Take five: A news summary for anxious times
Lost your appetite for rolling news? These are the headlines, good news stories and long reads you need to know about this week…
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I know I say it every week, but boiling the events of the last seven days down to five key stories has been almost impossible. Should we go with BJ’s popularity tour of Europe via Rwanda, conveniently scheduled to avoid the fallout of a double by-election defeat? Perhaps we should focus on the Northern Ireland protocol? Or NATO and the G7? Or defence spending? The government would certainly prefer we zoom in on these – but that’s why we’re not going to.
As ever, when the front pages are full of political grandstanding, there’s usually a lot that’s being missed – and that’s never been more true than this week, when another horrific murder of a woman just walking home has almost universally failed to make the front pages, along with the arrival of the controversial police and crimes act and much more besides.
As such, this week more than ever, I’m focussing on the stories that you very well might have missed – with a side of good news to soften the blow.
The headlines
1. Man charged with murder of Zara Aleena in London
A man has appeared in court, charged with the murder of Zara Aleena, 35, who died after being attacked as she walked home on Sunday in Ilford, London.
Jordan McSweeney, 29, of Dagenham, East London, made no plea to charges of murder, attempted rape and robbery during an appearance on Wednesday. He was remanded in custody to reappear at the Old Bailey today.
In a statement released by police on Wednesday, Ms Aleena’s family said her loss “feels insurmountable”, adding, "Zara believed that a woman should be able to walk home."