MIXI Australia, the Australian arm of the Japanese tech giant MIXI, has continued to grow its shareholding in PointsBet, highlighting its unwavering intent to acquire the Australian sportsbook despite opposition from rival bidder Betr.
The Japanese Tech Giant Continues to Gain Ground
MIXI Australia, which recently secured a majority stake in PointsBet, has continued to grow its relevant interest, increasing it from 61.58% to 66.43%. The acquisitions were made via a mix of AUD 1.25 per share on-market purchases and takeover acceptances. Additional shares were purchased under the terms of its July bidder’s statement.
As of September 12, 2025, MIXI had a 66.43% voting power in the Australian sports betting business. This means that MIXI owned a total of 230,893,535 shares in PointsBet as of the time of that announcement.
In the meantime, MIXI Australia hopes to consolidate its power amid opposition from rival bidder Betr.
Betr’s Proposal Failed to Convince PointsBet
Betr Entertainment was another bidder for PointsBet. Unlike MIXI, which sought to convince PointsBet’s leaders with an all-cash arrangement, Betr proposed an all-scrip deal, offering more than 4 of its own shares per 1 PointsBet share.
Betr firmly asserted that its bid represents a superior proposal due to inherent synergies between Betr and PointsBet that could have created millions of Australian dollars in additional value.
Despite considering an earlier version of this proposal, PointsBet’s leadership has largely preferred MIXI’s bid due to the cash security it offers. While PointsBet succeeded in blocking an earlier takeover by MIXI by leveraging its own shareholding, the latter company has continued to gain ground.
As a result of the prolonged battle between the two suitors, PointsBet announced that it doesn’t plan to add a Betr representative to its board of directors in order to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
The Wallaroos have missed the chance to reach the Rugby World Cup semifinals, losing 46-5 to Canada in Bristol.
Australia was a clear underdog for the last-eight clash, with its English coach Jo Yapp admitting before her last match in charge it was going to be a “do or die” moment against such formidable opponents.
Canada, ranked two in the world, quickly asserted its authority by building a five-try lead by half-time.
Despite a gutsy second-half response from the Wallaroos, restricting their opponents to just two more scores, it was Canada who deservedly secured a mouth-watering semifinal showdown with world champions New Zealand.
Canada burst to an early lead with winger Asia Hogan-Rochester running in a well-worked try before the Wallaroos responded when Desiree Miller sprinted down the left touchline to cross for an excellent equalising score.
Canadian DaLeaka Menin had a try ruled out by the TMO official but teammate Alysha Corrigan crossed for a dazzling five-pointer to put their side back on top.
Corrigan scored again on 21 minutes.
And from there it was all Canada, with Sophie de Goede touching down and loosehead prop McKinley Hunt barging over to establish 31-5 advantage at half-time.
The Wallaroos were punished again after the restart when Canadian number eight Fabiola Forteza stretched to score under the posts just as the predicted rain started pouring down.
With nothing to lose, it was the Wallaroos’ turn to up the ante as they began taking the game to their opponents, earning plenty of possession as Canada was forced on the defensive.
But that momentum was swiftly halted when Canada opted to kick a penalty goal before the Maple Leafs reasserted their supremacy as 37-year-old flanker Karen Paquin glided over for a try.
Wallaroos captain Siokapesi Palu admitted her team needed investment in order to challenge at the next World Cup, which Australia will host in 2029.
“We’re looking at a group of players who are young mums, who are balancing looking after their kids,” Palu said.
“People who are working full time, working nine to five and then having to back it up with back-to-back trainings till 9pm and then having to repeat that the next day.
“We do need to be invested in so that we can produce good rugby.”
The Wallaroos have recalled hooker Katalina Amosa and lock Ashley Fernandez for their Women’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Canada, with their coaching staff still adamant Australia can pull off the upset of the tournament.
“The quarterfinal is what we wanted, and once you get into the knockout stages, anything can happen. It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity for us,” said assistant coach Gill Bourke after the team announcement on Thursday, local time.
“We want to go as far as we can in this now, so we’re approaching it like that, and we’re not getting too bogged down on who we’re playing.”
The Wallaroos are outsiders to earn their first win over a Canada side ranked second in the world, but coach Jo Yapp feels she has a powerful outfit at her disposal capable of pulling off a boilover at Bristol’s Ashton Gate stadium.
She has made two personnel changes, with Amosa and Fernandez returning to the bench.
Amosa featured against Samoa and the USA earlier in the tournament, while Fernandez has not played since the Samoa opener.
Tania Naden and Annabelle Codey have been dropped from the squad, while Yapp has also reshuffled her back row and centre pairing from the side that went down 47-7 to tournament favourites England in the final group match.
Flanker Emily Chancellor has replaced veteran Ashley Marsters, who reverts to the bench.
Centre Cecilia Smith has also been promoted to the starting XV, pushing another experienced international, Trilleen Pomare, to the bench.
There was good news on the injury front, too, with Lydia Kavoa ready to start as prop despite having left the field against England at Brighton in the first half with an ankle injury.
Yapp said she wanted to see the team deliver the same effort as last weekend when it led the world’s top-ranked side for half an hour, but that it would need to sustain that level for longer against the so far unbeaten Canadians.
“We started well against England with our game management and need to show that for longer periods of the game this week,” she said.
“The focus in training is on us. Canada is a physical team and like to move the ball, so we are excited for the challenge.”
Star winger Desiree Miller echoed that theme, recognising the need for the team to be more consistent.
Desiree Miller said the Wallaroos must be more consistent. (AP: Dave Shopland)
“It’s our Achilles heel at the moment, being consistent,” said Miller. “We showed up in the first 20, 30 minutes, and we’re all over England. We had the mentality that we had nothing to lose and they’ve got a 30-game winning streak to lose; we thought we could cause an upset, and we did do that for the first 30 minutes.”
The Wallaroos have never beaten Canada in seven attempts, and lost their last meeting 45-7 in May.
Australia will spend $1.1 billion on building dozens of locally developed underwater attack drones, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday.
The first of the stealthy, long-range “Ghost Sharks” will be delivered to the Australian navy in January next year under a five-year contract with Sydney-based Anduril Australia, Marles said.
“Australia is leading the world in terms of autonomous, underwater military capabilities,” Marles told reporters in Sydney.
