tv Newsday BBC News December 31, 2024 2:00am-2:31am GMT
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welcome to newsday. i'm steve lai. south korea has ordered a complete review of airline safety procedures in response to the country's worst ever plane crash. 179 people were killed when the plane landed without landing gear at high speed, skidded off the end of the runway and smashed into a concrete structure housing a navigation system, bursting into flames. authorities say they've identified all but 15 of the people who died. they're planning to use dna testing for those they can't identify by their fingerprints. the boeing 737—800 was arriving at muan international airport in the south of the country. the exact cause is unclear, though investigators
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are looking at a possible bird strike and landing gearfailure. many of those on board were koreans travelling home after spending christmas in thailand. relatives are still at the airport waiting for news. they are furious about a lack of support and information. we are expecting a press conference imminently from jeju air and we will bring that to you live when it comes. jean mackenzie with the latest from seoul. shouting the bereaved are at breaking point. these outbursts come every few minutes. a day on from the crash, they're still at the airport, waiting to be reunited with their loved ones�* bodies. "why have only five bodies been released?" this woman yells. "you're useless!" a police official spares her no details. "they're too badly damaged," he says. "forensic teams are still piecing them together." it's disturbing to hear. and for shin gyu—ho, it's even worse. his two teenage grandsons
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haven't even been identified. translation: i've been sitting here all day, - hoping for news. i'm so frustrated. i feel like i'm waiting without an end. the plane was carrying koreans back from christmas holidays in thailand when it landed at speed without its wheels down. as it crashed, every passenger was killed. investigators are now trying to work out why the landing gear seemed to fail, but the flight recorder is damaged. it'll take time to decipher the data. so, today, the attention has turned to what happened on the runway. when the plane made its emergency landing, it was still intact, but because it couldn't stop, it then overshot the runway here. and we now know that it hit this concrete and orange structure that has been raised up on this grassy mound. this is a guidance system that is supposed to help planes land, but this is the point
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at which the plane exploded into this fireball and fractured into many pieces. and aviation experts are now questioning why this was positioned in this way, so raised up and so close to the end of the runway. the acting president has ordered an investigation of the country's entire aviation industry. without answers, the families don't know who to blame. for now, the only place they can direct their anger is at the forensic teams, who are still searching, yet to complete their gruelling, unenviable task. jean mackenzie, bbc news, muan airport. in a separate issue, anotherjeju air flight from seoul was forced to return to the airport after encountering a landing gear problem. the boeing 737—800 involved in the latest incident was the same model as thejeju air plane that crashed on sunday. the airline said an issue with the landing gear was found shortly after take—off, forcing the plane to return to seoul. the issue was rectified before landing and the plane landed safely.
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21 passengers refused to get on an alternative flight. staying in south korea. a court there has just approved an arrest warrant for suspended president yoon suk yeol after he failed to report for questioning. mr yoon is facing charges of insurrection for his decision to impose martial law earlier this month. he's been summoned three times by investigators for questioning, but failed to appear each time. it is the first time in the country's history an arrest warrant has been issued for a sitting president. the office may also wait for yoon to appear voluntarily, hoping the threat of arrest was sufficient. a state funeral will be held forformer us president jimmy carter onjanuary 9 at the washington national cathedral as part of a national day of mourning for america's longest living president. mr carter, the former georgia peanut farmer turned naval officer served as a one—term president from 1977 to 1981.
