Elections - International

TIRANA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Albanian opposition Socialist Party supporters launched their latest protest Friday to demand the government either recount the vote in a controversial June 28 election or hold another. Full Story »

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Iran on Friday for a violent crackdown on protesters after presidential elections this year that the Iranian opposition says were rigged. Full Story »

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian officials announced Friday that a new date for parliamentary and presidential elections will be set next month now that President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to postpone the January vote, though the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers maintain they will boycott the voting. Full Story »

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said presidential and legislative elections scheduled for January will be postponed, confirming that he has accepted advice not to hold the vote. Full Story »

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's party said on Friday it would not part ways with its junior coalition partner after all, despite a quarrel stemming from this week's local elections. Full Story »

KABUL (Reuters) - Veteran Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president on Thursday, pledging to fight graft and take control of his country's security before his five-year term ends, after a fraud-marred election left his image in ruins. Full Story »

NAIROBI, Kenya - A government-appointed panel this week unveiled a draft constitution that is part of wide-ranging efforts to avoid a repeat of political violence that saw more than 1,000 people killed after Kenya's December 2007 presidential elections. Full Story »

MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine gay rights group is waging a legal battle to be allowed to run in next year's polls after the Elections Commission ruled it cannot register as a political party on grounds that it advocates immorality. Full Story »

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai, battling to rebuild a tarnished reputation, was sworn in for a second five-year term on Thursday after a fraud-marred election and criticism he hasn't done enough to fight corruption. Full Story »

KABUL - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton lauded the newly sworn-in Afghan president for outlining a plan to crack down on corruption in his inaugural speech Thursday, but warned that Washington and the international community would hold him to his promises. Full Story »

LONDON - Royal pageantry met hard-nosed electioneering Wednesday, as Queen Elizabeth II donned the diamond-encrusted Imperial State Crown to announce the government's plans for the next parliamentary session. Full Story »

KABUL - Under intense pressure to fix his corrupt government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought to strike a balance in his second inaugural speech Thursday: answer international demands for reform while appeasing his political allies who returned him to power. Full Story »

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghans said on Wednesday they were resigned to the same daily grind of security fears and hardship after President Hamid Karzai is sworn in for a new term following his victory in a fraud-marred election. Full Story »

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A doctor who died at the Kahrizak detention center, closed after the deaths there of several protesters against June's disputed election, committed suicide, state media said on Wednesday. Full Story »

KABUL - Its protracted presidential election has finally been decided, but Afghanistan is on hold. Full Story »

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong on Wednesday announced a political reform blueprint for electoral arrangements in 2012 that will have a key bearing on the city's struggle to realize direct elections in 2017. Full Story »

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Five people have been sentenced to death and 81 have received jail terms of up to 15 years in connection with unrest after Iran's disputed election in June, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Tuesday. Full Story »

MAPUTO, Mozambique - Mozambique's main opposition party says the ruling party stuffed ballot boxes and expelled opposition monitors from polling stations to help it win the country's Oct. 28 presidential election. Full Story »