Zimbabwe president challenges UN report on demolitions of illegal structures News
Zimbabwe president challenges UN report on demolitions of illegal structures

[JURIST] A pro-government Harare paper said Wednesday that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe told reporters that special UN envoy Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka confessed to him that she was under pressure to produce an unfavorable report on the 6-week government ordered demolition of illegal homes and businesses in the nation, also known as "Operation Murambatsvina" or (in English) "Operation Restore Order" [JURIST report]. Tibaijuka's report [PDF], released Friday, indicates that thousands of structures were destroyed and nearly 700,000 people were left homeless. During a UN Security Council briefing [UN News report; press briefing] on the report Wednesday, Tibaijuka defended the integrity of her report and insisted it was "objective" and that the "methodology used is all spelled out". Access video of today's briefing here. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.