French soldiers convicted for Ivory Coast bank robberies News
French soldiers convicted for Ivory Coast bank robberies

[JURIST] A military court sentenced 12 French soldiers to prison for up to one year on Tuesday for robbing an Ivory Coast bank [Africa News report] regularly while stationed with France's Licorne Force [Wikipedia entry, in French] backing up a UN peacekeeping mission [official website]. The Licorne forces are supporting the UN forces [JURIST report] in Côte d'Ivoire [Wikipedia profile], where troops are needed to enforce a ceasefire and disarmament plan [BBC News report] between the government supported south and rebels in the north. The soldiers admitted to most of the charges against them, leading to a prison sentence of 12 months for the eight men charged with theft and two to eight months for the four accomplices to the robberies. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.