Palestinian passage of new election law reopens door to vote News
Palestinian passage of new election law reopens door to vote

[JURIST] The Palestinian parliament voted Saturday to pass a new law creating an electoral system which will allow districts to choose 50% of the lawmakers with the other 50% coming from a list of national party candidates. The new law has opened the door to reschedule the July 17 parliamentary elections which were postponed [JURIST report] earlier this month by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [BBC profile]. Abbas' decision seemed to be an attempt to allow his Fateh party [party website in Arabic] time to bolster their power against opposing Islamic Hamas [Wikipedia profile]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.