Big Brother Politician becomes Bradford-West MP

Photo taken by David Hunt

George Galloway, a Respect Party Candidate, most well known for his infamous Big Brother Stint, has won the Bradford-West by-election by 10, 140 votes. Galloway, in a shocking victory, has taken the Bradford West Parliamentary seat from the Labour Party, and polled more than 18,000 votes. Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party in October 2003 [...]

Update: Family says death of Edinburgh victim a “devastating loss”

The family of John Carter who was beaten and left to die in a lift in Edinburgh’s Salamander Court in February last year have said “nothing can lessen the heartache we have gone through”. Their statement comes a few hours after Simon Brown and Paul Banks were found guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced in [...]

Ashes found in charity shop

A vase by Hohum

“They thought I was joking when I said what I found. It has been the most unusual thing we have ever been given in the charity shop by far.” Ashes from a cremation have been found in charity shop Arthritis Research Campaign in Midlothian. They were found after chairwoman, Lena Skilbeck, handled the vase and [...]

Man found dead In Broomhouse

Photo taken by Christopher Harress

The body of a man, who is believed to be in his 30′s, was found on a patch of grass in Broomhouse Gardens East. The man was found just after midnight yesterday, 29 March, after residents in Broomhouse heard what they thought were fireworks. The man is believed to have died from a gunshot wound. [...]

Update: Man killed in motorway crash

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Police have identified the person killed in an M8 collision as a 19-year-old man from Bathgate. The teenager was driving a Fiat Stilo, which collided with a MAN HGV at around 1 o’clock this morning. He died at the scene of the accident. The 39-year-old driver was not injured. The collision happened on the eastbound carriageway of the [...]

Scottish Water forms deal with Poland

Scottish Water

Scottish Water International has just announced that they are going into a partnership with Polish engineering firm ECM Group Polska. The partneship agreement is going to be announced today, 30 March, during a conference of polish water companies in Brzeg.  Scottish Water and ECM Group Polska will be combining their expertise in water industry asset [...]

Chronic pain patients left waiting

Hospital Scene

An FOI request made by the Scottish Labour Party has revealed that some patients suffering from chronic pain are waiting for more than 6 months before their first appointment. The findings have revealed that 1,866 patients are waiting for their first appointment, whilst over 1,000 people are awaiting a follow-up appointment. The worst waiting times [...]

Edinburgh Castle will ‘go dark’ for Earth Hour

Last year, Edinburgh Castle went dark for Earth Hour 2011. This year, the Castle we be dark again for another hour, to combat global warming.

This Saturday, Edinburgh will go dark. In conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour 2012, Edinburgh will join hundreds of cities from all over the world by switching off lights and electricity, and going dark, for an hour. Earth Hour is scheduled on the last Saturday of every March, closely coinciding with the equinox,  [...]

Irn Bru parent company’s profits rise

irn bru

The company that makes Irn Bru have reported a steady increase in profits. AG Barr’s profits have increased by 16.4% to £35.4 million for the year ending January 2012. Turnover for the same period was £237 million. Sales of Irn Bru itself rose by 2.7% with the company planning to open a new site in [...]

Edinburgh hosts Scotland’s largest school MUN Conference

George Watson's MUN Conference took place this weekend
Image: Alexandra Wingate

One of Britain’s largest Model United Nations Conferences took place in Edinburgh this weekend. Over 600 teenagers took part in the three-day conference at George Watson’s College. Now in its sixth year, it is the biggest school-based MUN in Scotland and attracts participants from as far afield as Egypt and Turkey. Alexandra Wingate reports exclusively [...]

Theresa May independence claims challeneged by SNP

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Theresa May the Home Secretary has made the latest in a series of allegations about the prospects for an independent Scotland. In an interview with the BBC, Ms. May stated that there may be border controls on the border with England, dependent on whether Scotland opts out of the Schengen agreement or not. This comes [...]

Gene linked to life threatening flu

sneeze

A lack or low content of the protein IFITM3 due to genetic mutation can change a harmless flu into a life-threatening disease. This information was announced in a collaborative study which included contributions from Edinburgh University and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute among others. While most people recover well from a flu, some have to [...]

