The Scotsman back issues from February 2009:
Businessmen fund legal challenge in dispute over gay adoption
Feb 02, 2009; ... A CONSORTIUM of businessmen and professionals is believed to befunding a legal challenge to prevent a young brother and sisterbeing adopted by two gay men, it emerged yesterday. The consortium, which reportedly also includes lawyers,approached the Catholic Church in Scotland last ...
Protest over plan to add children to DNA database
Feb 02, 2009; ... THOUSANDS of children every year in Scotland face being treatedas crime suspects for the rest of their lives under proposals toextend the national DNA database being considered by ministers, aleading UK science ethics group has warned. The Economic and Social Research Council's ...
Homicide charge still a possibility for drug suppliers
Feb 02, 2009; ... For the last 15 years, Scottish law has allowed a culpablehomicide charge to be brought against a supplier, even though thevictim had voluntarily sought the drugs and had elected to takethem. The law was seen to provide protection for "naive" users, andto bring home to anyone choosing to ...
Inside Holyrood: Greens punching above their weight
Feb 02, 2009; ... HE MAY be a small, thin man with glasses who looks like he wasused for kicking practice by school bullies, but in the case of Patrick Harvie, the co-convener of the GreenParty, looks belie the man. Last Wednesday, when he defied the SNP by voting down theirBudget, he ...
Lord Ashdown announced as the guest speaker at 2009 Legal Awards ceremony
Feb 02, 2009; ... FORMER Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has been announced asthe guest speaker at the forthcoming 2009 Legal Awards ceremony inEdinburgh. The politician and diplomat will address an audience of 400 atthe awards, which recognise excellence in Scottish law across ...
Case closed: internationals no threat to local talent
Feb 02, 2009; ... ONE website proclaims a "no barriers working culture". Anotherheralds the firm's culture of diversity. The blue world map on athird, shows offices in more than 40 countries. Welcome to the rarified atmosphere of the international law firm,with solicitors operating in every corner ...
Feat of clay
Feb 02, 2009; ... The lovable Plasticine man turns supermodel this week with acover shot and designer fashion shoot in Esquire. What is Morph'senduring charm, asks Emma Cowing FOR THE country's most famous nude model, it's a big step. Buteven the most perfectly shaped piece of Plasticine has to put ...
Are children damaged by independence of mothers?
Feb 02, 2009; ... THE growing economic independence of women is linked to the break-up of families, which in turn is damaging children, researcherssuggested yesterday. The majority of mothers with babies under a year old now work,meaning more children are in childcare than being looked after ...
Peers face sack for sleaze as Straw vows to take action
Feb 02, 2009; ... SWIFT changes to House of Lords rules which could lead to thesuspension or expulsion of peers convicted of a criminal offencewere signalled yesterday by the government. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, made clear he was prepared toact quickly in response to cross-party fury over ...
Review: Dolls
Feb 02, 2009; ... THEATRE, DOLLS, TRAMWAY, GLASGOW **** THERE was a time when boys and girls would choose a sweetheart intheir teens, and remain with that person until death. Today, though,serial relationships are the rule; and as a result, our world isfull of walking wounded, carrying the hidden ...
Review: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Feb 02, 2009; ... MUSIC, ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA, GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERTHALL **** A STRONG Russian theme ran through Saturday's RSNO programme. Aswell as music from Glazunov and Borodin, there was the return offormer chief conductor Alexander Lazarev along with the RSNO debutof ...
Brown accused of provoking strikers in 'British jobs' row
Feb 02, 2009; ... GORDON Brown came under attack from union leaders yesterday aftersaying that wildcat protests against the use of foreign labour were"not defensible". They warned that the Prime Minister's demand for unofficialstrike action to cease - despite it being sparked by his ...
The Lee Randall Interview: Russell Tovey: Star pupil
Feb 02, 2009; ... Having earned a gold star as one of Alan Bennett's History Boys,actor Russell Tovey then graduated to Dickens, Doctor Who and Gavin& Stacey. Now starring as a modern-day werewolf in a new TV sitcom,he's headed for the top of the class OH, I KNOW it's futile arguing with Charles ...
Television Review: Wooden and stilted, so why the laughs?
