The final seven-day week of 2024 was marked by the continued instability in the Middle East, political turmoil in South Korea, and an unexpected event – the fall of the passenger airplane Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crash in Kazakhstan.
The first surprise concerning the latter came as it was announced that a surprisingly high number of people onboard survived, 29 out of 67, a feat Azerbaijani President Ilhan Aliyev attributed to the pilot and the rest of the crew. The heat rose after Ukraine accused Russia of shooting down the plane mistaking it for a drone, which Azerbaijan later agreed with and Moscow allegedly somewhat admitted. Finally, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for the incident, claiming that his country's defense was trying to fight back a Ukrainian attack on the airport the plane was heading to.
Meanwhile, South Korea saw the impeachment of acting President Han Duck-soo as he refused to complete the paperwork needed to start the legal process against President Yoon Suk-yeol over his short-lived martial law. In the Middle East, Israel carried on with its campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi movement, with its officials insisting on progress in the negotiations about a ceasefire with the first group.
Moreover, United States President-elect Donald Trump unexpectedly made headlines with his threats to seek the return of the Panama Canal if the passing fees for ships from his country are not lowered. He even claimed the Chinese army is illegally operating there. Panama and China both rejected the allegations.
