News

Edinburgh, Scotland – Worshippers arriving for Friday prayers found their sacred space violated. Offensive anti-Muslim graffiti covered the walls of Edinburgh Central Mosque in one of the worst hate attacks the Scottish capital has seen in years. Police are treating it as a targeted hate crime. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America's largest Muslim civil rights group, immediately issued a powerful statement of solidarity from Washington, D.C. "We stand in full solidarity with the Muslim community in Scotland following this disturbing act of hate targeting a house of worship," the organization declared. "Attacks on mosques are an attack on religious freedom…

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney just dropped a political bomb that has sent shockwaves from Edinburgh to Westminster: a SNP majority in the May 2026 Holyrood election will be treated as a cast-iron mandate to demand a second independence referendum. In a blistering Sky News interview, Swinney not only tied the SNP's electoral fate directly to indyref2, he openly questioned whether Keir Starmer will even survive in Downing Street long enough to say no. What Swinney Actually Said Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the First Minister was unflinching. "If people in Scotland want Scotland to become independent, the…

First Minister John Swinney dropped a political bomb on Sunday morning television: win a majority in the May 2026 Holyrood election and the SNP will treat it as a cast-iron mandate to demand a second independence referendum. The message was blunt, deliberate and aimed straight at the heart of every yes voter in Scotland. "Be in no doubt," Swinney told Sky News Speaking to Trevor Phillips, the First Minister said voters must deliver the SNP a majority if they want Scotland to become independent. "If people in Scotland want Scotland to become independent, the SNP has got to do really…

A groundbreaking six-year study proves that Scotland’s treeless Highlands are not natural. They are the result of too many deer. Cut red deer numbers below three per square kilometre and native mountain woodlands, including rare dwarf birch, can spread far beyond their bog refuges for the first time in centuries. The University of Stirling research, published this month, delivers the clearest evidence yet that overgrazing, not climate or soil, is the main barrier stopping trees returning to the hills. Dwarf Birch Tells the Story Most People Missed Most Scots think of dwarf birch as a low, straggly shrub that only…

UEFA has delivered a bombshell that has sent shockwaves through British and Irish football: the five host nations for Euro 2028 — England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland — will NOT receive automatic qualification. Instead, they must fight through the regular qualifying groups, with only a limited safety net if they fall short. This marks a dramatic departure from tradition and guarantees the road to the home tournament will be brutally competitive. Why UEFA Scrapped Automatic Qualification For decades, host nations have walked straight into major tournaments. Germany strolled into Euro 2024 without kicking a ball in…

A powerful new report warns that rural communities risk being forgotten again as Scotland heads to the crucial Holyrood election in May 2026. Families in Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders are trapped in low pay, sky-high fuel bills and crumbling transport links while politicians focus on urban battlegrounds. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) report Voices from the Margins lays bare a crisis that official statistics have hidden for years. It shows working households forced to choose between heating their homes or feeding their children, with one charity worker saying bluntly: "You can't eat grass." Wages Lag Far Behind…

A solo driver just proved you don’t need famous distilleries or tour buses to understand whisky. Skip the queues, take the wheel, and let the road itself become the master class. Sebastian Modak drove 500 miles around Scotland’s wild northern edge in November, the quiet season. What he found in small bars, back-road distilleries, and misty Highland nights has changed how thousands are now planning their own trips. The Route Everyone Talks About, But Few Truly Taste The North Coast 500 loops from Inverness, up the east coast, across the empty top, and down the west, before returning through fairy-tale…

Air Charter Scotland has kicked off its first-ever scheduled passenger service, linking Aberdeen and Wick with daily flights that started on January 14, 202B. The Perth-based operator is running the route with a nine-seat King Air 200 (G-MEGN) wet-leased from Dragonfly Aviation Services after regulatory hurdles blocked the original plan to use a BAe Jetstream 31 with Dutch crew from AIS Airlines. Why the Route Matters Now Wick lost its direct air link to Aberdeen when Eastern Airways pulled out several years ago. Locals and businesses have relied on long drives or connecting flights through Inverness ever since. The new…

Multimillionaire financier Malcolm Offord has been unveiled as Reform UK's first Scottish leader and immediately refused to say how rich he is, telling reporters his wealth is "private" and "not relevant" just weeks before the Holyrood election campaign begins. The former Conservative peer, who bought a £1.6 million Loch Lomond mansion in cash last year, was parachuted into the role by Nigel Farage on Thursday in a move that has stunned Scottish politics. From Tory Lord to Reform Firebrand Malcolm Offord was made Baron Offord of Garvel in 2021 after donating more than £150,000 to the Conservative Party. The 60-year-old…

Malcolm Offord, the yacht-racing, classic-car-collecting financier hand-picked by Nigel Farage to lead Reform UK in Scotland, stood in front of reporters in Kirkcaldy and bluntly refused to say how rich he is. The man who bought a £1.6 million Loch Lomond mansion in cash told journalists his personal fortune is “not of any relevance to anybody”. With the Holyrood election just months away, the refusal has instantly become the first big controversy of Reform’s Scottish campaign. From Tory Peer to Reform Firebrand Offord was made a life peer by David Cameron in 2021 and served as a junior Scotland Office…