Feb 02, 2009; ... Not Going Out, BBC1 Friday The Old Guys, BBC1 Saturday Good Arrows, ITV4 Saturday FOR a sitcom now in its third series, and which has wonprestigious, international awards, Not Going Out is peculiarly bad.It comes to something when the most unbelievable part of an ...
Borderfields eyes major rapeseed expansion
Feb 02, 2009; ... A RAPESEED oil firm is planning to double its workforce over thenext 12 months as it celebrated a nationwide contract win withsupermarket giant Sainsbury's. Borderfields, which is headquartered in Coldstream, is to bestocked in 410 Sainsbury's stores across the UK. The firm ...
MBO activity plunges as banks tighten lending
Feb 02, 2009; ... MANAGEMENT buy-outs have slumped in Scotland against a backdropof falling bank lending, nervous managements and continuing"unrealistic" vendor-price expectations. And MBO experts north of the Border warned that they feel thesituation is very unlikely to improve during 2009 ....
Cameron 'in talks' over Greenhill role
Feb 02, 2009; ... JOHNNY Cameron, who was credited with leading the spectaculargrowth of Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) corporate lending arm, isreportedly in detailed talks about joining Greenhill, the investmentbank, in a senior role. Cameron - who was chairman of global markets at RBS and a ...
Fraud soars above GBP 1bn and set to keep rising
Feb 02, 2009; ... REPORTED fraud last year reached its highest level for 13 years,at more than GBP 1 billion, and the situation is likely to worsen asthe economic downturn takes hold, a new report warned today. More than GBP 1.1bn of fraud came to court last year, accordingto the accounting firm ...
Business Gazetteer
Feb 02, 2009 ... BEAR NECESSITIES Do you have an 'eccentric collection'? IT'S time to start rifling through the dark recesses of yourcupboards and turning your strange collections into cash. Norwich Union - which is at great pains to point out that it willsoon take on the name of its parent ...
GSK expected to announce it is cutting up to 10,000 jobs
Feb 02, 2009; ... DRUG maker GlaxoSmith-Kline (GSK) will cut thousands of jobs whenit reports its full-year results this week, reports have claimed. The firm, which has two sites north of the Border - in Montroseand Irvine - is expected to announce up to 10,000 job losses. GSK, like industry ...
'Weak pound makes inward investment more attractive'
Feb 02, 2009; ... SCOTLAND'S financial services industry should benefit from theweak pound as overseas businesses invest in the sector, a seniorlegal figure has claimed. Chris Mullen - senior partner at international law firm PinsentMasons, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow - said ...
King coal is back, declares new chief
Feb 02, 2009; ... SOME 25 years ago the miners' strike marked a new low point inlabour relations and the near collapse of the once great coal-mining industry. But according to Don Nicolson, the new chiefexecutive of Scottish Coal, if you thought coal was dead, you wouldbe mistaken. Coal is ...
Monday Scrutineer: How recession could drive investors back into shares
Feb 02, 2009; ... WHO dares contemplate investing in the stock market in times likethese - and especially outside the titans of the FTSE 100? But arobust case can be made, even though newspapers are brimful ofstories of collapsing demand, plunging business confidence, profitwipe-outs, closures and ...
Lessons to learn from HBOS staff's plight
Feb 02, 2009; ... AMID the deafening fury over the "bank bonus culture", too littleattention has been given to the thousands of loyal bank staff whohave had a large part of their savings wiped out by the collapse inthe value of bank shares. Their jobs have been put in jeopardy by the banking ...
The Word
Feb 02, 2009 ... sleaze n. immoral, sordid ...
Pinneys up for sale in Uniq shake-up
Feb 02, 2009; ... PINNEYS, the Dumfries-based firm which supplies smoked salmon tothe Queen, is one of a number of subsidiaries to be sold off by foodgroup Uniq amid a "strategic review" of the business. The firm, which runs its smoked salmon processing business fromAnnan, employs 700 people and ...
Firms 'missing out on GBP 5m' water savings
Feb 02, 2009; ... A REPORT published today by the Water Industry Commission forScotland has revealed that two-thirds of companies have failed toreview their water and sewerage provider nine months after thebusiness water market was opened to competition. The organisation claims that firms are ...
