Kardashian ‘grateful’ after Paris robbers convicted

Kardashian ‘grateful’ after Paris robbers convicted
Kim Kardashian arriving to testify in the trial of the robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016. (AP/File)
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Updated 23 May 2025
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Kardashian ‘grateful’ after Paris robbers convicted

Kardashian ‘grateful’ after Paris robbers convicted
  • Kardashian described the heist as the most terrifying experience of her life
  • Gang of robbers convicted for stealing $10 million in jewelry from the reality TV star

PARIS: A French court on Friday convicted a gang of robbers who stole $10 million in jewelry from reality TV star Kim Kardashian in a Paris hotel in 2016, although they will not return to jail and the verdicts were more lenient than requested by the prosecution.
Describing the heist as “the most terrifying experience of my life,” Kardashian swiftly expressed her gratitude to the French authorities for pursuing “justice” in the case.
Nine men and one woman have been on trial since April and prosecutors sought the toughest jail terms — 10 years — for the four men accused of carrying out the robbery.
Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, the ringleader, was handed the heaviest sentence of three years in prison plus five years suspended, but due to time served in jail will not return to detention, like all the others convicted.
Two other suspects accused of handing information about the American superstar’s whereabouts were acquitted. All the sentences were substantially lower than the terms demanded by the prosecution.
Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive hotel in the French capital on the night of October 2-3, 2016.
She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up, with her mouth taped.
Kardashian said after the verdict she she was “deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice.”
“The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family,” she said in a statement sent by her lawyers.
“While I’ll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all,” she added.
After the hearing adjourned, the convicted men embraced their loved ones in relief and slowly left the courtroom, taking with them the bags and suitcases they had prepared in case of imprisonment.
“The sentences are quite lenient; I understand that you understand that you have caused harm,” presiding judge David De Pas told them as he read out the verdicts.
He also said “the state of health of the main protagonists ethically prohibits incarcerating anyone. It would have been unjust to take you to prison this evening.”
Aomar Ait Khedache had begged to be forgiven in his final statement ahead of sentencing.
Khedache is now virtually mute and completely deaf, and his statement was read out by his lawyer.
“I ask for forgiveness. I can’t find the words. I am very sorry,” he wrote, asking for “a thousand pardons” from his son Harminy, who was convicted for acting as a driver on the night of the heist.
Two other men convicted of carrying out the robbery on the night, Yunice Abbas, 71, and Didier Dubreucq, 69, were sentenced to seven years jail including five suspended. Dubreucq was absent as he is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
The fourth member of the robbery gang, Marc-Alexandre Boyer, at 35 the only youngster, was given the same sentence.
Kardashian’s lawyers said in a statement that the star “looks forward to putting this tragic episode behind her, as she continues working to improve the criminal justice system on behalf of victims, the innocent, and the incarcerated seeking to redeem themselves.”
Most of the stolen valuables were never recovered, including a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West.
The ring alone was valued at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million).
The robbery was the biggest against a private individual in France in 20 years.
Most of the accused are now in their 60s and 70s and have been dubbed the “Grandpa robbers” by French media.
But making the sentencing demands earlier this week, the prosecutor urged the judges and jury to remember that Kardashian was targeted by a violent attack and not to be taken in by the “wrinkles” of the defendants.
The American star testified at the trial, wearing a diamond necklace valued at $3 million, according to its New York-based creator Samer Halimeh.
During the trial, Kardashian told the court she forgave Khedache after hearing a letter of apology from him.
“I forgive you for what has taken place but it does not change the emotion, the feelings, the trauma and the way my life changed,” she told Khedache, adding that she believed in a “second chance.”
Kardashian, sometimes described as “famous for being famous,” became well known in the early 2000s through TV reality shows, before launching fashion brands and appearing in films.


Harvard grads cheer commencement speakers who urge the school to stand strong

Harvard grads cheer commencement speakers who urge the school to stand strong
Updated 5 sec ago
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Harvard grads cheer commencement speakers who urge the school to stand strong

Harvard grads cheer commencement speakers who urge the school to stand strong
  • Sustained by a $53 billion endowment, the nation’s wealthiest university is testing whether it can be a bulwark against Trump’s efforts to limit what his administration calls antisemitic activism on campus