The large, autonomous underwater vehicles would significantly boost Australia’s undersea warfare capabilities, complementing a fleet of submarines powered with U.S. nuclear technology, Marles said.
The first of those submarines provided under the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Britain won’t be delivered to Australia until 2032.
Australian Minister for Defense Industry Pat Conroy and Defense Minister Richard Marles, left, are pictured with an autonomous undersea vehicle known as the Ghost Shark at HMAS Kuttabul naval base in Sydney, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
Mick Tsikas / AP
Marles would not say precisely how many Ghost Sharks would be built. But he said the Australian navy would be provided with “dozens” over the next five years.
He also wouldn’t comment on the Ghost Sharks’ range other than to describe it as “very long range.”
As an island continent and a trading nation, Australia sees the possibility of its sea routes being blocked by an enemy as a major strategic threat.
A Chinese navy flotilla conducted a live-fire exercise in the sea between Australia and New Zealand in February in what was widely regarded as a demonstration of China’s growing military reach.
The flotilla almost completely circumnavigated Australia. The Chinese navy rarely travels so far south.
California-based Anduril Industries was contracted in 2022 to produce three Ghost Shark prototypes for the Australian navy.
The Ghost Shark is designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles as well as strike operations, a government statement said.
Chief of Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond said the drones could be launched from the shore and from surface ships.
Hammond said he expected the “undersea battlespace” will become increasingly congested and contested.
“I believe our allies and partners will continue to enjoy a capability advantage in that space provided we invest in capabilities like Ghost Shark and others as well as our crewed systems for years to come,” Hammond said.
Last year, the partnership announced that Japan would work with AUKUS on maritime autonomy and, according to the official, there are also conversations with Canada, South Korea, and New Zealand about potential projects on emerging capabilities.
Last month, Australia said it would also upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, first entering service by 2030.
Billed as one of Japan’s biggest defence export deals since World War II, Australia has agreed to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates.
Mogami-class warships — advanced stealth frigates equipped with a potent array of weapons — are to replace Australia’s ageing fleet of Anzac-class vessels.
A major milestone in construction has arrived. This time from Western Australia. Contec Australia has completed the nation’s first multi-story 3D concrete printed home. Located in Tapping near Perth, the two-story residence was finished in just five months. Most impressive? The structural walls were 3D printed in only 18 hours of active printing time.
This matters because it points to where housing might be heading here, too. With rising costs, labor shortages and a push for more sustainable building methods, this kind of breakthrough could shape the future of American neighborhoods.
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Contec’s project isn’t just a prototype. It demonstrates how 3D concrete printing can bring major benefits to everyday housing. Compared to traditional masonry construction, the Tapping home achieved:
22% cost savings on structural walls
3x the strength of brick (50MPa vs 15MPa)
Faster delivery, with the entire project completed in just five months
Contec Australia prints the final wall of the second level of a multi-story 3D printed home in Perth.(Contec Australia)
And it doesn’t cut corners on durability. The walls are fire-resistant, water-resistant, termite-proof and cyclone rated, features U.S. regions facing hurricanes, floods and wildfires could find especially appealing.
Exterior of a multi-story 3D concrete printed home located in Tapping, Australia.(Contec Australia)
How 3D concrete printing works
Instead of stacking bricks, Contec’s robotic printer extrudes a specialized concrete mix based on a digital 3D model. The mix sets in under three minutes, allowing new layers to be stacked without scaffolding or formwork.
The walls are printed in precise layers over the course of 18 hours of active machine time. Once the structural shell is complete, traditional crews step in to add the roof, wiring, windows, flooring and finishing touches.
Bathroom of a multi-story 3D concrete printed home located in Tapping, Australia.(Contec Australia)
Benefits that could apply in the U.S.
Speed: Structural walls finished in 18 hours; full build completed in five months. Cost efficiency: 22% cheaper than comparable masonry builds in WA. Design freedom: Complex shapes, curves and openings without added expense. Sustainability: 30% lower CO₂ emissions than conventional concrete and minimal waste. Durability: More than three times stronger than brick, fire- and water-resistant and able to withstand harsh weather.
Dining room of a multi-story 3D concrete printed home located in Tapping, Australia.(Contec Australia)
How this compares to 3D printed homes in the U.S.
You may have already heard of Icon, the Texas-based startup that has been pioneering 3D printed homes. Icon’s builds include entire neighborhoods of single-story houses in Austin, as well as experimental multi-level projects. However, most of Icon’s multi-story designs rely on a hybrid approach, with 3D printing for the ground floor and timber or steel frames for the upper levels.
That’s what makes the Tapping project stand out. Contec printed the structural walls for both stories in just 18 hours of active printing time, something not yet widely seen in the U.S. This could signal the next step for American 3D printing: scaling beyond single-story housing into more complex multi-story designs.
Bedroom of a multi-story 3D concrete printed home located in Tapping, Australia. (Contec Australia)
How much does a 3D printed home cost?
One of the biggest questions people have is price. Contec hasn’t shared the exact cost of the Tapping home, but the company says it delivered the structural walls 22% cheaper than a standard masonry build. That saving adds up when you consider how much of a home’s budget goes toward labor and materials.
In the U.S., companies like Icon have priced 3D printed homes starting around $100,000 to $150,000, depending on size and finishes. While final costs vary by region, land and design, the potential savings from reduced labor and faster timelines make 3D printing an attractive option as housing costs continue to rise.
Kitchen and dining room of a multi-story 3D concrete printed home located in Tapping, Australia.(Contec Australia)
What this means for you
For American homeowners, builders and communities, the Tapping project shows how 3D concrete printing could offer faster, cheaper and more resilient housing. Imagine moving into a new home months earlier, with walls that are stronger, more sustainable and better able to handle extreme conditions.
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3D printed housing is moving from concept to reality. This home shows that walls can go up in just 18 hours, and a full build can be finished in only a few months. That kind of speed changes the way we think about construction. With rising costs and ongoing labor shortages, builders need new solutions. 3D concrete printing offers a path to faster, more affordable and more sustainable homes without cutting corners on strength or safety.
The big question is, if a 3D-printed home became available in your area, would you move in? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.
Australian biologists said Sunday a great white shark measuring up to 12 feet likely killed a 57-year-old surfer off Sydney this weekend, as harrowing details of the attack emerged and authorities stepped up surveillance for the predators.
