Monday, 8 September - It’s not over ‘til it’s over

Good morning, it’s Monday, 8 September. In your Squiz Today…

• A fatal shark attack on Sydney’s Northern Beaches

• Erin Patterson is due to be sentenced over the mushroom murders

• And a royal coin rollout…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Is what Fremantle Dockers great Nat Fyfe says is in store as he retired his AFL career on Saturday night. The 33yo played 248 games, won 2 Brownlow Medals, and went through 25 surgeries to stay afloat. Seems like he’s earned it…

A shark attack tragedy

The Squiz

Sydney’s Northern Beaches has recorded its first fatal shark attack in 90 years after local father Mercury Psillakis was mauled by what they think is a white shark at Long Reef Beach near Dee Why on Saturday morning. And yesterday, the popular stretch of beach was still closed as authorities continued to search for the “large”/5m-long shark using jet skis, drones and a helicopter. The attack comes as there’s a debate happening between Sydney councils and the NSW Government over removing some shark nets.

What happened?

Psillakis was surfing with mates and had been in the water for about 30 minutes when he was attacked around 9.30am. It was a sunny weekend morning, with lots of people at the beach, so there were some pretty graphic witness accounts… Toby Martin, a former pro surfer and friend of the victim, said they were about 100m out when Psillakis spotted the shark, and was "at the back of the pack still trying to get everyone together [for safety] when the shark just lined him up". The attack caused catastrophic injuries, with Psillakis resurfacing closer to the beach with several limbs missing. Police Detective Superintendent John Duncan says, given the blood loss, “​​resuscitation was not possible” and that Psillakis “leaves behind a wife and a young daughter”. 

It feels like we’re hearing more about shark attacks…

Probably because there’s been an increase in the number of unprovoked shark bites across Oz over the last 10 years… Experts say there are more people in the water, and climate change is prompting some shark species to broaden their search for food. It's common to have several sightings/bites in the same area in a short amount of time, known as “shark bite clusters”... Looking to avoid a cluster disaster of more incidents, NSW Premier Chris Minns has paused a trial to remove shark nets from 3 Greater Sydney beaches, saying he'll wait for a report into Saturday's attack to be handed down. There have been growing questions about whether the nets are effective, as well as evidence that they're a danger to other marine life. But yesterday, Minns said "given this terrible event, we believe the right thing to do is to wait".

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Squiz the Rest

Russia has launched its largest air attack 

…on Ukraine since the war began, striking a government building in the capital of Kyiv on Saturday night. More than 800 drones were launched in the attack, which also damaged some residential buildings, and reports say at least 4 people were killed across the country, while 44 were injured. It's the largest aerial strike by Russia on its neighbour, and the first time Ukraine's main government building (which houses ministers' offices) has been hit. The barrage comes a couple of weeks after peace talks engineered by US President Donald Trump failed to achieve any real progress towards ending the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the latest strikes show Russia isn’t serious about peace, pointing out that “such killings now … are a deliberate crime and an attempt to prolong the war”.

More youth gang violence in Melbourne 

Victoria Police have flagged concerns about the state’s escalating problem of gang violence after 2 boys aged 12yo and 15yo were fatally stabbed in the western suburb of Cobblebank on Saturday night. Detective Inspector Graham Banks said he believes the attack was "targeted" and the homicide squad is searching for 8 masked attackers who were last seen armed with machetes. Banks said it could've been a case of mistaken identity, but it had "the hallmarks of a youth gang crime" and was "one of the most horrific crimes in a substantial and growing list of crimes of this nature". Youth crime has shot up in Victoria in recent times, and the Victorian Government is under pressure to increase sentences. One sobering stat to clock: sales of home security products in Victoria are outstripping the rest of the nation...  

