Half of the firms in the mid-corporate market are finding it difficult to recruit skilled staff, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce. One quarter are having difficulty hiring even unskilled workers. ''These middle-sized
Nurses from Pontefract Hospital, West Yorkshire, remember murdered colleague Vickie Fletcher at her funeral service yesterday. The 21-year-old died three weeks ago in the hospital where she worked after she suffered gunshot wounds at a pub in Castleford
SOME time ago, a sinister bank of spy cameras appeared on a gantry over the southbound A74 at Gretna, their alleged task to watch for possible inward-bound Irish terrorists coming from Stranraer. With the present rapidly improving situation in Northern
Open letter to Phil Knight, founder and chairman, Nike International, Oregon, US. Dear Mr Knight, I hope that you are able to take in the US-Scotland World Cup warm-up game tomorrow. It's Scotland's last match before our game against Brazil
WHILE East Ayrshire and the Scottish Coal Company Ltd take great credit for the opencast and railhead-related jobs in New Cumnock, who is to take responsibility for the 52% unemployment rate, the demolition of 100 council houses, and the depopulation
Change of environment: John Graham, principal finance officer at the Scottish Office, is to be the new secretary of the Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department (SOAFD). He succeeds Muir Russell who was recently appointed Permanent Secretary
BRADFORD are set to complete the deal to bring back Stuart McCall within the next 48 hours. The English second division side are desperate to sign the Rangers midfielder and have been locked in talks with the Ibrox club. McCall was due to meet with chairman
HIBERNIAN fans are looking at ways to buy out under-fire owner Sir Tom Farmer after having been relegated from the premier division. Pressure group Hands on Hibs have called for talks with the Easter Road leader after having held their first meeting
SCOTTISH Secretary Donald Dewar could be forced to settle a growing row over the location of a new secure unit for potentially dangerous psychiatric patients. Greater Glasgow Community and Mental Health Services Trust yesterday named Stobhill Hospital
KEITH Knox, the Bonnyrigg flyweight, has taken a leaf out of the late Jock Wallace's book as he prepares for his challenge for the Commonwealth championship next Monday night. Knox meets the champion, Alfonso Zvenyika, of Zimbabwe, at the St Andrew
Keeping their cool in face of an invasion: a display at Scotland's National Gardening Show which opens in Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, today. This year's show, backed by The Herald, is expected to attract 60,000 visitors.
THE bench in the old ''blood and custard'' colours of ScotRail on which Irishman Leslie Kee and Michelle Barness from Yorkshire sat at Prestwick station the night they met is being gifted to them by the company as a wedding present
Snackers are munching their way through record amounts of crisps, chips, and nibbles, a report claims today. The booming market for adult snacks is dominated by Pringle's, tortilla chips, and prawn crackers. Overall, adults are expected to spend
THE Edinburgh taxi driver made his day. The greeting ''Hello, David'' as one of the world's most talented pianists climbed into the cab was music to the ears of a man whose earlier life was plagued by rejection. David Helfgott
The man who dropped out of favour at Celtic Park and spent much of the season in the reserves, Tosh McKinlay, looks set to play in Scotland's opening World Cup game against Brazil. Yesterday, as the squad moved on to Washington, manager Craig
TEXTILES group Dawson International, which produces Pringle knitwear, yesterday signalled a large-scale redundancy programme which looks almost certain to see hundreds of its employees in Scotland axed. The Borders and the Lothians, home to 2260 of Dawson
THE Fire Brigades Union has been cleared of unlawful discrimination in a case in which a male fire fighter was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague, writes Bruce McKain, Law Correspondent. The union has adopted a policy of sending out &apos
STAKIS was firing on all cylinders in the first six months as the Glasgow-based hotels, casinos and health clubs business drove into the City with profits above expectations. Profits before tax and exceptional items leapt 61% to #35.6m, although the
SERIOUS shortcomings in the safety performance of small family cars have been exposed in a new report published yesterday. Only a quarter of models tested were awarded full marks for driver and passenger protection with Japanese and other Far Eastern
What makes theatre? Why should anyone, voluntarily, opt to spend time sitting with a whole load of other strangers in a darkened room? Are we, who do it for pleasure, mad or what? Last night, sitting in BAC's Studio 2 listening to Shelagh Stephenson
HIGHLAND Council's emergency planning officer yesterday told councillors of his genuine suspicion that the UK's security services were behind Dounreay's persistent failure to inform the civil authorities of movements of nuclear material
Jeremy Peat, chief economist with The Royal Bank of Scotland, looks at how the proposed minimum wage would affect the economy of Scotland WE have been analysing how the minimum wage might affect the Scottish economy and our business customers. By examining
