Ukrainian Tartan Proves a Hit in Scotland

The Great Scot textile company decided to make a Ukrainian tartan and donate some of the proceeds to victims of Russia's invasion Andy Buchanan Digital/AFP
The Great Scot textile company decided to make a Ukrainian tartan and donate some of the proceeds to victims of Russia's invasion Andy Buchanan Digital/AFP
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Ukrainian Tartan Proves a Hit in Scotland

The Great Scot textile company decided to make a Ukrainian tartan and donate some of the proceeds to victims of Russia's invasion Andy Buchanan Digital/AFP
The Great Scot textile company decided to make a Ukrainian tartan and donate some of the proceeds to victims of Russia's invasion Andy Buchanan Digital/AFP

At a tartan workshop in northeast Scotland, machines slowly unwind miles of the familiar criss-cross patterns of fabric in green, red, black, blue and white.

But one chequered design at the Macnaughton Holdings' giant factory in Keith stands out for its unconventional colors: yellow and royal blue, said AFP.

For a few weeks now, the Great Scot company, a client of the firm, has been weaving its "Ukraine Forever Tartan", to raise funds for victims of the war.

"We saw what was happening on the news and like so many people we were appalled," said Patrick Lewtas, Great Scot's head of operations.

"We thought, what can we do? We could do something to raise some money and give to charities. Let's design a tartan," he told AFP.

"We've had an amazing response from this from all over the world."

The tartan design refers to the pattern of interlocking stripes of two or more colors running horizontally and vertically through the cloth.

It is Scotland's national fabric and different colors, particularly on kilts, have long been identified with Scottish regions and Highland clans.

Once banned in the 18th century, the design has since been popularized both as a political and a fashion statement, in Scotland and around the world.

When the Ukrainian tartan was first unveiled on Great Scot's Facebook page, it was shared 10,000 times, got nearly 140,000 likes and more than 2,700 comments.

Ukraine's foreign ministry also praised the initiative on its Twitter account.

- Proud history -
More than two miles (3.2 kilometers) of the fabric have already been sold, with strong demand from the United States, as well as Ukrainian expatriates.

The design is now included on the Scottish Register of Tartans, and each sale sees a donation to the UK Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

"Ultimately we'd like to raise more than £40,000 or £50,000 ($50,000-$63,000, 48,000-59,000 euros)," said Great Scot founder Margo Page, wearing a belted red tartan jacket.

"We're not there yet but people keep asking us to weave."

To those who accuse her of profiting from the war to boost sales, Page says she has chosen independent, family-run factories to produce the tartan.

"We could profit from many, many things. The whole basis of Great Scot is all about putting cloth to work in UK family-owned artisanal mills," she said.

"It's about keeping those traditions going."

She added: "We're not the most commercially viable by choosing those traditional mills. Our balance sheet proves we didn't profit from this tartan."

Creating a Ukrainian tartan has not been without financial risk: money has had to be advanced for yarns, dyes and production.

Now Page says her dream is to "put a kilt on (Volodymyr) Zelensky", Ukraine's president.

Euan Dalgliesh, assistant manager in the Keith factory, said: "We're proud of weaving our national fabric.

"If it helps other people it's great. We're always surprised by the demand for tartan. Generation after generation, we've been weaving tartan.

"But you think you're always at the peak but demand continues and continues.

"We're proud of our history and Ukrainians are proud of their history."



Malaysia's Johor Reopens Schools as Haze Eases

A tourist takes a selfie with the city skyline seen in the background as haze conditions due to Indonesian wildfires improve in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2026. Mohd Rasfan / AFP
A tourist takes a selfie with the city skyline seen in the background as haze conditions due to Indonesian wildfires improve in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2026. Mohd Rasfan / AFP
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Malaysia's Johor Reopens Schools as Haze Eases

A tourist takes a selfie with the city skyline seen in the background as haze conditions due to Indonesian wildfires improve in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2026. Mohd Rasfan / AFP
A tourist takes a selfie with the city skyline seen in the background as haze conditions due to Indonesian wildfires improve in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2026. Mohd Rasfan / AFP

Schools reopened in southern Malaysia on Monday as air quality improved after weeks of toxic haze from wildfires in neighboring Indonesia.

The closures were a consequence of a regional haze crisis that blanketed parts of Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Singapore, sending respiratory complaints soaring and fueling diplomatic tensions.

In Malaysia's southernmost Johor state, face-to-face classes resumed in stages Monday after a 10-day suspension affecting more than 1,000 schools and about 600,000 students.

