News

Scotland’s homegrown digital ID system has now entered the public testing phase, marking a big step in the country's push to modernize how people access public services—without always needing a passport. ScotAccount, a digital identity platform developed by the Scottish Government, officially launched its public beta this week. After months of quiet user research and limited trials, the tool is now open to a much wider group of users to test how smoothly it works for everyday services—from criminal record checks to debt management. From Closed Testing to Open Doors Until now, ScotAccount had mostly been kept under wraps. The…

EDINBURGH – Scottish First Minister John Swinney has unveiled a fresh independence strategy centred around building majority support, mobilising democratic pressure on Westminster, and securing a decisive Scottish National Party (SNP) victory at the 2026 Holyrood elections—while new polling suggests growing European support for Scotland’s return to the EU as an independent state. Writing in The National on Thursday, Swinney declared that independence remains the SNP’s "central political goal," and described his plan as a "renewed strategy" designed to capitalise on rising dissatisfaction with Westminster and shifting attitudes across Europe. “In 2014, many believed Westminster could still be fixed. But…

GARTCOSH, SCOTLAND — In a significant boost for Scotland’s manufacturing and whisky sectors, Italian packaging giant Guala Closures has officially opened a €60 million next-generation facility in Gartcosh, marking one of the largest investments by an Italian firm in the UK. The cutting-edge 20,000 square meter plant will produce high-end closures and security features for bottles—particularly for the Scotch whisky industry—and is expected to employ over 300 skilled professionals, deepening Guala’s presence in a region globally celebrated for spirits production. Scotch Whisky Meets High-Tech Manufacturing Strategically located in the heart of Scotland’s whisky belt, the Gartcosh facility already supplies over…

TORONTO —In a powerful signal of growing global urgency, Canada has entered into a strategic alliance with the United States, Greece, Australia, and Scotland to combat one of the world’s fastest-growing threats: wildfires. The announcement, made Saturday morning, marks the most internationally coordinated wildfire prevention strategy in recent history. The partnership is rooted in shared investments, cross-border knowledge exchange, and a renewed focus on both Indigenous-led practices and cutting-edge technologies like AI risk mapping and drone-based surveillance. For travelers and tourism operators alike, the message is clear: fire-resilient infrastructure and smarter risk management are no longer optional luxuries—they are the…

If you're in Fort Wayne this weekend and feeling torn between paddling down the St. Marys River or stuffing your face with gouda-slathered noodles at Parkview Field — you’re not alone. This Saturday, the city’s calendar is bursting at the seams with events that range from scavenger hunts on water to culinary chaos built entirely around pasta and cheese. And while clouds may hang over the festivities (literally), locals don’t seem too concerned. Fort Wayne is used to a little weather whiplash — and as one organizer put it, “Rain just means more reason to eat faster.” A Decade of…

From searing wildfires to drought-sapped rivers and even an attempted attack on a centuries-old symbol of monarchy, this past week has seen nature, history, and justice collide across both sides of the Atlantic. Colorado Ablaze: Evacuations Ordered as Flames Threaten Parachute PARCHUTE, Colo. — A wildfire that broke out near Parachute prompted urgent evacuations Thursday evening as flames leapt across dry brushlands and forced road closures on Highway 6 between mile markers 77 and 83. As of late Thursday night, Colorado Department of Transportation officials confirmed the highway had reopened, but the danger was far from over. Dry conditions—exacerbated by…

Eight catchments remain at Moderate Scarcity while several others edge dangerously close to critical thresholds Eastern Scotland is now facing an intensifying water scarcity crisis, with several rivers approaching record-low flow levels and a growing number of catchments remaining in a prolonged state of Moderate Scarcity, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). In its latest weekly Water Scarcity Report, SEPA confirmed that eight major river catchments — including the Spey, Deveron, Ythan, Don (Aberdeenshire), Dee (Aberdeen), Esk, the Firth of Tay, and the Tyne (Lothian) — continue to face Moderate Scarcity, a status that has persisted in some…

The historic coronation stone, central to centuries of royal tradition, remains unharmed after a dramatic security breach in Scotland’s newest national museum. Security Breach Raises Alarm at Home of Scotland’s Most Sacred Symbol Authorities in Scotland have arrested a man accused of attempting to smash the protective glass encasing the Stone of Destiny — one of the most culturally and politically significant artifacts in Scottish history. The incident occurred at the newly reimagined Perth Museum, where the ancient stone has been on public display since its ceremonial return to Perthshire earlier this year. The suspect, identified by police as Arnaud…

Deepening Dry Spell Raises Alarms Across Eastern Scotland As southern England grapples with hosepipe bans, eastern Scotland is facing its own climate reckoning. A prolonged spell of unusually dry conditions — stretching back to winter — has left rivers strained, groundwater depleted, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) warning of imminent water abstraction restrictions. The first six months of 2025 have made history as the driest start to a year in eastern Scotland since 1973. While intermittent summer showers have offered brief respite, SEPA data shows they have done little to offset months of minimal precipitation and poor snowmelt…

A technical fault led to the deletion of more than 115,000 recorded calls to Police Scotland’s 101 non-emergency line, BBC Scotland has learned. The issue—undisclosed until now—was discovered in February 2025, when it became clear that a full month’s worth of recorded conversations had not been archived as intended. The affected calls were deleted after four weeks, as per retention policy, but due to the archiving failure, they were lost permanently. Despite the scale of the deletion, police stress that public safety was never compromised, and 999 emergency calls were not affected. What went wrong? Between January and November 2024,…