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Two luxury real estate agent brothers have been charged with drugging and violently raping dozens of women.Oren and Tal Alexander, as well as their brother Alon, are accused by New York federal prosecutors of sex trafficking and using their position to take advantage of women from at least 2010 to 2021. Charges have also been filed in Florida, where the men live. Oren, 37, and Tal, 38, are known for brokering deals on luxury properties in New York City and Miami and have worked on properties owned by the likes of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Image: Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander, and Tal Alexander in pictures released by police. Pic: Reuters The indictment alleges they used "deception, fraud, and coercion" to convince wom...

Vladimir Putin has not been invited to attend Donald Trump's inauguration next month, Moscow has said.The Kremlin said it had not received an invitation for the Russian president to attend the US president-elect's swearing-in ceremony on 20 January. Meanwhile Mr Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the inauguration in Washington DC, despite him threatening massive tariffs on Chinese goods.Mr Trump's incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed he invited Mr Xi but said it was "to be determined" if he would attend."This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies, but our adversaries and our competitors too," Ms Leavitt said during an interview on Fox News. "We saw this in his first term. He i...

The head of NATO has warned the alliance is not ready for the threats it will face from Russia in the coming years and that it is time to shift to a wartime mindset.Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the organisation, said NATO members had spent more than 3% of GDP on defence during the Cold War and argued future spending would have to be much higher than the alliance's current target of 2%. "Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation, with Ukraine and with us," Mr Rutte said during a speech in Brussels."We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years."He added: "It is time to shift to a wartime mindset, and turbocharge our defence production and defence spending."Mr Rutte said the current security situation was the "worst in my lifetime". ...

As rebels set about freeing those imprisoned by the reposed Assad regime, more missing people are being found.Earlier on Wednesday, a man who said he was locked up after crossing into Syria by foot seven months ago was found safe. There were initial suspicions it could have been missing US journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, but he and the reporter's family have confirmed otherwise.Syria latest as commander warns ISIS coming out of hidingMeanwhile, the whereabouts of a British journalist taken hostage in Syria in the same year also remain unknown, despite the British government previously claiming he is alive in 2019. John Cantlie has appeared in videos for ISIS and is thought to be the last known British hostage held by the extremist group.He was abducted in Novembe...

President-elect Donald Trump 's picks for top regulators may not lead to a total free-for-all of corporate dealmaking, but they should be more than enough to unleash the pent-up demand for mergers and acquisitions, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Ryan Kenny said in a note to clients that the second Trump administration — including the choices of Andrew Ferguson to lead the Federal Trade Commission and Gail Slater to head the Department of Justice's antitrust arm — will be a welcome change for Wall Street investment bankers and CEOs after an aggressive approach to antitrust under the Biden administration. "New Trump appointments at FTC and DOJ likely come with a more traditional, lighter touch antitrust framework. This should drive up animal spirits and improve corporate clarity in an ...