The late Leonardo Del Vecchio must be “rolling in his grave”, said The Observer. The Italian businessman, who died in 2022, left his multibillion EssilorLuxottica fashion empire – which includes Ray-Ban and Oakley – to his seven children and his widow. But now a family feud “is draining patience and payouts”.

The outcome of the increasingly bitter fight for control of the company “carries weight well beyond the family”, said Euronews. Holding company Delfin, which controls around a third of EssilorLuxottica, also “holds influential positions in some of Italy’s most important financial institutions”.

Industrial relations
Del Vecchio’s 31-year-old son, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio (pictured above), launched a €10 billion bid this summer to buy a combined 25% stake in Delfin from two of his siblings, which would have given him a controlling share of 37.5%. Delfin’s voting rules require an 88% supermajority shareholder approval for major decisions, giving any one of the eight heirs veto power. Leonardo Maria’s half-brother, Rocco Basilico, argued that the buyout plan required supermajority approval. Although Basilico later withdrew his legal challenge, Leonardo Maria’s financial backers pulled out and the bid collapsed.

However, he returned last week with a €29.6 billion bid for the entire family holding in Delfin. If accepted, it would block a rival approach from Czech arms billionaire Michal Strnad, “while vaulting Leonardo Maria into the dominant position in one of Italy’s most important industrial families”, said Bloomberg.

Intimate origins
In the case of the Del Vecchios, “an effort to have complete equality – and potentially preserve family peace that way – has not worked”, economic anthropologist Bridget Kustin told The Observer. Large, public disputes over huge fortunes “can have extremely small, intimate, private family origins”, such as “a perception of favouritism, a childhood feud”.

The infighting is a warning to Italy’s legions of family firms facing generational change, according to Carlo Verdone, head of industrial association Federitaly. “Ten per cent of Italy’s family firms are run by bosses in their 70s,” he told The Times. “It’s a serious problem.”

“Forget jade rollers, LED masks and salmon sperm facials,” said nutrition expert Chloe Casey on The Conversation. The “latest skincare trend” is a blood test to detect iron deficiency and avoid the signs of so-called “ferritin face”: dark under-eyes, pale and dry skin, and hair loss.

What is ferritin?
Ferritin is a protein that plays a “significant role in the absorption, storage, and release of iron”, said the NHS. It’s found in many types of cells in the body, but especially in the “liver, spleen, bone marrow, and in reticuloendothelial cells”. 

Because iron levels naturally “fluctuate throughout the day”, said The Independent, testing ferritin levels is a “better indicator” of iron deficiency problems such as anaemia. You are more likely to suffer from low ferritin and iron levels if you are pregnant or suffer heavy periods. Low levels have also been linked to gastrointestinal problems, diet and poor absorption in the gut.

Is the ‘ferritin face’ discourse harmful?
Severe iron deficiency can “make someone look pale”, said Casey on The Conversation. But that doesn’t mean low ferritin levels produce a “distinctive facial appearance”. Other factors such as “hormones, bad sleep, stress, dehydration or not eating enough key nutrients can all leave you looking pale and tired”.

So a “mirror can’t tell you whether your ferritin is low – only a blood test can do that”. But on social media, the “line between medical advice and marketing gets blurry fast”, and warnings about medical conditions often come with links to a “pill or powder” available for purchase. 

How can people increase their iron levels?
Eat a well-balanced diet including red meat and shellfish, which contain iron that can be “more readily absorbed”, said Grazia. Beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, leafy green vegetables and nuts are also rich in iron.

“Taking iron supplements without a diagnosis can be harmful,” said the BBC, and could “delay the investigation of an underlying problem”. Experts advise people at risk of low ferritin to seek a full blood count, including checks for ferritin, B12 and folate levels.

A member of the Republican Guard faints as Emmanuel Macron prepares to welcome Slovakia’s President Peter Pellegrini to the Élysée Palace in Paris. The soldier was carried away to receive medical attention as Pellegrini ascended the palace steps.

Guillaume Saligot / AFP / Getty Images

The ultimate Christmas countdown includes mulled wine at a festive market, a spot of carol-singing and, of course, a trip to the theatre. Here’s our pick of the top festive shows across the country, from Dickens adaptations to star-studded pantomimes.

A Christmas Carol, The Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh
“What’s Christmas without this classic about moral wrongdoings, ghostly reckonings and redemption?” said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. This Edinburgh-set adaptation is “comfy Christmas fare” but, amid the fun, there are also “resonant messages for our times about the duty to be charitable”.

Cinderella, The London Palladium
“For the first time in The Palladium panto’s history,” said Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out, Julian Clary “might not be the centre of attention”. He plays the Fairy Godfather this year, but Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are expected to steal the show as they reunite after 17 years to play the Ugly Sisters.

Sleeping Beauty, Bristol Hippodrome
This could be the “pantomime of your dreams”, said Olivia Garrett in Radio Times. The “fab-u-lous” musical theatre star and “Strictly Come Dancing” judge Craig Revel Horwood plays the “wicked” fairy, Carabosse.

The Further Adventures of Peter Pan, Sunderland Empire
Captain Hook “may not be as gone” from Neverland “as Peter thought”, said British Theatre. “Heartstopper” star Bradley Riches swoops in for a new adventure as Peter Pan, and drag queen Miss Rory plays a “deliciously despicable” Rorina the Mermaid. Expect a festive extravaganza of “flying, sword fights and crocodile chases”.

How Luddites can learn to love data centres
Paul Ormerod on City A.M.
Critics are “vociferous in their hostility” towards data centres, writes economist Paul Ormerod. Like the 19th-century Luddites angered by new machine technology “slashing the wages of skilled workers”, today’s “liberal arts graduates” fear their employment is “being undermined by AI”. But we could “manage the transition better than we did in the first Industrial Revolution”. Data centres won’t bring direct economic gains to local communities, but payments could be taken from each “incoming hyper-scaler” to fund local childcare, education or business initiatives, generating “outcomes which benefit everyone”.

We have become a nation of lazy dog owners
Patrick Galbraith in The Telegraph
I’m not “timid”, writes Patrick Galbraith, but “I’ve found myself crossing the road” when big dogs come “barrelling” towards me. “Every year, there are countless dog attacks”, not to mention the ruined family picnics when “some b-----d of a golden retriever” bounds over to “devour” the sandwiches. “Some dogs are simply born bad”, but “canine terrors tend to be owned by people” who don’t take training seriously. “If you aren’t going to teach it not to jump up”, just “don’t get one”.

Can Antonia Romeo fix Whitehall?
Meghan Kenyon in The New Statesman
The “extraordinary case” of the man who was “able to coast under the radar” in five full-time civil-service jobs “has done little to assuage” concerns about how sluggishly Whitehall operates, writes Megan Kenyon. Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo has “made a pledge to take on the problem” and “to take a new approach to managing performance”. But such reform has been attempted before and, so far, “meaningful change has been hard to come by”.