The Week

A Jack Russell terrier who has detected more than 200 undetonated explosive devices since Russia invaded Ukraine has received a medal from President Zelensky, in recognition of his service to the country. Patron, whose bomb-sniffing talents have made him a star of the Ukrainian government’s official social media channels, was presented with the award at a news conference in Kyiv. He shares it with his owner, who works for the Civil Protection Service. A marble bust bought for $35 at a thrift store in Texas has been identified as a 2,000-year-old Roman relic. Laura Young said that on seeing the bust, she was convinced that it was old and Roman, and experts confirmed her hunch. They also told her that the bust had vanished during the Second World War from a…

What happened Boris Johnson unveiled a new legislative programme this week designed to get his Government back on the front foot following the Conservatives’ poor showing in last Thursday’s local elections. The Tories lost about a quarter of the nearly 2,000 council seats they were defending across Britain. They fared particularly badly in London, where Labour won Westminster and Barnet, both of which have been Conservative bastions since 1964, as well as the stronghold of Wandsworth, Margaret Thatcher’s favourite council. The Tories also lost control of a number of formerly safe councils in southern England to the Lib Dems, including West Oxfordshire and Tunbridge Wells. In Wales, the Tories lost their only council, Monmouthshire; and in Scotland, where the SNP retained its dominance, they were pushed into third place by Labour. But…

What happened At Russia’s annual Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square, Vladimir Putin sought to justify his invasion of Ukraine by claiming that his country had been under threat. At the celebration of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Putin said that Russia had had to “strike back pre-emptively”, because Nato had been preparing for an “invasion of our land”. However, he did not formally declare war on Ukraine as some had predicted; nor did he announce a mass mobilisation of troops. Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in its northeast, liberating several towns near Kharkiv and pushing Russian forces back towards the border. Russia’s own campaign, focused largely on the southeastern Donbas region, continued, with few discernible gains. On Saturday, around 60 people were killed when a Russian bomb hit a school in Bilohorivka, a…

Keir Starmer doesn’t look like a gambler, but he has just bet his entire political career on the outcome of a police investigation, said The Independent. On Monday, he stated that he would quit as Labour leader if Durham Constabulary fined him for breaching Covid lockdown rules in April 2021. The police decision will hinge on whether a curry and a beer with party campaigners at the Durham Miners’ Hall, ahead of local elections, qualifies as a working dinner or a social event. Either way, his gambit will leave Labour stronger, said Alice Thomson in The Times. If Starmer is exonerated – and he is convinced he will be – then his reputation for integrity will be enhanced. He’s doing a decent job as leader, as Labour gains in last…

Guests at Royal Ascot will be allowed to choose gender-neutral titles on their name badges for the first time this year. Previously, visitors to the Royal Enclosure could only pick badges with the prefixes of Mr, Mrs and Miss – but now “Mx” will be an option. Not all welcome this attempt at inclusivity, however: one Royal Enclosure regular told The Mail on Sunday that Mx looks “like a cooking instruction”. Apple has announced that it is discontinuing its iPod Touch, after 21 years. When Apple launched the first iPod in 2001, the MP3 player could store 1,000 songs. But with the advent of iPhones, iPods started to look redundant. Today, someone with an iPhone can access 90 million songs on Apple’s streaming service.…

Ncuti Gatwa, who was unveiled as the new Doctor Who, replacing Jodie Whittaker. The 29-year-old, who was born in Rwanda and brought up in Scotland, will be the first black actor to play the Time Lord in a lead role. Until now, Gatwa had been best known for his role in Netflix’s Sex Education. Big Ben, with news that after five years of near total silence, the great bell is ready to bong again. The chimes were disconnected in 2017, to allow a complete overhaul of the 96-metre Elizabeth Tower, the four faces of the clock, and the bell mechanism itself. Gordon Ramsay, who sold one of his two holiday homes in Cornwall for £7.5m, in what is believed to be the most expensive sale in the history of the county. The…