The fictional headlines scream for the blood of an ex-Glasgow tabloid journalist turned author: Orkney-born journalist assassinates The Queen. Terry Houston is the guilty party. A tanned and besuited fiftysomething, the ''seditious'&apos
Anne Johnstone considers one publisher's scheme to tempt reluctant child readers to pick up a book. What sort of book can you offer to a 12-year-old with a reading age of eight? There are truckloads of novellas for new readers, but most have plots
Disability Scotland's Bob Benson and Transport Minister Henry McLeish at the launch of Disability Scotland's accessible transport conference at Ingliston where the Minister said transport operators had a ''social obligation'&
A missing woman has been found dead in her car at the bottom of a harbour. Ms Shona Bradley, 48, of Port Dunbar, Wick, had not been seen since last Friday and her car had also vanished. Yesterday, as the search for her was stepped up divers, uncovered
THE second new drug claimed to slow the advance of Alzheimer's Disease was launched in Britain yesterday, writes Alan MacDermid, Medical Correspondent. The drug, Exelon, produced promising results from the biggest trial ever undertaken into a drug
UNION leaders pledged last night to fight for a higher national minimum wage, while condemning the plan to pay younger workers a lower standard rate. The Prime Minister has received a report which recommends a minimum wage of #3.60 an hour for workers
POLICE are hunting a thief who stole an #800 baby parrot from an Edinburgh shop. The two-and-a-half month old red-tailed African Grey was spirited away by a man aged about 30 from the Petsmart store in the city's Glasgow Road. The bird has a clipped
IT was brave of you to publish Jimmy Reid's article (May 20) since it flies in the face of the values and wishes of big business. Jimmy Reid wrote in his last paragraph ''I'll support any political party that will challenge this strategy
Scotland's rising rugby league players could be handed a dream ticket to take part in England's top knockout tournament. That was the amazing incentive handed out yesterday to the eight teams who will contest this season's Scottish title
Big Big Country opened with a gratifyingly large turnout and a statement of the festival's intent from Annabel Lamb who, despite being ''a Sassenach with a father from Bearsden'', gave a listener-friendly impression of goings-on
PRESSURE on margins and slower private house sales produced a slight dip in interim turnover and profits at J Smart, the Edinburgh-based contracting company. During the six months to January 31, sales dropped to #7.1m against #9.35m in the previous half-year
Banja Luka, British SAS troops in Bosnia have seized a Serb war crime suspect involved in running the notorious Omarska detention camp. Milojica Kos, one of the shift commanders at the camp, was detained by the troops serving with the SFOR international
MANAGEMENT and union officials were at odds last night over how Scottish rail maintenance workers voted in a ballot for strike action over a pay and condition claim. Rail passengers could face a summer of disruption, writes William Tinning. Mr Phil McGarry
Ken Neil bad to the bone by James Waddington Dedalus, #7.99 SOMEONE is killing the great cyclists of Europe, in James Waddington's fictional spin alongside the top racers in the Tour de France. Akil Saenz is a god on two wheels, surging ahead of
HIGHLY radioactive lobsters have been found in the Solway Firth off Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, Greenpeace claimed yesterday. Levels of contamination in the crustaceans tripled in two years, said the environmental group, and are so high that
PAKISTAN faced worldwide condemnation and the pro-spect of damaging economic sanctions last night after responding to India's nuclear challenge with five test explosions of its own. Hours after the tests, Pakistan president Rafiq Tarar declared
Uncoiling the snake: team leader Martin Lee is dwarfed by a giant cable drum as Scottish Hydro-Electric yesterday began laying a new 36km sub-sea cable from Orkney. A first power line was laid under the Pentland Firth in 1982. The new one from Caithness
GOVERNMENT plans to introduce parenting classes may prove useless, warns a Save The Children Scotland report published today. Social stigma would deter many parents from attending skills classes, the charity claims in a report on its Positive Parenting
CABLE & Wireless (C&W), the UK's second-biggest telecoms company, has snapped up the booming Internet backbone business of America's MCI Communications in a #385m deal. The acquisition in the world's fastest-growing Internet market helps
THERE is an old saying about a prophet not being honoured in his own country and Allan Pinkerton who founded the world-famous Pinkerton Detective Agency in America with the slogan ''The Eye that Never Sleeps'' is surely a classic
THE gloom around the Sweater Shop factory in Cumnock was palpable yesterday as the workforce pondered an uncertain future in an industry they hoped would expand and help relieve the chronic unemployment in the area. As members of the team of receivers
SCOTTISH textiles group Dawson International yesterday signalled heavy job losses among its 3000-strong Scottish workforce and hoisted up the for-sale flag. Hundreds of employees look set to go as the embattled Dawson attempts to tackle the crippling
Scotland's builders could be about to take on a new workload and a very unwelcome one. For the Inland Revenue's Spend to Save initiative, which aims to recover #5bn of extra tax, has targeted the construction industry north of the border.
