World Briefing: January 4, 2025

A pilot with seven years of experience at South Korea’s Muan International Airport testified that he had never been informed about the existence of a concrete mound housing a localiser on the airport’s runway, nor had he been able to distinguish it from a dirt pile. The concrete structure is believed to have significantly exacerbated the severity of the accident, as the aircraft’s collision with the solid mound during its belly landing is thought to have triggered the catastrophic explosion. Pilot and flight instructor A, who has used Muan airport for seven years, told Yonhap News on Thursday, “I’ve seen the mound from the air during countless take-offs and landings and assumed it was a dirt pile. It never occurred to me that it was made of concrete.” He said, “There was no indication in the airport charts or separate guidance mentioning that the mound was a 2-metre-high, 4-metre-thick concrete structure. Other pilots were also unaware of its true nature.” The Jeju Air accident occurred on December 29 at 8:57am. The control tower had issued a bird strike warning just before the aircraft attempted a belly landing. During the landing, the aircraft collided with the localiser’s concrete mound, leading to an explosion. The crash resulted in the deaths of 179 passengers and injuries to two crew members - Korea Times

In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money criminal case for Jan. 10 — little over a week before he’s due to return to the White House — but indicated he wouldn’t be jailed. The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, in which a conviction stands but the case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation. Trump can appear virtually for sentencing, if he chooses. Rejecting Trump’s push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending second term, Merchan wrote that only “bringing finality to this matter” would serve the interests of justice. Trump was convicted last year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in what prosecutors alleged was a scheme to buy the silence of a porn actor with whom he had an affair - AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said presidential and parliamentary elections could happen this year if negotiations bring an end to the “hot phase” of the war with Russia, allowing for the lifting of martial law. Speaking in an interview broadcast on Ukrainian television late on January 2, Zelensky said Ukraine’s position after it emerges from any settlement of the current battle to repel invading Russian troops will determine whether the country’s long-delayed elections could take place. “When it comes to 2025, should we manage to achieve the end of the hot phase of the war for Ukraine; once we manage to achieve it along with a strong army, strong weaponry package, and strong security guarantees, then this [elections] will happen,” Zelensky said in the interview where he was accompanied by his wife, Olena. “After that, in principle, we can think of lifting martial law in Ukraine. Once martial law is over, then the ball is in parliament’s court -- the parliament then picks a date for elections...My thinking is that there is no need to spend years waiting [for elections] once martial law is over. Zelensky’s five-year term in office was supposed to end last year on May 20. The 46-year-old entertainer-turned-politician would not commit on whether he’d seek another term as the country’s leader. “If I do more than I can, then I will probably look at this decision more positively. Today, this is not my goal,” he said. - RFE/RL

The Palestinian Authority says it will temporarily bar Al Jazeera from operating in its areas, accusing the Qatari-funded broadcaster of “inciting sedition” and “interfering in internal Palestinian affairs.” The move comes several months after the news outlet was banned by Israel on national security grounds. WAFA, the Palestinian government’s official media arm, said Al Jazeera — one of the Arab world’s most influential broadcasters — must immediately shutter its local offices and “freeze all the work of its journalists.” The ban would last until the channel had “corrected its legal status,” the announcement said. Palestinian officials did not provide detailed examples of how Al Jazeera had broken any local laws. The Palestinian Authority administers some areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including major Palestinian cities. Al Jazeera denounced the Palestinian decision, calling it “an attempt to prevent coverage of the escalating events witnessed in the occupied territories.” The channel broadcast footage of Palestinian security officers handing the order to one of its journalists.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who’s been rumoured to have a romantic relationship with Donald Trump’s shadow, Elon Musk, said the billionaire is “a genius who is portrayed as a monster.” Corriere della Serra quoted the controversial politician as saying: “We are definitely two people who have a great relationship. Elon Musk is a brilliant person and it is always very interesting to deal with him.” In the wide ranging interview, Meloni said of the war in Ukraine: “We have always said that the only way to reach peace is to force Russia into a stalemate, because there is no possibility of peace if not the balance of forces on the field and if Russia has a free hand in the invasion of Ukraine. This is what Italy claims, and what the United States also says.”

Vietnam’s capital Hanoi has been covered in thick smog over recent weeks, putting it at the top of a list of the world’s most polluted cities, as the government said it would push for more electric vehicles (EVs) to alleviate the problem. Levels of hazardous small particles, known as PM2.5, were measured at 266 micrograms per cubic metre in Hanoi early on Friday, the highest reading among a list of most-polluted cities, according to AirVisual, which provides independent global air pollution information via a phone app. The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub with one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, has reported severe air pollution in its major cities for years, particularly in Hanoi. The thick smog is mostly caused by heavy traffic, trash burning and industrial activities - Reuters

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