Environmental brief ~ Travel ban on Newmont officials illegal, court holds News
Environmental brief ~ Travel ban on Newmont officials illegal, court holds

[JURIST] In Thursday's environmental law brief, a Jakarta Indonesia court has ruled that the travel ban on the six Newmont Mining Co. [company website] executives that has been in place since last October is illegal. Despite the ruling, the executives are still being detained in the country as objects of an ongoing criminal case into alleged pollution of the Buyat Bay. The Rocky Mountain News has the full story including an interview with one of the executives.

Previously on JURIST's PaperChase:

In other news,

  • The Canadian government has reached an agreement with automobile manufacturers requiring greenhouse gas emissions for all cars sold in the country to be reduced by 25 percent of 1995 levels by 2010. The deal was reportedly reached after Canadian officials threatened to copy the California auto emission standards which have been adopted by a handful of US states despite being more stringent than US federal standards. The Los Angeles Times has the full story.
  • The New Hampshire State Senate [official website] is currently considering a bill [text] that would issue more stringent mercury emission controls on the state's power plants than the new EPA limits, and would ban the trading of pollution allowances to meet those standards. Last week, the EPA issued mercury regulations [JURIST report] that both set limits and allowed trading allowances. The New York Times has more.
  • The US Fish and Wildlife Service [official website] seeks comments on a proposed rule [text] that would reclassify the American crocodile [FWS factpage](Crocodylus acutus) in Florida as a threatened species. Currently, it is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 [text], but since its listing in 1975, the American crocodile population in Florida has more than doubled, its distribution has expanded, and land acquisition has provided protection for many important nesting areas. Comments can be made here until May 23.
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.