Thu, 23rd January 2025

A drone shot of the University of Stirling campus with the William Wallace monument in the background.

Exclusive The £119k pay rise for university principal now best paid in Scotland
‘Simply obscene’ hike in pay for Scottish vice chancellor who now earns more than double the UK prime minister

Donald Trump takes the oath of office to become the 47th US president

Trump warns Putin of tariffs and sanctions if Ukraine war does not end

Police Scotland has used the roadside drug testing kits since October 2019

50% of Scottish drivers failed drug test after being stopped by police

Don't Miss

John Swinney during the first First Minister's Questions of the new year at the Scottish Parliament. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

SNP to water down National Care Service to find 'common ground'

A family enjoying a Hebridean Farm Hike at The Fauld

The movement behind changing tourism in the Highlands and Islands

The Met Office has upgraded its alert to amber for high winds on Friday

'Danger to life' as amber alert issued for destructive 90mph winds

The wigeon can be seen in areas of central Scotland in summer and in most coastal areas in the winter.

Wigeon and fussy toads: A successful wetland project sees species boom

HMS Somerset shadows the Russian spy ship Yantar near UK waters (Picture: Royal Navy)

Russian grey-zone interference means UK must increase defence spending Scotsman comment

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, journalist Lauren Sanchez, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai, and SpaceX boss Elon Musk attended the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday (Picture: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/pool)

Andrew Carnegie has lessons for today’s oligarchs about vast wealth Tobias Jung

The Green Boom offers the hope of future prosperity for Scotland (Picture: William Edwards)

Why Scottish business needs a more realistic net-zero target Dr Marie Macklin

A life dominated by online communication may not provide sufficient preparation for face-to-face interactions in the world of work (Picture: Spencer Platt)

Lack of basic life skills has left young people ill-prepared for work Iain Wham

Scotsman Video

Scotsman Video

The latest video from The Scotsman

Featured Videos

Scotland’s private sector ended 2024 on a sour note after a sharp contraction in output.

Exclusive Three lessons from Scotland's December economy

Fawlty Towers-style dining train to help spearhead rail tours revival

Andrea Tarrodi

SCO Digital Season Part Two Andrea Tarrodi’s Serenade in Seven Colours

Demi Moore poses in the press room with the award for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy for The Substance during the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday. Picture: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

The 2025 Golden Globes winners in full

Puzzles

Quick CrosswordTo test and hone your word skills

SudokuThe ultimate logic-based numbers game

WordwheelPit yourself against the clock with our simple anagram game

Highlights

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist

Film reviews: The Brutalist | Presence

Every Scottish chippy named best in UK in national awards

Outlander star Sam Heughan to release new book on his favourite drinks

L-R_ Natasha Hoeberigs (Magenta), Job Greuter (Riff Raff), Jason Donovan (Frank N Furter), Lauren Chia (Janet).

Jason Donovan appearing in Scotland wearing fishnets and high heels

The new Overflow Map from Scottish Water

Scotland's new sewage pollution map is a step in the right direction

Lindsay and Ross from Bostock

The best bakery in the Lothians is getting bigger

Sorcha Groundsell stars in An t-Eilean (The Island), the UK’s first-ever high-end Gaelic drama series

Everything you need to know about the UK's first high end Gaelic drama

Get The Scotsman app for mobile and tablet

The Scotsman app brings you exclusive, quality news and analysis from The Scotsman, Scotland’s National Newspaper.

Scotsman Sessions

Just a few of the artists who have performed Scotsman Sessions

The Scotsman Sessions: links to numbers 1-400

Constant Vigier

The Scotsman Sessions #429: Constant Vigier

Jennie Lee: Tomorrow is a New Day

The Scotsman Sessions #428: Kit Laveri, George Docherty & Trish Mullin

David Luximon

The Scotsman Sessions #427: David Luximon

Business

Schuh, headquartered in Livingston, has announced a raft of redundancies

Staff at Scottish-headquartered retail giant facing raft of job cuts

JD Wetherspoon, frequently called Spoons, runs some 800 pubs across the UK, including Dunfermline’s Guildhall & Linen Exchange within its Scottish portfolio. Picture: Scott Reid

Wetherspoon boss hits out at ‘dinner party’ politicians amid £60m Budget burden

Sport

Tributes in memory of Denis Law, at the foot of the United Trinity Statue, outside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025.

