Throughout 2025, the Lieutenancy has had the pleasure of taking part in many meaningful occasions, moments of reflection, celebration, and shared pride.
We marked the 80th anniversary of VE-Day and came together for Remembrance events…
Throughout 2025, the Lieutenancy has had the pleasure of taking part in many meaningful occasions, moments of reflection, celebration, and shared pride.
We marked the 80th anniversary of VE-Day and came together for Remembrance events…

Getty ImagesFlu cases have fallen across Scotland, dropping 20% in the week to 14 December, official health figures show.
Public Health Scotland (PHS) data shows laboratory-confirmed cases fell from 2,410 to 1,918 cases, with hospitalisations also…


New York – Dec. 17, 2025 – Wolters Kluwer today announced that its CCH Tagetik Intelligent Platform has obtained the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Validated designation. The IBM Cloud for Financial Services framework is designed to help institutions mitigate risk and accelerate innovation by ensuring solutions adhere to stringent regulatory and security standards.
By earning this validation, CCH Tagetik demonstrates its ability to deliver trusted, cloud-based performance management (CPM) capabilities that support financial institutions in achieving operational resilience, regulatory compliance, and data protection while enabling faster transformation and innovation on the cloud.
Madhur Aggarwal, EVP & General Manager, Corporate Performance Management said:
“Earning the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Validated designation underscores our unwavering commitment to security and compliance. Financial institutions can now leverage CCH Tagetik with confidence, knowing it meets the highest standards for data protection while delivering cutting-edge AI-powered capabilities.”
Financial services organizations operate under intense regulatory scrutiny, evolving privacy requirements, and heightened cyber risk. The IBM Cloud for Financial Services Validated designation signals that CCH Tagetik aligns with industry-leading controls and best practices, helping banks, insurers, and capital markets firms modernize their finance operations without compromising compliance or security.
The validation process included a comprehensive review of CCH Tagetik’s controls and practices, culminating in the successful completion of IBM’s Financial Services Cloud Framework requirements. This milestone positions CCH Tagetik as the first corporate performance management (CPM) solution meeting IBM’s stringent standards for data protection and regulatory adherence.
As an IBM Cloud for Financial Services Validated solution, CCH Tagetik is now authorized to use the Financial Services Validated mark, signaling its alignment with industry-leading standards for security and compliance.
With IBM validation, financial institutions can confidently accelerate cloud adoption of the CCH® Tagetik Intelligent Platform and strengthen risk and compliance while modernizing finance operations. The platform streamlines end-to-end performance management, from planning and budgeting to close, consolidation, regulatory reporting, profitability analysis, and ESG tracking, while leveraging AI-driven forecasting, anomaly detection, and scenario modeling to improve decision speed and accuracy. Validated controls and prescriptive architecture guidance on IBM Cloud further reduce implementation friction, enabling secure, efficient transformation.
Cranfield University’s National Flying Laboratory Centre has been successful in a bid for funding from the Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund. This government led initiative is aimed at encouraging young people into careers in the aviation sector.
The funding will support six tailored STEM outreach days at Cranfield University for local students in school years 5 to 8.
In 2026, the school children will come to Cranfield’s campus and visit specialist facilities including the NFLC Saab340 flying classroom, the Cranfield University Boeing 737, and the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre. They will then be challenged to design a paper plane, with expert guidance from Cranfield University’s Dr Yicheng Sun who reached the global finals of the Red Bull Paper Wings competition, and appeared on Britain’s Got Talent.
As part of the day, the students will also have the opportunity to talk to experts from a wide variety of employment fields within aviation.
Rob Harrison FRAeS, Head of the National Flying Laboratory Centre at Cranfield University, said the experience will be inspirational for the visiting students: “As a STEM Ambassador, I know how important it is to show how accessible a career in aviation can be. It is not just about pilots and engineers. There are so many other branches within the aviation career path.
“I want to make sure the students leave Cranfield knowing the breadth of opportunities available to them, as well as having an amazing day they won’t forget!”

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has participated in a sustainable bond issuance by Türkiye’s QNB Türkiye, with an investment of US$ 100 million.
The total size of the issuance is expected to be up to US$ 120 million and will be made under QNB Türkiye’s Sustainable Finance and Product Framework, covering the issuance of green, social and sustainability-focused bonds.
The issuance also aligns with the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond Principles and Social Bond Principles.
The investment aims to expand green investment opportunities in the private sector, allocating 65 per cent of the financing to supporting investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings and other qualifying initiatives.
The use of the proceeds will also enhance inclusivity by using the remaining 35 per cent to support youth- and women-led business in Türkiye, rendering the partnership capable of tripling” its impact.
Women-led businesses in the country still suffer from structural constraints, such as limited credit histories, challenging collateral requirements, and gender bias. Youth-led business also struggle with financing shortages, limited experience and weak market linkages.
In addition, as part of the investment, QNB Türkiye will become the first private bank in the country to develop and implement a climate transition plan as part of an EBRD transaction, striving to integrate climate-risk practices into investment decisions. By embedding transition planning, this transaction sets a benchmark for other Turkish banks and contributes to accelerating the country’s financial sector towards the Paris Agreement goals.
Oksana Yavorskaya, EBRD Deputy Head of Türkiye, said: “We are delighted to support QNB Türkiye’s sustainable journey through this landmark “triple-impact” investment, which not only advances the climate agenda but also promotes inclusivity and empowerment within the Turkish economy. We also commend QNB’s leadership in developing a climate transition Plan – an important step toward shaping a resilient and inclusive future.”
Ömür Tan, CEO of QNB Türkiye, said: “Our collaboration with the EBRD is a significant step in aligning the transformative power of finance with the actual needs of the economy. Through this triple-impact sustainability bond, we advance green investments while empowering women-led and youth-led enterprises, supporting a more inclusive and resilient economic landscape. We see finance as a key lever for sustainable transformation, and with our climate transition plan – the first among Türkiye’s private banks under an EBRD transaction – we reaffirm our commitment to aligning our portfolio with the Paris Agreement and accelerating the country’s sustainable development.”
The EBRD is one of Türkiye’s key investors, committing more than €23 billion to over 500 projects since 2009, largely in the private sector.

Lauren Hatcher’s work is all about making movies of crystals. Using in-situ x-ray diffraction methods, her team seeks to understand how dynamic changes at the molecular level affect macroscopic properties. ‘If you better understand what’s…

Join us at the Festival of Innovation on Thursday, 22 January at 2 pm GMT for our session Horror unleashed: innovation in thrills with guest speaker Kim Scott, general manager at Universal Horror Unleashed – Las Vegas.
In this session, attendees…
Li, Y., Cao, G. Y., Jing, W. Z., Liu, J. & Liu, M. Global trends and regional differences in incidence and mortality of cardiovascular disease, 1990–2019: findings from 2019 global burden of disease study. Eur. J. Prev. Cardiol. 30, 276–286…
