Council planning to build 95 new homes amid housing shortage
Highland Council has drawn up plans to build the new homes on vacant land near the Ullapool golf course.
It's understood that the properties will be a mix of affordable homes for rent and private properties.
A public consultation is set to take place before the plans are progressed.
The development comes amid a housing shortage across the Highlands.
The local authority previously said the region needs around 4,000 new homes over the next decade to address a long-standing shortage of affordable homes.
An estimated 8,400 jobs are expected to the created through the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF).
Japanese firm Sumitomo Electric Ltd confirmed a £350m investment at the Cromarty Firth site, which will see the creation of a giant factory that will supply high-voltage cables to offshore windfarms.
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The National
15 hours ago
- The National
$2 billion medical donation had me dreaming of paralysis cure
The Knights are no strangers to medical causes. A decade ago, they matched $500 million raised for the same institute, doubling its resources overnight. Now, working alongside Dr. Brian Druker a pioneer who revolutionised cancer treatment through targeted therapies they've taken that commitment to a level few could have imagined. Their aim is simple but staggering: to transform how we understand, treat, and ultimately cure cancer. It's a long way from where Knight began. In his memoir Shoe Dog, he recalls the early days in 1964, selling Japanese running shoes from the back of his Plymouth Valiant. That tiny venture became Nike, a company now worth billions, built on the belief that sport can change lives. Knight's business story is a lesson in vision and persistence. His philanthropy suggests he believes science can be driven the same way. I read about Knight's gift on the same day I went for physiotherapy. As I worked through my exercises coaxing my stubborn leg into action my mind wandered to the same place it often goes when I hear news of medical breakthroughs. What if there was a cure for paralysis? What if the messages from my brain to my leg flowed freely again, the broken bridge in my nervous system rebuilt? I imagine standing up without a thought, my body suddenly fluent in movements it has long forgotten. In my mind, I'd turn into a kind of Superman not the cape-wearing, planet-saving sort, but the kind who makes up for lost time with a vengeance. I'd run until my lungs burned, play sport until the sun set, walk miles just because I could. I'd board a plane without wondering about access, climb mountains, dive into oceans, and dance on cobbled streets somewhere far from home. I wouldn't stop. It's a fantasy, but one rooted in the same force that fuels Knight's gift: hope. Read more: Cancer and paralysis aren't the same, but they share a brutal truth, both can strike without warning, both can strip away the life you once knew, and both create a hunger for breakthroughs that feels almost primal. I've lost friends to cancer. I know people living in the limbo of waiting for better treatments. And I know my own quiet ache for a cure, the way it sits with me every day, sometimes loud, sometimes barely a whisper. That's why stories like this matter. They're not just about money; they're about momentum. Science is often portrayed as a slow, careful march, but the right funding can turn it into a sprint. Knight's donation will pay for labs, equipment, trials, and the kind of bold, risky research governments often won't touch. It can draw in brilliant minds from around the world and give them the freedom to chase ideas that might otherwise remain trapped in grant applications. Of course, $2 billion won't cure cancer tomorrow. But it will close the gap between where we are and where we dream of being. And maybe just maybe the breakthroughs made possible in oncology will ripple outwards into other areas of medicine. Advances in gene editing, cell therapy, and neuroregeneration could one day be applied to paralysis. I left physio tired but strangely energised. I thought about Knight, about Dr. Druker, about the patients whose lives might be extended or saved because one man decided to write the biggest cheque of his life. I thought about the people who will never meet him but will feel the impact of his gift. And I thought about my own 'what if' not as an impossible dream, but as a possibility that's just waiting for its turn. In Shoe Dog, Knight wrote: 'I wanted to build something that was my own, something I could point to and say: I made that. It was the only way I saw to make life meaningful.' It's clear that for him, meaning now comes not just from shoes and sport, but from putting the weight of his fortune behind the hardest problems in medicine. We need more of that from billionaires, from companies, from governments, and from ordinary people giving what they can. Medical revolutions don't happen in isolation. They're built from thousands of contributions, from lab bench to bedside. Knight's gift is historic, but it's also a reminder that progress is a team effort. Until the day science answers my 'what if,' I'll keep doing my rehab. I'll keep pushing through the ache, because every step I take now makes me ready for the steps I hope to take in the future. And I'll keep believing stubbornly, unapologetically that cures for both cancer and paralysis are out there, waiting for us to find them. Because if Phil Knight can take the biggest swing of his life for cancer research, the rest of us can keep showing up for our own battles. Hope, after all, is contagious and with that mindset I challenge you today to go and move your body in the beauty of nature for all those who can't and to remind yourself 'Be where your feet are'
STV News
a day ago
- STV News
Cineworld to leave world's tallest cinema next month as staff face redundancy
