The Scotsman back issues from February 2007:
New Regulations To Protect EU Workers
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE European Working Time Directive which came into effect on 1October, 1998 was designed to protect the health and safety ofworkers in the European Union. It lays down minimum requirements in relation to working hours,rest periods, annual leave and working arrangements ....
School leading the way to better future for autistic pupils
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE Scottish Executive's school- building programme has not beenwithout its critics. Although the plans to rebuild or refurbish 300 schools by 2009may, on the face of it, seem good news, the use by many localauthorities of public-private partnerships to fund the work hasproved ...
The Scotsman Debate: Politicians face the people in the great Scotsman debate
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE Scotsman has launched the Scotland 300: Nationhood Debate tofind what the people of this country are thinking in 2007. Has theUnion served us well for 300 years or is a groundswell of nationhoodspilling over into real support for independence? On Tuesday, the first of eight ...
F&C shares slump on GBP 5bn mandate loss
Feb 01, 2007; ... SHARES in F&C Asset Management plummeted yesterday after theEdinburgh fund manager revealed it is to lose GBP 5 billion inmandates. F&C, 51 per cent owned by life insurance firm Friends Provident,also warned it was planning to increase costs and reduce dividends topay for ...
University challenge that must be met
Feb 01, 2007; ... 'EDUCATION," said Kim's Lama, "is greatest blessing if of bestsorts. Otherwise no earthly use." I suspect this was Kipling's ownopinion, and many of us would agree, even while admitting that it isdifficult to say just what the "best sorts" may be. Historians,looking back on the past ...
Brown: we can educate all world's children
Feb 01, 2007; ... GORDON Brown, the Chancellor, teamed up with Bill Gates, theworld's richest man, yesterday to call for a revolution in educationwhere every child in the world will have the chance to go to school. Taking to the platform at the Microsoft World Leaders Forum inEdinburgh, Mr Brown ...
Bill and Broon and a world fit for bloggers
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE future's bright. The future is Broon. Or so it would seem,after one of the most influential men in the world and one of themost influential men in Kirkcaldy performed a double act yesterday. Bill Gates, the Microsoft tycoon, and Gordon Brown, the Chancellorof the Exchequer, ...
Business gazeteer
Feb 01, 2007; ... SQUIRRELLED AWAY They'd be mortified in Mortonhall A STUFFED squirrel clutching a fishing rod. Other ex-rodentsenjoying a carousel ride. Welcome to the world of Sam Sanfillippo, the Wisconsin funeraldirector who has amassed a large collection of stuffed animals ...
Indictment mirrors 2003 report on baby's death
Feb 01, 2007; ... A DAMNING report in October 2003 into the death of an 11-week-oldboy at the hands of his violent father exposed serious failings inEdinburgh's child protection system. The investigation into Caleb Ness's death brought a scathingindictment of city social workers and health staff ...
The Spike
Feb 01, 2007; ... Explosive scoop HERALD reporter Carolyn Churchill was detained at Prestwick onTuesday after the airport's ion explosives detector went off for thefirst time in its history. The source of the alarm? A laptop. Oddly enough, this was the same laptop David Leask had been usingon ...
Celebs + High Street > Look
Feb 01, 2007; ... IT IS being given away free in Scotland this week but, in reality,it is the most expensive thing the publisher IPC has ever produced.The magazine giant is gambling GBP 18 million on the launch offashion and celebrity title Look - an investment it hopes will carveit a niche in the ...
Why does the Moon look like this? Here it is in black and white ...
Feb 01, 2007; ... SCIENTISTS in Edinburgh have recreated Moon rock in a laboratoryand simulated the conditions of an asteroid explosion to learn whythe lunar body has its distinctive black and white colouration. The Moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago after the Earth collidedwith a massive comet ...
Caution despite the success as North Sea firms work flat out
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE vast majority of North Sea oil companies are working flat outto cope with an increasing demand for their expertise and services,both at home and abroad, on the back of a continuing boom inbusiness, buoyed by high oil prices. But industry leaders yesterday warned that ...
S&N 'won't back down' in PwC court case
Feb 01, 2007; ... SCOTTISH & Newcastle (S&N) is to continue pursuing a damages claimagainst Big-Four accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in thehope of winning tens of millions of pounds in financial compensation. The claim, filed last year, arose after PwC provided consultancyadvice on the ...