WE'RE hardly in our seats before this gaggle of Lolas is thrusting little nibbles at us. The company are all frou-frou'd up in lemon frilly pinny things, and they're garrulous as they hand-feed us snackettes of Spam, fruit, and glutinous
A young musician is being hailed as a future star after taking to the stage at short notice to help out an international jazzman. The borrowed suit might have been on the baggy side, but there was nothing wrong with the crisp notes coming from the trumpet
At an early stage in the troubles in Northern Ireland Dr Ian Paisley invited a number of journalists who had been plaguing him to a service in his church. They were met with smiles, escorted to a front row, and settled down in happy expectation of some
Some just won't - or can't - go gently into that good night. Ros Paterson finds out why some people can't resist posthumous mischief-making. It must be every man's dream. To go to ground with two blondes scrapping like she-cats over
Scottish Labour was in turmoil again last night after Paul McKinney, the party's new spin doctor, resigned after a series of rows with the leadership. Mr McKinney, the 32-year-old Scottish Television producer who joined Labour only seven weeks ago
PLANS for a massive #60m shopping centre, with a giant Ferris Wheel, were given the go ahead yesterday by Scots Secretary Donald Dewar. The development at Almondvale, Livingston, West Lothian, will create around 1000 new jobs and is expected to attract
A PAIR of overalls worn by Scottish racing driver Jim Clark during the gruelling 1963 Indianapolis 500 race in America could fetch up to #10,000 at auction. The yellow cotton overalls, embroidered with the driver's name and emblazoned with &apos
A CLOUD will hang over the nine-day Prutour race today after a police motor cycle out-rider was killed in an accident with a private car on the 129 mile fifth stage from Birmingham to Cardiff yesterday. The race had travelled about 35 miles with Max
JIM Goldie experienced both sides of the racing coin at Ayr's opening Flat fixture of the year yesterday. The Uplawmoor trainer landed the first race with Pips Magic but later saw locally owned Ballantrae Boy put down after the gelding severed a
Scotland yesterday turned to the A team to get them out of trouble by selecting Stuart Reid as captain of a side dominated by those with whom he shared a Grand Slam triumph earlier this year for tomorrow's meeting with Victoria in Melbourne. Reid
AN interim report drafted by the Scottish Agriculture College on the farming industry's future in Dumfries and Galloway has set alarm bells ringing that a fragile rural economy may be facing melt down. This warning comes in spite of the region&apos
STANDARD Life has taken a 10-year lease on more than 7000 square feet of office space at Commercial Quay in Leith, which will soon be home to the mutual life company's direct sales office. It accounts for more than 10% of the total 65,000 sq ft
ON one level this is just a cocktail of all the things that make white trash folks so, well . . . trashy. Country music, vulgarity, profanity, a complete lack of subtlety, crass comedy, stereotyping, and camp humour bordering on homophobia. It'
Celtic Football Club went to court yesterday to protect its multi-million pound international merchandising operation. The club is concerned that Motherwell-based Dig Souvenirs is infringing its distinctive four-leaf clover club badge, which is registered
Exeter-based South West Water yesterday announced a major restructuring including a change of name to the Pennon Group - a move, it said, reflecting the increasing importance of its non-regulated businesses, such as those dealing in the environment and
Banja Luka British SAS troops in Bosnia have seized a Serb war crime suspect involved in running the notorious Omarska detention camp. Milojica Kos, one of the shift commanders at the camp, was detained by the troops serving with the SFOR international
In Japan, minds are focused on things other than the war, reports Colin Donald. ON the day that Emperor Akihito's visit was dominating British headlines, the Japanese networks had more urgent stories topping their evening bulletins: the elevation
THE final hurdle facing the 10 breakaway clubs was finally cleared yesterday when they officially retired from the Scottish Football League at the body's annual general meeting, held inside Scotland's national stadium, Hampden Park. The representatives
