Friday Weather Webcast

Recommended Stories

  • SNP minister facing ministerial code probe over Gupta and Greensill dinner

    A senior SNP minister is facing a ministerial code investigation over a dinner with banker Lex Greensill and steel billionaire Sanjeev Gupta following a deal that threatens to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. Fergus Ewing, the Rural Economy Secretary, dined with the pair and two of their senior colleagues at one of Glasgow's top restaurants in 2017. But a Freedom of Information request (FOI) has revealed that the minister had no officials with him, no notes were taken, and the Government claims to have no emails, texts or phone records about the meeting. The previous year the Scottish Government struck a deal with Mr Gupta, which allowed his GFG Alliance to complete a £330 million purchase of the UK’s last aluminium smelter and hydro power plants in Fort William in 2016. Mr Ewing signed a 25-year guarantee, worth around £300 million, which commits the Scottish Government to buying the plants’ electricity if the smelter shut down. But his firm GFG Alliance is in crisis following the collapse of Greensill Capital, which was his largest financial backer before it went into administration. The ministerial code states that a private secretary or official should be present for all discussions relating to government business, with the basic facts of formal meetings to be recorded, including the reasons for the meeting, attendees and the interests represented. It also states that miniisters who "find themselves discussing official business without an official present " should pass "any significant content" to their private officers "as soon as possible after the event, who should arrange for the basic facts of such meetings to be recorded."

  • Exclusive: Ex-Speaker Boehner says Matt Gaetz should resign if indicted – or be expelled

    "When you're the leader, you've got a responsibility to the institution to be rid of these people," the former House speaker said of indictment.

  • Bafta Film Awards 2021: Nomadland and Promising Young Woman win big

    The drama wins four prizes including best film, while Promising Young Woman wins best British film.

  • 'We are done dying': NAACP, Virginia governor express outrage at pepper-spraying of Black and Latino Army officer during traffic stop

    Virginia's attorney general, at least one congressman and the NAACP are furious at the actions of Windsor police officers during a traffic stop.

  • The caddie for Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama bowed in respect to Augusta National moments after winning

    Hideki Matsuyama's caddie Shota Hayafuji shared a private moment with Augusta National after the team's historic win at the Masters.

  • A 911 dispatcher in Louisiana was arrested after authorities say she refused to return $1.2 million that was accidentally deposited into her account

    According to a lawsuit filed last week, Charles Schwab & Co. mistakenly transferred the woman more than $1.2 million. It meant to transfer $82.56.

  • Henry Cavill goes Instagram official with new girlfriend — see the pic!

    Cavill, 37, introduced his "beautiful and brilliant love" Natalie Viscuso to his 15 million Instagram followers.

  • John Boehner says that Mitch McConnell 'holds his feelings, thoughts, and emotions in a lockbox'

    For Boehner, a jovial, backslapping politician who is known to publicly cry, McConnell's steely and to-the-point demeanor is quite a contrast.

  • Palace reveals Prince Philip redesigned Balmoral Castle's notorious heating system

    Prince Philip devised a special heating system to protect the paintings at Balmoral Castle, it has emerged as the Royal family paid tribute to his conservation work on its estates. The Palace revealed on Sunday that the Duke of Edinburgh was behind an initiative to install a heating system that responded to humidity rather than the outside temperature to create a less damaging atmosphere for the castle’s many antiques. The Duke’s fervent passion for horticulture and agriculture also led him to re-landscape many the Queen’s estates and even get behind the wheel of a bulldozer to realise his vision. In a memorial released on Sunday, the palace detailed the works the Duke carried out and oversaw on the Queen’s private estates at Sandringham and Balmoral, as well as Great Windsor and Home Parks. It revealed how the Duke took a particularly close interest in the maintenance of the Queen’s beloved Balmoral residence in Aberdeenshire, where she spends August and July.

