Khodorkovsky verdict-reading continued into ninth day News
Khodorkovsky verdict-reading continued into ninth day

[JURIST] The verdict reading [JURIST report] for oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky [defense website] continued into its ninth day Thursday. Khodorkovsky, former CEO of Russian oil firm Yukos [official website], and his partner Platon Lebedev have been indicted for fraud and embezzlement [JURIST report]. Issues addressed by the court on Thursday concerned the corporate tax evasion charges against both men. Defense lawyers believes the evidence read in court will lead to a guilty verdict for both defendants, who face up to ten years in prison, although there is evidence that they may face a lighter sentence [JURIST report] than originally thought. Those defending Khodorkovsky believe that the only reason he is standing trial is because he has funded opposition parties in the past. AP 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.