Australia ‘mushroom murderer’ Erin Patterson sentenced to life in prison
Published On 8 Sep 20258 Sep 2025 An Australian judge has sentenced a woman convicted of killing three of her estranged husband’s relatives with toxic mushrooms to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 33 years. The sentence on Monday came after a jury found Erin Patterson guilty of killing her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Gail and Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them a lunch of Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The 50-year-old was also convicted of attempting to murder Wilkinson’s husband, Ian, who spent weeks in a hospital. Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, was invited but did not attend the July 2023 lunch served at her home in Leongatha, some 135km (84 miles) southeast of Melbourne. Justice Christopher Beale said that the substantial planning of the murders and Patterson’s lack of remorse meant her sentence should be lengthy. “The devastating impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims. Your crimes have harmed a great many people,” he said at the hearing in Melbourne. “Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating the extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents,” he added. Life sentence Both prosecution and defence lawyers had agreed that a life sentence was an appropriate punishment for Patterson on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The defence 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. Advertisement Beale on Monday agreed that Patterson should receive the maximum penalty, and gave her three life sentences for the counts of murder and a 25-year-prison sentence for the count of attempted murder. All of the sentences are to be served concurrently. Beale gave her a chance at parole, however, after she serves a minimum period of 33 years. This means she will be 81 before she can be considered for release. In his remarks, 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, and 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 did not accidentally eat a poisoned meal, Beale said. The judge said he would not speculate on her motive. Patterson maintained that she had added foraged mushrooms to the meals by accident. Patterson has been in custody since she was charged on November 2, 2023. A corrections officer has previously told the court that she was being kept in isolation for her own safety, and was permitted contact with only one other prisoner who is in jail for “terrorism” offences. Patterson now has 28 days to appeal her sentence, but has not indicated whether she will do so. ‘Half-alive’ The deaths have devastated the close-knit rural community of Korumburra, where all the victims lived. The court received a total of 28 victim impact statements, of which seven were read publicly at last month’s hearings. Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at a local church and the sole surviving guest of the lunch, told last month’s hearing that the death of his wife had left him bereft. “It’s a truly horrible thought to live with, that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her,” he said, breaking down in tears as he delivered his victim impact statement. The extraordinary media interest in the case, which gripped Australia for much of the 10-week trial, had been traumatic for the family, Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, said at the same hearing. Journalists and television crews from around the world descended on the town of Morwell when the trial began in April, with millions of Australians following proceedings live through one of several popular daily podcasts. For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday allowed a television camera into the court to broadcast Beale’s sentencing remarks live due to overwhelming public interest. Advertisement The trial has already inspired several books, documentaries, and a drama series, Toxic, set to air on state broadcaster ABC. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,292
Here are the key events on day 1,292 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Published On 8 Sep 20258 Sep 2025 Here is how things stand on Monday, September 8: Fighting Russia launched its largest air attack of the war on Ukraine on Sunday, killing at least four people, including a one-year-old baby, and wounding 44 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The attack also set the main government building in central Kyiv on fire. It marked the first time that the building had been hit since the war began. “Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media, issuing a new appeal to allies to strengthen Ukrainian air defences. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 810 drones and 13 missiles during the attack, which caused damage across the country, including the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions. Other Russian attacks killed three in the Zaporizhia region, two in Donetsk, a 66-year-old woman in Kharkiv, a 51-year-old woman in Sumy, and a 54-year-old man in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Ukrainian officials. In Russian-occupied Donetsk, the TASS news agency reported that a Ukrainian attack injured six civilians. The Russian state media outlet cited Denis Pushilin, the head of the Moscow-installed authorities in Donetsk. Ukrainian forces also attacked the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia’s Bryansk region, inflicting “comprehensive fire damage”, the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, Robert Brovdi, said on Telegram on Sunday. The Russian Ministry of Defence said that its forces shot down 210 Ukrainian drones and three aerial bombs in a 24-hour period. TASS also reported that Russia’s military has occupied the settlement of Khoroshe in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. Sanctions and economic situation Advertisement US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the United States and Europe could prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter peace talks with Ukraine by imposing more sanctions on Moscow, as well as “secondary tariffs” on the countries that buy Russian oil. “The Russian economy will be in full collapse, and that will bring President Putin to the table,” Bessent said on NBC’s Meet the Press. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he is ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia. He did not elaborate. Later on Sunday, he said that individual European leaders would visit the US on Monday or Tuesday to discuss how to resolve the war. The US president said he would speak to Putin soon, too. A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project departed from a Chinese port, ship tracking data showed on Sunday. The Russian-flagged tanker, with a cargo of 150,000 cubic metres (about 40 million gallons) of LNG, was loaded up at the Arctic LNG 2 facility in Gydan in northern Siberia on July 19, LSEG data showed, and was the second from the sanctioned project to dock in China this year. Politics and Diplomacy The US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, condemned the latest Russian air attack on Ukraine, saying it “was not a signal that Russia wants to diplomatically end this war”. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said in a statement that he was appalled by Russia’s “latest brutal overnight assault on Kyiv and across Ukraine, which killed civilians and hit infrastructure”. Adblock test (Why?)
