Ecuador proposes referendum to restore political stability News
Ecuador proposes referendum to restore political stability

[JURIST] New Ecuadorian President Alfredo Palacio [official profile, in Spanish] announced Wednesday that a referendum will be scheduled in the next six months in an effort to stabilize the country's political situation. The referendum is expected to ask voters such questions as whether or not the current presidential system should be replaced by a parliamentary government. Ecuador has been plagued with governmental problems in recent years, with three presidents ousted from office since 1997. In April, the country's Congress forced former President Lucio Gutierrez out of office [JURIST report] for charges of corruption and abuse of power after dismissing the entire Ecuadoran Supreme Court and declaring a state of emergency; Gutierrez has since fled to Brazil, where he has been granted asylum [JURIST report] despite calls for him to stand trial. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.