The experienced surfer, identified by Australian media as Mercury Psillakis, was mauled to death by a shark on Saturday off a popular beach in northern Sydney, police and rescuers say, leading to a string of beach closures.
The man, who had a wife and young daughter, lost “a number of limbs” and his surfboard was broken in two, police said.
“Really dramatic and quite graphic for those surfers who were in the water,” Martin told the outlet.
Martin told the ABC that Psillakis was the first surfer to see the shark and warned others to get out of the water.
Surfers exit the water after authorities closed Long Reef Beach in Sydney following a shark attack on September 6, 2025.
-/AFP via Getty Images
“Merc spotted the shark early, informed the other surfers in the water to band together and to try and get back to shore safely,” Martin told the outlet. “In that process, unfortunately making his way back into the surf, the shark beelined for the back of Merc and severed his legs quite severely.”
It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 2022, when 35-year-old British diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed off Little Bay.
The previous fatal attack in the city was in 1963.
Biologists with the New South Wales government were called in to assess the species of shark involved in the latest deadly encounter.
“NSW Government shark biologists have assessed photographs of the victim’s surfboard and determined a White shark approximately 3.4-3.6 metres in length was likely responsible,” a spokesperson for the state authorities said.
“The NSW Government’s thoughts are with the victim, his family and the first responders.”
Residents walk along the shoreline as northern Sydney beaches are closed following a suspected shark attack at Long Reef Beach on September 6, 2025.
SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
State government authorities said they had deployed two extra smart drumlines — anchored buoys with baited hooks that send an alert when a shark bites and also allow the animals to be tagged with trackers.
Sharks “all year round”
The drum lines were set up off the adjoining Dee Why and Long Reef beaches where the shark struck, in addition to three already in place.
The two beaches remained closed on Sunday.
Surf lifesavers were also deploying drones and patrolling on jet skis to monitor for shark activity, officials said.
“Sharks are present in NSW waters all year round,” the New South Wales government said.
“Sharks can be more prevalent in an area due to a number of factors including weather and ocean conditions as well as the availability of food in the area.”
Ocean-loving Australians were advised to monitor a so-called SharkSmart app, which alerts swimmers and surfers in real time when a tagged shark nears popular beaches.
Australia’s previous deadly shark attack was in March, when a surfer was taken off a remote beach in Western Australia.
There have been more than 1,280 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 250 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators’ encounters with humans.
The International Shark Attack File, a database of global shark attacks run by the University of Florida, noted last year that a “disproportionate” amount of people died from shark bites in Australia in 2023 when compared with other countries around the world.
An Australian judge on Monday sentenced triple-murderer Erin Patterson to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years for poisoning four of her estranged husband’s relatives with death cap mushrooms.Justice Christopher Beale told the Victoria state Supreme Court that Patterson’s crimes involved an enormous betrayal of trust.Video above: Jury returns guilty verdict in Erin Patterson ‘mushroom murder’ trialPatterson was convicted in July of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, with a lunch of beef Wellington pastries laced with foraged death cap mushrooms.Patterson was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks in a hospital.Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited but did not attend the July 2023 lunch served to her parents-in-law and her estranged husband’s aunt and uncle at her home.Murderer robbed her children of their grandparents“Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony,” Beale said.“Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents,” he added.Both prosecution and defense lawyers had agreed that a life sentence was an appropriate punishment for the 50-year-old on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.But defense lawyers had asked for Patterson to become eligible for parole after serving 30 years. Prosecutors had argued she should never be considered for parole because she did not deserve the court’s mercy.Survivor calls for kindnessIan Wilkinson did not comment on the sentence but thanked police, prosecutors and health services he’d encountered since the poisonings.“We’re thankful that when things go wrong, there are good people and services and systems available to help us recover,” he told reporters outside court.“Our lives and the life of our community depends on the kindness of others. I’d like to encourage everybody to be kind to each other. Finally, I want to say thank you to the many people from across Australia and around the world who through their prayers and messages of support have encouraged us,” he added.Beale said Patterson had also intended to kill her husband if he had accepted his invitation to lunch.She had pretended to have been diagnosed with cancer as a reason to bring them together. She claimed to have wanted advice on how to break the news to her two children, who were not present at the lunch.Beale accepted Ian Wilkinson’s account that the guests were served grey plates while Patterson ate from an orange-tan plate. This was to ensure she didn’t accidentally eat a poisoned meal, Beale said.Only triple-killer knows her motivation“Only you know why you committed them (the crimes). I will not be speculating about that matter,” the judge told Patterson.Patterson showed little emotion during the sentencing hearing, which took less than an hour. She kept her eyes closed for much or it or stared directly ahead.Patterson maintained at her trial that she had added foraged mushrooms to the meals by accident.But she had initially denied to authorities that she fed her guests foraged mushrooms. A drug that is a specific antidote for death cap mushroom poisoning was not initially administered to her dying victims.Beale told Patterson he inferred “from your pitiless behavior that your intention to kill was ongoing.”Beale noted that no psychiatric or psychological reports had been provided in her sentencing hearing. He said he had no doubt she had instructed her lawyers not to provide such evidence.Patterson has been in custody since she was charged on Nov. 2, 2023. Her sentence is backdated until then. She has 28 days from her sentencing to appeal against her convictions and the severity of her sentence.Patterson, who turns 51 on Sept. 30, will be 82 years old when she becomes eligible for parole in November 2056.The case has attracted enormous public interest in Victoria, nationally and internationally. Because of this, the Victorian Supreme Court allowed for the first time a sentencing hearing to be broadcast live on television.Beale accepted that because Patterson was classified as a “notorious” prisoner who had to be kept separate from other inmates for her own safety, her conditions were harsher than those of a mainstream prisoner.Patterson spends at least 22 hours a day in her call and has never spoken to the only inmate she’s allowed to. That inmate, who has an adjoining exercise yard that shares a mesh wire fence, has been convicted of terrorism offenses and has attacked other prisoners.”I infer that, given the unprecedented media coverage of your case, and the books, documentaries and TV series about you which are all in the pipeline, you are likely to remain a notorious prisoner for many years to come, and, as such, remain at significant risk from other prisoners,” Beale said.
MELBOURNE, VIC —
An Australian judge on Monday sentenced triple-murderer Erin Patterson to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years for poisoning four of her estranged husband’s relatives with death cap mushrooms.
Justice Christopher Beale told the Victoria state Supreme Court that Patterson’s crimes involved an enormous betrayal of trust.
Video above: Jury returns guilty verdict in Erin Patterson ‘mushroom murder’ trial
Patterson was convicted in July of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, with a lunch of beef Wellington pastries laced with foraged death cap mushrooms.
Patterson was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks in a hospital.
Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited but did not attend the July 2023 lunch served to her parents-in-law and her estranged husband’s aunt and uncle at her home.
Murderer robbed her children of their grandparents
“Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony,” Beale said.
“Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents,” he added.
Jason South
Convicted killer Erin Patterson, right, arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria for sentencing in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.
Both prosecution and defense lawyers had agreed that a life sentence was an appropriate punishment for the 50-year-old on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.
But defense lawyers had asked for Patterson to become eligible for parole after serving 30 years. Prosecutors had argued she should never be considered for parole because she did not deserve the court’s mercy.
Survivor calls for kindness
Ian Wilkinson did not comment on the sentence but thanked police, prosecutors and health services he’d encountered since the poisonings.
“We’re thankful that when things go wrong, there are good people and services and systems available to help us recover,” he told reporters outside court.
“Our lives and the life of our community depends on the kindness of others. I’d like to encourage everybody to be kind to each other. Finally, I want to say thank you to the many people from across Australia and around the world who through their prayers and messages of support have encouraged us,” he added.
Beale said Patterson had also intended to kill her husband if he had accepted his invitation to lunch.
She had pretended to have been diagnosed with cancer as a reason to bring them together. She claimed to have wanted advice on how to break the news to her two children, who were not present at the lunch.
Beale accepted Ian Wilkinson’s account that the guests were served grey plates while Patterson ate from an orange-tan plate. This was to ensure she didn’t accidentally eat a poisoned meal, Beale said.
Only triple-killer knows her motivation
“Only you know why you committed them (the crimes). I will not be speculating about that matter,” the judge told Patterson.
Patterson showed little emotion during the sentencing hearing, which took less than an hour. She kept her eyes closed for much or it or stared directly ahead.
Patterson maintained at her trial that she had added foraged mushrooms to the meals by accident.
But she had initially denied to authorities that she fed her guests foraged mushrooms. A drug that is a specific antidote for death cap mushroom poisoning was not initially administered to her dying victims.
Beale told Patterson he inferred “from your pitiless behavior that your intention to kill was ongoing.”
Beale noted that no psychiatric or psychological reports had been provided in her sentencing hearing. He said he had no doubt she had instructed her lawyers not to provide such evidence.
Patterson has been in custody since she was charged on Nov. 2, 2023. Her sentence is backdated until then. She has 28 days from her sentencing to appeal against her convictions and the severity of her sentence.
Patterson, who turns 51 on Sept. 30, will be 82 years old when she becomes eligible for parole in November 2056.
The case has attracted enormous public interest in Victoria, nationally and internationally. Because of this, the Victorian Supreme Court allowed for the first time a sentencing hearing to be broadcast live on television.
Beale accepted that because Patterson was classified as a “notorious” prisoner who had to be kept separate from other inmates for her own safety, her conditions were harsher than those of a mainstream prisoner.
Patterson spends at least 22 hours a day in her call and has never spoken to the only inmate she’s allowed to. That inmate, who has an adjoining exercise yard that shares a mesh wire fence, has been convicted of terrorism offenses and has attacked other prisoners.
“I infer that, given the unprecedented media coverage of your case, and the books, documentaries and TV series about you which are all in the pipeline, you are likely to remain a notorious prisoner for many years to come, and, as such, remain at significant risk from other prisoners,” Beale said.
An Australian judge on Monday sentenced Erin Patterson to life in prison for killing three people with toxic mushrooms, following a weekslong trial that gripped the country.
Patterson was convicted in July of triple murder for serving a poisonous meal to her estranged husband’s parents, aunt and uncle during a sumptuous beef Wellington lunch at her home in 2023. She will be eligible for parole after 33 years.
Three of Patterson’s four lunch guests — her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson — died in the hospital after the 2023 meal at her home in Leongatha, at which she served individual beef Wellington pastries containing death cap mushrooms.
She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, who survived the meal.
Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited but did not attend the July 2023 lunch.
“Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony,” Beale said.
“Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents,” he added.
It wasn’t disputed that Patterson served the mushrooms or that the pastries killed her guests. The jury was required to decide whether she knew the lunch contained death caps, and if she intended for them to die.
Both prosecution and defense lawyers had agreed that a life sentence was an appropriate punishment for the then-50-year-old on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.
But defense lawyers had asked for Patterson to become eligible for parole after serving 30 years. Prosecutors had argued she should never be considered for parole because she did not deserve the court’s mercy.
Patterson will have 28 days to lodge an appeal against the sentence, the convictions, or both.
In the halcyon days of the 20th century, air travel was designed to be comfortable for all passengers—not just the ones in first or business class. Those days are long gone for we plebes in economy, unfortunately. The seats are small, the legroom nonexistent, and the refreshments subpar or nonexistent.
Savvy travelers have turned to various tricks to make plane rides more palatable. Some are common-sense strategies like dressing in layers and booking early. Others are only known to seasoned travelers, like skiplagging. These aren’t without risks, however.
A couple on an Air Canada flight to Australia recently tried their hand at a lesser-known technique for a superior flight experience. Emily (@emdwyaa) documented the experience in an 8-second TikTok.
“Having a panic attack because we tried the aisle and window seat trick for a 14-hour flight,” Emily writes in a text overlay on the post.
She captions it, “The most stressful boarding process before a 14 hour flight to Australia.”
Her post has people fighting it out in the comments over whether the trick is a savvy move, an unnecessary gamble, or just bad behavior.
Emily didn’t respond to an inquiry sent via TikTok direct message.
How does it work?
The aisle and window seat trick is simple: two people traveling together book the aisle and window seats in a row with three seats. Because middle seats are less desirable, they arguably increase their odds of getting the entire row to themselves.
In Emily and her husband’s case, it was a success. Several seconds into the TikTok, she films the empty middle seat. A text overlay reads, “It worked.” In the caption, she describes the maneuver as “DIY business class.”
