Sweden eyes purchase of military vehicles with, Norway, Lithuania, Finland
Kristersson told a joint press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Gintautas Paluckas that the countries discussed buying "several hundred" CV90s, and that a statement of intent on cooperation for the vehicles was being drafted.
The CV90 is produced by a Sweden-based subsidiary of Britain's BAE Systems, Europe's biggest defence company.
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Daily Record
37 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Glen Lednock windfarm opponents submit 41-page objection
The Save Glen Lednock document includes concerns on access, traffic and transport, ecology, cultural heritage, noise and vibration. Campaigners opposed to a controversial windfarm in a scenic Perthshire glen have lodged a 41-page objection to the scheme. The Comrie-based Save Glen Lednock group - who have described the proposed scheme as a 'destructive industrial project' – submitted their objection to the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit (ECU) just hours before Monday's deadline (July 21). Renewable energy company Low Carbon, is aiming to build 19 turbines with blade tips extending as high as 200m, on land within Invergeldie Estate. It is expected to generate approximately 342,600 MWh of electricity per year or the equivalent of the annual electricity requirement of more than 100,000 households. Save Glen Lednock campaigners say those living near the windfarm – as well as businesses and residents in Comrie and Crieff, and rare birds including golden eagles - will all suffer as a result of the scheme. The Save Glen Lednock submission lodged this week includes objections on access, traffic and transport, ecology, cultural heritage, noise and vibration and national planning policy. Objector Alastair Forsyth said: 'This development has the potential to have very negative impacts on many people's lives, not just those who live in Glen Lednock, but also well beyond – with hundreds of additional vehicles for the construction phase, including many lorries, travelling daily along the A85 through Comrie and Crieff to the A9 at Perth.' The campaigners also highlighted that they only had six weeks to digest 293 documents detailing the plans. Mr Forsyth added: 'The developer has had years to put together this mass of documentation, yet concerned citizens of Strathearn, and visitors who value the tranquillity and beauty of Glen Lednock, have had just weeks to make sense of the 3,000 pages of documentation that were submitted by Low Carbon in support of their application.' A Low Carbon spokesperson said this week: 'The final design for the Glen Lednock Wind Farm has been shaped by extensive pre-application consultation with the local community and we are grateful for the input from residents, community councils and other organisations that took time to attend our public exhibitions and other events over the past two years and shared their views with us. Low Carbon has also undertaken a programme of survey and assessment over several years to inform our Glen Lednock Wind Farm application, which is in line with good practice guidance from the Scottish Government. This includes an assessment of the project's alignment with National Planning Framework 4 policy tests. 'Furthermore, the application sets out how Low Carbon will provide the equivalent of £5,000 per MW of installed generating capacity annually into a community benefit fund every year. 'This equates to £589,000 per annum or £23.6million (2025 prices) for local communities around Glen Lednock over the proposed 40-year operational life of the project.' Windfarm backers Low Carbon and opponents Save Glen Lednock have clashed over a number of issues. Developers Low Carbon last week disputed the campaigners' assertion of 400 lorry movements per day during construction of the windfarm. However, campaigners pointed to Low Carbon's own Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) to support their assertion. These figures itemise a seven-month peak daily traffic figure of 392 accounting for 251 large good vehicles (LGV) and 140 heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and one HGV articulated lorry. Heavy goods vehicles and large goods vehicles both have a gross weight exceeding 3500kg. Low Carbon also took issue with campaigners' mention of a new eight mile access road. However, the EIRC states: 'The Access Route Area to the Turbine Development Area would be approximately 12,687m (eight miles) in length, via the existing A85 bellmouth to the east of Comrie and along a series of access tracks, both existing and newly constructed comprising 'a number of localised upgrades to approximately 8,528m (5.29 miles) of existing tracks; and approximately 4,158m (2.58 miles) of new track. Another issue of contention is the impact the turbines would have on wild birds including golden eagles. Low Carbon point out research contained in their EIRC comprises a 'comprehensive assessment of disturbance and displacement of bird species, including golden eagle, [and] concludes that there will be no significant displacement' [by wind turbines]. However, Save Glen Lednock point to a collison risk estimate table in the Low Carbon report. Campaigner Alastair Forsyth said: 'What is shocking is the predicted mortality of birds of prey caused by collisions with wind turbines over the 40 year operational predicted life of the turbines. 'To be clear a collision equals a dead bird. 'For golden eagle Low Carbon estimate that this would equal approximately 12 birds in 40 years.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Several US executives to visit China this week: sources
