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World Cup winner Mendy facing SIX counts of rape
after prosecutors add charges
16 Nov, 2021 12:23
France and Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been charged with a further two counts of rape, the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed.
Suspended by his club since August after being charged with four counts of rape and another count of sexual assault alleged to have occurred between October 2020 and August 2021, the left back has been summonsed to make an appearance at Stockport Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
Mendy, 27, remains in custody and is set to go on trial on January 24 with Louis Saha Matturie.
Matturie, 40, has also been charged with two extra counts of rape and another charge of sexual assault and was summonsed to appear with Mendy in court this week.
Making 13 appearances for City in their Premier League winning-campaign last season, 2018 World Cup winner Mendy featured just twice for the Etihad giants in all competitions this term before his legal woes came to light.
Joining from Monaco in 2017 for a £52 million ($70 million) fee, the French star's time in England has also been blighted by injuries.
Cuomo could lose millions after ethics board revokes book approval
17 Nov, 2021 18:44
A New York ethics board has rescinded its approval of former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s pandemic memoir, saying he violated his pledge not to tap state resources to complete the book.
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) voted 12-1 on Tuesday to rescind its decision to approve the then-governor’s 2020 book, concluding that Cuomo got approval based on false pretenses. He will likely need to reapply for the board’s approval, and if that bid is rejected, he could be forced to surrender some or all of the $5.12 million that he reportedly made from the memoir.
“Contrary to the representations made on behalf of Governor Cuomo and not disclosed to the commission, state property, resources, and personnel, including staff volunteers, were used in connection with the preparation, writing, editing, and publication of the book,” the ethics board said in its resolution.
The commission said it also was misled about the book’s subject matter, financial details of Cuomo’s publishing contract, and the status of work on the tome.
How stupid is that, to try and mislead an ethics board? What arrogance!
Entitled ‘American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic’, the book was ridiculed by critics when news of the project surfaced in August 2020. Many pointed out that New York had the nation’s highest death toll from the virus and that Cuomo’s policies caused thousands of deaths in nursing homes. Fewer than 50,000 copies had been sold as of last August.
Just 71 copies were reportedly sold in the last week of July, days before Cuomo resigned as governor amid accusations of sexual misconduct against at least 11 women. His previous memoir also undersold, with only 3,200 copies being sold in the two and a half years after it was published in 2014. That fell far short of expectations for his publisher, which had reportedly ordered 200,000 copies printed.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, accused Governor Kathy Hochul and other New York politicians of orchestrating the ethics commission’s ruling. “These JCOPE members are acting outside the scope of their authority and are carrying the water of politicians who appointed them,” Azzopardi said. “It is the height of hypocrisy for Hochul and the legislature’s appointees to take this position, given that these elected officials routinely use their own staff for political and personal assistance on their own time.”
Revoking a previous approval means that a JCOPE ruling “cannot be relied on by anyone and is subject to political winds,” Cuomo’s spokesman added. He said the state staffers who were involved in the book project did their work on a volunteer basis, on their own time.
Chinese media share ‘email’ from ‘missing’ tennis star
amid global concern
17 Nov, 2021 18:43
Chinese media have shared what they say is an email to world tennis bosses from women’s star Peng Shuai, who had not been heard from since she reportedly accused a former government official of sexually assaulting her.
Peng, a former top-ranked doubles player, is said to have made the assault accusations against ex-Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli in a post on Chinese social media site Weibo earlier this month.
In the post from the 35-year-old's account, it was claimed that Peng had been “forced” into a sexual relationship with Zhang and that the pair later had an on-off consensual relationship.
The post was later deleted and Peng was not heard from, prompting concerns for her well-being.
However, on Wednesday Chinese media outlet CGTN shared what they said was an email from Peng to officials at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
“Hello everyone this is Peng Shuai,” began the message.
“Regarding the recent news released on the official website of the WTA, the content has not been confirmed or verified by myself and it was released without my consent.
“The news in that release, including the allegation of sexual assault, is not true. I’m not missing, nor am I unsafe. I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine. Thank you again for caring about me.
“If the WTA publishes any more news about me, please verify it with me, and release it with my consent.
“As a professional tennis player, I thank you all for your companionship and consideration.
"I hope to promote Chinese tennis with you all if I have the chance in the future. I hope Chinese tennis will become better and better.
“Once again, thank you for your consideration.”
Some reacted skeptically to the message, with New York Times tennis writer Ben Rothenburg calling it “deeply dubious.”
“This is even worse than not hearing from her, if that's possible,” claimed one fan.
WTA boss Steve Simon had previously described the situation with Peng as being of “deep concern.”
“We expect this issue to be handled properly, meaning the allegations must be investigated fully, fairly, transparently and without censorship,” he said.
Before Wednesday's report from CGTN, the WTA had also said it had “received confirmation from several sources, including the Chinese Tennis Association, that [Peng] is safe and not under any physical threat.
“My understanding is that she is in Beijing in China, but I can’t confirm that because I haven’t spoken directly with her,” Simon added.
Meanwhile, four-time women’s Grand Slam queen Naomi Osaka became the latest high-profile name to voice her concerns this week, tweeting that she was “in shock” at the reports that Peng had disappeared.
“I hope Peng Shuai and her family are safe and ok. I’m in shock of the current situation and I'm sending love and light her way,” wrote Osaka.
Peng is currently ranked number 191 in the world in singles, but is a hero in her homeland after becoming the first Chinese player to achieve a top global ranking when she rose to world number one in the doubles in 2014.
She captured doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open the following year.
In the singles, she boasts a career-high of number 14 in the world and reached the US Open semi-finals in 2014.
The man behind the purported sex assault allegations, former Communist official Zhang, is now 75. He served as vice premier between 2013 and 2018, and on the Politburo Standing Committee from 2012 to 2017.
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