Man Utd v Rangers minus Battle of Britain tag but Law factor adds edge

Old Trafford fixture reminds of past encounters

Celtic reaction: Rodgers lauds progress amid fresh Kyogo exit reports

Celtic joy tempered by possible £9m departure

Fergus Burke is a great admirer of now Scotland teammate Finn Russell.

Beaming Burke reveals why he chose Scotland over England

New Zealander says Townsend call confirmed he is joining right environment

Cup tie can pay fitting tribute to great entertainer Calderwood Alan Pattullo

Alan Pattullo

Celtic take their Champions League chance with Swiss assistance

Late win over Young Boys seals play-off place

Rory Darge will lead his own way in Scotland’s post-Sione world

Co-captain on the increased focus in Townsend’s squad and the importance of a fast start

Politics

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. PIC: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

SNP preparing to protect Scottish economy from Donald Trump's wrath

John Swinney and health secretary Neil Gray

John Swinney has confidence in Neil Gray after limo row 'mistake'

HMS Somerset flanking Russian ship Yantar near UK waters. Picture: Royal Navy/PA Wire

Vladimir Putin spy ship confronted by Royal Navy in North Sea

First Minister John Swinney is calling on Westminster to work with him to develop a "tailored" migration policy for Scotland that could allow overseas students to remain in the country after graduation

Swinney calls for bespoke migration policy for graduates in Scotland

Starmer announces counter-extremist review after Southport murders

Donald Trump will loom large over politics in Scotland and the UK (Picture: Chip Somodevilla)

Trump's Age of Unreason and Anti-science is coming soon to Scotland Ian Johnston

Orly Efraim grieves for her niece, Eden Liza Auhaion, who was killed at the Nova music festival during Hamas's attacks on October 7, 2023 (Picture: Amir Levy)

After Mid-East peace deal, I hope to be friends with pro-Palestinians Joe Goldblatt

Nurses want to do the job they were trained to do – and should not feel like they have been set up to fail (Picture: Christopher Furlong)

The £900 million reason why Scotland's NHS must be better managed Jackie Baillie

Opinion

Pickles wine bar on Broughton Street

In a pickle over somewhere to eat in a busy January - Fiona Duff

We need to encourage homebuying without putting people at financial risk if interest rates rise, says David Alexander (Picture: Alistair Linford)

Approach changes to mortgage lending rules with caution

Working from home

The M&S boss, who says home working isn't 'proper work', is wrong

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's gesture at Donald Trump's inaugural parade was likened by many observers to a Nazi salute (Picture: Angela Weiss/ AFP)

Readers' Letters: World needs more Carnegies and fewer Musks

Heritage and Retro

Having written more than 700 poems in his lifetime, Robert Burns has many quotes to his name.

Here are 15 of Robert Burns' most famous quotes

The Burns Mausoleum in Dumfries gets a contemporary treatment in a light and music show by Northern Lights as part of the Big Burns Supper event this month.

The small Scottish town seizing its big Robert Burns connection

Former police HQ to be transformed into 31 city centre flats

Inside the Burns Mausoleum in Dumfries, which was recently lit up to mark the Big Burns Supper in the town. It was here in 1824 that a group of men entered the crypt to remove the poet's skull to use in a popular scientific experiment of the day.

Robert Burns: The night the poet's skull was taken from his crypt

A reconstruction of Tinnis Fort in the Scottish Borders around 600 AD when the Drumelzier Merlin legend was set. Illustration by Chris Mitchell/GUARD Archaeology.

