Woman 'feared' Sri Lankan cricketer would kill her during alleged rape.

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of sexual assault that may be distressing to some readers.

After meeting Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka on Tinder, a Sydney woman says her date with him turned into a nightmare where she feared for her life.

The woman, who cannot be identified, was allegedly sexually assaulted four times in her Rose Bay home on November 2 after going out for drinks and pizza with the international sports star.

Gunathilaka, 31, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday at Sydney's Hyatt Regency Hotel where he was staying while the Sri Lankan cricket team were in Australia for the T20 World Cup.

He is facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and has not yet given a plea.

According to a NSW police facts sheet filed with Downing Centre Local Court, the couple matched on Tinder and later had a number of video calls through WhatsApp before meeting in person on November 2.

The woman alleges Gunathilaka pressed himself against her, forcefully kissed her and slapped her bum on the ferry home. After they arrived at her residence, the cricketer allegedly refused to wear a condom and choked the woman three times.

"The complainant tried to remove the accused's hand by grabbing his wrist but the accused squeezed tighter around her neck," the police facts sheet says. "The complainant was fearing for her life and could not get away from the accused."

She also gagged and couldn't breathe during an attempt at oral sex, the court documents claim.

"She continually tried to pull away from the accused, a clear indication that she was not consenting."

Sri Lanka Cricket investigating 'various alleged incidents' as it sets up panel looking into Danushka Gunathilaka https://t.co/rfRWqVrgn1

— ABC News (@abcnews) November 8, 2022

In a police interview after his arrest, Gunathilaka corroborated some of the alleged victim's story but denied that he had been violent or that consent had not been given. 

Prosecutors allege the victim did not consent to sex without a condom or any of the other sexual acts performed.

The next morning she called a counselling service and couldn't stop crying. Police say the woman made a complaint to officers on November 5, and went to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where she underwent a Sexual Assault Investigation Kit and got a brain scan to check for any injury resulting from "repeated choking".

With Gunathilaka not having any ties in Australia, still living with his parents, and receiving $US12,000 ($A18,500) a month for playing with the Sri Lankan cricket side, police investigators believe there is a risk of him fleeing the country if released.

On Monday, a bail application by the sports star while in custody at Surry Hills Police Station was rejected by magistrate Robert Williams.

Gunathilaka travelled to Australia with Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup team but only played in their first game, a loss against Namibia, before being ruled out of the competition with a hamstring tear. Gunathilaka was due to board a flight back to Sri Lanka on November 6.

On Monday, Sri Lanka Cricket announced it would conduct its own inquiry, saying Gunathilaka would be penalised if the court finds him guilty in Australia.

The matter will return to court on January 12.

With AAP.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 

A two-year-old boy has died after being attacked by dogs in the NSW central west.

Emergency services were called to a motel on Grenfell Road at Cowra around 10.20am yesterday after reports the toddler had been seriously injured, NSW police said in a statement.

The Daily Telegraph have identified the boy as two-year-old Jyedon Pollard.

According to the publication, the toddler's mother, Kesha Pollard, was living temporarily at the Country Gardens Motel with her three children. 

Officers attended the scene but the boy had already been taken to Cowra Hospital.

#BREAKING: A two-year-old boy has died after suffering “serious injuries” as a result of an attack involving two dogs at a motel in regional NSW.https://t.co/oIyOZdFe41

— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) November 8, 2022

He was flown to Sydney's Westmead Hospital, and died yesterday afternoon.

Two dogs have been seized by the local council, with the Daily Mail reporting the dogs involved were Rottweilers.

Police are examining the motel as a crime scene and investigations continue to prepare a report for the coroner.

- With AAP.

A search is underway for a missing five-year-old boy from Western Australia, who police believe may have been taken interstate.

WA police have launched a national appeal to seek information regarding the whereabouts of Avkan Oso Vorkoeper, with police holding concerns for his safety and welfare. 

Avkan is believed to be with a family member, and in recent days, police say he was travelling in a Toyota Fortuner with the registration plate, 1GQI 081.

"Information available to WA Police Force indicates that vehicle has since left WA, however it is not known if Avkan remains in WA or has also travelled interstate, and concerns are held for his safety and welfare," WA police wrote on social media.

Anyone who sees vehicle or who has information regarding Avkan’s whereabouts is asked to call Police on 131 444.

Brenton Tarrant is appealing against his convictions and life sentence for murdering 51 worshippers in the Christchurch mosques terror attacks.

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Court of Appeal confirmed to AAP yesterday that Tarrant has filed an appeal against his convictions and his sentence. She said no date has been set for a hearing and grounds of appeal were not available.

New Zealand's prime minister accused the mosque gunman, whom she has refused to name since the attacks in March 2019, of re-victimising people.

"His is a story that should not be told and his is a name that should not be repeated and I am going to apply the same rule in commenting on his attempt to re-victimise people," Jacinda Ardern told reporters.

"We should give him nothing."

The Australian gunman convicted of killing 51 people, including women and children, across two Christchurch mosques three years ago has filed an appeal against both his convictions and prison sentence of life without parole. pic.twitter.com/UmTcZ9xH6i

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) November 8, 2022

The Australian man had previously pleaded guilty to planning and carrying out the massacre and, in a legal first for New Zealand, was sentenced to a lifetime in prison without the possibility of parole.

He was also convicted of 40 charges of attempted murder in his attack on the two mosques, using military-style semi-automatic rifles and filming himself with a head-mounted camera.

- With AAP.

Leslie Phillips, who voiced the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films, has died at the age of 98 after a long illness. 

The veteran actor died "peacefully in his sleep" on Monday, his agent Jonathan Lloyd confirmed to the PA news agency.

Phillips' wife Zara paid tribute to her husband, who had already survived two strokes in the space of six months, saying, "I’ve lost a wonderful husband and the public has lost a truly great showman," The Sun reports.

"He was quite simply a national treasure. People loved him. He was mobbed everywhere he went."

"When we married he cheekily introduced me to the press as royalty, insisting I was the new Zara Phillips and that I was related to the Queen."

We are incredibly sad to hear of the passing of the wonderful Leslie Phillips who voiced the Sorting Hat with such inimitable wit and style in the Harry Potter films. pic.twitter.com/gcqsIT2T3j

— Harry Potter Film (@HarryPotterFilm) November 8, 2022

Phillips, who also found fame with his roles in the British Carry On films, spent eight decades in the spotlight and became well known for his suggestive catchphrases which included "Ding dong", "Well, hello" and "I say!".

Coronation Street actor Tony Maudsley, who worked with Phillips, tweeted: "RIP Leslie Phillips. Working with him was a joy. And yes he did say DING DONG (because I asked him to)."

- With AAP.

Season 5 of The Crown debuts on Netflix today with those who have been faithfully following the progress of the Windsors through its lens, happy to watch on as some of the royal’s most spectacularly scandalous years are finally recreated on their small screen.

But is the show rewriting history with its fact or fiction plotlines? And what ethical dilemma does one prince have, when he too will be profiting from the very same platform that is screening the tell-all of his family’s past?

Today, we look at the ethics of The Crown and whether it needs to be clearer, that the events we see in those weekly episodes, are skirting dangerously close to truths without having all the facts.

Feature Image: Instagram.