Romania parliament suspends president for alleged abuse of powers News
Romania parliament suspends president for alleged abuse of powers

[JURIST] The Romanian Parliament [official website] voted Thursday to suspend Romanian President Traian Basescu [official website, English version; BBC profile] for allegedly violating the constitution [text]. Members of parliament voted 322-108 in favor of the suspension. According to the constitution, Romania must hold a national referendum on Basescu's impeachment within 30 days. The parliamentary vote was brought by the leftist opposition party PSD [party website] and stem from accusations by Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu [official profile] that Basescu was involved in suspicious multi-million-dollar energy deals.

Basescu has denied any abuse of power and promised to resign if he was suspended. His resignation would trigger national elections within 3 months in which Basescu plans to run. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

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.