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BREAKING

Fri, 8th December 2023

Humza Yousaf loses court battle with UK Government over gender reforms
The Conservatives said the ruling was a ‘humiliating defeat’ for the SNP

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  • 1'LIV Golf is here to stay' is message as Rahm joins breakaway circuit
  • 2Bob Dylan sells Highland retreat for £4.25m to whisky makers
  • 3Douglas Ross to support Rwanda immigration plan
  • 4Scotland's Euro 2024 matches to be shown free-to-air as TV line-up confirmed
  • 5Public perception of Sitka spruce needs to change, industry leaders say
    • The biggest redevelopment of the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in its 145-year history is expected to completed by the end of 2024. Picture: Alex Brady

    First look at revamped Citizens Theatre as reopening plans are revealed

    Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to stand in the presidential election next year. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

    Putin declares he will stand in 2024 Russian election

    Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy celebrate Europe's victory in the Ryder Cup in Rome in September. Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty Images.

    Rory McIlroy defends change of heart over LIV golfers playing in Ryder Cup

    Suranne Jones lifts lid on return of Vigil

    Poorest can’t afford to heed Dowden’s warning to prepare for a major crisis Laura Waddell

    SNP ministers have just accepted the decline of our education system Jackie Baillie

    Transport is devolved but the UK Government still has a role to play in Scotland Alister Jack

    All societies need eloquent 'troublemakers' like Benjamin Zephaniah Scotsman comment

    Lifestyle

    Paul Towndrow, Miro Herak and Chad McCullough of Atlantic Road Trip

    Paul Towndrow on jazz supergroup Atlantic Road Trip: ‘It’s been quite a journey’

    Ghosts Christmas Special PIC: BBC/Monumental/Guido Mandozzi

    Christmas TV preview: Paul Whitelaw's guide to the best festive viewing

    A light fall of snow on a road stretching into the distance is enough to get anyone off the couch

    Passions: Couch to 5k is great – but only if you drop the 5k

    Colin Burnett

    Book review: Who’s Aldo? by Colin Burnett

    Gregory Porter PIC: Erik Umphery

    Christmas album reviews: Gregory Porter | Samara Joy | Paloma Faith & more

    Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young star in this year's big Edinburgh panto at the Festival Theatre.

    Passions: enduring appeal of panto and the stars who make theatre simply magical

    Timothée Chalamet in Wonka

    Film reviews: Wonka | Leave the World Behind | Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

    Scotsman Video

    Scotsman Video

    View more
    The latest video from The Scotsman

    Featured Videos

    First Minister Humza Yousaf is questioned by journalists

    Scotsman Politics Show - First Minister's Questions

    Alice Faye

    The Scotsman Sessions #389: Alice Faye

    Edinburgh's Dunard Centre concert hall is proposed to be built behind a Royal Bank of Scotland building on St Andrew Square.

    Soaring costs and new delay revealed for new Edinburgh concert hall

    Images released by South Ayrshire Council show the damage caused to the hotel following the blaze.

    Hotelier 'interested' in acquiring fire ravaged Station Hotel in Ayr

    Edward Kane, Advocate in the Supernal Sisters by Ross Macfarlane KC

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 9: ‘I Built the Pyramids’ (Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane)

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 9: ‘I Built the Pyramids’

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 8: ‘A Burning Ship and All That’ (Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane)

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 8

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 7: ‘Almost Like a Real Gentleman’ (Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane)

    Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 7

    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

    Politics

    Former Prime Minister Liz Truss wants to ban trans women from single-sex spaces (Picture: Rob Pinney/Getty Images)

    Liz Truss's anti-trans Bill is unnecessary and harmful

    Rishi Sunak insisted he is being tough on immigration as he urged Conservative MPs to back his Rwanda plan (Picture: James Manning/WPA pool/Getty Images)

    Internal Tory culture war is turning Sunak into even more of a lame duck leader

    Starmer's appeals to Tory swing voters may backfire badly in Scotland Joyce McMillan

    Springholm and the adjoining village of Crocketford would be bypased under the A75 upgrade plans. (Photo by David Dixon/Geograph)

    SNP-Conservatives tensions as UK Government awards £8m for A75 upgrade

    A protester, at a rally in Berlin in support of the popular 'Woman, Life, Freedom' uprising in Iran, calls for an end to torture and execution in the country (Picture: John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)

    How Iran rapes and tortures children as young as 12 to suppress protests

    The ruling is due on Friday. Photo: Lisa Ferguson

    Legal ruling due on UK Government block of Scottish gender reform bill

    Protesters wait outside the UK Covid-19 Inquiry at Dorland House in London, where the former prime minister Boris Johnson was giving evidence.

