9am Briefing: Man in court charged with pub landlord's murder

The 23-year-old man, who has also been charged with the theft of a car, is believed to have handed himself into police.

Steven Curran, who had two daughters aged six and 13, was found dead behind the Dolphin Inn in Whitecraig, East Lothian in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Police said the incident was connected to a road traffic accident on the A1 some 20 miles away, where a Toyota Celecia – believed to belong to Mr Curran's wife – was discovered abandoned after colliding with a central reservation on the southbound carriageway sometime around 12.30am.

PLUSH homes in the New Town are having their bins collected every single day by the council, it emerged today.

The residences on three prestigious streets, where properties regularly sell for more than 1 million, are the only ones in Scotland to have the privilege.

Local authority bin collection vehicles even remove household waste at the weekends on Heriot Row, Darnaway Street and Abercromby Place.

Residents there do not even want the daily pick-ups, which the council said take place because nearby businesses require the service.

DETECTIVES investigating the shooting of a man outside a city gym have appealed for help in tracing a car spotted in the area at the time of the incident.

Robert Kelbie, 27, was shot in the back moments after parking his car outside Bannantyne's Health Club in Newcraighall on Wednesday.

Police are now keen to trace the driver and occupants of a silver Vauxhall Vectra, which was in the car park of the gym between 6pm and 7pm on the same evening.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 01313113131 or the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

FIREFIGHTERS were called to an incident on the M8 when a car was spotted up in flames.

The Saab Convertible was well alight when the firefighters arrived at the scene on the east-bound carriageway near Livingston, at around 12.45pm on Saturday.

A passing police officer spotted the flames and immediately stopped the traffic as a precaution because of the thick black smoke.

The blaze was out within the hour, but the incident had caused delays on the motorway heading into Edinburgh.

The driver of the vehicle escaped unhurt and did not require any medical assistance.

A MASSIVE rally in the Capital protesting against public sector cuts was attended by more than 20,000 demonstrators on Saturday.

The STUC organised the event to demonstrate against measures in the UK government's Spending Review.

Union leaders said they had been "overwhelmed" by the response to the protest attended by people from across Scotland.

Around 100 buses ferried demonstrators to the march through Princes Street before a rally at the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray MSP, who attended the event, said: "The turnout at this march shows that the people of Scotland do believe there is a better way. The coalition cuts are too deep and too fast, putting 100,000 jobs at risk."

Other politicians attending the rally included Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, SNP MSP for Edinburgh East. He said: "Scotland has come together in the past against the decisions of a Conservative government and it is time to work together again."