Category Archives: Scotland

Peacocks of Pittencrieff Park given freedom of Dunfermline city

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The birds are the first creatures to be granted the honour since conurbation gained city status in 2022

Hamish, a handsome Indian blue peacock, is pecking at a cauliflower head with determination in the late afternoon sunshine in Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline. Angel, a delicate white peahen, sits at the top of the outdoor aviary, calling to her chicks.

The birds appear only mildly perturbed at the bagpipers and local dignitaries assembling for a short ceremony on Wednesday afternoon to award them the freedom of the city. They are the first creatures of any species to be granted this honour since Dunfermline, in Fife, was conferred city status in May 2022.

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Calls to close ‘vile’ website ranking countries by tourist deaths on balconies

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Intervention over Spanish website from MSP Christina McKelvie comes days after death of Scottish law student

A Scottish politician has called for the closure of an “utterly vile” Spanish website that ranks countries by the number of their tourists who have died or been injured after falls from balconies.

The intervention by Christina McKelvie, the MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, comes days after the death of a Scottish law student who was born in a constituency represented by McKelvie.

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Glasgow building site where boy died ‘should have had more CCTV’

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Extra security measures only introduced after Shea Ryan, 10, fell down a maintenance hole shaft in 2020, inquiry told

A building site in Glasgow where a 10-year-old boy died after falling down a maintenance hole shaft should have had more CCTV, an inquiry has heard.

Shea Ryan died in July 2020 when he climbed through an unsecured fence on a building site in Drumchapel and fell about 6.3 metres (20ft) down the shaft.

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Protests held on stage at Edinburgh festival over Scottish arts funding cuts

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Anger grows over proposed cuts of up to £10m for Creative Scotland affecting freelance artists and performers

Actors and directors have protested on stage during the Edinburgh festival after anger about proposed cuts to Scottish arts funding escalated into open revolt.

Protest messages were read out after performances, including at the Traverse, Lyceum, George Square, Summerhall and Church Hill theatres, to loud applause from audiences, as thousands of artists and performers signed an open letter calling for the cuts to be reversed.

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Average annual energy bill to rise by 9.5% to £1,717 in Great Britain from October

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Campaigners fear increase by £149 in energy price cap by Ofgem will put more pressure on households

Households will begin the run-up to winter with a sharp increase in their energy bills after the industry regulator increased its cap on energy prices by 9.5% from October.

Under the new price cap, the average annual energy bill will rise to £1,717 a year for gas and electricity, up £149 from its current level of £1,568, which has been in place since July.

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Fire chiefs call for legal duty to respond to extreme weather in England

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NFCC says statutory safety standards would raise emergency response to flooding and wildfires in line with rest of UK

Fire chiefs are calling for more support to respond to extreme weather events such as flooding and wildfires in England amid warnings of a postcode lottery on safety standards during emergencies.

The National Fire Chiefs Council urged ministers to impose a statutory duty in England to respond to severe weather-related incidents in order to ensure there is the right equipment, training and budget to deal with them.

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Arms company drops plan to test bombs at Scottish world heritage site

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Firm says it had no idea proposed test site on Lib Dem peer’s land included part of Strathmore peatlands in Flow Country

A British arms company has abandoned plans to detonate fragmentation bombs in the middle of the Flow Country world heritage site, the Guardian can reveal.

The company, Overwatch, asked the Civil Aviation Authority this month for permission to carry out “live fire testing” of anti-personnel bombs dropped by drones on to land owned by the Liberal Democrat peer John Thurso.

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Stand Up to Racism plans counter-protest to Glasgow anti-immigrant rally

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Campaigners warn against ‘false sense of security’ and say asylum seekers in Scotland are fearful of the far right

Anti-racism campaigners have vowed to show the far right they are not welcome in Scotland after an anti-immigration rally was organised in Glasgow.

But they warned against a “false sense of security” as the disorder witnessed across England and Northern Ireland earlier in the month has not been seen in Scotland.

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Scottish student dies in fall from hotel balcony in Ibiza

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Emma Ramsay, 19, was on holiday with friends in San Antonio and police are treating her death as an accident

A Scots law student has died while on holiday in Ibiza after reportedly falling from a sixth-floor hotel balcony.

Emma Ramsay, 19, is reported to have died in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a fall at a beachfront hotel in the resort of San Antonio, in the north-west of the Spanish island.

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Afghan women arrive in Edinburgh to finish medical degrees denied under Taliban

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Three-year campaign by parents of aid worker killed in Afghanistan brings 19 trainee doctors to Scotland

A group of trainee female doctors from Afghanistan have travelled to Edinburgh to complete their medical degrees after the Taliban forced them to quit studying.

