US honours former president Jimmy Carter in state funeral


Jihan Abdalla
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Former president Jimmy Carter was honoured on Wednesday at a state funeral in Washington, where President Joe Biden and all four surviving former US leaders paid their last respects to the centenarian who will be remembered as much for his work after leaving the White House as he will for his single term in office.

His flag-draped coffin was carried by uniformed guards into Washington's National Cathedral, the neo-Gothic church and dominant landmark of the US capital, as family, friends and officials sat solemnly in the pews.

Steven Ford, the son of another former president, Gerald Ford, gave a tribute written by his father. The two former presidents, bitter rivals in the 1970s, became friends later and made a pact to speak at each other's funerals.

He spoke about the two men flying aboard Air Force One en route to Egypt to attend the funeral of Anwar Sadat, the former Egyptian leader who signed a peace deal with Israel in 1978, with support from Mr Carter.

"There's an old line to the effect that two presidents in a room is one too many," Mr Ford said. "Frankly, I wondered how awkward that long flight might be to Cairo, and it was a long flight, but the return trip was not nearly long enough for it was somewhere over the Atlantic that Jimmy and I forged a friendship that transcends politics."

Mr Carter's grandson, Jason, spoke of his grandfather's dedication to promoting peace in the Middle East, even after leaving the White House.

"His heart broke for the people of Israel, it broke for the people of Palestine, and he spent his life trying to bring peace to that Holy Land, and he talked about it at the dinner table," he said. "It was the same in public as it was in private."

Mr Biden had earlier declared January 9 a national day of mourning after Mr Carter died on December 29, aged 100. All executive departments and agencies of the federal government will be closed for the day and he ordered US flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days.

"Jimmy Carter's friendship taught me strength of character is more than title on the power we hold, it's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect, that everyone, I mean everyone, deserves an even shot," Mr Biden said during the funeral.

He said he would cherish the visits he and his wife Jill had with Mr Carter and his late wife Rosalynn, including one a few months before he died. "We saw Jimmy as he always was, at peace with a life fully lived, a good life of purpose and meaning and of character."

Mr Biden has only 11 days left in his presidency and this is likely to be the last time he gives a eulogy in the role.

Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton attended the funeral, as well as president-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20. Justin Trudeau, who resigned as Canada's prime minister on Monday, also participated.

Events to honour Mr Carter began in the late president's home state of Georgia. His body was taken to Washington on Tuesday, where it lay in state at the US Capitol.

Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate majority leader John Thune all gave speeches at the Capitol that highlighted Mr Carter's faith, humility and love for his country.

Mr Carter, the 39th president of the US, served a single term from 1977-1981. After leaving the White House, he dedicated his time to humanitarian causes. In 2002, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning for human rights and engaging in international peace negotiations.

The former president's remains will be flown back to Plains, Georgia for a private service at the church where he once taught Sunday school, before his burial.

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

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It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

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In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. 

 

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Who is Ramon Tribulietx?

Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role. 

MATCH INFO

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Updated: January 10, 2025, 3:47 AM