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he would later go on to define his legacy after his presidency where he would be awarded the nobel peace prize in 2002 for his humanitarian work around the world. he died at 100 years old. world leaders have been paying their tributes, including presidentjoe biden and president—elect donald trump with biden saying that mr carter "embodied the very best of america." these pictures show flags flying at half—mast at the white house in honour of the former president's life and legacy. the bbc�*s tom bateman reports. tributes forjimmy carter from the heart of american democracy to the traders on wall street who paused in his honour this morning. and at the white house, joe biden ordered the flag at half—staff for 30 days to remember america's longest—living president. whatjimmy carter's an example of is just simple decency. simple decency. and i think that's what the rest of the world
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looks to america for. i, jimmy carter, do solemnly swear... jimmy carter's one—term presidency was marked by inflation at home and crises abroad, but his landmark achievement was brokering a peace deal between israel and egypt. president—elect donald trump said while he disagreed with mr carter politically... former president barack obama said: he was so prompt, the airport onlyjust had time to give him the red carpet treatment. president carter visited the uk in 1997, touring tyneside and bringing a message of economic revival. howay, the lads! cheering today, king charles recalled the visit and expressed great sadness, saying mr carter: jimmy carter will be given
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a state funeral next week. it will be a final goodbye to the southerner from humble origins who won the most powerful office on earth, but whose legacy was forged from his work well beyond the white house. tom bateman, bbc news, washington. let's get some more now on our top story — the plane crash in south korea that left 179 people dead. i'm joined now by our asia correspondent rupert wingfield hayes who is at muan airport. there was due to be a news conference. has that changed? that is right. we were expecting to hear from jeju area, the company that owned aircraft crashed on sunday at the airport here. they have now told us they are postponing that press conference till late this afternoon, when not sure why. presumably they want to communicate to the outside world and the families of the
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deceased, but there have been some other developments here. firstly, some of the bodies of those killed in sunday's crash have now been handed over to families, the first four bodies were handed over this morning and there will be funerals beginning of the 179 people. other very difficultjob of identifying the remains of the others is still continuing. we understand that investigators from the federal aviation administration and boeing are on their way here or indeed have arrived here this morning tojoin have arrived here this morning to join the investigation, have arrived here this morning tojoin the investigation, and also that they have cleaned and are now inspecting the black boxes, the flight data recorder in the cockpit voice recorder. so the investigation is really starting to get under way but it is going to be a very long process, piecing together exactly what happened to the plane on sunday. they also say they will keep the airport here closed for another week because of the recovery operation, so
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they need to gather all of the debris before they can reopen the runway. so theyjust decided they will extend that for another week.— for another week. certainly seems like _ for another week. certainly seems like things - for another week. certainly seems like things are - for another week. certainly i seems like things are ramping up seems like things are ramping up on the discovery front of how things went so badly wrong. we saw earlier that the families of those that were involved in this area incident have been at the airport and have been at the airport and have been at the airport and have been incredibly unhappy with how they feel they have been treated.— with how they feel they have been treated. they do. there is an enormous — been treated. they do. there is an enormous amount _ been treated. they do. there is an enormous amount of - been treated. they do. there is| an enormous amount of anguish and anger here amongst the families, and many mixed emotions. families have lost many members, we understand this was a holiday flight, that there were whole families on board that aircraft. in one case, nine members of the same family. people have lost large numbers of their relatives. that is incredibly traumatic, as you can imagine, but in many cases i have also lost the main
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breadwinner and their families. this is not a wealthy part of south korea, it is a rural farming part of south korea, so there is emotional anguish and there is emotional anguish and the financial anguish and people are saying, how are we going to continue? we've lost our main breadwinners. in some cases, children will be left without parents. who will support them, who will provide economic assistance? the government and airline at the moment are not clear about what will happen to them. then there is the issue of the bodies and this is the big one when you see what people are really angry about here, people want the bodies of their relatives back so they can carry out fuel rights. it is very important in south korean religious culture to have a body and to have a proper funeral, to have a body and to have a properfuneral, and they to have a body and to have a proper funeral, and they are being told, in many cases they are just simply isn't a body to return to you. this plane exploded and the debris field is enormous, they are literally recovering human ray mains does
