Scotland

The public inquiry into the death in police custody of Sheku Bayoh has begun taking evidence – almost exactly seven years since the father-of-two died after being restrained by officers in Kirkcaldy in Fife.

NHS leaders in England have warned that services are under “enormous strain”, due to a combination of high demand, staff shortages and high levels of Covid. It’s already prompted a number of trusts to declare critical incidents. 

In Scotland, from tomorrow people will be allowed to stop self-isolating after seven days instead of 10, provided they record two negative lateral flow tests – bringing the rules into line with the rest of the UK.

We were joined by Scotland’s Deputy First Minister John Swinney, who is also Minister for Covid Recovery.

It’s been a month since Glasgow played host to the COP26 UN climate change summit – that ended of course, eventually, with an agreement.

The Welsh government’s cabinet has met twice today to discuss whether to introduce tougher Covid restrictions as its most senior doctor advised people to prioritise who they see at Christmas.

We spoke to economist and director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde, Mairi Spowage, and asked her what impact will the increase of interest rates have on inflation.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has issued what she has called “strong guidance”  to counter the threat of the Omicron variant. 

We spoke to Scotland’s National Clinical Director, Professor Jason Leitch.

There has been some good news for Scottish beavers, who have been culled in record numbers in recent years. 

Scotland’s First Minister has urged people to make an “extra effort” to take lateral flow tests before they socialise or even go shopping in crowded places during the festive period.

So how much has actually been achieved in the fortnight of COP26 negotiations and announcements? Our climate reporter Simon Roach has this analysis.

Boris Johnson has hailed what he called the “game changing” agreement at the end of the COP26 climate summit, saying humanity was now heading in the right direction. 

We are joined by climate scientist Prof Saleemul Huq, at his 26th Cop conference as adviser to the group of Least Developed Countries, the 46 countries who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. And we are also joined by Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace.

Here are some of the details of what areas of dispute seem to have been resolved, and what is still up in the air, as negotiations in Glasgow at COP26 near their end.