Gaza war film The Voice of Hind Rajab wins 2nd prize at Venice festival
A harrowing docudrama about Israel’s killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl during its ongoing war on Gaza has won the Silver Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival. The Voice of Hind Rajab, by French-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, came in second on Saturday to the movie Father Mother Sister Brother by United States indie director Jim Jarmusch. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The film tells the true story of Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces last year, as she and her family tried to evacuate Gaza City. It uses real audio from Rajab’s hours-long call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, in which rescuers tried to reassure her as she lay trapped in a bullet-ridden car with the bodies of her aunt, uncle and three cousins, who had all been killed by Israeli fire. The girl was then also killed, as were the two ambulance workers who went to the scene to try and rescue her. The film was the most talked-about movie on the Venice Lido and tipped by many as the likely winner after a 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Wednesday. Ben Hania, accepting her award, said Rajab’s story was not just that of the young girl, but tragically that of “an entire people enduring genocide”. “Cinema cannot bring Hind back, nor can it erase the atrocity committed against her. Nothing can ever restore what was taken, but cinema can preserve her voice, make it resonate across borders,” the director said. “Her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real, until justice is served.” Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, including more than 18,000 children, cast a long shadow over this year’s festival. Jarmusch, who won the coveted Golden Lion, signalled his opposition to Israel’s continued siege and bombardment of Gaza by wearing a badge saying “Enough” at the award ceremony. Advertisement Earlier in the weekend, when he had unveiled Father Mother Sister Brother, the 72-year-old director acknowledged that he was concerned that one of his main distributors had taken money from a company with ties to the Israeli military. Jarmusch’s winning film stars Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, and is a three-part meditation on the uneasy ties between parents and their adult children. He called Saturday’s win an “unexpected honour” and thanked the grand jury for “appreciating our quiet film”. In other categories, Italy’s Toni Servillo was named best actor for his wry portrayal of a weary president nearing the end of his mandate, in La Grazia, while China’s Xin Zhilei won best actress for her role in The Sun Rises On Us All, a drama that delves into questions of sacrifice, guilt and unresolved feelings between estranged lovers who share a dark secret. The best director nod went to Benny Safdie for The Smashing Machine, which starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the role of the real-life mixed martial arts pioneer Mark Kerr. The special jury award went to Italy’s Gianfranco Rosi for his black-and-white documentary Below the Clouds, about life in the chaotic southern city of Naples, marked by repeated earthquakes and the threat of volcanic eruptions. Servillo, who won best actor, was one of several award-winners to speak about Gaza from the stage, expressing “admiration” for activists on a flotilla of boats attempting to break Israel’s siege of Gaza. They “have decided to set sail with courage to reach Palestine and to bring a sign of humanity to a land where human dignity is daily and cruelly demeaned”, Servillo said. Annapurna Roy, who won the best director prize in the Horizons sidebar, a discovery section led by French filmmaker Julia Ducournau, also devoted part of her remarks to the conflict in Gaza. Roy, who is Indian, won the award for her debut feature, Songs of Forgotton Trees, about two migrant women in Mumbai. “Every child deserves peace, freedom, liberation, and Palestine is no exception,” Roy said. “I stand beside Palestine. I might upset my country, but it doesn’t matter to me any more.” Armani Beauty’s audience award winning filmmaker Maryam Touzani (Calle Málaga) also spotlighted the conflict in Gaza. “How many mothers have been made childless?” she said. “How many more until this horror is brought to an end? We refuse to lose our humanity.” The Venice festival marks the start of the awards season, and regularly throws up big favourites for the Oscars, with films premiering there over the past four years collecting more than 90 Oscar nominations and winning almost 20. Advertisement Among the movies that left Venice empty-handed were a trio of Netflix pictures, Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite, Guillermo del Toro’s re-telling of Frankenstein, and Noah Baumbach’s comedy-drama Jay Kelly. No Other Choice by South Korea’s Park Chan-wook also failed to secure an award, despite strong reviews; likewise, Bugonia by Yorgos Lanthimos, which starred Emma Stone. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump threatens ‘war’ on Chicago as thousands protest federal crackdown