Unite union set to strike

petrol

The UK’s largest union is balloting its members to determine whether strike action will be used in the dispute over working conditions of delivery drivers in the oil sector. Unite’s national officer Matt Draper said: “The professionalism of tanker drivers is at stake. We should not accept a lowering of standards so that the oil [...]

Literary Death Match to take place tomorrow

voodoo

A ‘battle to the death’ is set to take place in Edinburgh tomorrow night. The Voodoo Rooms will for the second time host Literary Death Match (LDM), an event originally created by Todd Zuniga, an LA-based writer and journalist and the founding editor of Opium Magazine. The contest pits four authors against one another, as [...]

Secret Lockerbie documents published

books

Yesterday the Sunday Herald published a full 800 page report by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC). For five years no paper was allowed to get access to the report. The controversial report highlights hopes of a new appeal in the name of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, since a believed miscarriage of justice [...]

New record label launched at Jewel and Esk College

feast

Staff and students at Jewel and Esk College have launched a new record label, Feast Records. Utilizing the college’s impressive array of recording equipment the label is aimed at promoting “new young musical talent in Scotland”. An event will be held to celebrate the new label on the 30th of March at Edinburgh’s Electric. The [...]

Man dies following bizarre crash

beach

  A 30 year-old Polish man died yesterday after he crashed his car into a boulder in Kirkcaldy. The incident, which took place at Pathhead Sands, is believed to have happened during a meeting of Polish BMW enthusiasts. Inspector Brenda Sinclair of Fife Constabulary has appealed for any witnesses to come forward. “We understand that [...]

Cameron pledges boost to dementia care and research

oldhands

David Cameron is expected to pledge to double funding for dementia research by 2015 to £66 million. It is hoped that this funding increase will ensure that the UK will become “the world leader for dementia research and care”. With the figure of dementia sufferers set to rise to 1 million within the next decade [...]

Edinburgh contributes more to economy than London

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According to a new report Scotland’s capital contributes more to the country’s economy than any other city in the UK. The study was released by London based accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. Their calculations are based on Gross Value Added (GVA). It basically means the measure of a region’s contribution to the UK economy according [...]

Aberdeen gas leak “no problem”

oil rig

An oil rig in the North Sea has been evacuated after the discovery of a gas  leak on Sunday 150 miles (240km) off the coast of Aberdeen. Total E&P UK (TEP UK), operators of the platform, has stated that 238 people have been evacuated from the rig, and no injuries have been reported. The platform is [...]

Anger after Archbishop’s comments on gay rights

Two_men_holding_hands_420jp

Scottish gay rights charity, Equality Network has responded to a sermon given yesterday by the Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti. In the sermon he claimed that “tolerance” is turning into “tyranny” on the subject of gay marriage, accusing the political mainstream of “marginalizing” religious opinion. The Archbishop claimed yesterday that the proposed introduction of [...]

Dr. Dance one of many to headline Edinburgh Science Festival

Unfortunately, the sensory dinning experience is once of the few events that have sold out. 
Photo: Edinburgh Science Festival

Come rain or shine, this week will see the kick off of the 25th annual Edinburgh International Science Festival. Preparations for the March 30th opening are going “pretty good” according to Frances Sutton, PR manager for the festival, as works are continues to set up for the nearly 200 events being offered this year. Final [...]

Hard times for housing benefit claimants

housing

£150m will be removed every year from the Scottish economy as a result of the UK Government’s new Housing Benefit law.  More than 95,000 households in the social rented sector will be affected by the reform and this will mean an average monthly loss of up to £65 for claimant tenants. Great concern has been [...]

Archbishop makes controversial claims to cut abortion rates

giles

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has made controversial claims that women should be shown scans of their unborn child before proceeding with an abortion. The leader of Scotland’s Catholic Church said he thinks the NHS should introduce the measure which is currently used in America in order to reduce terminations in Scotland. In [...]

Daylight-saving time on the proof

clock

Every year we turn our clocks forward by an hour at the last weekend in March. This year the change to daylight-saving time, or summer time as many people call it, took place yesterday, on March the 25th. Summer time will reduce energy costs by aligning the time we spend awake and working with daylight. [...]

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