Join the army, work full-time … and now vote: what 16-year-olds can do in the UK

Turning 16 opens up a whole suite of exciting new freedoms. Now, those celebrating their baby steps into adulthood in the UK have another thrilling task for their to-do lists: heading to the voting booth.Thursday marked one of the largest changes to the country’s democratic system in recent times after Labour announced the voting age would be lowered to 16 before the next general election.Scotland and Wales have already made the change for Holyrood and Senedd elections, as well as local council elections, but the move means 16-year-olds will have a say over who becomes prime minister for the first time.For some, the change has been a long time coming, especially considering what 16-year-olds can already legally do:Those aged 16 and 17 can join the British army as a junior soldier, where they will learn survival skills including handling and firing weapons

Children under seven should not drink slushies containing glycerol, says regulator

Children under seven should not drink slushies containing glycerol because of the serious health risks they can cause, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said.Glycerol is a naturally occurring alcohol and sugar substitute that helps slushies maintain their texture by preventing liquid from freezing solid.Children who become ill as a result of drinking slushies develop glycerol intoxication syndrome, which causes symptoms such as decreased consciousness and low blood sugar. Other symptoms include lactic acidosis, which occurs when the body produces too much lactic acid, and hypokalaemia, or low potassium.Previously, the FSA, the food safety body for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, had advised that children under four should not have slush ice drinks containing glycerol, and that consumption should be limited to no more than one slushie a day for children aged between five and 10 years

Is your home a health hazard? 15 surprisingly filthy everyday items, from taps to toothbrushes

Your water bottle could harbour 40,000 times more bacteria than your toilet seat. And that’s just the tip of the dirtbergMost everyday objects are at least a little bit grimy. They rarely, if ever, make contact with soap or disinfectant – unlike your toilet seat, even though that’s the one that’s often used as a symbol of filth in studies of household cleanliness. Aside from pathogens that can cause disease and illness, “for the most part, we’re dealing with our own bacteria”, says Jason Tetro, microbiologist and author of The Germ Code. This usually isn’t a problem, especially for youngish healthy people – but, Tetro adds, “when they accumulate, even if they are your own, it can lead to things like skin irritability, itchy scalp, cavities [in teeth from bacteria-heavy toothbrushes], that type of thing”

Labour backbench MPs push for tough, wholesale changes to gambling regulation

The embattled Labour leadership is facing a challenge from backbench MPs pushing for wholesale reform of gambling regulation, putting Keir Starmer on a potential collision course with some of the party’s largest donors.The Guardian understands that a large and growing group of backbenchers are concerned that ministers may pull punches on further regulation of the UK’s betting and gaming sector, which took a record £11.5bn from punters last year.Weeks after Starmer and Rachel Reeves’s chastening climbdown on welfare reform, the group are expected to push for a rethink of the government’s approach to tackle concerns that more than a million people in Britain may be suffering from a gambling problem.The group’s proposals include drafting an entirely new Gambling Act to replace the much-criticised legislation introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2005, including measures to address high volumes of gambling advertising

Resident doctors accused of ‘greedy’ pay demands before Streeting talks

Resident doctors have been accused of being “very greedy” over their 29% pay demand, before talks with Wes Streeting on Thursday and a planned five-day strike next week.The Guardian spoke to hospital trust bosses and senior medics, all of whom criticised the walkout in England and warned that it will cause “absolute chaos” in the NHS.The 29% pay claim is causing serious divisions and resentment among lower-paid frontline NHS staff, hospital chiefs said.“This is an unnecessarily greedy ask in a [resource-]constrained system, that deprives patients and other staff directly,” said one medical leader.They pointed to the 22% salary increase for 2023-24 and 2024-25 that the health secretary gave resident doctors in England last year soon after Labour won power

Childminder costs over school summer holidays as high as £1,800, research finds

Working parents who depend on childminders to look after their children during the British school summer holidays face bills of as much as £1,800 for six weeks’ childcare, according to new research.A survey by the children’s charity Coram found families in inner London can expect to pay an average of £306 a week for a holiday childminder, compared with a British average of £234 a week.Holiday childminder costs in Wales and Scotland are marginally higher – £249 and £238 a week respectively compared with £233 in England – but British families will have to find about £1,400 to cover the six-week break.It is the first time the survey, now in its 20th year, has included childminder costs during the holidays, which are published alongside annual data provided by local authorities on the cost and availability of places in holiday childcare clubs.The latest data reveals holiday childcare club costs in England, Wales and Scotland have risen by 4% in the last year, with working parents now facing an average bill of £179 per child per week – more than two and a half times the cost of term-time after-school clubs – totalling £1,075 for the six-week break