Syria minister will meet UN Hariri investigators News
Syria minister will meet UN Hariri investigators

[JURIST] Syrian diplomats announced Wednesday that Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara will speak with the UN commission investigating the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], as requested [JURIST report] by outgoing investigation head Detlev Mehlis on Monday. A Syrian official said [JURIST report] Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [BBC profile] will refuse an interview request because the Syrian constitution provides sovereign immunity to the President in connection with all criminal investigations. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's spokesperson said during Tuesday's noon briefing [summary] that Annan expects Al-Assad to cooperate with the commission, and the US has reminded Syria of the resolution [text] passed by the UN Security Council [official website] last October threatening "further action" against Syria if the country resisted the investigation. AP 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.