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to unleash his newly rebranded “Department of War” on Chicago, as thousands of protesters marched in the city as well as in Washington, DC, to denounce the deployment of National Guard troops and immigration agents to Democratic-led cities. Trump’s threat, posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, featured a parody image from the movie Apocalypse Now, showing a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the skyline of Chicago, the US’s third-largest city. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The president offered no details beyond the label “Chipocalypse Now,” a play on the title of Francis Ford Coppola’s dystopian 1979 film set in the Vietnam war, in which a character says, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”. The post from Trump follows his repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he has targeted for expanded federal enforcement. His administration is set to step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, as it did in Los Angeles, and deploy National Guard troops. Democratic Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker, where Chicago is located, voiced outrage at Trump’s post and said the state “won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator”. “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” he wrote in a post on X. Thousands of demonstrators participate in the ‘We Are All DC’ national march, in solidarity with DC communities, and call for an end to Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in the US capital [Amid Farahi/AFP] Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also denounced Trump’s threat as “beneath the honor of our nation”. Advertisement “The reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution. We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump,” Johnson wrote on X. Protests in Chicago, DC In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles in June, Trump has deployed them since last month in Washington, DC, as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover of the country’s capital. He has also suggested that Baltimore and New Orleans could get the same treatment and, on Friday, even mentioned federal authorities possibly heading for Portland, Oregon, to “wipe ’em out”, meaning the protesters. The US president on Friday also signed an order changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, saying it sends “a message of victory” to the world. The troop and federal agent deployments have prompted legal challenges and protests, with critics calling them an authoritarian show of force. On Saturday, more than a thousand protesters marched through the streets of downtown Chicago, with signs bearing slogans like “I.C.E. out of Illinois, I.C.E. out of everywhere”, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Speakers offered the crowd instructions on what to do if encountering ICE agents. They also drew comparisons between the proposed ICE crackdown on Chicago and Israel’s presence in Gaza. “We are inspired by the steadfastness of Palestinians in Gaza, and it is why we refuse to cower to Trump and his threats,” Nazek Sankari, co-chair of the US Palestinian Community Network, said to the crowd as many waved Palestinian flags and donned keffiyehs. Viviana Barajas, leader with the community organisation Palenque LSNA, promised that Chicagoans would “stand up” as Los Angeles had if Trump deployed the National Guard in their city. “If he thinks these frivolous theatrics to undermine our sovereignty will shut out the passion we have for protecting our people, this is Chicago, and he is sorely mistaken,” Barajas said. “We have been studying LA and DC, and they have stood up for their cities.” In the US capital, protesters at the “We Are All DC” march, who also included supporters of Palestinian statehood, marched behind a bright red banner reading, “END THE D.C. OCCUPATION”, in English and Spanish. They chanted slogans denouncing Trump and carried posters, some of which read, “Trump must go now,” “Free DC”, and “Resist Tyranny”. Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro, reporting from Washington, DC, said the protesters were “furious” of Trump’s order, and were calling him “a fascist and an authoritarian”. Advertisement She noted that Trump had deployed the 2,000 troops last month to fight what he called a surge in violent crime, but that such offences in the US capital last year had hit “a 30-year low”. Mark Fitzpatrick, a former US diplomat who has been a DC resident for about a decade, told The Associated Press news agency on Saturday that he was worried about the “authoritarian nature” in which the administration is treating DC. “Federal agents, national guards patrolling our streets, that’s really an affront to the democracy of our city,” he said, adding that it is worse for DC residents due to their lack of federal representation. “We don’t have our own senators or members of the House of Representatives, so we’re at the mercy of a dictator like this, a wanna-be dictator.” Among the protesters on Saturday was Jun Lee, a printmaker artist, who showed up with a “Free DC” sign that she made on a woodcut block. She said she came to the protest because she was “saddened and heartbroken” about the impact of the federal intervention on her city. “This is my home, and I never, ever thought all the stuff that I watched in a history documentary that I’m actually living in person, and this is why this is important for everyone. This is our home; we need to fight, we need to resist,” she said. Trump has suggested that he has nearly limitless powers when it comes to deploying the National Guard. At times he has even touched on questions about his being a dictator. “Most
US Open: Sabalenka wins second straight title, defeats Anisimova
World number one Aryna Sabalenka defended her US Open title with a straight-sets victory against Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova. Published On 7 Sep 20257 Sep 2025 Aryna Sabalenka retained her US Open crown with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova in the women’s final on Saturday, underlining her claim as the modern queen of the hardcourt. The Belarusian has not missed a hardcourt major final since 2022. Her latest trophy brings her Grand Slam haul to four, as she becomes the first woman to win back-to-back US Opens since Serena Williams claimed three consecutive titles from 2012 to 2014. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The battle between two of tennis’s hardest-hitting, biggest-serving women boiled down to unforced errors, as Sabalenka kept them down to 15 compared with 29 from her opponent. “I want to thank everyone who came here, who flew in to be there in my box,” said Sabalenka, who fell to her knees after clinching the match with an un-returnable serve, and jumped up and down with her coaches in the stands in a scene of utter joy. “I’m going to reach a lot more finals, and I don’t care where you are in the world, I want you in my box.” Playing in only her second major final, New Jersey-born Anisimova had the partisan fans at the famed Arthur Ashe Stadium on her side, but could never hang onto the momentum. “It’s been a great summer. Losing in two finals in a row is great, but it’s also super hard,” said 24-year-old Anisimova, who was left in tears yet again after the heartbreak of her 6-0, 6-0 drubbing in the Wimbledon final two months ago. “I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today.” Sabalenka became the first woman to win the US Open in consecutive years since Serena Williams in 2014 [Timothy A Clary/AFP] Sabalenka sets the tone early Sabalenka, 27, had ice in her veins as she saved three break points in a nervy first game, and Anisimova handed over the early break when she sent a shot past the baseline in the second. Advertisement Anisimova hit her stride when she won a 12-shot rally with a forehand winner out of Sabalenka’s reach to break back in the third game. The American went up a break as her opponent hit one beyond the baseline in the fifth. The tiger-tattooed Belarusian prowled along the baseline in frustration and pounced on her chance to get the momentum back, breaking Anisimova to love in the sixth game and converting on another break point from the baseline in the eighth. Sabalenka closed out the first set with an un-returnable serve, and sent a backhand whizzing past her opponent to convert on a break point in the third game of the second set. Anisimova refused to give up as she levelled it in the sixth with a backhand winner of her own, whipping the fans into a frenzy. But the American party ended abruptly as their home hope sent the ball into the net on a break point in the seventh. Anisimova stayed in it as Sabalenka helped her break back with a flubbed smash in the 10th game. But she buckled to the Belarusian’s power in the tiebreak, where Sabalenka sprinted through to victory. Sabalenka, left, hugs Anisimova after winning the US Open [Charly Triballeau/AFP] Adblock test (Why?)