The search for Scotland's Merlin myth in the spotlight

Robert Burns is one of Scotland's most famous figures.

10 facts about Robert Burns you may not have known

King Charles III during a visit to the Gordon Highlanders Museum, in Aberdeen, to view recent renovations. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

'Long time no see': King Charles III meets Scottish D-Day veteran

Arts and Culture

Jack Lowden and Koki star in the 18th century samurai survival thriller Tornado, which will open the Glasgow Film Festival this year.

The Glasgow Film Festival 2025 line-up revealed

Installation view of Pop Life at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh

Art reviews: Pop Life | Ksisha Angelova: The Martyrology of Belarus

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist

Film reviews: The Brutalist | Presence

Alan Cumming

Alan Cumming calls for rethink of Scotland's 'broken' arts funding

From left to right: Natasha Hoeberigs (Magenta), Job Greuter (Riff Raff), Jason Donovan (Frank N Furter) and Lauren Chia (Janet) in The Rocky Horror Show

The Rocky Horror Show, Edinburgh review: 'a little frazzled'

Lyle Lovett

Lyle Lovett, Celtic Connections, Glasgow review: 'emotionally direct'

Members of Blind Summit and Scottish Ensemble rehearse for The Law of Gravity

Manipulate theatre festival turns to homegrown talent for 2025

Education

These universities ranked among the UK's finest, in the country's 'definitive' university league table

Top UK universities according to Sunday Times, as UCAS deadline looms

Students are urged not to leave it to the last minute, with the deadline just one week away 📝

Amber Allott

Sally Beamish

Composer joins criticism of Scottish council over music tuition cut

The Michaela Community School in London adopts methods that would result in a failed inspection in Scotland, but has achieved remarkable results (Picture: Dan Kitwood)

Can Scotland learn a lesson from England's strictest school? Cameron Wyllie

Business leader leaves £100,000 to Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Calum Ross

Calum Ross

Hay's Way

The sea eagle’s wingspan can extend to eight feet

Farmer looking to quit farm as sea eagles 'devastate' his flock

Belted Galloways are a native breed in Scotland being used for nature restoration projects

How the much maligned cow is making a comeback in Scotland

Inchconnachan was once the holiday home of speedboat-racing aristocrat Fiona Gore, Countess of Arran, who introduced a population of non-native wallabies that still roam free across the island

Kirsty Young's plans to develop island in Loch Lomond approved

Health

Allan Casey said it had been an ‘intense’ first week for the ground-breaking facility. Picture: John Devlin

Revealed: The number who used drugs consumption room in first week

Jessica Firth, 25, from Newcastle, embarked on a life-changing journey when she decided to lose weight for her daughter.

'I shed four stone with these simple everyday tasks'

You can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice.

Can you reheat cooked rice in the microwave and is it safe?

There was almost double the number of children in hospital with RSV compared with the same week last year.

NHS tells parents to 'call 999' if their children have these symptoms

Walkers in Scotland

Walking boosts mental health as winter takes hold

Blue Monday 2025 – who invented it, why it’s a myth, Brew Monday

Winter can be a challenging time for our mental health.

Pharmacist shares five ways to help symptoms of 'winter depression'

Recommended

The Ultenic T10 Lite is designed to slip under furniture more easily

Review: A bargain robot vacuum cleaner that has all the latest tech

The TeQsli Gel Mattress is less than £200 for most sizes

Is this the cheapest gel mattress on sale today? Check out this price

The gold plectrum coin is layered in pure 24-carat gold

Is this gold plectrum coin the ultimate collectable for Elvis fans?

Three months of superfast broadband for £1 - what’s not to like?

