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By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A U.N expert says contemporary forms of slavery exist in Sri Lanka, with vulnerable groups such as children, women, ethnic minorities and older people particularly affected. The U.N special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoyo Obokata, said at the end of a mission to

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers slowed the pace of their hiring in November, adding a still-solid 210,000 jobs, the fewest in nearly a year. Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2% from 4.6%. That is a historically low level though

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — The newly installed mayor of Rochester, New York, is in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus last month. Mayor James Smith took the oath of office remotely Thursday while in isolation in his apartment. Smith has been in quarantine and working from home since testing positive on Thanksgiving. Smith told

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — The Council of Europe’s committee on torture has harshly criticized Croatia over “severe ill-treatment” of migrants entering the country, and urged authorities to take immediate action to stop the practice. The report published Friday says the committee’s delegation encountered problems in cooperation and obstruction during a visit in Aug. 2020. Croatia

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban have decreed they are banning forced marriage of women in Afghanistan, a move likely meant to address criteria the international community consider a precondition to recognizing their government and restoring aid. The move announced on Friday by the reclusive Taliban chief comes as poverty is surging in Afghanistan, following the

By ABDOULIE JOHN and CARLEY PETESCH Associated Press BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — Gambians vote Saturday in a historic election that will for the first time not have former dictator Yahya Jammeh, who ruled for 22 years, on the ballot.  While the 2016 elections that removed him from power saw Gambians go from fear to elation,

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida teenager is accused of making a school shooting threat against Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The school in Parkland, Florida has been a focus of national debate and activism over gun violence since a former student killed 17 people there on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Broward Sheriff’s officials

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dozens of flag-waving demonstrators from a Kurdish organization have broken into the grounds of the global chemical weapons watchdog to protest what they allege is the use of chemical weapons by Turkey’s armed forces. Police arrested about 50 protesters on Friday after they managed to get past security, including a

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — During his confirmation to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh assured Sen. Susan Collins a woman’s right to an abortion was “settled law.” But his comments during this week’s landmark Supreme Court hearing over a Mississippi abortion case sounded a different note. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett