The Scotsman back issues from March 2006:
Brother describes anguish felt by family
Mar 01, 2006; ... ANDREW Ramsay's brother Stewart spoke of the impact hisdisappearance was having on the family as he appealed on their behalffor his return yesterday. "My brother Andrew has now been missing for over five days andduring that time the family have had no word from him whatsoever," ...
Arthritis painkiller doubles risk to heart, says study
Mar 01, 2006; ... A PAINKILLER widely used by arthritis sufferers in Scotland morethan doubles the risk of heart attacks, according to a new study. Celebrex is the latest drug of its kind found to increase the riskof heart problems in clinical studies. Two other drugs in the Cox-2 inhibitor ...
From B-movie queen to Berkoff's muse, via a punk band, this woman has done it all
Mar 01, 2006; ... LINDA Marlowe used to lie about her age. "Always," the veteranactress says. "Then I decided there was no point any more." She's now65. "That's the absolute right age. But I could have said 63,couldn't I, and got away with it." She smiles a coquettish smile. With dark auburn hair ...
Between the Lines:Time to take a leaf out of England's regional book
Mar 01, 2006; ... GLASGOW can be said to have invented the modern idea of urbanregeneration. After the Second World War, the Stalinist plannersdecided we all wanted to live in remote concrete "new towns" with theresult that the economic heart was ripped out of Britain's urbancommunities. Glasgow lost a ...
60 school rebels make PM reliant on Tory support
Mar 01, 2006; ... LABOUR rebels could still force Tony Blair to rely on Conservativesupport to force his flagship education reforms through the Commonsafter the government kept its veto over new schools. As many as 60 MPs could revolt against the Education andInspections Bill, which will apply to ...
Blair agrees to a chat with Parky
Mar 01, 2006; ... HE HAS braved an MTV studio audience, graced Richard and Judy'ssofa and even starred in The Simpsons. Now Tony Blair has agreed tostar on that most grown-up and British of television institutions:Parkinson. In what could be a last-ditch charm offensive before he steps outof ...
C&W to offload customers - and cut staff
Mar 01, 2006; ... CABLE & Wireless is to use its latest strategic overhaul to slashits 30,000 strong customer base by a thumping 90 per cent -delighting rivals such as Glasgow-based Thus. The telecoms giant said it wanted to focus on a streamlined 3,000core bill-payers, a move that new UK chairman ...
Lords defeat law on glorification of terror
Mar 01, 2006; ... TORY peers last night inflicted a shock defeat on the Labourgovernment - and their own leadership - by blocking plans to make the"glorification" of terrorism an offence. Despite being told to abstain, back-bench Conservatives lined upwith Lib Dems to reject the legislation by four ...
Watch with Mother?
Mar 01, 2006; ... FOR children brought up in the 1970s they were the giants of theirage. The Clangers, The Wombles, Bagpuss and Paddington were among theheroes of our after-school hours, who we all loved to watch on TV. Itdidn't matter that Mr Benn's visits to the fancy-dress shop wereunfeasibly regular ...
Switching off and doing something less boring instead
Mar 01, 2006; ... THE YOUTH AUDIENCE TELEVISION is increasingly proving a turn-off to younger viewers,new research release yesterday reveals. The most marked fall is among 16 to 24-year-olds, according toOfcom, the independent telecoms watchdog. It revealed that there hadbeen a 2.9 per cent ...
Officer 'threatened to put indecent photos of ex-lover on web'
Mar 01, 2006; ... A COMMUNITY policeman threatened to put indecent pictures of hisformer girlfriend on the internet unless she repaid GBP 300 she stillowed him, it was claimed in court yesterday. PC George Hall, a community officer with Grampian Police, sent atext message to Lynn Morrison warning ...
Scottish pig industry faces collapse in face of imports
Mar 01, 2006; ... SCOTLAND'S pig industry is on the verge of collapse NFU Scotland(NFUS) warned yesterday. Citing the industry's animal health and welfare and productionstandards as among the highest in the world, the union pointed thefinger at supermarkets taking cheap imports from countries with ...
Boost for run-down communities
Mar 01, 2006; ... JACK McConnell unveiled an initiative yesterday to make greateruse of the private sector in helping to regenerate some of Scotland'smost deprived communities The First Minister launched a new policy blueprint, "People andplace: regeneration policy in Scotland", with the promise of ...