Here's how to get 1Gb broadband for £1 per month for a whole season

The Ninja multi-cooker has 15 functions overall

Don't miss this opportunity to buy a bargain Ninja multi-cooker

BOTB's latest special offer is one of the cheapest we've seen

BOTB is offering the chance to win a Lamborghini for just 29p

Ahead of the launch of the Samsung S25, keep an eye out for great deals on the S24

Don’t miss these tempting Galaxy S24 deals from EE, O2, and Vodafone

Sport Opinion

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend will have to do without his captain Sione Tuipulotu.

How dark horses Scotland recover from ultimate Six Nations hammer blow
Country left reeling by Tuipulotu injury as Darge and Russell step up to plate
Graham Bean

Tyrrell Hatton tees off on the iconic eighth hole at Emirates Golf Club in the final round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic

Five talking points from Desert Classic - one of golf's best events

Scottish football player Denis Law is hugged by a fan after Scotland beat England 3-2 in 1967.

If they did it for The Queen, why not do it for The King

Denis Law scored 30 goals for Scotland in 55 appearances.

Denis Law is Scottish football royalty - the most natural goalscorer

Obituaries

Away from rugby, John – seen with pal Mollie – was a sales director in packaging

Scotsman Obituaries: John Douglas, Scottish rugby internationalist

Gordon Campbell taught hundreds of bagpipe players in Scotland and abroad; here he is at Murrayfield Stadium in 2004

Scotsman Obituaries: Gordon Campbell, expert Scottish and Breton piper

Rugby Union

Glasgow Warriors v Connacht will no longer be played at Scotstoun on Friday due to Storm Éowyn .

Glasgow v Connact moved to new date amid Storm Éowyn warning

Glasgow Warriors are competing in the Investec Champions Cup last 16 while Edinburgh are in the knockout stages of the EPCR Challenge Cup. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)

Edinburgh and Glasgow learn Euro round of 16 dates and kick-off times

Reuben Logan of Northampton Saints has been named in the Scotland Under-20 squad.

Kenny Logan's son switches sides - and it's good news for Scotland

Finn Russell, right, watches on with Fergus Burke during Scotland training at the Oriam.

Russell Scotland update is positive despite training question mark

Captains Jac Morgan of Wales, Maro Itoje of England, Antoine Dupont of France, Caelan Doris of Ireland, Rory Darge of Scotland and Michele Lamaro of Italy at the Colosseum ahead of the Guinness Six Nations 2025 launch in Rome.

Three contenders to fill Tuipulotu void as injury timeline revealed

Duhan van der Merwe was unable to train with Scotland.

Duhan van der Merwe 'niggles' persuade Townsend to call up new winger

Sione Tuipulotu will miss the entire Six Nations due to injury.

Heartbroken Tuipulotu breaks silence on his Six Nations-ending injury

Jamie Dobie of Glasgow Warriors passes the ball during the Investec Champions Cup match against Harlequins.

Glasgow Warriors discover opponents in Champions Cup round of 16

Edinburgh's Patrick Harrison scores his side's fifth try in the win over Black Lion in the EPCR Challenge Cup at Hive Stadium.

Red card can’t derail Edinburgh as they discover last 16 opponents

Cars

Drivers are supposed to use their indicators before turning.

Why don't drivers indicate? Here's the law about using your indicators

The 25p ticket deal only runs for a few days - so be quick

Win this Amazing Mercedes G-Wagon worth £134,000 for just 25p

The McLaren 570S is a 200mph supercar

Win this stunning McLaren supercar worth £104,000 for just 19p

The 488 GTB is one of the most popular Ferraris among keen drivers

This £140,000 Ferrari could be yours for just 89p - if you're quick

Lexus LBX review: Lexus brings premium values to the crossover club

(Photo by BARBARA GINDL/APA/AFP via Getty Images)

Video: The genius hack to prevent ice building - using shaving foam

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The initiative aims to support UK mission to reduce energy bills, create green jobs, and advance climate action

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Over half of Brits (53 per cent) worry they won’t ever be able to retire

Ad Feature This tool reveals how much you need to save to retire