IAEA to pursue Russian compromise on Iran instead of Council referral News
IAEA to pursue Russian compromise on Iran instead of Council referral

[JURIST] Members of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website; JURIST news archive] meeting in Vienna agreed Thursday to pursue a Russian compromise proposal rather than report Tehran to the UN Security Council [JURIST report] for its nuclear activities. Iran has refused to suspend uranium enrichment, claiming it wants to develop its nuclear power capabilities, not weapons. Moscow has proposed allowing Iran to conduct uranium processing in Iran, then sending the material to Russia, where a Russian-Iranian joint venture would handle the critical enrichment process. The decision not to refer Iran to the Security Council [official website] was likely endorsed by the US and EU so as to avoid disagreements with Russia and China. The European Union has expressed concern that Iran received papers from black marketeers describing in part how to build the core of a nuclear bomb. Peter Jenkins, British envoy to the IAEA, said while the EU had opted to give Iran more time to weigh Moscow's proposal, the "widow of opportunity" will not remain open indefinitely. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.