Convenient solution to a caviare crisis
Mar 01, 2006; ... IT IS the top people's corner shop - a convenience store forpeople whose idea of inconvenience is running out of caviare. Harrods has launched a "luxury convenience" shop selling gourmetfood and drink items. The new store, Harrods 102, is directly across the road ...
Wyevale investors looking for GBP 6-a-share from Hunter
Mar 01, 2006; ... WYEVALE shareholders have been urged not to accept less than 600p-a-share from would-be acquirer Sir Tom Hunter - an 8 per cent premiumon the price he has already paid for a near 15 per cent stake in thecompany. Justin Scarborough, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, warned thegarden ...
Army is forced to battle local rivalries
Mar 01, 2006; ... AL AMARAH is a particularly difficult and violent place to police.With an estimated population of about 400,000, it has a history ofrule by rival sheikhs, each with their own private armies. Even Saddam Hussein found it hard to maintain control over theShia population and in 1999 ...
Abandon ship, before we drown in a wave of froth
Mar 01, 2006; ... SIX AND A TANNER, ORAN MOR, GLASGOW *** ANYTHING GOES, EDINBURGHFESTIVAL THEATRE *** THERE'S something slightly unsettling about the acting career ofDavid Hayman, one of Scotland's most inscrutable showbiz stars. Hisprofessional life began in the Citizens' Theatre Company of the ...
Testing times for our commitment to free trade
Mar 01, 2006; ... THERE are few British political pleasures more reliable thansneering at Americans. Sneering at Europeans is one of them. Inrecent days, anyone following the politics of international trade andinvestment from these shores has had the chance to do both. First, the US political ...
McKie case fingerprint team asks justice group for help
Mar 01, 2006; ... THE four fingerprint experts at the centre of the Shirley McKiecontroversy have approached a legal campaign group to try to cleartheir name. Fiona McBride, Charles Stewart, Anthony McKenna and Hugh McPhersonprepared the forensic report that contained the original claim thatMs ...
Reviews:Jo Milne
Mar 01, 2006; ... VISUAL ART, JO MILNE, AMBER ROOME CONTEMPORARY ART, EDINBURGH *** IT WOULD be only too easy to look at Jo Milne's paintings andassume her to be part of the raft of contemporary artists whose workis inspired by science. They look like a vision through a microscope,albeit massively ...
A funky way to beat the rush-hour traffic
Mar 01, 2006; ... I WAS not at all keen to take the wheel of the Toyota Aygo atfirst, as it arrived in the middle of a line of larger, moreexpensive cars into which I could just flop for the daily commute andmore or less get there on auto pilot. That may sound a bit decadent but it's not so bad as ...
Register to keep tabs on community care patients
Mar 01, 2006; ... A NATIONWIDE database of people with learning disabilities willallow councils to track their progress once Scotland's last long-stay hospitals for the learning disabled are replaced by communitycare next year. Although concerns have been raised about the confidentiality ofthe ...
Bridge toll 'can be kept at GBP 1 for 15 years'
Mar 01, 2006; ... TOLLS on the Forth Road Bridge will not have to increase for 15years if the income is just used to maintain the crossing, itsmanagers confirmed yesterday. The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) said the GBP 1 tollwould pay for all planned work on the bridge until 2021, ...
Increased sentences for people who offend while out on bail
Mar 01, 2006; ... SUSPECTED sex offenders who commit crimes while on bail face up tofive extra years on top of their prison sentence, as part of a hard-hitting reform of Scotland's courts. Proposals unveiled yesterday follow public disquiet about thenumber of crimes being committed by people ...
Woman on trial accused of murdering baby daughter 23 years ago
Mar 01, 2006; ... A WOMAN went on trial yesterday charged with murdering her infantdaughter more than 23 years ago. Jennifer Liehne, 42, was a teenage mother when she allegedlysuffocated her child, Jacqueline, aged seven months, at the family'shome in Edinburgh. She is also accused of causing the ...
Helicopter warning after fatal air crash
Mar 01, 2006; ... GLOBAL safety checks on one of the world's most widely usedhelicopters were ordered yesterday, following a detailedinvestigation into a fatal crash in Scotland three months ago. The 36-year-old Bell Jet Ranger 206 helicopter was on a routinegas-line inspection flight when it ...
