Report: Madoffs tried to kill themselves
NEW YORK, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The wife of convicted Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff says the couple tried to kill themselves in their New York penthouse on Christmas Eve 2008.
Ruth Madoff, now living in Florida, told The New York Times their situation -- her husband was facing charges he defrauded investors of billions of dollars -- was "just horrific." She said they swallowed handfuls of what she thought was Ambien, a prescription insomnia medication, and went to bed, only to wake up the next day.
They never talked about suicide again, she said.
"I don't know whose idea it was, but we were both so saddened by everything that had happened," she told the Times. "It was unthinkable to me: hate mail, phone calls, lawyers.
"And I thought, 'I just can't, I can't take this. I don't know how I'll ever get through this, nor do I want to.' So we decided to do it."
She said she and her husband "were both in agreement -- we were both sort of relieved to leave this place. It was very, very impulsive."
While the couple never discussed suicide again, she said she was "glad to wake up" and she was "not sure how I felt about him waking up."
Turkey quake death toll reaches 523
ISTANBUL, Turkey, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Turkey accepted humanitarian aid from Israel despite strained relations as the death toll from the 7.2-magnitude earthquake rose to 523, officials said.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said rescuers had extracted 185 survivors from the rubble after of Tuesday's 7.2-magnitude quake, which also injured 1,650 people, Today's Zaman reported.
An Israeli cargo plane carrying seven prefabricated houses and other supplies landed Thursday in Ankara because the airport near Van, the area hardest hit, was too small, NTV television reported.
News reports said eight other countries were expected to deliver mobile homes and blankets, The New York Times said.
CNN reported Britain promised emergency tents for more than 5,500 people whose homes were destroyed, Home Secretary Theresa May said during a visit to Turkey Thursday.
The Turkish government had declined offers for help from more than 50 countries immediately after the earthquake, saying it had enough resources but has since begun seeking aid.
Bangkok flooding spreads, evacuation urged
BANGKOK, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Thailand's flood-hit capital Thursday urged residents in some districts to move to safer ground immediately as the situation worsened.
Thousands of residents fled the area as flooding became more widespread in many parts of Bangkok, the Bangkok Post reported.
The situation was expected to deteriorate during the weekend with the threat of high sea tides as well as massive amount of floodwater flowing from the north.
The BBC reported bus and train stations in Bangkok were jammed with people seeking to flee the city.
Thailand is experiencing its worst flooding in 50 years since July brought on by heavy monsoon rains. More than 370 people have already died in the disaster now targeting the densely populated capital of about 10 million people.
Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra urged residents in Don Muang, Bang Phlad and Thawi Wattana districts to evacuate immediately, the Post said.
Floodwaters earlier entered the Don Muang domestic airport, closing the airport whose runways remained water-logged.
Campbell: No decision yet on next steps
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Much work still remains before deciding on the next steps in the talks with North Korea on its nuclear disarmament, a top U.S. official said in Seoul Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, Kurt Campbell, assistant U.S. secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, commented on the two days of U.S.-North Korea talks in Geneva this week on the resumption of the six-nation negotiations on the North's denuclearization.
There was no breakthrough in the Geneva meeting but the talks were described as positive and generally constructive. It was the second such meeting. The first one was held in July in New York.
"I think it would be fair to say that we did make some progress," said Campbell, who was in Seoul as part of an Asian tour. "There were no breakthroughs. There is a substantial amount of work that needs to be done. No decisions have been taken about next steps."
The six-party talks among the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, China and Japan on the North's denuclearization have stalled since 2009 when the North walked out. Since then China has been pressing the North to return to the talks.
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying North Korea and the United States have agreed to hold further talks.
Rina heads toward Yucatan Peninsula
MIAMI, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Hurricane Rina weakened as it approached Mexican beaches in the Yucatan Peninsula and was not expected to threaten the United States, U.S. forecasters said.
Residents fled inland as the storm moved toward Quintana Roo, which includes the resort towns of Cancun and Cozumel, where it was expected to hit Thursday night into Friday, CNN reported.
Rina, with sustained winds of 75 mph, was about 115 miles south of Cozumel and 150 miles east-northeast of Chetumal and moving northwest at 6 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 5 a.m. EDT advisory.
The center issued a hurricane warning for the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to San Felipe and a tropical storm warning for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Punta Gruesa and the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula west of Progreso.