Cancelled concert shows political, social rifts in Iran amid war tensions
Tehran, Iran – By now, a celebrated Iranian singer was supposed to have performed a mega-concert at Tehran’s iconic Azadi Tower in a state-organised demonstration of national unity after the 12-day war with Israel. But the much-hyped late Friday public concert by 50-year-old Homayoun Shajarian, a traditional vocalist and son of legendary Mohammad Reza Shajarian, was cancelled by the authorities after days of speculation. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Two days before the event, Shajarian announced online that instruments and equipment for the 30-member orchestra that was to accompany him on stage were not permitted onto the site. He also said state organisers lacked a plan to manage the crowd, which could number up to a million people. Videos circulating online showed that Tehran Municipality workers welded shut gates at the square surrounding the tower, preventing the setup of audio equipment. The square is regularly used for state-organised affairs, having been heavily decorated a month earlier to host thousands marking the mourning ceremonies of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Alireza Zakani, the hardline former lawmaker who has been mayor of Tehran since 2021, suggested a lack of coordination between government officials was to blame, and that the event should be held in a stadium instead. People walk past a billboard with a picture of nuclear scientists killed in Israeli strikes and Iranian centrifuges, on a street in Tehran, Iran [File: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters] The incident created a firestorm online, with the many interpretations surrounding it showing political and social divides at a tense time when biting United Nations sanctions could soon be reinstated by the West, and there are concerns that Israel and the United States will attack Iran again. Advertisement For some, the free concert in the heart of Tehran was a welcome proposal as it could bring a rare moment of joy to thousands at a time of hardship, which also includes surviving in an ailing economy defined by persistent chronic inflation. For others, including a number of Iranians abroad who are opposed to the theocratic establishment, the concert was seen as an attempt by the state to further lean into nationalist sentiment to muster any popular support while leaders in Israel and the West openly discuss regime change in Iran. Some of the foreign-based critics of the Iranian establishment lambasted Shajarian for allegedly backing the state through the concert, especially considering that his late father was known as a “voice of the people”. Other critics had hoped the massive public gathering would lead to antigovernment protests. Hardline member of parliament Hamid Resaee suggested the government organised the rushed concert in an attempt to “distract the people” from widespread power blackouts, a water crisis, and the devaluing national currency. The culture ministry apologised for the cancelled event, saying “we all lost” a missed opportunity for unity. A billboard with a caricature of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran [File: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters] Meanwhile, local media predominantly backed the concert, with some rare support also coming from hardline and conservative outlets that generally oppose major public festivities that are not entirely controlled by the state. Such is the controversy around the event that even the pro-reforms Shargh newspaper slammed the anti-establishment diaspora for its opposition to the concert, saying they were too extreme and “have taken the people hostage”. Shajarian told reporters that he originally applied to take the performance to the stage seven years ago and only received government permission this week, without any official explanation as to why the concert was blocked repeatedly before and why it was greenlit this week. After the event was cancelled, the singer released a lengthy post online to address the criticism. He pleaded for the effort not to be entangled with politics, and insisted it was not aimed at “covering up problems, but providing a moment of good feelings to people who deserve joy”. Outside pressure grows Despite the failed concert attempt, the Iranian state continues to emphasise unity and increasingly uses millennia-long Iranian history dating back to before Islam to invoke nationalist sentiment – something it rarely did prior to the recent war with Israel. Advertisement In Tehran and across the country in recent months, authorities have installed sculptures of ancient Iranian figures, erected banners showing Persian kings defeating invading foes, and talked extensively about territorial integrity and unity among Iran’s diverse ethnic groups. Pressure by the US, Israel and their European allies has only been mounting against Iran with the stated goal of dismantling its nuclear programme. France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the remaining European signatories to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, are pushing to reinstate all UN sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the landmark accord. With Western powers trying to internationally blacklist Iran unless a deal is reached on its nuclear programme, the country’s markets are also on edge. The US dollar changed hands for about 1.02 million rials in Tehran on Saturday – slightly better than the new all-time low of 1.06 million rials, registered earlier in the week. The main index of the Tehran Stock Exchange slightly grew on Saturday to reach 2.54 million points, but the index has dramatically plunged in reaction to the war with Israel, having stood at about 3.15 million points in April when negotiations with the US started. Adblock test (Why?)
