FORMER Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander has joined Keir Starmer’s Cabinet as business minister … Source

THE future of the North Sea has been a contentious issue in recent years. The new licences for oil and gas under the Conservative government have led to intensifying Just Stop Oil protests with a backdrop of damning predictions of our prospects of reaching net zero by 2050, (or indeed 2045) … Source

Away from the general election in the UK, last week the governor of California declared a state of emergency. California is enduring a brutal drought and heatwave, with temperatures soaring above 40°C and multiple wildfires causing widespread destruction. In the north of the state, one fire has resulted in the evacuation of nearly 30,000 residents. […] Source

Neil Rooney (43) was also found with videos of adults having sex with animals. …

GP-registered local women aged between 50 and 70 will receive an invitation to attend. …

Easing hip, knee and lower back problems. …

Welcome to Britain four years after twenty-twenty We’ve lived through a pandemic now state coffers state empty The cost of living’s gone up in a time of austerity Our Prime Minister wouldn’t resign he was so full of temerity Everybody’s noticed ten pounds won’t go far It will get you even less if you have […] Source

Across the West politics are fractured, divisive, and raise more questions than answers. Biden vs. Trump; the authoritarian US Supreme Court extending Trump’s Presidential immunity; the march of the far-right in the French legislative assembly elections; the UK election and emptiness of the mainstream – a trend reflected by Andrew Hindmoor in Haywire: A Political […] Source

THE reopening of a historic Highland distillery after more than 40 years has been hailed as a “unique” chance for the local community to play a “greater role” in the whisky tourism industry … Source

KEIR Starmer has accepted more freebies than any other MP since the 2019 General Election … Source

A LEADING economics expert has said that Labour and the Conservatives “do not drastically differ” on energy policy … Source

A HIGHLAND community is set to buy out a multi-million-pound 9000 acre estate with the help of a philanthropist … Source