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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter died Sunday at the age of 100. VOA's Kane Farabaugh extensively covered the former president's life and post-presidential career promoting global health and democracy and has more on the legacy of the 39th president of the United States. "I, Jimmy Carter, do solemnly swear ..." When Jimmy Carter took the oath of office on January 20, 1977, he promised a government as good as its people. "There can be no nobler nor more ambitious task for America to undertake on this day of a new beginning than to help shape a just and peaceful world." A world he continued to shape beyond his single term in the White House, becoming a Nobel Peace Prize laureate heading the global nonprofit, the Carter Center, whose mission is waging peace, fighting disease and building hope. Carter went from being an unknown southern governor in 1971 to the winning presidential candidate in 1976, narrowly defeating Republican Gerald Ford. Mediating the 1979 Camp David Accords and the eventual peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was the pinnacle of Carter's presidency. But the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran would change the course of his presidency. Protests led by Shiite clerics toppled the U.S.-backed shah, who fled the country. Militants later stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 66 Americans hostage. Carter also faced challenges at home. Inflation and rising unemployment hobbled the economy, contributing to his 1980 election defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter lived the longest of any occupant of the White House, and his 76-year marriage to wife Rosalynn is the longest of any president and first lady. Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Plains, Georgia. This is VOA News. South Korea's acting president, Choi Sang-mok, held an emergency meeting in Seoul on Sunday to discuss the country's deadliest air disaster just two days into his new job. Reuters correspondent Christy Kilburn reports. Choi visited Muan International Airport before the meeting, where most of the 181 people on board a Jeju air flight died, South Korea's transport ministry said. Video shows the plane belly-landing and skidding down the runway before crashing into navigation equipment and a wall in an explosion of flames and debris. Some South Koreans worry the crash, which the transport ministry calls the deadliest air accident on South Korean soil, could be mishandled amidst the country's ongoing political turmoil. Choi, South Korea's finance minister, became acting leader Friday night after Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was impeached. South Korea's parliament impeached Han less than two weeks after suspending President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law. "With the presidency vacant and with things like this happening, I am quite concerned that the handling may not go smoothly," says this resident. Reuters correspondent Christy Kilburn. North Korean state media reported Sunday that its country's leader, Kim Jong-un, has vowed to implement the, quote unquote, "toughest" anti-U.S. policy less than a month before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president. AP correspondent Nayan Kim reports. A video released by state media showed Kim speaking during a five-day plenary meeting that ended Friday. North Korean media did not elaborate on the anti-U.S. strategy, but said Kim set forth tasks to bolster military capability through defense technology and stressed the need to improve the mental toughness of North Korean soldiers. Trump's return to the White House raises prospects for high-profile diplomacy with North Korea. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North's nuclear program. I'm Nayan Kim. An Israeli hospital says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery. Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center said his prostate was removed late Sunday and that he is recovering. Netanyahu's office had said Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close ally, would serve as acting prime minister during the procedure. Doctors ordered the operation after detecting an infection last week. Netanyahu is expected to remain hospitalized for several days. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website, voanews.com. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |