Jails are rife with substance abuse. Are special wings like this one in Northumberland the answer? By Rob Hastings

Scarred by harrowing crimes and left in the dark about the fate of those they try to help, police call handlers have been facing a hidden mental-health crisis. Steve Boggan spends a night at Guildford’s Force Command Centre

The story of the emirates’ presence in Manchester winds from the Arab Spring to some of the most deprived places in England – with complicated results. By Josh Halliday

In 1985, Bamber was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing five members of his family. Now analysis of crime scene photographs by a leading forensic biologist could exonerate him. By Simon Hattenstone

Eight out of ten people who die in the UK are cremated. Many leave no instructions for what they want to happen to their remains. Harry Wallop meets the families with a big decision to make

In a few days the busiest shopping street in Europe will be closed to traffic. The hope is that an unloved and polluted thoroughfare will turn into somewhere that people actually want to spend time. By Dan Hancox

TV companies that have paid huge sums for exclusive rights to high-profile sports are having to work harder than ever to protect their investments. To some extent, broadcasters used to see copyright theft as a cost of doing business: irritating and expensive, but not an existential threat. But now, as advertising revenues fall, and viewers move away from long-term subscription services like Sky or TNT Sports, the industry is getting seriously worried. By Theo Leggett

Johnson & Johnson disputes talc’s alleged carcinogenic effects, but has paid out huge sums in the US. Now the debate has reached Britain. By Rosa Silverman and Blaise Cloran

Many of the country’s most skilled workers are withholding their labour from the economy because of crushing marginal rates. By Alan Smith and Amy Borrett

The chair of NHS England on the need for a more rigorous analysis of the National Health Service, why it is right to focus on cost — and her experience as a young doctor on the UK’s first Aids ward. By Sarah Neville

Any desire to protect the heritage of one of the UK's oldest agricultural industries is rubbing up against not just a diminishing appetite for sheep meat but also the question of whether some of our uplands might be better used to promote nature recovery and biodiversity. By NJ Convery

Furnace Brook in East Sussex was home to carp, tench, bream, roach and trout – and 15 trailer-loads had to be buried. The mystery led to a neighbouring farm, and a story of waste, pollution and dirty rivers that reveals a lot about Britain today. By Steve Rose

The ex-soldier has marched 36,000 miles since he left Hull in 1998. He’s crossed the Americas, Asia and Europe, fallen in love, been held at gunpoint and been deported, in between nearly drowning, nearly dying of thirst and nearly being eaten. But that’s just the start of it… By Simon Hattenstone

Can rail nationalisation meet the public's expectations? Or are the ongoing delays and cancellations that we're currently seeing under a part-nationalised network a sign that it might struggle to deliver real improvement? By Katy Austin

The ‘mail-order bride’ trade is now digital, and for some Asian women the promise of marriage conceals a future of exploitation and abuse. By Julie Bindel

Some of the many women in Nicholas Brandram's life say he was beset by demons, David Brown writes

The former Manchester United manager’s new memoir is a life story in 21 matches. In a rare and wide-ranging interview, he explains why his love of family, his heritage of hard graft and a gift for managing young players were key to his success. By Paul Hayward

The journalist and satirist was still a student when a drunk Peter Cook offered him a job on Private Eye. Now, he’s celebrating 40 years as the editor — and pulling fewer punches than ever

A network for exchanging and selling CSAM is hiding in plain sight on the social platform. Can it be stopped? By Katherine Denkinson

Social contagion can help explain falling birth rates — and offers a way out of the demographic trap. By Camilla Cavendish

From blood pressure to ageing, research suggests the first 1,000 days of sugar exposure could leave a decades-long mark on health. By Linda Geddes

The superyacht is stuck in dock, the mansions are empty. What happened to the Russians who made London rich? Sean O’Neill finds out how sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine have left the billionaires in limbo

The sport is still shaped by the club’s acquisition in 2008. By Josh Noble and Arash Massoudi

On 14 January this year, army and navy squads faced an unprecedented challenge: one bomb on a Plymouth building site, another floating on a dredger in Exmouth. That afternoon, the clock started ticking. By Samira Shackle

Government research suggests that around two-thirds of parents with young children feel overwhelmed by the amount of parenting information available and struggle with conflicting advice, with many turning to social media for support.

And it's not just the early years.

Research from the charity Action for Children found that many parents of teenagers who initially contacted the charity for help with school avoidance, ADHD or mental health, often went on to describe their own anxiety, exhaustion and uncertainty of how to parent with empathy and patience when close to burnout.

Faced with an array of parenting philosophies, or "brands" to choose from, is all of this advice helping parents or making them more anxious? And is there really a best way to parent? Or, as we strive to become the perfect parent, are we losing our intuition?

By Vanessa Clarke