World review: Porn star rape charges, Zoom’s skyrocket revenues

Adult film star Ron Jeremy has been charged with sexual violence against 13 more women, including a 15-year old, prosecutors in Los Angeles say.

They say the alleged assaults date back to 2004. The 67-year-old has already been charged with raping or assaulting four women between 2014 and 2019.

Ron Jeremy is one of the biggest names in pornography and has featured in over 1,700 films over four decades.

If convicted, he faces up to 250 years behind bars. He has denied wrongdoing.

Mr Jeremy, whose real name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, appeared in court in June. He was accused of raping a 25-year-old woman and 30 year-old woman, and sexually assaulting two others, aged 33 and 46.

At the time his lawyer denied the charges saying said that his client had been “a paramour to over 4,000 women” and that “women throw themselves at him”.

But prosecutors received further allegations of sexual violence in the days following his court appearance, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The new charges include a total of 20 counts of rape and sexual assault against the 13 women. The alleged victims range in age between 15 and 54.

Popular videoconferencing app Zoom has seen its revenues skyrocket as second quarter profits more than doubled due to the coronavirus crisis.

Revenues leaped 355% to $663.5m (£496.3m) for the three months ending 31 July, beating analysts’ expectations of $500.5m.

Profits soared to $186m, while customer growth rose 458%, compared with the same period in 2019.

Video conferencing apps remain crucial due to the increase in remote working.

Zoom’s shares hit a record high on Monday, closing at $325.10, as the firm raised its annual revenue forecast by more than 30% to the range of $2.37bn-$2.39bn, from its previous projection of $1.78bn-$1.80bn.

Key to Zoom’s success was its ability to add paying customers – high-budget corporate clients – as opposed to those who use its services for free.

Khadjou Sambe, Senegal’s first female professional surfer, trains near her home in the district of Ngor – the westernmost point of the African continent.

“I would always see people surfing and I’d say to myself: ‘But where are the girls who surf?'” says the 25-year-old.”I thought: ‘Why don’t I go surfing, represent my country, represent Africa, represent Senegal, as a black girl?'”

The surfer is now inspiring the next generation to defy cultural norms and take to the waves.

Sambe trains beginners at Black Girls Surf (BGS), a training school for girls and women who want to compete in professional surfing.

She encourages her students to develop the physical and mental strength to ride waves and break the mould in a society which generally expects them to stay at home, cook, clean, and marry young.

Sambe is a proud Lebou – an ethnic group that traditionally lives by the sea.Growing up in the coastal capital of Dakar, Sambe never saw a black woman surfing the Atlantic swells.

As a teenager, her parents refused to allow her to surf for two-and-a-half years, saying it brought shame on the family.

Sambe started surfing when she was 14 years old.

US President Donald Trump has defended supporters of his for their alleged roles in recent deadly street clashes.

He suggested a teen accused of killing two in Wisconsin last week and Trump fans involved in clashes in Oregon on Saturday were acting in self-defence.

Mr Trump pointed out his Democratic White House challenger, Joe Biden, has not specifically disavowed far-left activists accused of civil disorder.

Mr Biden is leading in opinion polls ahead of November’s election.

At Monday’s White House news conference, Mr Trump blamed Mr Biden and his allies for violence in cities run by Democratic mayors and governors.

A CNN reporter asked the Republican president whether he would condemn supporters of his who fired paint pellets during a confrontation with counter-protesters at the weekend in Portland, Oregon.

“Well, I understand they had large numbers of people that were supporters, but that was a peaceful protest,” Mr Trump replied to the CNN reporter, in an apparent veiled dig at US media outlets whom he has previously accused of ignoring violence at Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

“Paint as a defensive mechanism, paint is not bullets.

“Your supporters, and they are your supporters indeed, shot a young gentleman who – and killed him, not with paint, but with a bullet. And I think it’s disgraceful.”