The Standard

The total raised by the Evening Standard’s Winter Survival Appeal in partnership with Comic Relief has swelled to £2.4 million - thanks to a final surge in public donations to £200,000.With one million children in extreme poverty and at severe risk of being inadequately fed, clothed or kept warm this winter, the funds raised have been hailed by struggling charities and parents as a lifesaver, providing food and essentials to families in crisis.You can hear much more about some of the 20 outstanding charities and social enterprises being funded in this episode.The Standard podcast’s joined for a special episode by our campaigns editor David Cohen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a “nightmare” before Christmas at Hyde Park Corner tube station with “unsafe” scenes caused by train delays and “staggering levels of criminal and antisocial behaviour” from some people apparently returning from the Winter Wonderland event. TfL is investigating after a station worker described how dozens of people at a time barging through ticket barriers, plus threats to assault staff when asked to stop vaping in the station, during the incident earlier this month.It came as new laws went on the statute books requiring minimum service levels on strike days - just in time for a potential New Year strike by RMT members.You can hear Evening Standard transport editor Ross Lydall’s interview with transport secretary Mark Harper on strike strategy, plus his latest analysis on the Hyde Park Corner station chaos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NHS bosses are warning London hospitals are under “extraordinary pressure” due to a “high volume of sick people” as junior doctors began their 26th day of strike action.Members of the British Medical Association began a 72-hour walkout from 7am on Wednesday in hospitals across England in a bitter dispute over pay.Hospital bosses in the capital say the strikes came at “the worst possible time” with rising demand for emergency services during the festive period.More than 1.1 million appointments have already been cancelled in the past year due to industrial action in the NHS.Junior doctors are demanding a 35 per cent pay rise to correct a real-terms fall in income since 2008.The BMA announced the strike earlier this month after talks between junior doctors and the Government broke down.Analysis, plus impact on London A&Es, with Evening Standard health reporter Daniel Keane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two emergencies are unfolding in China and Iceland.At least 126 people were reportedly killed in a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in a freezing, mountainous region of north-western China, on the Tibetan Plateau.Search and rescue operations are under way in the country’s Gansu and neighbouring Qinghai provinces, as rescuers work in sub-zero temperatures.Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, the long-grumbling volcano erupted on south-west Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula after weeks of intense earthquake activity - but without casualties.The eruption shot lava and smoke more than 330ft into the air. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Baroness Mone has admitted that she stands to profit from a contract between the Government and PPE firm Medpro, but insisted that she and her husband Doug Barrowman have “no case to answer”.The Conservative peer confessed to lying to the press after she repeatedly denied her links to a company that made million of pounds during the Covid pandemic.The discuss the scandal, the investigation and what’s next for Baroness Mone, The Standard podcast’s joined by Evening Standard health reporter Daniel Keane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga sit down with our Deputy Culture Editor, Nick Clark backstage at the Gielgud Theatre. The West End and Broadway legends are currently starring in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. This is taken from The Standard Theatre Podcast, click here to find out more.For all the latest news visit standard.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Alex Batty was found after six years. The British boy went missing in October 2017 when he was 11 years old. This week, the now teenager was picked up by a lorry driver after 'walking in the French mountains for days'. Our crime reporter John Dunne explains the details behind this incredible story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After six seasons, 60 episodes and three incarnations of the Queen, Netflix’s The Crown is abdicating its throne. But, will fans be satisfied with its ending? Columnist Melanie McDonagh gives her verdict.In part two, our senior feature writer & editor, Katie Strick, discusses the newest episode of London Love Stories with Katie Strick featuring none other than the much-loved filmmaker Richard Curtis.For details on the Evening Standard’s Winter Survival Appeal visit comicrelief.com/wintersurvival Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A ‘historic deal’ has been reached at the COP28 climate change summit in Dubai. For the first time, the agreement calls on all countries to ‘move away’ from using fossil fuels, but is it enough?Sustainability expert and presenter of our Sustainable Travel podcast series, Juliet Kinsman, shares her insight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Storm clouds gathered over 10 Downing Street as Rishi Sunak tried desperately to quell mutiny among Conservative party rebels ahead of a make-or-break immigration vote on his flagship Rwanda asylum bill.It came as the Prime Minister saw his public ratings on managing immigration hit a new low in an Ipsos UK survey for the Standard.Analysis with Standard political editor Nicolas Cecil.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.