Yemeni security officials have unlawfully and arbitrarily detained hundreds of individuals as part of its campaign against northern Yemeni rebels since 2004, according to a report released Friday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . The report found that government security forces sometimes unlawfully arrested individuals who have committed no crime to pressure a wanted family [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against the Kingdom of Jordan by Ahmad Chalabi , who led the US-backed Iraqi opposition movement during the regime of Saddam Hussein. The court affirmed a 2004 decision by the US District Court for the District of [...]

Kenya's parliament Thursday passed a bill endorsing the formation of a Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to investigate alleged human rights violations committed in the country between Kenya's independence in 1963 and February 2008. The investigations will be conducted by a nine-member panel made up of six Kenyan nationals and three foreign members. Amnesty [...]

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox said Thursday in testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that the current credit crisis demonstrates a need for more regulation of credit default swaps and investment banking. The hearing was one part in a series examining the origin of the current financial [...]

The New York City Council passed a resolution Thursday to amend the city's charter by extending elected city officials' term limits from two to three terms of four years. The resolution, which took effect upon its passage by a 29-22 vote, allows Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pursue his plans to seek a third term , [...]

The Supreme Court of Nigeria said Thursday it has reserved judgment indefinitely on a challenge to the country's disputed 2007 presidential election which was won by President Umaru Yar'Adua . The challenge was brought by former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Muhammadu Buhari , Yar'Adua's main challenger in the election, after it was alleged [...]

A spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney General Friday said the execution of three men sentenced to death for their roles in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings will be held in early November. The spokesman, Jasman Panjaitan, said that the three members of the southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) , Mukhlas, Imam Samudra and Amrozi [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea Vitit Muntarbhorn on Thursday called on the country to take urgent action to improve its rights record. Muntarbhorn said the country holds public executions, punishes those who have unsuccessfully sought asylum in other countries, and has failed to cooperate with efforts to locate kidnapped foreign citizens [...]

An Arizona federal district court ruled Wednesday that conditions in Maricopa County corrections facilities violate the constitutional rights of its prisoners. US District Judge Neil Wake's order demanded that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio take standards steps to address the jails' overcrowded and unhygienic conditions. Sheriff Arpaio, who took office in 1993 and has called [...]

The High Criminal Court in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday continued the trial of those accused of attempting to destabilize and overthrow the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) . Turkish prosecutors have charged 86 people with involvement in the attempted coup, but Thursday's proceedings were limited to the 46 defendants who are being [...]