On May 29

On this day in ...
... 1990, Canada's House of Commons (right) passed Bill C-43, new abortion legislation, by a vote of 140 to 131. (photo credit) The bill, which continued the criminal proscription of abortion but allowed exceptions from that prohibition " as long as a doctor believes the physical or mental health of the woman is endangered," was sent to Canada's Senate for debate. There it would fail by a tie vote in 1991.
... 1999 (10 years ago today), Olusegun Obasanjo (left) was sworn in as President of Nigeria following his election, bringing an end to 15 "years of adventurism and brigandage under military rule," as The Nation put it. (photo credit) The 8-year tenure of Obasanjo, who himself had been a military ruler of Nigeria from 1976 to 1979, was marred by charges of corruption and repression. Last December Obasanjo was appointed the U.N. Special Envoy on the Great Lakes Region, tasked to aid "dialogue between the leaders of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda," by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

(Prior May 29 posts are here and here.)

On this day

On February 27, ...
... 1999, as many as 40 million voters thronged polling stations in Nigeria to elect a civilian as President. The election of Olusegun Obasanjo brought an end to 15 years of military rule in the African country whose flag's at right. Obasanjo, whose tenure has been marred by allegations of corruption, human rights violations, and environmental degradation (see example here), continues to rule as President to this day.
... 1992, in the anti-pornography case of R. v. Butler, 1 side of which had been argued by LEAF (logo below) -- the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund -- Canada's Supreme Court ruled that the country's law making the possession or distribution of obscene materials a crime would be unconstitutional if the basis for banning the materials were morality, but constitutional if the basis were promotion of equality of women and men.