Johor education and information committee chairman Muhammad Naqib Md Ghazali said the decision followed a review of air quality readings across the state and health risk assessments.

Attendance on Monday and Tuesday is limited to students sitting examinations, he said in a statement Sunday.

Full operations are expected to resume on Wednesday if air quality continues to improve, he added.

Air quality had improved across Johor and much of peninsular Malaysia by Monday afternoon, with government monitoring data showing no areas recording unhealthy pollution levels.

Several districts in eastern Sarawak state, however, continued to report unhealthy air quality, including the state capital Kuching.

Malaysia's weather agency said changing wind patterns were expected to reduce the risk of further haze episodes for the rest of the year.

"As the wind direction has finally shifted from southwest to northeast, we highly expect there will be no more haze episodes this year," Meteorological Department director-general Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip told AFP.

The regional picture remained uneven, however, with Singapore still among the world's 20 most polluted major cities on Monday afternoon, according to Swiss-based air quality monitor IQAir.

Indonesia has struggled for months to contain fires that deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas said consumed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September.

On Saturday, Indonesia cut natural gas exports to Singapore to prioritize domestic demand, an official said, with the two countries at loggerheads over regional air pollution from wildfires on the vast archipelago.


Saudi Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority Records 19 Wildlife Births in Q3 2026

The births included 16 Arabian sand gazelles, two Arabian oryx, and one Arabian mountain gazelle. (SPA)
The births included 16 Arabian sand gazelles, two Arabian oryx, and one Arabian mountain gazelle. (SPA)
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Saudi Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority Records 19 Wildlife Births in Q3 2026

The births included 16 Arabian sand gazelles, two Arabian oryx, and one Arabian mountain gazelle. (SPA)
The births included 16 Arabian sand gazelles, two Arabian oryx, and one Arabian mountain gazelle. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority recorded 19 wildlife births during the third quarter of 2026 in the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve and King Khalid Royal Reserve.

The births included 16 Arabian sand gazelles, two Arabian oryx, and one Arabian mountain gazelle, reflecting the effectiveness of the authority's efforts to protect wildlife, reintroduce species, and provide suitable natural habitats, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.

Head of the Wildlife Division at the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority Abdullatif Al-Abdulwahab said the births were recorded through ongoing field monitoring and the use of wildlife monitoring cameras. These tools enable specialist teams to document breeding cases, monitor newborn animals, and observe species' behavior in their natural habitats.

Al-Abdulwahab added that the recorded births reflect continued natural breeding among wildlife in the two reserves and the availability of suitable environments for species to reproduce and survive.

The Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority recorded 19 wildlife births during the third quarter of 2026 in the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve and King Khalid Royal Reserve. (SPA)

He stressed the importance of protecting natural habitats to support the stability of wildlife populations and enhance biodiversity.

These results build on the authority's efforts to protect and reintroduce wildlife and develop natural habitats, contributing to environmental balance and ecosystem sustainability. They support the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 in environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.


UK Endures Second Big Storm of the Weekend, with the North Bearing the Brunt This Time

People walk through heavy rain in Liverpool, Britain, 24 October 2026. (EPA)
People walk through heavy rain in Liverpool, Britain, 24 October 2026. (EPA)
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UK Endures Second Big Storm of the Weekend, with the North Bearing the Brunt This Time

People walk through heavy rain in Liverpool, Britain, 24 October 2026. (EPA)
People walk through heavy rain in Liverpool, Britain, 24 October 2026. (EPA)

The second of two storms to hit the UK this weekend brought widespread travel disruptions and power outages to Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England on Sunday.

The Met Office, the UK's national forecaster, said Storm Boelo will bring a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and people should stay indoors as much as possible.

Gusts above 80 mph (128 kph) have already been recorded in Scotland, including on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides. Energy company SSEN had reported a total of 93 unplanned power cuts in Scotland by 10 a.m.

An amber wind warning, the Met Office’s second most severe, is active across Scotland and the north of England until late Sunday. Flood warnings are also in place, while airports, ferries, railways and roads have seen disruptions.

Boelo, pronounced “Boo-Loh”, has followed hard on the heels of Storm Austen, which battered southern England on Friday. The National Grid, which distributes electricity around the UK, said power had been restored to more than 130,000 properties impacted by Austen by 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Met Office began naming major storms in 2015 as a way to keep the public informed about severe weather. Storms are named in alphabetical order throughout the season, from September to August.