A new kind of terror comes to these shores
Feb 01, 2007; ... EYES wide open to the camera and a knife at his throat, his deathwould have burned a terrible new image into Britain's collectivenightmare of Islamic terrorism. That is the bloody outcomeintelligence officers believe was averted yesterday with a string ofarrests in Birmingham ....
Former council chief admits failure over charges
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE former leader of Edinburgh City Council admitted last nightthere had been "serious failures" in the way financial mismanagementallegations were dealt with while he was in charge. Donald Anderson made the comments as a report to be presented tocouncillors today found "policies ...
Boom in house prices blamed for soaring level of repossessions
Feb 01, 2007; ... MORTGAGE repossessions soared to 17,000 in 2006 and are likely tocontinue rising for the next two years, according to mortgageanalysts. Figures released yesterday by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showthe total was 65 per cent higher than in 2005, working out at roughlyone in ...
Energy firms accused of 'phoney' price war
Feb 01, 2007; ... ENERGY firms have begun a "phoney war" by promising price cutsthat do not yet exist, consumer groups have warned. Scottish Hyrdo Electric, part of Scottish & Southern Energy, hastold its one million customers in Scotland to expect a drop in gasand electricity charges "in the next ...
Watergate taunts rile Blair as calls to quit grow
Feb 01, 2007; ... TONY Blair was under new pressure to quit yesterday as oppositionpoliticians taunted him with the spectre of Watergate over the cash-for-peerages affair. Alex Salmond, the SNP leader, compared the Prime Minister to theformer US president Richard Nixon, who was forced to resign in ...
Music Review: The Good, The Bad And The Queen
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE QUEEN MOTHERWELL CONCERT HALL **** HE invented Britpop and created a successful group from a bunch ofcartoon characters. For his next trick, Damon Albarn has persuaded aniconic punk bassist out of retirement and conjured musical magic indeepest Motherwell ....
Ramsay really just a goody two-shoes, derides critic
Feb 01, 2007; ... TEMPESTUOUS chef Gordon Ramsay's first New York restaurant hastaken another blow with a scorching review by the city's top foodcritic. The New York Times' Frank Bruni awarded Gordon Ramsay at theLondon just two stars out of four and battered the celebrity chef forrelying on ...
Could it be Jekyll and Hyde next?
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE Infamous Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or a classic Sherlock Holmestale by the former Scottish medical student, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? The debate began yesterday on where Edinburgh goes next after theOne Book - One Edinburgh reading drive, with 35,000 copies ofKidnapped given out ....
RBS backs New Line in GBP 180m films deal
Feb 01, 2007; ... ROYAL Bank of Scotland will provide financial backing for a raftof new film releases including Rush Hour 3 and the big-screen remakeof the hit musical Hairspray in a dollars 350 million (GBP 180m)funding deal. The co-financing agreement with New Line Cinema, part of mediagiant ...
Pioneering taskforce fights wildlife crime
Feb 01, 2007; ... A MAJOR crackdown on the "barbaric" and illegal sport of harecoursing has been identified as one of the main priorities for apioneering taskforce, established to combat wildlife crime in thenorth-east of Scotland. The anti-wildlife crime partnership has been formed by ...
Scotsmania: Post Offices: Uruguay: Wrath
Feb 01, 2007; ... P POST OFFICES SCOTLAND'S oldest post office - and the oldest surviving one inthe world - is in Sanquhar, a town in the Nith valley, inDumfriesshire. It opened its doors in 1712 - eight years before itsnearest rival, in Stockholm. It handled mail for the aristocracy on both ...
Troubled Harrison set for court after arrest over drugs
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE decline of the former world boxing champion Scott Harrisonreached new depths last night when it emerged he had been arrested ondrugs charges. The 29-year-old was arrested in Glasgow city centre along with a35-year-old man around 6pm on Tuesday. Harrison was held at ...
Iberdrola plays down 'unfair tax breaks' row
Feb 01, 2007; ... IBERDROLA, the Spanish energy giant, is confident that its GBP11.6 billion takeover of ScottishPower will be cleared by Europeancompetition officials later this month despite accusations of unfairtax breaks. Last month, Iberdrola filed documents with the European ...