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remains from the airport. that is the point of enormous tension and grief and anger. thank you, rupert, for putting that into context for us. we appreciate that. we will be keeping an eye on the news appreciate that. we will be keeping an eye on the news conference that rupert conference that rupert mentioned earlier, saying it mentioned earlier, saying it will be pushed back until later will be pushed back until later this afternoon. we will keep an this afternoon. we will keep an eye on that on bbc news for eye on that on bbc news for you. in what it describes you. in what it describes as a major incident, as a major incident, the us treasury says it's the us treasury says it's been hacked by chinese been hacked by chinese state—sponsored actors gaining state—sponsored actors gaining access to staff workstations. access to staff workstations. a spokesperson said a spokesperson said unclassified documents unclassified documents were also compromised in were also compromised in the attack earlier this month. the attack earlier this month. the treasury said the the treasury said the compromised service had been of we will be compromised service had been taken offline and there's taken offline and there's no indication the hackers have no indication the hackers have continued to access its information. continued to access its information. our correspondent our correspondent rowan bridge has more. rowan bridge has more. what appears to have happened what appears to have happened as these hackers got hold of a as these hackers got hold of a security key which gave them security key which gave them access to a cloud computing access to a cloud computing service used by the treasury, service used by the treasury, and from there, they were able and from there, they were able to bypass security measures and to bypass security measures and
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of people that department list of people that have been authorised to tap their phones of people who were thought to potentially be involved in espionage. and in the last few hours, china has responded. chinese embassy spokesperson liu pengyu says: around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. an 18—year—old british man has begun a year—long jail sentence in dubai after he was convicted of having sex with a 17—year—old british girl
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who he met on holiday. both from london, marcus fakana and the girl, who is now 18, began their romance while on holiday with their families. three afghan members of a human smuggling gang will be extradited to belgium following their arrests in the uk. the gang was responsible for trafficking thousands of migrants from afghanistan into europe. gang members also sexually abused young boys making the journey, filming the abuse to blackmail their victims. members of the gang are facing up to 23 years in prison. paddy hill, one of the six men wrongly convicted of the birmingham pub bombings by the ira in 1974, has died at the age of 80. the explosions killed 21 people. the men who became known as the �*birmingham six', spent 17 years in prison before their convictions were quashed in 1991. you're live with bbc news. ukraine's president zelensky
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has announced one of the largest prisoner exchanges since full—scale war began with russia nearly three years ago. 189 ukrainian troops are being returned home from captivity and 150 russian soldiers are being returned in the deal, which was brokered by the united arab emirates. will vernon is in northern ukraine where the prisoner swap happened, and has been speaking to some of those who were released. the wait is finally over. sobbing ukrainian families overcome with emotion as they greet their loved ones. the first time they've seen or spoken to them for years. i'm very happy to return to my own country, to my own land. i have no words to...to
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say what i feel. for those unable to make it, the phone call they've been waiting for. "i'm coming home," says this man. "yes, i'll be home soon." how does it feel to be home? translation: i'm overwhelmed by feelinqs- _ thank god this day has come. we're home. now, we're going to support ukraine with everything we've got. well, some of these men have been in captivity for more than 2.5 years. you can just see the emotion on theirfaces, to finally return to their homeland, ukraine, to their families, just in time for the new year holidays. the russian authorities said 150 of their citizens had returned from ukrainian captivity and were being given medical treatment. back in ukraine, for some families, the wait continues. these women show photos
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of their loved ones to those released, hoping someone will recognise them. "we want to know he's alive," says marianna, who's looking for her nephew. "we're asking everyone we see." with thousands of ukrainians still in captivity or missing, the desperate search for many families will go on. will vernon, bbc news, northern ukraine. five people have been charged in argentina in connection with the death of the former one direction star liam payne. the 31—year—old died after taking drugs and falling from a third—floor balcony at a hotel in buenos aires in october. a hotel manager, receptionist and a friend of the singer have been charged with manslaughter. two others who worked at the hotel have been charged with supplying drugs. our correspondent tom symonds has more. that final night liam payne was intoxicated by drugs,
