"Regrettably ... " (4)

I believe the answer is:

alas

'regrettably' is the definition.
('alas' is said before regrettable news)

This is all the clue.

(Other definitions for alas that I've seen before include "By bad luck" , "Proper, respectable" , "What a shame!" , "Antipodean island state" , "Sad expression" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times, the Universal, the LA Times, the USA Today, the King Feature Syndicate, The Sun, the Wall Street Journal, the Newsday, The New York Times, The Independent and The Guardian.

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