South Korea will remove concrete barriers used at airports across the country after a plane crash in December that claimed the lives of 179 people.
While investigators are still probing South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster at Muan International Airport, experts have said the massive berm supporting navigation antennas at the end of the runway likely made the crash more deadly than it might have been otherwise.
Only two crew members seated near the rear of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft survived the crash at Muan, about 180 miles south of Seoul, on 29 December.
At the time, a special disaster zone was declared as video emerged of the aircraft, which may have malfunctioned because of bird strikes, attempting to crash-land.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:50
Plane skids down runway before crash
On its second attempt, the Jeju Air plane, which had been flying from Bangkok, Thailand, veered off the runway and crashed into a wall, quickly becoming engulfed in smoke and fire.
It did not have its landing gear deployed and was travelling at speed before crashing, footage appears to show.
Following a review of antenna structures known as Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), or a “localiser”, authorities have now said they will make new foundations or other adjustments for similar antennas at seven airports, including Muan, that are either below ground level or easy to break.
More on South Korea
Related Topics:
“Muan International Airport plans to completely remove the existing concrete and reinstall the localiser in a fragile structure,” the transport ministry said in a statement.
It comes after the ministry said on Saturday the airport will remain shut till 18 April.
Among other steps being taken following the disaster, the transport ministry said it will ensure a 240-metre (787-ft) long runway safety area at all airports to meet all relevant regulations.
The area at Muan airport was about 200 metres long before the crash.
Police said separately that Son Chang-wan, the former president of the state-run Korea Airports Corporation who was in office when the structure at Muan airport was renovated, was found dead in his home yesterday of an apparent suicide.
Mr Son was not under investigation over the plane crash and had not been summoned for questioning over it, a police official said.
A series of videos show the moment a car carrying a family in the occupied West Bank came under attack during an Israeli raid into the city of Jenin yesterday.
At least seven gunshots are heard as the passengers including children scream before the footage filmed from inside the Kia vehicle shows the car crashing on the side of the road.
Wadah Soubeh, who was inside the car, said his 43-year-old cousin who was driving, Ahmed al Shayeb, was killed in the attack.
The dashboard seen in the footage filmed inside the car shows that it was taken at 1.10pm local time on Tuesday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:28
A family was driving in Jenin in the West Bank when their car was attacked.
Israel launched a major military operation into Jenin on Tuesday and said its forces had “initiated a counterterrorism operation” in the area.
Sky News geolocated another video filmed after the attack that shows the abandoned vehicle on the same road around 600m northwest of the Jenin refugee camp.
An Israeli military vehicle can be seen in the background – less than 100m from the car. It’s unclear whether that vehicle was involved and how long after the attack this particular video was filmed.
Mr Soubeh said the family left Jenin at the start of the raid and were “heavily shot at”.
“When we turned right on the road to Burqin, we drove another 30 or 40 metres. Ahmed al Shayeb said ‘oh God’. After he said ‘oh God’, he stopped breathing,” he added.
A funeral was held on Wednesday for Mr al Shayeb, who owned a mobile phone shop in Jenin.
Sky News asked the IDF whether its forces were involved and why it had a vehicle in the area at the time and received the following response: “The IDF arrests individuals wanted for suspected terrorist activities, incitement of terrorism, and terrorists who have carried out or are planning to carry out attacks.
“Additionally, security forces are deployed in the area to ensure the safety of the region and its residents, as well as the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.
“The IDF operates wherever necessary, especially in areas with a high levels of terrorism, such as Jenin. The IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals.
“In cases where uninvolved individuals are harmed, the events are investigated and handled accordingly.
“The case mentioned is under review.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it is “deeply concerned” about the wellbeing of civilians in Jenin city and refugee camp.
At least nine Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, including a 16-year-old, and 40 were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The move into Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out multiple raids and large-scale incursions over recent years, comes just days after the Gaza ceasefire started.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said hundreds of Palestinians were trapped in Jenin Government Hospital and were unable to leave for hours. Videos filmed by the hospital shows bulldozers outside the hospital.
The Israeli military said its forces were trying to detonate explosive devices planted by militants beneath the road outside the hospital in the city of Jenin, and had told patients and doctors not to exit the hospital during the detonations.
Dozens of military bulldozers have carved up tracts of roads in the city.
It was the third major incursion by the Israeli army in less than two years into Jenin, a major stronghold of militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which said its forces were fighting Israeli troops.
As the raid began, Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces pulled out after having conducted a weeks-long operation to try to reassert control over the refugee camp, dominated by Palestinian factions that are hostile to the PA, which exercises limited governance in parts of the West Bank.