Because it worked, the couple got to spend an entire 14-hour flight to Australia in their own private row. If it hadn’t, they could’ve ended up elbow to elbow with a stranger for over half a day.
Not everyone is pleased with their stroke of good fortune, however.
Tips for successful air travel
The aisle and window seat trick is a gamble. You both could end up next to a flatulent, shoeless, snorer for the entire flight, after all.
There are some ways to increase your chance of success.
A full flight means even those undesirable middle seats will be booked. So don’t bother trying the hack if you’re traveling during peak times, like the holidays.
Similarly, as most prefer to sit further up, select two seats in the rear of the plane. This increases your odds that the center one will remain empty.
“I put Dramamine in the seat and hold the puke bag,” a commenter named Leigh offered. “Hope this helps.”
Another suggested putting a personal item there, like your phone.
Fair game versus foul play
There is no policy against reserving an aisle and window seat in the hopes that no one takes that middle seat. Nevertheless, some cried foul.
One vowed, “I’m taking that middle seat and farting for 14 hours straight.” Another charmer shared that he farts and takes his shoes off during flights.
Someone else wondered why people have a problem with the aisle and window seat trick. “Because it creates a forced uncomfortable scenario when somebody does book that seat, and the couple proceeds to manifest unwanted conversation across this person for 14 hours,” explained a detractor.
A second countered, “Actually it doesn’t. You just don’t talk to your travel partner bc it’s rude.”
A third noted that the travel companions could simply offer to trade seats with the person in the middle.
This solution didn’t please everyone. As one mocked, “‘Hey, my partner and I were really hoping that our greed would be rewarded, and now we’re awkwardly reaping the fruits of our labor—can you help us course correct by giving up the seat you ultimately paid for, for our comfort?””
A few noted that most people would rather have a window or aisle seat, so, rather than being greedy, they’d likely be doing the person in the middle a favor by switching.
Several said they’ve been the unlucky middle seat dweller in a situation when the two companions didn’t ask to change seats. They described people talking over them throughout the flight and treating them as their personal lazy susan.
One said a father and daughter were so obnoxious they asked them to leave “me the [expletive] alone.”
Not everyone blames travelers like Emily.
“Airlines have made economy travel so uncomfortable that we have to resort to this,” a woman wrote. “Just make seats more comfortable.”
Claire Goforth is a contributing writer to The Mary Sue. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Al Jazeera America, the Miami New Times, Folio Weekly, the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, the Florida Times-Union, the Daily Dot, and Grace Ormonde Wedding Style. Find her online at bsky.app/profile/clairegoforth.bsky.social and x.com/claire_goforth.
A surfer at a popular Sydney beach was mauled to death by a suspected “large shark” on Saturday, Australian police said, in a rare fatal attack.
The 57-year-old man was surfing with friends in the Pacific waters off northern Sydney’s adjoining Long Reef and Dee Why beaches when the attack happened, authorities said.
The man – an experienced surfer with a wife and a young daughter – lost “a number of limbs”, New South Wales police superintendent John Ducan told reporters.
“I do understand that both him and his board disappeared underwater,” he said. “The body was found floating in the surf.”
Surfers exit the water after authorities closed Long Reef Beach in Sydney following a shark attack on September 6, 2025.
AFP via Getty Images
A couple of surfers saw him in the water and got him to shore, Duncan said.
“Unfortunately, by that time, we understand he lost probably a lot of blood and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful,” he said.
Visitors walk along the shoreline as northern Sydney beaches remain closed following a suspected shark attack at Long Reef Beach on September 6, 2025.
SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
People nearby saw the ocean predator, according to police, who earlier said they believed a “large shark” attacked the man.
Government experts will examine the remains of the surfboard and the man’s body to help them determine the species of shark involved, police said.
There are about 100 shark species in Western Australia, according to SharkSmart, a website run by Australian officials that warns about shark activity and gives tips on how to stay safe. Most of the species are capable of injuring humans, but an “overwhelming majority of them are not aggressive under most circumstances.” Most serious shark bites in ocean-loving Australia are from great whites, bull sharks, and tiger sharks.
After the incident, nearby beaches were closed for at least 24 hours. Drones and surf lifesavers on water skis were patrolling the beaches for shark activity.
Fatal shark attacks are rare. In 2024, there were only seven fatal attacks, including four unprovoked attacks, around the world, according to research by the International Shark Attack File, a database run by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the University of Florida.
Overall, shark attacks decreased dramatically in 2024 and were far below the annual average.
This was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 2022, when a 35-year-old British diving instructor was killed off Little Bay. The previous fatal attack in the city was in 1963. Australia’s last deadly shark attack was in March, when a surfer was taken off the remote Wharton Beach of Western Australia.
Another surfer was presumed dead after a shark attack in South Australia in early January. A witness who saw the attack rode into the sea and retrieved the man’s surfboard, but officials said there was “no sign” of the surfer afterwards.
Virgin Australia came under fire after passengers on a flight from Bali to Brisbane, Australia, were forced to urinate in bottles and the lavatory sinks.
“We will be crediting guests for the Denpasar to Brisbane flight and we are proactively reaching out to them to provide this update,” a Virgin spokesman following the Thursday night disaster, offering their “sincere apology to customers.”
According to reports, one of the three lavatories was inoperable at the time of takeoff. However, the decision was made to continue with the scheduled departure due to “limited engineering support” at the departure airport.
However, according to an unnamed passenger, by midway through the six-hour flight, “every toilet failed.”
“For the remaining three hours, the cabin crew informed us we would need to relieve ourselves in bottles or ‘on top of whatever was already in the toilet,'” the disgruntled traveler told The Australian. “One elderly woman was unable to hold on and suffered the humiliation of wetting herself in public.”
The business class passenger was reportedly instructed to “use the sink to urinate” after refusing to use a bottle.
“This is a huge hygiene issue as people wash their hands in the sink,” he said. “For passengers to be forced to sit in a confined space for hours surrounded by overflowing toilets and human waste is a public health risk, a safety concern, and an absolute disgrace.”
The aircraft in question, one of Virgin Australia’s newest Boeing 737 Max 8s, was undergoing repairs Friday and scheduled to take off from Brisbane to Mackay on Saturday.
