The Standard

Royal Mail has been cleared to be taken into foreign ownership for the first time in its 508-year history.Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky was given the green light by ministers to buy Royal Mail’s parent company International Distributions Services in a £3.6 billion deal, likely to be signed early next year.What will it mean for Britain’s postal service and the price of sending a letter?In part two, planning consent has been approved for the Square Mile building known as 1 Undershaft, which will rise to 1,008ft - nearly 310 metres - and equal the height of the Shard across the river at London Bridge. We’re joined by The London Standard’s business editor Jonathan Prynn.

Welcome to The Standard podcast’s round-up special edition. In this episode:Assad flees Syria: what now for Middle East after rebels topple regime?Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione charged with UnitedHealthcare boss NYC murderSilvertown & Blackwall tunnel tolls: future cost of London driving revealedFarmers’ new London protest against Labour ‘tractor tax’Fabric 25th anniversary: new book on east London superclubMarie Antoinette’s £24 million ‘smartwatch’ & first moon map

Transport for London has announced fare increases for Tube travellers next year at more than double the rate of inflation.Mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed the cost of travelling on the Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line would increase at double the rate of inflation - but bus fares remain frozen, stay tuned for details.The London Standard’s transport editor, Ross Lydall, interviewed the mayor following Friday’s announcement, and joins us to examine cost, policy and politics.In part two, the Science Museum’s curatorial lead of exhibitions Dr Glyn Morgan on Versailles: Science and Splendour, which includes a late 18th Century Breguet No.160 watch created for Marie Antoinette - once valued at almost £24 million.

Host Evgeny Lebedev meets Dr. John Krystal, professor of neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine, to discuss Ketamine, what it is, and how it can solve a mental health epidemic.  This is a special preview taken from our sister podcast, Brave New World. To hear the interview in full just search: Brave New World Evening Standard.

Thousands of farmers converged on Westminster as tractors made a slow drive through central London on Wednesday afternoon in the second protest against Labour’s inheritance tax reforms.Farmers travelled from across the country amid anger about the plans against the so-called ‘tractor tax’ announced in last month’s Budget, which will see farms lose inheritance tax relief on assets over £1 million.The Standard podcast has analysis of the issue with Simon Smith, a land agent and senior lecturer at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester.In part two, author Joe Muggs on his new book chronicling 25 years of London electronic music superclub Fabric.

New York prosecutors have filed a murder charge against an Ivy League graduate suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel last Wednesday.Luigi Mangione, 26, was apprehended after a quick-thinking McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, allegedly recognised him from a surveillance photo.Police said he was found with a gun believed to be of the same 3D-printed kind used in the killing of Thompson, as well as a fake New Jersey driver's licence and three-page handwritten manifesto in his backpack, which police said suggested anger with corporate America. Hear details of the arrest and NYPD manhunt.In part two, London’s biggest new road infrastructure project will be open for drivers to use soon - but there’s a catch, it won’t be free.The £2 billion Silvertown Tunnel in east London, nearly a mile long, is planned to ease congestion for vehicles crossing the Thames.But when it opens in the spring, motorists will have to pay up along with those also using the 130-year-old Blackwall Tunnel under the river, as part of new tolls levied by Transport for London. We’re joined by the The London Standard’s transport editor Ross Lydall.

Syrians awoke on Monday to hope - but also uncertainty - after the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized the capital Damascus.Dictator President Bashar al-Assad reportedly fled to Russia, following 13 years of civil war and more than 50 years of his family’s brutal rule.As rescuers search for tens of thousands of prisoners held in the regime’s underground torture prisons in horrific conditions, what now for post-Assad Syria?Plus, how will the weekend’s events impact the wider Middle East crisis - and will HTS see its terrorist designation removed by countries including the UK?We’re joined The London Standard’s defence editor, Robert Fox.

Welcome to The Standard podcast’s round-up special edition. In this episode:President Joe Biden pardons son Hunter, sparing him a possible prison sentence for gun and tax convictionsBritish drivers will see a shake-up of the road tax rules in the spring, with a new emissions-based charging system and EV drivers paying for first timeVictims of the crime of stalking are to be given better protection including the right to know the identity of their online harasser as part of new legal protections unveiled by the Home OfficeLondon’s most expensive ever residential development, in Mayfair, where prices start at £35 millionThree rail companies serving London commuters will be renationalised by Labour next yearSurge in norovirus cases reported by the UK Health Security AgencyPM Starmer pledges every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have a named, contactable police officer.UCL study reveals link between social media posting and mental health problems.