    Boris Johnson dismisses partygate and denies 'let it rip' approach to pandemic

    First Minister Humza Yousaf has been told to apologise after Scotland fell in maths, English and science in the international Pisa rankings. Image: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images.

    Humza Yousaf told to apologise for 'destroying' Scotland's education system

    cut through the noise

    Sport

    Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy celebrate Europe's victory in the Ryder Cup in Rome in September. Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty Images.

    Rory McIlroy defends change of heart over LIV golfers playing in Ryder Cup

    Rory McIlroy expects Ryder Cup changes after Jon Rahm’s LIV switch
    Champions Cup opener is landmark occasion for Glasgow Warriors forward
    Franco Smith is back on familiar territory and ready to mix it once more with the big boys of Europe...
    Two-time major winner Jon Rahm shakes on his big-money deal with LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman. Picture: LIV Golf

    'LIV Golf is here to stay' is message as Rahm joins breakaway circuit

    Hailing the announcement of Jon Rahm joining, ‘Liv Golf is here to stay’ was the message from the breakaway circuit’s chief operating officer as the Spaniard admitted he’d put money ahead of his Ryder Cup career.
    Farrell is a legitimate panto villain but his own fans booing him is bonkers

    Aidan Smith

    Why Edinburgh pumped crowd noises into training ahead of Clermont showdown
    Edinburgh expect it to be raucous and hostile in France on Friday night and have tried to prepare ac...
    Joe Newell happy with 'drastic' change under Hibs boss Nick Montgomery
    Hibs brave approach is the right one despite 4-1 defeat at Celtic, insists midfielder...

    Opinion

    Think celebrating Christmas is 'un-Scottish'? Time to bring back the 'Daft Days' Susan Morrison

    Woman slipped on ice

    I'm not walking on ice without YakTrax on my winter boots - Gaby Soutar

    The scene on Baberton Mains Avenue, Edinburgh, after an 84-year-old man has died following an explosion at a house on Friday night.Photo: Lesley Martin/PA Wire

    Council assistance for devastated residents too little - Sue Webber

    Hannah Ross, Senior Associate and Financial Services specialist, Pinsent Masons

    ‘Polluter pays’ plan will impact investment firms - Hannah Ross

    Education

    Scotland's educational performance has declined again on the Pisa international league tables (Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

    Scotland's terrible Pisa results show 'Curriculum for Excellence' isn't working

    The focus of Scotland’s school curriculum on skills and well-being, rather than the acquisition of systematic knowledge, has been accompanied by a slide down the international Pisa league tablesLindsay Paterson
    More needs to be done to inspire girls to consider maths and science subjects (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

    Gender stereotypes are holding Scotland's education system back

    After educational performance falls 'off a cliff', urgent action is vital Scotsman comment

    Return to 'normal' pre-pandemic exam grading standards for Scotland's pupilsCalum Ross
    Calum Ross

    Rural Affairs

    Life in rural Scotland is a worryingly isolating experience for members of the LGBTQ+ community, research has shown. Picture: Getty Images

    'It's a silent world': Challenges of older LGBTQ+ in rural Scotland

    As conversations continue on support needed for younger members of the LGBTQ+ community in rural Sco...
    Visa proposal to address depopulation branded a gimmick amid housing crisis
    Islanders have said the issue is not a lack of people who want to live in remote areas, but rather t...
    Lenabo Forest, near Peterhead, is on the market for offers over £3.9m (pic: Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group)

    Forest with former WW1 airship station on the market for offers over £3.9m

    The former Lenabo Airship Station, established in 1915 as a base for airships to patrol the North Sea during the First World War, sits within the property
    Going solo on pilgrimage routes, from Way of St Andrews to Camino de SantiagoKatharine Hay
    Katharine Hay
    Storm Ciarán: Disruption continues across railway line following signal outage

    A yellow rain warning is in place for Scotland's east coast today.

    ...
    SSPCA say there is currently no safe way to rescue 'Britain's loneliest sheep'
    The sheep’s fleece is so overgrown it interferes with potential rescue options...