Three Sydney dockworkers have been charged over a massive shipment of cocaine in a law enforcement investigation into trusted insiders importing illicit drugs into Australia, authorities said on Tuesday.
The three, aged 25, 38 and 42, appeared in a Sydney court on Monday charged over 1,116 pounds of cocaine found hidden behind a false wall in a shipping container on the Sydney waterfront on the weekend, Australian Federal Police said in a statement. The cocaine had a street value of more than $107 million.
Police said investigators arrested the man the 25-year-old suspect as he exited the shipping container. Authorities found a crowbar, an angle grinder and other tools, which they allege the man was using to cut into the false wall of the shipping container.
This photo released by the Australian Federal Police, shows a cache of cocaine concealed found behind a false wall of a shipping container at a Sydney Port, on Aug. 31, 2025.
AP
The older two men were forklift drivers employed by a global shipping and logistics company that authorities have not named.
Police also found $216,240 in cash which they allege is the proceeds of crime.
All three face potential life sentences if convicted.
The 42-year-old man was released on bail but the others were remanded in custody. They will all appear in court next on Oct. 29.
The shipping container was sent from Europe, but the source of the cocaine remained under investigation, according to police.
The men were arrested by the Multi Agency Strike Team. The team is made up of state and federal agencies who target “trusted insiders” within supply chains that allow organized crime groups to smuggle illicit drugs into Australia.
“To anyone lured in by the false promise of riches from drug importations – these offenses carry the potential of life in jail,” Detective Superintendent Peter Fogarty said in a statement.
This photo released by the Australian Federal Police, shows a cache of cocaine concealed behind a false wall of a shipping container at a Sydney Port, on Aug. 31, 2025.
AP
Last December, Australian police seized a record 2.3 tons of cocaine and arrested 13 people in raids after a fishing boat broke down off the coast of Queensland.
An Australian celebrity crocodile wrangler was found guilty Friday of lying to police and seeking to falsify flight records more than three years after a fatal helicopter crash.
A jury convicted Matt Wright, star of the “Wild Croc Territory,” “Monster Croc Wrangler” and “Outback Wrangler” series, of two counts of perverting the course of justice, court documents showed.
The month-long trial at Darwin Supreme Court followed a 2022 helicopter crash in the Northern Territory outback that killed his friend and co-star Chris Wilson and left the pilot a paraplegic.
Wilson was dangling from the helicopter by a 100-foot line to collect crocodile eggs when it ran out of fuel and crashed, an air crash investigation found.
Matt Wright (L), the star of Netflix show Wild Croc Territory and National Geographic’s Outback Wrangler, arrives with his wife Kaia Wright (R) at the Supreme Court in Darwin on August 12, 2025.
WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images
Investigators at the time found that the operator was not using its safety management system to identify and manage operational hazards.
The Northern Territory lets hunters collect wild crocodile eggs to help manage populations, allowing them to be sold to farms that use the reptiles to make leather.
Wright was convicted of lying in a statement about the aircraft’s fuel level, and of encouraging the injured pilot to falsify flight records.
The jury was unable to deliver a verdict on a third charge that he had instructed someone to destroy aircraft maintenance records.
Acting Justice Alan Blow released Wright on bail ahead of an appeal, according to national broadcaster ABC.
Speaking outside the court, Wright said he was “pretty disappointed” by the verdict, ABC reported.
“It’s been a long fight and we’ve got an appeal in process now, and we’ll keep moving forward with this,” he said. “It’s been devastating for everyone involved.”
Wilson’s widow, Danielle Wilson, attended the proceedings on each day of the trial, ABC reported. Speaking outside court on Friday, she said the day marked “an important moment in a long and painful journey,” the outlet reported.
Australia has dismissed a claim that Israeli interventions prompted the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to expel Iran’s ambassador to Canberra, after the premier blamed Tehran for directing anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Complete nonsense,” Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke told ABC Radio on Wednesday, when asked about Israel claiming credit for Australia’s decision to order Tehran’s ambassador, Ahmad Sadeghi, to leave the country.
Albanese said on Tuesday that Australia had reached “the deeply disturbing conclusion” through “credible intelligence” that found Iran’s government had “directed” at least two attacks against Australia’s Jewish community.
Responding to a question from the ABC about Australia’s allegations against Iran, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer had commended Australia for taking “threats seriously” against the Jewish community, which he said had come after a “forthright intervention” from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mencer said Netanyahu had “made very forthright comments about the [Australian] prime minister himself”, which spurred Albanese to action.
“He made those comments because he did not believe that the actions of the Australian government had gone anywhere near far enough to address the issues of anti-Semitism,” Mencer added.
The ABC included Mencer’s comments in an article titled: “Israeli government claims credit for pushing Albanese to expel Iranian diplomats.”
Netanyahu last week accused Albanese of being “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews”, days after Albanese announced Australia would move to formally recognise a Palestinian state in September.
Iran said it “absolutely rejected” Australia’s accusations regarding the attacks and noted that the claims had come after Australia had directed “limited criticism” at Israel.
“It seems that this action is taken in order to compensate for the limited criticism the Australian side has directed at the Zionist regime [Israel],” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.
“Any inappropriate and unjustified action on a diplomatic level will have a reciprocal reaction,” Baghaei said.
Ilana Lenk, the spokesperson and head of public diplomacy at Israel’s embassy in Canberra, shared Australian newspaper front pages with headlines including, ‘Iran attacks us’ and ‘Iran targets Bondi deli’, in a post on social media.
“We warned Iran wouldn’t stop with Israel or the Jewish people. The West is next isn’t just a slogan, and today Australia sees it,” she wrote.
In a statement, the Jewish Council of Australia said it was “shocked to learn of the Iranian government involvement in coordinating antisemitic attacks”.
“The fact that a foreign government appears to be responsible shows how irresponsible it was for the attacks to be used to demonise the Palestine solidarity protest movement ,” the council said in a statement.
“We call on politicians and the media to exercise caution and to avoid politicisation of these attacks in a way that could further harm the Jewish community,” the statement added.
Melbourne, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of organizing two antisemitic attacks in Australia and said the country was cutting off diplomatic relations with Tehran in response on Tuesday.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organization concluded the Iranian government had directed arson attacks on the Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher food company, in Sydney in October last year and on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December last year, Albanese said.
Iran’s government denied the allegations.