Alcaraz vs Sinner – US Open final: Match time, head-to-head, stats, Trump
The latest chapter of arguably the most riveting rivalry in modern-day men’s tennis is to unfold in New York when Carlos Alcaraz takes on Jannik Sinner in the final of the US Open 2025. For the tennis fans, it’s a chance to see the present and future of the game – nicknamed “Sincaraz” – duel in a Grand Slam final for the third time in 2025. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list For the young stars, the meeting offers an opportunity to put their hands on another major trophy as the year’s Grand Slams come to a close. Here’s everything you need to know about the match: When is the Alcaraz vs Sinner US Open final? The match is scheduled for Sunday at 2pm (18:00 GMT). Where will Alcaraz and Sinner play the final? The final will be played on the famous blue hardcourts of the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York. What happened in the last Alcaraz vs Sinner match? The pair last faced each other in the final of the Cincinnati Open on August 18, but the match ended prematurely when Sinner retired over health concerns. The Italian felt unwell in the sweltering conditions and pulled out of the match after 23 minutes of play. Alcaraz was crowned champion but said: “This is not the way that I want to win trophies.” How many times has Alcaraz beaten Sinner? Nine. The Spaniard has got the better of his rival in their 13 meetings since they first faced each other in 2021. Sinner has managed one win in the pair’s five meetings in 2025. When was the last time Sinner beat Alcaraz? Sinner beat Alcaraz to lift his first Wimbledon trophy in July. The match lasted four sets (4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4) and just over three hours as the Italian picked up his second Grand Slam title of 2025. Advertisement How long was the Alcaraz-Sinner match at the French Open final? The young stars enthralled crowds with top quality tennis in one of the most engaging Grand Slam finals of the modern era when they battled for five hours and 29 minutes in the final of the French Open 2025. Alcaraz emerged victorious in the five-set classic (4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6) for his second consecutive Roland Garros title. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played a five-set, five-and-a-half-hour final at the French Open 2025 [File: Aurelien Morissard/AP] How many US Open titles has Alcaraz won? One. The US Open gave Alcaraz his first taste of Grand Slam success when he won the trophy in 2022. He was unable to repeat the feat in 2023 when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals and had a shock second-round exit in 2024 at the hands of Botic van de Zandschulp. Have Alcaraz and Sinner ever played against each other at the US Open? The pair’s only previous meeting at the tournament came in the quarterfinals in 2022. It was another epic that kickstarted their rivalry. Alcaraz won in four sets in a match that lasted five hours and 15 minutes, finishing just before 3am in New York. How many Grand Slam titles have Alcaraz and Sinner won? Alcaraz has five titles to his name – one at the US Open (2022), two at Wimbledon (2023, 2024) and two at the French Open (2024, 2025). Sinner has won four Grand Slam finals – one at the US Open (2024), two at the Australian Open (2024, 2025) and one at Wimbledon (2025). What are the overall Alcaraz vs Sinner stats? Win-loss record in 2025: Alcaraz: 60-6Sinner: 37-4 Career win-loss record Alcaraz: 269-62Sinner: 300-84 Titles in 2025 Alcaraz: 2Sinner: 6 Career titles Alcaraz: 22Sinner: 20 Career prize money Alcaraz: $48.5mSinner: $46.3m Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after the men’s singles final at Wimbledon [File: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images] What was Alcaraz’s route to the US Open final? First round: defeated Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 Second round: defeated Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 Third round: defeated Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 Fourth round: defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 Quarterfinals: defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 Semifinals: defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 What was Sinner’s route to the US Open final? First round: defeated Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 Second round: defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 Third round: defeated Denis Shapovalov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 Fourth round: defeated Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 Quarterfinals: defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 Advertisement Semifinals: defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 What has Alcaraz said about the final? “Just the level that I start the match, just wanted to keep that level really high during the whole match. “I’m thinking I’m doing that in this tournament, which I’m really proud about. ” What has Sinner said about Alcaraz and the final? “On court, we like to see each other, you know, because it means that, considering our ranking, it means that we are doing well in the tournament. “Sunday is a very special day and an amazing final again. “I feel like our rivalry started here, playing an amazing match. We are two different players now with different confidence too.” Why will President Donald Trump attend the US Open final? The US president plans to attend the tennis showpiece in his latest appearance at a major sporting event after trips to the Super Bowl in February and the FIFA Club World Cup final in July. The president will attend the final as a client guest and will watch the match from that client’s suite, a spokesperson for the US Tennis Association said. The association did not identify which client Trump will be a guest of. It’s to be Trump’s first appearance at the Grand Slam tournament in New York since 2015. Alcaraz said he would “try not to think” about the president’s presence at the final. “I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it, but I think, attending the tennis match, it’s great for tennis to have