    Health

    Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Dorland House in London, where he is giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA)

    Johnson's admissions over Covid failings show how unfit he was to be PM

    Every year, around 34,100 people are diagnosed with cancer in Scotland, with 16,300 Scots losing their lives to the disease annually. PA Photo : David Davies.

    Scottish scientists make major discovery in battle to treat cancer

    Boris Johnson pictured on the day of the cheese and wine event at 10 Downing Street (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)

    'We couldn’t hug at mum's funeral as Downing St had a cheese and wine party'

    Analysis The key questions Boris Johnson must answer at the UK Covid Inquiry

    The Scottish Government aims to ensure 95 per cent of patients presenting at an A&E department are seen within four hours, but currently just 63.2 per cent are seen within that timeframe.

    Could one Scottish health board hold the key to fixing the NHS's A&E crisis?

    Gone are the days of turning up at A&E with a broken bone, or an illness - A&E is now increasingly reserved for people who need resuscitated

    Prioritisation may be the only way the NHS will survive the winter

    There are 4,412 addresses that have been “red flagged” by the Scottish Ambulance Service

    Police warning as almost 4,500 addresses ‘red flagged’ by ambulance service

    Scotsman Passions

    Alan Davies and Sarah Alexander as Jonathan and Polly Creek in the ​mystery drama

    Passions: As the nights draw in, we’re entering peak Jonathan Creek season

    Why student journalism must be protected at all costs Conor Matchett

    A tree by the coast near to St Andrews, Fife (pic: Katharine Hay)

    Going solo on pilgrimage routes, from Way of St Andrews to Camino de Santiago

    Action figure of Freddie Krueger

    Passion: Horror films aren't purely for Halloween - Gaby Soutar

    Heritage and Retro

    31 pictures from the 1960s show what Christmas was like in Scotland

    Who invented Christmas Crackers and where did the tradition begin?

    Here are 12 old traditions from Christmas in Scotland - aka “Yule”

    Here are 10 Christmas traditions you'll only find in Scotland.

    Here are 10 things only Scottish people do at Christmas

    Ignite your passion for Scotland’s national drink in the heart of Edinburgh at The Scotch Whisky Experience. Supplied picture

    Ad Feature Ignite your curiosity in Scotch whisky

    Chivas Brothers engineers celebrate carbon cutting technological success for the whisky industry. Supplied picture

    Ad Feature Scotch whisky and net zero

    A German U-boat from the First World War is likely to have been sunk deliberately rather than being handed to the Allies, according to a 3D map produced by researchers at the University of Dundee. Picture: Prof Chris Rowlan/University of Dundee/PA Wire

    German First World War submarine deliberately sunk, Scottish research suggests

    The Scotsman Sessions

    Just a few of the artists who have performed Scotsman Sessions

    The Scotsman Sessions: links to numbers 1-350

    Stuart Paterson

    The Scotsman Sessions #390: Stuart Paterson

    Alice Faye

    The Scotsman Sessions #389: Alice Faye

    Michael Pedersen

    The Scotsman Sessions #388: Michael Pedersen

    Brenda

    The Scotsman Sessions #387: Brenda

    Zara Gladman

    The Scotsman Sessions #386: Zara Gladman

    Alannah Moar

    The Scotsman Sessions #385: Alannah Moar

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    How to find and play hidden Eat This Playlist game on Spotify

    These are the best and spookiest costumes for children for Halloween 2023.

    Cheap, scary Halloween costumes for kids - Wednesday and Marvel heroes

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    Top Prime Day Deals on iPads, AirPod Pro 2 and 15-inch Macbook Air

    Sport Opinion

    Alan Tait of Scotland forces his way over to score against England in the Calcutta Cup Five Nations match at Twickenham in 1999.

    Six Nations: Don't flutter eyelashes- this is crown jewel and must stay free
    Rugby’s great tournament could move away from terrestrial TV – something that just cannot happen

    Ian Johnston discovered he loved swimming, after avoiding it for years, at Dalry Swim Centre in Edinburgh

    How I learned to stop hating the 'boiled carrots' of sports and love it instead

    Nigel Clough, manager of Mansfield Town, has told his players to curb the goal celebrations. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

    Aidan Smith: You’ve only made a routine tackle. Why all the hugs and high-fives?

