Former US President Jimmy Carter’s Indian connection will leave you surprised, it is…
Carter visited India in January 1978 during his presidency, making him the third American leader to do so
Punjab Bandh Today: Farmers block roads at many places, trains cancelled; know what’s open, what’s closed
On Sunday, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that though there will be a complete bandh, emergency services will be allowed to operate.
Delhi shivers amid cold wave, temperatures drop to 8.6°C; minimum temperature to plunge to…
The air quality index recorded in the national capital at 8 am is 179, categorised as moderate, according to the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Biden takes jab at Trump while applauding Jimmy Carter’s decency, shares fondest memory with late president
President Biden addressed the nation on Sunday in the wake of former President Jimmy Carter’s death, commending the late statesman while also taking a swipe at the current president-elect during his speech. Biden, who sounded hoarse during the speech, said he “lost a dear friend” on Sunday, noting that he had known Carter for more than 50 years. Carter passed away in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100, after nearly two years of being in hospice care. During his remarks, Biden said Carter is a model “of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, a life of principle, faith and humility.” “Some look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era with honesty and character. Faith and humility mattered, but I don’t believe it’s a bygone era,” Biden said. “We’d all do well to try to be more like Jimmy Carter.” JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100 Biden said his fondest memory of Carter happened in the 1970s when the then-Georgia governor asked Biden for help with his presidential campaign. “He grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘I need you to help with my campaign,’” Biden recalled. “I said, ‘I’ve only been around a couple of years, Mr. Governor.’ He said, ‘No, it’ll make a difference.’” “I said, ‘I’m not sure it will,” Biden added. “When I endorsed him for president, I told him why [I] was endorsing him and that it was not only his policies but his character, his decency, the honor he communicated to everyone.” JIMMY, ROSALYNN CARTER’S HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LEGACY WILL CONTINUE, ORGANIZATION SAYS When a reporter asked Biden what President-elect Trump should take from Carter’s legacy, Biden replied, “Decency.” “Decency, decency, decency. … Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking by someone who needed something and just keep walking? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk?” Biden’s speech came after Trump issued his own statement about Carter’s death. “Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” Trump later wrote that although he “strongly” disagreed with Carter philosophically and politically, he realized that the former president “truly loved and respected” the U.S. and all it stands for. “He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect,” Trump said. “He was truly a good man and, of course, will be greatly missed. He was also very consequential, far more than most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office.” Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Living US presidents react to death of former President Jimmy Carter
Tributes, including those from all five living presidents, poured in on Sunday after news broke that former President Jimmy Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100. Carter served as the 39th president of the United States, but he was also a peanut farmer with a vision of a “competent and compassionate” government, which propelled him into the White House. Former President Bill Clinton said in a statement on Sunday that he and his wife, Hillary, met Carter in 1975 as “proud, early supporters” of his presidential campaign. “Hillary and I mourn the passing of President Jimmy Carter and give thanks for his long, good life,” Clinton wrote. “Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others – until the very end.” JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100 Clinton continued by praising his presidential colleague for his commitment to civil rights while serving as a state senator and the governor of Georgia, as well as his efforts as president to protect natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, returning the Panama Canal to Panama and securing peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David. Carter’s devotions after serving as president also gained accolades from Clinton, including efforts from the Carter Center to support honest elections, advancing peace and combating disease. “I will always be proud to have presented the Medal of Freedom to him and Rosalynn in 1999, and to have worked with him in the years after he left the White House,” Clinton wrote. “Our prayers are with Jack, Chip, Jeff, Amy, and their families.” FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER TO SPEND ‘REMAINING TIME’ AT HOME RECEIVING HOSPICE CARE Former President George W. Bush said Carter was “a man of deeply held convictions” who was loyal to his family, his community and his country. “President Carter dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency,” Bush said. “His work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations.” Carter, according to former President Obama, promised voters he would always tell the truth, which Obama said “he did.” JIMMY CARTER CELEBRATES 98TH BIRTHDAY WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, BASEBALL “He believed some things were more important than reelection – things like integrity, respect, and compassion. Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image,” he added. “Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values. He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service.” Obama highlighted a quote that Carter said when he accepted his Nobel Peace Prize: “God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.” “He made that choice again and again over the course of his 100 years, and the world is better for it,” Obama said. JIMMY CARTER, WIFE ROSALYNN CELEBRATE 75 YEARS OF MARRIAGE In another post on X, Obama said, “President Carter taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from this remarkable man.” President Biden referred to Carter as a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism. He also said he and his wife will cherish seeing Carter and his late wife, Rosalynn, together, noting that the love between the two is the “definition of partnership,” while their leadership is the definition of “patriotism.” “We will miss them both dearly, but take solace knowing they are reunited once again and will remain forever in our hearts,” Biden said. “To the entire Carter family, we send our gratitude for sharing them with America and the world. To their staff – from the earliest days to the final ones – we have no doubt that you will continue to do the good works that carry on their legacy.” President-elect Trump also reacted to Carter’s death on Truth Social. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” Trump wrote. “Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.”
