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

Ministers were warned of errors at jail that released sex offender by mistake

Ministers were warned by a watchdog that prisoners were “falling through the cracks” of chaotic release procedures at the jail that mistakenly freed a convicted child sex offender.An annual report on HMP Chelmsford uncovered “a litany of issues and errors” including “a mix-up of release dates” when letting out a vulnerable prisoner.The Essex facility is at the centre of an inquiry after Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national, was accidentally freed despite convictions for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman days after arriving in the UK in a small boat.The emergence of the report, published by the jail’s independent monitoring board [IMB] in December and sent to the prisons minister, James Timpson, will raise fresh questions about who should be held responsible for the debacle.Kebatu was released from prison a week ago on Friday by mistake when he was supposed to be removed to an immigration detention centre

‘Out of reach’: stalled newbuilds leave Labour’s social housing targets in tatters

The stats are stark: families on Bath and North East Somerset council’s social housing list face a 200-year wait for a four-bedroom property and the latest available figures show England is building just a little over 10,000 social homes a year.Tackling this crisis was a key element of Labour’s election promise to build 1.5m homes over five years, with the government in July announcing plans to spend £39bn building 300,000 affordable homes over a decade, 60% of them for social rent.But hopes of hitting these targets are fading. In London, housebuilding of all kinds has pretty much stalled, prompting the housing secretary, Steve Reed, and the mayor, Sadiq Khan, to announce a controversial package last week that cuts from 35% to 20% the percentage of affordable units a site needs in order for it to be fast-tracked

Woman turned away from UK-Italy flight due to ill child has benefit stopped

A woman has had her child benefit stopped after booking a holiday to Italy because HMRC inferred she had emigrated – even though she and her family did not board the flight.Sally, her three children and her partner were going on holiday to Italy last July, but were refused boarding after one of the children had an epileptic seizure at the departure gate.Sixteen months later, Sally received a letter from tax authorities at HMRC telling her payments for all three children were being stopped as records showed she had taken a one-way flight from the UK to Italy in 2024.“We never even left the country,” she said, explaining how much paperwork she has had to put together to prove to the tax authorities that they had made a mistake.“On receiving the letter, I called the child benefit line and explained the situation but was told I needed to complete the form and submit evidence, which included three months of bank statements from all my accounts, letters from the NHS and school to prove we returned – when we didn’t even leave

Charities and stars call on UK government to set child poverty reduction targets

Celebrities, MPs and children’s charities are among dozens of signatories to an open letter ramping up pressure on the government to set targets for reducing child poverty in the UK.The actor Emilia Clarke, the broadcaster Chris Packham and the presenter George Clarke have put their names to the letter, coordinated by the Big Issue founder John Bird, stating that the government’s reluctance to set binding child poverty reduction targets has “rung alarm bells”.Leading anti-poverty and children’s charities including the National Children’s Bureau, Child Poverty Action Group, Amnesty UK, Barnardo’s and the food bank charity Trussell have all backed the call, as well as MPs and peers representing Labour, Greens and the SNP.“Quite simply, we’re worried that the government does not want its homework marked when it comes to child poverty,” the letter reads. “It’s crucial the government gets the child poverty strategy right