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vulnerable, defenceless — according to this new and detailed statement — about events at the buenos aires hotel. prosecutors say staff were aware of his condition, but took him to his room — later found trashed — and left him. investigators believe liam payne fell from the balcony while trying to find the exit. they say there is enough evidence to support a type of manslaughter charge. the businessman rogalia roger nores, liam payne's friend and driver in argentina, abandoned him to his fate, they say. two hotel staff — gilda martin and esteban grassi — acted recklessly by allowing the singer to be taken to his room. another hotel worker, ezequiel pereira, and a waiter, braian paiz, are accused of supplying him cocaine. mr paiz�*s lawyer says, yes, they took drugs, but his client didn't sell them, and he questions why there are manslaughter charges for those accused of simply not looking after liam payne. translation: what happens in these
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cases is that there is a witch hunt. they search for people to blame where there are none. people are charged with things they did not commit, or at least people are held responsible for more than they should be. # the story of my life... liam payne's death left his fans distraught, so this is a high—profile case. police gathered hundreds of hours of cctv footage, phone messages and hotel records. what's not in doubt is that the singer's life in the spotlight left him struggling with addiction. when we were in the band, the best way to secure us because of how big it got was just lock us in our rooms. and, of course, what's in the room? a mini—bar. so, at a certain point, i thought, i'm going to have a party for one, and that just seemed to carry on throughout many years of my life. the argentine judge overseeing the case has said no—one involved wanted him to lose his life, but their actions had put it at risk. tom symonds, bbc news. the president of trinidad and tobago has declared
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a state of emergency as the carribbean nation deals with a wave of gang—related crime. trinidad and tobago, which has a population of about 1.5 million, has recorded more than 600 murders this year. authorities say the emergency powers allows defence forces to act as de facto police officers, with powers to conduct searches without a warrant. was that certain criminal gangs and i will leave out the places where, at this stage, but i can say throughout trinidad and possibly tobago are likely to immediately increase their brazen acts of violence in reprisal shootings on a scale so extensive that it threatens persons and will endanger public safety. edinburgh's world—famous new year's eve celebrations known as hogmanay have been cancelled due to bad weather. tens of thousands of tickets had already been sold. but organisers say high winds and extreme weather mean they've been unable
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to continue with preparations for the outdoor events both today and tomorrow. among the events called off, a concert by the rock band texas, and the traditional midnight fireworks display to see in 2025. rain, snow and strong winds will hit large parts of the uk this week with a series of weather warnings coming into force between monday and thursday. an amber alert for rain has been issued for parts of scotland on new year's eve, and stormy conditions are expected to spread to the rest of the uk. catriona renton reports from edinburgh. tonight, a subdued atmosphere. bagpipes skirl this was last year's event, when people all over the world came to edinburgh to experience it. preparations were taking place today for the famous street party, the concert due to be headlined by texas and spectacular fireworks.
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that was until this afternoon when organisers announced they have had to cancel the outdoor events on safety grounds after the met office issued yellow warnings for wind and rain. we are deeply _ warnings for wind and rain. - are deeply disappointed. it is not something we take lightly, but again, the weather we have experienced over the last 48—hour and are expected to experience in the next 2a hours meant we were not able to build the infrastructure both for the performances and also the safety and construction. £31 safety and construction. of course people are disappointed, but understand. i course people are disappointed, but understand.— but understand. i didn't know the street _ but understand. i didn't know the street party _ but understand. i didn't know the street party was - but understand. i didn't know the street party was off. - but understand. i didn't know the street party was off. i - the street party was off. i just got off the plane. we went to see the _ just got off the plane. we went to see the fireworks. _ just got off the plane. we went to see the fireworks. it - just got off the plane. we went to see the fireworks. it is - just got off the plane. we went to see the fireworks. it is not l to see the fireworks. it is not there — to see the fireworks. it is not there anymore, it isjust rain. it is _ there anymore, it isjust rain. it is about— there anymore, it isjust rain. it is about celebration, about party — it is about celebration, about party i— it is about celebration, about party. i am _ it is about celebration, about party. i am disappointed. - it is about celebration, about party. i am disappointed. it. party. i am disappointed. it 'ust party. i am disappointed. just sums up 2024. party. i am disappointed. it. just sums up 2024. organisers of other events _ just sums up 2024. organisers of other events like _ just sums up 2024. organisers of other events like the - of other events like the stonehaven fireballs in aberdeenshire plant to still go ahead. , ., ., ahead. the fireballs are going ahead. the fireballs are going ahead as planned. _ ahead. the fireballs are going ahead as planned. the - ahead. the fireballs are going ahead as planned. the only i ahead as planned. the only issueis ahead as planned. the only issue is whether it would be
