Australia mushroom murder jury to deliver verdict today
SYDNEY (Reuters) -The jury in the trial of an Australian woman who allegedly murdered three elderly relatives of her estranged husband using poisonous mushrooms will deliver its verdict on Monday, the court said in a statement.
Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, in July 2023.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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Viral 'honour' killing in southwest Pakistan triggers national outrage
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Once the video of the killings in Pakistan's Balochistan province went viral, it brought swift government action and condemnation from politicians, rights groups and clerics. Civil rights lawyer Jibran Nasir said, though, the government's response was more about performance than justice. "The crime occurred months ago, not in secrecy but near a provincial capital,yet no one acted until 240 million witnessed the killing on camera," he said. "This isn't a response to a crime. It's a response to a viral moment." Police have arrested 16 people in Balochistan's Nasirabad district, including a tribal chief and the woman's mother. The mother, Gul Jan Bibi, said the killings were carried out by family and local elders based on "centuries-old Baloch traditions", and not on the orders of the tribal chief. "We did not commit any sin," she said in a video statement that also went viral. "Bano and Ehsan were killed according to our customs." 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"Virality is a double-edged sword," said Arsalan Khan, a cultural anthropologist and professor who studies gender and masculinity. "It can pressure the state into action, but public spectacle can also serve as a strategy to restore ghairat, or perceived family honour, in the eyes of the community." Pakistan outlawed honour killings in 2016 after the murder of social media star Qandeel Baloch, closing a loophole that allowed perpetrators to go free if they were pardoned by family members. Rights groups say enforcement remains weak, especially in rural areas where tribal councils still hold sway. "In a country where conviction rates often fall to single digits, visibility - and the uproar it brings - has its advantages," said constitutional lawyer Asad Rahim Khan. "It jolts a complacent state that continues to tolerate jirgas in areas beyond its writ." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported at least 405 honour killings in 2024. Most victims are women, often killed by relatives claiming to defend family honour. Khan said rather than enforcing the law, the government has spent the past year weakening the judiciary and even considering reviving jirgas in former tribal areas. "It's executive inaction, most shamefully toward women in Balochistan," Khan said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in recent months has asked senior ministers to evaluate proposals to revive jirgas in Pakistan's former tribal districts, including potential engagement with tribal elders and Afghan authorities. The Prime Minister's Office and Pakistan's information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment. VIRAL AND THEN FORGOTTEN? The Balochistan killings were raised in Pakistan's Senate, where the human rights committee condemned the murders and called for action against those who convened the jirga. Lawmakers also warned that impunity for parallel justice systems risked encouraging similar violence. 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Thai man mourns wife, children killed in shelling
Sudden loss: Komsan lost his wife and two children. — Reuters When the Thai and Cambodian armies began shelling at their contested border on Thursday, Komsan Prachan thought his family was far enough away from the fighting to be safe. The farm worker received a phone call from his children's school asking parents to collect their kids, so he and his wife went and picked up their 14-year-old daughter, nine-year-old son and their son's friend. On the way home, they stopped at a gas station about 3km from their house. Moments later, an artillery shell slammed into the station, destroying the attached 7-Eleven where Komsan's family and the friend had gone to buy snacks. 'All I was thinking then was, my wife and kids,' the 40-year-old told Reuters at a relative's home in Sisaket province. 'I lost all hope. I could only stand and watch.' More than 30 people, mostly civilians, have been killed on both sides of the border since the fighting started on Thursday, in what has become the worst escalation between the two South-East Asian nations in more than a decade. Both sides have accused each other of starting the conflict. Komsan could hear explosions from early on Thursday morning, but he did not think that he needed to evacuate because his house was not in a danger zone. When a Cambodian artillery shell slammed into a convenience store. — Reuters 'I didn't think it would hit this area. There was no bunker around that area as it was considered a safe zone.' Komsan and his wife met in high school. They got married after working together for several years in Bangkok and raised their two children. 'Having them in my life was the greatest blessing,' he said. More than 130,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, with schools forced to close their doors. Local university campuses are being used as temporary shelters for those forced to flee their homes. 'The war is good for no one. They should both talk to each other peacefully. The war only brings loss, loss and loss,' said Komsan. The bereaved husband and father accused the Cambodian government of indiscriminately firing into civilian areas. 'This is not just war, this is murder.' — Reuters
