Former US President Jimmy Carter remembered

Jimmy Carter, the late US president who served only one term in office and was widely admired for his humanitarian work after leaving the White House, was remembered during his state funeral on Thursday as a man who put honesty and kindness above partisan politics.
Hundreds of mourners, including President Joe Biden and the four living former US presidents, filed into the Washington National Cathedral, where a military guard deposited Carter's flag-draped coffin at the start of a roughly two-hour service that featured tributes to Carter's long life, reports Reuters.
Fellow Democrat Biden eulogized the 39th president, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100, saying Carter's life was the "story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world."
"The man had character," Biden said.
Tens of thousands of Americans over the past two days filed through the Rotunda of the US Capitol to pay their respects to Carter, who was president from 1977 to 1981 and was burdened by an ailing economy and the Iran hostage crisis. Many mourners hailed him as an example of decency and humility for today's breed of highly partisan politicians.
Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to office on Jan 20, sat a row behind Biden in the cathedral. Carter supported Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
As Trump gears up to crack down on illegal immigration and stirs controversy with US friends or allies like Canada, Panama and Denmark, Biden underlined Carter's virtues of compassion and respect.
"Jimmy Carter's friendship taught me ... that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold. It's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect," Biden said.
"It's about asking ourselves ... What are the values that animate our spirit? Do we operate from fear or hope, ego or generosity? Do we show grace? Do we keep the faith when it's most tested?"
Ted Mondale, the son of Walter Mondale, who served as vice president under Carter, read a eulogy from his deceased father that also provided a contrast of sorts with the current era of misinformation, saying, "We told the truth. We obeyed the law."
Before the service began, Trump shook hands with his former vice president, Mike Pence, whom he had clashed with after Pence refused to go along with his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Trump sat next to former President Barack Obama; the two men chatted amiably as introductory music played. To Obama's right sat Laura and George W. Bush and Hillary and Bill Clinton.