[ad_1] Pallab GhoshScience correspondentBBCListen to this article on BBC SoundsThere are some scientific discoveries that do much more than advance our knowledge: they create a shift in our psyche as they show us the scale of the Universe and our place in it. One such moment was when space craft sent back images of the Earth for the first time. Another is the discovery of life on another world, a
[ad_1] Nick TriggleHealth correspondentBBCListen to this article on BBC SoundsMinisters, health staff and the public gathered in London last week for a summit to discuss the 10-year NHS plan in England. It was the final roadshow in a nationwide tour to help set out the strategy the government says will rescue the "broken" NHS, which has a waiting list of nearly 7.5 million patients and public satisfaction of just 21%
[ad_1] Matt Hancock has defended government deals to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, saying the country was in a "desperate situation" at the time.In a bad-tempered session at the Covid inquiry, the former health secretary repeatedly criticised the line of questioning describing it as "naive", "hostile" and "inappropriate".He said he was "not at all surprised" when a so-called VIP lane for PPE suppliers with a political connection
[ad_1] Rebecca Morelle, Alison Francis and Greg BrosnanBBC ScienceWatch: Astronauts return to Earth after extended stay in SpaceAfter nine months in space, Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally arrived back on Earth.Their SpaceX capsule made a fast and fiery re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere, before four parachutes opened to take them to a gentle splashdown off the coast of Florida. A pod of dolphins circled the craft.After
[ad_1] Faisal IslamEconomics editorBBCIn the next 24 hours and then over the following fortnight up until the Spring Statement, the government is going to talk a lot about a broken welfare system that is failing the people who use it, the economy and taxpayers.Taking a tough call on fixing it goes against the instincts of much of the Labour Party and has already sparked an internal backlash that could rise
[ad_1] Baroness Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman have accused the Covid inquiry of an "establishment cover-up" after their second attempt to be given an official role in the inquiry was rejected.The couple claimed they were the targets of a "politically motivated witch hunt" after the inquiry's chairwoman, Baroness Hallett, refused their application to be made "core participants".PPE Medpro, a firm led by Mr Barrowman, was awarded government contracts worth
[ad_1] Getty ImagesMichael Gove outside the Covid Inquiry after giving evidence on Monday, 10 March.Michael Gove has told the Covid inquiry it was "ludicrous" to suggest he tried to force through a deal for a new ventilator made by the electronics giant Dyson without proper safety checks.Emails show a senior official at the health watchdog warned that the former cabinet office minister was trying to "circumvent the regulatory process" in
[ad_1] Pallab GhoshScience CorrespondentBBCAs a Ryanair flight from London approached Vilnius, Lithuania, on 17 January, its descent was suddenly aborted. Just minutes from touching down, the aircraft's essential Global Positioning System (GPS) suffered an unexplained interference, triggering an emergency diversion.The Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 had already descended to around 850ft (259m) when the disruption occurred. Instead of landing, the plane was forced to climb back into the sky and divert
[ad_1] Getty ImagesDoug Barrowman, who led PPE Medpro, pictured alongside his wife Baroness Michelle Mone. The chair of the Covid inquiry has ruled that evidence related to PPE Medpro, the firm linked to Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman, will be heard in a closed, private session next month.On 3 March, the inquiry will begin four weeks of hearings into decisions to buy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during
[ad_1] Dominic HughesHealth Correspondent, Douglas, Isle of ManGetty ImagesThe Isle of Man could be the first jurisdiction in the British Isles to legalise assisted dyingA law to give terminally ill adults on the Isle of Man the right to end their own lives is entering its final stages, making it potentially the first jurisdiction in the British Isles to legalise assisted dying.Anyone over the age of 18 and with a
