The Herald - Latest Scottish News, Business, Politics, Sport from Glasgow, Edinburgh

The Presidents Club: President-elect Barack Obama says coming together with all the U.S. presidents is an "extraordinary gathering."

Councils face ‘worst’ cash crisis

Exclusive: Scotland's councils are �hurtling towards an unprecedented financial crisis, with severe cutbacks forecast next year being revised upwards again � by as much as 50%. continued...

HEADLINE NEWS

Watchdog finds wide discontent with factors

Exclusive: Almost one-half of flat owners believe their factors are not effective in getting things done, while one-third rate their service as poor value, the Office of Fair Trading has found.

National tests for all Primary 7 children

All pupils in Scotland are to sit new national literacy and numeracy tests in the final year of primary school under Scottish Government plans announced yesterday.

Three injured after blast at refurbished hotel building

Three people were injured last night when a blast devastated a newly refurbished hotel. The explosion at the Drumtochty Arms hotel in Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire, came just weeks after it opened following several months of work.

Four-fold rise in number of patients seeking flu treatment

Flu levels are continuing to rise in Scotland, with 79 people consulting their GP about flu for every 100,000 in the population, figures out yesterday showed.

M&S unveils plans for 1230 job cuts as 27 stores face axe

Fears are growing that thousands more jobs in Scotland could be axed after Marks & Spencer became the latest high-street giant to announce mass redundancies.

Scottish cities offered chance to bid for UK culture crown

Scotland�s major cities will be able to bid for the title of the UK�s capital of culture under a new competition suggested last night by a government minister.

Demand for faster inquiry on hepatitis infections

A judge yesterday demanded answers from the Scottish Government about an inquiry into how patients were infected with contaminated blood.

Supermarkets face legal services test

Supermarkets and banks would have to pass a �fit to own� test if they wanted to provide legal services, under proposals published by the Scottish Government.

Teachers fear ‘battleground’ over pupils’ biometric data

Teachers have warned that the growing use of biometric technologies such as fingerprinting will make schools an �ideological battleground� on issues of civil liberties and privacy.

Teachers attack primary testing plan

Teachers yesterday criticised new national tests for primary school pupils in Scotland as "testing for testing's sake". The attack follows a Scottish Government plan which renews the focus on improving standards of literacy and numeracy.

Herald urged to help chart way through crisis for the media

Enterprise Minister Jim Mather last night called on the management of The Herald to join a forum of all Scottish media outlets to chart the best way through the current economic crisis following an impassioned Holyrood debate.

MAIN BUSINESS

M&S shares rally despite sales fall

Marks & Spencer's shares soared yesterday in a relief rally after Christmas performance exceeded at least the direst expectations and the company announced further cost cutting.

Scottish & Southern Energy raises £479m in share sale

Scottish & Southern Energy yesterday responded to the credit crunch by raising �479m from investors to stave off further credit ratings downgrades and keep its expansion plans on track.

MAIN SPORT

Murray insists it was his decision to sell Boyd as transfer hits snag

Exclusive: Sir David Murray last night accepted full responsibility for sanctioning the �3.75m sale of Kris Boyd to Birmingham City but vehemently rejected claims of increasing pressure, or even direct intervention, from the bank.

Rangers forced to steer new course

What now for Rangers? A period of prolonged suffering and second prizes, if they are not careful. Sir David Murray is now enduring the bitter taste of his own medicine.

Knee injury is further setback for Lafferty

Rangers were dealt a fresh striking problem yesterday when Kyle Lafferty, earmarked as the replacement for the departing Kris Boyd, suffered possible knee ligament damage in a bounce game against Morton at Murray Park, writes Darryl Broadfoot.

Caddis right back in Celtic contention

Part of any Old Firm apprenticeship is the ability to detect the merest whiff of a first-team opportunity. With the club shorn of cover in the right-back slot, Paul Caddis has the scent of a starting slot in his nostrils.

Longmuir hails insurance policy as vehicle for change

The Scottish Football League have defied the chill economic wind with the announcement of a two-year extension to their agreement with Co-operative Insurance for sponsorship of the league cup.(With video)

Porter the difference as Hearts fail to score again

Motherwell 1 - 0 Hearts: Csaba Laszlo clearly does not subscribe to the old cliche about taking things one game at a time. The Hearts manager had described the timing of this re-arranged SPL match away to Motherwell as �not the best�.

Ayrshire tie the only show in town for supporters

With the Scottish Cup rebranded to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, it seems fitting that the draw should pair together Ayrshire�s two senior clubs for their first competitive meeting in more than seven years.

Out of volcano . . . and into the fire

When all else fails, when the news is crammed with credit crunches and casualties of war, there is always English cricket to bring a smile to the face of the dourest of Cassandras.

Imperious Murray still in cruise control

Andy Murray continued his build-up to this month's Australian Open with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 victory over Philipp Petzschner.

Mustchin injury could be blow for Scotland

Matt Mustchin may be the latest Scotland contender to be ruled out of the RBS 6 Nations if he has to undergo surgery on the ankle he damaged last weekend.

Rugby is trailing behind other sports in attracting youngsters

Kevin Ferrie on Thursday: No-one likes to be a party pooper but the Scottish Rugby Union�s celebrations this week at having raised the number of youngsters playing the game by 10% somehow seemed a tad premature.

Revenge is in the air as Smith sets Kauto Star another target

He tried hard to hide it at the time, but when Kauto Star, Clive Smith�s pride and joy, was defeated by stable-mate Denman in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, the owner was deeply disappointed.

Laing and Feggans up with the early pace

Vikki Laing and Pamela Feggans made comfortable starts to the Ladies European Tour pre-qualifying and stood in the top 10 after the first round at La Manga in Spain yesterday.

Rangers fans slate looming sale of Kris Boyd

Rangers fans have accused the Ibrox club of settling for second best by sanctioning the sale of Kris Boyd.

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November 2008