German legislators in the lower house of the Bundestag Thursday approved a bill that criminalizes training in terrorist camps, among other provisions. Under existing law, prosecution of an individual for involvement in a suspected terrorist organization requires membership in the organization or support of it. The proposed legislation seeks to broaden the definition of those [...]

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The Tokyo High Court granted an appeal Thursday to consider 30 people for official recognition as atomic bomb victims, ruling that 9 of the plaintiffs who were previously denied should receive the status. Officials said that the government will consider revising the way it determines which atomic bomb survivors are to receive free medical care [...]

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Amnesty International (AI) Secretary-General Irene Khan said Thursday that the global economic crisis is exacerbating the world's human rights failures, urging governments to "invest in human rights as purposefully as they are investing in economic growth." Khan spoke at the release of the 2009 Annual Report , which says that wealthy nations have overlooked "massive [...]

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A US federal judge Wednesday sentenced the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and five of its officials pursuant to their convictions of providing material support to Palestinian group Hamas . District Judge Jorge Solis sentenced Shurki Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh to prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years [...]

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