Jimmy Carter expected to lie in Rotunda ahead of state funeral scheduled by Biden
Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at 100, is expected to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda in January, Fox News has learned. Though the specific dates have not yet been released, President Biden said in a White House statement Sunday night that Carter’s funeral at the Washington National Cathedral is scheduled for Jan. 9, deeming the day a National Day of Mourning. “I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance,” the president said. Biden also ordered that all American flags fly at half-staff for the next 30 days. JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100 The 39th president is expected to lie in state in both the Georgia State Capitol and the U.S. Capitol before the state funeral in Washington, D.C., The New York Times reported. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was the most recent statesman to lie in state in January 2022. Twelve U.S. presidents have lain in state, beginning with former President Abraham Lincoln and most recently with former President George H.W. Bush, who died in November 2018. LIVING US PRESIDENTS REACT TO DEATH OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER Multiple observances of Carter’s death are expected in coming days in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., the Carter Center said. “The final arrangements for President Carter’s state funeral, including all public events and motorcade routes, are still pending,” the center noted. The former president will be interred privately in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to which he returned after serving as president from 1977 to 1981. His death came after years of health problems, including cancer that spread to his liver and brain. He entered hospice care in February 2023. Carter outlived his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at the age of 96. His death inspired an outpouring of sympathy from both sides of the political aisle, with President-elect Trump writing that Americans “owe [Carter] a debt of gratitude.” JIMMY, ROSALYNN CARTER’S HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LEGACY WILL CONTINUE, ORGANIZATION SAYS “Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.” In a statement released on Sunday, the late president’s son, Chip Carter, called his father a “hero.” “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” the statement read. “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.” More information about the funeral and ceremony plans for Carter is expected to emerge in the coming days.
Jimmy Carter expected to lie in Rotunda as multiple events are planned to commemorate late US president
Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at 100, is expected to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda in January, Fox News has learned. Officials have not yet released the specific dates when Carter’s body will be in the Rotunda. The New York Times reported that the 39th president is expected to lie in state in both the Georgia State Capitol and the U.S. Capitol before a state funeral takes place at Washington National Cathedral. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in January 2022 was the most recent statesman to lie in state. Twelve U.S. presidents have lain in state, beginning with former President Abraham Lincoln. The last U.S. president to lie in state was former President George H.W. Bush, who died in November 2018. Multiple observances of Carter’s death are expected in coming days. The Carter Center said on Sunday that events are expected in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Carter was from Plains, Georgia. JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100 “The final arrangements for President Carter’s state funeral, including all public events and motorcade routes, are still pending,” the center noted. The former president will be interred privately in his hometown, to which he returned after serving as president from 1977 to 1981. His death came after years of health problems, including cancer that spread to his liver and brain. He entered hospice care in February 2023. Carter outlived his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at the age of 96. His death inspired an outpouring of sympathy from both sides of the political aisle, with President-elect Trump writing that Americans “owe [Carter] a debt of gratitude.” JIMMY, ROSALYNN CARTER’S HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LEGACY WILL CONTINUE, ORGANIZATION SAYS “Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.” In a statement released on Sunday, the late president’s son, Chip Carter, called his father a “hero.” “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” the statement read. “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.” More information about the funeral and ceremony plans for Carter is expected to emerge in the coming days.
