Virgin Galactic granted license to take customers to space June 25, 2021 Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has today received a commercial licence to fly customers into space, the firm announced today. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has updated its existing licence to fly test missions to include commercial passengers. The decision to grant the company a full license comes after a successful test flight last [...]
Food tsar warns PM Johnson taxes on bangers and bacon could spark protests June 25, 2021 Boris Johnson’s food tsar Henry Dimbleby wants Brits to pay meat taxes to help tackle climate change but has warned of a potential backlash. Processed meats including burgers, bacon, chicken nuggets and ham could face a levy, according to a draft plan leaked to The Sun. Move could prompt backlash Henry Dimbleby is expected to [...]
Biden turns on the investment taps with $1.2 trillion bill agreement June 25, 2021 The US Senate has finally agreed on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which was watered down some $1.1 trillion from Biden’s original pitch. The deal, worth an eyewatering £860bn, accompanies an eight-year plan to fund roads, bridges, the power grid, public transport and the internet. However, left-wing Democrats have called the deal ‘paltry’ after Biden [...]
Scottish govt: Brexit is damaging business, migration and devolution in Scotland June 24, 2021 Many of the “negative impacts which were envisaged” at the time of the vote in June 2016 are “only now “starting to crystallise”, the Scottish Government has said five years on from the Brexit referendum. Determining the “real impact” of the Brexit vote to leave the European Union will take many years, according to a [...]
False Trump claims: Rudy Giuliani suspended from practising law June 24, 2021 An appeals court has suspended Rudy Giuliani from practising law in New York because he made false statements while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race. An attorney disciplinary committee said in its motion to suspend Giuliani’s licence that there was “uncontroverted evidence” that Giuliani had made false statements [...]
Former chancellor George Osborne named British Museum chair June 24, 2021 George Osborne has been named as the new chair of the British Museum, marking the latest high-profile role for the former chancellor. Osborne will join the board in September and take up the role of chair from 4 October. He takes over from former Financial Times editor and CBI director general Sir Richard Lambert, who [...]
Elon Musk’s space broadband service Starlink to go public once revenue is ‘predictable’ June 24, 2021 Elon Musk’s satellite-based broadband service Starlink, part of his space venture SpaceX, will go public once its revenue is ‘reasonably predictable’. Taking to Twitter, Musk – who sits at the helm of several high-tech companies – added that “going public sooner than that would be very painful”. SpaceX is building a new factory in Texas [...]
‘Science superpower’: UK to pump £64m into post-pandemic clinical research June 23, 2021 The government has pledged a £64m injection into the UK’s clinical research system, off the back of Boris Johnson’s plans to make the country a “science superpower”. The investment will go towards the development and trial of new Covid-19 treatments and inoculations, to ensure a “front-footed approach in tackling the virus”, health secretary Matt Hancock [...]
Londoners avoid the office but visit parks en masse June 22, 2021 Visits to London’s central parks are back up to pre-pandemic levels but weekday commutes are far less popular, according to new data. Footfall in Regent’s Park has returned to 100 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while Hyde park has seen 80 to 99 per cent of normal levels, according to provisional figures gathered by City [...]
Sturgeon and Burnham row over Covid travel ban compensation heats up June 21, 2021 Scottish First minister Nicola Sturgeon and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham are engaged in a war of words over the Scottish Government’s decision to impose a Covid-19 travel ban on parts of north west England. Burnham continued his criticism of the restrictions, saying he felt people in his region had been “insulted” by Sturgeon’s approach and [...]