Goodwin Gap closes with a crash on 'just another working day'
Mar 01, 2006; ... SIR Fred Goodwin was "City enemy No.1" only six months ago.Analysts feared his blaze of acquisitions - almost GBP 1bn on a shareof Bank of China last year and GBP 5.8bn in 2004 buying up CharterOne Financial in the US - would all end in tears. It gave rise to the infamous "Goodwin ...
Mathewson draws down curtain in bullish style
Mar 01, 2006; ... SIR George Mathewson, who retires as chairman from RBS at theApril AGM after 18 years with the bank - from 1992 to 2001 as chiefexecutive - was paid a tribute by Sir Fred Goodwin at his lastresults presentation for the bank. Of RBS's strong profit and dividend growth since the ...
RBS woos City with GBP 1bn buyback
Mar 01, 2006; ... ROYAL Bank of Scotland pleased investors yesterday with news of aGBP 1 billion share buyback plan this year and a sharp rise in thetotal dividend from a long-established 15 per cent growth rate to 25per cent. The shareholder largesse, pressed for by some institutions, ...
Islands workers warned of cuts
Mar 01, 2006; ... MAJOR budget cuts are being planned by Orkney Islands Council tohelp balance its books without dipping further into reserves. Alistair Buchan, the council's chief executive, has warned staffand islanders that the cuts will have "far-reaching implications forservices and for the ...
Woodland crofts 'will help sustain our rural communities'
Mar 01, 2006; ... THE Scottish Executive paved the way yesterday for the firstwoodland crofts on national forest land to help sustain ruralcommunities. New plans will allow the creation of crofts with a mixture ofagricultural and woodland elements. It has not been decided how many will be ...
Now let's invest in Calcutta Cup feelgood factor
Mar 01, 2006; ... SCOTTISH rugby chiefs called yesterday for more government supportfor the game in the wake of the Calcutta Cup victory over England. The funding for the Scottish Rugby Union is way below that enjoyedby rival countries. The SRU received GBP 595,000 from SportScotlandlast year - a ...
Schools show bigger ethnic mix
Mar 01, 2006; ... SCOTLAND'S schools are more ethnically diverse than ever before,according to new figures. The result of the latest census of the country's pupils, publishedyesterday, revealed that the number of youngsters from ethnicminorities has increased over the past 12 months while the ...
Scrutineer: RBS delivers what investors wanted
Mar 01, 2006; ... ROYAL Bank of Scotland gave the City what it wanted yesterday. No,not an underlying profit of GBP 8 billion. That is so last year. RBS has been steadily moving through thevarious billion-pound barriers for the past seven years, and, as theworld's fifth-biggest bank, that sort of ...
Royal buyback can't dispel oil, commodities gloom as FTSE slides
Mar 01, 2006; ... LOWER oil and commodity prices knocked London's key indexyesterday despite bumper profits and a GBP 1 billion share buybackscheme from Royal Bank of Scotland. The FTSE 100 closed down 84.4 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 5,791.5points, its biggest one-day point fall since 19 October ...
Put on your woollies ... as big freeze sweeps Scotland
Mar 01, 2006; ... BLIZZARDS brought chaos to the Highlands and the North-eastyesterday as motorists were warned to think twice about taking to theroads. More than 140 schools were closed or partially closed inAberdeenshire, flights were disrupted and roads blocked by driftingsnow and jack-knifed ...
Leader:RBS still doing the business
Mar 01, 2006; ... THE Royal Bank of Scotland has announced pre-tax profits of nearlyGBP 8 billion, an increase of 21 per cent over last year. There willbe those who feel such profits are excessive and exploitative. Theyare wrong. In the hyper-competitive world of high street banking, RBSmakes its money by ...
Fake abduction, vendetta or kidnap: what made accountant disappear?
Mar 01, 2006; ... WAS it a vendetta, a kidnap or a Reginald Perrin-style attempt todisappear without leaving a trace? Police admitted yesterday thatthey were still mystified by the apparent abduction of an accountantby two men posing as police officers on a crowded street. After six days of ...
Cabinet Secretary to investigate Jowell
Mar 01, 2006; ... WHITEHALL'S top civil servant is to investigate Tessa Jowell'sfinancial dealings after the Culture Secretary was plunged into thebribery row involving her husband. Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, is to report backtomorrow on whether the embattled politician broke the ...
