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The RSNO and conductor Kristiina Poska delivered a thrilling performance of music by Copland, Price and Sibelius, featuring the stunning violinist Rachel Barton Pine. Copland’s Appalachian Spring: a luminous opener The concert opened with Copland’s Appalachian Spring, a suite of music inspired by the American frontier. Poska led the orchestra with a clear vision and a crisp rhythm, creating a vivid atmosphere of pastoral beauty and folk dance. The soloists, especially flautist Katherine Bryan and clarinettist Yann Ghiro, played with expressive nuance and charm. Price’s Second Violin Concerto: a rediscovered gem The highlight of the concert was the Second Violin…

Scottish leader faces scrutiny over her government’s handling of the pandemic Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister of Scotland, has denied deleting WhatsApp messages that could be relevant to the public inquiry into her government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. She said she has “nothing to hide” and is committed to full transparency. Sturgeon was asked repeatedly by journalists whether she had deleted any messages from the period of the pandemic, but she refused to answer, citing the confidentiality agreement between witnesses and the inquiry. She also rejected suggestions that she governed using WhatsApp and said she was not a…

A new dispute is brewing between ScotRail and its biggest union over planned staffing changes when a line is electrified in Glasgow next month, The Scotsman has learned. What is the issue? The Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has vowed to fight plans for trains on the Glasgow Central to Barrhead route to be switched to driver-only operation. This means that conductors who control doors on the diesel trains on the line will be replaced with lower-grade ticket examiners when electric trains start operating next month. Why is the RMT opposed to driver-only operation? The RMT says that driver-only…

The Isle of Man could become the first part of the British Isles to allow terminally ill people to end their lives with medical assistance, after a historic vote in its parliament. What is the Assisted Dying Bill? The Assisted Dying Bill, introduced by Dr Alex Allinson, a practising GP and member of the House of Keys (MHK), the lower house of the island’s parliament, seeks to enable mentally competent adults who are terminally ill and have less than six months to live to request help to die. The bill would require two independent doctors to assess the person’s eligibility…

The ongoing Israeli bombing of Gaza has severely damaged the water and sanitation infrastructure, putting millions of people at risk of dehydration and disease. How the bombing affects the water supply According to Unicef, the UN Children’s Fund, the bombing has damaged or destroyed over 100 buildings that provide water and sanitation services to Gaza’s population. These include desalination plants, water wells, sewage networks, and pumping stations. As a result, water output has dropped to just 5% of normal levels, leaving many people without access to safe drinking water. Unicef estimates that at least 800,000 people are affected by the…

The SNP’s warnings about the broken energy market The Scottish National Party (SNP) has been raising concerns about the UK’s energy market for a long time. They have pointed out that people in Scotland pay the highest energy prices in the UK, despite producing the most energy. They have also called for reforms to the grid charging system, which penalises renewable energy generation in Scotland and discourages investment. The SNP has argued that Scotland should have more control over its energy resources and policies, and ultimately become an independent country in Europe. The impact of global events on energy prices…

A massive explosion at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has killed at least 50 people and injured many more, according to Palestinian officials. The blast was caused by an Israeli air strike, they said, but Israel has not confirmed or denied the claim. The attack comes as Israel announced it was intensifying its ground operations in Gaza, where Hamas is based. Jabalia: The largest and most crowded refugee camp in Gaza Jabalia is the largest of Gaza’s eight refugee camps, with more than 116,000 Palestinian refugees registered there by the UN as of July 2023. The camp was…

What happened at Jabalia camp? An explosion rocked the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 50 people and injuring many more. The blast occurred in a residential area, where several apartment blocks were destroyed by the impact. The Hamas-run health ministry said the explosion was caused by an Israeli air strike, but the Israeli military has not confirmed or denied this claim. The Jabalia camp is the largest of Gaza’s eight refugee camps, with more than 116,000 Palestinian refugees registered there by the UN. It is located near the border with Israel, where the Israeli…

The UK government is hosting an international summit on artificial intelligence (AI) safety at Bletchley Park, the historic site of the codebreakers who cracked Nazi codes during World War II. The summit aims to build a shared global understanding of the risks posed by frontier AI, which are highly capable and general-purpose AI models that can perform a wide variety of tasks and match or exceed the capabilities of today’s most advanced models. What is frontier AI and why is it dangerous? Frontier AI is a term used to describe AI systems that are not limited by specific domains or…

How a peaceful day turned into a nightmare Dr Philippa Whitford, a Scottish doctor and SNP MP, was working at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City in 1991 when a rocket hit the hospital, killing 471 Palestinians and wounding 314 others. She was about to start a webinar with her colleagues at the hospital on the day of the bombing, when she learned the devastating news. She said she was “gobsmacked” and struggled to keep herself together during the event. The olive branch and the cycle of violence Dr Whitford said she had witnessed a moment of hope and…