By Michael Erman NEW YORK (Reuters) -Merck & Co sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, seeking an injunction of the

Alix Earle said, 'I feel like this podcast is going to be a way for me to produce a show of my own'

A French man has been accused of drugging his wife and then recording at least 51 men raping her while she slept, in attacks that took place between 2011 and 2020. Dominique P, a pensioner who had been married for more than 50 years, allegedly mixed the anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam into his wife’s evening meal, La Monde reported. He would then invite his ‘‘guests’’ into their house to rape his sleeping wife. A total of 51 men between the ages of 26-73 have been identified, arrested and charged with rape following an inquiry launched in 2020 in the southern city of Avignon. The suspect, from nearby Mazan, reportedly found the men on “a son insu” - a French internet forum where members discuss performing sexual acts on women without their consent and often when they are drugged. The exchanges on the web forum were erased after being linked to a criminal investigation into paedophile, racist or anti-Semitic content and the sale of illicit substances. Law enforcement officials learned about the videos during a preliminary investigation three years ago when the suspect was caught trying to film woman in a changing room with a hidden camera. The videos were found on the man’s computer, where they were meticulously archived in a file called ‘‘Abuses’’. The titles of the hundreds of videos indicate a date, a first name and the nature of the actions, according to the French newspaper. Investigators have identified 92 cases of sexual assault of the woman by 83 suspects, but are yet to identify all the men. Tobacco and perfume were banned by the husband in order to avoid strong smells that could waken his wife. The men were asked to wash their hands in warm water to avoid sudden a temperature change and were made to undress in the kitchen to avoid leaving clothes in the bedroom. The ‘‘guests’’ had to park near a school and walk in the dark to the house to avoid raising neighbours’ suspicion. Some claimed they had no idea the wife had not consented to the sexual acts, while one person denied it was rape, saying: ‘‘It’s his wife, he does what he likes with her.’’ According to prosecutors in Avignon, the suspect insisted that ‘‘none of the men who came to his house gave up going through with sexual acts on his wife given her state’’. ‘‘He never used violence or threats against anyone so that rapes would be committed. Each individual was in possession of his free will to stop these acts and leave,’’ the prosecutors said. When the woman was asked to talk about her husband in November 2020 during the initial investigation, she described him as a ‘‘great guy’’ and ‘‘kind and caring’’. She said he tried to get her to agree to partner-swapping but she refused as ‘‘she didn’t like to be touched without having feelings (for someone)’’. When the police informed her of the tapes, she reportedly began pieceing together the past. The woman said she had flashbacks and that the drugging could have been the reason behind her frequent fatigue and ‘‘absent-mindedness’’. Medical examinations found she had been infected with four sexually transmitted diseases. If the investigating magistrate follows the prosecutor’s indictment, a ‘‘historic trial’’ is expected to take place early next year with 52 defendants in the same box. The woman has filed for a divorce. Read More Where abortion laws stand in every state a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe The sex abuse convictions of a man at the center of a tribal sovereignty ruling have been reversed Andrew Tate denies making money from trafficking women as he appears in Romanian court Germany sees opportunity in nuclear fusion, but funding for research remains uncertain Russia-backed officials say explosion damages bridge linking Ukraine's mainland to Crimea Rescuers search for person feared missing under rubble after Paris blast injures 37

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Alix Earle made the announcement during the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, much to her fans' delight

The war in Ukraine could last for “decades” with long periods of fighting interspersed by truces, one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s most senior aides has predicted. “This conflict will last a very long time, most likely decades,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said during a visit to Vietnam. “As long as there is such a power in place, there will be, say, three years of truce, two years of conflict, and everything will be repeated,” the deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council continued, while reiterating Moscow’s claim that Ukraine is a Nazi state. On the frontline, Russia’s Wagner mercenaries have started handing over positions in Bakhmut to the regular Russian military, five days after claiming to have completed the capture of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city. But Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Wagner has only handed over positions on the city’s outskirts and “inside the city itself Wagner fighters remain”. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has said he is ready to return his forces to Bakhmut if the regular army is struggling. Read More Russia has started deploying tactical nuclear warheads to Belarus, says Lukashenko As the Ukraine war spills into Russia, a dangerous new front is about to explode The Russians out for revenge on Putin Roger Waters ‘dresses as SS officer’ and projects Anne Frank’s name onto stage during gigs in Germany

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Romania has “firmly” denied Kyiv’s claims that Russian drones detonated on its territory during an attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure last night. On Monday, Ukraine’s defence ministry said Russian kamikaze drones had exploded on Romanian territory during Moscow’s strike on Odesa. But Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement: “The Ministry of National Defence firmly denies the information circulating in the public space with regard to a so-called situation occurred during the night of 3-4 September, when Russian drones would have fallen on Romania’s national territory. “The Ministry of National Defence reiterates the fact that these attacks targeting the Ukrainian sites and civilian infrastructure are unjustified and break all international humanitarian rules.” Russia fired around 32 drones at Ukraine in its Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, damaging industrial facilities and infrastructure, according to Ukraine’s air force. Earlier today, Volodymyr Zelensky said he has decided to dismiss his war-time defence minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s main privatisation fund. Mr Zelensky said he “believes the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction.” Read More President Zelensky nominates Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s new defence minister Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns Ukraine ‘targets critical bridge’ built by Putin as counteroffensive ‘breaks through on southern front’

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