EVERY WEEKDAY evening, TheJournal.ie brings you five stories you should check out by 5pm.

1. #E.COLI: Eighteen people have died as a result of the outbreak of a deadly new strain of E.coli and hundreds more are seriously ill. Here are eight things you should know about the outbreak, which has spread to a dozen countries.

2. #MLADIC: Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic appeared at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for the first time today after being extradited from Serbia. He told the court he was “gravely ill” and dismissed the war crimes charges against him as “monstrous”, saying he “did not kill Croats as Croats”.

3. #ANGLO: Two years into the Anglo Irish Bank investigation, €1 million has been spent and yet investigators still haven’t gotten the co-operation of ten key people, including former CEO David Drumm.

4. #HIJACK: A truck being driven by a customs official and carrying evidence from a major fuel laundering operation in Co Monaghan was hijacked yesterday evening and set alight. The PSNI is investigating the incident, which occurred in south Co Armagh.

5. #WEATHERWATCH: Planning anything special over the bank holiday weekend? One thing to note, whatever your plans: make sure you enjoy the fine weather while it lasts because Met Éireann has issued a less-than-optimistic forecast for next week, which includes a warning of ground frost in parts of the country.