Caldwell urges old team-mate to come and join him
Feb 02, 2009; ... GARY Caldwell is alert to Steven Fletcher's predicament as theHibernian striker continues to be caught between remaining loyal tothe club who reared him while also wanting to better himself. Fletcher was the subject of a verbal bid from Celtic last week,but the Easter Road club ...
Hibs and Hearts prepare for busy deadline day
Feb 02, 2009; ... CELTIC will need to come up with a blockbuster fee before thetransfer window closes today in order to persuade Hibernian tochange their minds over selling their international striker StevenFletcher. The clubs are thought to remain miles apart over avaluation for the forward. The ...
Butcher's Highland adventure starts impressively
Feb 02, 2009; ... TERRY Butcher has already saluted the vivifying properties of hislatest posting. During one training session last week he stopped inhis tracks, and turned to Maurice Malpas, his assistant, encouraginghim to take a hit of the scenery. "It was perfect," Butcherrecalled. Nothing occurred ...
Strachan admits to a problem with Inverness after another grim day up north
Feb 02, 2009; ... WHILE Inverness might be a must-see destination for tourists,Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has admitted his players clearly donot relish visits to the Highland capital. The champions faltered again in Inverness, and after twosuccessive games without a goal offered little to ...
Romanov happy to sell GBP 2.3m Berra, but insists club under no pressure
Feb 02, 2009; ... ONCE Christophe Berra's GBP 2.3 million transfer from Hearts toWolves is finalised this morning, Vladimir Romanov, the owner of theEdinburgh club, has claimed there will be no financial pressure onhim to sell anyone else before this evening's transfer deadline. Making a rare visit ...
Businessmen, lawyers and Church in challenge to gay adoption
Feb 02, 2009; ... A CONSORTIUM of businessmen and professionals is believed to befunding a legal challenge to prevent a young brother and sisterbeing adopted by two gay men, it emerged yesterday. The consortium, which reportedly also includes lawyers,approached the Catholic Church in Scotland last ...
SNP and Labour set for crunch Budget talks
Feb 02, 2009; ... ALEX Salmond is due to meet Scottish Labour leader Iain Graytomorrow for what the First Minister hopes will be the final processin securing unanimous support for the SNP Budget. Mr Salmond held a special Cabinet meeting by conference-call fromhis home yesterday, updating ministers ...
Death car took off and flew 200ft into home
Feb 02, 2009; ... A HOUSE had to be demolished yesterday following an "absolutelyhorrendous" crash which saw a car career from an embankment andcrash into the second storey of the family home, killing the driverand his two passengers. Anthony Stewart, 35, from East Kilbride, Derek Campbell, 19, ...
It's unhappy Monday and economic crisis is set to send 'sickies' soaring
Feb 02, 2009; ... IT'S Monday morning, the alarm clock is buzzing, snow andblizzards are forecast, summer holidays are months away, we're inthe middle of an economic meltdown and, to top it all, you've got abit of a cold starting up. But if you're thinking of phoning in sick to take a "duvet ...
Anger after blame placed on working mothers for family splits
Feb 02, 2009; ... THE growing economic independence of women is linked to the break-up of families, which in turn is damaging children, researcherssuggested yesterday. The majority of mothers with babies under a year old now work,meaning more children are in childcare than being looked after ...
HBOS workers lose millions in staff loyalty scheme Inquiry into employees' claim they were pressured to invest bonuses
Feb 02, 2009; ... A SHARE savings scheme for employees of HBOS is beinginvestigated by union leaders, as thousands of staff have seensavings worth millions of pounds almost entirely wiped out afterbeing pressured into buying the bank's shares. As many as 15,000 HBOS employees had been putting some, ...
'Confident' SNP to meet Labour on Budget
Feb 02, 2009; ... ALEX Salmond is due to meet the Scottish Labour leader, IainGray, tomorrow for what the First Minister hopes will be the finalprocess in securing unanimous support for the SNP's Budget. Mr Salmond held a special Cabinet meeting by conference-call fromhis home yesterday, updating ...
