Tag: laser

The chancellor said the extra spending on projects in Cambridge, Edinburgh and Oxfordshire, would ensure the UK was “at the forefront of science and technology innovation” and maintain its reputation as a “pioneering nation as it leaves the EU”. It’s possible that following bumper income tax receipts in January the OBR will increase the level of headroom by more than £15bn, giving the chancellor greater scope to increase the state’s support for households and businesses over the rest of the parliament. However, economists expect the OBR to lower the UK’s expected growth rate over the next two years, dampening future tax receipts and limiting the scope for extra spending. It is other parts of the country and other industries that are desperately in need of government support.” Hammond is understood to be planning only a limited spending spree when he stands up to deliver his mini-budget on Wednesday, to maintain the Treasury’s war chest should a no-deal Brexit trigger a recession and widespread job losses. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which advises 34 of the world’s richest countries, said last week that a no-deal Brexit would most likely cause the economy to shrink, though it added this prospect could be offset by extra Treasury spending and moves by the Bank of England to reduce the cost of borrowing. Hammond will say the £200m of extra cash will be spent on three projects the over the next four years in Cambridge, Oxfordshire and Edinburgh. The sums are: • £45m to support work in Cambridge sequencing one million genomes and exploring innovative cell therapies to tackle genetic diseases. • £81m for medical laser technology at the Harwell research centre in Oxfordshire, which is home to the European Space Agency’s UK base. The funds will support an industry worth £13bn to the economy, and employing around 65,000 people. The chancellor said the funds were part of the government’s commitment to raise investment in research and development to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Saturday panned President Trump's criticism of NFL players protesting during the national anthem and his decision to rescind NBA star Stephen Curry's invitation to the White House. "Focusing like a laser on the major problems of the American people: black professional athletes with opinions," Tapper wrote on Twitter. Tapper's tweet came after Trump targeted Curry on Twitter earlier Saturday morning. The Golden State Warriors guard told reporters on Friday that he didn't want to go to the White House to meet with Trump to celebrate their NBA championship title, and didn't want his team to go either. Trump reacted on Saturday by disinviting Curry from the trip for "hesitating" to accept the "great honor" of an invitation to the White House. "Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team," he tweeted. Earlier in the summer, Curry told SFGate that he hoped to inspire change by not going to the White House. "We’re all trying to do what we can, using our platforms, our opportunities, to shed light on it," he continued. "I don’t think not going to the White House will miraculously make everything better. "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b---- off the field right now,'" Trump said, adding, "'He is fired.'"