UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. General Assembly on Friday condemned an alleged plot — blamed by U.S. authorities on Iranian agents — to kill Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the United States and urged Iran to obey international law.

A resolution passed with 106 votes in favor, nine against and 40 abstentions did not specifically pin the alleged assassination plan on Tehran, which has denied involvement.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Iran, whose supreme leader has suggested scrapping a directly elected presidency, is likely to have at least one more president after current incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month it would be “no problem” to substitute a parliamentary system for the presidency, in what may have been a warning to Ahmadinejad and possible successors not to overstep their powers.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A Palestinian bid to win full membership of the United Nations came one step closer to collapse on Friday when a Security Council committee failed to reach agreement on the issue.

The development left it up to Palestinians, who have so far been unable to secure the nine votes needed to pass a Security Council resolution favoring their U.N. bid, to decide whether or not to call a vote on their application.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Since unrest erupted in Syria eight months ago, more than 3,500 people have died in a crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad on protesters who want his overthrow, according to the United Nations.

More than 60 people have been killed by the army and security forces since Assad’s government signed a peace plan sponsored by the Arab League last week, with the military campaign now focusing on resistance in the city of Homs.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – There has been an “alarming resurgence” in the use of mercenaries in the past year, according to U.N. experts who cited events in Libya and Ivory Coast and called for action to halt the trend.

A five-person U.N. panel on mercenaries, in a report to the General Assembly, also renewed its call for increased regulation of what it called the “ever-expanding activities” of private military and security companies.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council opened discussions on Friday on lifting the no-fly-zone it imposed over Libya in March and envoys said they expected it would do so after consulting the new Libyan authorities.

The action at the United Nations came as NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, speaking the day after the death of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, said the alliance planned to end its air and sea campaign in Libya at the end of October.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Pakistan, Morocco, Togo and Guatemala were elected on Friday to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council for 2012 and 2013, and Islamabad’s envoy said he looked forward to working with fellow council member India.

The race for a fifth council seat, representing Eastern Europe, was adjourned until Monday after neither of the two candidates, Azerbaijan and Slovenia, was able to win a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly after nine votes.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Pakistan, Morocco, Togo and Guatemala were elected on Friday to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council for 2012 and 2013, and Islamabad’s envoy said he looked forward to working with fellow council member India.

The race for a fifth council seat, representing Eastern Europe, was adjourned until Monday after neither of the two candidates, Azerbaijan and Slovenia, was able to win a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly after nine votes.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Myanmar, seeking to cautiously open up after decades of isolation under military rule, has taken steps to improve its human rights record but still has much to do, a U.N. investigator said on Thursday.

After holding the first election in 20 years last November, the Asian country’s generals nominally handed power in March to civilians, have loosened some media controls and started political dialogue with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 15-year house arrest ended last year.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A Palestinian quest for U.N. membership is likely to come to a head on or around November 11, when Security Council ambassadors plan a final meeting to decide their response, diplomats said on Wednesday.

The date represents a delay in dealing with the Palestinian application, submitted by President Mahmoud Abbas on September 23, amid hopes that indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks scheduled for next week could get a peace process off the ground.