Israel bombs more Gaza City high-rises after forced evacuation orders
Published On 6 Sep 20256 Sep 2025 The Israeli army has bombed another high-rise in Gaza City after telling Palestinian residents to evacuate or face being killed amid its ongoing siege and imposed mass starvation in the enclave. The Israeli military designated more high-rise towers as targets in a map released on Saturday. Shortly after releasing the map, it bombed the 15-storey Soussi Tower, which is located opposite a building belonging to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “These attacks are causing panic amongst the people, especially considering the time they are given to evacuate. Half an hour or an hour is not enough time for people to escape from these buildings,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said, reporting from Gaza City. The Israeli military said in a statement, without offering evidence, that the buildings struck were used by Hamas to gather intelligence to monitor the locations of the Israeli army. It also said armed Palestinian groups planted “numerous explosive devices” and dug a tunnel in the area. Gaza’s Government Media Office rejected the claims and called them “part of a systematic policy of deception used by the occupation to justify the targeting of civilians and infrastructure” and forcibly displace Palestinians from their homes. It said 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed by Israel. The targeted buildings were near the 12-storey Mushtaha Tower, which on Friday was similarly bombed and razed to the ground, as Israel moves to seize Gaza City despite international criticism. At least 68 Palestinians were killed and 362 wounded across the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military over the past day, the enclave’s Ministry of Health said on Saturday afternoon. Advertisement The toll includes 23 aid seekers killed and 143 wounded by Israeli forces. At least six more Palestinians also died of Israeli-induced starvation, bringing the total number of starvation deaths during nearly two years of war to 382, including 135 children. At least 64,368 Palestinians have been killed and 162,367 wounded by Israel since the start of the war in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel declares new ‘humanitarian zone’, bombs the area Sources at Nasser Hospital, located in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, told Al Jazeera that at least two Palestinians were killed and many wounded in an Israeli air strike on a tent housing displaced people in the al-Mawasi area. While this area was designated as a “humanitarian” or “safe” zone by the Israeli army early in the war, it has been repeatedly bombed, leading to the deaths of hundreds of displaced civilians. Hours before the latest bombings, the Israeli army had announced the establishment of another similar zone in al-Mawasi, which runs along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. It claimed the area will have infrastructure such as field hospitals, water lines, desalination facilities and food supplies. Palestinians mourn the loss of loved ones killed by the Israeli military on September 6, 2025 [Hamza ZH Qraiqea/Anadolu] Reporting from central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said Palestinians do not trust the so-called humanitarian area as tents in similar zones have been attacked by Israel many times before and nowhere is safe. But people in Gaza City have few options: If they stay, they risk being killed, and if they leave, they face dangers on the road and may have to spend considerable money to move their belongings south. Those who have returned to their homes in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, where Israeli forces withdrew recently after weeks of ground assaults, have found everything they owned destroyed. “What we have built in 50 years was flattened in five days,” resident Aqeel Kishko told Al Jazeera. “Nothing remains standing – buildings, roads and infrastructure. We are walking not only on ruins but also on dead bodies of our loved ones.” Nohaa Tafish said it would be impossible for Gaza’s largest urban centre to be revived. “What would people return to? There is nothing to return to,” she said. Ahmed Rihem also had his home in Gaza City reduced to rubble. “It is as if the entire Zeitoun neighbourhood was hit with a nuclear bomb,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Air Canada flight attendants reject wage offer
