As China heads into the new year it will start rolling out its 15th five‑year plan, this one is for 2026-2030. Beijing is doubling down on greening its economy, and aims to hit two major climate goals: "carbon peaking", where carbon dioxide emissions have reached a ceiling by 2030, and "carbon neutrality", where net carbon dioxide emissions have been driven down to zero by 2060.
An Amber warning for snow is in force for the much of the Highland area. For the latest weather reports, please visit the Met Office website.
Since the United Kingdom formally left the European Union, Brexit has reshaped the UK economy in ways that continue to unfold. While supporters emphasised sovereignty, regulatory freedom and new global trade opportunities, the economic consequences have been more complex.
In this video, I explain two concepts that quietly shape everything around us and help us answer this question. They are capital, and capital maintenance.
To see live cameras on some roads including Caithness go to https://www.traffic.gov.scot/.
First Minister John Swinney will propose Monday 15 June 2026 is designated a national bank holiday to mark Scotland's participation in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. This will allow individuals, businesses and other organisations in Scotland to celebrate after the men's team play their opening game against Haiti in Boston.
The Great Return is on. £1.55bn-worth of unloved items are now headed back to sellers, says Parcelhero, as thousands of Brits ditch unwanted gifts.
Michelle Eames talks about how business owners can save on tax with some ideas o think about..
Children will be protected from exposure to junk food ads under new regulations, in a bid to tackle childhood obesity Government delivers on pledge to restrict junk food advertising and help parents raise healthiest generation of children ever. New regulations will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from UK children's diets each year as part of drive to reduce childhood obesity.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Snow showers are expected to continue through the weekend, being brought well inland by strong northerly winds. Winds should ease somewhat into Sunday, with showers by then most prevalent around coasts.
Scotland's maternity services are in disarray—and nowhere is this more painfully obvious than in the north. Caithness General, once a beacon of consultant-led care, was downgraded in 2016.
The line between human and machine authorship is blurring, particularly as it's become increasingly difficult to tell whether something was written by a person or AI. Now, in what may seem like a tipping point, the digital marketing firm Graphite recently published a study showing that more than 50% of articles on the web are being generated by artificial intelligence.
By 2026, the United Kingdom is expected to reach a long-anticipated milestone in its space ambitions: the transition from a nation that designs and builds spacecraft to one that can also launch them from its own territory. While the scale will remain modest compared with the United States or China, 2026 represents a critical turning point for UK spaceflight, combining domestic rocket launches, internationally launched UK-built satellites, and a rapidly expanding industrial and scientific workforce.
As of late 2025, the UK's public sector net debt — the core measure of government debt — stands at around £2.9 trillion, equivalent to about 95 % of GDP. Forecasts by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) project this level to hold broadly steady in 2025-26 and into 2026-27, rising slightly to around 95-96 % of GDP in that period rather than declining sharply.
As of late 2025, the UK government's public sector net debt — the headline measure of government borrowing — stands at around 94-96 % of GDP. This means the total debt the government owes (after accounting for financial assets) is nearly as large as the UK economy itself.
'A proactive opportunity for all ports and marine facilities to review, assess, and demonstrate proportional alignment with the code. Enforcing standards and "embedding a culture of safety" among ports and marine facilities is the drive behind a newly launched compliance exercise.
Today (Friday 2 January) online mini cab firms have been barred from illegitimately using a niche scheme to avoid tax. Cabbies and small taxi companies to benefit as online minicab firms stopped from using niche scheme to avoid paying tax.
From 1 January 2026, the UK has begun implementation of the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). Under these rules, cryptocurrency exchanges and service providers must collect detailed user and transaction information (e.g., personal ID, tax numbers, buys/sells, gains/losses) and prepare to report this to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant vision of the future. It is reshaping work across industries right now.