US mining company, executive facing Indonesian trial for water pollution News
US mining company, executive facing Indonesian trial for water pollution

[JURIST] An Indonesian court Tuesday rejected a request to drop a pollution case against US gold mining company Newmont Mining [US corporate website; Indonesian website] and the company's local subsidiary president director Richard Ness. Ness, from Ada, MN, will stand trial on October 7 and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $68,000 fine if convicted of dumping mercury and arsenic containing pollutants into Buyat Bay on Sulawesi Island. Although the government claims the pollutants depleted fishing stocks and caused villagers to develop skin diseases and other illnesses, the World Health Organization [official website] and an initial Environment Ministry report found the bay to be unpolluted. The trial is of interest to potential foreign investors who have expressed anxiety regarding the nation's legal system [BBC report]. The company is also facing a $133.6 million civil suit on the claim. AP has more. Newmont has a press release on Tuesday's decision.

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.

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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.

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