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: Harvard graduates celebrated commencement on Thursday at a pivotal time for the Ivy League school, cheering speakers who emphasized maintaining a diverse and international student body and standing up for truth in the face of attacks by the Trump administration.
Harvard’s battles with Trump over funding and restrictions on teaching and admissions presented another challenge for the thousands of graduates who started college as the world was emerging from a pandemic and later grappled with student-led protests over the war in Gaza.
“We leave a campus much different than the one we entered, with Harvard at the center of a national battle of higher education in America,” Thor Reimann told his fellow graduates. “Our university is certainly imperfect, but I am proud to stand today alongside our graduating class, our faculty, our president with the shared conviction that this ongoing project of veritas is one that is worth defending.”
Other schools face the loss of federal funding and their ability to enroll international students if they don’t agree to the Trump administration’s shifting demands. But Harvard, which was founded more than a century before the nation itself, has taken the lead in defying the White House in court and is paying a heavy price.
A school under threat
Among the Trump administration’s latest salvos was asking federal agencies to cancel about $100 million in contracts with the university. The government already canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard’s enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status.
Visa interviews for international students admitted to schools nationwide were halted on Tuesday, and Trump said Wednesday that Harvard should reduce its international enrollment from 25 percent to about 15 percent.
Sustained by a $53 billion endowment, the nation’s wealthiest university is testing whether it can be a bulwark against Trump’s efforts to limit what his administration calls antisemitic activism on campus, which Harvard sees as an affront to the freedom to teach and learn nationwide.
Citing campus protests against Israel as proof of “antisemitic violence and harassment,” the Trump administration has demanded that Harvard make broad leadership changes, revise its admissions policies, and audit its faculty and student body to ensure the campus is home to many viewpoints.
Harvard President Alan Garber disputed the government’s allegations, saying in a letter this month that the school is nonpartisan and has taken steps to root out antisemitism on campus. He insisted that Harvard is in compliance with the law, calling the federal sanctions an “unlawful attempt to control fundamental aspects of our university’s operations.”

Harvard President Alan Garber greets graduating seniors at the 374th Harvard Commencement in Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2025. (AFP)

In response to the administration’s threats, Harvard has sued to block the funding freeze and persuaded a federal judge to temporarily halt the ban on enrolling international students. During a hearing in Boston on Thursday, the judge extended her order blocking the ban.
Calls for Harvard to stand strong
Garber didn’t directly touch on the Trump administration threats Thursday. But he did get a rousing applause when he referenced the university’s global reach, noting that it is “just as it should be.”
Others speakers were more direct. Speaking in Latin, salutatorian Aidan Robert Scully delivered a speech laced with references to Trump policies.
“I say this: ... Neither powers nor princes can change the truth and deny that diversity is our strength,” Scully said.
It was a sentiment echoed by Yurong “Luanna” Jiang, a Chinese graduate who studied international development. She described growing up believing that the “world was becoming a small village” and finding a global community at Harvard.
“When I met my 77 classmates from 32 different countries, the countries I knew only as colorful shapes on a map turned into real people, with laughter, dreams and the perseverance to survive the long winter in Cambridge,” she said of the other students in her program. “Global challenges suddenly felt personal.”
Now, though, she said she wonders whether her worldview is under threat.
“We’re starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently, whether they are across the ocean or sitting right next to us, are not just wrong — we mistakenly see them as evil,” she said. “But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Others weigh in
Dr. Abraham Verghese, a bestselling author and Stanford University expert on infectious diseases, opened his keynote address by saying he felt like a medieval messenger “slipping into a besieged community.” He praised Harvard for “courageously defending the essential values of this university and indeed of this nation,” and told students that more people than they realize have noticed the example they’ve set.
“No recent events can diminish what each of you have accomplished here,” Verghese said.
On Wednesday, basketball Hall of Famer and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the “Class Day” speaker, praising Harvard for standing up to the Trump administration and comparing Garber’s response to Rosa Parks’ stand against racist segregation.

Former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L) applauds UC Berkeley professor and writer Elaine Kim as she receives an honorary degree during the 374th Harvard Commencement in Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2025. (AFP)

“After seeing so many cowering billionaires, media moguls, law firms, politicians and other universities bend their knee to an administration that is systematically strip-mining the US Constitution, it is inspiring to me to see Harvard University take a stand for freedom,” he said.
Brynn Macaulay, who received a master’s degree in public and global health, said she hopes such students will keep enrolling because they bring a wealth of knowledge and perspective.
“On a personal level, it feels like somebody is attacking people that I love and that I consider to be family,” she said.
Samartha Shrestha, a fellow public health graduate from Spokane, Washington, said it was disheartening to see the funding cuts’ impacts — one of his professors was laid off — and international students’ worrying.
“I’m hopeful that they’re able to continue getting an education from one of the best, if not the the best, universities in the whole world,” he said. “My hope and dream is that one day they do graduate, just like I did today, and get to carry on the Harvard tradition to bring change wherever they go in the world.”
 


Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s calls war in Gaza a ‘genocide’

Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s calls war in Gaza a ‘genocide’
Updated 23 min 57 sec ago
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Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s calls war in Gaza a ‘genocide’

Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s calls war in Gaza a ‘genocide’
  • We stand with all who raise their voices against genocide in Gaza: statement

NEW YORK: The independent board of Ben & Jerry’s said the ongoing conflict in Gaza is a genocide, setting up the ice cream maker for another tussle with its London-based corporate parent Unilever.
“Ben & Jerry’s believes in human rights and advocates for peace, and we join with those around the world who denounce the genocide in Gaza,” the board said in a statement viewed by Reuters. “We stand with all who raise their voices against genocide in Gaza-from petition-signers to street marchers to those risking arrest.” 


Russia accuses ally Serbia of betrayal for supplying arms to Ukraine

Russia accuses ally Serbia of betrayal for supplying arms to Ukraine
Updated 26 min 53 sec ago
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Russia accuses ally Serbia of betrayal for supplying arms to Ukraine

Russia accuses ally Serbia of betrayal for supplying arms to Ukraine
  • Serbian arms exports to Ukraine have long been known since 2023, but it’s not clear why the Russian foreign security service decided to react now
  • Serbia denied it exported arms to Ukraine after Moscow demanded to know if it had delivered rockets for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion

 

BELGRADE, Serbia: Russia on Thursday accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, saying it’s a stab in the back by its longtime Slavic Balkan ally.
“Serbian defense enterprises, contrary to the ‘neutrality’ declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv,” the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, SVR, said in a statement.
The statement alleged that the export of the Serbian arms to Ukraine are going through NATO intermediaries, “primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria. Recently, exotic options involving African states have also been used for this purpose.”
Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic told the state RTS television that he has recently discussed the issue of the arm exports to Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that it was agreed that the two countries form a “working group” to establish how Serbian-made weapons reach the Ukrainian frontlines.
Serbian arms exports to Ukraine, mostly the Soviet-era-caliber ammunition still used by Ukraine’s defense forces, have long been known since 2023, but it’s not clear why the Russian foreign security service decided to react now.
In March, Serbia denied it exported arms to Ukraine after Moscow demanded to know if it had delivered thousands of rockets for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion.
The SVR statement said the arms sales are being carried out through a “simple scheme using fake end-user certificates and intermediary countries” serving as “a cover for anti-Russian actions.”
It added: “The contribution of Serbian defense industry workers to the war unleashed by the West, the outcome of which Europe would like to see as a ‘strategic defeat’ of Russia, amounts to hundreds of thousands of shells ... as well as a million rounds of ammunition for small arms.
“It is unlikely that such supplies can be justified by ‘humanitarian considerations.’ They have one obvious purpose — to kill and maim Russian military personnel and the civilian population of Russia.
“It seems that the desire of Serbian defense industry workers and their patrons to profit from the blood of fraternal Slavic peoples has made them completely forget who their real friends are and who their enemies are.”
The attacks on Serbia from the East and West “are frequent because it leads autonomous and independent policies,” Vucic said.
Although claiming he wants Serbia to join the European Union, Vucic has maintained close relations with Russia. He defied EU warnings and attended Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9. EU officials said that it was inappropriate for Vucic to stand side by side with Putin, considering Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vucic has said his decision to attend the parade, which marked the World War II victory over Nazi Germany, was part of efforts to maintain “traditional friendships” — Russia is a fellow Slavic and Orthodox Christian nation — while seeking EU entry.
Serbia, which relies almost fully on Russia for its energy supplies, has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and hasn’t supported most EU statements condemning the aggression.
 