Wildcat strikes set to increase as foreign worker row escalates
Feb 02, 2009; ... WILDCAT strikes are expected to spread today in an escalation ofthe row over foreign labour ahead of frantic moves to try to resolvethe increasingly bitter dispute. Hundreds of contract workers at the Sellafield nuclear site inCumbria are due to hold an early- morning mass meeting ...
Hearts feel immediate impact of Berra sale Accies exploit new defence
Feb 02, 2009; ... Hamilton Academicals 2 Hearts 0 ON THE evidence of such a confidence sapping defeat, today's GBP2.3million sale to Wolves of their most consistent and influentialplayer will be as costly for Hearts on the field as it isadvantageous for their bank balance. Thanks to the ...
Hibs and Hearts prepare for busy deadline day
Feb 02, 2009; ... CELTIC will need to come up with a blockbuster fee before thetransfer window closes today in order to persuade Hibernian tochange their minds over selling their international striker StevenFletcher. The clubs are thought to remain miles apart over avaluation for the forward. The ...
Hibs' faulty engine room in need of service
Feb 02, 2009; ... Hibernian 1 Motherwell 1 THESE two occupy sixth and seventh spots in the Premier Leagueand on Saturday they served up a classic case of mid-tablemediocrity rather than anything to suggest either are genuinecontenders for a tilt at third place. After a bright opening ten ...
Tom Lappin's Sporting Week: Make up of England team will prove where Strauss' instincts lie
Feb 02, 2009; ... SEEN this Straussie? Half of England is buried under a snowdrift.If the new England cricket captain was feeling the stress of thejob, he could ruminate that there are worse ways to make a livingthan pass a February evening keeping a discreet eye on AndrewFlintoff's rum punch intake while ...
Giorgio unlikely to go for Festival triumph Henderson double on Musselburgh debut
Feb 02, 2009; ... A WORD of warning to anyone tempted to bet Giorgio Quercus forthe Triumph Hurdle on the strength of his success in the tartantrial at Musselburgh yesterday - don't. Not that there was anything wrong with the performance of NickyHenderson's raider, albeit he still looked short of ...
Between The Lines: Time for Scots campuses to rebuild ruined economics
Feb 03, 2009; ... IN THE worst recession to hit since the war, an opportunity nowbeckons for Scotland's universities. It is no less than a recastingof the study of finance and economics. Appalling though our circumstances are, this is history in themaking as we face the worst downturn in 80 years ....
It's a deal - Budget set to be rushed through tomorrow
Feb 03, 2009; ... THE Scottish Budget looks set to be rushed through parliamenttomorrow after the Liberal Democrats gave it their backing. The Scotsman understands a deal was agreed with the SNP yesterdayafter talks between Jeremy Purvis, the Lib Dems' finance spokesman,and John Swinney, the ...
Axeon takes a battering as it cuts jobs to safeguard its future
Feb 03, 2009; ... AXEON, the Dundee-based green battery developer, warned it hadfallen to a GBP 3 million operating loss last year as it confirmedit had completed 200 job cuts to slash its cost base. After making a small operating profit in 2007, a sharp downturnin the construction sector caused ...
Scots building companies forced to work at a loss - or face a worse fate
Feb 03, 2009; ... Faced with falling prices, construction companies are beingforced to tender at a loss for many projects Picture: Richard Scott DESPERATE companies have been forced to make loss-making below-cost bids for the precious few construction projects going out totender in Scotland this ...
There's no escaping these dancing lessons
Feb 03, 2009; ... IT IS the kind of activity normally associated with a schoolouting to a historic castle. A glimpse into the life of Scotland's most famous queen, a chanceto try on 16th-century garb and the learning of a few courtlydancing moves from the era may sound like a fun afternoon out ....
EU officials hear sheep tagging opposition
Feb 03, 2009; ... THE battle aimed at persuading Brussels to abandon or radicallyamend proposals which would see every sheep in the EU-27electronically identified took a highly practical turn yesterdaywhen specialist officials from the commission attended the weeklysale at St Boswells in the Borders ....
Review: Graine Duffy
Feb 03, 2009; ... MUSIC, GRAINNE DUFFY, RECITAL ROOMS, CITY HALL, GLASGOW *** SHE was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sounds like thebasis for a blues lyric but, in Grainne Duffy's case, it was aprecis of her Celtic Connections debut. Though she did what she could to dirty up the pristine ...
