australian

Australia’s Mushroom Killer Erin Patterson Gets 33-Year Term

September 8, 2025 8:25 am

An Australian woman, Erin Patterson, has been sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison for murdering three elderly relatives with a meal laced with deadly death cap mushrooms, in a case that shocked the world and became known as the Leongatha mushroom murders.

The 50-year-old was found guilty in July of killing her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, father-in-law, Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, after serving them individual portions of Beef Wellington at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, in 2023. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived.

Delivering the sentence …

WikiLeaks Assange’s U.S. extradition case resumes today in London (1)

WikiLeaks Assange’s US Extradition Case Resumes Today In London

September 7, 2020 9:04 am
The extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Australian Julian Assange will resume at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey in London today.

The court would weigh evidence whether Assange should be extradited to the United States to face trial over the publication of secrets relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Assange, 49, is currently being held on remand at a high-security jail.

He faces 18 counts from US prosecutors that could see him jailed for up to 175 years.

The hearing at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, is due to last three to four weeks. It …

Australian fugitive found hiding in ship's air-conditioning vent

Australian Fugitive Found Hiding In Ship’s Air-Conditioning Vent

June 24, 2020 4:06 pm

A suspect in an Australian sexual assault case has been apprehended with a weapon and a stash of cash, after he tried to flee the country by hiding in the air-conditioning vent of a ship.

Read Also: Facebook Rejects Call To Share Revenue With Australian Media

While this may sound like something from an action movie, Australian authorities say the drama unfolded in real life over the weekend.

On Saturday morning, a cargo ship headed for the harbor city of Newcastle, New South Wales, came across a yacht that had encountered difficulties in the water off the coast of Yamba, …

charity

Bullied Australian Boy To Donate $475,000 To Charity

February 27, 2020 5:16 pm

An Australian boy with dwarfism whose distress from bullying became a viral video will donate hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in donations to charity rather than a trip to Disneyland.

The clip of nine-year-old Quaden Bayles showed him crying and repeatedly saying he wanted to die after being bullied at school, sparking an outpouring of support from around the world.

Read Also: Australian Open Winner Kenin Loses To Rybakina On Return

The video was watched millions of times and prompted US comedian Brad Williams to start a GoFundMe page that eventually raised almost US$475,000.

Although the funds were meant to send Bayles …

Smoke Delays Unlikely At Australian Open, Say Organisers

January 7, 2020 5:23 pm

Smoke from bushfires is unlikely to delay the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam, organisers said on Tuesday, insisting they have pulled out all the stops to protect the health and safety of players.

With the opening major of 2020 due to start at January 20, Melbourne has been blanketed by haze in recent days from blazes burning to the east — part of Australia’s bushfire crisis that has left 25 people dead.

Novak Djokovic, president of the ATP players council, said organisers should consider delaying the tournament, as a last resort, if conditions did not improve.

But Tennis Australia …

Trump Speaks To Australian PM Over Bush Fires

January 7, 2020 1:36 pm

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to offer help in battling the deadly bushfires that have been on for months.

“President Trump offered U.S. support to assist the Australian government as it battles these terrible fires,” the White House said.

Trump further “expressed deep concern for those affected and condolences for the firefighters and others who lost their lives”.

Read Also: The Deadly U.S Drone That Killed Soleimani

PM Morrison expressed appreciation via Twitter on Tuesday.

“Thanks for the call @realDonaldTrump and for your strong messages of sympathy, support, and friendship for Australia during our …

Australian PM Says 24 Nationals Were On New Zealand Volcano

December 9, 2019 5:01 pm

At least 24 Australians were on New Zealand’s White Island when its volcano erupted unexpectedly, and an unknown number of them were missing and feared dead, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said.

Up to 50 people were visiting the popular tourist attraction when it exploded on Monday, with five confirmed dead, another 18 injured and the rest missing.

Some of the injured suffered serious burns.

Police have said they expect no more survivors will be found on the island off New Zealand’s east coast after aerial reconnaissance flights found no signs of life.

The country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern …

Death

Australian Gran Wins Malaysia Death Sentence Appeal

November 27, 2019 2:50 pm

An Australian grandmother who claimed she was tricked into carrying drugs into Malaysia after falling for an online romance scam Tuesday won her final appeal against the death penalty and will be freed.

Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto was arrested in December 2014 while in transit at Kuala Lumpur airport with 1.1 kilos (2.4 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine stitched into the compartment of a backpack she was carrying.

Read Also: London-Abuja Flight Interrupted After Losing Engine Mid-Air

She was initially cleared of trafficking after a judge ruled in 2017 she did not know she was transporting the drugs, but the acquittal …

Trial begins for ex-US cop who fatally shot Australian lady

April 1, 2019 7:39 pm

Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of a former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman in 2017, provoking outrage in the United States and in the victim’s home country.

Police say Mohamed Noor shot Justine Damond in Minneapolis in July 2017 while in the passenger seat of his police car.

She had approached the cruiser after calling police to report a possible rape in the dark alley behind her home.

Damond was shot once in the abdomen and died at the scene.

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