The 19 women arrived in the UK on Tuesday after a three-year campaign by the parents of Linda Norgrove, the kidnapped Scottish charity worker who was killed during a botched rescue attempt by US special forces in 2010.

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First £1 coin featuring King Charles III enters circulation

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Design with bees on reverse, part of collection inspired by plants and animals, was voted people’s favourite

The first £1 coin bearing the official portrait of King Charles III has entered general circulation as part of a collection inspired by plants and animals found across the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The latest design, featuring two bees, has been issued to Post Offices and banks, with nearly 3m coins making their way into tills and pockets.

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Scottish Tory deputy leader quits over ‘deeply troubling’ Douglas Ross claims

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Meghan Gallacher says allegations about Ross’s actions in leadership contest pose risk to party’s reputation

One of the candidates standing to replace Douglas Ross as leader of the Scottish Conservatives has resigned as the party’s deputy because of “deeply troubling” allegations about Ross’s conduct over the leadership contest.

The Telegraph on Thursday reported that senior party figures alleged Ross had planned to quit as leader a year ago and install as his successor the current favourite to replace him, Russell Findlay.

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Edinburgh councillors say new tourist tax will help build council housing

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Daily 5% visitor beds surcharge that will cover hotels, bed and breakfasts and AirBnB could raise up to £50m a year

Councillors in Edinburgh are hoping to build new council houses and improve public parks thanks to a new tourist tax that could raise up to £50m a year.

The city council is expected to become the first in the UK to introduce a comprehensive visitor levy using new government powers, with tourists and visitors paying a daily 5% surcharge on their beds from July 2026.

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Humza Yousaf concedes sacking Scottish Greens was a mistake

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At Edinburgh fringe event, former first minister uses colourful language in recalling events that led to his resignation from Holyrood

The former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has admitted that he “fucked up” by sacking the Greens from his government.

Earlier this year, the Greens forced a vote on the Bute House agreement – the alliance of the Scottish National party and the Greens – over the ditching of a key climate pledge.

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Scotland exam results: pass rate falls as attainment gap widens across board

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Day begins in chaotic fashion with thousands of pupils receiving blank emails instead of their exam results

The pass rate has fallen while the attainment gap has widened across all Scottish school qualifications after a chaotic start to the day when thousands of pupils received a blank email instead of their exam results.

The chief executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Fiona Robertson, apologised to the estimated 7,000 young people affected, blaming a technical issue that was “resolved swiftly”, with the correct results emails sent out by 9.30am.

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Vandalism or the community’s future? Crofters feel ‘helpless’ in face of spaceport radar station

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An antenna park has divided the community living beside a world heritage site in the Scottish Highlands

On a small croft in the shadow of Ben Tongue, a 302-metre high mountain in the Scottish Highlands, Ian and Rachel Broughton lead a quiet life, growing produce and relishing the calm of their rural haven. But changes are afoot.

The retired couple are horrified by plans for a radar station for the Sutherland Spaceport, one of the UK’s first spaceports, on the summit of the mountain, with a new service road that will skirt within metres of their 170-year-old stone cottage.

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St Andrews rector dismissed from governing body over Israel genocide accusation

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Stella Maris criticises decision to remove her from two roles after she accused Israel of genocide and apartheid

The rector of St Andrews University has been dismissed from the institution’s governing body and her position as a trustee after she accused Israel of genocide and apartheid.

Stella Maris criticised the decision to remove her from the two roles, which came after the university commissioned an investigation into an email she sent in November to all St Andrews students calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

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Wildlife enthusiasts called on to help record dolphins and whales on UK coast

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National Whale and Dolphin Watch organisers say data collected will help with research into marine mammals

Hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts are expected to gather along UK coastlines over the next 10 days to count and record whales and dolphins.

The National Whale and Dolphin Watch, taking place from 26 July to 4 August, is hosted by the Sea Watch Foundation and aims to get volunteers to observe and record sightings of the UK’s most impressive marine mammals.

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Early mammal could help answer one of biology’s biggest question, say experts

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Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis, which lived 166m years ago, ‘a piece of the puzzle’ explaining mammals’ success

The remains of a diminutive mouse-like creature that lived 166m years ago could help answer one of biology’s biggest questions of why mammals have become so successful, fossil experts say.

Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis belongs to the immediate predecessors of mammals and lived alongside the dinosaurs during the middle Jurassic age. But while it was originally known only from individual teeth, researchers have now reported two partial skeletons.

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Midges thriving in wet Scottish summer – and experts say worse is to come

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Tourist hotspots including Ullapool and Fort William badly hit as biting insects enjoy damp, humid conditions

Scotland’s wet summer is providing perfect conditions for surges of midges, with experts saying worse is yet to come.

This week the Scottish Midge Forecast predicted high numbers of the biting insects, reaching peaks of four and five on a scale of one to five.

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