Cineworld has confirmed that it is to leave its home in the world's tallest cinema complex next month. The cinema giant informed employees by email that the cinema will close on September 28, and that the owners of the Renfrew Street building will take the property back at the end of October. An email sent to staff, seen by STV News, confirmed that a consultation process on jobs is due to begin. A Starbucks branch inside the building is also affected. Cineworld was informed last month that the building landlord intended to take the site back. Clydebankbridge Ltd purchased the site for £7m in May of this year. The company is owned by Omniplex, an Irish cinema group which took over five Empire sites in 2023 – including one in Clydebank. It is understood Cineworld was leasing the building for more than £1m, according to title documents seen by STV News. The lease on the building was due to run until 2036. James, who has worked at the branch for over two years, told STV News that the company had 'forgotten' about its staff and the cinema's equipment. 'We've had countless potential closures over the years I've worked there', he said. 'It's no surprise to any of us. 'Cineworld as a company have forgotten about us in the past few years, old equipment and broken screens that needed updating to compete with competitors. 'They've known for a long time that we were going to be shut down. 'This is clear, as the Silverburn location recently got upgrades, but our site saw no change. Our location has only been paying 10% of the building's rent per month, so it was no surprise that the landlord sold it to Omniplex. 'It's a case of payback.' Cineworld said that Cineworld Silverburn would be undergoing 'its most ambitious transformation yet' following the Renfrew Street closure. A statement added: 'As we say goodbye to Renfrew Street, Cineworld Silverburn is undergoing its most ambitious transformation yet – with major investment bringing a 4DX screen and a full upgrade of every 2D auditorium to luxury recliner seating. 'We can't wait for you to experience the new Cineworld Silverburn, for the most superior entertainment experience in Glasgow.' Opened in September 2001, the UGC Cinema stands at 62m tall, has 18 screens across 12 storeys and can seat more than 4,200 people, and is known as the world's tallest cinema complex. After entering administration in 2023, Cineworld announced the closure of six cinemas in a major company restructure. It closed sites at Glasgow Parkhead, Bedford, Hinckley, Loughborough, Yate and Swindon Circus. Cineworld operates eight cinemas in Scotland with three locations in Glasgow, two in Aberdeen and sites in Dundee, Falkirk and Edinburgh. An email staff outlined: 'We will close the cinema on or around Sunday, September 28, 2025, and a handover with the landlord will take place on October 31, 2025. 'Please be assured that you will continue to be paid as normal until any redundancies are confirmed. The email also confirmed that a consultation process is beginning. It added: 'We will now be entering a period of conclusion with you. This will involve a collection consultation with elected employee representatives, and there will also be an opportunity for you to have individual consultation meetings. 'The purpose of this consultation is to provide you with the opportunity to discuss any alternative you see which avoids your redundancy. 'Where we can redeploy other people to other local cinemas rather than have to make redundancies, we will do so, and this will be covered in the consultation. 'Current ongoing secondments will continue until the point any redundancies are confirmed.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Dollar slips before data, yen outperforms, eyes on Trump-Putin meeting
Aug 15 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped on Friday with investors cautious about the rate outlook ahead of import price data, after recent figures suggested inflation could accelerate in the coming months. The yen outperformed the euro and the pound following the release of surprisingly strong Japanese growth data, which showed export volumes held up well against new U.S. tariffs. All eyes will be on a meeting in Alaskalater on Friday between Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, focused on the U.S. president's push to seal a ceasefire deal on Ukraine. U.S. import price figures will be more closely watched than usual after data on Thursday showed a sharp jump in producer prices last month, pushing the dollar higher. If import prices keep rising, it may signal that U.S. companies are fully absorbing the tariffs, leaving them with two options: pass the costs on to consumers, potentially stoking inflation, or take the hit to profit margins. Money markets reflect a 95% chance of a 25-basis point Fed rate cut in September. They fully priced a 25-bp cut and a 5% chance of a larger 50-bp move before Thursday's U.S. data. Markets also await next week's Jackson Hole symposium for clues on the Fed's next move. Signs of weakness in the U.S. labour market combined with inflation fromtrade tariffs could present a dilemma for the Fed's rate cut trajectory. The U.S. dollar index , that measures the value of the greenback relative to a basket of six major foreign currencies, was down 0.33% at 97.882. However, it's not just a matter of rate outlook divergence according to some analysts. Morgan Stanley estimates that the dollar risk premium is currently 6% compared to a range of 5% to 9% since April. The bank sees ample scope for it to return to, or even exceed, those peaks, potentially weakening the U.S. currency, because investors are increasing the share of their U.S. asset exposure that is hedged against exchange rate risks. After Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariff announcements, markets sold off U.S. assets, including the greenback, on fears that Washington was about to launch a trade war against its major allies. The yen was up 0.56% against the dollar at 146.94, helped by data showing Japan's economy grew much faster than expected in the second quarter. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks earlier this week that the Bank of Japan could be "behind the curve" in dealing with the risk of inflation proved to be another tailwind for the yen. "Although BoJ Governor Ueda may choose to disregard Bessent's remarks, the Japanese authorities will not want the value of the yen to become more of a concern to the Trump administration than it already is," said Jane Foley senior forex strategist at RaboBank. The euro rose 0.34% versus the dollar to $1.1687. Most analysts expect Europe's single currency to benefit from any ceasefire deal in Ukraine. "The Trump-Putin meeting and any better clarity on the path ahead in the Ukraine conflict have longer-lasting implications for the euro than for the dollar," said Francesco Pesole, forex strategist at ING. "There is a chance that today might be the first step in the direction of de-escalation, and markets may tread carefully for now," he added. The pound was up 0.24% against the U.S. currency at $1.3563. The Australian dollar was up 0.25% versus the greenback at 0.6512. Elsewhere, bitcoin and ether rose after dropping about 4% each on Thursday. Bitcoin had at one point touched a record high on Thursday on shifting Fed rate-cut expectations.
