Author: britishbulletin.com

The number of free NHS-funded IVF cycles available in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester has been reduced to one to avoid a “postcode lottery” across the city region.One cycle has already been available in six boroughs – including Oldham where the first “test tube baby” Louise Brown was born due to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 1978.TTameside Council had offered three cycles, while two were offered in Salford, Wigan and Stockport, but from 1 April those authorities will reduce to one.Katherine Sheerin, chief commissioning officer for NHS Greater Manchester, said: “Access to NHS-funded IVF currently depends on where someone…

Gloucester: Barton; Hathaway, Edwards-Giraud, S. Atkinson, Thorley; C. Atkinson, Williams (c); Rapava Ruskin, Crane, Fasogbon; Gwynne, Alemanno, Venter, Ludlow, Trenholm.Replacements: Knowles, Knight, Gotovtsev, Jordan, Mann, Austin, Byrne, Cotgreave.Sin bin: Knight (72)Bath: Carreras; Hennessey, Harris, Ojomoh, Muir; Russell, Spencer (c); Van Wyk, Frost, Griffin, Hill, Roux, Bayliss, Staddon, Green.Replacements: Tuipulotu, Obano, Du Toit, Ewels, Pepper, Van der Linde, Arundell, Underhill.Sin bin: Pepper (68 mins)Referee: Ian Tempest

A “disgusting” pile of hazardous asbestos has been illegally dumped at a scenic location in Wiltshire, prompting authorities to launch an urgent appeal for witnesses.The “dangerous” waste was discovered by a member of the public at Monument Hill near Devizes, situated between the villages of Etchilhampton and Stert.Council officers who examined the site found sheets of asbestos alongside a hi-fi system and glass panes.The location sits at the western edge of the Vale of Pewsey, right on the boundary of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.Investigators believe the fly-tipping took place during the night of Monday, January…

Ministers will be handed new powers to directly remove failing chief constables following a row over West Midlands Police’s decision to ban Israeli football fans from a match against Aston Villa.The Home Secretary will have powers to order the retirement, resignation or suspension of senior officers deemed “poorly performing” under the new plans.Ex-Head of West Midlands Police Craig Guildford stepped down amid criticism of the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters. Opposition figures had urged Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to take action under the Police Act 1996 before his departure.Section 40 of the Act allows home secretaries to direct local…

Thomas MackintoshandLeila Nathoo,Political correspondentGetty ImagesA bill aimed at enshrining in law the government’s Chagos deal will not be debated in the Lords as previously planned. The legislation, which would see the archipelago in the Indian Ocean handed to Mauritius with the UK leasing back a key military base for £101m a year, was due to be debated in the Lords on Monday. But late on Friday, the Conservatives – who have long opposed the deal – tabled an amendment calling for a pause “in light of the changing geopolitical circumstances”.The government has now decided not to go ahead with the…

Having lost six of their past eight games and suffered the massive blow of a pool-stage Champions Cup exit last weekend, there was little in the opening exchanges to suggest a change in Munster’s fortunes.While the hosts did start playing into the wind, they could get little purchase early in the game and Dragons were good value for the13-0 lead they built across the first half hour of play.Experienced full-back Angus O’Brien kicked a pair of penalties either side of hooker Brodie Coghlan’s try from the back of a menacing maul. Dragons were unflustered even by the yellow card shown…

A Cold War relic has succumbed to the sea after precariously hanging off rapidly crumbling clay cliffs on the Holderness coastline.The nuclear lookout post in Tunstall, East Yorkshire, was once hidden below ground and set 100 yards away from the shoreline, but has now fallen upside down onto the beach below.Seven decades old, the Tunstall Royal Observer Corps Post once served as one of several nuclear monitoring stations along the British coastline and was decommissioned in the 1990s.When the bunker became exposed to the elements last year, YouTubers, known as investigative dronologists, Davey Robinson and Tracey Charlton, began to make…

British taxpayers are forking out billions of pounds on a hidden tax blighting the nation’s defence spending in what has been dubbed a “complete con” by senior military sources. The Ministry of Defence pays eight-figure sums in Value Added Tax (VAT) to the Treasury every year, despite insiders warning the UK’s armed forces have been “stripped to the bone” following years of savage cuts. Labour is aiming to spend a “historic” £62billion — or 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — on defence by 2027, fulfilling a key NATO-related pledge amid the threat of geopolitical conflict.However, the MoD…

Every police officer in England and Wales will be required to hold a licence to be able to continue working, the Home Office has said. They will have to prove they have the right skills in issues such as tackling violence against women and girls or face being removed from their job, under the terms of a phased scheme similar to ones for lawyers or doctors. Under separate proposals announced on Friday, ministers will be granted new powers to dismiss chief constables and intervene in forces deemed to be failing. The plans are part of a raft of reforms expected…

The mood in Wigan Athletic’s camp has not soured despite their league position, boss Ryan Lowe has said.The Latics are 18th in League One and one point off the relegation places having won just once in their past seven league games.Their most recent result was a chastening 1-0 defeat by Bolton Wanderers, who are managed by Lowe’s former assistant Steven Schumacher.”They were hurting [after losing to Bolton] because they care. We don’t want to dwell too much on it,” he told Radio Manchester.”We’re all human, and the lads are human. They give it their all for this football club, and…