Arroyo opponents arrested, newspaper raided in Philippines crackdown News
Arroyo opponents arrested, newspaper raided in Philippines crackdown

[JURIST] Police in Manila Saturday raided the offices of the Manila Daily Tribune [media website; Daily Tribune report] and detained several high-profile critics of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo [official website; BBC profile] of the Philippines a day after she declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] in order to stop an alleged coup against her government. Since her declaration, Arroyo has banned rallies in the country, but hundreds of opponents of her government nonetheless gathered at a Roman Catholic mass to challenge her, promising more protests until Arroyo is forced from office.

The current unrest stems most immediately from Arroyo's announcement [press release] Thursday that she intends to serve out her entire six-year term, despite allegations of election fraud that have marred her term thusfar. Although Arroyo was cleared of any fraud charges in November, political pressure on her to resign has continued. 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.