The Scotsman

It's Healthy, but Is the M-Plan Diet a Heritage Icon?

IT CONJURES up delightful images of olive oil-soaked tomatoes and fish, consumed outside traditional whitewashed buildings under clear blue skies. The "Mediterranean diet", promoted by television chefs such as Rick Stein, has been revered by northern European doctors as the nutritional gold standard to which their overweight patients should turn.

Chloride Positively Independent

POWER supply protection company Chloride Group yesterday posted a 54 per cent rise in annual profit and a 33 per cent rise in the dividend as it stressed it was focused on an independent future. The group declared an underlying profit of GBP 33.3 million, and a total dividend of 4p as it said trading remained robust.

Faithbook, the New Networking Site to Counter Extremism

THE increasing power of social networking sites is to be harnessed in an attempt to combat extremism and improve relations between the major faiths. Faithbook, a social networking facility for people of different faiths, goes live on Facebook today with discussion boards, prayers, photographs and videos.

Police Target 200 Children in 'Bebo' Swoop

POLICE have swooped on the homes of nearly 200 children identified on internet sites such as Bebo, glorifying gang violence, drinking and taking drugs. Central Scotland Police trawled Bebo and other social networking sites over several weeks during Operation Pincer, which the force itself described as "intrusive".

Between the Lines: Lack of Appetite Could Land Banks in a Rights Mess

YESTERDAY'S implosion of mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley triggered more than a renewed sell-off in other banks. It immediately dragged down the pound on fears that tumbling confidence and the worsening slump in the housing sector may yet drag the UK economy into a full-blown recession.

'Don't Panic' Plea From Worried Scottish Giants After B&B Crisis

Bradford & Bingley's shock losses and rights issue rethink helped to wipe GBP 4bn off UK bank shares ROYAL Bank of Scotland and HBOS issued what amounted to "don't panic" pleas over their GBP 12 billion and GBP 4bn respective rights issues yesterday following the crisis which engulfed rival Bradford & Bingley.

Legendary Rock 'N' Roll Star Bo Diddley Dies at 79

ROCK 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley, who banged out hit songs powered by a relentless beat that influenced rockers from Buddy Holly to U2, died yesterday at his home in Florida. He was 79. His distinctive "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians.

Revealed: The Scottish Surgeon Who Ensured Voice of Freedom Would Not Be Silenced

HE MARSHALLED the English language then marched it off to war. But when Winston Churchill arrived in Scotland to rally the nation, he was struck down by a throat infection and only saved from a croaking silence by the swift intervention of a Scots surgeon. Hours before the prime minister delivered a major speech in Edinburgh in 1942, he was treated for a throat complaint by Dr Douglas Guthrie, who accepted a signed photograph for his services after refusing payment. Now the memento is to go o...

Inside the School Gate: Teachers Have No Idea of the Threat Within

ATTACKING another pupil or even a teacher will often, quite rightly, find a child excluded from the school. But what happens next has caused some alarm among the teaching profession.

Dana Shares Lifted As Scottish Firm Unveils Egyptian Gas Find

OIL and gas explorer Dana Petroleum has made a "significant" gas discovery in the sea off Egypt. The announcement boosted Dana's share price by 3 per cent yesterday. The well, in the Mediterranean, is Aberdeen-headquartered Dana's first gas find off Egypt, where it already has major oil explorations underway, producing around 11,000 barrels of oil a day.

The Scotsman Debates: Planning System 'Will Be Like Banana Republic' If Trump Gets Go-Ahead

SCOTLAND risks having a planning system like that of a "banana republic" if Donald Trump's application for a golf resort gets the go-ahead, it was claimed last night. The warning came from Martin Ford, the councillor deposed as an Aberdeenshire committee chairman for using his casting vote to refuse Trump's application.

'Banana Republic' Warning If Trump Gets Go-Ahead

SCOTLAND risks having a planning system like that a "banana republic" if Donald Trump's application for a golf resort gets the go-ahead, it was claimed last night. The warning came from Martin Ford, the councillor deposed as an Aberdeenshire committee chairman for using his casting vote to refuse Trump's application.

Why This Woman's Story Shames Scotland

HUMAN RIGHTS campaigners and churches last night demanded the closure of Dungavel Removal Centre - Scotland's "Guantanamo" - saying the imprisonment of vulnerable women and children behind a wire fence was unacceptable in 21st-century Scotland. They also said it was time the Scottish Government stopped saying immigration was a Westminster matter and found a solution for injustices happening on Scottish soil.

Banks Targeted After Price-Fixing Allegation

ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Barclays have been raided by government officials investigating allegations of price-fixing involving the cost of commercial loans. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) confirmed it had launched a probe into "alleged anti-competitive conduct" by the two firms, and said the inquiry had a "narrow focus".

Suckler Penalties Row Reaches Court

FOR decades the problem with the European food industry was one of excessive production, exemplified by mountains of beef and butter, and lakes of wine that had no discernible market - all while the taxpayer funded the Common Agricultural Policy to the tune of GBP 30 billion a year. The mood has now changed and the bureaucrats and their political masters have woken up to the fact that scarcity, not surplus, is at the top of the agenda.

Scotsman Exclusive: Scots' Love Affair with Franchises Paying Off

FRANCHISED businesses in Scotland grew last year at more than treble the rate of the Scottish economy, according to figures published today. Scottish franchising grew by 7.1 per cent while Scotland's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 2.2 per cent, research by the British Franchise Association (BFA) found.

Business Gazetteer

CREST OF A WAVE Sail of the century for a Scottish business IT WOULD be a unique entry on any company's advertising accounts.

Music Review: Perth Festival Finale

PERTH FESTIVAL FINALE, PERTH CONCERT HALL *** HOW often do you find the likes of violinist Tasmin Little, pianist Peter Donohoe, cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and soprano Lesley Garrett on the same concert billing, and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to boot? Well, that was the line-up for the finale to the Perth Festival - a classical version of Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

Manufacturing Levels Point to 'Stagflation'

ALMOST three years of growth in the UK manufacturing industry ended last month, following further falls in new orders and job cuts. The closely watched construction purchasing managers' index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (Cips) revealed that the PMI index posted a reading dead on the neutral 50 mark - a level indicative of stagnation - for the first time since July 2005.

All Patients to Be Tested for Mrsa in Bid to Beat Superbug

ALL patients admitted to hospital for routine operations are to be tested for MRSA as part of a pilot programme aimed at destroying the superbug. Three health boards will take part in the GBP 5.2 million, year- long Scottish Government scheme, which could benefit almost a million patients.