-With AAP

1. A newly-engaged woman murdered while jogging will wear her wedding dress at her funeral.

Wendy Martinez was on a high, having gotten engaged to her fiancé only earlier this month. But a week later, the keen jogger was stabbed to death while on an evening run.

The 35-year-old was killed near her Washington D.C. home on September 18 in what police believe is a random act of violence. A suspect has been arrested, but CBS News reports this has done little to soften her family’s grief.

Her mother Cora Martinez was with Wendy earlier this month when she bought her wedding dress. She never imagined the next time she’d see her daughter wearing it would be at her funeral.

“My heart has been broken in a thousand pieces,” Cora said at a candlelight vigil last week. “My daughter fought up to the last breath. She fought courageously.”

Wendy was out for a run on Tuesday night when she was allegedly stabbed seven times. She sought help at a nearby Chinese restaurant but collapsed and was later pronounced dead at hospital.

It was only seven days after her fiancé, Daniel Hincapie, proposed.

He said Wendy was an avid runner who was training to qualify for the Boston Marathon. She was very passionate about helping disadvantaged women in Nicaragua, where her parents are from.

“You know I’m going to keep her alive by helping her achieve the dreams that she wanted to achieve,” Hincapie said.

Police have charged 23-year-old Anthony Crawford with 1st degree murder, but his motive remains unknown.

2. Australia joins in search for seriously injured sailor in Indian Ocean.

HMAS Ballarat is on its way assist an injured solo yachtsman, approximately 1800 nautical miles off the WA coast. The sailor, an officer in the Indian Navy is understood to have suffered a serious back injury when his ten metre vessel, “Thuriya” was de-masted in extreme weather. pic.twitter.com/e5zgO6F7bj

— RoyalAustralianNavy (@Australian_Navy) September 23, 2018

The Australian Defence Force has joined the urgent rescue mission to find a seriously injured solo Indian sailor who’s sent desperate distress messages from his stricken vessel in the southern Indian Ocean.

The force is searching about 1800 nautical miles off the Western Australia coast to find the naval officer who was competing in the Golden Globe Race.

He struck trouble on Saturday when his 10m vessel “Thuriya” demasted during extreme weather causing him a serious back injury, the ADF said on Sunday.

Solo skipper Abhilash Tomy sent his first satellite text message on Saturday, saying: “ACTIVATED EPIRB. CANT WALK. MIGHT NEED STRETCHER”, Golden Globe Race organisers said in a statement.

A subsequent message read: “CAN MOVE TOES. FEEL NUMB. CAN’T EAT OR DRINK. TOUGH 2 REACH GRAB BAG”.

The Royal Australian Navy Frigate, HMAS Ballarat, sailed from Perth about 6pm local time on Saturday to the yacht’s last known location. It joined another vessel from the Royal Australian Air Force sent to La Reunion Island in France to help in the search.

Race organisers had said an executive jet from Perth could reach the area of Tomy’s yacht, about 3000km southwest of the city, around mid-morning on Sunday.

3. The strawberry contamination crisis has spread to New Zealand.

Countdown stops sale of Australian strawberries after needles found in Auckland https://t.co/oGIgyhuohz pic.twitter.com/NzBAsqeLzn

— Stuff (@NZStuff) September 23, 2018

The hunt for those sabotaging strawberries with needles has gone trans-Tasman, following the first report of a contaminated punnet in New Zealand.

Woolworth’s-owned supermarket chain Countdown on Sunday announced it was removing Choice brand strawberries, imported from Western Australia, off shelves across NZ after a customer reported discovering needles in their fruit.

The company said it had alerted authorities in Australia, while NZ police and government agencies have also launched their own investigations.

More than 100 reports of tampered fruit are being investigated by police across Australia, many of which are thought to be fake or copycat cases, while the federal government has ramped up penalties for so-called “food terrorists”.

Countdown last week announced it had halted imports of Australia strawberries to NZ for the season, while competitor Foodstuffs ceased shipping them to its stores.

4. Hawthorn midfielder Tom Mitchell is tipped to win the Brownlow Medal.

#AFL Brownlow medal favourite Tom Mitchell is with Grandstand’s @matt_clinch now.

Listen in here: https://t.co/eL1cqoa22M pic.twitter.com/d2EmaiovAo

— ABC Grandstand (@abcgrandstand) September 23, 2018

Tom Mitchell’s year of brilliance is set to be rewarded on Monday evening when he is a near certainty to take home the Brownlow Medal.

The Hawthorn midfielder is the hot favourite to be presented with the AFL’s most prestigious individual honour after a runner-up finish last year.

Mitchell would be a deserved champion after a stunning season in which he averaged 36 disposals a game and was fifth for tackles laid.

But he would also be the least fashionable winner since West Coast’s Matt Priddis claimed the 2014 medal in a major upset.

The three most recent victors – Richmond’s Dustin Martin, Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield and Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe – were dynamic and eye-catching hybrids with the size and strength to out-muscle opponents in the midfield and up forward.

Mitchell’s highlight reel is certain to be far less spectacular.

The 182cm onballer does his best work at the bottom of packs and is about as likely to be cast forward as he is to be thrown into the ruck.

An old-fashioned footballer who has drawn upon dual Brownlow Medallist Greg Williams to help him cope with attention from opposition taggers, Mitchell’s greatest strengths are his clean hands, his footy smarts and his relentless work rate.

Bookmakers have Mitchell a near certainty to win, rating him about a $1.50 chance – the next best is Tigers megastar Dustin Martin, who’s listed about $8.

Martin’s barnstorming finish to the home-and-away season means he’s a chance to go back-to-back after taking last year’s medal with a record 36 votes.

Dangerfield polled 35 votes in 2016 and Fyfe 31 in 2015 but this year’s count is forecast to be a tighter contest, with the winner likely to poll in the mid to high 20s.

Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn and Collingwood ruck Brodie Grundy are expected to poll well but would need to defy recent history to claim the “midfielders medal”.

5. A man has been arrested at Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace: Man held over ‘Taser’ https://t.co/KTpUgnZajU

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) September 23, 2018

A man has been arrested at the visitors’ entrance to Buckingham Palace for possession of a Taser, London’s Metropolitan Police says.

Police, who did not say whether the Queen was at the palace at the time, said the arrest was not terror-related.

“Police were called at 12.47hrs on Sunday, 23 September to a report of a man detained by security staff at the visitor entrance to Buckingham Palace,” the police said in a statement on Sunday.

“A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm, namely a Taser. He remains in custody at a central London police station at this stage.”