Trading conditions hit profits at Schuh
Feb 01, 2007; ... NEW figures lodged at Companies House show that profits at theLivingston-based fashion footwear retailers Schuh fell for the secondyear in a row, with no respite from "difficult trading conditions" insight. While the company expanded turnover by 4 per cent to GBP 103million in ...
Last chance to share a TV moment
Feb 01, 2007; ... WHO shot JR? And did you see the bit when Del Boy fell backwardsthrough the bar? Television "watercooler moments" - shared experiences of theprevious night's entertainment discussed at work or at school - couldfinally be a thing of the past when Sky launches a service ...
SLI seeking further office investments
Feb 01, 2007; ... STANDARD Life Investments is looking for further investmentstotalling GBP 33 million for its UK Property Development fund to takeit to its equity limit of GBP 200m. This total will be increased toGBP 400m through gearing. The closed-end fund will invest the total capital in a ...
Tata wins Corus battle
Feb 01, 2007; ... CORUS shares surged 7 per cent yesterday, after the steel groupagreed a 608p-a-share sale to Tata Steel. The Indian group clinched a deal to buy its Anglo-Dutch rival inthe early hours of yesterday, after a fast-paced auction against CSN.The deal - the largest overseas takeover by ...
TV & Radio: Showing as much false promise as a manifesto
Feb 01, 2007; ... Party Animals (BBC2) Jamie's Chef (Channel 4) APPARENTLY, part of the brief for BBC2's new Westminster sex,drugs and points-of-order drama **Party Animals (according to theshow's political consultant from the *New Statesman) was to "re-engage young people with politics" ....
Zarqawi's bloody trademark a vision of global terror
Feb 01, 2007; ... ABU Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, may be dead,but his bloody trademark lives on in the regular beheading ofkidnapped hostages. Zarqawi more than any other individual made the Iraqi insurgencysynonymous with the very public and very disturbing murder of ...
Tata-Corus deal fails to lift FTSE ahead of Fed interest rate review
Feb 01, 2007; ... STRONG gains at steel group Corus could not save the FTSE 100index from falling into negative territory during a lacklustresession for the London market yesterday. The Footsie ended the session down 38.9 points at 6,203.1 asinvestors paused for breath ahead of the announcement of ...
Amid the boom times, the war drums beat on
Feb 01, 2007; ... LAST week's World Economic Forum in Switzerland was more a chancefor networking, good food and getting your photo in the newspapersthan anything really intellectual. However, the conference buzz didproduce one rare insight which is being termed "the Davos dilemma". In a nutshell, ...
Leader: Children let down by system
Feb 01, 2007; ... EXACTLY a year ago, in February 2006, the Executive announced whatit termed "the biggest reform of the Scottish social work system in40 years". This was prompted by a series of high-profile cases ofchildren being killed while ostensibly under the protection of theirlocal social work ...
Why I grieve for Blackpool as its supercasino luck runs out
Feb 01, 2007; ... POOR Blackpool. The town of winter lights, kiss-me-quick hats anddonkey rides was on its knees, pleading for one last chance toreclaim its former glory. If the contestants for Britain's onlysupercasino licence were poker players, then Blackpool was the onesweating through its shirt and ...
Unique selling point
Feb 01, 2007; ... THIS has perhaps more of a URP than a USP, as it isn't for sale,but for rent. It isn't any old Edinburgh letting flat however, butpart of an iconic building - perhaps the most recognisable block offlats in Edinburgh. Just adjacent to the castle, the property is in Ramsay Garden ...
Opinion: Anyone for a quick game of celebrity lairs?
Feb 01, 2007; ... I DON'T ENVY the seriously weal-thy their fabulous clothes,sumptuous jewels or flawless cosmetic surgery. However, if I put my mind to it I could become rather consumedwith jealousy about the fantastic properties that a meagre talent canafford. It isn't the quality of the ...
Adventure, history and 'a rollicking good read' for free
Feb 01, 2007; ... A GRAPHIC novel version of Kidnapped is included among 35,000copies of the Scottish adventure yarn, written by Robert LouisStevenson in 1886, being distributed free in Edinburgh this month. Speaking at Edinburgh Castle yesterday, at the launch of the month-long reading drive run ...