Canada’s biggest air carrier offered a 12 percent wage hike for those with five years on the job or less, and 8 percent for those with more than six. Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025 Air Canada’s flight attendants and its regional unit have voted against ratifying the carrier’s wage offer. The union announced the decision on Friday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Many of the flight attendants at Canada’s largest carrier were dissatisfied with wage increases in a tentative agreement that they had arrived at last month and that had helped end a crippling strike at the time. Air Canada had proposed a 12 percent first-year wage hike for Rouge flight attendants and mainline staff with five years of service or less, and an 8 percent increase for those with six years or more, the union said. The tension between the Montreal-based carrier and its flight attendants’ union comes only weeks after its roughly 10,500 flight attendants hit the picket line for three days. Disruptions led to cancellations impacting nearly half a million customers flying on Air Canada. It was the first time any union had defied a long-obscure “industrial peace” clause in Canada’s 40-year-old labour code — one that has been used to end strikes a half dozen times in just the past year and force workers back to their jobs. Several flight attendants had been unhappy both with the content of the offer and the way it was achieved under “duress”, Al Jazeera reported previously. Adblock test (Why?)
Lebanon’s cabinet welcomes army plan to disarm Hezbollah, gives no timeline
Five Shia ministers walk out of cabinet debate as Hezbollah remains adamant it will hold onto its weapons. Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025 Lebanon’s army has presented a plan to the government’s cabinet to disarm Hezbollah, saying the military will begin executing it, as some ministers staged a walkout before the session began. On Friday, Lebanon’s cabinet met for three hours, which included the plan’s presentation by army commander Rodolphe Haykal. The plan did not set a timeframe for implementation and cautioned that the army had limited capabilities. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos told reporters after the session that the government welcomed the plan, but stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally passed it. He said the army would begin implementing the plan according to its logistical, material and personnel capabilities, which might require “additional time [and] additional effort”. Morcos said the plan’s details would remain secret. A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken centre stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by Hezbollah. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (centre), Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters] Five Shia ministers, including those from Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement, walked out of the cabinet meeting, with the Lebanese armed group adamant it will hold onto its weapons. The walkout happened as Lebanon’s army chief Haykal entered the meeting to present a plan for disarming the group, local media reported. Advertisement Hezbollah and Amal ministers have now walked out of cabinet meetings three times over the disarmament issue. Hezbollah-aligned Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar told local media before the cabinet’s session had concluded that any decision taken in the absence of Shia ministers would be null and void, as it would be considered in contravention of Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem last month raised the spectre of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible. Military and political analyst Elijah Magnier says it is not possible for the Lebanese army to confront Hezbollah, adding that it did not “have the appetite to start a civil war”. “It [also] doesn’t want a partition in the army, because the Shia members within the army would not side by the Lebanese army if it attacks Shia strongholds,” he told Al Jazeera. Calls grow to disarm The United States and Saudi Arabia, along with Hezbollah’s primarily Christian and Sunni opponents in Lebanon, have ramped up calls for the group to give up arms. US Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen, members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a joint statement in support of Hezbollah’s disarmament on Friday. “Lebanon deserves a free, prosperous, and secure future. That will only be possible if Lebanon is freed from the influence of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime,” the senators said. “We recognize that Lebanon’s government has made important progress in the past year, and we applaud the recent decision by Lebanon’s Council of Ministers to approve disarming militias in Lebanon. This commitment must be carried out to its full conclusion, including approving the Lebanese Armed Forces’ disarmament plan for Hezbollah.” The bipartisan statement underscores growing pressure from Washington on Beirut to curb Hezbollah’s influence, a longstanding demand of both the US and international partners. However, Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south. Four people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday. Israeli forces have continued to carry out air attacks across Lebanon in near-daily violations of the November truce, causing deaths and injuries among civilians, including Syrian refugees, and destruction of properties and infrastructure. Adblock test (Why?)