Database check for community care patients
Mar 01, 2006; ... A NATIONWIDE database of people with learning disabilities willallow councils to track their progress once the last long-stayhospitals for them are replaced by community care next year. Although concerns have been ...
Cat's bird flu death raises human fears
Mar 01, 2006; ... A DOMESTIC cat found dead in Germany tested positive for bird fluyesterday, the first time the virus has been found in a mammal inEurope, the World Health Organisation said. The find increases concern that the virus could spread to otherspecies in Europe as it has in other parts ...
RBS staff in GBP 232m bonus windfall
Mar 01, 2006; ... STAFF at Royal Bank of Scotland are set to receive record profit-share bonuses averaging GBP 2,100 in this month's pay packets afterhelping the bank to bumper profits last year. Pre-tax profits at Royal Bank, now Europe's third largest bank,soared 21 per cent in 2005 to a ...
Former charge Muller hails 'fantastic' Le Guen as one of finest coaches in the game
Mar 01, 2006; ... WHEN Patrick Muller found a gaggle of Scottish journalists waitingto meet him at Switzerland's pre-match media conference in Glasgowyesterday, he initially appeared a little bemused at the level ofattention being devoted to tonight's friendly international atHampden. It did not ...
Smith left waiting for Euro 2008 date ruling
Mar 01, 2006; ... THE Scottish Football Association is still awaiting confirmationfrom UEFA of the date on which the order of play in Scotland's Euro2008 qualifying series will be drawn. With the seven countries in Group B having failed to reachagreement among themselves - due largely to Ukraine's ...
McFadden draws admiration from Smith
Mar 01, 2006; ... GARRY O'Connor's desire to defect to Russia may be a violation ofan old 20th-century tradition, but it is only a mild disruption ofWalter Smith's plan for Scotland's friendly with Switzerland atHampden Park tonight. The national team manager, still searching for the formula ...
Mob violence after bomb kills UK troops
Mar 01, 2006; ... RELATIONS between UK forces and locals in southern Iraq reached anew low yesterday as two British soldiers were killed and another wasinjured by a roadside bomb. The bomb was detonated next to a Land Rover patrol in the town ofAl Amarah in Maysan province, scene of the notorious ...
Home Office dragged into Jowell cash row
Mar 01, 2006; ... THE Home Office was last night dragged into the row over theCulture Minister, Tessa Jowell, and her husband, David Mills. Italian prosecutors said British officials harmed their inquiriesinto his business dealings. Mr Mills, a lawyer, has been accused of corruption in Italy, ...
SRU offers Murrayfield for semi but Hibs nurse concerns over security
Mar 01, 2006; ... WHILE the date and kick-off time were confirmed, the debate overwhere next month's all-Edinburgh Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-finalwill be staged continued yesterday despite the Scottish Rugby Unionstepping forward with an offer to host the tie at Murrayfield. Hearts had earlier ...
Scots aim to hit ground running
Mar 01, 2006; ... SCOTLAND'S Commonwealth Games campaign literally got off to aflying start yesterday with the official departure from GlasgowAirport to Melbourne, and the squad hope for something similarmetaphorically when competition begins in a fortnight's time. The target of 15 medals, first ...
Seven inspired by Manchester Five
Mar 01, 2006; ... SCOTLAND'S Calcutta Cup win against England enthralled millions onSaturday, but for one small band of spectators it was inspiring for avery particular reason. The rugby sevens squad who flew out toMelbourne yesterday did so in the knowledge that five of the team whowon 18-12 took part in ...
Operation to cut Ferguson's season short
Mar 01, 2006; ... THE wear and tear on Barry Ferguson's right ankle is so severethat he requires an operation to reconstruct the ligaments. TheRangers and Scotland captain revealed the news yesterday, as heprepared for the national team's friendly against Switzerland. Ferguson could undergo surgery ...
O'Connor flies out for Lokomotiv medical
Mar 01, 2006; ... GARRY O'Connor flew out of Scotland yesterday to undergo a medicalahead of his proposed transfer to Lokomotiv Moscow. The Hibs striker was given permission to miss Scotland's friendlywith Switzerland by national coach Walter Smith as he mulls over theGBP 1.6million move which is ...
