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 [...]

A Burundi military court Thursday sentenced Colonel Vital Bangirinama to death for his role in the 2006 killings of 31 civilians in Muyinga province. Human rights groups, which had previously criticized the Burundi government for not actively prosecuting its own military officers for war crimes, applauded the prosecution. Bangirinama is reported to have fled the [...]

Hu Jia , a Chinese human rights activist convicted in April on charges of inciting subversion of state power , was awarded the Sakharov Prize on Thursday by the European Parliament , for his fight for democracy. Hu has become prominently known as an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and a defender of religious freedom and [...]

The Constitutional Court of Turkey on Wednesday published its decision striking down recent amendments to the Turkish Constitution to allow the wearing of headscarves in universities. Explaining the reasoning for its ruling in June, the court held that lifting the ban "indirectly changes and makes nonfunctional the basic features of the republic." In the decision, [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights Martin Scheinin Wednesday urged the UN to restructure or eliminate the existing terrorist "blacklisting" system . Currently, the Security Council's Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee maintains a list of people and entities associated with the Taliban, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and may [...]