Bin Laden half-brother offers to pay for Osama defense News
Bin Laden half-brother offers to pay for Osama defense

[JURIST] In an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite television station [station website] aired Sunday , a half-brother of Osama bin Laden [JURIST news archive] offered to pay for the legal defense of al-Qaida leader in the event of his capture. Yeslam Binladin [UK Telegraph interview] is one of 54 sons and daughters of the late Saudi construction magnate Mohammed bin Laden [Wikipedia profile], who had 22 wives. Yeslam described his brother as "more religious than the rest" of his brothers and said his siblings feared their father, who used to beat them. Yeslam believes his brother is still alive and condemned the September 11th attacks, but insisted that "Everyone has the right to defend himself, anyone who is accused of doing something." 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.