Borders farmers angry over imports
Feb 03, 2009; ... DESPITE the chilly weather, the collective blood pressure ofBorder farmers was at a high level around the sale ring at StBoswells in the wake of the news that two farmers in Northumberlandwho operate close to the Border are planning to import pedigreecattle from Belgium - a country which ...
Brits packing up for a life in the sunshine
Feb 02, 2009; ... What is it about the land Down Under that attracts emigratingpoms in their droves, asks Hamish Macdonell I WAS determined not to be scruffy when I arrived for my firstday's work on the Newcastle Herald, a morning newspaper based in alarge industrial town an hour or so north of ...
Living with losing
Feb 03, 2009; ... As Roger Federer's tears flowed at the Australian Open final, theworld witnessed how difficult it is to accept no longer being No 1.But it needn't be so tough, finds Fiona MacGregor 'GOD, it's killing me," Roger Federer wept as he retreated red-eyed from the podium at the ...
Loganair widens cross-Border links
Feb 03, 2009 ... HIGHLANDS and Islands airline Loganair is to launch its longestand most southerly route, linking Aberdeen and Cardiff, to cater foroil and gas traffic, writes Alastair Dalton. The service, which will run daily, except Saturdays, from 19April, will be accompanied by extra flights ...
Business news at a glance: China set to up Rio Tinto stake
Feb 03, 2009 ... MINING giant Rio Tinto has paved the way for the Chinesegovernment to up its stake in the firm after confirming talks over apotential investment. Rio said it had held discussions with state-owned Chinalco overthe possibility of ...
Business Gazetteer
Feb 03, 2009 ... THE GREAT DEBATE Throwing down the gauntlet - and donning the gloves - is fightingtalk IN THE red corner: Professor John Adams and honours studentsJanine Vidak and Elwira Rumniak from Napier University. And in the blue corner: Professor Paul Hare and ...
Four-star hotel to be flagship for development west of Edinburgh
Feb 03, 2009; ... DEVELOPERS have released the first artist's impression of a newfour-star hotel planned for Edinburgh's western periphery. Although no firm start date has been set for work on the Park Innhotel, all the infrastructure work on the site for the Axis businesspark at Newbridge - where ...
Inside Education: Glowing example of e-learning
Feb 03, 2009; ... A GROUP of teenagers gaze in grim fascination as the body isdissected in front of them. From inside the seabird's now open stomach, pieces of plastic andother sea litter are pulled by a white-coated scientist. These Higher exam students are learning first-hand about ...
He's just not that into you
Feb 03, 2009; ... WE SHOULD probably blame the Men Are From Mars theory: one momentwe're cheerfully moaning about the atrocious behaviour of the men inour lives; the next we're told they're not behaving badly at all,it's just men are different. Wise women fell for it for precisely one relationship ....
Review: Yves Lambert & the Bebert orchestra,
Feb 03, 2009; ... MUSIC, YVES LAMBERT & THE BBERT ORCHESTRA / THE MARTIN GREENMACHINE, ABC, GLASGOW **** A MAINSTAY of the Quebecois music scene for more than 30 years,the exuberant singer, accordionist and former La Bottine Souriantefrontman Yves Lambert made his Scottish debut with his ...
Junior doctors 'pose risk over prescriptions'
Feb 03, 2009; ... PATIENTS are at risk because new doctors are unprepared for thetask of prescribing drugs, according to a leading medicines expert.Professor David Webb, professor of clinical pharmacology atEdinburgh University, said he had warned for several years thatyoung doctors were not being given ...
The ruthless predator hard-wired to kill, kill and kill again
Feb 03, 2009; ... THE birds on Lewis and Harris look more relaxed nowadays. Once they had lived in fear of attack from hordes of viciouspredators that killed until they had had their fill, then killed andkilled some more. But that was before the trappers arrived with their enticing oilsand ...
National cull may exterminate UK mink
Feb 03, 2009; ... MINK could be completely eradicated from the UK in anunprecedented attempt to remove one of the country's mostdestructive alien invaders, The Scotsman can reveal. Plans are in place to apply for millions of pounds of EU fundingto carry out a mass eradication in hot spots across ...