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The Edinburgh International Festival, one of the world’s leading arts festivals, has announced the first shows and the main theme for its 2024 edition. The festival, which will run from 9 to 31 August, will explore the concepts of reconciliation and ritual, as well as the history and transformation of the city of Edinburgh. Reconciliation and ritual: a uniting force for the world The festival director, Nicola Benedetti, who took charge of the event in 2023, said that she wanted the festival to be a “uniting force” in the face of global conflicts and tensions. She said that the festival…

A report by a think-tank has revealed that the University of Edinburgh received more than £12 million in funding from Chinese organisations with ties to the country’s military and defence industry. The report warns that such academic collaborations pose a significant risk to the UK’s national security and interests. Huawei Technologies among the top funders According to the report by Civitas, a London-based think-tank, the University of Edinburgh received between £12.7 million and £13.8 million from five Chinese entities between 2017 and 2022. The majority of the funding, 96 per cent, came from companies with links to the People’s Liberation…

A new study by the University of Oxford has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) could predict if a person is at risk of having a heart attack up to 10 years in the future, potentially saving thousands of lives and improving treatment for almost half of patients. AI improves accuracy of cardiac CT scans The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), explored ways to improve the accuracy of cardiac CT scans, which are used to detect any blockages or narrowing in the arteries. According to the BHF, about 350,000 people in the UK have one of these scans…

The youth wing of the Scottish National Party (SNP) has announced its plans to empower its regional members and increase their involvement in the independence movement. The Young Scots for Independence (YSI) held its annual conference last week, where it passed several resolutions to improve its structure and outreach. YSI vice-convener shares her journey Maya Hay, the newly elected vice-convener of the YSI, shared her journey of joining the SNP and becoming an activist for Scottish independence. Hay, who is originally from Barcelona, said she was inspired by the example of Scotland in 2014, when it held a peaceful and…

Zara Gladman is a Scottish comedian who has a PhD in ecology and works at the University of Glasgow. She is also a supporter of Scottish independence and has created viral parody songs and videos as Lady Alba and West End Mum. In this article, we explore her journey from science to comedy and her upcoming shows at the Glasgow Comedy Festival. How Zara Gladman became a comedian Zara Gladman did not have a conventional route into comedy. She was studying for a PhD in the impact of non-native North American signal crayfish on the wildlife in Scotland’s waterways when…

What are Clava Cairns? Clava Cairns are a group of prehistoric burial monuments located near Inverness in Scotland. They date back to the Bronze Age, around 2000 BC, and consist of circular stone chambers surrounded by standing stones. The site is also known as Balnuaran of Clava, and is one of the best-preserved examples of its kind in Scotland. The cairns are divided into two types: passage graves and ring cairns. Passage graves have a narrow entrance that leads to a central chamber, where human remains and other objects were placed. Ring cairns have no entrance, and are simply enclosed…

Swedish activist joins Fossil Free London to oppose new drilling in North Sea Greta Thunberg, the 20-year-old Swedish climate activist, joined a protest against the UK government’s plans for new oil and gas licences in the North Sea on Saturday. She was among the demonstrators from Fossil Free London who gathered outside the Guildhall, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave a speech on foreign policy at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet. The protesters were objecting to the proposed expansion of the Rosebank oil field, which is located about 130 kilometres northwest of the Shetland Islands. The project, which is led by…

Cameron appointed as Foreign Secretary and life peer by Rishi Sunak Former Prime Minister David Cameron has been appointed as the new Foreign Secretary by Rishi Sunak, who took over as the Prime Minister after Boris Johnson resigned last week. Cameron, who is not an MP, has also been made a life peer in order to join the Cabinet. The move has been widely criticised by opposition parties and the public, who accused Sunak of rewarding Cameron for his support during the leadership contest. Cameron had endorsed Sunak as the best candidate to lead the Conservative Party and the country…

Sunak becomes UK’s youngest and first Hindu PM Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer, has become the UK’s youngest and first Hindu prime minister after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest. He was appointed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday morning, following the resignation of Liz Truss, who lasted only 49 days in office. Sunak, 42, is also the first prime minister of Asian heritage and the first to be born in the 1980s. Sunak delivered his first speech as prime minister outside 10 Downing Street, where he vowed to fix the “mistakes” of Truss’s leadership…