For years, Highland communities have been told that relief was just around the corner. The A9 would be dualled by 2025.
In January 2026, the Trump administration unveiled a radical overhaul of U.S. dietary guidelines, marking one of the most significant shifts in federal nutrition policy in decades.
Caithness has long been the forgotten corner of the Highlands when it comes to road investment. Councillors and communities have heard pledge after pledge: resurfacing programmes, capital budgets, "priority works." Yet when the tar cools and the winter rains return, the fabric of those promises begins to tear.
Delays in discharging patients from hospital affect people's physical and mental health, and make it harder to admit others to hospital. Delayed discharges are a symptom of wider pressures across health and social care in Scotland.
Over 40,000 people were signed off work every day by GPs over the last year, a new analysis reveals. Five million people now claiming benefits with no requirement to work, including 300,000 under-24s.
The freeze on income tax allowances hits poorer households harder because it drags low earners into paying tax sooner, reduces the real value of their tax-free income, and erodes their disposable income more severely than for wealthier groups. This effect, known as fiscal drag, disproportionately impacts those on modest wages who feel inflation and rising living costs most acutely.
Across the world's oceans sails a shadowy fleet of tankers — vessels with transponders switched off, flags obscured, and ownership hidden behind shell companies. This "dark fleet" has become the lifeline of sanctioned regimes such as Iran, Venezuela, and Russia, moving oil illicitly to buyers willing to risk reputational damage for cheap barrels.
Partnership to increase economic opportunities with the Greater Paris Region. Scottish businesses will benefit from strengthened links with the Greater Paris Region following a new partnership agreement between the Scottish Government and Île-de-France.
The UK is on track to see debt reach 330 per cent of GDP by 2075, according to new modelling from the Adam Smith Institute. Britain has entered a period of high existing debt, weak growth and an ageing population.
Greenland, the largest island on Earth, possesses some of the richest stores of natural resources anywhere in the world. These include critical raw materials - resources such as lithium and rare earth elements (REEs) that are essential for green technologies, but whose production and sustainability are highly sensitive - plus other valuable minerals and metals, and a huge volume of hydrocarbons including oil and gas.
The Iranian rial has been sliding for years, but by 2026 it has collapsed past the symbolic threshold of 1,000,000 IRR per USD. Families can no longer afford bread or medicine, protests have erupted across all provinces, and the regime faces its gravest legitimacy crisis in decades.
Copper is often called "the metal with a PhD in economics." The reason is simple: when copper prices rise, it usually signals powerful changes underway in the global economy. Today, copper prices are soaring to historic levels — and the effects are being felt far beyond commodity markets, quietly pushing up the cost of many everyday goods.
On January 7, 2026, President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the withdrawal of the United States from dozens of international organizations. The move affects 66 institutions — 35 non-UN organizations and 31 UN entities — which the administration claims are "contrary to U.S.
The Work Foundation at Lancaster University - a leading think tank for improving working lives is urging employers to adopt flexible working arrangements ahead of proposed Employment Right Act changes in 2027. As the UK economy enters 2026 still blighted by near record levels of health-related economic inactivity, survey analysis released today.
Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting. 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.
Across the Highlands, the question of who can afford to live where is becoming sharper by the year. Rising house prices, fuelled in part by the boom in short-term holiday lets, have left many young couples and families struggling to find homes in their own communities.
Buy-now-pay-later is an appealing proposition. You get what you want now, but you delay settling the bill until later, with no interest and no fees.
Ketamine use in the UK has increased sharply over the past decade, shifting from a niche club drug to a mainstream concern for public health, policing, and education. Once perceived by many users as a relatively low-risk substance, ketamine is now associated with rising hospital admissions, long-term health damage, and growing use among teenagers and young adults.
According to multiple verified news reports and flight-tracking information, American military aircraft landed at Wick John O'Groats Airport on 7 January 2026 in connection with the U.S. operation to seize a Russia-flagged oil tanker off the British/North Atlantic coast.
Following the announcement on 23 December 2025 that Air Charter Scotland have been appointed to take over the Wick-Aberdeen air service, tickets for the service are now available for sale. Tickets can be bought directly from the operator at https://aircharterscotland.com/ , and will also be available through online vendors such as Google Flights and Skyscanner.
