The Scotsman

Higher Prices 'Will Help Alcoholics to Cut Down From Bottle of Spirits a Day'

INCREASING the price of alcohol will help Scotland's heaviest drinkers reduce consumption and improve their health, new research suggests. Some have claimed that introducing minimum pricing will have no impact on those drinking dangerously high amounts because of their addiction.

'Terrified and Timid' Policy Attacked by Top Architect

THE Scottish Government "caved in to timidity" and defied Edinburgh's own wishes by rejecting plans for a 17-storey hotel scheme, the architect behind the proposals said yesterday. Breaking his silence on the decision, Richard Murphy suggested neither the Balmoral Hotel nor the New Town itself would have been built under a planning policy characterised by "timidity and terror of our heritage".

Caffeine Culture

THOUGH the rise of Starbucks and Costa is a phenomenon of the late 20th century, coffee shops have long occupied the heart of society. The first London coffee houses opened in the 1650s. By the 18th century, there were more than 2,000 in the UK capital alone.

Coffee Shops Full of Beans in the Cafe Latte Capital

Picture: Gareth Easton IT IS an empire built on froth but impervious nonetheless to the effects of the recession.

Gbp 27bn High-Speed Scotland-London Rail Link 'May Deliver Little Benefit'

MINISTERS are dashing headlong towards paying for a GBP 27 billion high-speed rail link from Scotland to England with only "shaky" evidence that it will get people out of cars and planes as promised, a major report will claim today. The study, commissioned by the RAC Foundation, says there will be only modest environmental benefits from a new line. It also concludes not enough work has yet been done to see whether the vast cost would be better spent on other areas of transport, such as work t...

Banking Boomerang Returns with a Vengeance

AS YE sow, so shall ye reap: the UK government's waiving of competition rules to enable the Lloyds Bank takeover of stricken HBOS was never going to endure, despite the insistence of the Prime Minister, Lord Mandelson, Chancellor Alistair Darling and the Competition Commission tribunal which threw out a last-minute appeal by Scottish business figures late last year. The boomerang has returned with a vengeance and Lloyds is now preparing a disposal plan to include, somewhat perversely, the sal...

Eu Set to Force Sale of Lloyds' Scottish Branches

Tesco and Virgin Money tipped to bid for 185 high-street sites lined up for transfer to new bank Scotland set to see new high street bank as Lloyds faces branch sell-off

Gbp 70m Malawi Aid Is Failing in Key Areas, Says Watchdog

THE UK government's GBP 70 million-a-year aid package to Malawi could be improved to provide better value for money, a financial watchdog suggested yesterday. The National Audit Office (NAO) said there was no doubt UK efforts were helping improve conditions in Malawi, but added that targets were not being met and the effectiveness of the aid was not scrutinised thoroughly enough.

Write On

Susan Mansfield introduces this year's National Galleries writing competition LOTS of people leave art galleries feeling inspired, but it can be hard to know where to direct that inspiration. Inspired? Get Writing! is a unique competition which encourages writers of all ages to turn visual inspiration into words.

Raf Families Set to Press for Corporate Manslaughter

THE families of the 14 servicemen killed in the Nimrod disaster in Afghanistan may pursue corporate manslaughter charges against the private defence firms condemned for their role in the tragedy. The possibility of legal action against BAE Systems, manufacturer of the RAF Kinloss-based spy plane, and QinetiQ follows a devastating independent report in which both companies, and the Ministry of Defence, were criticised for their failure to prevent the fatal crash.

Snp Accused of 'Running Away' in Chaotic Scenes Ahead of Election

THE by-election battle for Glasgow North-East was behind a walkout by the SNP at a city council meeting yesterday, it has been claimed. With just two weeks to go before voters go to the polls in the last serious test before next year's general election, tensions led to chaos in the Glasgow City Council chambers.

X Factor Competition to Find the New Faces of Online Tv Channel

X FACTOR-type auditions are to be held in the Highlands to select presenters for Scotland's first community TV channel, which will be broadcast over the internet. InvernessTV.net is scheduled to be up and running by January and the man behind the project, Jim Eglinton of HCVF Television, said: "Community TV viewed online is the future.

Gallery's 'Radical' Re-Hanging Is Biggest in 25 Years

A MASSIVE overhaul of the paintings, sculptures and installations shown in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is to be unveiled next month. Hundreds of works are swapping places in a wholesale change- over, the first of its kind in 25 years, staff said yesterday. The GBP 30,000 cost was covered by a donor's legacy.

Pregnant Women Keep Mum About Smoking

PREGNANT women in Scotland are failing to reveal if they are smokers, meaning they cannot be helped to quit, research shows. A study in the British Medical Journal found that self-reported smoking during pregnancy underestimated the true number of pregnant smokers in Scotland by 17 per cent.

St Kilda Visitor Centre Planned for Lewis

TOURISTS and visitors fascinated by the story of St Kilda won't have to travel to the remote islands to learn more about the community that lived there. An area of Lewis has been chosen as the preferred site for a planned St Kilda visitor centre, telling the story of the remotest part of the British Isles.

Highlanders in Desperate Need of Affordable Houses

ABOUT 8,000 new houses need to be built in the Highlands over the next five years to tackle a "chronic and persistent" lack of affordable accommodation. A study carried out for the Highland area shows that due to high house prices and low incomes less than a third of people in the area seeking to buy a home can afford to do so.

Scots Police Forces Unite to Follow Abusers' 'Electronic Footprints'

A NEW major initiative in Scotland to identify internet child abusers was announced yesterday, as the leaders of the country's most prolific paedophile ring were given life sentences. Operation Alba will involve a combined effort by all Scotland's eight police forces and other agencies, and is designed to follow the "electronic footprints" left by those who download and distribute indecent images of children or groom young victims through chatrooms.

Worst Scots Paedophiles Jailed for Life

THE two leaders of Scotland's worst paedophile ring were given life sentences yesterday and ordered to serve minimum terms of 16 and 13 years for what a judge described as wholly dreadful crimes. The families of two children abused by Neil Strachan, 41, and James Rennie, 38, welcomed the sentences. The mother of a boy who featured in a particularly harrowing photograph with Strachan said she hoped he would never be released.

Salmond On the Rack Over Criticisms by Business

ALEX Salmond was forced on to the defensive yesterday in First Minister's questions following severe criticism from Scottish business leaders. In a highly personal attack Labour leader Iain Gray said Mr Salmond had "lost the plot" and described him as "stupid" over the economy.

Life's a Mall As Gbp 275m Centre Opens

Aberdeen hopes to tempt shoppers in THE drive to establish Aberdeen as a top shopping centre received a major boost yesterday as the largest mall to be built in Scotland for a decade opened for business.