    "What? Really, mate? You're stopping the game again?" Ange Postecoglou during the VAR-dominated Spurs-Chelsea game

    Aidan Smith: I’m with Ange Postecoglou - let’s kill VAR before it kills football

    Homes

    The exterior of Auchengarroch at 16 Chalton Road. Image: contributed

    Charming Victorian villa with Arts and Crafts additions

    What is it? A beautifully presented upper townhouse in the Capital which has been lovingly refurbished by its current owner. Period features can be found throughout and there are breathtaking views over Edinburgh Castle.

    Three's a charm: Grand Capital homes now on the market

    The building is tucked away in the North Ayrshire countryside (pic: David Barbour)

    Building developed inside Scottish ruin wins prestigious architect award

    “The nationwide 5G rollout should be treated as a matter of urgency if we are to continue to narrow – rather than widen – the digital divide.” Picture – supplied

    Ad Feature Vodafone UK: Why we need to address the rural digital divide in Scotland

    Obituaries

    Shane MacGowan at T in the Park music festival in 2008 (Picture: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

    Scotsman Obituaries: Shane MacGowan, hellraiser frontman of The Pogues

    David McCreath was an important figure on Scottish agricultural scene

    Scotsman Obituaries: David McCreath OBE, founder of McCreath Simpson & Prentice

    Rugby Union

    Edinburgh Rugby take on Clermont Auvergne at the Stade de Marcel-Michelin in their Challenge Cup opener. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

    What TV channel is Clermont v Edinburgh? How to watch Challenge Cup opener

    Glasgow Warriors host Northampton in their Champions Cup opener at Scotstoun on Friday. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

    What TV channel is Glasgow v Northampton? How to watch Champions Cup opener

    Huw Jones is back in the Glasgow Warriors side for the first time since October after recovering from a foot injury. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

    Glasgow aim to start with a bang as they return to European rugby’s top table

    Edinburgh prop Boan Venter has signed a new two-year contract. (Picture: Edinburgh Rugby)

    Boan Venter inspired by WP Nel as Scotland chance hoves into view

    George Watson's lift the trophy after the 42-21 victory over Stewart's Melville at Murrayfield. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

    Scottish Schools finals: George Watson's College do the double at Murrayfield

    Loosehead prop Boan Venter has put pen-to-paper on a new two-year deal with Edinburgh Rugby. (Picture: Edinburgh Rugby)

    Prop signs deal which will make him eligible for Scotland

    Fraser Brown leads out Glasgow Warriors for the Champions Cup game against Leicester Tigers at the start of the 2016/17 European campaign. This Friday, they kick off the tournament against Northampton Saints at Scotstoun. (Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS)

    Fraser Brown: Glasgow Warriors have a pack to flourish in the Champions Cup

    Edinburgh's Jamie Ritchie, right, with head coach Sean Everitt. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

    Edinburgh plan to rest four senior forwards including Jamie Ritchie

    Scotland were represented by the Thistles composite side in last season's Celtic Challenge competition. The next edition will feature Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors women's teams. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

    ‘Outstanding opportunity’ as Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors launch women’s teams

    Cars

    Not all dogs enjoy car journeys as much as these three.

    The 10 adorable breeds of dog most likely to suffer car sickness

    Drivers can sometimes be confused about when to use their fog lights.

    When drivers should - and shouldn't - use their car fog lights

    Careless car drivers risk hefty fines over winter.

    Tips to avoid shelling out up to £18,000 in motoring fines this winter

    Driving in wintery conditions can be a challenge.

    Winter Driving Advice: How to stay safe on the roads in ice and snow

    Top UK road-trips which have earned their reputation as the world’s most scenic drives. Picture - supplied

    Ad Feature Top road-trip getaways which are not so far away

    Take car while driving with your pet this winter. First up: don't let them take the wheel...

    Keep your dog safe on winter car journeys - and avoid a £20,000 fine

    Must Read

    “A just transition to net zero can be achieved through decarbonising homes and the electrification of heat,” Josiah Lockhart, Chief Executive of leading environmental charity Changeworks. Picture - supplied

    Ad Feature Two years on from COP26 in Glasgow Scotland needs to step up – Changeworks

    The Queen Mother at Frances' shop

    High fashion in the Highlands

    Exclusive Ian Rankin on his Edinburgh ‘man cave’ and new stand-alone mystery The Rise