  • Bristling tensions with Prince Harry remain, but Royal family will wear the mask of unity at Duke’s funeral

    The subtle briefings were designed to give Prince Harry the softest possible landing on his arrival back in the UK ahead of his beloved grandfather’s funeral on Saturday. From sources suggesting he was “united in grief” with the rest of the Royal family following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, to the couple’s unofficial spokesman Omid Scobie insisting – should anyone be in doubt – that “Harry was incredibly close to Philip”, the Sussex spin machine was in evidence as the displaced Prince prepared for his first transatlantic flight in 13 months. Members of the Royal family also sought to calm serves ahead of what is feared could be a difficult reunion for the House of Windsor, with a palace source suggesting that the Prince of Wales was particularly looking forward to seeing his youngest son. “It’s been more than a year,” they pointed out.

  • Hugh Jackman and wife stun in 1996 wedding photos shared for their 25th anniversary

    The actor said it was his "destiny" for the couple to be together.

  • Why Prince Philip’s great-grandchildren shouldn't attend the Royal funeral

    Of all the images that stood out during the televised funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, there was one that has endured in the collective consciousness longer than any other: that of two boys who had just lost their mother, walking in sombre procession behind her coffin, while the world looked in upon their most private moment. Alongside Princes William and Harry that day walked their grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh. Amid a terrible whirlwind of public mourning and spectacle, the Duke was reportedly deeply concerned about the emotional wellbeing of his bereaved grandsons, then 15 and 12. “I’ll walk if you walk,” he apparently told them at a dinner before the funeral. And, of course, he kept his word. Almost a quarter of a century later, has there been a change of heart within the monarchy about the role of children at Royal funerals? It is understood that the Duke’s 10 great-grandchildren, who include Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will not be in attendance at his funeral this Saturday. That nine are under 10 years of age (Savannah Phillips will turn 11 in December) has likely played a part in the decision.

  • 'I hate this home now:' California couple finally changes the locks on their dream house after previous owner refused to leave for over a year

    Myles and Tracie Albert bought their home with cash in January 2020. But the seller used a legal loophole during the pandemic to remain in the house.

  • Harry Reid on former House Speaker John Boehner: 'I did everything I could to cause him trouble' but we 'got a lot done'

    "The deal is this - Boehner and I got a lot done, but we didn't mince words," he said. "He was right. I did everything I could to cause him trouble."

  • 'White Lives Matter' rallies flop as hardly anyone shows up

    Neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists planned rallies in dozens of cities Sunday but hardly anyone showed up.

  • Bafta Film Awards 2021: Two-night ceremony announces first winners

    The ceremony is split over two days for the first time, with more winners to be revealed on Sunday.

  • Tiger Woods congratulates Hideki Matsuyama on Masters win, says it 'will impact the entire golf world'

    Tiger knows what it is like to change the sport.

  • Sir John Major calls on Royal family to ‘end friction as speedily as possible’

    Sir John Major said yesterday that the “friction” between the Royal family and the Duke of Sussex was “better ended as speedily as possible”. The former prime minister spoke about the rift after Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince Harry would fly back from the US to attend the Duke’s funeral. Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Sir John was asked whether he agreed with comments made by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who said: “Many a family gather and get over tension and broken relationships at the time of a funeral. Something very profound unites them all again – that would be true of this family, I am sure.” Sir John, who was appointed special guardian to Princes William and Harry after the death of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, said: “I’m sure he is right, I believe he is right and I certainly hope so. “The friction that we are told has arisen is a friction better ended as speedily as possible, and a shared emotion, a shared grief, at the present time because of the death of their father, their grandfather, I think is an ideal opportunity. “I hope very much that it is possible to mend any rifts that may exist.”

  • New puppies will keep the Queen company now Prince Philip has gone

    She vowed not to breed any more dogs, fearing she might trip over them in her advancing years, or worse still – leave them behind when the time came. Yet the Queen’s unexpected decision to take on two new puppies last month at the age of 94 will help her to cope with the loss of Prince Philip, according to royal insiders. The dog-loving monarch surprised palace staff when she requested that they begin searching for a pair of pets to replace her beloved pooches. The move followed the death of Her Majesty’s dorgi (a cross between a corgi and a dachshund) Vulcan, last November leaving her with one dorgi, called Candy.

  • Corporate America is still dangerously delusional about what the GOP has become

    The party of big business has taken to policing corporate America's speech now, and that's not going to change anytime soon.