As motorists boil at delays, Kirsty Scott ponders where Scottish transport policy is heading. IT WOULD have been no comfort to those snarled up in Scotland's worst-ever traffic jam on the A80 this week that the road has been officially designated
SCOTLAND'S only female council chief executive was appointed yesterday. Mrs Mary Pitcaithly, 41, will take over the helm at Falkirk Council later this year. Formerly assistant chief executive, she will now earn #80,160 a year. The current chief
With the commissioning of the Wheeler Suite, premiered here, the SNJO has continued the rapid progress made over the past year, establishing itself under Tommy Smith's leadership as not just a unit capable of interpreting the music of jazz'
THERE has been no let-up in the manufacturing industry slump as exports continue their decline with sterling's recent softening yet to make an impact, according to the CBI's Monthly Trends for May. The CBI is, however, still looking for a &
FOR many players in the public realm, economic development has only one core objective. Stripped to its essentials, economic development equals the creation of jobs. And, since few policy objectives rank higher in the pantheon of public good works than
THE only traffic warden in Britain never to issue a ticket has died after suffering a heart attack while he was out cycling. Mr Angus MacRitchie, 77, was as popular as he was renowned in the Ullapool area of Wester Ross for never having booked anyone
The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond has quickly gained itself a fine reputation for its imaginative revivals of less well-known musicals. And now it's the turn of Kander and Ebb's The Rink. The strong-willed, feisty, and indomitable heroine
THE brother of David Hay told an industrial tribunal yesterday that he was ''greatly distressed'' at the way his brother was treated by Celtic Football Club. He also flatly contradicted earlier evidence given by Celtic's general
TUESDAY'S blockage on the A80 should be a lesson to us and a warning to all who want to upgrade this very road to a motorway. We could look forward to this sort of congestion daily for four years! The Forth Valley and points north need proper links
A HISTORIC battle society last night denied its members had gone to war with a Scottish village over concerns that not enough beer will be on tap before or after performances. The Sealed Knot Society, ably supported by visitors attracted to its re-enactments
THE BELEAGUERED Scottish textile industry suffered further blows yesterday just hours after it was announced the Sweater Shop had called in the receivers. Dawson International faces large job losses and may seek a buyer, and Grampian Brands is to shed
United Utilities turned in year profits at the upper end of expectations yesterday and confirmed a more restrained strategy after last year's boardroom battle. United, which spans water, electricity, gas and telecoms, said pre-tax profits before
SCOTTISH Arts Council chairman Magnus Linklater yesterday called for a department of culture in the new Scottish Parliament, even if this proved a death warrant for the council as it stood at present. In its proposal to the all-party steering group,
TAX uncertainties notwithstanding, Rigel Energy Corporation has spent $30m (#18m) drilling seven wells in the North Sea this year. But Rigel, the Canadian exploration group with strong North Sea interests and ambitions, said yesterday it was watching
DAILY POEM An evocation of postwar life with its physical deprivations but aspiring cultural possibilities through the wireless (not yet the radio!). Peter Bland was born in Scarborough in 1934 and emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20. He published
Berlin A COURT in Munich yesterday convicted the former head of CompuServe Germany of helping to distribute pornography by not blocking pictures available on the Internet. The surprise verdict could stunt multimedia growth in Germany. The court convicted
THE bitter civil war within Tory ranks over Europe escalated last night when former Conservative Minister Sir Leon Brittan openly set out to demolish William Hague's criticism of the 15-member union. Now Britain's senior European Commissioner
