During the visit, the Defence Secretary met his Saudi counterpart HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman. The Secretary of State for Defence the Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP is visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (28 February to 2 March).
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon officially opened a new training college in Glasgow today to mark the beginning of Scottish Apprenticeship Week. City Building's new state-of-the-art training college in Springburn will house up to 250 apprentices across a range of disciplines, providing hands-on training opportunities in plumbing, furniture making, decorating and joinery.
UK trains Ukrainian soldiers to operate Challenger 2 tanks as part of ongoing support to Ukraine. Training on UK Challenger 2 tanks for Ukrainian soldiers is continuing at pace in the South-West of England after the UK committed to provide 14 vehicles and accompanying ammunition to support Ukraine's defence.
Teacher unions are balloting members to see if they accept the latest offer. Teachers across Scotland have been offered the largest pay package in over twenty years, with most teachers seeing their salaries rise by £5,200 in April if the new pay offer is accepted.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed it will support proposals to expand Automatic Enrolment, enabling millions of people to save more and to start saving earlier. Jonathan Gullis MP's Private Members Bill, backed today by the government, grants two extensions to Automatic Enrolment - abolishing the Lower Earnings Limit for contributions and reducing the age for being automatically enrolled to 18 years old.
£500,000 funding is to be shared amongst four charities to support projects affected by the extreme drought in South Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia. Christian Aid, Mercy Corps, SCIAF and Tearfund will each receive £125,000 from the Scottish Government's Humanitarian Emergency Fund.
A Caithness-based mortgage adviser is celebrating after passing her final exam to gain the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. Kayleigh Ross works at Phil Anderson Financial Services in Wick as a mortgage adviser has passed the Chartered Insurance Institute Exam R06 - Financial planning practice.
Funding to improve Highland roads is being increased by over £14m following a decision made at yesterday's Highland Council budget setting meeting (Thursday 2 March) An additional investment of £12.8M to increase the current capital programme will bring the total budget for the coming year up to £20M. On top of this, new investment of £1.26m in revenue funding has been allocated to create a Rapid Repair Road team to tackle potholes across the Highlands.
Cameras featuring artificial intelligence technology are becoming increasingly available in the marketplace, giving operators the opportunity to improve the safety of their drivers and vehicles, as well as save time and money. The manufacturers of AI dashcams and outside cameras say the big advantage over older camera systems is their ability to detect movement of pedestrians and drivers and capture high-quality images while avoiding irrelevant information.
On behalf of The Highland Council, High Life Highland are delighted to announce that a leading augmented and virtual reality studio, Zubr Curio - who specialise in digital interpretation for museums, galleries, libraries and heritage sites, have been awarded a contract to create additional digital elements for the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands. Zubr Curio will be creating innovative interactive technology to enhance the physical artwork and the stories within the embroidered panels already being developed as part of the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands project.
A new pay offer being discussed is A 7% rise covering 2022/23 A 5% rise from this April. A further 2% rise in January 2024, to last until next August.
Fraser of Allender issues a podcast each week alongside a more detailed review. This weeks podcast is just under 16 minutes and a quick way to catch up on any important news.
Britain's CV production in the first month of 2023 represented the best start to a year since 2012, according to the latest SMMT figures, reflecting the green shoots of recovery also emerging in the CV market. Production grew by more than a third in January, reflecting the efforts of OEMs and the supply chain to get back on track following global pandemic-related disruptions.
A balanced council budget for 2023/24 was set at the meeting of The Highland Council on 2 March 2023. As part of a package of investment and savings to address a £49.2M budget gap, a 4% increase in Council Tax has been agreed from 1 April 2023.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd, (March 2nd) sold 3,310 sheep of all classes. Lambs (2,089) averaged £53.81 and sold to £113 for a Dorset from The Crossings, Caithness.
The second of 3 machines which are set to safely remove waste out of the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo has successfully been assembled. Last month, another silo emptying machine was fully built inside the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo, with the final piece of equipment - the main control cubicle - being lifted into the silo and fixed into position.
Nine of the most promising artificial intelligence healthcare technologies to receive nearly £16 million in government funding to accelerate research. Nine of the most promising artificial intelligence healthcare technologies to receive nearly £16 million in government funding to accelerate research.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced he is leaving the Scottish Government after nearly 16 years. He will stand down as Deputy First Minister once a new First Minister is appointed later this month and return to the backbenches.
BT, EE, O2, Plusnet, Shell, Sky, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone may be increasing their broadband prices by up to 17% in April 2023. The policy for most providers whereby prices will go up each Spring by the CPI rate of inflation, plus its own extra 3.9%.
Road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart has revealed the true extent of aggression on Britain's roads between motorists and cyclists. Of over 2,000 drivers surveyed, the majority of respondents claimed that both aggressive motorists (78 per cent) and aggressive cyclists (65 per cent) are a threat to their personal safety.
