Why we must tackle the crisis in end-of-life care | Letters

Your editorial on hospices (29 October) was right to highlight the crisis in end-of-life care. As the National Audit Office’s report makes clear, unless urgent action is taken, the system will be overwhelmed. More than 5.75 million deaths are expected in the next decade, and over 5 million of those people will need palliative care. Too many face dying in avoidable pain, in poverty and alone

Why Reeves should gamble on tax hikes | Brief letters

Betfred has said it would close all 1,287 of its high street betting shops if Rachel Reeves raises taxes on the industry (Betfred says gambling tax rise in budget will force it to shut all its UK shops, 19 October). What further encouragement can she need?John SaxbeeHaverfordwest, Pembrokeshire As great as Prunella Scales’s character was, I never really cared for Fawlty Towers (Obituary, 28 October). But I did care that she was at the launch of the Anti‑Nazi League back in the day, which helped to sweep the fascist National Front off our streets. Pete HendyHigh Wycombe, Buckinghamshire If Trump changes the constitution to allow him to run for a third term, wouldn’t that also open the door for Barack Obama to run again (The US politics sketch, 2 November)?Hilary BirdKilndown, Kent Re Melanie White’s letter about dogs on sofas (Letters, 30 October), try telling that to our snuggle‑loving whippet. She’ll be saying they shouldn’t be allowed on the bed next

A fatal drop: what do we know about the drugs, 500 times stronger than heroin, taking Australian lives?

Only a few years after first being detected in Australia, nitazenes have been found in everything from vapes to fake heroin – and the death toll is risingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIn the middle of winter last year, in a unit in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, Carly Morse, Thomas Vale, Michael Hodgkinson and Abdul El Sayed used a rolled-up bank note to inhale cocaine. About 3am on 24 June 2024, all four likely became unresponsive.El Sayed’s uncle, Cory Lewis, became concerned late the following night when his nephew, who had been living with him, did not return home.He banged on the door of the unit but there was no answer. A reflective tint on a side window meant he could not see inside, so Lewis jumped a fence and went to the back of the unit

Tired all the time? There may be a simple reason for that

Levels of fatigue among women in Britain are soaring, and this isn’t the kind that can be cured by a nap. What lies behind the exhaustion epidemic?Look around you and it isn’t hard to find an exhausted woman. There she is, standing behind you in the queue at the post office or delivering your Amazon package. Here she is at the school gates, puffing after running from the car, coffee in hand, apologising for forgetting to pack a PE kit. Or trying to stop a yawn escaping during a long work meeting

How scientists are shining light on the biology behind seasonal affective disorder

Researchers tracking large cohorts are discovering the effects of sleep, light and therapy on people impacted by winter’s arrivalFor some, the darkening days of autumn bring more than the annual ritual of reviving woolly jumpers and turning on the central heating. As the evenings close in and the mornings grow murky, energy ebbs and a heavy sadness settles in.Although seasonal affective disorder (Sad) was only formally recognised by psychiatrists in the 1980s, the link between the seasons, mood and vitality has long been observed.The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine – a Chinese text from roughly 300BC – described how the seasons affect all living things. It advised that in winter, one should “retire early and get up with the sunrise”, keeping “desires and mental activity quiet and subdued, as if keeping a happy secret”

Everyone says they are worried about hate crimes. But Australia’s laws to combat them are all over the place

Some state police forces have specific laws and units relating to hate crime, others have neither. Experts say a national definition is neededFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHate crimes have long been debated in Australia but the war in Gaza and the rise in reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia have thrust the laws designed to punish these crimes into the political spotlight.The Australian federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, has gone as far as saying new national hate crime laws may need to be strengthened.So how many of these crimes have resulted in police charges across Australia? And how differently is a report of a hate crime treated in each jurisdiction?In the wake of governments passing new laws – along with concerns about the accuracy of data about antisemitic incidents reported by New South Wales police and some states taking new approaches to the issue – Guardian Australia set out to explore hate crime.The picture that emerged was complex