The generation of Britons who had to undergo National Service were taught the squaddies' golden rule: never volunteer. A later generation which lived through the years of the yuppie were taught: nice guys finish last. Thankfully the lessons were
Public anxiety and media pressure forced the publication of a list of outlets supplied by Wishaw butcher John Barr, the E-coli inquiry heard yesterday. Dr Martin Donaghy told the fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of 21 people that a decision not
A good caricaturist needs more than a brilliant sense of humour. Like a clown, he must have a great sense of compassion, tragedy, and concern. Emilio Coia had all these qualities in addition to his wonderful draughtsmanship. n Who could disagree with
THE Cannes Film Festival, otherwise known as Europe's biggest film industry junket, with its myriad of stars, finally wrapped for another year last Sunday night amid a flurry of champagne corks and the familiar and tiresome ''thank you
A CRACKDOWN on truancy has been launched by a Scottish local authority which has pledged to axe the welfare benefits of pupils who are persistently absent from school. Those who fail to attend 95% of classes throughout the school year will lose bursary
One in four children have an imaginary friend, it was revealed yesterday. Parents reckon a fantasy childhood playmate is good for their kids' peace of mind. However, educational psychologists have expressed concern about the use of pretend playmates
SOCIAL workers are waiting to see if a colleague who was sacked after failing to monitor a child killer properly wins his appeal before they decide whether to take industrial action in support of him. Bryan Low, 42, was dismissed by Aberdeen City Council
THE only life-sized portrait of John Brown, Queen Victoria's faithful Highland servant, was bought for #292,312 last night by Mrs Ann Gloag, executive director of Stagecoach and Britain's second-highest paid woman, writes Amelia Hill. The picture
BAGS of toxic waste were dumped under the noses of Glasgow councillors yesterday, serving notice of the fierce opposition they face in promoting the controversial M74 extension from Fullarton Road to the M8 at Kingston Bridge. The roads and transportation
With the possible exception of budding musicians and authors who will be able to rock and write on the dole, no-one can doubt New Labour's conviction that there is too much welfare around, and that it has engendered a culture of dependency. Mr Blair
A DOCTOR charged with a series of offences against female patients fathered a love child with a woman he met as a teenager and went on to share a flat with. As the case against him entered its second day at Paisley Sheriff Court yesterday, Julie Ann
n TWO knowledgeable Boss Groovers are in line to win a complete set of six new compilation albums which salute the 50th anniversary of the formation of the illustrious Atlantic label. Documenting Atlantic's unparalleled range of music, the LPs offer
THE report today that 88% of those polled in Pakistan felt there was a modest to high risk of a war with India is frightening. For years we have been told that nuclear weapons are ''a deterrent'' and they will never be used. Now in
THERE were strong indications last night that Unigate and Hillsdown were close to agreeing terms whereby the St Ivel- to-Malton hams group would acquire the food- to-housebuilding conglomerate at around 217p per
ABERDEEN Asset Management (Aberdeen) is strengthening links with major shareholder Phoenix Home Life by transferring the management of #478m of funds invested in the US on behalf of UK clients to its Connecticut-based ally. The move is in line with Aberdeen
n GLASGOW-based Thistle Communications has taken on WorldCom in the courts and won. Last week at the Court of Session Lord Hamilton issued his judgment granting an interim interdict which will in effect force WorldCom's new venture, Thistle Telecom
EUROPE-wide driving bans were welcomed by Home Secretary Jack Straw yesterday as a breakthrough for cross-border co-operation. Ministers meeting in Brussels approved moves which mean that for the first time a disqualifications imposed in Britain for
WHILE it has taken an inordinate time for the planning application for the planning application for the proposed superquarry at Lingerbay in Harris to be determined some of the criticism of Miss Pain, the Chief Reporter (now retired), is very unfair.