Shoppers give US economy a boost
Feb 01, 2007; ... THE US economy grew at a stronger-than-expected pace in the finalthree months of 2006, as Americans shrugged off the ongoing slump intheir property market by spending more on everything from computersto food. The Commerce Department reported that the country's gross ...
Gordon stays as Hearts add three more on loan from Kaunas
Feb 01, 2007; ... HEARTS signed three more players on loan from FBK Kaunas lastnight but their attempt to offload Craig Gordon failed to come tofruition and the goalkeeper is likely to remain in Edinburgh untilthe end of the season. The Scotland international was excluded from the team to ...
Fightback in 2005 gives Paterson hope on Twickenham return
Feb 01, 2007; ... CHRIS Paterson said yesterday that he will not feel the weight ofhistory on his shoulders when he takes to the field on Saturday atTwickenham, where Scotland have not win since 1983. The utility back, who will claim his 70th cap in the RBS SixNations Championship opener, explained ...
City trams could be running by 2009
Feb 01, 2007; ... TRAMS could be operating in the Scottish capital as early as 2009 -a year sooner than expected - transport chiefs have revealed. Part of the network may open within two years to give theEdinburgh public an advance pay-back for the disruption caused byconstruction work, The ...
A new kind of terror comes to these shores
Feb 01, 2007; ... EYES wide open to the camera and a knife at his throat, his deathwould have burned a terrible new image into Britain's collectivenightmare of Islamic terrorism. That is the bloody outcomeintelligence officers believe was averted yesterday with a string ofarrests in Birmingham ....
Celtic edge out Rangers with GBP 1.1m deal to secure Hartley
Feb 01, 2007; ... CELTIC last night turned the tables on Rangers when they signedPaul Hartley from Hearts for a fee in the region of GBP 1.1 millionas the westward migration along the M8 of Scotland's most covetedmidfield players continued. Having been gazumped by their great rivals 24 hours ...
Hot topic
Feb 01, 2007; ... Many Hibs fans are upset at Kevin Thomson's move to Rangers, butothers see it as good business. Here are views posted onwww.scotsman.com With Thomson being so similar to Ferguson why did Rangers wanthim? If they could only afford one of them I would have thought ScottBrown would ...
Easter Road supporters find home from home as they turn Gorgie green and white for the night
Feb 01, 2007; ... MORE accustomed to playing here as the away team Hibs madethemselves feel at home at Tynecastle from the off, to the extentthat manager John Collins and Co occupied the home dug-out. The pulsating vibe that so often characterises matches here whenHearts are involved was ...
Extra effort hauls off-colour Hibs to Hampden final
Feb 01, 2007; ... St Johnstone 1 Hibs 3 AFTER threatening to have the game sewn up in the opening fewminutes, Hibernian in the end required a full two hours to see off StJohnstone and claim their place in the CIS Cup final. An early goalfrom Steven Fletcher had given John Collins' side the edge, but ...
Abused children 'left in danger by failures of stressed social workers'
Feb 01, 2007; ... ABUSED children have been left in "high risk" situations and thoseassaulted sexually forced to wait months for therapy due to acatalogue of failures by social workers, a damning report hasrevealed. Two senior council officials resigned yesterday after inspectorsexposed an ...
Music Review: Eddie Reader
Feb 01, 2007; ... EDDI READER & FRIENDS GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL **** EDDI Reader's idiosyncratic blend of gallusness, kookyness andriveting vocals made for a packed concert hall and a rewardingevening as she launched her new album, Peacetime, flanked by apeerless big band of regular accompanists, ...
Rangers dig deep into biscuit tin to come up with GBP 2m for Thomson
Feb 01, 2007; ... JOHN Hughes received the news of Rangers' capture of Kevin Thomsonon Tuesday night with a head-shaking bafflement that will not beuncommon among observers of the Ibrox club's curious financialpractices. To the Falkirk manager, the GBP 2 million fee for the Hibernianmidfielder ...
Celtic foil Rangers in Hartley race
Feb 01, 2007; ... CELTIC last night turned the tables on Rangers when they signedPaul Hartley from Hearts for a fee in the region of GBP 1.1million asthe westward migration along the M8 of Scotland's most covetedmidfield players continued. Having been gazumped by their great rivals 24 hours earlier ...
