9am Briefing: Thaw begins after weeks of the big freeze

Edinburgh experienced a long-awaited thaw yesterday, with persistent lying snow and compacted ice turning to slush and in many places it disappeared.

The thaw is expected to continue today and tomorrow, but there remains a possibility of some light snow throughout the rest of the week.

Train services are still being affected by the weather, with an hourly Edinburgh to Bathgate service and half-hourly service running between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

But the majority of the Capital's schools and nurseries were due to open as normal today.

B&B fire 'may have been deliberate'

POLICE believe a fire that gutted a disused Midlothian bed and breakfast was started deliberately.

Crews spent hours extinguishing and damping down the blaze at the former Three Acres in Whitehill, near Dalkeith, after arriving at 12.15pm yesterday.

Meanwhile, an asthmatic woman required medical attention after her washing machine caught fire and filled her house with choking black smoke.

The 43-year-old was treated for smoke inhalation following the fire in the kitchen of her Granton Crescent flat at around 11:30pm yesterday.

Students see rise in disciplinary action

EDINBURGH University saw a massive surge in the number of students being disciplined for unacceptable behaviour in the last three years.

Last year, 343 students were hauled before the dean for breaking rules – a near 250 per cent increase on the 136 people reported in 2006/7, it has been reported.

The majority of cases were for plagiarism or cheating in exams, but ten incidents were criminal offences and another nine involved violent, indecent or threatening behaviour.

A spokesman for the university said: "The rise in the number of cases of unacceptable behaviour between 2006/07 and 2008/09 principally reflects a more robust approach to detecting plagiarism when it occurs.

"The university views any case of unacceptable behaviour extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that it is, wherever possible, both detected and it is dealt with appropriately."

Usher Hall Extension to be unveiled

THE glass-covered extension to the Usher Hall is expected to be unveiled to the public within four weeks.

The new wing, part of a 35 million overhaul of the venue, houses a caf bar, box office, corporate hospitality facilities, education space and admin offices.

Its completion is four years overdue, but a public unveiling has been pencilled in for later this month or early next.