Verdict reached in Kim Kardashian robbery trial
A gang have been found guilty by a Paris court of crimes connected to the gunpoint robbery of Kim Kardashian.
Nine men and one woman, with an average age of 70, were facing charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and gang association over the 2016 incident, where Kim was tied up and robbed in her Paris hotel room.
The court found the ringleader and seven others guilty, while it acquitted two of the defendants, after a four week trial.
Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, known as "Old Omar", and Yunice Abbas, who wrote a book called 'I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian', had admitted some part in the robbery.
The remaining eight defendants had all denied the charges against them.
Before the verdict was delivered, Khedache – who is almost mute and partially deaf following years of ill health – shared: 'I can't find the words to say how sorry I am. I offer a thousand apologies.'
Abbas said: 'Once again, I have nothing but regrets to offer you; I'm sorry for what I did.'
Prosecutors had requested sentences of up to 10 years.
Most of the gang received suspended sentences while Florus Héroui, 52, and Gary Madar, 34, were both acquitted after prosecutors failed to convince the jury that they had shared information about Kardashian's movements in Paris.
Kim testified in court last week about the ordeal and shared that she had thought she would die during it.
However, she added to the court: "I am obviously emotional about it - this experience changed my life, my family's life.
"Back home in the States I work in the justice system and I want so badly to be a lawyer and I fight for people to seek justice.
"… I forgive you. But it doesn't change the emotion, the feelings and the trauma and the way my life has changed."
The defendants have 10 days to appeal the ruling.
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NKorea detains shipyard officials over failed launch
North Korea authorities have detained three shipyard officials over the recent failed launch of a naval destroyer, an incident that leader Kim Jong-un says was caused by criminal negligence. The 5000-tonne-class destroyer was damaged on Wednesday when a transport cradle on the ship's stern detached early during a launch ceremony attended by Kim at the northeastern port of Chongjin. Satellite imagery on the site showed the vessel lying on its side and draped in blue covers, with parts of the ship submerged. The vessel is North Korea's second known destroyer. The failed launch was subsequently an embarrassment to Kim, who is eager to build greater naval forces to deal with what he calls US-led military threats. North Korea launched its first destroyer, also a 5000-tonne-class ship, with massive fanfare last month. The ship is North Korea's largest and most advanced warship and state media KCNA reported it is designed to carry various weapons including nuclear missiles. Law enforcement authorities detained the chief engineer, head of the hull construction workshop and deputy manager for administrative affairs at Chongjin Shipyard, who they said were responsible for Wednesday's failed launch, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Hong Kil Ho, the shipyard manager, also was summoned for questioning, KCNA previously reported. Kim blamed military officials, scientists and shipyard operators for what he called a "criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism". In an instruction to investigators on Thursday, North Korea's powerful Central Miliary Commission echoed Kim's position, saying those responsible "can never evade their responsibility for the crime". North Korea denied the warship suffered major damage, saying the hull on the starboard side was scratched and some seawater flowed into the stern section.
