Almost 4 million children in UK affected by economic abuse, charity finds

Almost 4 million children in the UK are suffering the impact of economic abuse in their families, with some having pocket or birthday money stolen by the perpetrators, a charity has found.Data from charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) showed that over the past year 27% of mothers with children under 18 had experienced behaviour considered to be economic abuse, where a current or former partner has controlled the family’s money.The research found perpetrators used various means, including stopping mothers accessing bank accounts and child benefits, and refusing to pay child maintenance.As a result, some children are missing out on essentials including clothes and food.A third of the women who experienced economic abuse by a former partner reported that their ex refused to pay child support, or paid it unreliably, despite being able to afford it

Resident doctors in England to go on strike in run-up to Christmas

Thousands of doctors in England are to go on strike again this month, in a dispute over pay and job security.The British Medical Association has announced that resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – will begin a five-day strike action that will run from 7am on 17 December until 7am on 22 December.It is the 14th strike by doctors since March 2023 and follows a similar five-day action last month, which led to warnings that the NHS may have to cut frontline staff and offer fewer appointments and operations if the strikes continue.The BMA said resident doctors were being driven “away from jobs and to the picket line” because the government was failing to make a “credible offer on jobs or pay”.Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said: “With the government failing to put forward a credible plan to fix the jobs crisis for resident doctors at the same time as pushing a real-terms pay cut for them, we have no choice but to announce more strike dates

Assisted dying bill is safer than any other in the world | Letters

Dr Lucy Thomas raises some interesting points in her defence of the House of Lords’ behaviour on assisted dying (Letters, 26 November). But it is a stretch to suggest that the 1,000 amendments that peers have tabled to the bill represent effective independent scrutiny.What possible justification can there be for requiring every dying person – including a 90-year-old in their final weeks with advanced metastasised cancer – to provide a negative pregnancy test before their request is approved (amendment 458)? I am sure there are many peers who want to scrutinise the bill in a sensible way, but they are being thwarted by a handful who seem intent on stopping law change at any cost.The bill as currently drafted – which MPs have amended and approved – is safer than any other in the world, including in its protections for doctors. Clause 31 ensures that if Dr Thomas doesn’t wish to support her patients with this option, she would be under absolutely no obligation to do so

Beware flammable skincare, too many sprouts and overindulging in cheese this Christmas, say health experts

Christmas might be a season of comfort and joy but health experts have warned of lurking dangers, ranging from the fire risk posed by skin creams to the possibility of festive foods interacting with certain medications.People using medical moisturisers known as emollient creams, often used for eczema and other dry skin conditions, should stay away from heat sources including candles and open flames because such creams can soak into fabrics and make them more flammable, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).The agency also warns that traditional Christmas vegetables, including brussels sprouts and broccoli, can be problematic for people who take the anticoagulant warfarin, as the high levels of vitamin K they contain can reduce the medication’s effectiveness.“These foods should not be avoided altogether – instead, try to eat consistent amounts so your vitamin K levels remain steady,” the MHRA said.However, some people may need to avoid festive treats

Shortage of ‘breakthrough’ weight loss drugs will slow fight against obesity, WHO warns

Weight loss drugs such as Mounjaro offer huge potential to tackle soaring obesity globally but are currently only available to one in 10 of those who need them, the World Health Organization has said.Their proven effectiveness in helping people lose weight means the medications represent “a new chapter” in how health services can treat obesity and the killer diseases it causes, the WHO added.Its statement urged countries to do what they could to ensure that people who would benefit from glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies could access them. But while eligible adults generally should get them, pregnant women should not use them, the WHO stated.Limits on global production capacity mean that now only at most about 100 million people could receive the drugs – only 10% of the 1 billion who could benefit

‘It was extremely pornographic’: Cara Hunter on the deepfake video that nearly ended her political career

When Cara Hunter, the Irish politician, looks back on the moment she found out she had been deepfaked, she says it is “like watching a horror movie”. The setting is her grandmother’s rural home in the west of Tyrone on her 90th birthday, April 2022. “Everyone was there,” she says. “I was sitting with all my closest family members and family friends when I got a notification through Facebook Messenger.” It was from a stranger