Tributes pour in after US President Jimmy Carter dies at 100
Jimmy Carter, the oldest living president of the United States, has died at the age of 100. Carter, who was president between 1977 and 1981, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia, according to the Carter Center. “Our founder, former US President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the organisation, which Carter founded a year after leaving the White House, said in a post on X. The death was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. No cause of death was immediately given, although Carter had spent almost two years under hospice care at his home after being treated for a form of skin cancer. He celebrated his 100th birthday at his home in October. Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter’s wife of 76 years, died in November 2023. Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/aqYmcE9tXi — The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) December 29, 2024 Despite serving only one term, the former peanut farmer from Georgia cast a long shadow during his post-presidential career. This included winning the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002 for The Carter Center’s work in fighting the Guinea worm disease in Africa and tracking elections across the world. Advertisement He also continued to volunteer with the Habitat for Humanity home-building organisation late into his life, burnishing a reputation for community service and humility that earned him plaudits from across the political aisle. In a statement, US President Joe Biden called Carter “an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”. “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us,” Biden said. “He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe”. In a separate statement, former US President Bill Clinton said Carter “worked tirelessly for a better world”. President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “we all owe [Carter] a debt of gratitude”. Members of Congress from both political parties praised Carter. In a post on X, Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen wrote that Carter “represented the best of our country”. “His decades of distinguished service to America and humanity leave a towering legacy of good works,” he wrote. Republican Marsha Blackburn posted: “After his service as 39th President, Jimmy Carter spent his time helping others. He partnered with Habitat for Humanity for decades, even volunteering to build homes in Nashville [Tennessee] at age 95.” Tumultuous presidency Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a moderate Southern Democrat with little national name recognition. Nevertheless, he saw an unexpected surge amid anger over US involvement in the Vietnam war and the scandal-ridden presidency of Richard Nixon. Advertisement But Cold War pressures and economic woes at home burdened his presidency, which was further marred after 52 Americans were taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979. Republican challenger Ronald Reagan went on to handily defeat Carter in the 1980 election. Still, Carter oversaw some major diplomatic victories while in office, including helping to forge a deal between then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, which restored diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries, in 1978. The Camp David Accords were reached on the condition that Israel return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. While that agreement did not solve the Palestinian issue, Carter went on to be an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights. In 2006, he published the book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, using a label that major rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International would not adopt for more than a decade. In a post on X on Sunday, author Assal Rad described Carter as “one of the only US presidents who spoke honestly about Palestine”. Human Rights Watch said Carter “set a powerful example for world leaders to make human rights a priority, and he continued to fight for human rights after he left office”. Adblock test (Why?)
Jimmy Carter: Nobel-winning humanitarian and ex-US president dies aged 100
Among the maize, yam and peanut farms of Savelugu-Nanton, a remote district of northern Ghana, the legacy of Jimmy Carter is less complicated than it is back in the former US president’s homeland. Thanks to the work of his charity, The Carter Center, locals are nowadays spared the misery of Guinea worm disease – a parasite that breeds in the human belly and emerges through the skin before laying larvae in stagnant pools to await the next victim. Carter’s work in fighting the bug and tracking votes in poor countries won him a Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002. It followed a presidency that achieved a landmark Middle East peace deal, but was hamstrung by economic woes and the Iranian hostage crisis. He died on Sunday, aged 100, the Carter Center announced. He had entered hospice care in February 2023, electing to stay home after a series of short hospital stays. The former president had been diagnosed with cancer in 2015 but had responded well to treatment. At 100, he was the longest-lived president of the United States. Advertisement During six decades of politics, aid work and diplomacy, Carter “was committed to ideals like human rights, peace, and improving human life”, Steven Hochman, research director at The Carter Center, told Al Jazeera. “He didn’t just want talk, he wanted action,” Hochman said. “Whether this was through monitoring elections in Latin America or witnessing the terrible suffering from Guinea worm disease in Asia and Africa, and working to eradicate it.” [embedded content] Southern peanuts Carter grew up on the red clay soil of rural Georgia during the Great Depression. He sold boiled peanuts on the streets of Plains, his hometown, and ploughed the land with his family. His father James “Earl” Carter, was a peanut farmer and warehouseman; his mother, Lillian, was a nurse. He married Rosalynn Smith, a family friend, in 1946. The couple celebrated their 76th wedding anniversary in July 2022, a year before the former first lady died in November 2023. After a seven-year US navy career, Carter returned to his home state of Georgia, where he garnered national attention as a Democrat state governor for his prudent management, winning a spot on the cover of Time magazine as a symbol of the “New South”. Running for the presidency, Carter styled himself as an outsider to Washington politics, which were stained by the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. His “Peanut Brigade”, a group of friends from Georgia, crisscrossed the US and trumpeted their candidate as a straight-talking man of principle. Then-Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter campaigns in Massachusetts in 1976 [File: Jeff Taylor/The Associated Press] “Carter’s election in 1976 promised to redeem the nation from the sins of Vietnam and Watergate,” Randall Balmer, a historian and author, told Al Jazeera. “He aspired to restore faith in government, but betrayal during the Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon years had already given way to cynicism.” Advertisement In the White House, Carter’s trademark candour did not always translate into political victories. Many of his progressive social and economic plans hit logjams in Congress; an inability to translate ideals into legislative reality sapped his popularity. The United States was mired in the stagflation woes of low economic growth, unemployment and high inflation, brought about by an energy crisis from the early 1970s. Carter’s solution, tackling US dependence on foreign oil via taxes and green energy, was quashed in the Senate. Better abroad Carter fared better overseas. He struck treaties that saw the Panama Canal brought under local control; established full diplomatic relations with China; and brokered a deal to limit nuclear weapons with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. His masterwork was bringing Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to his presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, in 1978, and hammering out a peace deal between the foes over 13 tense days. “He had credibility as a peace negotiator because he listened to both sides. He could think on his feet; and speak on his feet,” said Hochman. “He was a skilled negotiator who came up with ideas for overcoming conflict and tried them out. He took chances, even if that meant he might fail.” Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, US President Jimmy Carter, centre, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem meet for the first time at Camp David in 1978 [The Associated Press] The Camp David Accords led to full diplomatic and economic relations between the neighbours, on condition that Israel return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. They did not solve the Palestinian issue, but they have spared the region a repeat of the multi-state Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967. Advertisement “When Carter was considering the summit, and even after he announced it, just about every foreign-policy guru, Henry Kissinger included, counselled against it,” Gerald Rafshoon, the White House communications director under Carter, told Al Jazeera. “The wise men warned that a head of state should never go into a negotiation without knowing the outcome in advance. Carter rejected that advice – and did more to further the security of Israel than any US president before or since.” Middle East tumult The Middle East offered Carter a diplomatic win, but it also brought his downfall. In 1979, Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage – sparking a 444-day crisis that did not end until Carter had been kicked out of the White House. Carter’s efforts to secure the release of captives via the government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini were a political liability that was spotlighted nightly on US television news. A botched US rescue mission in April 1980 epitomised Carter’s misfortunes. Later that year, Americans gave the Republican presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan, a former actor and governor of California, a landslide victory over Carter. Carter’s talk of a US “crisis of spirit” and national “malaise” may have been true, but it was no vote-winner. Former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter pose for a photo with President Joe
Why are US Republicans debating the future of H-1B high-skill work visas?
A debate over what shape hardline immigration policies will take regarding high-skilled work visas has become the first major policy dispute among prominent supporters of United States President-elect Donald Trump – just weeks ahead of the Republican’s new presidential term. On one side are members of Trump’s so-called “Make America Great Again”, or MAGA movement, who have called for a crackdown on the high-skilled H-1B visas as part of the president-elect’s wider pledge to tighten migration and immigration. Trump’s campaign pledges particularly focused on the US-Mexico border, although he has floated other restrictions. In the other camp are prominent Trump supporters – including tech billionaire Elon Musk – who have defended the visas as essential to US industrial and economic growth. Here’s what to know. How did this start? The latest debate sparked when Laura Loomer, a far-right personality who has had close ties to Trump in the past, took to social media to criticise the president-elect’s selection of an adviser on artificial intelligence, who has argued the US needs more foreign skilled workers to remain competitive in the technology industries. Advertisement The criticism from Loomer, who has been accused of racism and spreading conspiracy theories in the past, was quickly seized on by several high-profile figures in the tech industry. That included SpaceX and Tesla CEO Musk, who has been tapped by Trump to lead a government efficiency advisory board. In response, Loomer accused tech billionaires of influencing Trump for their own gains. “We have to protect President Trump from the technocrats,” Loomer said in a post on X on December 25. Who receives H-1B visas? H-1B visas are typically reserved for specialised foreign workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher who have been offered a temporary job paying an industry-standard wage in the US. The US authorities can issue 65,000 H-1B new visas a year, with a possible extra 20,000 for people with master’s degrees. The visas can also be extended upon expiration, with more than 309,000 approved for continuing employment in Fiscal Year 2022, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. About 70 percent of H-1B visa recipients are from India and another 10 percent are from China. What have Musk and other defenders of H-1B said? Musk has said that the “number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low” and has described the H-1B programme as critical “for those who want America to win”. In a series of posts on X, which he also owns, Musk further pledged to “go to war on this issue”. Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate who has been picked to work alongside Musk on the government efficiency board, has criticised the programme as “badly broken”, but does not support removing them completely, instead saying that the visas should be granted on merit. Advertisement Ramaswamy antagonised the hardline anti-immigration faction of Trump’s supporters after he posted on social media on Thursday that tech companies hired immigrants because “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long”. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he wrote. What about Trump? Trump weighed in on the issue for the first time on Saturday. He told the New York Post: “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B.” “I have used it many times,” he said, referring to his own real estate ventures. “It’s a great programme.” However, the statements were a departure for the president-elect. In the past, he has criticised the visas as “very bad” and “unfair” to US workers and his administration sought to increase barriers for applicants during his first term. Why does this matter? The back-and-forth underscores a growing fault line between many of the earliest supporters of Trump and those like Musk who only embraced him in the 2024 election campaign. Many of the latter – like Musk – are associated with the tech industry, and are less prone to amplifying nativist rhetoric. The infighting could inform the next four years of Trump’s presidency, with Musk already warning of a “MAGA civil war” over the issue. Several of Trump’s most prominent supporters during his first term have joined in, with strategist Steve Bannon condemning “Big Tech oligarchs” who support the visas. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)