STAKIS chief executive David Michels took a long time to answer when asked what worried him most at present, and eventually confessed he could think of nothing. Certainly, he would seem to have nothing but opportunities, with all three activities, hotels
SCOTTISH textiles group Dawson International finally bowed to apparently insurmountable odds yesterday by putting itself up for sale. The company's woes - which will necessitate yet another major round of redundancies - constitute a further crippling
WHILE Neil Baxter's enthusiastic article (Field of dreams, May 19) on the ''new'' Hampden spotlights the stadium's positive aspects, is it not the case that the planned capacity of 52,000 is about 30,000 short of what is
WESTERN Grasshopper will join a select band of Scottish clubs to host a European championship when they stage the men's Club Championship at Auchenhowie this weekend. This will be the first of two consecutive appearances for Western in the event
COUNCILLORS across the country were given a final warning last night by Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar to clean up their act or face dire consequences. He gave them a blunt warning that the Scottish Parliament would clean up local government if they
Having a ball on the beach SUMMERTIME - and the Cholmondeleys and Featherstonehaughs are answering the call of the great outdoors: dancing al fresco on a tour that stretches from the seafront at Brighton to the Flanges of the ornamental lake at Stirling
No-one knows better than Jim Telfer what a fine line exists between success and failure at Test level, and yesterday he drew upon his own extensive experience in attempting to revive belief that Scotland can yet succeed in Australia. He was in top form
No hurly or Burley: Instead, Celtic's Jackie McNamara took to New Jersey Golf Club's fairways yesterday to relax before taking on the crucial role normally played by clubmate Craig Burley, whose injury puts him out of Scotland's match
FRIENDS Provident has purchased a 187,494 sq ft warehouse at the Phoenix multi-use development in Paisley, for a consideration of #10.59m. The site had been pre-let to freight forwarding company Express Cargo at an annual rate of #4.50 per square foot
Labour in Scotland has poached a Scottish Office civil servant with expertise in public spending in a bid to thwart the SNP's assault on Government economics. As exclusively reported by The Herald yesterday, John McLaren, a grade seven civil servant
SCIENTISTS at a conference in Edinburgh yesterday warned against placing unrealistic expectations on genetic therapy as a cure for disease at the expense of lifestyle and diet. Young smokers, in particular, were cautioned that gene-based cures for cancer
Scotland tour manager Arthur Hastie yesterday issued an angry rebuke to a leading Australian Rugby Union official after the war of words over the quality of tour parties being sent Down Under was reopened. Timed to coincide with the arrival in Australia
THE report today that 88% of those polled in Pakistan felt there was a modest to high risk of a war with India is frightening. For years we have been told that nuclear weapons are ''a deterrent'' and they will never be used. Now in
The new supermini is even better, says Ross Finlay, and it's cheaper There may be a danger of the new Renault Clio, which goes on sale today, getting lost in the story line of its own television commercial. Yes, Nicole and Papa are about to hit
WITH the minimum wage looking like being set at #3.60 per hour, has anyone in the Government thought about setting a maximum wage? Perhaps a proportion of the obscene amounts being paid to some business executives could be used for reinvestment or, better
When a crew comprising two round the world skippers and one of Scotland's leading offshore sailors set off on delivery trip from the Solent early next week they will be charged with bringing north one of the most exciting charter yachts to grace
Freetown Hundreds of villagers have been burned, tortured, and maimed in a grisly campaign of reprisals by Sierra Leone's rebel fighters. Bailor Jalloh, United Nations Children's Fund project officer, said former military junta troops seeking
A new vision of Armageddon was presented by scientists yesterday - collision with a cosmic cloud. If the solar system hit even a small gas cloud in space, the ''bubble'' surrounding it which protects life on our planet could burst
n Boris Karloff's star-making turn as the Monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein may have opened the floodgates for many more movie monsters, but his performance was quite unlike those of subsequent actors who dabbled in horror. As the lumbering,
AS most of Europe moves towards monetary union and the United States continues to enjoy one of its longest periods of economic growth, the countries of South-east Asia are locked in financial and economic crisis. What was so recently a region of great
As the UK textile industry sinks into depression, there is a ray of sunshine in North-east Scotland where Johnstons of Elgin is bucking the trend. The success is all the more remarkable because it has weathered the devastating storm of last July which
Amateur International Scotland's amateurs dismantled some impressive Spanish reputations at Glasgow Gailes yesterday in the process of assembling an impressive 81/2-31/2 half-time lead in their biennial two-day friendly. The Spaniards arrived in
A sheriff sent a stark warning to young drug dealers yesterday as he sentenced a teenager who had sold cannabis worth #10 to a schoolboy to four months' custody. First offender David MacLean, 18, looked on in disbelief as Sheriff David Kelbie told
COUNCIL services in Stirling were all but halted yesterday by the first all-out strike to hit a Scottish local authority since local government re-organisation. The public service union Unison, which is locked in a dispute with Stirling Council over