Torrance back to take on his peers
Mar 01, 2006; ... STILL well versed in the art of winning after overcoming RaphaelJacquelin in a play-off in Morocco last week to lift the 34th HassanII Golf Trophy, Sam Torrance returns to the company of his peerstoday in good heart as the European Seniors Tour gets under way inthe West Indies with the ...
Bird flu is on its way - so what exactly is the plan of action?
Mar 01, 2006; ... CHICKEN is safe to eat. Chicken is safe to eat. Chicken ... sorry,that was last week's opening attempt. But no harm in saying it againas bird flu moves ever closer to Britain. Most of us who take aninterest in the subject have thought that for some time, but it'salways a poignant moment ...
The Spike
Mar 02, 2006; ... Sticky situation? THE Glasgow rumour-mill was in overdrive last night after reportsthat the city's evening paper had been given the boot by its twopremier football clubs. The Evening Times has allegedly been bannedby both Rangers and Celtic after the paper published a poster and ...
Channel 4 tells critics to get Lost with new spring lineup
Mar 02, 2006; ... A TRADITIONAL adage in the Sun newsroom was "shock and amaze onevery page". Channel 4's spring season might not have the stamp ofapproval of the legendary Kelvin Mackenzie, but probably containsenough controversial ingredients to satisfy most tabloid editors. Executives at Channel ...
Inter-city rivals in joint tourism bid
Mar 01, 2006; ... TOURISM leaders in Edinburgh and Glasgow have pledged to worktogether to boost numbers in both cities. In the first event of its type, delegates at a Glasgow conferencejointly hosted by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian andScottish Enterprise Glasgow, discussed ways for the ...
Business concern on third-party appeals
Mar 02, 2006; ... REPRESENTATIVES of the Scottish development and renewable sectorshave warned that the introduction of third-party right of appeal(TPRA) into the new planning bill, would "stultify" development andmilitate against the Executive's economic development agenda. Giving evidence to the ...
Reviews:The Aliens
Mar 02, 2006; ... MUSIC, THE ALIENS, KING TUT'S, GLASGOW *** WHEN the Beta Band split they'd achieved everything they set outto do. However, keyboard player John Maclean and drummer Robin Joneswasted little time in cobbling together a new project with founderBeta Band member Gordon Anderson. This ...
The new bridge - an idea whose time has come
Mar 02, 2006; ... PREPARATIONS to build a new GBP 500 million road bridge across theForth must begin immediately, ministers announced yesterday. Tavish Scott, the transport minister, said planning had to startnow because a new bridge would not be ready until 2014 at theearliest. A new ...
Cherie steps into row over torture of terror accused
Mar 02, 2006; ... CHERIE Blair made a controversial intervention on the debate overBritain's anti-terrorist laws yesterday, barely an hour after herhusband had blasted the Liberal Democrats for their refusal to backdraconian legislation. The QC waded into the row between the government and the ...
Acquisitions lift CJ Lang profits
Mar 02, 2006; ... ACQUISITIONS by Dundee firm CJ Lang, which operates the Sparchain, helped push up profits and turnover, despite a one-off paymentto its pensions deficit. According to the organisation's latest accounts, obtained by TheScotsman, Scotland's largest independent retailing and ...
Devro to burst out of sausages
Mar 02, 2006; ... DEVRO, Scotland's global leader in sausage skin manufacturing, isplanning an expansion into a new range of products including anti-snoring devices and breath fresheners. The company, which employs 500 staff in the Central Belt, saidyesterday that its collagen-based skin product ...
They each cost GBP 22,000, so what's it to be - a dog or a new Mercedes?
Mar 02, 2006; ... OWNING a dog over the course of its lifetime now costs as much asa new Mercedes, according to the latest figures. The total bill for expenses such as vet's fees, food, kennels andother necessities adds up to an average of GBP 22,000. There is, however, a big difference ...
Cash-and-share bonus will average GBP 4,400 for Scots staff
Mar 02, 2006; ... HBOS's bumper profits performance brings a near-GBP 290m bonanzain cash and free shares for its 72,000 worldwide staff - 17,700 ofthem in Scotland - with an average Scottish bonus of GBP 3,480 andfree shares allocation of GBP 920. It makes the total windfall north of the Border ...