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A native tree planting project on the Western Isles has been a huge success, with crofters planting more than 171,000 trees in the last seven years. The project aims to restore native woodland to the islands and provide multiple benefits for the crofters and the environment. How the project works The Croft Woodlands Western Isles Project is a partnership between Point and Sandwick Trust, Woodland Trust Scotland, Scottish Forestry, and the Scottish Crofting Federation. The project works with crofters to plant native woodland on their crofts, which are small-scale farms that are common in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. The project…

Catalan referendum anniversary sparks renewed calls for self-determination Six years ago, on October 1, 2017, Catalonia held a referendum on its independence from Spain. The vote was met with violent repression by the Spanish authorities, who declared it illegal and unconstitutional. More than 1,000 people were injured and several Catalan leaders were arrested or fled into exile. The referendum result, which favored independence, was not recognized by the Spanish government or the international community. Since then, Catalonia has been in a political deadlock, with no clear path to resolve its status. On the anniversary of the referendum, thousands of pro-independence…

Labour has pulled off a remarkable victory in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, defeating the SNP by a huge margin and gaining its second seat in Scotland. How Labour turned the tide in a former SNP stronghold The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Margaret Ferrier, who was suspended from the SNP after breaching Covid-19 rules by travelling between London and Scotland while infected. Ferrier had won the seat in 2019 with a majority of 5,230 votes over Labour’s Ged Killen. However, Labour’s candidate Michael Shanks managed to overturn that result and secure a stunning win with 17,845…

College support staff across Scotland are taking strike action over pay, terms and conditions, and threats of compulsory redundancies. The union Unison says the Scottish government must intervene to resolve the dispute and ensure fair treatment for the workers who play a vital role in the education sector. Why are college support staff striking? College support staff are non-teaching staff who work in various roles such as librarians, IT specialists, technicians, administrative and business support workers, cleaners, canteen employees and estate management staff. They are represented by Unison, which claims that its members are still waiting for a pay rise…

The animal charity expects to care for more than 100 grey seals and seal pups at its National Wildlife Rescue Centre in the coming months. Why do seals come ashore in winter? Grey seals are the largest and most common seal species in the UK. They can be found around the coastlines of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They are also known as Atlantic seals or horsehead seals. Grey seals come ashore at this time of year to give birth and to moult their fur. They usually breed between September and December, depending on the location. The females give…

The Queensferry Crossing, the UK’s tallest bridge and one of the most monitored in the world, has a secret feature that few people know about: a monorail shuttle that runs inside the bridge deck for maintenance purposes. The Scotsman was given an exclusive tour inside the £1.35 billion structure by bridge managers BEAR Scotland, who revealed how the shuttle, nicknamed “The Rat”, and other hidden facilities make the crossing easier and safer to maintain than its adjacent sister, the Forth Road Bridge. The Rat: A fast and convenient way to access the bridge The monorail shuttle, which can carry two…

Who is Nicholas Rossi and what is he accused of? Nicholas Rossi is a 45-year-old man who is wanted in the US on a charge of rape and multiple complaints of domestic violence. He is accused of raping a woman in Utah in 2008 and then fleeing the country, using various aliases and disguises to evade arrest. He is also accused of faking his own death in 2010 by staging a car crash and leaving behind a charred body that was later identified as his. He was arrested in Glasgow in 2021 after he was recognised by a former girlfriend…

What happened in the by-election? The by-election was held on Thursday, October 5, 2023, to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, who breached Covid-19 rules. Labour candidate Mark Griffin won the seat with 18,832 votes, a 41.8% share of the vote and a 5.2% swing from the SNP. SNP candidate Owen Thompson came second with 16,871 votes, a 37.4% share of the vote and a 7.4% drop from the 2019 general election. Conservative candidate Lynne Nailon came third with 5,456 votes, a 12.1% share of the vote and a 1.6% increase from 2019. The…