For many people around the world, the fact that December 2 is celebrated as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery may seem like an archaic throwback. After all, the days of the trans-Atlantic slave trade are long over, and in 1981 the African nation of Mauritania became the last country in the world to formally abolish the practice, even if remnants still linger in the shadows. Yet according to economist Siddharth Kara at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, there are more than three times as many people in forced servitude today as were captured and sold during the entire 350-year span of the transatlantic slave trade. The fact that slavery is not a thing of the past, despite global treaties banning its existence, can be attributed to many factors.

In the case of African men and women forced to sell their bodies or labor for little to no pay in Europe, it has a lot to do with an immigration policy out of sync with the demands of the European labor market, combined wi..

(VALLETTA, Malta) — Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Sunday night that he would resign in January following pressure from citizens for the truth about the 2017 car bombing that killed a journalist.

In a televised message, Muscat said he has informed Malta’s president that he will quit as leader of the governing Labor Party on Jan. 12 and that “in the days after I will resign as prime minister.”

Hours earlier, thousands of Maltese protested outside a courthouse in the capital, Valletta, demanding that he step down.

“As prime minister, I promised two years ago that justice would be done in the case of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” Muscat said, beginning his speech, adding “today I am here to tell you that I kept my word.”

Muscat noted that in addition to three people arrested soon after the bombing for carrying out the actual attack, now there is “someone accused of being the principal person behind this killing.”

Muscat was referring to prominent Maltese businessm..

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s political leaders sparred Sunday over who is responsible for the early release of a convicted extremist who launched a stabbing attack in central London that left two dead and injured three.

After a one-day pause out of respect for victims, Friday’s attack is dominating the political scene as the Dec. 12 election nears, shifting the focus, at least for the moment, from Brexit and the National Health Service to issues of security and criminal justice.

The argument centers over the early release from prison of Usman Khan, who served roughly half his sentence before being set free. He was able to stab five people before being shot dead by police despite conditions imposed on his release that were supposed to protect public safety.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, portraying himself as tough on crime, on Sunday blamed Khan’s freedom on changes in sentencing rules made by the last Labour Party government before Johnson’s Conservatives took power in 2010. He promised ..