FIFA’s plan to sell up to $10 billion in shares in a new commercial company tied to the World Cup and other major tournaments raises big questions about fairness, transparency, and whether ordinary football fans who already face high ticket prices are effectively subsidising huge profits for private investors, including politically connected families such as Donald Trump’s relatives. This isn’t a simple “right or wrong” issue, but it is one where fans’ interests and investors’ interests may not align.
Ofgem has today (29 July) launched a consultation on plans to tackle speculative data centre projects in Britain's electricity connections queue, as part of a wider programme of reforms to ensure network capacity is used for projects that are ready and able to connect. The proposals – which include the introduction of a commitment fee and new project progress milestones – come as demand connection applications have surged from 41 gigawatts (GW) to 125GW, in under a year. This rise is driven largely by data centre projects, accounting for at least 80GWs.
Britain had just received some genuinely encouraging inflation news. Then oil prices started rising again — threatening to undo some of the progress that had taken so long to achieve.
Hot, dry weather across the UK has pushed many farmers into early harvests — but the impact isn’t uniform. England’s arable powerhouse, East Anglia, faces very different challenges from Scotland’s cooler Aberdeenshire and the rugged Highlands.
Giving people more of their own earnings to spend sounds attractive. But there is an unavoidable question behind any proposal to increase the Personal Allowance: where does the money come from? That question becomes particularly important if the allowance were increased substantially from its current £12,570.
A bargain charger can look harmless, but some of the cheapest electrical products sold online can carry a potentially serious risk of electric shock or fire. Modern homes contain an ever-growing collection of devices that need charging: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, wireless headphones, power banks and, increasingly, e-bikes and e-scooters.
Caithness at the Centre of Scotland’s Electricity Revolution: The Transformation Happening Around Us Look across Caithness today and it is easy to see individual electricity projects – a new substation here, a cable route there, construction work around Dounreay or Spittal. But put them together and a much bigger picture emerges.
A major piece of underground engineering at Dounreay has been completed, bringing the Orkney electricity link another step closer to reality and putting Caithness at the centre of a project designed to unlock hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy. SSEN Transmission has announced the successful completion of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) at Dounreay, describing it as a major milestone in the construction of the Orkney Link.
Drilling operations are now underway at Rattray Head, near Peterhead, marking a major construction milestone for our Spittal to Peterhead High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) project. The works, which began this month, represent the start of one of the most technically complex elements of the project, with specialist contractors carrying out Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) beneath the coastline to create the vital connection between onshore and offshore infrastructure.
Scotland’s decision to increase its top income-tax rate to 48p was intended to raise additional money for public services. New HMRC figures are now raising an awkward question: could the policy have actually reduced the amount of tax collected? The headline figure doing the rounds is £22 million.
Ukraine's increasingly deep attacks on Russian oil infrastructure may be developing into something much more significant than a military campaign against refineries. If the attacks begin to seriously disrupt Russia's ability to produce, refine and export oil, they could become an economic weapon aimed directly at one of Moscow's most important sources of war finance.
Maternity Issues are never far from the headlines. A discussion podcast highlights some of the issues.
Oil Price Falls Again: How Far Could Brent Crude Go? The oil price has gone from $100 a barrel to around $88 in remarkably short order. The big question now is whether this is simply a correction — or the beginning of a much larger fall.
Reducing long waits for NHS treatment in Scotland is the focus of the government’s new £90 million investment in planned care. First Minister John Swinney said substantial progress had been made in the past year but the government remains focused on accelerating delivery to eradicate long waits for good.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday with more cards in his hand to try and secure further US support against Russia. Ukrainian forces have been striking oil refineries, fuel infrastructure, military-industrial facilities and logistics targets deep inside Russia.
Dstl worked with the Army, industry and allies to test drone technology and develop AI capabilities for future battlefield operations. Modern battlefields are evolving rapidly, with a key challenge being uncrewed aerial systems (drones) that can disrupt operations or threaten forces, as seen in Ukraine.
Oil Price Falls Sharply: Is the Fuel Shock Finally Beginning to Ease? The oil price has taken a sharp turn lower today, offering some welcome relief after Brent crude recently pushed through the $100-a-barrel mark. Brent fell as much as around 9.5% during Monday's trading before recovering somewhat, and was around $91 a barrel later in the day.
Statement by Ambassador Kate Foster, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine. As we have heard today, Russia continues to escalate in its violence against Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to act as UK Governor to the World Bank. Ed Miliband to act as UK Governor to the World Bank, taking personal leadership of the UK’s engagement on development and climate finance.
Details on changes to the machinery of government. The Prime Minister has made a number of changes to the machinery of government to rewire the state, change the geography of government to deliver a stronger, more strategic centre that empowers local leaders, and acts as the engine room for driving economic growth across the whole country.