‘I’m going to own it.’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:13 GMT

Whether it was a foul ball that came down in the wrong spot, a collision with an opponent or an attempt at a diving catch that went awry, outfielder Bren Spillane has dealt with many of what he calls “fluky” injuries throughout his five-year career in the minor leagues.Spillane, a Wheeling native and University of Illinois product, has had more than his share of misfortune. But the 26-year-old has learned not to wallow in it with the Windy City ThunderBolts.“At first, I started to think about having bad luck,” Spillane said. “But I stopped thinking about it. These are the cards I’ve been dealt with. God’s put me here for a reason, put me on this path for a reason. I’m going to own it and roll with the punches.”Spillane has not taken many hits this season. He has played nearly every day for the T-Bolts (12-21) while being one of the most consistent hitters in the Frontier League.He’s hitting .304 with five home runs and 14 R...