While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 30, 2024
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Former US president Jimmy Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Dec 29.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Jimmy Carter, longest-lived US president, dies aged 100
Jimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as US president struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Dec 29, the Carter Centre said. He was 100.
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” said Mr Chip Carter, the former president’s son.
“My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.”
A Democrat, he served as president from January 1977 to January 1981 after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 US election.
Anger and agony in South Korea after Jeju Air plane crash
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The passenger plane with 181 people onboard skidded on the runway at a high speed and slammed into a wall before exploding into flames.
Two crew members were rescued alive from the tail of the burning plane, but over the ensuing hours on Dec 29, grim news trickled out to anxious relatives at Muan International Airport, in south-western South Korea.
Later that day, all of the remaining 179 people onboard were confirmed dead, making the crash of the plane – flown by the popular low-cost carrier Jeju Air – the worst aviation disaster involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades and the worst ever on South Korean soil.
Father of Jeju Air plane crash victim says tragedy unbelievable
PHOTO: AFP
Mr Jeon Je-young keeps playing the video of the plane with his daughter and another 180 people on board slamming into a wall and bursting into flames at a South Korean airport.
His daughter Mi-sook died on board. He still can’t believe it.
“When I saw the accident video, the plane seemed out of control,” said 71-year-old Jeon. “The pilots probably had no choice but to do it. My daughter, who is only in her mid-40s, ended up like this. This is unbelievable.”
Israeli forces order new evacuation in northern Gaza
PHOTO: AFP
Israeli forces carrying out a weeks-long offensive in northern Gaza ordered any residents remaining in Beit Hanoun to leave the town on Dec 29, citing Palestinian militant rocket fire from the area, residents said.
The instruction to leave has caused a new wave of displacement although it was not immediately clear how many people were affected, the residents said.
Israel says its almost three-month-old campaign in northern Gaza is aimed at Hamas militants and preventing them from regrouping. Its instructions to civilians to evacuate are meant to keep them out of harm’s way, the military says.
Malaysia’s Chinese clan associations fight to stay relevant
ST PHOTO: LU WEI HOONG
The more than 10,000 clan associations in Malaysia first emerged in the 1800s to provide jobs, shelter and protection for thousands of workers who flocked from southern China to the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to work in flourishing tin mines.
The clans have violent roots in secret societies, also known as kongsis, who fought against each other over resources and mining rights.
But they now face a modern-day threat: how to stay relevant and draw the next generation of volunteers to keep their traditions alive.
