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Inside the police force scouring the internet to save abused children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

EUROPOL HEADQUARTERS, THE HAGUE — “Please knock. Do not enter,” said the sign on the door of Europe’s heavily-secured law enforcement headquarters in the Netherlands. Inside, detectives were staring at their computers, examining a video of a newborn girl being molested. A group of international detectives was trying to identify details — a toy, a clothing label, a sound — that would allow them to rescue the girl and arrest those who sexually abused her, recorded it and then shared it on the internet.Even a tiny hint could help track down the country where the baby girl was assaulted, allowing the case to be transferred to the right police authority for further investigation. Such details matter when police are trying to tackle crimes carried out behind closed doors but disseminated online across the world.Finding and stopping child sex offenders is gruesome and frustrating most of the time — yet hugely rewarding sometimes — police officers part of the international task force a...

Time for Ukraine to work with the Russian opposition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

Maxim Mironov is professor of finance at the IE Business School in Madrid.Ever since the war began, Ukraine has relied on the West as its main ally in the fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. However, after almost two years of conflict, it is becoming clearer that Ukraine and the West have different goals.Ukraine aspires to recover all its territories currently occupied by Russia. Meanwhile, the West prefers to maintain the current situation, gradually weakening Russia and avoiding major direct confrontation. Ultimately, it is a question of how long Ukraine’s resources will last and enable it to continue fighting.When the war broke out, Ukraine’s leaders immediately adopted the mindset that it was at war not with Putin, but with all of Russia and its people. This approach was initially justified, as it mobilized both Ukrainian society and Western public opinion. However, at this stage in the war, it might be reasonable to start viewing part of...

Program in Lynn helping Afghan immigrants and refugees receives national attention with recognition by Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s foundation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

A local program helping Afghan immigrants and refugees is receiving some national attention after it was recognized by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation. The Afghan Women’s Workshop is based in Lynn. With its recognition came thousands of dollars in grant money. “It just fits exactly, smoothly in what we were doing,” said Natasha Soolkin of the New American Association of Massachusetts.The Afghan Women’s Workshop was created by the Office of Refugees and Immigrants and the New American Association of Massachusetts. Both organizations helped families resettle after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021. Through their work, the New American Association helped men find jobs. But they found that the women often felt left behind. “Spouses and children were kind of left behind and they were stuck in these small apartments without any friends, without anybody they know,” Soolkin said. “We started bringing them to the center for this pur...

Holiday Helping: Jadiann Thompson Baked Brie Bites

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

7News Holiday Helping is back! In this edition, Jadiann Thompson is making her baked brie bites.Order new 2023 recipes from the 7News team to get all of their favorite holiday recipes! Your donation will help Project Bread feed hungry families right here in Massachusetts.Check out other Holiday Helping recipes from the 7News team.

Feds seek charges against 28 in multi-state sex ring

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

Federal officials on Monday said they were seeking criminal complaints against 28 alleged sex buyers in connection with a multi-state brothel network busted in November.Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy, said a federal task force, working with the Cambridge Police, is seeking criminal complaints against 28 buyers in connection with the alleged sex ring.“Our office made it clear when we announced charges of a commercial sex ring case on Nov. 8, 2023, that the investigation was ongoing and that there would be accountability for the buyers who fuel the commercial sex industry,” Levy said in a statement.“Today, a Homeland Security Investigations Task Force Officer with the Cambridge Police Department submitted applications for complaints against 28 sex buyers with the Cambridge District Court.”The targets of the complaints remain unnamed.Levy explained that the criminal complaints were subject to probable cause hearings and that no suspect would be named “until probable...

Earthquake in northwestern China kills at least 116 people in Gansu and Qinghai provinces

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

By KEN MORITSUGU (Associated Press)BEIJING (AP) — An overnight earthquake killed at least 116 people in a cold and mountainous region in northwestern China, the country’s state media reported Tuesday.Search and rescue operations were underway in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai provinces. The earthquake left more than 500 people injured, severely damaged houses and roads, and knocked out power and communication lines, according to the media reports.The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in Gansu at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) just before midnight on Monday, the China Earthquake Networks Center said. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude at 5.9.By mid-morning, 105 people had been confirmed dead in Gansu and another 397 injured, including 16 in critical condition, Han Shujun, a spokesperson for the provincial emergency management department, said at a news conference. Eleven others were killed and at least 140 injured in Qinghai, according...

Woman suspected of $370K cocaine smuggling attempt arrested

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

INDIO, Calif. -- A 30-year-old American woman was arrested after El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents found over $370,000 worth of cocaine, authorities said.The drug bust occurred on Dec. 9 around 5 p.m. at the U.S. Border Patrol’s Highway 86 checkpoint, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release Monday. Motorcyclist killed in North County crash A black sedan that entered the primary area of the checkpoint raised suspicions as agents inspected the vehicle. When the vehicle went through a secondary inspection from a K-9 unit, agents found an aftermarket compartment containing 10 vacuum-seal packages in the rear driver side area that tested positive for cocaine.The driver, a 30-year-old woman, was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for further processing and investigation, according to authorities. The vehicle, as well as $374,400 worth of drugs, were also sent to the DEA.

Australia to release convicted terrorist from prison under strict conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A convicted terrorist whom Australia had wanted to strip of his citizenship and deport will be released into the community on Tuesday under strict conditions.Algerian-born Muslim cleric Abdul Benbrika will be released from prison on a supervision order for 12 months following a ruling by Victoria state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth. Police had argued for the order to last for three years.Benbrika must wear an electronic ankle bracelet to track his movements and abide by a nightly curfew. The 63-year-old was convicted in 2008 of three terrorism charges related to a plot to cause mass casualties at a public event in Melbourne. No attack took place.He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and would have been released in 2020. But his sentence was extended by three years under a recent law that allowed the continued detention of prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses if a judge ruled they posed an unacceptable risk to the community if released....

Woman arrested after crashing into Forest Park storefront

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

FOREST PARK, Ill. — A 55-year-old woman has reportedly been arrested after crashing her car into a Forest Park storefront late Sunday night.According to the Forest Park Police Department, a vehicle crashed into M.E. Marketplace Retail Co-Op & Model Esteem in the 7400 block of West Madison Street just after 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Suburban high school wrestler ineligible for senior year after transfer Upon arrival, officers discovered the entire glass storefront window was pushed away from its frame. Officers also found the vehicle involved parked directly in front of the store.An officer on scene reported that when they approached the driver, she had slurred speech and denied taking a field sobriety test due to “bad knees and two lazy eyes.” The driver was taken into custody.While at the police station, authorities say the driver began trying to tie her shoes but had no shoelaces and reportedly told officers that she thought she was in Melrose Park. The driver also reportedly at...

Deadly storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights and flooding roads

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:59 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A storm barreled into the Northeastern U.S. on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, forcing flight cancellations and school closures, and killing at least four people. More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts of several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline.Power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands of customers in an area stretching north from Virginia through New England, including nearly 423,000 in Maine and about 200,000 in Massachusetts as of Monday night, according to poweroutage.us. The weather service issued flood and flash-flood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and part...