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Suella Braverman calls for ditching universal human rights and refugee conventions The UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, delivered a controversial speech at the Conservative party conference in Manchester on Tuesday, in which she warned of an imminent “hurricane” of migration and suggested that the UK should abandon the Refugee Convention of 1951 and the European Convention of Human Rights. She also attacked the opponents of Brexit as unpatriotic and elitist, and dismissed the supporters of human rights as a privileged “ruling class” who never pay the price for their own “luxury” opinions. Braverman’s speech has been widely condemned by human…

Scotland have made a surprise change at scrum-half for their decisive Rugby World Cup Pool B clash with Ireland in Paris on Saturday. Ali Price has replaced Ben White, who has dropped out of the match-day 23. The rest of the team is the same as the one that lost to South Africa in their opening game. Price gets the nod over White Price, who plays for Glasgow Warriors, has 65 caps for Scotland and started the 84-0 thrashing of Romania last week. He will partner Finn Russell at half-back and outside them will be centres Sione Tuipulotu and Huw…

Why buffer zones are needed The article begins by describing the author’s personal reaction to seeing anti-choice protesters outside Scottish hospitals. The author, a Scottish Green MSP, expresses horror and revulsion at the protesters’ graphic banners, judgmental attitude, and aggressive tactics. The author empathizes with the people who have to endure the protesters’ harassment and intimidation, and questions how such a situation can exist in the 21st century. How buffer zones work The article then explains the concept of buffer zones, which are pre-designated areas surrounding a site where protests are prohibited. The author argues that buffer zones are the…

How Michael Shanks became Scotland’s newest MP Labour’s Michael Shanks has won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, defeating the SNP’s Katy Loudon by 1,756 votes. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, who breached Covid-19 rules by travelling while infected. Shanks, a former teacher and trade unionist, secured 12,543 votes (41.1%), while Loudon, a primary school headteacher, received 10,787 votes (35.3%). The Conservative candidate Lynne Nailon came third with 4,075 votes (13.3%), followed by the Liberal Democrat candidate Mark McGeever with 1,287 votes (4.2%). The other candidates were Laura Doherty for the Scottish…

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…