Families of USS Cole dead can sue Sudan News
Families of USS Cole dead can sue Sudan

[JURIST] A US federal judge has ruled that there is enough evidence for families of the 17 sailors who died in the 2000 terror attack [Wikipedia backgrounder; US DOD inquiry report] in Yemen on the USS Cole [official website] to pursue their lawsuit against the Sudanese government. US District Judge Robert G. Doumar said that there is a sufficient amount of evidence showing that the Sudanese government cooperated with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The lawsuit alleges that Sudan helped finance the attack and allowed an al-Qaeda operative to ship explosives to Yemen. The case is scheduled for trial March 7, but may be delayed. Two of the six men convicted [JURIST report] for the attack were later sentenced to death [JURIST report]. 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.