Speaking about crime in Victoria… 

The much-anticipated sentencing of convicted mushroom murderer Erin Patterson is set to be livestreamed from Victoria’s Supreme Court today - the first time a camera has ever been allowed inside the court to film and broadcast proceedings. The 50yo is facing life in prison after she was found guilty of the triple murder of her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson. She served them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023. Given the intense public interest in the case, Justice Christopher Beale decided that a broadcast would be the best way to “promptly and completely” communicate his reasons. You can watch it here from 9.30am AEST.

Weekend wins and spins

It’s been a celebratory one for rah rahs, with the Wallabies snatching a win over Argentina on the buzzer in the Rugby Championship and the Wallaroos booking their spot in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup in the UK - despite losing by 40 points to England. Over to Italy, Aussie F1 driver Oscar Piastri has come in third at the Italian Grand Prix overnight, surrendering second place to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. And after 2 cracking weeks of tennis at the US Open, reigning champ/world #1 Aryna Sabalenka beat American Amanda Anisimova in straight sets on Saturday to take her second trophy (and fourth grand slam title). The showdown on the men’s side of the draw isn't done yet - Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Italy's Janik Sinner are still slugging it out as we press go. Commentators reckon these 2 are shaping up to have a rivalry like Feds and Rafa, and we're here for it - as is President Trump…

Remembering a Queen

If you can believe it, today marks 3 years since Queen Elizabeth’s death on 8 September 2022, which brought about the end of her 70-year reign. As you might imagine, after 7 decades with one monarch on the throne, it’s taken a bit of time for the Commonwealth to adjust… It was only last month the UK Royal Mint announced “a pivotal moment in British coinage history” - a fancy way of saying that the last batch of £1 coins featuring the face of the late Queen Elizabeth II are entering circulation. At the same time, 7.5 million coins featuring the face of King Charles III - who’s just returned to work after a summer break - have begun circulating. There are also still conversations happening about the best way to memorialise the late Queen, so stay tuned for more on that…

Apropos of Nothing - Notable appointments edition

Catholics got their first millennial saint overnight. Known as ‘God’s influencer’, Carlo Acutis was 15yo when he died from cancer, but his devotion to spreading his faith online - along with a couple of miracles - has seen him canonised yesterday by Pope Leo, making him the first ‘saint in sneakers’.

Japan has a new working royal now that Prince Hisahito has come of age. The 19yo was ushered into royal life with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Saturday - just don’t mention his older sister who’s been benched by the nation’s patriarchal succession rules…

And the new Māori queen Nga wai hono i te po has given her first speech since being crowned… Her subjects have been waiting a while to hear from her - she's observed one year of mourning following the death of her father. Her message: “Let the sunshine of a new day bring light and vitality”.

Squiz the Day

8.00am (AEST) - The 54th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting will convene (until 12 September) - Honiara, Solomon Islands

9.30am (AEST) - Erin Patterson will be sentenced over the mushroom murders, with Justice Christopher Beale’s remarks set to be broadcast from the Victorian Supreme Court in a first for the state - Melbourne, watch here 

10.00am (AEST) - The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) kick off - New York, watch on MTV and Paramount+

11.00am (AEST) - The funeral of police officer Neal Thompson who was allegedly shot dead by fugitive Dezi Freeman in Porepunkah on 26 August will be held at the Victoria Police Academy - Glen Waverley, Victoria

6.00pm (AEST) - PM Anthony Albanese will deliver the keynote speech at the Business Council of Australia annual dinner - Sydney

The Australian Outback Air Race is set to finish - Carnarvon, Western Australia

Norway will hold parliamentary elections

A special session of the French National Assembly will be held following PM François Bayrou’s shock decision to submit his government to a vote of confidence - Paris

World Physical Therapy Day 

International Literacy Day

Birthdays for business mogul James Packer (1967), actor Martin Freeman (1971) and musician Pink (1979)

Anniversary of:

• the unveiling of Michelangelo's David statue in Florence (1504)

• 3M selling its first roll of Scotch tape (1930)

• the start of the Siege of Leningrad by German troops during WWII (1941)

• the premiere of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and Star Trek (1966)

• the first national broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show in the US (1986)

• the death of Queen Elizabeth II (2022)