Red mist Rugby's leaders would do well to heed the wise words of Barnes

Opinion will always be divided, but a general consensus seems to have it that Wayne Barnes has been the best referee of our times. Now that he has retired, it seems he is feeling freer to speak his mind.

Tipping point Women's sport cashes in on year of explosion

From netball to cricket, female sport began to realise its commercial possibilities in 2023 but, writes Emma John, rapid growthbrings its own challenges

Boom industry Female entrepreneurs go it alone for 'success without permission'

Tameeka Smith resigned as the director of a well known youth charity in 2019 after realising being her own boss was more important to her than the security of being an employee.

'Out of sync with world' US policy on Gaza war threatens its credibility - and the global order

Richard Haass, the distinguished global analyst, once wrote: “Consistency in foreign policy is a luxury policymakers cannot always afford.”

A little snowball that got big The Icelandic vigilante helping to break the cycle of bike theft

It all started in 2019, when Bjartmar Leósson started to see a rise in bike theft in Reykjavík.

'Leave our men alone' The women speaking out against Putin

On the  backdrop of snow-capped birch trees, a group of women wearing white headscarves blend into the Russian winter landscape.

Right to roam Farmers make case against open access to the English countryside

When Bizza Walters is out working on her Warwickshire farm, she often sees people strolling in the patchwork fields. The 25-year-old is a fourth-generation farmer on the 500 acres of English countryside, and she likes that visitors to the area enjoy using their farm for a walk.

Long-term illness leaves 560,000 under-35s out of work

More than half a million young people in the UK say they are out of work owing to long-term illness, a 44% increase in just four years.

Shortages in probation community staff leave sentences uncompleted

More than 5,500 unpaid work orders that form part of community sentences have not been completed more than two years after being handed down, with experts blaming \"chronic understaffing\" in the probation service.

Budget-conscious shoppers expected to spend less on Boxing Day sales this year

Shoppers are expected to spend £3.7bn on bargains this Boxing Day, but that's 3% less than a year ago, as the annual discount day is now overshadowed by the Black Friday events in November and shoppers remain cautious about their budgets.

'Sliding doors': how asking Thatcher a question changed a 13-year-old's life

A man who questioned Margaret Thatcher on television when he was a child has described how the encounter helped him escape his deprived background despite his opposition to her policies.

"They're on the move' Fears of another Aberfan as Westminster refuses to clean up disused coal tips

Edmund Richards, who worked for 40 years as a miner, shook his head sadly as he gazed at one of the many disused coal tips at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley in south Wales.

Smells of Christmas past? How your nose could be key in dementia fight

Whether it is the waft of clove-studded oranges or the crisp fragrance of a fir tree, the festive season is filled with aromas that conjure Christmases past. Now researchers say our sense of smell, and its connection to our memory, could be used to help fight dementia.

'We are a proper school': new move to offer hybrid learning

The first UK-wide hybrid school, teaching children up to sixth-form age both from home and in person, aims to open in September 2024.

Downhill from here? Ski industry faces existential crisis as the world heats up

In the ski resorts of Morzine and Les Gets in the French Alps, heavy rainfall delayed the proper start of the season until two days before Christmas.

'It was so quick' The charity helping homeless people with tailored grants

When Halima's parents moved back to Somalia she was 19 and thought: \"God forbid, I'm not going there. I'm living my best life.\" But the reality of living unmoored was not so positive.

Charles hails volunteers as the 'essential backbone of society'

King Charles has praised the work of volunteers, calling them a \"selfless army of people who are an \"essential backbone of our society\".

Pubs like the Crooked House are still being lost, warns Camra

The pub industry has faced one of its toughest years to date, according to the chair of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), as he criticised the government for failing to act after the Crooked House scandal.

Venice Biennale Nigeria pledges to shake off African stereotypes in art

Few countries in Africa have been leading the charge in the contemporary art scene like Nigeria. In 2024, as Africa aims to buck the decades-long trend of under-representation at the Venice Biennale, all eyes will be on the west African country for its ambitious second-ever national pavilion, along with the first-time participants Benin and Morocco, whose presence has been hailed as \"a milestone for the continent\".

Hollywood on the Wear Sunderland's studio plans more than a 'wild dream'

There's no point in having dreams unless they are wild,\" says the producer Leo Pearlman when asked to contemplate the dizzying scale of his ambition to create a new Hollywood on the banks of the Wear in Sunderland.

Bethlehem No room for celebrations amid sorrow

In the days leading up to Christmas, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said that one bible verse kept running through his mind.

Gaza strikes kill over 100 as IDF steps up offensive

The Gaza Strip is facing some of the deadliest fighting to date in the present war as Israel expands its offensive just days after the UN security council passed a resolution calling for more aid and urgent steps for a sustainable ceasefire.

Anti-obesity U-turns risk child health timebomb, report warns

Food strategy failings expose poorest to health problems, ministers told

'Elvis's fantasy'

Why fashion is key to Coppola's Priscilla biopic

Italian's bank accounts frozen under shameful’ Brexit rules

An Italian restaurant owner and his British wife have had their bank accounts frozen overnight after 15 years of custom in a \"catastrophic\" post-Brexit tactic they say is designed by the government to frighten immigrants into leaving the UK.

On message Sombre or sparkly, the politics of Christmas

Nothing says Christmas more than a personalised card.

Yellowstone zombie killer

Deer fall prey to deadly brain disease, raising ecological fears

Energy savers Best gadgets to snap up in the sales

Now’s the time to graba bargain from clothes airers to air fryers.

Shell life Hong Kong recycles its oysters to revive beds

Every Thursday around noon, a brown minivan pulls up in the alley behind the glitzy Peninsula hotel at Victoria Harbour in E Kowloon, Hong Kong.

'A surprise every day' Ukrainian refugee given his sight back in Poland

It was just before Christmas last year that Serhiy Sydorenko underwent corneal surgery on his right eye, a complicated operation that, if successful, would end 36 years of blindness.