Collins hails Brown but says he'll go in summer
Feb 01, 2007; ... HIBS manager John Collins saluted Scott Brown and identified himas the driving force behind his side's ability to withstand a StJohnstone comeback in last night's pulsating 3-1 victory in the CISInsurance Cup semi-final. However, he also admitted that the playerwill almost certainly ...
No-one rates us, we don't care insists Taylor
Feb 01, 2007; ... SIMON Taylor does not place great store in the opinions of therugby media, but he admitted that the Scotland camp are fully awareof English views as they prepare for Saturday's Calcutta Cup match atTwickenham. Though the England team have been at odds with their media overthe ...
Straw Bear heads for Detroit City showdown
Feb 01, 2007; ... SATURDAY'S Agfa UK Hurdle at Sandown is shaping up as a race notto be missed. Champion Hurdle favourite Detroit City has already been cleared torun at the Esher course, and connections of Straw Bear have confirmedthat their Supreme Novices' Hurdle runner-up will take on ...
Extra effort hauls off-colour Hibs to Hampden final: How they rated at Tynecastle
Feb 01, 2007; ... ST JOHNSTONE KEVIN CUTHBERT Played well, particularly in terms ofpostitioning, but will regret failure to stop Murphy's free-kick 7/10 ANDREW LAURIE One of St Johnstone's less noticeable players, henonetheless applied himself well and defended excellently to preventMurphy from ...
These are just 9 of the army of angry, apathetic potential voters who hold the key to Scotland's future. So, how could the political parties enthuse an apathetic electorate? Hamish Macdonell looks at the problems - and possible solutions
Feb 02, 2007; ... LEAH JACKSON 22, Jobseeker "I'm not likely to vote. It's justpolitics, I don't really follow it. "Also, I don't think my votewill make any difference, they all say things they don't really mean."I am a jobseeker so I suppose that might make a difference to myapproach, but it's not ...
One vote really can make all the difference
Feb 02, 2007; ... MANY of those who won't bother to vote on 3 May use the sameexcuse - my vote won't make any difference. But nothing could befurther from the truth. The electoral system used for Holyrood elections makes every votematter. The list system, as it is known, is a form of ...
Archers and Kirsty losing out, but radio is still a big winner
Feb 02, 2007; ... IT WAS the steamy storyline that had traditional fans of TheArchers in virtual uproar. And yesterday, it appeared that the romance between Ruth Archerand Sam, the herdsman, had proved a turn-off, as audience figuresrevealed nearly 200,000 listeners had deserted the programme ....
AstraZeneca to cut 3,000 jobs as generics' impact grows
Feb 02, 2007; ... ASTRAZENECA, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies,has unveiled plans to shed up to 3,000 staff, 4.6 per cent of itsglobal workforce, in response to the impact of generic drugs. The Anglo-Swedish company said the cuts would be made over thenext three years, to help ...
The autism scandal: New school transformed my 'bad boy' son
Feb 02, 2007; ... LIKE many autistic youngsters before they are diagnosed, LiamElder was labelled by his school as "a bad boy". His mother, Lesley, grew increasingly worried by the treatment hereceived at his primary school near the family's home in Annan,Dumfriesshire. "It was appalling," ...
The autism scandal: So how can things be improved for children and their families? We put political parties on spot
Feb 02, 2007; ... ALL this week, The Scotsman has attempted to highlight thesituation facing hundreds of autistic youngsters and their familiesacross the country. Our articles have demonstrated that, while there are someencouraging examples of excellent practice, much more needs to bedone before ...
PM faces further questions over 'secret' interview
Feb 02, 2007; ... DOWNING Street was yesterday forced to deny fresh allegations of acover-up following the revelation that Tony Blair was secretlyinterviewed by police for a second time last week. Police leading the cash for honours inquiry warned the PrimeMinister to keep quiet about the ...
Show that nobody wants to see - L in the Park The litter-louts despoil the very scenery that they have come to view
Feb 02, 2007; ... AMID the party-political claim and counter-claim about the stateof Scotland, there is one signal achievement of devolution on whichall parties can unite: the creation of Scotland's national parks, andthe Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in particular. A "Pride in the Park" ...