SCOTS-born novelist Dame Muriel Spark, world-renowned flautist James Galway, and Oscar-winning actor Paul Scofield are among those who will receive honorary doctorates from St Andrews University this summer, it was announced yesterday. A total of seven
n THE Herald reported: ''Last Tuesday, three foreign officers, of the rank of lieutenants, prisoners on parole, were lodged in Dumfries gaol, having been detected in an attempt to escape. It appears that these young men had been betrayed to
DUE to roll into Glasgow's SECC on one of its three-yearly sorties north of the Border, this weekend's Giant CD and Record Fair is once again set to live up to the adjectival promise of its title as around 400 dealers from all over Britain
MANY parents believe they can safely criticise their children out of earshot, convinced they are not aware of what is being said about them. They're wrong, says family therapist Steve Biddulph. Unconscious hearing is something most of us have experienced
The number of single parents on Income Support has fallen below a million for the first time in five years, figures released yesterday showed. The number of lone parents on the benefit had risen from 770,000 in May 1990 to 1,022,00 in November 1996 -
MUCH of what Michael Thain claims in his article, Home truths for a healthier nation (May 28), is true, and needed saying . There is inevitably a balance to be achieved between the claims of interventional medicine and social provision. However, it
I read Bruce McKain's report (May 28) of the appearance of Glasgow's Lord Provost, Pat Lally, at the Court of Session on Wednesday. I noted that the QC employed by Glasgow City Council questioned Mr Lally's annual allowance of #18,000
TOMMY Johnson, Celtic's ''forgotten'' striker, yesterday revealed his rift with former head coach Wim Jansen was so deep that had the Dutchman stayed at Celtic Park, he would have left. The former Derby man sustained a hernia
THE Tartan Army's startling ability to consume vast quantities of alcohol while still managing to remain not only standing, but also on the right side of the law, has been confirmed by a year-long international investigation into football violence
From the banished Tory fringe comes a familiar claim in the ''Scottish'' Daily Mail (where else?). Gerald Warner, the right-wing pundit with a talent for entertaining polemic, writes that the Scots ''are not rich enough
AS one who was baptised by Dr Fisher in St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, on December 1, 1923 and a Church of Scotland parish minister for a quarter of a century, I am very sad when Church people like Sheila Morrison of Ayr refer to themselves as His people
THE steady stream of shoppers at Mackinnon Mills in Coatbridge seemed unaware yesterday afternoon that factory workers in the adjoining building had just received yet more bad news about their job prospects. Demand for their neatly displayed products
Northern Open JOINT record holder Alastair Webster had a message for the leader, Donald McKay, at the halfway stage of the #25,000 Atlantic Power Northern Open at Balgownie yesterday . . . ''You haven't won this tournament yet.'&apos
It was indeed a great day for Glasgow actor Peter Mullan when he lifted the best actor's prize at the Cannes Film Festival. While basking in the glory and the congratulations of les luvvies, Peter managed to keep his priorities right. The prize
THE Government's determination to tackle benefit fraud as part of its planned wide-ranging reform of the Welfare State was spelled out yesterday by Stirling MP Anne McGuire who is Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar's Parliamentary Private Secretary
More than 90% of the workforce of Scotland's Citizens Advice are volunteers and in an average year they put in 700,000 man hours - 224 hours a week for each bureau - involved in advice, administration, social policy and management. They receive
HOUSE prices rose 1.2% in May, leaving them 11.9% above their level in May last year - although sales were ''disappointing'', according to the Nationwide's seasonally adjusted house price index. Despite the rise, the society&
THOUSANDS of visitors are due to descend on Strathclyde Park in Lanarkshire from today for Scotland's National Gardening Show. The inaugural event last year attracted around 50,000 people and this year's show, backed by The Herald, is set to
The thirtysomething blues are as black and as sweet as Maya Angelou. They sing to you in the morning and keep you awake at night. Theirs is the sound of a lone harmonica in the empty tube stations of your mind. It is a crisis of sorts, a spiritual rebellion
One of six people to become a millionaire following Wednesday night's National Lottery draw is the oldest ever jackpot winner. The unnamed 79-year-old, from St Helens, Lancashire, picked up #1,666,667 in the midweek draw. The great grandfather,
JAMES Finlay is looking forward to a bumper year as good rains boost tea output in East Africa and Bangladesh, and world prices stay firm as a result of civil strife in Indonesia. Executive chairman Richard Muir told the company's annual meeting
Marian Pallister finds some hope in disabled people's fight for employment. ANGELA Hawse was understandably ecstatic when news reached base camp that her team-mate, Tom Whittaker, had conquered Everest. Whittaker lost his right foot in a car accident
Snooker OFFICIALS have agreed to make 15-year-old Shaun Murphy the youngest professional on tour next season. The minimum age for players to turn pro is 16 years, but because Murphy will reach that age a week after the start of summer qualifiers, the
What is desperately required now is more challenge and provocation and less consensus, says Gerry Hassan. THE establishment of a Scottish Parliament is now less than one year away, offering the potential of a radical reshaping of Scottish politics,
