South Korea court says US companies liable for making Agent Orange News
South Korea court says US companies liable for making Agent Orange

[JURIST] The Seoul High Court on Thursday ordered Dow Chemical [corporate website] and Monsanto [corporate website] to pay $65.2 million in damages for the negligent manufacture of defoliants used during the Vietnam War, including Agent Orange [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The money is to go to over 20,000 Korean veterans who were exposed to the chemicals. Dow and Monsanto settled a 1984 US lawsuit alleging that their products caused cancer, deformities, and organ dysfuncton for $180 million. They maintain that they produced the chemicals according to US government specs and that no connection between the chemicals and the alleged harms has ever been proven. Despite the ruling, jurisdiction issues and the amount of time passed since the end of the war may severely restrict damage collection by individual veterans. Reuters has more. The Korea Herald has local coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.