BEIJING, July 28 (Reuters) - A high-level delegation of American executives will travel to China this week to meet senior Chinese officials in a trip organised by the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), two sources with knowledge of the visit told Reuters on Monday. The visit coincides with the latest round of U.S.‑China trade negotiations in Sweden, where China's Vice Premier He Lifeng is meeting U.S. officials from July 27 to July 30 for a new round of economic and trade talks. The delegation will be led by FedEx (FDX.N), opens new tab Chief Executive Rajesh Subramaniam, the council's board chair, one of the sources briefed on the trip said. The South China Morning Post first reported the visit on Sunday, saying that executives from firms including Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab would be part of the delegation. Reuters could not confirm other CEO members of the delegation or which Chinese officials they would meet. Boeing declined to comment on the trip and deferred to USCBC. The U.S. government was not involved in the organisation of the visit, one of the sources said. The trip comes as Beijing and Washington work towards a summit between the two countries' leaders later this year, probably around the time of the APEC forum in South Korea October 26 - November 1, sources previously told Reuters. USCBC did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The business lobby previously organised similar visits to China by American CEO delegations in 2023 and 2024. The 2024 trip, also led by Subramaniam, included meetings with He and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where executives discussed issues including market access. China faces an August 12 deadline to reach a durable deal with the White House or risk higher U.S. tariffs. U.S. officials are likely to extend the deadline by another 90 days as both sides work towards a more comprehensive deal, sources previously told Reuters. An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and help create conditions for the potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Investors need certainty to build the homes Scotland needs
We must unlock the investment that would deliver new housing, says Colin Brown Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In May 2024, the Scottish Parliament declared a national 'housing emergency' with some councils also declaring a housing emergency in their areas. The announcement of the emergency came two months after the Scottish Government laid the Housing (Scotland) Bill before the Scottish Parliament. The Bill continues to work its way through Holyrood and is expected to come into force later this year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Observers in the world of institutional investment and those working in the sector have been watching the progress of the Bill with interest. Of particular concern to investors are proposals around rent controls. Colin Brown is a Partner at TLT To give one example that has occurred recently – a London-based investment firm, was about to commit many millions of pounds to its first Scottish investment before discovering that a committee considering the Bill had voted to include purpose-built student accommodation as subject to statutory rent controls. All of the financial appraisals the firm had undertaken in making the decision to invest in Scotland were potentially being ripped up by MSPs and they had no power to do anything about this. In this situation, the Scottish Government moved quickly to make clear it would not support rent control for purpose-built student accommodation. Whilst the project is now starting to come out of the ground it remains to be seen whether they consider Scotland a safe haven for future investment. The rental income which institutional investors derive from their investments in bricks and mortar helps to fund many individuals' pensions. The investors need to understand that in exchange for making their money available they will get a return on their investment and this return has generally been left to market forces – the law of supply and demand. The housing emergency should make investment in new build housing in Scotland a win-win. The country gets much-needed new housing to alleviate the emergency, and the investment funds get to deploy their capital to deliver housing and make a return on their investment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the UK in the first quarter of this year £1.2 billion was invested in private rental accommodation with the potential for £6bn to be invested by the end of the year. 76 per cent of this investment is being directed outside London, with Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds leading the way. Every penny of this investment creates new housing and sustains and creates job opportunities. The fact that Scotland has not been able to open the investment tap when cities in England are seeing private rental accommodation expand, could be seen as a missed opportunity. In launching the latest consultation, the Social Justice Secretary acknowledges that rental properties are a crucial element of the efforts to tackle the housing emergency. Government policy has slowed investment into the sector in recent years and resulted in lower investor confidence in providing much-needed housing. Rent caps and controls are of course not universally despised and a balance must be struck between protecting tenants and unlocking the investment that delivers the new housing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The latest consultation on exemptions for certain types of properties from rent control closed earlier this month. There will be investors with capital looking for a home waiting to see if the legislative and political environment in Scotland means they should be deploying more of this in Scotland or continuing to explore opportunities which guarantee a better return elsewhere.
