NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Robbery apology: The alleged mastermind behind the Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian West has written the reality TV star an apology letter from his prison cell. A person familiar with the case said Thursday that suspect Aomar Ait Khedache sent the letter to the investigating judge and that Kardashian West’s lawyers have had access to it. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because French legal rules prohibit anyone from disclosing elements of an ongoing investigation. TMZ website first reported on the letter. It quoted Khedache as writing he regrets his actions and realizes the psychological damage he caused. Kardashian West was held at gunpoint during the 2016 jewelry heist.
_2 Mexican quake: The death toll from Mexico’s Sept. 19 earthquake increased to 344 on Thursday, with 205 of the deaths counted in the nation’s capital. National Civil Defense chief Luis Felipe Puente announced the new figure via Twitter as recovery teams pulled some of the few remaining bodies out of collapsed buildings in Mexico City. Most of the capital’s collapse sites have already been cleared of rubble. President Enrique Peña Nieto said Wednesday that preliminary accounting suggests damage from the magnitude 7.1 quake in central Mexico and an even more powerful one earlier in the month in southern Mexico could cost upward of $2 billion.
_3 Making nice: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Turkey on Thursday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that focused on the situation in Iraq and Syria along with bilateral trade. Turkey and Russia are working to deepen ties in a turnaround for the two nations, which have backed opposing sides in Syria and nearly came to blows over Turkey’s downing of a Russian plane in 2015. The two leaders showered one another with praise in statements after their talks in Ankara.
_4 Rohingya crisis: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Myanmar’s authorities on Thursday to immediately end military operations that have sent over 500,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh, calling the crisis “the world’s fastest developing refugee emergency and a humanitarian and human rights nightmare.” The U.N. chief warned that the humanitarian crisis is a breeding ground for radicalization, criminals and traffickers. And he said the broader crisis “has generated multiple implications for neighboring states and the larger region, including the risk of inter-communal strife.” Guterres told the U.N. Security Council at its first open meeting on Myanmar since 2009 that government authorities must also allow “unfettered access” for humanitarian aid and ensure “the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return” of all those who sought refuge across the border.
_5 Attack condemned: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned a deadly Palestinian shooting attack that killed three Israelis, two days after it took place. Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh published a statement condemning the attack late Thursday on the Palestinian government-run Wafa news agency site. A Palestinian killed three Israelis and seriously wounded another before he was shot dead at a West Bank settlement near Jerusalem. Abbas has long been a critic of violence, but has remained quiet in the past when attacks against Israelis took place in the West Bank. He had been under heavy pressure to condemn Tuesday’s shootings.