1. Cristiano Ronaldo denies US teacher’s allegations he raped her in Vegas hotel.
A US teacher has accused soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her in his hotel suite in Las Vegas.
Kathryn Mayorga alleges that the Portuguese footballer sexually assaulted her in the early hours on June 13, 2009 – leaving her with post-traumatic stress and suicidal thoughts.
The 33-year-old athlete denied the allegations in an Instagram video after Mayorga’s lawyer filed court papers on Friday, according to The Sun.
“No, no, no, no, no. What they said today? Fake, fake news,” he said, appearing not to be distressed by the accusations.
“They want to promote [themselves by using] my name. It’s normal. They want to be famous to say my name, but it is part of the job. I am a happy man and all good.”
According to court documents, the pair met at a nightclub at the Palms casino, where the former Manchester United player invited her and a friend to his hotel room.
Mayorga claimed that once in the room, they were getting into the hot tub – but she didn’t want to ruin her dress, so Ronaldo offered some shorts and a T-shirt for her to change into.
The now-34-year-old said she was in the bathroom getting changed when Ronaldo entered, exposing himself and asking her to perform a sex act.
“The plaintiff refused and stated she wanted to leave the hotel suite. Upon leaving the bathroom, Ronaldo pulled the plaintiff into a bedroom and on to a bed and attempted to engage in sexual intercourse.”
It was then that Ronaldo raped her while she screamed “no”, the court documents allege.
Mayorga also claims that as Ronaldo left the bedroom, he told her “sorry, I’m usually a gentleman”.
Mayorga, who was a teacher and aspiring model at the time, said she was left with PTSD and depression and considered taking her own life.
She reported the incident to police that same day, and later hired a lawyer.
In 2010, she settled with the Juventus footballer out of court, but is now seeking to overturn that $518,000 (£287,000) settlement, which she said she only accepted out of “fear of retaliation”.
If you would like support for sexual assault or domestic violence, you can phone 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732. You can also always call Lifeline on 13 11 14
2. Fremantle footballer’s brother killed in car accident.
The half-brother of Fremantle Dockers player Hayden Ballantyne has died after he was hit by a car south of Perth
Brendan Ballantyne, 22, was hit by a station wagon while walking on Ennis Avenue at Waikiki about 9.15pm on Saturday.
He had been engaged to be married and was on the verge of becoming a father for the second time.
The Fremantle Dockers expressed their condolences to the Ballantyne family in a statement late on Sunday.
“The Fremantle Dockers would like to extend their deepest sympathies to the family of Hayden Ballantyne after his brother Brendan was tragically killed on Saturday evening,” the club said.
“Our thoughts are with the Ballantyne family at this extremely difficult time.”
A 47-year-old Waikiki man has been charged with careless driving occasioning death and is due to appear in Rockingham Magistrates Court on October 22.
3. Indonesian earthquake and tsunami death toll rises.
The toll from an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has soared to 832 confirmed dead, with authorities fearing the numbers will climb as rescuers struggle to get aid to outlying communities cut off from communications and help.
Dozens of people are reported to be trapped in the rubble of several hotels and a mall in the city of Palu, on Sulawesi island, which was hit by waves as high as six metres following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday.
A woman was pulled alive from the debris of the city’s Roa Roa Hotel, where up to 60 people were believed trapped.
Hundreds of people gathered at the wrecked eight-storey Tatura Mall searching for loved ones.
“Grieve for the people of Central Sulawesi, we all grieve together,” President Joko Widodo tweeted late on Sunday.
Most of the confirmed deaths were in Palu itself, and authorities are bracing for the toll to climb as connections with outlying areas are restored.
Of particular concern is Donggala, a region of 300,000 people north of Palu and close to the epicentre of the quake, and two other districts, which have been cut off from communications since Friday.
Along with Palu, these districts have a combined population of about 1.4 million.
Indonesia Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the death toll could rise into the thousands.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne expressed their condolences to the people of Indonesia in a joint statement late on Sunday.
Australia stands ready to support the Indonesian government’s response efforts if needed, they said.
No Australians are known to have been affected by the disaster.
4. A broken shoulder didn’t stop Cooper Cronk from leading his NRL team to grand final victory.
Cooper Cronk can lay claim to the 21st century’s John Sattler moment after guiding the Sydney Roosters to a premiership with a broken shoulder blade in the Tri-colours’ 21-6 NRL grand final win over Melbourne.
Cleared to play after a week-long shoulder battle, Cronk fought on for 78 minutes with his left arm dangling by its side on Sunday night before he finally ended the match on the bench too exhausted to stand up at fulltime.
The 34-year-old may as well have worn the blue trainers’ shirt in the first half as he became the first player to win back-to-back premierships at different clubs in 45 years.
He had no runs, no tackle busts and no metres after only being cleared to play earlier on Saturday.
But that wasn’t what the former Storm player was there to do. Instead, he acted as an on-field coach in an effort reminiscent of Sattler for South Sydney in their 1970 grand final win.
“Any other player you would pull him off,” Roosters legend Brad Fittler said during the Nine Network’s commentary at halftime.
“But he is there for his voice and his brain and his larynx will be sorer than his shoulder after the game.”
Cronk’s 17 touches were his least of the year by 12 but when he was involved, he was golden.
The 34-year-old was whacked after his first two kicks, first by Joe Stimson and then by old friend Cameron Smith. But both bombs resulted in a repeat sets that led to the opening tries.
5. Driver charged after two women and unborn twins were killed in car crash.
An allegedly unlicensed driver has been charged with manslaughter after the deaths of two women and unborn twins in a crash west of Sydney.
Katherine Hoang, 23, pregnant with twins, and Anh Belinda Hoang, 17, were killed when their car collided with another travelling in the opposite direction in Orchard Hills on Friday night, police say.
The unborn twins also didn’t survive the crash.
Katherine’s husband, Bronko, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
The 29-year-old driver behind the wheel of the other car was on Sunday charged with two counts of manslaughter and unlicensed driving among a host of other offences.
He remains behind police guard in Westmead Hospital.
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