Welcome to The Standard podcast’s special edition, where we bring you news highlights from the week that was.

Headlines were dominated by escalating moves in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, policies around Kyiv’s use of powerful British-American missiles in the war, and Moscow’s retaliation with what the Kremlin says is a new type of hypersonic weapon.

Here in Britain, we looked at the impacted of shocks to the energy market and our household bills that the war, as well as the recent cold snap, has caused.

There was also continuing domestic anger about the first Rachel Reeves budget, as thousands of farmers marched on Westminster in protest at Labour’s so-called ‘tractor tax’ on inheritance.

You’ll also hear our interview with Andrea Sella, professor of chemistry at UCL about the impact of methanol on the body after six people died after drinking alleged ‘tainted’ alcohol shots at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos.

Plus, inside one of the capital’s Lime e-bikes maintenance depots and could pondlife bacteria be repurposed to power space lasers?

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A sixth person has died after drinking fake alcohol shots suspected of being laced with poisonous methanol during a backpacking holiday in Laos.

All are thought to have died after allegedly ingesting tainted drinks at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, where online reviews mention “free unlimited shots”.

Rachelle Abbott interviewed Andrea Sella, professor of chemistry at University College London, about dangers of methanol consumption and its impact on the human body.

In part two, The London Standard’s transport editor Ross Lydall discusses the latest data on London’s busiest railway stations, and visits Liverpool Street to report on the latest redevelopment plans amid a forecast passenger boom.

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Kyiv claims Russia launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in an attack on Ukraine, but that account has reportedly been disputed by US officials.

The powerful weapon is believed to have been fired from Russia’s southern Astrakhan region during a morning attack on Thursday at the central-eastern city of Dnipro - at a time of escalation in the 33-month-old invasion launched by Russia in Ukraine.

But the ICBM claim has been disputed by the Americans, with a senior US official telling the New York Times that the weapon appeared to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile, who however added that it was “a new type we have been tracking”.

It comes after Ukraine used American Atacms and British Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets inside Russia this week, something Moscow had warned for months would be seen as a major escalation.

Just hours later, Vladimir Putin approved­ an updated Russian nuclear doctrine lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear strikes.

We’re joined by The London Standard’s defence editor Robert Fox, who discusses the strike, Russia capabilities and why the UK government must “level with the public” to address people’s worries.

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