Somalia parliament authorizes martial law News
Somalia parliament authorizes martial law

[JURIST] Somalia's transitional parliament voted Saturday to authorize the government to declare martial law in the troubled east African country. The authorization and the accompanying declaration of a state of emergency [Reuters report] followed Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi's Thursday call [JURIST report] for the parliament to declare three months of martial law in hopes of reestablishing order following the capture of Somali capital Mogadishu from militias seeking to establish Islamic law [JURIST report]. Ethiopian and Somali government forces have been fighting since December 24 against the Somali Islamic fundamentalist movement, which has largely dispersed from urban areas.

On Tuesday, US air strikes targeted wanted FBI terror fugitives [JURIST report], whom the US believes was being sheltered in Somalia by the Council of Islamic Courts [official website, in Somali; BBC backgrounder]. Somalia has endured a lengthy civil war and several rounds of failed peace talks [BBC timeline] since the collapse of its last civilian government in 1991. 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.