By Christine Lavelle THE Reverend Ian Paisley led protests against the Pope’s visit to Britain today. Rev Paisley, founder of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, was in Edinburgh along with 60 ministers from across the UK to voice their disdain for the taxpayer funded State visit. Mr Paisley –- who sits in the House [...]
By Shaun Milne ALMOST 80 fire-fighters were today tackling a massive toxic blaze in West Lothian causing fire chiefs to warn residents to stay inside and close all their windows. The fire broke out at a packaging plant in Brucefield Industrial Estate near Livingston sending huge plumes of thick, black smoke into the air which [...]
By Shaun Milne DETECTIVES are hunting a tubby sex attacker who pounced on a 15-year-old girl after stalking her through woods. She had been walking near the Anima nightclub in Church Street in the Pitteuchar area of Glenrothes around 10pm on Monday when she realised she was being followed. He stalked her through a public [...]
By Shaun Milne POPE BENEDICT XVI has arrived at Edinburgh Airport from the Vatican in Rome for the start of his UK wide Papal visit this morning amid brilliant sunshine. The plane carrying His Holy Father – call-sign Shepherd One – touched down at 10.16am. As it taxied from the runway a Union Jack and [...]
By Christine Lavelle SCOTS travelers are being given one last chance to sail on Scotland’s only direct ferry to Europe – before the route closes this year. DFDS Norfolkline is encouraging people to take them up on their cut-price deals to sail on the Scottish Viking, which takes passengers from Rosyth, Fife, to Zeebrugge in [...]
By Cara Sulieman POLICE are trying to track down a reckless driver who reversed into a car carrying a nine year old girl. The road rage attack happened last Friday night after the driver of both cars got into a fight at a roundabout. A 27-year-old had been driving with his young daughter in the [...]
By Cara Sulieman THE FAMILY of X Factor contestant Storm Gardner are hoping fans in his native Scotland will back him all the way to the final. Despite having lived most of his life in the States and appearing on the ITV show with a distinct American twang, Storm’s brother says he is patriotic and [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A NURSE facing charges of violent conduct towards patients had his tribunal hearing postponed yesterday – because the presenting barrister was struck down by toothache. Joanne Dirmikis, who was presenting the case against the nurse, had to pull out of yesterday’s tribunal early while urgent dental treatment was arranged. The news means [...]
By Christine Lavelle A 15-YEAR-OLD girl was attacked and indecently assaulted by a man in Glenrothes as she walked home from the town centre. Police said the teenager was subject to a sexual assault shortly before 10pm on Monday before she managed to fight off her attacker and run away. Detectives believe she was followed [...]
By Amanda MacMillan EDUCATION Secretary Mike Russell confirmed yesterday (Tue) that regulations to legally limit primary one class sizes at 25 will be laid in Parliament tomorrow. In 2007 the SNP pledged to cut class sizes to 18 in primaries one to three – but the current legal limit is still 30. This has created [...]
By Amanda MacMillan A GRAPHIC novel which tells the story of a soldier’s return from the war in Afghanistan has been described by war veterans as “absolutely brilliant”. Dougie’s War went on sale yesterday and tells the story of Dougie Campbell, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan returning home to the south side of [...]
By Christine Lavelle A SECONDARY school teacher who received more than £6,000 of occupational sick pay from Glasgow City Council was caught working at a family-run takeaway during the three months he was absent. Depute head of Springburn Academy Gordon Macfarlane received an anonymous tip-off from someone who called the school to report that Abdelhak [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A DISGRUNTLED restaurant owner has launched a pizza protest against disruptive tram works in Edinburgh. Staff at Italian eatery La Piazza have begun producing the one-off dish to mark their frustration with the project. The Pothole Pizza features a large hole in the centre, which owner Tony Pia says is a symbol [...]
By Oliver Farrimond A HISTORIC cage fighting showcase pitting Scotland against England has been put on hold – because of a bout of “man flu”. The Ultimate Fighting event – dubbed “The Auld Enemy” – was billed as a brutal contest for bragging rights between the nations’ top 12 mixed martial arts fighters. But according [...]
By Oliver Farrimond EDINBURGH council is set to unveil harsh measures intended to punish drivers of “gas-guzzling” cars. City bosses are planning to levy steep charges for drivers of CO2-heavy vehicles, including doubling the cost of some parking permits. Drivers of cars such as Land Rovers or Citroen C6 will face a levy of £320 [...]
By Oliver Farrimond CELEBRITY chef Jamie Oliver is set to open a new restaurant in Edinburgh within the next year. The Naked Chef intends to add the new eatery to his string of popular restaurants once a suitable location is chosen. The restaurant should open in mid-to-late 2011, and follows the successful opening of Jamie’s [...]
By Shaun Milne A NEW bar is offering well-heeled diners the chance to wash down their meals with what they say is Scotland’s most expensive Italian wine – costing a tasty £146 per glass. The 1997 vintage Toscan Masetto will add a mouth-watering £850 to the bill of anyone with a wallet large enough to [...]
By Amanda MacMillan AS the nation celebrates National Cupcake Week the search begins for Scotland’s best cafés. Visitors and locals alike are being given the chance to nominate their favourite place to go for a cuppa and a slice of cake as part of VisitScotland’s Café Days promotion. The initiative is part of Scotland’s Year [...]
By Amanda MacMillan THE FUTURE of car clubs in Scotland looks bright, according to a report published yesterday (Mon) which points them in the right direction for expanding across the country. The Transform Scotland Trust has published ‘Developing Car Clubs in Scotland’ which describes the benefits of the car pooling service. The report also says [...]
By Christine Lavelle SCOTLAND’S most senior Catholic says the Pope’s visit to the UK will be tainted by the ‘church cover-up’ child sex-abuse scandal. Speaking ahead of the Papal visit later this week, Cardinal Keith O’Brien said he believes Pope Benedict XVI handled the scandal in the only way he could – by saying sorry. [...]