Former DOJ official charged in connection with Abramoff scandal News
Former DOJ official charged in connection with Abramoff scandal

[JURIST] Federal prosecutors on Monday accused the former deputy chief of staff of the Department of Justice Criminal Division [official website] of criminal conflict of interest charges connected to his relationship with disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff [JURIST news archive]. Robert Coughlin is accused of accepting gifts from Abramoff's lobbying group, as well as discussing future employment at the firm where Abramoff worked. In April 2007, the Washington Post reported that Coughlin accepted tickets to sporting events paid for by Abramoff's lobbying firm. AP has more.

Abramoff pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in January 2006 to two conspiracy and fraud charges stemming from the 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casino [corporate website] as part of a plea agreement [PDF text] with federal prosecutors that would reduce his punishment in exchange for favorable testimony in future DOJ corruption cases.

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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.

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