Donald Trump has hit out at the bishop of Washington after she lectured him on respecting immigrants and LGBT+ citizens during a televised church service.
The direct appeal to Mr Trump, which went on for around two minutes, has gone viral on social media and drawn criticism from Republicans, including a congressman who urged the president to deport the bishop.
But what exactly did Bishop Budde say and what has the president’s response been?
What did Bishop Budde say?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:19
Watch the moment Bishop Budde confronts Trump
She began: “Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.
“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in democratic, republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
The bishop then highlighted the contributions of asylum seekers – a group Mr Trump has wasted no time in cracking down on.
She listed groups including “the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings” and those “who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals”.
“They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” she said. Mr Trump then looked down at the floor.
She continued: “I ask you to have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.
“And that you help those who are fleeing war and persecution in their own lands, to find compassion and welcome here.
“Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.”
Her comments came after Mr Trump promised to carry out the biggest deportation in US history and his executive order stating the government will recognise only two sexes.
How did Donald Trump and other Republicans react?
The president remained stony-faced during the remarks, during which he sat alongside wife Melania in the front row, and next to Mr Vance and his wife Usha Vance.
He did at one point turn away and look over his shoulder before examining the booklet he was holding.
At another point in the sermon, Mr Trump turned towards his VP and the pair shared a wordless exchange of looks.
Mr Vance raised his eyebrows at one stage and turned to share a look with his wife, whose gaze remained firmly forward.
He repeated the move after the bishop spoke about immigrants, and followed it up by whispering to Mrs Vance.
When Bishop Budde finished her sermon, Mr Trump leaned over to say something to Mr Vance, who shook his head in response.
Asked what he thought of the sermon as he returned to the Oval Office, the president told reporters: “They could have done better.”
In a late-night post on his social media platform Truth Social, he called Bishop Budde a “radical left hardline Trump hater” and said she was “nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart”.
“She brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way,” he said.
“Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job. She and her church owe the public an apology.”
Republican congressman Mike Collins shared a video of the sermon on X and wrote: “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
She was elected as the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (EDW) in 2011, having served as rector of St John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis for 18 years.
She has had her sermons published in several books and journals, and has authored three of her own books about faith – most recently in 2023.
She has also been openly critical of Mr Trump before, having written an opinion piece for The New York Times in 2020, in which she condemned him for clearing Lafayette Square, near the White House, amid the George Floyd protests and then posing for photos on the grounds of nearby St John’s Church while holding a Bible.
She said she was “outraged” by the move and claimed he was using the Bible and the backdrop of the church, which belongs to her diocese, “for his political purposes”.
The EDW’s website describes her as “an advocate and organiser in support of justice concerns, including racial equity, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, and the care of creation”.
The bishop is married and has two children and grandchildren, the website adds.
A fire at a hotel in a popular ski resort in Turkey has killed at least 76 people, the country’s interior minister has said.
Ali Yerlikaya added that at least 51 other people were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains in northwest Turkey, about 185 miles (300km) east of Istanbul.
Four people, including the business owner, have been arrested by Turkish authorities, the justice secretary said.
The fire broke out at about 3.30am in the hotel’s restaurant, with pictures showing several fire engines surrounding the charred building, and white bed sheets tied together could be seen hanging from one upper-floor window.
At least two of the victims died after jumping from the building in panic, the governor of Bolu told the state-run Anadolu media agency, adding that 234 guests were staying at the 12-storey, 161-room hotel.
Datawrapper
This content is provided by Datawrapper, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Datawrapper cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Datawrapper cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Datawrapper cookies for this session only.
Other reports said some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets. The health minister said at least one of the injured was in serious condition and 17 others had been discharged from hospital after being treated.
Third-floor guest Atakan Yelkovan told the IHA news agency his wife smelled burning but “the alarm did not go off”.
“We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here [outside],” he said.
Mr Yelkovan said it took about an hour for the firefighting teams to arrive.
“People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets… some tried to jump,” he said.
Ski instructor Necmi Kepcetutan said he was asleep when the fire began and, after rushing outside, he helped some 20 guests escape.
He said the hotel was engulfed in smoke and admitted he couldn’t get to some of his students.
“I hope they are OK,” he said.
Mr Aydin’s office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site. Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.
A team of six government-appointed prosecutors is investigating how the fire started.
German TV station NTV suggested the wooden cladding on the outside of the hotel may have accelerated the spread of the fire and that efforts to put it out were hampered by the fact it is built on the side of a cliff.
The Grand Kartal hotel passed a fire inspection last year, tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told reporters.
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to take “all necessary steps” to find out what happened and “hold those responsible accountable”.