There has been a steep rise in antisemitic incidents in Sydney and Melbourne since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023.
Australian authorities have previously said they suspect that foreign actors are paying local criminals-for-hire to carry out attacks in the country.
Member of Parliament Josh Burns walks past the damaged Adass Israel Synagogue, Dec. 10, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the synagogue forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building.
Asanka Ratnayake/Getty
Sayed Mohammed Moosawi, a 32-year-old Sydney-based former chapter president of the Nomads biker gang, has been charged with directing the fire bombings of the Sydney café as well as the nearby Curly Lewis Brewery. The brewery was apparently confused for the café and mistakenly targeted three days earlier for an antisemitic attack.
Giovanna Laulu, a 21-year-old man from Melbourne, was charged last month with being one of three masked arsonists who caused extensive damage to the synagogue in December.
A second alleged arsonist, a 20-year-old man also from Melbourne, is expected to appear in court Wednesday, a police statement said. He has not been publicly named.
“ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion,” Albanese told reporters. “The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran has sought to disguise its involvement but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” he said. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable.”
Debris is strewn at the burnt-out Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 9, 2024.
YUMI ROSENBAUM/AP
Shortly before the announcement, the Australian government told Iran’s Ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi that he will be expelled. It also withdrew Australian diplomats posted in Iran to a third country, Albanese said.
An alert to Australians in Iran noted the embassy’s closure and urged them to “strongly consider leaving as soon as possible, if it is safe to do so.”
“Foreigners in Iran, including Australians and dual Australian-Iranian nationals, are at a high risk of arbitrary detention or arrest,” the warning read.
Australia updated its warning to travelers to its highest level: “Do not travel” to Iran.
Iran has a long history of detaining Westerners or those with ties abroad to use as bargaining chips in negotiations.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Canberra would keep some diplomatic lines open to Tehran to advance Australia’s interests. She added that it was the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.
Albanese said that Australia will legislate to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.
Australia’s law makes providing support to a listed terrorist organization a crime. The government has previously rejected calls to list the Revolutionary Guard under existing terrorism laws because it is a government entity.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has been accused of carrying out attacks abroad over the decades of its existence, though it broadly denies any involvement. The Guard’s Quds, or Jerusalem, Force is its expeditionary arm and is accused by Western nations of using local militants and criminals in the past to target dissidents and Israelis abroad.
The U.S., during the first Trump administration in 2019, formally designated the Guard a foreign terrorist organization, accusing it not only facilitating, but perpetrating terrorism.
A spokesperson for the Executive Council of Australian Jewry welcomed the terrorist designation for the Revolutionary Guard, adding in a statement that the group was “outraged” that a foreign actor was behind the crimes.
“Foremost, these were attacks that deliberately targeted Jewish Australians, destroyed a sacred house of worship, caused millions of dollars of damage, and terrified our community,” the statement said.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Israel has arrested several people on charges they had been paid or encouraged by Iran to carry out vandalism and monitor potential targets there.
Iran denied Australia’s allegations through its Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, who tried to link it to the challenges Australia faced with Israel after announcing it would recognize a Palestinian state.
“It looks like the action, which is against Iran, diplomacy and the relations between the two nations, is a compensation for the criticism that the Australians had against the Zionist regime,” Baghaei claimed.
The move against Iran came a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Albanese a “weak politician who had betrayed Israel” by recognizing a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu’s extraordinary public rebuke on social media came after an Aug. 11 announcement by Albanese that his government’s recognition of a Palestinian state will be formalized at the United Nations General Assembly in September. That announcement was followed by tit-for-tat cancellations of visas for Australian and Israeli officials.
Albanese previously resisted calls to expel Iran’s envoy to Canberra before, analysts said, including in 2024 when Sadeghi was summoned for meetings with foreign ministry officials over his social media posts.
Michael Shoebridge, a former Australian defense and security official and director of the think tank Strategic Analysis Australia, said he didn’t believe the move was prompted by Israel’s complaints.
“I don’t think that’s a matter of Australia-Israel relations, but a matter of community cohesion here in Australia,” he said.
Neither ASIO director-general Mike Burgess nor Albanese explained what evidence there was of Iranian involvement.
Burgess said no Iranian diplomats in Australia were involved.
“This was directed by the IRGC through a series of overseas cut-out facilitators to coordinators that found their way to tasking Australians,” Burgess said.
While antisemitic incidents increased in Australian after the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7 2023, Iran was responsible for a transition in October last year when the violence more directly targeted people, businesses and places of worship, Burgess said.
Melbourne, Australia — The sole survivor of a deadly lunch laced with toxic mushrooms said on Monday he felt only half alive following the death of his wife and he continued to grieve the loss of his two closest friends.
Ian Wilkinson read the first victim impact statement in at a sentencing hearing for Erin Patterson at the Victoria state Supreme Court.
The 50-year-old will be sentenced on Sept. 8 on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The prosecution argued for a life sentence without possibility of parole, while defense lawyers want her to become eligible for release after serving 30 years.
“The offending here is horrendous,” Justice Christopher Beale told the court.
A jury convicted Patterson in July of murdering Wilkinson’s wife Heather Wilkinson, her sister Gail Patterson, and her husband Don Patterson with a lunch of beef Wellington pastries and foraged death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
Erin Patterson was also convicted of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks in a hospital and survived after receiving a liver transplant.
Wilkinson, a Baptist pastor, described his wife as a woman who took her faith seriously and was full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
Ian Wilkinson, the only guest to survive a toxic mushroom lunch with Australian murderer Erin Patterson, leaves the Supreme Court of Victoria following the day’s proceedings in a pre-sentencing hearing in Melbourne on August 25, 2025.
MARTIN KEEP / AFP via Getty Images
“I only feel half alive without her,” Wilkinson said before weeping.
“It’s one of the distressing shortcomings of our society that so much attention is showered on those who do evil and so little on those who do good,” he added.
“The silence in our home is a daily reminder. I continue to carry a heavy burden of grief over her untimely death,” the pastor, who testified at Patterson’s trial, said of his wife, according to French news agency AFP. “It is a truly horrible thought to live with, that somebody could decide to take her life.”
He described Gail and Don Patterson, the parents of Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, as the closest people to him after his wife and family.
“My life is greatly impoverished without them,” Wilkinson said.