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for the spectators to come and stand for a couple of hours beforehand.— stand for a couple of hours beforehand. the north of the country has _ beforehand. the north of the country has already - beforehand. the north of the country has already been - country has already been deluged with rain. this is what part of the highland main railway line was up against. there is an amber warning for rain in place for parts of the area tomorrow. the worst of the weather is due to pass through scotland by new year's day, but there are yellow warnings for wind and rain for the south of england. catriona renton, bbc news, edinburgh. let's turn to some other important news around the world. the world health organization has called on china to share data on the origins of the covid pandemic five years on from its start in the city of wuhan. the who said access to information to help understand how the pandemic began was a moral and scientific imperative. it said without transparency and cooperation, the world could not prevent future pandemics. an us appeals court has upheld a $5 million verdict against donald trump,
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who was found liable for sexually abusing and later defaming the author and journalist ejean carroll. the ruling deals with an assault that took place at a new york department store in 1996, and mr trump's attempts to dismiss it as a hoax. at least four people have been killed after dozens of tornadoes swept across the southern us, causing extensive property damage and leaving tens of thousands of people without power. nearly 40 tornadoes were reported in texas, north carolina, louisiana, georgia and arkansas over the weekend. more than 1,200 people from sport, business, entertainment and politics have been recognised in the new year's honours list. the king awards the honours after recommendations from the government and members of the public. the former england football manager gareth southgate has been knighted. sir gareth, as he is now, is recognised for guiding the team to back—to—back euros finals. the actor stephen fry, now sir stephen, is cited for his work on mental health awareness and the environment.
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he said he was "startled and enchanted" to receive the knighthood. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, said he was "truly humbled" to be awarded a knighthood, while the labour mp emily thornberry said she was "honoured and surprised" to be made a dame. one of the rarest awards goes to the novelist sir kazuo ishiguro. he is made a companion of honour, a select group which is limited to 65 people at any one time. congratulations to all of them. thank you for your company here on bbc news. see you again soon. hello there. there's going to be a lot of wet, windy and cold weather to come over the new year, but the focus today remains on this amber rain warning that we have from the met office. and within this area, there are already a number of severe flood warnings on rivers. it's been very wet in scotland, some snow melt adding to that as well. the rain turns more showery in mainland scotland. some wetter weather
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heads to the northern isles with snow in shetland, and this band of rain clears through southern scotland, northern ireland into england and wales. to the south, it's dry. a windier day, though, particularly across this part of the country, but it is a southwesterly wind, so it's lifting the temperatures to 11 or 12 degrees, except in the far north of scotland, where it's going to stay cold here. now, if you are going to be celebrating new year in wales and northern england, there's a good chance you're going to have some wet weather. that rain will be heavy over the hills and it may well lead to some flooding as well. that band of rain is going to move southwards on new year's day, but on it and just ahead of it, it's going to be very windy. and then to the north, following the rain, snow and ice continues across northern scotland and a wintry mix of rain and hill snow moves down across northern ireland, southern scotland, eventually into northern england as things get colder. temperatures are going to be dropping through the day for most of us, the last of any mild air is in the far southeast of england, where we end the day
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wet and windy. that weather front, then, does move away, and then we chase our weather all the way up to the north. it's a north—northwesterly wind that's coming down, and that's going to bring cold air across the whole of the country. and by the time we get to thursday morning, there'll be a widespread frost this time. there could be some icy patches from earlier showers too. most of the snow showers will continue to affect northern parts of scotland. there could be one or two wintry showers for northern ireland, getting close to these north sea coasts, but for large parts of the country it will be dry on thursday. and it'll be sunny as well, but it is going to feel an awful lot colder. we've got temperatures typically only 3—5 degrees. at least it's not that windy and the winds will be a bit lighter, ithink, heading into friday, but it's still cold air, widespread frost, some icy patches, a few more wintry showers for northern ireland over the irish sea near some north sea coasts, and most of the snow falling in northern scotland. but, again, it is going to be cold after that frosty start — highs of 3—5 celsius.
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