The Scotsman

Concern Over Sex Attacks On Girls

A THIRD of teenage girls living in the UK suffer sexual abuse in a relationship and a quarter experience violence at the hands of their boyfriends, a shocking new report out today reveals. The survey, by the NSPCC and the University of Bristol, found that nearly nine out of ten girls aged 13 to 17 had been in an intimate relationship.

Visual Art Reviews: Of War, Power and Britishness

NASHASHIBI/SKAER: OUR MAGNOLIA **** DOGGERFISHER, EDINBURGH

Asda Adds Over-50s Life Cover to Financial Range

SUPERMARKET chain Asda has launched an insurance product for older customers and plans to triple the number of customers targeted for life cover. As retailers step-up their competition with banks, Asda yesterday launched its "Over 50s Life Cover" product, developed for Asda by mutual insurance group LVAsda said that independent research has identified "family wellbeing" as by far the biggest priority for the UK population aged over 50. However, more than half of that age group have no life in...

Royal Bank and Lloyds Lose Safety Ranking

LLOYDS Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland have dropped out of a list of the world's 50 safest banks. According to the compilers of the list, the New York magazine, Global Finance, the only UK bank to maintain a rating in the top 50 is HSBC, although National Australia Bank, the owner of the Clydesdale and the Yorkshire bank, improved its ranking from 15 to 11. The Nationwide Building Society joined the list at number 46.

Between the Lines: China Tumble Dampens Japan's Party

IF INVESTORS in Japan had been hoping that the historic election victory by the opposition party would bring a stock market spurt, they were soon in for disappointment. Markets round the world suffered a setback on news of a sharp fall in Chinese shares. The Shanghai stock market tumbled 6.7 per cent to a three-month closing low, recording its second-biggest monthly loss in 15 years. And that is deeply unnerving for investors round the world, given the central importance of China's dramatic p...

How to Avoid Breast Cancer - the Most Definitive Survival Guide Yet

EXPERTS have gathered the strongest evidence yet that a woman's lifestyle is linked to her risk of developing breast cancer. The largest ever review of research into the issue has concluded women should limit alcohol, take exercise and maintain a healthy weight.

Visitscotland Admits Autumn Fake

SMILING amid a cascade of colourful leaves, the little blonde girl in an Arran cardigan and wellington boots makes an enchanting picture promoting the joys of autumn in Scotland. But last night the national tourism agency VisitScotland admitted the vibrant red leaves being caught by two-year-old Autumn Doring in Roslin Glen, Midlothian, were in fact fake.

International Festival Review: The Testament of Cresseid: Enlightening Acts of Love and Regret

THEATRE, THE TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID, THE HUB, EDINBURGH **** ON A stage lit only by a wintry backdrop of a bare tree in a snowy landscape, an elderly man with a grey beard sits in an old wooden wheelchair, musing. He is the narrator of Robert Henryson's great late-mediaeval Scottish ballad The Testament Of Cresseid - and perhaps the ghost of the poet himself, riven with regrets for lost youth, and with a grief for lost love that contains tinges of guilt and rage, and of rebellion against the c...

Loan Company Owes Students for Once with Negative Interest Rate

THOUSANDS of Scottish graduates are set to benefit as the interest rate on their loan turns negative today. The move, by the Student Loans Company, means loans will actually reduce over time even without repayments.

Medical Advice Over Megrahi 'Not Just a Whim' Says Defiant Macaskill

JUSTICE secretary Kenny MacAskill yesterday hit out at critics of the medical advice on which he based his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber. His comments came following release of television footage over the weekend of a very ill- looking Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi in Libya.

Robinson (Age 64): All Tv Is Sexist and Ageist Lumley (Age 63): We're Old Crones, Get Over It

THE self-styled "Queen of Mean" Anne Robinson has taken a swipe at her own industry, accusing "all television" of being "sexist and ageist". The 64-year-old, who is returning as a Watchdog presenter after eight years fronting The Weakest Link, said she would be out of a job "if there was a lovely blonde with huge breasts and long legs" who had her experience and wit.

Visual Art Reviews: Art of Stone

The idea of Milestone was for sculptors to carve works on site, starting from the raw stone. After 31 days, it was described as the longest performance in Festival history. But was it all worth it? MILESTONE ****

Marvellous: Spider-Man and His Superhero Cronies Join the Disney Stable

First Milk's Gbp 130m for Capital Spend

FIRST Milk, the Glasgow-based dairy farmers co-operative, has secured GBP 130 million of funding in the largest deal of its kind so far this year in Scotland. Barclays Commercial Bank and Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance put up the asset-based lending, which will secure further working capital for the co-op and allow capital investment.

In Brief: University Role for Former Police Chief

In Brief: Four Arrested Over Illegal Hare Coursing

In Brief: Royal Threat Taleban Leader Assassinated

In Brief: Youth Employment Campaign Event

Novabiotics Targets Gbp 3bn Market After Fungus Treatment Trials

A SCOTTISH biotechnology firm looks set to take a share of a GBP 3 billion global market after successfully completing Phase 1 clinical trials for its lead product. NovaBiotics said the results of the trial of Novexatin, a brush- on treatment for fungal nail infections, were "very encouraging".

Companies to Tap Into Skills of Us University

HUNDREDS of Highlands and Islands businesses are to link up with an American research and entrepreneurship university under a deal to be launched tomorrow. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been working with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for five years to help companies in the region develop.