Ethiopian PM promises fair election investigation News
Ethiopian PM promises fair election investigation

[JURIST] Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi [Wikipedia profile] promised Friday that an investigation into allegations of fraud in the May 15 election, which left Zenawi in power, would be "totally transparent and fair." Zenawi said the investigation, which includes international observers, shows his Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) [Wikipedia profile] is committed to fairness. Police killed 36 people and arrested thousands more [JURIST report] when street demonstrations and violence erupted following the elections. Zenawi defended the crackdown on protestors, who were defying an order banning public demonstrations. 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.