Russia-Ukraine talks ‘barely’ alive, says United Nations official

Russia-Ukraine talks ‘barely’ alive, says United Nations official
Updated 55 min 52 sec ago
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Russia-Ukraine talks ‘barely’ alive, says United Nations official

Russia-Ukraine talks ‘barely’ alive, says United Nations official
  • “Cautious hope” for truce diminished in face of recent “brutal surge in largescale Russian attack, says official
  • Russia launched its largest drone attack Monday on Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion

UNITED NATIONS: Hope is “just barely” alive in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, a senior UN official said Thursday, denouncing the recent “brutal surge in largescale Russian attacks” against Ukraine.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that the “cautious hope” she expressed a month ago has diminished in the face of recent aggressions.
“According to Ukrainian officials, with 355 drones, Monday’s attack was the largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion,” DiCarlo said, adding: “This topped the previous record from the night before.”
Despite no declaration of a ceasefire, DiCarlo praised diplomatic efforts in Istanbul on May 16 when Ukrainian and Russian delegations met, saying “it is encouraging that the sides have reportedly agreed to continue the process.”
Russia’s deadly invasion began in February 2022.
“The massive wave of attacks over the weekend is a stark warning of how quickly this war can reach new destructive levels. Further escalation would not only aggravate the devastating toll on civilians but also endanger the already challenging peace efforts,” DiCarlo said.
“The hope that the parties will be able to sit down and negotiate is still alive, but just barely,” DiCarlo said.
The US representative added that prolonging the war was not in anyone’s best interest.
“If Russia makes the wrong decision to continue this catastrophic war, the United States will have to consider stepping back from our negotiation efforts to end this conflict,” said John Kelley, acting US alternate representative.
“Additional sanctions on Russia are still on the table.”
The Kremlin said Thursday that it was awaiting Kiev’s response to its proposal for new talks in Istanbul next Monday.
Ukraine, which accuses Russia of buying time, seeks Moscow’s conditions before any meeting.
“Serious, demonstrable and good faith efforts are needed — now — to get back on the road that could lead to a just peace. A full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire is such an effort, if only an initial one,” DiCarlo said.
According to the UN, a “just peace” respects sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
“A peace process will not be easy, and it will take time. But it must not wait. The people of Ukraine, especially, cannot wait.”
 


Macron decorates Indonesia leader, announces cultural partnership

Macron decorates Indonesia leader, announces cultural partnership
Updated 29 May 2025
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Macron decorates Indonesia leader, announces cultural partnership

Macron decorates Indonesia leader, announces cultural partnership
  • Says partnership would be based on cinema and fashion, video games, design and gastronomy
  • Macron’s trip to Indonesia is the second stop of a three-nation, six-day tour of Southeast Asia

MAGELANG, Indonesia: French President Emmanuel Macron bestowed Indonesia’s leader with France’s top award on Thursday, before announcing a new cultural partnership with Jakarta on a visit to the world’s largest Buddhist temple.

Macron’s trip to Indonesia is the second stop of a three-nation, six-day tour of Southeast Asia that began with Vietnam and concludes in Singapore.

After meeting for talks in the capital Jakarta, Macron and his counterpart Prabowo Subianto flew by helicopter on Thursday from Javan city Yogyakarta to a military academy in Magelang, a city surrounded by mountains in Central Java.

The pair attended a military parade and Macron gave Prabowo the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest military or civil award.

Prabowo is an ex-general accused of rights abuses under dictator Suharto’s rule in the late 1990s. He was discharged from the military over his role in the abductions of democracy activists but denied the allegations and was never charged.

Macron rode in a jeep driven by Prabowo with the pair welcomed by a marching band and hundreds of students waving Indonesian flags.

Macron then visited Borobudur, a Buddhist temple built in the 9th century that is the world’s largest, where the pair announced they were boosting cultural ties.

Buddhist monks walk up Borobudur Temple on the day of a visit by Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto and France's President Emmanuel Macron, in Magelang, Java, Indonesia, on May 29, 2025. (Pool via REUTERS)

“In front of this temple, we are taking an important step by launching a new cultural partnership,” said Macron.

“The first pillar is heritage and museum cooperation. The second pillar is cultural and creative industries,” he said.

Macron said the basis of the new partnership would be cinema and fashion, as well as video games, design and gastronomy.

The French leader will now depart for Singapore where he will deliver the opening address Friday at the Shangri-la Dialogue, Asia’s premier security forum.

France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, his wife Brigitte Macron and other official pose for a selfie during a visit to Borobudur Temple, in Magelang, Central Java, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/Pool Photo via AP)

On Wednesday, the pair called for progress on “mutual recognition” between Israel and the Palestinians at a key meeting next month as Macron brought the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation into his diplomatic efforts.

“Indonesia has stated that once Israel recognizes Palestine, Indonesia is ready to recognize Israel and open the diplomatic relationship,” said Prabowo.

Indonesia has no formal ties with Israel and support for the Palestinian cause among Indonesians runs high.

The nations also signed a series of agreements on cooperation in a range of fields including defense, trade, agriculture, disaster management, culture and transport.