Social media platforms to be blocked from offering services to under-16s, marking a line in the sand and setting a new normal for future generations. UK will go further to protect kids with world-leading additional restrictions on harmful features online such as live streaming and strangers communicating with children.
The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) has agreed to sell its entire 17.5% stake in the Beatrice offshore wind farm for around £155 million, marking a significant step in its ongoing capital‑recycling strategy. A Major Move in Offshore Wind Investment Located off the north‑east coast of Scotland, the 588MW Beatrice wind farm is one of the UK’s largest offshore wind projects.
If the US–Iran peace deal holds and the Strait of Hormuz fully reopens, you should expect some easing in oil, gas, and electricity prices—but not immediately. The earliest visible effects for Caithness and the wider Highlands are likely 4–12 weeks after stable shipping resumes, with full impacts taking 3–6 months.
For months, the conflict between the United States and Iran has dominated headlines, raising fears of a wider regional war and threatening one of the world's most important shipping routes. Financial markets reacted nervously, oil prices surged, and many households wondered whether higher fuel and energy bills were on the way.
Even with the US–Iran peace deal calming global oil markets, not every price in the supermarket will follow crude downwards. Some foods are structurally expensive now, and the factors driving those costs won’t disappear with cheaper diesel.
Scotland men’s team return to the World Cup is an opportunity to ‘inspire a generation of sporting talent’, First Minister John Swinney has said. Ahead of Scotland taking on Haiti in Boston, the team’s first World Cup finals game since 1998, the First Minister has announced the creation of a World Cup Fund.
Scotch whisky exporters stand to benefit as the Scottish Government continues to help secure an end to increased US tariffs, protecting hundreds of millions of pounds in trade. Following his visit to Boston to support Scotland during their first World Cup finals since 1998, First Minister John Swinney will visit Kentucky to build on President Trump's commitment to remove the 10% tariff for whisky.
HMRC overcharged pensioners by around £5 because of a system error in how the State Pension increase was calculated — and refunds can be claimed. Here is a clear, evidence‑based breakdown of what went wrong, who is affected, and how pensioners can get their money back, with citations.
At long last, the government has realised that social media is far too dangerous for under‑16s. A bold move.
A wave of optimism has swept across global markets following the announcement of a US–Iran Memorandum of Understanding. Oil prices dipped, analysts rushed out upbeat forecasts, and politicians queued up to claim credit for “de‑escalation”.
Banks are closing branches across the UK. Post offices are disappearing.
The Highlands are experiencing the biggest demographic shift since the oil boom. But unlike the 1970s, this wave isn’t driven by industry it’s driven by housing economics, remote work, lifestyle migration, and the collapse of affordability in the Central Belt and the south of England.
The rise of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) across Caithness is no longer a fringe issue. It is reshaping the local housing market in ways that most national policymakers never see and certainly never feel.
Today, almost anyone who flies a drone must maintain visual contact with it at all times, a practice known as visual line of sight. This requirement severely restricts how far craft can fly.
Compared to other parts of the world, the EU on the whole has been fairly reluctant to embrace digital economic innovation. The bloc has been suspicious of cryptocurrencies, and treated them as a potential threat to a financial system where stability is paramount.
As reports emerge that President Donald Trump may be prepared to compromise on some of America's original objectives in order to bring the conflict with Iran to an end, commentators are already asking whether the United States is backing down or simply recognising the limits of military power. Critics argue that Washington entered the conflict with ambitious goals: to curb Iran's military capabilities, force major concessions over its nuclear programme, and restore long-term stability in the region.
Caithness has always lived at the intersection of three funding pillars: Highlands and Islands Enterprise, national economic development programmes, and Highland Council’s capital and revenue budgets. When all three are healthy, the region can absorb shocks, plan for the future, and deliver the kind of long‑term investment that keeps communities stable.
For decades, Highlands and Islands Enterprise was the economic backbone of the far north. It wasn’t perfect, but it was one of the few institutions that understood the basic truth of life in Caithness: distance costs money, and if the state doesn’t step in, the market won’t.
Nearly half (45 per cent) of the children surveyed in a new report from researchers at LSE. The University of Oslo said age-based restrictions on social media would not make them feel any safer online.
Caithness has reached a moment where the old assumptions about public investment no longer hold. For decades, the region could rely on a three‑pillar system: HIE to drive economic development, Scottish Enterprise and national programmes to support growth, and Highland Council to deliver the infrastructure that underpins daily life.