In the news today...

LORRY drivers who flout bans on crossing the Forth Road Bridge during strong winds could be fined. The move is reportedly being considered by bridge officials who said the problem had increased since barriers were removed with the abolition of tolls in February. A range of measures is said to be being considered by the Forth Estuary Authority (Feta), incuding "enforcement to deal with residual offenders".

A THIEF posed as a student to steal centuries-old documents worth thousands of pounds. Oliver Fallon, 40, was said to have been allowed access to the papers about the origins of the Catholic Church in Scotland at the Scottish Catholic Archives in Edinburgh. He reportedly told staff he was a post-graduate student from London but then allegedly stole or damaged 288 items worth 26,400. Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Fallon made five visits in July 2006 to the centre in Drummond Place, which holds records of the Catholic Church in Scotland dating back to 1177.

A NUCLEAR reactor at a Lothians power station has been shut down after a leak, it was revealed yesterday. It was reported that a pipe carrying hydrogen burst at the Torness plant in East Lothian. Workers were apparently forced to cut the power as gas escaped from the station. No-one was injured in the incident just after midnight on Saturday and it is not thought that a radiation leak was involved. Experts are said to have warned similar events had caused safety fears at overseas reactors in the past.

LIFTING a blanket ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men could lead to a drop in HIV cases contracted through donated blood, MSPs were told yesterday. Campaigners appeared before Holyrood's petitions committee to call for an end to the ban. Rob McDowall, a gay campaigner, claimed that potential donors should be assesed on the basis of their individual behaviour.

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