“I’m distressed that Erin has acted with callous and calculated disregard for my life and the lives of those I love. What foolishness possesses a person to think that murder could be the solution to their problems, especially the murder of people who have only good intentions towards her?” he added.
Wilkinson offered Patterson his forgiveness for the harms she had done to him.
“I say ‘harms done to me’ advisedly. I have no power or responsibility to forgive harms done to others,” Wilkinson said.
“My prayer for her is that she will use her time in jail wisely to become a better person,” he added.
Wilkinson said his own health has never fully recovered and that he has reduced liver function, ongoing respiratory issues and less energy, AFP reported. “I very, very nearly died,” he told the court.
Erin Patterson attended the Melbourne court in person on Monday, wearing a paisley top with a light brown jacket. She appeared emotionally moved as Ian Wilkinson spoke.
Convicted murderer Erin Patterson is escorted out of the Supreme Court of Victoria following the day’s proceedings in a pre-sentencing hearing in Melbourne on August 25, 2025.
MARTIN KEEP / AFP via Getty Images
Seven relatives of victims either read impact statements to the court on Monday or had them read on their behalf.
Erin Patterson faces a potential life sentence for each of the murders and 25 years for attempted murder.
She will have a month after her sentencing to lodge an appeal against her sentence and conviction.
The defense submitted that Erin Patterson claimed she had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and that her husband believed she suffered from anxiety, high-functioning autism and possible ADHD.
The judge said the evidence of Asperger’s “doesn’t have a lot of credibility.”
Prosecutor Jane Warren dismissed the claims of mental health conditions as hearsay evidence.
She said Beale should show Erin Patterson no mercy. She likened the case to one in 2017 when Michael Cardamone was sentenced in Victoria to life in prison without possibility of parole for the murder of a neighbor he burned alive.
“It is a crime that is so cruel and so horrific that, in our submission, the offender is not deserving of this court’s mercy,” Warren said.
Diageo has agreed to sell two of its Australian ready-to-drink brands, UDL and Ruski Lemon, to local drinks group Vok Beverages.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
In a joint statement, Dan Hamilton, the managing director of Diageo’s Australia business, said: “The decision to sell UDL and Ruski was not made lightly but we believe it is the best way to preserve the legacy of these iconic brands and unlock future growth and innovation across Diageo’s broader portfolio.”
The sale to Vok Beverages is expected to be finalised by 1 October.
“Diageo Australia and Vok Beverages will work together to ensure a smooth transition for the continued supply of UDL and Ruski to their valued customer base,” the joint statement read.
Ruski Lemon is a vodka-based RTD beverage, while the UDL range contains pre-mixed cocktails in flavours such as Blue Lagoon, Piña Colada, and Mango Daiquiri.
The brands were created by Diageo and its predecessor company United Distillers Limited. UDL was launched in 1965, while Ruski came onto the market in 1997, the year Diageo was founded.
UDL and Ruski are sold mostly in Australia but also have “limited sales” in New Zealand and some markets in the South Pacific region, Diageo told Just Drinks.
Vok Beverages, founded in 2002, is the alcoholic drinks subsidiary of local company Bickford’s Group of Companies.
The South Australia-based business specialises in the production, sales and marketing of beer, wine, spirits, cider and RTD beverages.
Its portfolio includes 23rd Street Distillery gins, Beenleigh Rum and Vok Liqueurs.
In the statement, Vok Beverages managing director Angelo Kotses said: “Since 2002, Vok Beverages has been proudly crafting exceptional spirits, RTDs, beer, and wine from our local manufacturing facility in South Australia, building trusted brands with a passionate consumer following.
“We’re thrilled to be giving UDL and Ruski a bold new chapter, with exciting plans already underway to surprise, inspire, and delight both customers and consumers alike.”
Diageo still produces a range of RTD brands in Australia under the brands Bundaberg rum, Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky, Captain Morgan rum and Gordon’s gin.
The sale comes as Diageo intensifies its cost-saving efforts. The company recently announced plans to achieve $625m in cost savings over the next three years, an increase of $125m from its initial $500m target outlined in its ‘Accelerate’ initiative in May.
“Diageo sells two RTD brands to Australia’s Vok Beverages” was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.
It is nightmare where waking up is the problem…but a new study suggests CBD could help
It is one of the most common health complaints in the modern world, now a new study offers hope for CBD and insomnia. A groundbreaking trial in Australia is putting CBD (cannabidiol) to the test as a potential new treatment.
Melbourne-based Avecho Biotechnology has launched the world’s largest randomized, placebo-controlled trial of CBD for insomnia, enrolling more than 500 adults across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and the Gold Coast. The goal: to find out if CBD, delivered in a new capsule form, can help people fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed.
The numbers are staggering. Globally, 10 to 30 percent of adults experience insomnia, and up to 15 percent live with chronic insomnia. In Australia, surveys show 60 percent of people report at least one symptom of sleeplessness. Economists estimate poor sleep drains more than $19 billion a year from the Australian economy, with nearly $11 billion lost in productivity alone.
Photo by Erin Hinterland via Pixababy
Existing treatments—from melatonin to prescription sleep aids—can leave patients groggy or don’t work well long-term. This is why the Australian CBD sleep study is drawing international attention.
Avecho’s Phase III trial is designed with pharmaceutical-level rigor. It’s double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomized, meaning participants and researchers don’t know who is getting CBD versus placebo. Volunteers will take capsules containing 75mg or 150mg of CBD each night for eight weeks while tracking their sleep.
The capsules use Avecho’s TPM (tocopheryl phosphate mixture) delivery system, a Vitamin E–based technology boosts CBD absorption. Poor bioavailability has long been a weakness of CBD oils and gummies—Avecho hopes this solves it.
If the trial succeeds, Avecho could become the first company to register an over-the-counter CBD product for insomnia in Australia. It would put CBD directly on pharmacy shelves, available without a prescription.
For millions struggling with sleepless nights, this could be a medical and lifestyle game-changer. Insomnia has been linked to heart disease, depression, anxiety, and reduced quality of life. With demand for safe, non-addictive sleep aids rising, CBD could offer a natural alternative backed by hard science.
“This is the first large-scale test to see if CBD really works for sleep,” said Avecho CEO Dr. Paul Gavin in a statement. “We want to give patients safe, effective and accessible options.”
