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'Rohit has four innings to save his Test career': PanesarIn a message to the American people, the King expressed “great sadness” at the news of Mr Carter’s death, describing him as “a committed public servant” who “devoted his life to promoting peace and human rights”. He added: “His dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many, and I remember with great fondness his visit to the United Kingdom in 1977. “My thoughts and prayers are with President Carter’s family and the American people at this time.” Mr Carter, a former peanut farmer, served one term in the White House between 1977 and 1981 and spent his post-presidency years as a global humanitarian, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Carter had “lived his values in the service of others to the very end” through “decades of selfless public service”. Praising a “lifelong dedication to peace” that saw him win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Sir Keir added: “Motivated by his strong faith and values, President Carter redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad.” Tributes to Mr Carter followed the announcement of his death by his family on Sunday, more than a year after he decided to enter hospice care. His son, Chip Carter, said: “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love.” Very sorry to hear of President Carter’s passing. I pay tribute to his decades of selfless public service. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. pic.twitter.com/IaKmZcteb1 — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 29, 2024 US President Joe Biden, one of the first elected politicians to endorse Mr Carter’s bid for the presidency in 1976, said the world had “lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”. He said: “Over six decades, we had the honour of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well. “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.” Vice President Kamala Harris said Mr Carter “reminded our nation and the world that there is strength in decency and compassion”. “His life and legacy continue to inspire me — and will inspire generations to come,” she said. “Our world is a better place because of President Carter.” Other UK politicians also paid tribute to Mr Carter. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he was “an inspiration” who “led a truly remarkable life dedicated to public service with a genuine care for people”. Scottish First Minister John Swinney described the former president as “a good, decent, honest man who strove for peace in all that he did”, while Welsh First Minister said he was “a remarkable man” and “a humanitarian and scholar”. Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said Mr Carter’s “life was a testament to public service”. He added: “I always had the greatest respect for him, his spirit and his dedication. He fundamentally cared and consistently toiled to help those in need.” Mr Carter is expected to receive a state funeral featuring public observances in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington DC before being buried in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. A moderate democrat born in Plains in October 1924, Mr Carter’s political career took him from the Georgia state senate to the state governorship and, finally, the White House, where he took office as 39th president in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. His presidency saw economic disruption amid volatile oil prices, along with social tensions at home and challenges abroad including the Iranian revolution that sparked a 444-day hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran. But he also brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, which led to a peace treaty between the two countries in 1979. After his defeat in the 1980 presidential election, he worked more than four decades leading The Carter Centre, which he and his late wife Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope”. Under his leadership, the Carter Center virtually eliminated Guinea Worm disease, which has gone from affecting 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia in 1986 to just 14 in 2023. Mrs Carter, who died last year aged 96, had played a more active role in her husband’s presidency than previous first ladies, with Mr Carter saying she had been “my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished”. Earlier this year, on his 100th birthday, Mr Carter received a private congratulatory message from the King, expressing admiration for his life of public service
Elia Newsom is a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and the sole breadwinner for his wife and 2-year-old daughter. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here.Life insurers in Bangladesh saw some 3.47 lakh policies discontinued in the January-September period this year amid worsening financial health of clients, political changeover and repeated flooding devastating lives and livelihoods in vast areas of the country. Besides, unclear policy data and fragile customer confidence in the local insurance sector contributed to policy discontinuations, according to sector insiders. In 2023, some 15.42 lakh customers of a total of 36 life insurance companies saw their policies lapse, according to regulatory data, and the trend did not see much improvement this year. In the first nine months of 2024, Delta Life Insurance Company Limited topped the policy lapse list, with 56,338 of its clients shelving different types of insurance payments. On the list, National Life Insurance Company Ltd and Popular Life Insurance Company Ltd appeared second and third respectively, according to the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra). Pragati Life Insurance PLC saw 23,023 of its policies lapse, the fourth highest, while Alpha Islami Life Insurance Ltd saw 21,917 of its life policies discontinued. A policy lapse occurs when policyholders fail to pay their premiums on time, leading to the cancellation of insurance coverage. "Lapsed policies are bad for both customers and insurers," said SM Ibrahim Hossain, director of the Bangladesh Insurance Academy, a state-run institute that trains insurance professionals. For customers, he explained that a policy lapse means losing the safety net that could protect them against unforeseen events. For insurers, it leads to revenue loss and negative impacts on financial stability and customer relationships, he added. However, Uttam Kumar Sadhu, chief executive officer of Delta Life Insurance Company, is optimistic about getting back "a large number" of their lost clients by the end of 2024. "Customers often face financial crises due to various reasons. Due to this, they understandably cannot pay the money on time," said Sadhu, whose company had around 12.43 lakh policies in September after subtracting the discontinued ones. "After three to four months, a large portion of them will revive," he said. "This has been observed in the past as well." The CEO said initiatives have been taken to provide rewards and incentives to revive the lapsed policies. The results of the improvement will be available by the end of December. Nura Alam Siddikie Ovee, chief executive officer of Alpha Islami Life Insurance Limited, said the main reason behind policy discontinuation is the financial crisis. "Many people are now in financial hardship due to high inflation and the economic fallout stemming from the political changeover in August," he added. In addition, as many insurance agents are changing companies, taking their customers to their new firms, this is another reason many policies have been discontinued, he said. Ovee also pointed out that many policyholders were convinced to buy policies but later found those did not apply to them. "Some policies have also been cancelled due to this." Md Jalalul Azim, managing director of Pragati Life Insurance, said one of the reasons behind the policy discontinuation was the fierce nationwide protest in July-August, which ultimately hurt incomes and slowed down the overall economy. Besides, he said flooding in August and September in many areas, including Cumilla, Feni, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Chattogram and Sylhet, deterred their agents from collecting premiums from many clients on time, resulting in policy lapses. Azim mentioned that those policies can be reactivated by paying late fees. However, they have waived the fees until December this year to encourage customers to renew the policies. Md Kazim Uddin, managing director of National Life Insurance PLC, said many of their customers had their policies matured recently, but problem banks could not pay them due to a liquidity crisis. This has created a confidence crisis among customers, which has had a negative impact on the insurance sector. In view of this, many customers did not deposit the insurance premium and a lot of policies have lapsed, he said. Apart from this, due to high inflation, which has been above 9 percent since March last year, it has become difficult for many people to maintain their normal lives, he said. People are breaking their savings to meet family expenses, he said, adding that as a result, many are unable to deposit premiums on time, resulting in policy lapses. Zahangir Alam, a director and the spokesperson of the Idra, told The Daily Star last Thursday that they are pursuing insurers in various ways to keep the number of discontinued policies low. Besides, companies that have the highest number of policy lapses are being monitored closely, he said. In the last 14 years, more than 26 lakh insurance policies have lapsed in Bangladesh. In 2009, the total number of policies was nearly 1.12 crore while it fell to 85.88 lakh in 2023, according to Idra data.