News

Scotland's north and north-east are staring down the barrel of serious trouble this week. The Met Office has slapped a yellow weather warning across huge parts of the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and Perth and Kinross from midday Wednesday right through to midday Friday. Forecasters say up to 120mm of rain could hammer the highest ground, with 30-60mm expected almost everywhere else. That's one to two months' worth of rain in just 48 hours, falling on ground already soaked from weeks of wet weather and melting snow. Communities are being told to get ready now, because flooding is looking very likely.…

Scotland woke up to one of its most intense aurora displays in years on Thursday night as a powerful solar storm turned the sky blood-red and emerald green from Orkney to the Borders. Tens of thousands of people stepped outside or pulled over on dark roads to watch the spectacle, with phones raised and jaws dropped as the Northern Lights put on a show few had ever seen so far south. Why This Display Was Different The aurora reached extreme levels because of a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm triggered by two coronal mass ejections that slammed into Earth on Thursday.…

Pakistan U19 have kick-started their ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026 campaign with a commanding victory over Scotland at Takashinga Sports Club in Harare, chasing down 188 with seven wickets and plenty of overs to spare. Usman Khan's classy 86 not out and his rock-solid 111-run stand with Ahmed Hussain powered Pakistan to a clinical win after Ali Raza's devastating new-ball spell had ripped the heart out of Scotland's batting. The result gives Farhan Yousaf's side their first points after the opening defeat to England and sends a strong message to the rest of the group. Ali Raza Strikes Early,…

Cricket Scotland has firmly rejected reports that the ICC has approached them to replace Bangladesh in next month’s T20 World Cup 2026 if the Tigers refuse to play matches in India. Officials in Edinburgh say no contact has been made and they will not initiate any discussions “out of respect” for the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The story exploded across global media on Monday after reports claimed the ICC had given Bangladesh until January 21 — tomorrow — to confirm they will travel to India for group games in Kolkata and Mumbai. Bangladesh had formally asked the ICC to move all…

A powerful new critique accuses Scotland of repeatedly choosing expensive rescue over affordable prevention in stroke care, despite having all the data, tools, and evidence needed to slash thousands of preventable strokes every year. For 25 years the NHS has poured resources into emergency response while leaving upstream risk factors largely untouched in the most deprived communities. Experts now warn this approach has reached breaking point. Scotland Still Pays Heavy Price for Preventable Strokes Around 8,000 people suffer a stroke in Scotland every year, and more than 1,000 die within 30 days, according to the latest 2024 Scottish Stroke Care…

ScottishPower's transmission arm SSEN has just signed the final contracts with Danish cable giant NKT for two of the UK's largest ever subsea power links, a move that will finally bring gigawatts of Western Isles wind power to homes and businesses across Britain. The £2 billion agreement, confirmed today, locks in the cables for the 1.8 GW Western Isles link and the mammoth 2 GW Spittal-to-Peterhead reinforcement, projects that have been in planning for over a decade. Why These Two Projects Are Absolute Game-Changers The Western Isles have been described by energy experts as "the Saudi Arabia of wind". Yet…

A major new poll has revealed that 47% of people in Scotland now feel economically insecure, with fears over household bills and unexpected costs driving widespread disaffection with politics just months before the 2026 Holyrood election. Conducted by the Diffley Partnership for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and published today, the research shows one in five adults feel "very" insecure, warning that financial anxiety is eroding trust in politicians across the board. Worst Levels Since Records Began This is the highest level of economic insecurity recorded in Scotland since the JRF series began in 2017. Among those who feel very insecure,…

More than 200 angry residents packed Jedburgh town hall on Saturday as southern Scotland officially joined the Highlands and north-east in demanding an immediate pause on large-scale renewable energy projects. Fed up with feeling ignored, community leaders from the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian and South Lanarkshire stood shoulder to shoulder and warned the Scottish countryside is being turned into an industrial zone just to hit government net zero numbers. This is no longer a handful of isolated voices. It is a full-blown rural revolt. What Happened in Jedburgh This Weekend Over 30 community councils sent representatives to the…

Prince Harry landed quietly in Britain on Sunday, two full days before William and Kate are due to fly north to Scotland. The timing has set royal watchers buzzing: with a major court appearance looming and Invictus Games invitations about to go out, could the Duke finally be ready to bury the hatchet? The unannounced arrival comes just ahead of Harry’s scheduled testimony in the high-stakes phone-hacking trial against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Sources close to the case say the Duke is “calm but focused” and has been preparing intensely for what will…

A beloved independent lifeboat crew that has saved countless lives in south-west Scotland since 1974 has been forced offline by tough new safety rules, leaving Fleet Bay and Wigtown Bay without rapid rescue cover. Response times have jumped from minutes to as long as 90 minutes, and two people have already died in the water this year alone. Fifty Years of Local Heroes Suddenly Sidelined The Fleet Bay Inshore Rescue Service, run entirely by volunteers, answered its last official 999 call in 2024. New Maritime and Coastguard Agency regulations demand a modern self-righting boat, updated equipment, and a rebuilt launch…