Bush denies US rendition for torture but Rice acknowledges ‘mistakes’ News
Bush denies US rendition for torture but Rice acknowledges ‘mistakes’

[JURIST] In response to growing scrutiny of his Administration's interrogation practices, President Bush Tuesday insisted [White House transcript] that the United States does not secretly transfer terrorism suspects to foreign governments that engage in torture. The Bush Administration has been increasingly questioned about the practice, known as extraordinary rendition [Wikipedia backgrounder], since reports surfaced that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] was running a system of secret prisons in Europe [JURIST report] to which detainees were transferred. Reuters has more.

Continuing her visit to Europe. Tuesday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nonetheless conceded [official transcript] in a press conference with new German Chancellor Angela Merkel [official website] that the US government may have made mistakes in its battle against terrorism: "Any policy will sometimes have mistakes and it is our promise to our partners that should that be the case, that we will do everything that we can to rectify those mistakes.". Rice did not say what mistakes the US government may have made, but specifically declined to comment on Khaled el-Masri, a German man captured in Afghanistan and held for five months until he was released under then-National Security Advisor Rice's direct order [JURIST report]. Again, Reuters 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.