Scotland is “on track” to issue its first ever bonds in the next financial year, said First Minister John Swinney. On a “very proud day for Scotland”, leading international credit ratings agencies Moody’s and S&P Global gave Scotland a score of Aa3 and AA respectively – the same rating as the UK as a whole, and higher than countries including Spain and Japan.

However, the Moody’s appraisal indicated that the SNP’s goal of independence “might jeopardise its upbeat judgement” of Scotland’s credit status, said The Guardian.

What are bonds?
A bond is “an IOU from the government to investors”, said the BBC. A government borrows money from investors and sells them a bond – a loan that it promises to pay back at the end of an agreed period of years or decades. The government will also make regular interest payments to the investor, at a percentage rate referred to as the yield. Bond prices can rise and fall, which will have an impact on the yield.

Gilt is another word for a bond, so as a play on this, the Scottish bonds have been nicknamed “kilts”.

Why is Scotland introducing them now?
The Scottish government has had the power to issue bonds since 2016 but, until now, it has borrowed instead from the UK National Loans Fund, the UK government's main account for managing its borrowing and lending.

Now, limits on how much the Scottish government can raise through bonds have been eased and the Scottish government has concluded that its own bonds could offer better value for money and more flexibility.

What about the future?
If it’s re-elected in May, Scotland’s SNP government intends to issue a total of £1.5 billion of debt through bonds during the next parliament. Swinney alluded to possible investment in housing, net zero policies and “key infrastructure” with the funds raised, and said that full details will be published in January.

The Scottish government sees bonds as “a means of raising Scotland’s profile and attracting investment”, said The Scotsman. Although bond sales will be a “very small part” of the Scottish government’s overall budget because of limits imposed by Westminster, they have a “symbolic value”.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has condemned a fresh wave of settler-instigated violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, calling an arson attack near the city of Tulkarm “shocking and serious”.

Herzog’s rare intervention comes during the seasonal olive harvest that often sees a rise in attacks on Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers. According to United Nations monitors, settler violence against Palestinians has reached a record high this year, with some 1,500 incidents recorded.

‘Eradicate the phenomenon’
“Dozens” of Israeli settlers attacked the Deir Sharaf Bedouin village and Al-Juneidi dairy factory near Tulkarm on Tuesday, “brandishing clubs and setting fire to parked vehicles”, said CNN. This attack “crosses a red line”, Herzog said on X, urging Israeli officials to “act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon”.

In doing so, he offered a “rare and powerful voice” to the ordinarily “muted criticism by top Israeli officials of the settler violence”, said The Associated Press. Rights groups have long criticised the Israeli government’s alleged tendency to “turn a blind eye to the violence”, including by dispatching Israeli Defence Force soldiers to incidents, only for them to “frequently leave without detaining the assailants or arrest only Palestinians”, said The New York Times.

‘Criminal minority’
A briefing from IDF’s central command describes those responsible for the violence as “fringe anarchist teenagers” who need “intervention from welfare and education institutions”. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir this week referred to a “criminal minority tarnishing a law-abiding public”. Their actions “violate our values, cross a red line and divert forces’ attention from their mission”. That mission is “protecting settlements and carrying out offensive operations”.

Major General Avi Bluth, who leads the IDF central command, has privately “demanded expanded legal powers” to “tackle the growing wave of settler violence”, said YNet News. The request comes amid “mounting pressure from field commanders” to reinstate “administrative detention orders for Jewish extremists” that were rescinded one year ago. The goal of these extremists, said left-wing Israeli Knesset member Gilad Kariv, is to “ignite a third intifada” that will draw the IDF into the West Bank in a way “reminiscent of the operation in Gaza”.

Commander Chen Dong is carried away after touching down at China’s Dongfeng landing site in the Gobi desert. Dong and two astronauts returned to Earth today on the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft after their own Shenzhou-20 craft was damaged by debris in orbit.

STR / AFP / Getty Images

Norfolk: Wittles, Stocks Green, Castle Acre
This elegant 18th century property combines a first-floor flat with a thriving 26-seat cafe, and a retail shop with a passive income of £6,000 per annum. 3 beds, family bath, kitchen/dining room, 2 receps, walled garden, roof terrace, shop, café, outbuildings, garage. £785,000; Savills.

Wiltshire: The Old Forge, All Cannings
An attractive, thatched timber-frame house, believed to date from the 1650s and set in mature gardens. 4 beds, 2 baths, kitchen/dining room, 2 receps, garden, outbuildings, parking. £775,000; Knight Frank.

Cornwall: The Carriage House, Port Isaac
A delightful cottage close to the harbour. 3 beds, family bath, open-plan kitchen/living room, car port. £575,000; John Bray Estates.

Carmarthenshire: Dyffryn Cottage, Llanfynydd
A handsome cottage in a spectacular valley setting on the outskirts of Llanfynydd. 5 beds, 3 baths, kitchen/dining room, 3 receps, garden, garage. OIRO £550,000; Luxury Welsh Homes.

Cumbria: The Ridding, Millom
A charming house with fine views, on the edge of the Lake District. 5 beds, 2 baths, kitchen/dining room, 3 receps, garden. £599,500; Fine & Country.

Kent: King Street, Fordwich
This cosy end-of-terrace house dates back to 1580, features in Pevsner, and is located in the heart of England’s smallest town. 4 beds, family bath, kitchen, 2 receps, study, garden, garage/barn. £450,000; Miles & Barr.

This week’s doctors’ strike is another test of Wes Streeting’s mettle. He is right not to buckle
Polly Toynbee in The Guardian
“We wait to see” how many resident doctors will join the five-day walkout that starts today, writes Polly Toynbee. They “have done better than others” in the NHS on pay, and public support for them is “slipping”. Health Secretary Wes Streeting “can’t and won’t give in” to their demands. “He’s no headbanger wanting to prove his worth fighting with unions”; he was “eager to settle with them” but was “snubbed” in their “ungracious haste” to strike.

The government wants more criminals out in the streets
James Lachrymose on The Critic
“Our rulers threaten ever more draconian crackdowns” on crime but then “quietly” ensure “no one is ever punished”, writes James Lachrymose. “Less than 7 per cent of convictions result in an immediate custodial sentence”, despite other countries proving that “persecuting criminals” frees “society from violence and theft”. Our authorities seem to “start from the position that fewer people should be in prison, and work backwards”. They should “admit” that “some people just need locking up.”

How Japanese Does That Bowl of Ramen Need to Be?
Howard Chua-Eoan on Bloomberg
“I fell in love with ramen in New York,” writes Howard Chua-Eoan. That’s “a testament” to “how easily” this Japanese noodle dish “can cross cultures”. Ramen “purists” argue about “what’s orthodox and what’s allowable”, though. Celebrity chef Ivan Orkin, a New Yorker who “mastered the art” of ramen, operating outlets in Tokyo, was once told his dishes weren’t “‘Japanese’ enough”. He pointed to “one of his rivals” who “sold a popular bowl studded with pineapple”.