The Scottish Government is strengthening bluetongue disease controls after a case was detected near Lockerbie. A Temporary Control Zone has been put in place in an area around Dumfries and Galloway as a precautionary measure while further investigations are conducted on the source and extent of the disease.
According to the Home Office, French police units prevented 185 small-boat crossing events between 27 April and 2 August, stopping more than 4,300 crossing attempts. The Government says that represents a prevention rate of 61% of all small-boat events during the period.
In Scotland, the total organic land area (in-conversion and fully organic) was 168,200 hectares, a 28% increase compared with 2024, and a 62% increase compared with 2021. This represented 3.3% of the total agricultural area in Scotland in 2025.
UK inflation is rising again, and the danger is that the Bank of England will respond in exactly the wrong way. Inflation is now 2.9%, household energy prices are expected to rise sharply this autumn, and disruption to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz threatens further increases.
Russia is one of the world's great oil-producing nations. It has enormous reserves, produces vast quantities of crude and has an energy industry that has long been central to its economy.
There is speculation everywhere, including in the Financial Times, that the USA might go bust within ten years, and that the day of the dollar is over. That framing is wrong.
The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee has endorsed plans to launch a 12-week public consultation on a proposed Highland Bus Service Improvement Partnership (BSIP), giving communities, passengers and stakeholders the opportunity to help shape the future of bus services across the region. The consultation will seek views on draft proposals developed by The Highland Council in partnership with HITRANS and bus operators to improve the operational performance, accessibility, attractiveness and consistency of bus services across Highland.
There are some stories which begin with something happening thousands of miles away and eventually arrive at the supermarket checkout. El Niño could become one of them.
There are weeks when the local news seems to consist of a collection of unrelated announcements. A council by-election here, an airport funding decision there, another report about housing, perhaps a development connected with energy or tourism.
Councillors have approved the launch of a public consultation on draft guidance aimed at reducing light pollution across the Highlands, supporting environmental protection, public wellbeing and the area's internationally recognised dark skies. Members of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee yesterday (Thursday 20 August) agreed to publish the draft Reducing Light Pollution: Good Practice Guidance for consultation, once minor clarifications are included, giving residents, communities, businesses and developers the opportunity to help shape future policy.
Britain has spent hundreds of millions of pounds trying to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. The latest agreement with France is worth £662 million over three years, with £501 million going towards strengthening existing controls in northern France and a further £161 million for new tactics.
Britain's public finances are showing signs of improvement. But before anyone starts celebrating, there is a rather large qualification.
Britain's shoppers appear to be in better shape than the latest monthly headline might suggest. Retail sales volumes fell by 0.5% in July, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures.
Donald Trump has given his latest confrontation with Iran a dramatic name: “Economic D-Day.” The language is deliberately uncompromising. The American president is promising what he describes as an unprecedented campaign of economic pressure designed to isolate Iran, cut off its financial lifelines and ultimately force Tehran to change course.
The latest housing figures from the Office for National Statistics contain something of a surprise for anyone who has been following the UK property market. House price growth is slowing, while rents are beginning to accelerate again.
There is something slightly counter-intuitive happening in financial markets at the moment. Governments are being forced to pay more to borrow money, yet to someone looking at a headline saying that “bond yields are rising”, it can sound like good news.
When the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed following the outbreak of the Iran conflict, the implications for the world oil market appeared frighteningly simple. Around a fifth of the world's oil normally passes through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
There is a question I think we should be asking now, before the next round of household bills and business costs begin to bite. Are incomes actually keeping pace with the rising cost of the essentials we cannot avoid buying? At first glance, the answer might appear to be yes.
I have been looking at the latest Scottish Government labour market figures, and I think they contain a warning that is easy to miss if we concentrate only on the headline numbers. Scotland still has more than two million people in employment, wages are rising and the claimant count actually fell slightly in July.
A national programme helping Scottish companies capitalise on the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) has received funding for its second year. Backed by £1.8 million of continued funding, AI Scotland will help small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to develop new products and services, grow market share and attract new investment.