AP National News

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have received a request from Britain to approve the extradition of a suspected Russian spy who worked at the U.K.‘s Embassy in Berlin. The Brandenburg state prosecutor Friday confirmed a report by weekly Der Spiegel that Britain has asked for the extradition of a British citizen arrested at

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security officials say the country’s military courts have convicted a prominent rights activist and three retired army officers on charges of espionage and sedition, sentencing them to prison terms ranging from 12 to 14 years. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on Friday, confirming the

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A six-story condominium building has been evacuated in a Milwaukee suburb after engineers found the structure was in imminent danger of collapsing. Police and firefighters cleared the 48-unit Horizon West condominium building in Waukesha on Thursday night after an engineering report said its structural columns were compromised. Police Lt. Kevin Rice

By COREY WILLIAMS and ED WHITE Associated Press PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The office of a Michigan prosecutor says she will announce a charging decision Friday involving the parents of a boy who is accused of killing four students at Oxford High School. Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said Thursday that the parents’ actions went

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Antony Sher, one of the most acclaimed Shakespearean actors of his generation, has died aged 72. The Royal Shakespeare Company announced Sher’s death on Friday. Sher had been diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year. His husband, Royal Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Gregory Doran, took leave from

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

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

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

DETROIT (AP) — Honda is recalling nearly 723,000 SUVs and pickup trucks because the hoods can open while the vehicles are moving. The recall covers certain 2019 Passports, 2016 through 2019 Pilots and 2017 through 2020 Ridgeline pickups. Honda says in documents posted Friday by U.S. safety regulators that the hood latch striker can become

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

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 are getting ready to vote in a historic election that won’t have former dictator Yahya Jammeh on the ballot. While the 2016 elections that removed Jammeh from power after 22 years saw Gambians go from fear to elation, many are still not

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

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British study has found that Black and other members or racial and ethnic minorities in the U.K are dying with the coronavirus at higher rates than white residents. A government-commissioned report released Friday said COVID-19 death rates have fallen sharply for all ethnicities because of vaccination.

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s new parliament has convened for its first session following the country’s third parliamentary election of the year. A new anti-corruption party led by two Harvard University graduates emerged as the surprise winner of last month’s snap election, edging out the GERB party of three-time prime minister Boyko Borissov. Under the

BERLIN (AP) — German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle says it is suspending four employees and one freelancer during an investigation into allegations that they expressed anti-Israel and antisemitic views. Munich daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung this week quoted social media comments allegedly made by members of DW’s Arabic service that appeared to downplay the Holocaust or

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have decreed that they are banning the forced marriage of women in the war-torn country, in what appears to be a move to address criteria that developed nations consider a precondition to recognize their government and restore aid. The move announced by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhunzada came as poverty

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Coronavirus cases in Slovakia have hit a daily record despite the country entering a national lockdown last week. The Health Ministry reported that Slovakia confirmed 15,278 new cases on Thursday, almost 5,000 more than the previous record. The government ordered a two-week lockdown that started Nov. 25. However, the ministry attributed