Philippines military court drops charges against four officers linked to 2003 mutiny News
Philippines military court drops charges against four officers linked to 2003 mutiny

[JURIST] A Philippines military tribunal Wednesday dismissed charges against four military officers connected with a failed mutiny [BBC report] in July 2003 in which 300 soldiers from elite special forces took over buildings in Manila in an effort to overthrow the government of President Gloria Arroyo [official website; JURIST news archive]. An army officer and a navy ensign were released after the tribunal declared there was insufficient evidence to try the pair on charges of conduct unbecoming and failure to suppress mutiny. Two other army officers were cleared of the same charges, though they remain in custody for charges of conspiracy and absence without leave.

In April, a military tribunal sentenced 54 military officers [JURIST report] to seven years and six months in jail for involvement in the same mutiny. An additional 30 officers face pending courts-martial [JURIST report] for another alleged coup attempt against Arroyo in February 2006. 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.