LONDON Growth across British services companies slowed last month to its lowest level since January, a business survey

A New York City banker who was accused of raping a 14-year-old he pretended was his daughter has been hit with dozens of additional charges over the alleged abuse of three more victims. Michael Olson, 55, was remanded in custody on 15 June and was initially indicted with 17 charges, including the rape and drugging of the girl he met online. On Tuesday, he was hit with a superseding indictment with 75 counts of criminal charges on allegations of continuing to target young girls online after being released on a $1m bond in May, Manhattan assistant district attorney John Fuller said. Additionally, he faces 32 felony counts for possessing videos and pictures of a child performing sexual acts. “These 32 [counts] represent some of the most graphic and lewd images that he possessed,” Mr Fuller said in Manhattan’s Supreme Court, according to New York Post. The initial charges on Mr Olson were linked to a 14-year-old girl who authorities said was found in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room with Mr Olson after overdosing on cocaine and Xanax on 26 May. Authorities said they found sex objects like vibrators, handcuffs, rope, lubricant and condoms in the room which the accused said were gifts to the girl. The investigation revealed there were numerous other victims and he had hundreds of screenshots of Instagram accounts of Asian teenage girls who had posted about not being able to afford clothes. He had found the Instagram account of the 14-year-old girl in December after she posted about clothes being too expensive. He then sent her a gift card to buy clothes and paid her money to spend time with him. Prosecutors alleged he raped the girl repeatedly and paid $700 a week to engage in sexual conduct in the hostel room passing her off as her daughter to avoid suspicion. According to Mr Fuller’s statement to the court, 50 new charges against him involve not only selling drugs to another child, but also engaging in the solicitation of children for prostitution. Judge Ann Scherzer issued orders to bar Mr Olson from contacting the alleged victims. “The orders are going to remain under seal so no one can see the names because they are children. But you will see the names, and with respect to those individuals – you may not have any contact with them whatsoever. None,” she told him. Mr Oslon has pleaded not guilty. Proposing a plea deal, prosecutors told the court that he can get his jail sentence reduced to 25 years and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Jeffrey Lichtman, his defence attorney, said they were caught off guard by the additional charges involving the new alleged victims. “There’s no allegation of any more sexual contact with any new victims,” Mr Lichtman said. “I understand where the offer is coming from, but for a 55-year-old defendant, 25 years might as well be a 1,000 [years],” he said. Read More ‘I believe I was drugged and raped at a police station - I deserve to know who my attacker is’ Investigators recall surreal moments during years-long investigation in Mexico's missing students Oppenheimer fans point out ‘disturbing’ shot going unnoticed by many viewers

Francia Raisa has insisted there is no drama between her and Selena Gomez after a string of feud rumours online. During an appearance on Josh Peck's Good Guys podcast, the How I Met Your Father actress poured water on the claims that she was "forced" to donate Gomez her kidney. Raisa donated her kidney to the 'Lose You to Love Me' singer in 2017 when she battled lupus, a condition that affects the immune system. "I've said this before, but that was a time where I just felt it in my heart," Raisa said on the episode. "No one forced me to do anything." The 35-year-old continued: "It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart, and I've been super blessed ever since." She went on to speak about how the news broke in the press. "She and I went public with our situation years ago, and honestly, we had to," Francia explained. "The press got ahold of the story and we wanted to tell it. As for what’s going on lately…does anyone prep you for this kind of stuff? Never. We never get prepped for this kind of stuff. It always catches me by surprise." However, rumours were rife last year when Gomez said Taylor Swift was her only friend in the industry. "You guys, there’s no beef," Raisa told podcast hot Peck. "Whenever I thought about my name being in the press, I never thought about it like this," she also admitted. "I always thought about it from an actor’s perspective." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Fans have speculated about the pair's relationship online for years, prompting the actress to turn off her comments. "I can’t read the comments because I don’t do well with it," she admitted. "Sometimes I disappear because people are mean. People are so mean." It comes after Gomez publicly wished Raisa a happy birthday last week. "No matter where life takes us, I love you," she penned. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Murphy was found stuffed in a 55-gallon drum, which was spotted floating along the coast near the 23200 block of Pacific Coast Highway on July 30

BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 3, 2023--

Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in court today to be formally arraigned on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, in what marks his third – and potentially most serious – criminal case. The former president was indicted on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, now believed to be identified. Mr Trump has been ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington DC on Thursday, while the case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama-appointee. Mr Trump has railed against the indictment and is calling for the “fake” case to be moved from Washington DC. In a late-night Truth Social rant on Wednesday, the former president fumed that it is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial” in the capital and demanded it be relocated to “the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia”. This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment and his second federal indictment. Read Trump’s indictment from the January 6 grand jury in full Read More When is Donald Trump’s arraignment? Should Trump go to jail? The 2024 election could become a referendum on that question Trump supporters falsely claim special counsel seeking death penalty in indictment over 2020 election Former prosecutor explains why Donald Trump was the main focus of the January 6 indictment

NFL great Tom Brady has become a minority owner of English second-tier soccer team Birmingham and wants to bring a winning mentality to an underperforming club

A viral clip of a giant iceberg drifting close to the shores of Newfoundland has left viewers shocked. Footage taken from land showed an absolutely colossal iceberg just off the coast of the Canadian island on the country’s east coast. The clip was first posted on TikTok by @emoinuoinam who revealed the video was taken in Conche, Newfoundland and said the iceberg was “getting closer to the community”. According to National Geographic, the icebergs that drift east towards to coast of Newfoundland are typically bits of Greenland's glaciers that have broken off. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The stretch of water that goes along the east coast of the Newfoundland and Labrador province is known as “Iceberg Alley”. Compared to the previous three years, the size of these icebergs is on the rise. On TikTok, the original clip has been viewed 6 million times and has also been shared across social media platforms. @emoinuoinam Its getting closer to the community! One person wrote: “Omg, it looks beautiful but can be dangerous.” Someone else said: “Oh my goodness that is amazing.” Another shocked viewer asked: “Like what do you do in this situation?” “I am from Newfoundland and that’s a nice break and they always come down like that sometimes smaller sometimes huge,” a local person explained. On Twitter, where the clip was reposted, it has been watched almost 11 million times, stunning plenty more viewers. “I’ll bet the people in that house got a shock when they opened their curtains,” someone guessed. Another said: “Wow, that's stunning. Looks like the backdrop for a great scary movie too.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Pope Francis is challenging university students to make the world a more just and inclusive place

Katja Thieme faces backlash for advocating child exposure to adult genitalia to prepare for trans encounters, amid criticism of Riley Gaines

Kyle Fernandez injured 10 pedestrians when the stolen Hyundai SUV plowed into a crowd of people

London Stock Exchange Group Plc shares had their worst fall of the year after the firm reported slowing