Assata Shakur, Black Liberation Army member and Tupac’s godmother, dies in Cuba at 78
Assata Shakur, a prominent Black liberation activist and former member of the Black Liberation Army, has died in Havana, Cuba, at the age of 78. The C...
Erin Patterson, the woman at the centre of Australia’s “mushroom murders”, has been sentenced to life in prison for killing three of her estranged husband’s relatives with a meal of beef wellington laced with deadly death cap mushrooms two years ago.
The Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday handed the 50-year-old mother three life sentences for murder and a 25-year term for attempted murder, to be served one after the other.
Justice Christopher Beale ruled Patterson must serve a minimum of 33 years before she can be considered for parole.
The court heard that in July 2023 Patterson invited her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, together with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband, Ian, to her home in the rural town of Leongatha, south-east of Melbourne.
She then poisoned them by deliberately feeding them beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms. While Ian Wilkinson survived after a liver transplant, the three other guests died within days. Patterson’s former husband, Simon, was also invited but declined to attend.
Justice Beale said the killings involved “substantial premeditation” and that Patterson had shown no remorse.
The trial, which ran for 11 weeks earlier this year, drew extraordinary public attention. For the first time, Victoria’s Supreme Court allowed cameras inside to broadcast Monday’s sentencing live.
Prosecutors said Patterson ensured she did not consume the poisoned meal herself, serving her portion on a separate plate. They argued she had lied to police, staged cover-ups and fabricated a cancer diagnosis. While her motive remains unclear, prosecutors alleged she had previously tried to poison her estranged husband.
Patterson has maintained her innocence, insisting the mushrooms were added by accident. She now has 28 days to lodge an appeal.
Erin Patterson will be 82 before she is eligible for release, but Justice Beale noted she is likely to remain a “notorious prisoner” for years to come.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
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A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
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Police in Liverpool arrested dozens of supporters of the banned group Palestine Action on Sunday, as they gathered outside the venue for the Labour Party’s annual conference.
Assata Shakur, a prominent Black liberation activist and former member of the Black Liberation Army, has died in Havana, Cuba, at the age of 78. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed her death on September 25, attributing it to health complications related to advanced age.
Russian forces launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, resulting in at least four fatalities and over 70 injuries.
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